ENGLISH
The Aroma
That Makes
My Day!
level
VOCAB
by
Lupe
Orozco
I
can still smell the delicious aroma
of the coffee my mother used
to prepare every morning in my
hometown as if it were yesterday.
Since I came to the United States,
I have missed her and that original tradition she has. Everyday of
my life, for the past 10 years, as
soon as I wake up, I breath deeply
and close my eyes trying to transport myself, at least for 5 minutes,
to my place in Quito, Ecuador,
to enjoy in my imagination her
breakfast and the love my mother
expresses to her loved ones in that
way.
The single house my father owns
is located in the city, the capital,
where there are a lot of convenience stores, which make it easier
for people to buy the ingredients
to fix a good breakfast. My mother favorite’s store is “Mama Chana’s Store.” Most people in the
neighborhood love going there
because Mama Chana’s personality attracts customers like “the
honey caught the eye of a bear.”
Mama Chana is a small person. I
guess 4’5” She is large and chubby
(170 pounds maybe). I haven’t
asked about her weight or height.
54
I am just guessing. She treats every
customer as if they were really
family. A hug or a kiss is part of
the ritual to welcome a customer,
as well as some small snack for
starters.Then she is ready to help
anyone.
My mother, Carmen, goes there
every morning to buy fresh milk,
bread, and cheese. The routine
starts 6:30 AM. In her pajamas,
she walks about a block to get
Mama Chanas’ store. In my family as well as in most Ecuadorian
families, it is a tradition to buy
fresh products to fix meals for
loved ones. Besides, Quito is an
area surrounded by farms that
provide those products every day
to the local stores.
Back in the kitchen, my loving
mother, always willing to do whatever it takes to make her family
happy, starts to prepare breakfast. She uses Colombian coffee,
because for her that has the best
aroma and taste. She buys it at
the Supermarket, one of those big
chain stores like Giant here.
IN OUR OWN WORDS
Carmita, as I call her, does not like
technology, or maybe she does
not how to use it. There are coffee making machines that people
can buy, but she uses a manual
filter that my grandmother gave
to her for Christmas a long time
ago. She thinks that this special
filter keeps the taste and flavor of
the coffee better that any coffee machine. I believe she is right,
because by the time she makes
breakfast the small house smell