dinner

September 7th, 2015

 

The three of us sat around the kitchen table watching La sombra de Helena. Pauli ate ramen noodles with canned tuna and mayonnaise; Magi sipped coffee. I smeared a small, flat circle of corn bread that she had made for me the night before with peanut butter and Nutella and took careful bites, brushing the stray crumbs off the table cloth (checkered, with faded illustrations of oranges and apples) into my hand. Helena was furious with her daughter for dating an older man (Helena’s ex-boyfriend, no less): the two were having a massive fight and we were all fixated. Luis Eduardo walked into the kitchen and I could sense him watching me watching the screen: “Te gustan las telenovelas?” he chuckled. “Sí, me encantan.” Everyone laughed. “Qué linda esta wawa,” Magi breathed and I smiled at the pictures blurring on the screen.  

Maisie Coburn

About Maisie Coburn

Maisie is passionate about educating the next generation about the effects that unethical business practices have on the environment, the business community, and society. She is involved in The Chocolate Project, a grade school curriculum she developed with her father and a family friend that uses the chocolate trade, art and entrepreneurship to educate students about what happens when businesses don't value nature. For the past two years she has collaborated with teachers and students in the New York City public school system to see the project through its pilot phase and revise the curriculum and is currently in the process of seeking funding opportunities and ways to expand the project's reach and impact. Her goals for the year are to expand her worldview in order to be a more empathetic and conscious human being and leader, become fluent in Spanish, and get out of her comfort zone as much as possible. Her favorite quote is "The older we get the more we realize how little we know."