Gaerlan, Shalom Christian A.

11045310
Tasting Words

Summary
What would you have to do to no longer feel hunger? What would you have to do to
abate your mothers anger and to be loved by her? What would you do have a taste of happiness?
These are just some questions that twelve-year-old Nenita ponders on, as the readers are
introduced to her in the beginning of the story. Nenita, the eldest among her five siblings, and
with another on the way, tasks herself to provide for her family by becoming a working girl.
Also, with her father losing his job and being unable to find a new one, she is much more
pressured to be able to find a way to lay food on their table, not only to feed her family but to
also gain her mothers love. So strong is Nenitas desire that she decides to stop going to school
on its last month and instead becomes a maid in the household of the Valenzuelas. As she
begins to be able to provide for her family, and by taking the title of breadwinner, changes
began to happen in their family. Nining, as she is called when adored or loved, taking on the
matriarchal role, begins to have a better understanding for her mother, for the unwavering anger
which stems from her inability to provide. Not everything though is as sweet as honey as tragic
events occur in Nenitas barrio which as well causes unexpected but profound changes that
which as well mirrors the changes within Nenita. As the story comes to an end, after the summer
heat was erased by the monsoon, after Agualita was laid into a shoebox, and after Nenita asked
for forgiveness, Nenitas fate took on another change, one that will take her farther from her
home than she would expect. As all these events occur in her twelfth summer, Nenita provides
the readers a taste of her barrio, its people, and their own culture through her mature sense of
perception and knowledge of food.

Character
Nenitas childhood is a reflection of many social issues, of events that may happen in a
persons life and of the love of food that many can relate to. In Nenitas life, the readers see the
inevitable power of change, of its ability to create, transform and even destroy. It is also a
reflection of the sad reality of poverty and of hunger, of what it can drive people to do. Lastly, it
is a depiction of a girl, of a child, hungry for good food, for maternal love, for her happiness.
For a twelve-year-old, Nenita has a sense of maturity beyond her age. Despite being a
child, with simple desires as eating a Turon, she takes upon the role of a provider for her
impoverished family. She does this so by finding ways of having not just food, but good food.
Nenita would concoct dishes by transforming ordinary delicacies, like the unwanted cod, into
something unexpected, with the use of a Kalamansi and a Hibiscus. Here the readers see as well
Nenitas love and knowledge of food, by her use of something as she said you cant eat, but that
feed you anyway. To Nenita cooking good food, will be good food for her family to eat, which
equals to her being good, for her to be happy.
Nenita though realizes that helping out at home is not enough, thus her decision to leave
school to become a working girl. This decision creates a domino of changes in her and her
familys life. Not only does Nenita become a maid to the Valenzuelas, which brings opportune
to her family, having food on their table as a result, Nenita becomes more than jus the eldest, she
becomes the breadwinner. This scenario is not new, since many children these days leave
school and become child workers, who endure hardwork in exchange for money, money that at
times is still not enough to feed all the hungry bellies. Also the Philippines is known for domestic
helpers who leave their own homes and families to serve other homes and families, one that
Nenita jokes in the epilogue as becoming the first exported one.

Nenitas summer is her own metamorphosis, of her growing up, one that is full of
changes of different proportions. Change first occurs in the dynamic in their household, due to
Nenitas work and her capability to provide, unlike her mother and her father. Change occurs as
Nenita with her already mature perception, gets a better view and understanding of the adults in
her barrio, most specifically her mother. Being a stay-in maid, she is given time to see her
mother from a different perspective, allowing her to see that her mothers anger, despite being
thrown to her, her siblings and father, is really towards herself, as a mother who is unable to do
anything, who is unable to provide. Change as well occurs in Nenita as she, driven by blind
anger, stood up against her mothers anger, though the price to be paid for the action is one that
was too high. Despite this, the mother and daughter were able to reconcile, to ask for, give and
receive forgiveness.
Theme: Food
This text should come with a warning May cause hunger or Eat while reading,
because there seems to be no dish discussed in this book that will leave you not wanting to taste
it. The purpose of the dishes though is to not just leave the readers desiring to have a taste of
those seaweeds, halo-halo, palitaw or leche flans, it serves a much more important role than that.
The dishes in the text gives the readers a better understanding of characters, events and
realtionships by letting us have a taste of each.
The food in the story serves as metaphors or bridges between characters. Just like the
Turon of Nana Dora, which was called happiness to Nenita as she listens to it boil in the coconut
oil and as its aroma reaches her nose. The Turon as well became a bridge between Nenita to
Nana Dora, not only as a form of payment for letting Nenita roll, but as a bridge of friendship of
finding someone to whom you could share your stories and secrets to. Another dish was the Ox

Tongue being a metaphor for her father, Gables, devil eaten tongue, since he would often say
The devil ate my words when he would forget or rather stay quiet when he would have a fight
with Marina, her mother. The Coconut Chicken, as well became the bridge that brought VV and
Nenita together and eventually was the dish that landed her the job of being the Valenzuelas
maid.
Food plays a big role in Nenitas life, in her search for happiness and her desire for her
mothers love. Nenita works to bring home food, to appease her mothers anger. Nenita cooks
good food, so that in her mothers eyes she will be good. Despite this though, nothing ever seems
to be enough. Thus Nenitas hunger grows. Despite this though, none seems to work as her
mother glares at her each time she brings home food, declaring she does not beg for food or that
Nenita is a thief. In the end of the story though it is also Nenitas act of bringing food to her ill
mother that lead to their reconciliation. Food is Nenitas language as she brings forth her words,
message and desires through each meal she concocts.

Personal Reflection
This food novel by Merlinda Bobis really opened my mind when it comes to food and its
relation to our feelings. The sweetness of turon, the bitterness of ampalaya, the sourness of
sinigang and the spicyness of bicol express really imitates what Nenita feels for her loved ones.
My personal reflection when it comes to food really comes from my childhood when my lolo
usually cooks bagnet, tokwa and my favorite biko every sunday morning and it reflects how my
lolo was raised. Every crop in our garden can be combined and turn into a wonderful piece of
food. Our sunday morning gave meaning through family and food by gathering in the dining
table at least once a week. This reflects the story of Banana Heart Summer where family is
important to go with food. Art comes in different forms, shape, color and sizes. I see food as art
when it comes to the meaning of the different ingredients when you put it in a dish. It
encompasses our tongue to different wonders of the world as well as feel like traveling in
different location through food. Our contry is rich in different kinds delicacies for example, the
rice can be cooked in different ways: biko, puto, suman, arroz caldo, champorado etc. This
reflects that our food culture can vary of what we have and making the most out of our resources.
I really want to be a chef someday because is see beauty in food and also the excitement
of giving food to people and serve them dishes that I really love back from my childhood makes
my future job worth all the sacrifices that I've made. Cooking is like painting where you have a
canvass and you have to draw out different colors to make a masterpiece. No color or in my case
food shall be wasted because you can turn everything into a scrumptious food. Some say that
cooking is a hobby and cannot be considered as a job. My parents told me that because it is better
to have a good education than to be a cooked but in my point of view, cooking is what I love and
what I will do for the rest of my life even though there is no money in being a food lover and a

chef. It is important from where you come from and go back to that same moment when you first
taste that specific food and recreate it based on what you remember. In other words, food is love
and it won't be simply seen as sweet, salty, sour, bitter but it should be seen as a work of art.