Colombian Food Research Paper

Personal Reflection 2
Maya Nassif

Day 1:

Presentation 1: The first and only presentation on day one was the presentation on traditional Colombian food. I enjoyed this presentation because the food was delicious and also provided an insight on Colombian culture. I have actually tried some of the food they presented to us before: arepas, tamales, and arroz con pollo. I remember trying them at a traditional Colombian restaurant, and the food given to us at the presentation was just as good, if not better. One similarity I found between Colombian food and American food was the etiquette we were taught. Putting your elbows on the table is impolite, and one must wait for the host to say “buen provecho” to start their meal. I found it interesting
that there were many similarities between Colombian food and Arabic food. I have been eating traditional Arabic food since I was young, and on a daily basis. Colombian food typically incorporates saffron and other spices, which is similar to Arabic food. Many dishes become less “plain”, if you will, when spices are added. Arabic food also incorporates a lot of rice in customary dishes, just like the Colombians, so eating the food reminded me of the food I eat at home. I also enjoyed the process of making the coffee, and it actually tasted better than I thought. I expected it to taste extremely strong because I put too much of the coffee into my cup, but when I balanced it out with the water in the sugar it tasted great. Colombian food included of vegetables also, and a lot of dishes could be altered based on region. A concept that was shocking to me is that many Colombians go home for lunch, and that lunch is the most important meal. Leaving for lunch is called a “siesta”. I could not imagine dropping everything I was doing to take a break for lunch, because often times at school I either skip lunch or eat a small snack.

Day 2:
Presentation 2:
The first and only presentation on this day was about Colombian festivals and holidays.
The group informed the class about religious holidays first. They spoke about Assumption Day, Day of the Little Candles, Immaculate Conception Day, Christmas, and Holiday of the Innocents. The one I enjoyed hearing about eh most was the Day of the Little candles, one of the most observed traditional holidays in Colombia. I found this holiday quite beautiful based on the pictures the group showed us. The streets were lined with lanterns, with the intention of creating a path for the Virgin Mary. The group also talked about the three major civic holidays: national Independence Day, Independence of Cartagena, and the Festival of the Blacks and Whites. The Black and Whites’ Carnival was shocking to me. In America, promoting “black face” is considered extremely racist and inappropriate. In my mind, when the group spoke about this carnival inappropriate was what my mind first concluded to, but as the group continued to speak I found it quite beautiful and special that a country is able to celebrate difference races in a happy and unique way. The group also spoke about New Year’s traditions and superstitions. I found the superstitions aspect quite interesting because I thought that America was one of the few societies that believed in superstitions. I found it funny that wearing yellow underwear to bring good luck during the New Year was a common idea. This reminded me of the concept of wearing
your underwear inside out in hopes of a snow day. I also loved that the group allowed us to participate in the tradition of eating twelve grapes to bring good luck. This was much harder than I expected, and was quite entreating to watch other students struggle in stuffing their face with grapes. Overall, I think this presentation gave me insight on what to expect in the novel because it helps me understand what is important to Colombians.

Day 3:

Presentation 3:

The first presentation on Thursday was my group’s presentation. We decided to change our concept a little bit from our Ibo presentation in the sense that we each decided to present on one dance. I think this idea proved better in regards to preparation because we did not all have to be together to make sure none of our information overlapped. Our group also had a secret weapon, Laura; who already knew a lot of information and her mom came in handy when we had cultural questions that we weren’t able to find answers to on the Internet. We created a Google document and presentation, which was beneficial for us again because we were all able to work on the project at the same time. During the presentation there were definitely a few “ums” and “likes”, but I think overall the presentation went smoothly and the dance we taught this time looked even better than our last one. We cooperated well together and all of our strengths combined made for a great presentation.

Presentation 4:

The second group that presented was the presentation on Colombian marriage.
I was shocked that there were a lot of similarities between the marriage presented and traditional Catholic marriage. There were many situations that were similar like the candle ceremony, the throwing of the shoe, which could be compared to throwing a bouquet, and getting the father’s blessing. I found this significant because it proved to me that even though Colombia is on another continent, their traditions are similar to American traditions in many ways. I also thought what made the presentation interesting was the Riya and Brian got married, and both played the characters of the bride and groom perfectly. Overall, I think this presentation will affect my reading of the novel because it has given me insight on what Colombian’s value in terms of family and
culture.