Do you like trying new foods? What about cooking and learning how different dishes are made? The special touches that each person puts into cooking are details that I find really interesting. In Guatemala, food and sharing food are extremely integral to the culture. When you pass people who are eating, for example, in a comedor (a small restaurant with a few daily dishes) or a restaurant, or when you get up from the table, you always say “buen provecho,” which is basically means that you've enjoyed your meal, or that you're giving thanks for sharing the meal. During meals with my first familia anfitriona (host family), my host mom took a lot of pride in her cooking, and so I would always emphasize how delicious it was by saying, "que rico" ("how delicious"). I would also make sure to thank her for the food several times throughout the meal. I could tell this was important to her, because the few times I was tired or distracted and forgot to include a que rico, I was asked if I liked the food. Oops! It is important to express gratitude for food as well as not to waste food.
