At Parklands, after getting to know our neighbours, we soon established the tradition of Mexican Mondays. Every week a group of us would go down to Woolies and collect the essential items for a cheap but mouth-watering meal.
For the English out there it is kind of like a wrap but with meat, sour cream, guacamole, salsa sauce, lettuce. tomato, cucumber, jalapenos, and cheese all stuffed into a circle of thin pitta-bread-like bread.
Of course, being students, we would immediately head for the 'reduced meat' section, buy 'homebrand', and generally be as cheap as possible; usually including excluding the guac much to MK's displeasure. After 20 minutes of price comparisons and a stressed Jeremy we would reach the check-out where we would immediately hit the question...who is going to pay this week?...
Buying food at the supermarket may seem an odd topic to write about, but it soon became one of our integral parts of a monday. It was expected. I would often walk back after class and hear a 'turn around Rose' before I even saw the gang (Matt, Ben, Jeremy & Dean) making their way to Woolies. It is our 'Family Dinner'.
Gradually, our tradition became larger and more and more people began to join. If any outsider wandered into Flat 9 7.00 on a monday they would come across a large group of teenagers/twenty somethings immersed in heaven. Our last had at least 20 people.
We became so organised with this tradition that we all knew our roles as soon as we returned from shopping. Matt and Ben would chop the veggies, Jeremy and I would cook the meat and Dean would suddenly have something very important he had to immediately attend to.
With burritos came banter and other traditions. Dean would tell his depressing stories, Jeremy would play his guitar and MK would wander in at 8.00 every monday and exclaim 'I didn't know we were having mexican tonight!' when we had it every monday without fail. There was also the debate on 'how to fold a burrito properly'. My method obviously did not work..I'm positive the rest of the group would wait, watch and laugh as my burrito slowly fell apart in my hands.
From now on, I look forward to every monday evening. I will take the tradition back home and establish it at my home uni whether my new flatmates like it or not. I don't know how any of us will cope without it..we will suffer withdrawal symptoms; particularly as this meal provides, for most of us, our weekly intake of vegetables, minerals and any inkling of food with nutritious value.
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