Weather, Health, and Food

One thing that is constantly on our minds here in Mérida is the weather. It is comparable to the hottest days of August in South Dakota: sunny, humid, and HOT. I haven't looked at a thermometer, but the hottest part of the day feels like upper 90s into the triple digits. The afternoon sun is the worst, but it is already eighty degrees by the time we wake up in the morning. By 7 or 8 PM, the worst of the heat is gone, and the nightlife begins in the city. When we go out together, we typically wait until at least 8 or 9 PM. I think it is fair to say that even the nights rarely get below seventy degrees. On Sunday night, a rainstorm blew in, and then it might have gotten down to 70 or 65.

It has been really difficult for me to adjust to the heat. The first two days, I slept a lot. Here siesta time is widely used. Partly because of the heat and partly because of the nightlife, almost everyone goes home between 1:30 and 4 PM for lunch--which is the biggest meal of the day--and siesta time. Here at Central House, we have classes until one, lunch at one, and free time in the afternoon. The Global Health students meet again at 4 PM, but we Language students have the afternoon to do homework and spend time with our host families. Of course, we can go out as well, but we are expected to spend some time each day in our Mexican homes.

With so much heat and humidity, it goes without saying that we need to stay hydrated. We all have water bottles that we keep filled every day for classes. Most of us already have the habit of taking water with us when we are going out as well. At meals we have a lot of beverages and fruit to help us replenish fluids and vitamins. I love trying the different types of beverages. In addition to cold water, which is always refreshing, at lunch and supper we have fresh-squeezed lemonade. Two traditional beverages I have tried here are horchata and jamaica. Tamarindo is also a popular drink, but I have yet to try it. What do they taste like? That is a little more difficult to answer. Horchata is a white beverage, which some drink in place of milk. I know it consists of water, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla, but there is something more that makes it into "horchata." Jamaica is made from boiling hibiscus flowers; it resembles a sweetened tea. I just decided I am going into the kitchen before supper for a lesson in Mexican food and drink, because I realized that I really do not know much about it!

Some of the food we have been eating is very traditional as well. I will add some pictures here and captions explaining them.

This is how the table is set for us for the midday and evening meals. We almost always have some type of bread, on which we can spread margarine, peanut butter, jam, or Nutella.

This is our typical breakfast spread. Count them: there really are 10 different fruits to which we can add yogurt or granola, if we choose. The only fruit I don't love is mango. It is really different in taste and texture than anything I have eaten before. But I keep trying it, because it is mango season right now, so we have mango every day. Monday morning we had all this plus French toast, and Wednesday we had all this plus pancakes. The other mornings we have had a sweet bread with our fruit and granola.

Dinner, the evening meal, is a light meal here. I was late to the table Tuesday night, but I still got this picture. In the foreground are Jello cups, next is a platter of salbutes, then pitchers of lemonade and horchata, then a soup made from vegetable broth and tiny balls of pasta. Salbutes are a traditional Yucatecan food. A salbute is a fried corn tortilla topped with turkey, onions, lettuce, sweet peppers, and whatever other toppings or vegetables are on hand. As we were exclaiming that the onions--a pink color much lighter that our red onions--tasted sweet, Val explained to us that they are regular white onions soaked in the juice of sour oranges to make them sweeter.

This was our lunch today, Thursday. The dish in the right foreground is cauliflower baked with cream and topped with cheese. Not sure how healthy it is with all the extra stuff, but it did taste good. The dish to the left is carrots, cauliflower, and other vegetables. It was created especially for one of the students, who is a vegetarian. Next you will see a big bowl of salad, which we eat almost every midday and evening meal. Besides the standard lettuce, the ingredients vary widely. Wednesday night there were kiwi and strawberries, and today we had grape tomatoes, baby corn, walnuts, and dried cranberries. The pitchers are filled with lemonade (hidden) and agua fresca de sandía (watermelon juice). On the tables we had a platter of ??? It was meat wrapped around vegetables, which is a poor description. When they set it out, my camera was already back upstairs! I will see if I can get a name and description from the ladies who made it.

 Some of the other things we have eaten since arriving include baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad for lunch Monday. Tuesday's lunch was sliced pork, a vegetable squash casserole, and salad. Wednesday we ate chicken tortilla soup. Dessert is typically a Jello cup or a plate of fresh fruit, but Wednesday night we had flan. My only other experience with flan was at Corona Village in Mitchell. Sarah, I am sorry to tell you that your flan doesn't compare in the least to what I had last night. Absolutely delicious. If I bring home one recipe from the Yucatan, it will be flan.

Questions about the food here? Wondering what else I have tried or what I have eaten away from Central House? Leave a comment! And watch for the results of my kitchen interview! :)