Puerto Rico

Lorna taught the class a lot about Puerto Rico last Thursday. Puerto Rico is a small country that is very welcoming to tourists. Her favorite part about the country is the people. She said that people usually are out in the streets and are very friendly. When she visits, she usually visits El Viejo San Juan to hang out with friends, eat, and drink. It is one of the major hang out spot. In January, there is las fiestas de la calle San Sebastian which is a huge party and is similar to parties on 6th street. There is music, arts and crafts that people can buy, lots of food, and people hanging out outside. The most popular music in Puerto Rico today is Reggaeton. The annual income is significantly less than the United States and is around $30,000. Even though the income is less, the cost of living is expensive since Puerto Rico is small and many of the prices are equal to the United States. Politics is a major issue in Puerto Rico. Everything is politics and everywhere you go you will her people talking about the subject, at family meetings, parties, and even in the streets. Some of the people think that Puerto Rico should become its own country while other people think things should stay the way they are. Basically, there are two groups of people based on their incomes. Poor people think there are many opportunities in the United States while the rich do not want to be tied to the United States. Some people however have a certain viewpoint even though they do not know the economic effects this would have on the country.

Puerta Rico and Lorna

It was so interesting to hear Lorna talk about Puerta Rico. She gave a ton of cool information. She is 28 years old and came to the United States when she was 24. First she went to Philly to study. Her favorite food from Puerta Rico is called monfongo. She said it is a delicious dish made with plantanes. She loves to go to the beach and to go to Old San Juan which is a fun downtown area where a lot of young people go to party. She loves las fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian which is a celebration in San Juan every year. One of her least favorite things about Puerta Rico is politics. Everyone has strong opinions on the politics especially regarding the United States. Some people hate the United States and some love the United States and want Puerta Rico to become a state. Lorna's father si part of a political party that wants Puerta Rico to be a state. One of her favorite things is the people. She describes them as friendly, warm, and welcoming. Overall I learned a lot about the culture of Puerta Rico and the different political opinions that people have there.

Please Don't Stop the Music

I find the compatriotism among the people from Spanish speaking countries to be extraordinary.

When the substitute was speaking about things people in Puerto Rico do during their leisure time, she mentioned that if you were friendly with and knew the locals, you could get all the $1.25 beers that you could handle. While this price, compared to a Thursday night on 6th, is not that amazing, the fact that there is such a genuine allegiance to one another in Puerto Rico is extremely amazing.

Also, in another classic example of public spirit, someone in class once mentioned remembering having seen a sign that read, "Watermelons: $5" and then right next to it seeing a sign that read, "Sandía: $2".

To me this is fascinating and to put it all in perspective, I wanted to see how Americans reacted to such remarkable patriotism.

With my newfound knowledge of this secret Puerto Rican brotherhood and with hopes of potentially scoring some sweet deals, I attempted to find a similar American brotherhood at one of the local Austin area stores.

Complete with my favorite "I wasn't earned to be burned" trucker hat and a bald eagle T-shirt, I headed to my local Best Buy and struck up an amazingly engaging conversation with the salesman.

For what seemed like hours, we talked about things like The Statue of Liberty, supporting our troops, George Washington, those little American flags, big American flags, Mount Rushmore, yankees, The Yankees and Thomas Jefferson.

Ultimately, the salesman informed me that despite the fact that I spoke fluent English and knew the locals, a PS3 was still $400, and I walked away empty handed.

I think the lesson here is that Americans aren't nearly as friendly as Puerto Ricans.

bananas and plantains and mofongos!

When Lorna told us that her favorite food was mofongos, I was initially unphased because I didn't know what the word meant. After she explained how the dish was made, I was actually stunned! Fried bananas mashed with chicken and seasonings did not sound appetizing to me. I decided to research the food item to try and gain a little more insight on why this was so popular in Puerto Rico. I first learned that mofongos are made with plantains, not bananas, which are actually different. In North America and Europe, the word "banana" is typically used to describe plantains but this is not accurate. The traditional plantains, popular in South and Central America, are like unripe, smaller, and less sweet bananas. This seemed much more complementary to chicken and seasonings. The mofongos are very popular in Puerto Rico and also the Dominican Republic. While researching this food item I also learned that in South and Central America plantains are also commonly used in other snacks like plantain chips. I read that these fried plantains taste starchy and are typically salted like potato chips. It was then that I realized I've actually had these plantain chips! I ate them at restaurant in Houston and I was mistakenly told that they were banana chips (proof that plantains are commonly mistaken for bananas). They were served with salsa and were very delicious! Now, that I've learned all about plantains and I've even tried some; I'm very anxious to try Lorna's favorite-- mofongos!

Lorna and Puerto Rico

Lorna was a great substitute.  At first she was a bit intimidating because she spoke a different Spanish dialect than we were used to.  She pronounced her "L's" almost as "J's" and it took a little while to get used to her accent.  This could be a characteristic of Puerto Rican dialect.

About Lorna:

She is 28 years old.  She lived in PR until she was 24.  She is married to another Puerto Rican.  She moved to Philedelphia for school.  She likes "Mofongo" which is a fried green banana-like desert.  

One of her favorite things to do when she visits PR is to go to the beach (which is only 20 minutes away).  She also likes to watch TV at her parents house because they have full cable :).  She discussed "El Viejo San Juan" which she compared to the "6th street scene."  Her favorite thing about that place is that they have $1.25 beers.  She thinks places like Senor Frogs rips off tourists because they charge $4 for beer.  

She loves the peope and the culture in PR.  She said that people are very welcoming and she likes that they kiss when they see each other.  

Her father is very into politics but like a lot of Puerto Ricans he doesn't really have a reason behind his political beliefs.  She would prefer the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States to be more fair and that the money should be more equal.  

She said that people don't make a lot of money in Puerto Rico and THEY DO PAY TAXES.  Middle class Puerto Ricans make about $30,000. 

Because it is an island- LAND is limited, and therefore VERY expensive!!!

The most popular music is Underground-Reagaeton.

I asked her about people walking around in Puerto Rico and she said that everything is kind of spread out and you have to drive everywhere.  

The end! :)

Puerto Rico

I realized something when Lorna was telling us about Puerto Rico on Friday. Unlike the Hispanic environment that I grew up in and am used to, Puerto Ricans are constantly engaged in talking about politics. Where I grew up, politics was talked about in hushed tones as if it was offensive. But in Puerto Rico, people talk about politics all the time. They talk about it on the street, in their house, among family members. Maybe because in the valley (where I'm from) there isn't a really big locally political problem such as trying to gain independence or not. I was just astounded at this aspect of Hispanic culture.
That's really the only difference I could deduce from Lorna's speech. Other than that, my family is also very hospitable and welcoming to others.

Plantain ◊ Plátanos Maduros ◊ Tajadas ◊ Tostones ◊ Patacones ◊ Tachinos ◊ Yo-yo ◊ Chifles ◊ Mofongo ◊ Alcapurria ◊ Mangú ◊ Ipekere ◊ Dodo ◊ Boli

So, what are these Plaintain thingies? Did you know bannanas are types of plantains? Well, when asked her favorite food Lori definately mentioned them and since 90% of the class was clueless I thought it would be cool to dive into the world of "plantains."

Plantain is actually used in many parts of the world. Florida, the Carribean, Central and South American countries like Peru, Puerto Rico, Columbia and Brazil and even African countries like Egypt and Nigeria (thats how I know about it). It can be cooked (like Lori talked about) or eaten raw, like when we eat bananas. And as shown by the title, each place calls the way they cook their plantain something different.

In the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico mashed baked or fried plantain is mixed with garlic and pork, chicken, shrimp, or beef. The mixture is then made into balls and eaten worm with broth. Plantain is eaten in other places in South America also. For example, plátanos is eaten in ecuador, colombia, honduras, and venezuela. It is made by removing the skin, fried, and adding salt.

In Nigeria, plantain can be made into dodo or with the yoruba's call Ipekere. The Yoruba people are one of the major tribes in Nigeria. I myself am Igbo so we just eat dodo or plantain. We slice the plantain diagnolly into large oval slices and fry them in oil. Sometimes we bake the plantain instead of fry it and cut it into pieces about 1/4 the size of corn on the cob and eat it with a stew. Apparently another type of plantain dish is Boli, but I have never heard of it.

A popular treat of not only Lori, but MANY countries including puerto rico, nigeria, and jamaica are the plantain chips or banana chips. They are basically fried in its starchy unripened form until it is as hard as chips. It TASTES real good. But some people don't like it, because they are not used to unAmerican food. But thats OK, because I like anways.