My entire life I have been eating this green powder  called “Alguashte”. This is common in my  country of El Salvador. This made from crushed ground pumpkin seeds.  When I was younger I remember  when I  finally travelled back and visit our country of El Salvador. The minute I stepped out of the airport, I  remember seeing for the first time large coconut trees, but the first couple of days were rough  because my grandma had gotten sick. I noticed everybody eating fruits they got from the trees. I was very curious to try fresh mangoes so I walked over to this tall thin tree and picked a baby mango from the tree branch. I took a giant bite of the baby mango and squinted my eyes as I bit my cheeks to make the sourness go away.  My family around me began to laugh with me and told me “porque no mejor agregas un poco de alguashte para calmar el sabor ácido del mango?” in English “why don't you add alguashte to ease down the acidness from the unripe mango”. My grandma walked onto the patio with a bowl of “green powder” as I describe it. She picked some up and sprinkled it over my mango along with a hint of lime. I fell in love with the flavor almost immediately, it helped balance the taste between sour and more mild/bland flavors. It's been years since I traveled to El Salvador ,but my grandma never fails to send me alguashte  Every time I taste it, the memory, and the love flows back like the first time. And as I eat mangoes with alguashte,  I imagine her big warm hugs surrounding me. 

– Giselle Oliviar Arevalo

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant