I guess technically what we server is not a taco, but a flour tortilla. Yet one of my earliest memories of eating something akin to Mexican food was eating flour tortillas at a restaurant when I was in Junior High School. At that time, we could have ordered the hard corn shell tacos, but we often ordered the wheat tortillas or ‘soft’ tacos, because they tasted just as good and they were less messy.

We’ve been hosting a Tacos Party for years and years now, and I’ve been making flour tortillas for even longer. Not all of our students choose to participate, but we always have students who enjoy coming to the party to enjoy making and eating tacos.

One of the things I like to do is to open up students’ minds to new possibilities in life. The Tacos Party fits in with that idea, as it lets students enjoy food that is very rarely seen or eaten here in Japan. I also enjoy letting the students making the tacos. Having fun making food leads I think to a future of doing cooking for oneself instead of eating pre-prepared foods. The children never say, “I can’t do that.” In fact, those students who’ve come to these parties for a few years usually become quite adept at preparing the tortillas.

Students at today’s party ranged in ages from 3 to 11. The taco fillings included meat, vegetables and cheese. Some of the fillings were spicy while others were not. Most students were very open to experimenting with the different foods and I think most of them left with their bellies happy and full (others left being only happy).

Before we knew it, the party was over and it was time to go. Slowly the students said their goodbyes and left our home. There was a bit of cleaning to do, but it wasn’t difficult. We also had a few tortillas left over, so for our dinner we could once more enjoy tacos and reminisce about the days events. Tummies are happy. Isn’t that a nice way to end the day?