La Comida

Bolivians really like food - they take a lot of pride in it, and they seem to eat all day long.  Even at the orphanage, where the food isn't exactly gourmet, we eat every few hours.  The girls have breakfast before I get there, but around 10:00 every morning, we stop to have a morning snack.  Usually, it's exactly what's shown on the left: tea and a roll that looks like a hamburger bun. 

Lunch is around 12:00 for the older girls and 1:00 for the younger girls.  It's the biggest meal of the day, and usually includes a few different parts - a salad and plate of rice, potatoes, and meat, for example, or a bowl of vegetable soup followed by a bowl of lentils.  The picture on the right is pretty standard - a cucumber and tomato salad with rice and a potato, meat, and vegetable stew.  I have never had a meal there that did not include potatoes, and often they make more than appearance (such as in the soup and then boiled with the main plate).  There is also always a dessert, usually a slice of pineapple, half a banana, or an orange, but sometimes a little cup of pudding or Jello.

Then, around 4:00, we have an afternoon snack - usually another roll with a hot drink (Bolivians also love carbs).  Sometimes the drinks are things I recognize, like hot chocolate or tea, and sometimes they are more unique.  We had arroz con leche one day - a little bit of rice boiled with cinnamon and cloves, with sugar and powdered milk mixed in.  (That's a picture of it to the left).  It was a little strange to be drinking rice, but it was creamy and sweet and good!  We've also had similar drinks, made with all of the same ingredients but with oatmeal or groud corn instead of the rice.

I've been making dinner on my own, but from what I can tell, most Bolivians don't eat much for that meal.  (Lunch is a bigger meal, plus they do snack a lot.)  I think at the orphanage, they usually have a little soup, and other people have told me they usually just have a roll with some cheese or something light like that.