Que Rico...

Hello!

I've been spending most of my off time flipping between food network and HGTV. Watching the chefs cook some amazing meals has gotten me energize to cook more. (My hubby likes my new found energy). Its a chance to be creative with types of flavors and seasonings. Growing up the only real spices we used were.....

• Garlic Powder
• Cumin
• Onion Powder
• Lemon-Pepper-- Once in a blue moon.

That was it!! Now as I've gotten older I find myself still using these same staples in all food I cook... 

My topic of the day is watered-down food.... 

What does this mean? Well, the hubs and I eating dinner one night, his fave  meal spaghetti. 

(I grew up eating "American Food" Hamburger, Hotdogs, Spaghetti, and Chinese Food. It was awesome some of my favorite meals my mom cooked were not Mexican dishes. 

PS My mom makes the BEST HAMBURGERS on the PLANET!!! ) 

Well I looked at him and said I am tired of ALWAYS  making YOUR FOOD! I'm going to start cooking MY food too! The only Mexican food I cooked was tacos. I love tacos. They are a quick and simple thing to cook. I was tired of just making tacos, I wanted to make enchiladas, chalupas, fajitas, tacos al cabon, and carne picada, which is one of my faves.) I was always afraid of cooking these foods because I wasn't sure if he would like them. I started off slow with fajitas... HE LOVED THEM! I then introduced enchiladas... He liked those. Over time I started cooking what he liked and what I liked. I was so afraid of cooking things that were very comfortable to me and shared what I grew up eating. 

Its awesome to see that he likes the what I've cooked, or just doesn't have the heart to tell me he hates it.. Whatever the case maybe its a great feeling!! 

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Disconnect

Hello!!

Its been a while since I've blogged. School has been occupying most of my time. Its like I come home only to eat and sleep to be back up and doing it all over again. I love being busy and the hours of driving I'm doing allows me some times to think and reflect on life.


 While I was home, I had an interesting convo with my little brother. He is a 16 years old high school student. He plays football, baseball, and does shot put and discus in track. He is in the marching band and is in the process of learning a second instrument. He is very intelligent and is in all Advanced classes. Can we say.. NERD ALERT!!! 


We had a chance to catch up. The convo started when he told me, "Rosie... I want to move in with you and Will." I then followed up with.. "Why?" He went on to explain to me how he feels different from the family. All they care about is how well he is doing in sports, but when it comes to band or school it really doesn't matter. I told him I know exactly how he felt. I was always a nerdy kid. I'd rather be inside reading a book or watching TV than outside playing sports or in the dirt. I've always prided myself on doing well in academics!! As we were talking I thought WOW maybe this little boy who got on my nerves as a child is more like me than I originally thought!! Maybe I'm not so WEIRD after ALL!!


I felt different around my family this time around. I'm not sure if its because I'm educating myself or its that I'm becoming more aware of my surroundings, since I'm in a Social Work Program. When I first started writing this blog I thought that school was driving a wedge between myself and my family. I still think this has some validity. Could it be rather than just staying in my own cultural box, the more education I  attain the more I broaden my horizons and start embracing other boxes, so eventually I become one HUGE BRIGHTLY COLORED BOX?

Any Thoughts??????  Have you EVER felt a little bright in YOUR family?

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Sacrifices

Hi Everyone,

Its been a long few weeks and this week is SPRING BREAK! WOO HOO!!! I am so excited about having SOME time off and catching up on Ugly Betty. I know the show is cancelled and I am really sad about it. :( As I was watching this show I couldn't help but empathize with what was going on. There is one episode where Betty is so busy doing work stuff and she was "neglecting" her family.
Growing up we were taught that your family comes first before anything else. Since you know your family will be with you through the end! I cherish those teachings, but when is it ok to sacrifice your family to attain things that they may not have been able to? To push yourself so you are can do better than they did. This is a very try to balance.

