Early in the morning we would leave. Before twelve o’clock was the deal, so we could get a space with barbecue. Therefore, my boyfriend and I finished packing quickly and drove to the house where we would meet our family. When we arrived, it was very quiet at the house, it was only the two of us who had arrived. “I told you we could take it easy”, was my boyfriend’s reaction. This was only the third time that I experienced something like this and I still had in mind that we HAD TO be on time. How Dutch! No, we hadn’t, as I know know. We left three hours later, a couple of cars filled with family members, towards el campo.
The Mexican concept of time was something that I had to get used to. Now I am so used to it that it causes me difficulties when I visit my country of birth (The Netherlands). Time is something fluid flexible, except for business meetings. The evening before the day we went to the countryside we arranged to meet early in the morning. And today everyone was here, though some hours later. In The Netherlands it will hardly be possible to gather a whole family over a night!
When we finally arrived there was one free spot waiting for us, on the edge of a lake. There was a table and a concrete bench and of course: a barbecue! In Mexico a barbecue is called una carna asada, don’t mix this up with barbacoa (which sounds more like barbecue and in some Spanish speaking countries is used for barbecue, but not in Mexico). Barbacoa is a typical Mexican dish that has nothing to do with a barbecue.
Besides my first barbecue experience in Mexico, this was an experience I will never forget. It was great to observe what is going on at el campo and to be part of a Mexican family. I really enjoyed it! Having a barbecue is also a different concept here as it is in the Netherlands. Meat, vegetables and fruit are all placed next to each other. My bits of food were placed aside because of the hot salsas that they would put on theirs, and to which I am still not fully used. The barbecue food was completed with rice, tortillas and salads. Mmm!
At the end of the day we drove back to the city, where we divided the left-overs and everyone headed back home. Are you already feeling like trying a carne asada?
© 2016 by Debbie Vorachen – Ahorita YA. All rights reserved. Photos © 2016 by Debbie Vorachen – Ahorita YA. All rights reserved.
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