(A little mate at 8am)
Liz:
Mate is the national drink here but it's going to take a bit of getting used to. My Tuesday and Thursday morning lessons, 8 until 9:30 at an insurance company, begin with mate (mah-tay). There are 3 students: Jose, Ruben and Sergio who are very friendly and chirpy even though they have to come in to work early for extra English! You may have heard about the hours people keep here, well the mate is the way they stay up at night and wake up again in the mornings. It's a little ceremony with the mate pot, a kind of gourd, and the bombilla (the silver straw which is shaped like the stem of a pipe). The pot is filled almost to the brim with the dark leaves (mate is a member of the holly family apparently) and someone has a thermos with hot water to keep the pot nicely topped up. Everyone shares the same cup and bombilla, passing it around the table. If you drain the pot you are responsible for topping up. Fortunately I have a strong stomach. I gamely took a large gulp and I think my reaction said it all. It's like the strongest, bitterest green tea you have ever tasted, with an aftertaste of tree bark...no delicate jasmine notes here! And with all that foliage in there I daren't smile for the rest of the lesson. I obviously need more practise...that'll be on Tuesday then.
  ¶ 2:29 PM