How the Family Runs
I have been here for one month. Last night I went to the Carbonería, then to Orsini – an italian restaurant for pasta, met Cristina and Carlos (two Spanish friends) and two American friends in a bar in La Plaza de la Encarnación, and then stopped at the Capote bar on the way home, its an open air bar on the river that closes for the winter in two weeks. Today I am just resting, doing homework and drinking lots of water to get ready for the 12 k run (La Carrera Nocturna) tonight.
Here's some of what goes on in our daily life at home:
Dish washing duty is shared, there are a lot of dishes and they are stored in the dishwasher, the counter, a rack on the wall, and a cabinet in the dining room. The floors are mopped several times a week, rotating responsibility. The dogs are often feed scraps of meat at the table. Sometimes leftover meat or pasta goes into their food bowl – we have no electric garbage disposal. The radios in the kitchen and bathroom are often on in the morning, we make our own breakfast and eat in the dinning room. I read whatever paper is around. There are usually only one or two other people around when I wake up and get breakfast. Breakfast is toast with olive oil, margerine, or liver paté. Or an egg omelette bocadillo. There’s also little cookies and prepackeged pastries, milk from a little box carton and colacao (dry chocolate milk mix). This is the typical spanish breakfast, small and simple. A bag of bread is delivered to the front door every morning, around 7 am on weekdays and 8 or 9 on weekends. Two huge cartons holding several dozen brown eggs are delivered a couple times a week. The shelves on the door of the refrigerator are full of eggs.
Alicia, the mom, shops for lunch every morning, usually coming home with meat, potatoes, pasta, fruit, vegetables, a two liter bottle of fanta or coke, more bread and sometimes a treat like cookies, yogurt or ice cream. Every once in a while she buys certain food in bulk - milk in huge boxes full of little 1 liter milk cartons, several kilos of potatoes, onions, garlic, liters and liters of olive oil and sunflower seed oil, and lots of frozen french fries. She starts cooking around 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon, sometimes she starts soaking vegetables or preparing a soup in the morning. One or two of the older kids help her cook in the kitchen. The kids set the table. We go through lots of plates and silverware every day. Soup bowls have to be placed on top of another plate. Glasses of milk at breakfast or coffee (or hot chocolate for the little kids) after lunch are served on small plates. You use one plate, the one under your soup bowl for the first course and the second course is served on another plate. Dessert is usually fruit (lots of pears, plums, apples, kiwis and melon) and is followed by hot chocolate or coffee while sitting around the table chatting or watching tv in the living room (with the air conditioning on if its hot). Dessert, even if its an apple, is served on a small plate with a sharp knife and a fork to skin, slice and eat it. So 12 people x 2 large plates + 12 x 2 small plates + 12 x 3 pieces of silverware + 12 coffee mugs + 12 glasses for soda and water = 48 plates, 36 pieces of silverware, 24 cups and several pots, pans and serving platters to clean after the average lunch. The dirty dishes do not all fit in the sink.
Laundry is done on the fourth floor. The fourth floor is full of clothes. There is a big bookshelf in the hallway on the third floor that is full of dozens of pairs of shoes. There are lots of books and videos everywhere. The father’s study on the first floor has three desks so that he can work and help several of the younger kids with their homework. I often hear them quizing each other in french or english and working through math problems.
Here's some of what goes on in our daily life at home:
Dish washing duty is shared, there are a lot of dishes and they are stored in the dishwasher, the counter, a rack on the wall, and a cabinet in the dining room. The floors are mopped several times a week, rotating responsibility. The dogs are often feed scraps of meat at the table. Sometimes leftover meat or pasta goes into their food bowl – we have no electric garbage disposal. The radios in the kitchen and bathroom are often on in the morning, we make our own breakfast and eat in the dinning room. I read whatever paper is around. There are usually only one or two other people around when I wake up and get breakfast. Breakfast is toast with olive oil, margerine, or liver paté. Or an egg omelette bocadillo. There’s also little cookies and prepackeged pastries, milk from a little box carton and colacao (dry chocolate milk mix). This is the typical spanish breakfast, small and simple. A bag of bread is delivered to the front door every morning, around 7 am on weekdays and 8 or 9 on weekends. Two huge cartons holding several dozen brown eggs are delivered a couple times a week. The shelves on the door of the refrigerator are full of eggs.
Alicia, the mom, shops for lunch every morning, usually coming home with meat, potatoes, pasta, fruit, vegetables, a two liter bottle of fanta or coke, more bread and sometimes a treat like cookies, yogurt or ice cream. Every once in a while she buys certain food in bulk - milk in huge boxes full of little 1 liter milk cartons, several kilos of potatoes, onions, garlic, liters and liters of olive oil and sunflower seed oil, and lots of frozen french fries. She starts cooking around 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon, sometimes she starts soaking vegetables or preparing a soup in the morning. One or two of the older kids help her cook in the kitchen. The kids set the table. We go through lots of plates and silverware every day. Soup bowls have to be placed on top of another plate. Glasses of milk at breakfast or coffee (or hot chocolate for the little kids) after lunch are served on small plates. You use one plate, the one under your soup bowl for the first course and the second course is served on another plate. Dessert is usually fruit (lots of pears, plums, apples, kiwis and melon) and is followed by hot chocolate or coffee while sitting around the table chatting or watching tv in the living room (with the air conditioning on if its hot). Dessert, even if its an apple, is served on a small plate with a sharp knife and a fork to skin, slice and eat it. So 12 people x 2 large plates + 12 x 2 small plates + 12 x 3 pieces of silverware + 12 coffee mugs + 12 glasses for soda and water = 48 plates, 36 pieces of silverware, 24 cups and several pots, pans and serving platters to clean after the average lunch. The dirty dishes do not all fit in the sink.
Laundry is done on the fourth floor. The fourth floor is full of clothes. There is a big bookshelf in the hallway on the third floor that is full of dozens of pairs of shoes. There are lots of books and videos everywhere. The father’s study on the first floor has three desks so that he can work and help several of the younger kids with their homework. I often hear them quizing each other in french or english and working through math problems.
posted by Sam at
6:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home