Fish Soup

I grew up in Ecuador, a small country in South America bordered by Colombia and Peru. I lived in the coast of the country in a city called Manta. Manta is one of the main seaports in the country. Fishing is a major and most common occupation in the city so that meant that we could have fresh fish or any other sea creature on the table for lunch, dinner or even breakfast.

My parents love to exercise and they are very active, since the beach was only ten minutes away from our house, they liked to go there for a walk in the mornings before they went to work. On Sundays they would take me and my sister and after we were done, we would go to this place only a few minutes away from the beach where fishermen sold what they caught in their nests earlier. That was the place where you could find any type of fish that habituates the waters of that area of the Pacific Ocean.

My mother loves cooking and she also loves fish. On the other hand, I do not like seafood at all, specially fish. Every week, she used to cook fish soup, ceviche or other meals that included fish. My sister and I would hate it, especially the fish soup, we couldn’t stand it. We did not have other option than to eat it every Sunday which was the day when mom used to cook it. So I remember that my mother would sit with us in the dinner table and wait until we eat it. Sometimes it took hours but she would have the patience to stare at us until we finish the last spoon of it.    

After several months of eating it every Sunday, my sister and I ended up liking it. Nowadays, I miss it because it reminds me of my childhood and those long walks at the beach Sunday mornings.