I miss my family so much and I sacrificed staying home and going to a junior college to move to Georgia to be closer to the love of my life and at the same time doing something for myself, like finishing school. When I was home visiting, I remember saying Good bye to my Uncle and I told him how hard it was to leave. He told me that you had to leave, because had you not you may not have been able to do what you've already done. I'm so grateful to have a fiance who has supported me in everything I have accomplished.


It is so hard to find a happy medium. Your parents push you to become anything you want to be, which may be , if you have to leave home.... and you may have to deal with guilt. This is something that we all may struggle with.

History tells us that Hispanic families tended to stay together for economic reasons. I disagree with this. I think Hispanic families stay close together because we are taught that su familia es primero. I miss my family and know how Betty felt when she had to make the choice to either stay in NY or move to London to pursue her dream.

This was one of the TOUGHEST decisions I have ever had to make.

What do you think about this? Have you ever had to make a sacrifice to pursue your dream?
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OMG I'm marrying a WHITE GUY!

I know the title is not very PC. Many people don't think about what happens if you marry an "outsider" I grew up very culturally diverse (I tried to be at least) and even though historically Hispanics are considered White, doesn't mean we are the same. There are two different cultures. Hispanic versus White. When you combine the two, its Magical.... lets hope! After I met my Will, I was so happy and in love then it HIT ME! OMG!! Our kids are going to be Half White and Half Mexican. I didn't think anything negative, but it was like a realization, they aren't going to be my entire ethnic composition. Please do not think this is a bad thing, because its not. It was just that reality set in. I guess I assumed, before my realization, that our kids would be brown, like me. Well they may end up being a lighter brown closer to White. Not only am I talking about our children's appearance, I am also talking about how we are going to raise them. Lets be honest Will and I were raised quite differently. When you raise children, you tend to incorporate some of what you were taught into raising them.

Chemistry-- Mixing two chemicals may lead to an EXPLOSION!!

I grew up fairly Americanized, aka White, and I didn't think much about Will's skin color when we met. But as we started to grow as a couple, I started to realize that our perspectives on things are very different. Even though I moved away from my family, I told Will I wanted to move closer to them. He kept telling me, well it all depends on where I get a job at. I was adamant about moving home. His view on family is that you leave them and do your own thing. My view is you stay close so you are able to be near them and visit. So that was an explosion. Over time I think he is starting to see where I am coming from. This was one of the most major explosions/realizations I've had about marrying a white guy. I'm sure there are more to come, but for now that's it.

Happy Tuesday!!

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Racism

Yesterday in class we had a group discussion, Public Conversation Project, on Racism. Let me give some background on my class. We all get a long very well. We all have class together though the entire week. The racial make up of my class is 8 Whites, 6 Blacks, 1 Hispanic (Thats ME!). Where I am located in South Georgia, there isn't much of a Hispanic influence. There are not many Hispanics here and I feel the only real exposure people have to Hispanic culture is when they visit their local Mexican or Cuban Restaurants. When I speak about Hispanic culture in class, I feel like I am teaching my classmates something they have never heard about before. Its a very interesting feeling. We were at the curious question portion of the project. My instructor asked me a curious question, she asked "Rosie, I remember when you were speaking you stated you were a Mexican and not a Mexican-American, why is that?"

My reply was, I feel that I have to say I'm a Mexican since the term Hispanic is an generalized term for, Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Mexicans etc. and the term Mexican I use that to specify which subgroup I am under. The reason I don't say I'm Mexican-American because when you start to hyphenate things, people in your subgroup start to think you are turning into a "Gringa" and that you are straying away from your roots." I went on to say that the more generational American you are the more you start blending the two together.

I also discussed the funny looks my fiance (Who is White) and I will get from both Whites and Hispanics. I don't consider us a in interracial couple, but society may. Back in Texas seeing a White and a Hispanic person together is very common. Here in South Georgia, it is a different story.

Tell me what you think about my response? I'd like your opinion and if you have ever been in a situation where you had to be an "Expert" of your own ethnicity?

Thanks!!

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