I just might get fat.

One thing that I was most worried about while planning this trip was the food. I have never been a picky eater, but I had no idea what to expect. Would it taste good? How would my stomach handle it? Questions like this swam through my mind. However, after two weeks here in Lima my I can confidently say that I will be more than satisfied with the food here.

My first meal was breakfast the morning after my flight, and I was very surprised to find a box of "Captain Crunch" (one of my personal favorites) on the table. I thought, "Oh good, they eat breakfast cereal." But then my host brother explained that he had bought the cereal to help me slowly get accustomed to Peruvian cuisine. Not only did he not normally eat cold cereal, he didn't know how it was served. So we had our first breakfast of "Captain Crunch" out of shallow bowls with warm milk. Since then we've been eating Peruvian food for the most part.

For breakfast we always have blended papaya and oranges with bread. To go along with this we have eggs and ham or oatmeal and coffee. The oatmeal is very different from American oatmeal. It is really thin. In fact it's more like heated milk with few bits of oats and sugar mixed in. The coffee, is different as well. It starts with a cup of hot milk and one mixes in some concentrated liquid coffee and sugar. In the U.S. I never had coffee because I don't like it black, but I have actually grown to like it here. We start the day off eating well and I haven't missed my cold bowls of "Honey Bunches of Oats."

Lunch is the big meal of the day and normally we just have some left overs for supper. Most of my meals have been prepared by my host family and the maids and they are very good cooks. Lunch has to be one of my favorite times of the day and I have had some very tasty meals ranging from meat patties and rice to guinea pig. If I were to talk about all of them this would turn into a thesis so I will stick to the most memorable.

Ají de Gallina

One of my favorite dishes I've had so far was "Ají de Gallina." It is a delicious scoop of shredded chicken mixed in a sauce of peppers, nuts, milk, cheese and onion. On the side we had hard boiled eggs and like just about all of the dishes here it was served with rice. It was delicious and I enjoyed two helpings.

The most talked a out dish here in Peru has to be "Ceviche." This plate is raw fish drowned in lemon juice, peppers, and onions. With this we had baked yams and a side of something similar to pop corn. The combination of sour and slightly hot created an interesting flavor. Supposedly the acid from the lemon juice kills any germs that might be in the fish. I wasn't totally convinced and wasn't crazy about the texture, but managed to eat the whole dish. I had this meal in the indoor market near our condo. The atmosphere was very different as there was raw meat and bananas hanging on hooks overhead of all the little shops. We were able to witness the creation of these dishes as they were prepared right in front of us. I watched everything from the skinning of the fish, juicing of the lemons, to the chopping of the onions. Just because everything about the meal was different from what I am used to, I wasn't able to truly enjoy the food. My stomach handled the food well and I did like the flavor. So I hope to try this dish again with the confidence that I won't get sick.

Pisco Sour

The most American dish I've had was steak covered in cream of mushroom served with vegetables and grilled potato triangles. The steak wasn't quite like Nebraskan steak but it was still very good. The sauce was very tasty and went well with the meat. The vegetables here seem to be fresher and the potato triangles were scrumptious. Along with this meal we were served a Peruvian drink called a "Pisco Sour." Pisco is the liquor of Perú and my host family made sure to convince me that it was not first made in Chile. I believe that there is a little bad blood there. Anyway, the drink was made with pisco, egg white, sugar, and lemon juice. It was delightful. The plate with the pisco sour was delicious and I found myself wanting more when I had finished it.

Cuye. Head and two halves.

And now the fried guinea pig or "cuye" here in Perú. When my host brother first told me what we were having I couldn't help but laugh thinking of little pets back in the U.S. The rodents were brought home skinned and gutted from the market. My host grandmother did the rest by cutting the heads off and splitting the bodies down the spine. From there they were battered and fried. Served with the guinea pig was rice, potatoes, and onions doused in lemon juice. To me it tasted like the dark meat of a turkey. We ate them with our hands, but it was hard for me to get much meat off the bones. I personally did not eat the head, but one of the uncles at the table did. I must say that it was a little gross. That said, I did enjoy the meal and will probably have it again sometime.

To say that I have been eating well would be an understatement. If I don't cut down on the food or start to get some more exercise I could very well put on some weight of the wrong type. When I return home I will definitely miss my host grandmother Mamatere if for here hospitality and here wonderful cooking.