March 20 - Food is often tied to memory and emotion. Describe a meaningful memory connected to a meal or dish. Analyze how that experience shaped your understanding of family, culture, or belonging.

Response: A memory of mine that is tied to a meal or dish is when I got my tonsils taken out in the summer of 2024. I was around 3 days into my recovery from the surgery, and I could barely eat anything. The skin of the back of my throat was peeling and very sensitive, so eating anything too hard or too hot/cold caused unbearable pain. Even drinking water would cause severe pain. My mom and I kept brainstorming what I could eat that was soft, warm (not hot), and nutritional so I could finally get some food in my stomach. Eventually, I told my mom that all I wanted for the next week was sancocho. Sancocho is basically white rice over roasted beef, corn, potatoes, and sometimes chicken. My mom cooked the biggest pot of sancocho I had ever seen in my life, and it luckily heats up very easily in the microwave without going bad. I must have had sancocho for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for almost an entire week and I didn't even get sick of it! My throat was hurting so bad during this time, and the sancocho served as a reminder that I would one day eat normal food again. I think around a week after this I begged my mom for a burger from Five Guys (it's my favorite) and even though my throat hurt still, I was grateful I could taste a burger again after just rice and beef for a week. The only thing I could do during this time was watch TV and sometimes play video games with my friends, so I don't remember much from this period of my life. However, the one thing that always stands out to me when I look back at this summer is the sancocho my mom made for me.

Summary: Today, we looked at certain food from our cultures.

Reflection: Food has so many symbolic meanings that bring out emotions from moments in our life. It serves as an important part of our culture that no one can replicate.

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