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The attitude towards mealtime and food in Latin America is very different than the attitude often found in the United States. Food is a large part of Latin America life. It’s not only the food that is so important, but the entire ritual of eating and sharing food with others that has a deeper meaning. Your journey to learn Spanish will be much more enjoyable if you can embrace the food. To me, food and learning Spanish are one.

Before we get too deep into the topic of mealtime, let me say that the food in Latin America is not what other people typically picture it to be. Especially in South America where most people haven’t heard of tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and many of the other typical “Mexican/American” dishes. While living in South America I was given the opportunity to eat many different types of food. While I typically ate a lot of beans, rice, and fish, I also had the chance to try many exotic foods; such as guinea pig, cow stomach, pig’s feet, and many other unrecognizable meats that I didn’t dare ask about.

On a similar note, I had a friend who once took a trip to Mexico. He had an “exciting” train ride around Mexico and couldn’t wait for his very first meal of authentic “Mexican food” – the kind he was used to eating in America. He was deeply disappointed to learn that the “Mexican food” in Mexico is very different from the Americanized version of Mexican food he was accustomed to in the U.S.

Now back to topic of mealtime attitudes. In many smaller pueblos (lower income areas), people usually can’t afford to purchase pre-prepared, processed, or even canned foods. Many of the women make everything from scratch and spend hours in the kitchen every day providing meals for their families.

While I lived in Latin America, for two years almost every meal I had was prepared by a native Spanish speaking woman. When they would prepare food, they didn’t see it as if they were just preparing a meal. But they put an emotional part of themselves into the food they gave us. As a result, we were always expected to eat every bit of our food or they would get offended.

After almost every meal, I would be asked if I wanted more. If I said, “No thanks, I’m full”, they would be deeply hurt and act as if I were rejecting them and their family. However, I quickly learned to respond, “Yes, I’d like just a little bit more since I am almost full”. They would then beam with joy and come back usually with an even bigger serving than before. Needless to say, mealtime often took a lot longer than I expected to eat all of the servings of food.

Moral of the Story: If you want a great authentic cultural experience, try eating at the home of a Latin American. However, remember that it is important to them that you eat everything. Never use the excuse of being full or that you have an allergy to something; it almost always doesn’t work and will usually make the person feel bad. If you are not an adventurous eater, I recommend staying home and eating Top Ramen™.

Sneak Peak at Next Week: Food Part II – Sharing Food: I Learned the Hard Way.

¡Que tengan un buen día! (I hope you all have a good day!)

Free Lesson of the Week:

This week’s lesson comes from the complete Visual Link Spanish™ course. Click below for a fun, interactive lesson on Daily Objects.

To check it out, click here:Interactive Lesson – Daily Objects

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Filed under:
Learn Spanish, Spanish Culture, Spanish Words by Dave Clark