Pan Chapin

We have quite a bit of planning time at my school. I do use a lot of it for planning, grading, getting ready for the next day, etc. I rarely have to take work home. There are times though when I would rather spend time with friends at school than do work, especially on those days when I have a lot of free time (like today!!!) Sometimes I do take work home, but it is pretty much by choice. Twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays) I have coffee dates with my friend Danielle. We usually go for the iced coffee/frozen drinks, but lately I have been on an Americano rampage! They are so good! About three weeks ago, Danielle also introduced me to Pan Chapin. Most of you know what a picky eater I am, so I don't try a whole lot of new things. It's also a little intimidating to ask about something and what it is in a different language. Danielle lived in Honduras for a few years teaching and she is also married to a Guatemalan, so her Spanish is pretty darn good! One day she says, "That pan chapin looks good." I asked what that was. She said, oh it's just bread with refried beans in it. I said, only that??? She said, oh and some cheese. So I said, hmmm, I will try one. WOW. It is sooooo good! It is pretty much like a bean burrito but on bread not in a tortilla. They put it on this George Foreman type of thing and warm it up and toast it and it is soooo delicious!!! The name comes from pan = bread and chapin = a Guatemalan person who is very proud to be Guatemalan! So since beans are one of the staple foods here, it pretty much = Guatemala! Oh, PS, their refried beans are sooooo good, because they are actually made from black beans. Yummmmmmmy. I just finished my Tuesday pan chapin!

Our campus is connected to the university campus, we just have to walk through a gate, so they have two coffee shops that we like to frequent up there! This is where we always go for coffee and pan chapin.