It’s a
lovely Friday evening once more and I’m off again to my study site. The skies
are grey and it seems that there is a high possibility of getting some rain. The
temperature is also slightly lower today than throughout the week; I guess the
fall is only a stone’s throw away. The traffic is bustling as usual and upon
reaching my study site I observed a very busy drive thru with about six cars.
Upon my
entry three guys and a little baby girls were seated at one of the tables in
the center of the restaurant. The three guys whom I will refer to as the “three
musketeers” are of Hispanic descent and all seem to be in their late thirty’s.
Along with them was a little girl who I’ll call “La nena” probably about two
years old.
I walk up to
the counter and ‘Wayne the waiter’ greets me. My order for tonight was the
famous enchilada with a tamarind drink. It’s been a while since I had it and I’ve
never tried New Mexican enchilada before. Wayne quickly calculates my bill
which added up to $8.50 and I hand him my credit card. He noticed that it was
an international card from the only English speaking country in Central America
and he quickly inquired if I speak Spanish. My countries official language is English
but Spanish is also a widely spoken language due to a high population of Mestizo.
I then replied to him “por su puesto” which means of course I do. He was all
excited and told me that he had met a couple of my country men here before and
they also spoke Spanish. He would then speak Spanish to me for the remainder of
the night which I found awesome because I haven’t been able to practice my Spanish
out here from my arrival in January.
As he pours
my Tamarind I could hear the cook’s kitchen utensils in full effect. Wayne then
passes me my drink and I find a table for myself in a corner of the building so
as to have a good vantage point. The television was showing a Mexican league
football game. The three musketeers were all consumed by this game and would occasionally
cheer and get excited when there is a highlight or a goal.
Wayne then
calls me to the counter for my Enchilada plate. My food was fresh and really
hot. There was the regular rice which was light orange in color and beans with
shredded cheese on top. This seems signature
to all Hispanic based plates because I’ve been served this same combination in
about three different restaurants. The Enchilada itself was a filled with chicken
and doused with a red sauce that I have never tasted before. The plate was very
delicious I must say.
The door
opens once more and I could hear ‘la nena’ shout “hi mommy”. It was the wife of
one of the three musketeers. She came in and had a seat with them. They were
all conversing in Spanish. I observed that when they men were speaking they
habitually refer to each other as ‘wey’ which from the context it is used in
means ‘bro’ or dude. They left like ten minutes after la nena’s mom came; so it
seems like she just came to pick them up.
Nobody came in after the above mentioned group
of people left. I then finished my enchilada plate and emptied the trey. Wayne
the waiter then said “gracias y hasta luego” which means “thanks for coming and
so long”. I then replied “gracias tambien, y la comida esta muy calidad” which
means “thank you too and the food was really good.”
With a
satisfied stomach I stepped out into the slightly cool night and started my journey
back to the apartment.
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