Engordar (to fatten)

Yes... estoy engordando. We were warned plenty of times- the boys will lose and the girls will gain, but I thought ¨Oh no... not me.¨ But sure enough I have. I probably haven´t gained much more than three pounds, but on me you can definiely notice it. Because of instead of nicely dispersing itself throughout my body and giving me some, oh I don´t know...curves, it has decided to concentrate it´s self solely on my belly. It would be a cute belly if I were three months pregnant, but I can assure you I am not. Instead it is just freakin´me out! I know most of you are rolling your eyes and saying ¨yeah... your really getting fat there Allison¨ and there are probably others with a self satisfied grin saying ¨Ah hah! I knew it would catch up with you sooner or later!¨

It all started during tech week. When we were eating out for every meal and I had an unsatiable appetite. Really, it was rediculous. I was hungry all the time! By the end of the week I was eating two plates of fried chicken and french fries for dinner and everyone was joking ¨Ut oh... Allison´s tape worm is getting angry. We better feed it.¨ I probably gained a few pounds just during that week. But by the time swear in rolled around I was back to eating the regimented light breakfast, soup for lunch and some kind of meat/ rice combination for dinner. I got back more or less to normal. But ever since swear it´s been down hill. Eating out in Tarija, going crazy buying groceries. Now that I´m finally able to make my own food I definitely go overboard eating three times as much as a normal person would, just because I can. And the street food is so tempting! Everything is fried -fried empanadas, fried beef and egg and papas in a lomito, fried dough with queso and powdered sugar (so delicious!), fried hamburgers and hotdogs. Then there´s the pastries everyone is selling. And it´s all so cheap! 50 centavos here a Boliviano there (which is the equivalent of 12.5 cents) You have to get at least two! And then there´s the fact that soda is really the only thing sold in restaurants. The fruit refrescos don´t really seem to be too popular down here in Bermejo. And by the way, people don´t drink water in Bolivia. I have yet to see any Bolivian drink a glass of water. I think foriegners are solely keeping the bottled water industry alive.

My eating habits have changed so much since coming to Bolivia. Soda?! I hardly ever drank soda. Only at fast food places. And all this fried food! And seriously, I have eaten more french fries and bolied potatoes in the last few months than I have in my entire life. And I´ve started eating beef again. I haven´t eaten it for over seven years. But I´m in the land of beef and wine and I´ve got to try it right? I was never much of a fan of it before, but I have been converted. It´s so good! But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone tells me that I will get over the fried street food phase. And the food here is at least prepared from fresh ingredients. It´s not the packaged crap you find in the states. And I am eating a lot more fruits and veggies than I normally would. So it´s not all bad. I just have to learn not to eat so damn much! ;)