 Welcome to our Spotlight Conversation Program podcast thing. Write in the comments if, while you're watching this, you come up with a great name for what we're doing. Yes, perfect. I am Adam Novus. I am here with the wonderful Liz Wade. Liz, hello. Oh, thank you, Adam. Hello. Hi. It's good to be here. Good. Liz, if you are new to this program, we are talking about our week's featured program, which is Equadorian, I'm going to say it wrong, Finesca, Equadorian Finesca Soup. We will put a link to that program in the description and we'll try to link to it a couple of different places. You can listen to it. You can decide, Adam, who needs to point up in the corner. Probably you. Probably you. This way? Other way. Okay. We'll put the link right here. Yeah. We think. We're doing that thing where you point to the part of the screen and down, like that. Anyway, so you can follow along with that program on our website. You can find it there. But we really encourage you to listen to that program. It's at a slower speed than we're talking and then come back and listen to us talk about it. Yeah. We're catch the, yeah. Yep. Usually there's an advanced version, but there isn't an advanced version. So I'm going to keep my mouth shut. So Liz, how are you today? We are going up. We are a week out towards the holiday of Easter and that is a, I mentioned that because Happy Easter, but also because that plays an important part in this program. Well, as you know, yesterday was Palm Sunday. So that's when Christians celebrate that Jesus came and people waved palms. So now this is when, yeah, the holy week where we lead up to Jesus's death and then resurrection on Easter Sunday. So this is a huge holiday celebrated in the United States and all around the world. Yeah. Yeah. All around the world. Sorry. I should have said that. Yes. Definitely all around the world. And as we will see in this program or you already know, if you've listened to this program, it's definitely celebrated in Ecuador. So and then, yeah, this is about. If you don't know where Ecuador is, as an American in who is very poor at geography, give me a sense of the continent. Where would I find Ecuador if I'm going to look for it? Ecuador is in South America on the Northwest corner. And the equator runs through Ecuador. About Ecuador. Yeah. Well, it's the equator, which goes through the middle of the earth and imaginary line, which separates the earth in half. I think Ecuador is named after the equator, right? It's right on the equator. Yeah. Or whoever named the equator also named Ecuador. I don't know. And I will say I have been to Ecuador and it is a beautiful country with probably the best weather I have ever experienced. Because it does lie on the equator. So yeah, I would like to go there origin there. I would like to go there. I've never been. Yeah. Maybe we need to plan a listener trip where we where we visit listeners everywhere around the world. Wouldn't that be so once this pandemic is over where we'll be all about it. A world tour. I feel like once this once this pandemic is over, I'm just going everywhere. Yeah. I'm never coming home again. I'm just going to live on the road. Exactly. So this week we're preparing for Holy Week and this program is about a food that is prepared in Ecuador during Holy Week. So yeah, and eating this food is a family tradition. It's yeah, it's a special food that people prepare and eat. It's got special meanings for the Easter holiday. Yeah. There are actions. It's not only a food that you eat to sustain yourself, right, but a food that you can eat and remember things through. Right. There is food that has symbolism and there are a lot of traditions around the world where people use food to symbolize whether it's spices or a certain meat or not meat sometimes. Right. There's people eat fish around this time rather than meat and because they're giving up something for the season leading up to Easter. Liz, do you have any food traditions? I'm trying to think of. No. We don't really have a big tradition, well, I don't know. It depends. Usually my family does get together for Easter and we usually travel to be with my husband's family and so we're down there. But here's a thing that you might not know about me, Adam, or you might already know this. Okay. I am a terrible cook. What? Come on, you're being, you're being terrible. No, I wouldn't have put you as terrible. Oh, yeah. I do not enjoy cooking. I enjoy eating, but I don't do very much of the cooking in my house at all. Even with recipes, like my family just tells stories about how I mess up recipes. Really? Yeah. Oh, it's bad. It's very bad. I'm a good baker. I can bake things like bread or cinnamon rolls. So let's dive into this a second, if we can. Was your, were your parents, did they enjoy cooking or bake? I'm trying to think, we're talking about traditions and traditions usually get passed on from grandparents to parents. My mom would often make a very big meal. It was simple food. So it might be like a turkey or a ham or something like that. And then maybe some, some mashed potatoes or like a dish with squash and some vegetables, you know, broccoli or cauliflower, just all very basic things. And she did like to try new things every once in a while. But the one thing I do remember from her cooking is that she would invite anyone who didn't have anywhere to go. And we would always have someone extra at our holiday table, whether it was Easter or Christmas or Thanksgiving. We would always be room for people to join if they didn't have somewhere to go. That is, that is very sweet. She has a very big sense of hospitality and an open door, as we said. Yes. Yep. Exactly. And there was always too much food, you know. So the joke was that nobody could leave until all the food was finished. And then everyone would laugh and laugh because there was so much food, no one could finish it. No one could ever leave. Yeah. So, yeah, so I don't really, I don't really do any of the baking. Or sorry, I don't really do any of the cooking for a holiday meal. Sometimes my mother-in-law will ask me to bring something. She'll say, you know, can you make the mashed potatoes or can you make the rolls or whatever? But she tries to ask me to bring very simple things. Yeah. Because she knows I'm not good at it. Yeah. But she does make very elaborate meals. She likes to try very fancy recipes and do special foods. But that's fine for me. Yeah. I like to go and eat it and spend time with family and do that. Well, you would do well with my mother who loves to cook. Oh, yeah. She will say, what can we bring to the holiday meal? And she'll say, well, why don't you bring a pie, a dessert? Yeah. And then she'll add, well, I also will have a pie. So this will be the second. I was just going to ask, also make pies as well. Yes. Yes. Usually there may be seven of us and we'll have three pies, different flavors. Or again, it's too much food. And I think there has to be something about how a part of the holiday is having more than you need. Right. Like that's the celebration where you don't feel a lack, where you don't feel like you're missing on anything. So I think that's probably something that happens. You know, I think that's got to be a sort of a worldwide thing. I would love to hear what people have to say about that in the comments below. Like, is that normal? I mean, of course, there are times when you don't maybe have enough money to feed as many people as you want. Or, you know, to get the ingredients that you want or whatever case. But I think even in those times, people have the want to have there be a celebration and to put all of your resources there and to be together with family. I'm curious that that's something that people also experience. I would love to hear about it in the comments. Or I think if your family, let us know if your family was also like Liz's mother, very hospitable. If you invited people into your home because it's the holiday or at any time, let us know, tell us a story about when that happened in your life. And if that's a tradition that you've continued. Yeah, I wonder if that's culturally that is the same. You know, inviting a person into your home rather than going out or whatever. So, yeah, I would love to know that. Yeah, speaking of baking, Adam, while we were speaking of baking a few minutes ago, we do also have a video in our video extras for holiday videos about making a baked treat for in the UK. Yes. So obviously, Adam and I are not from the UK. We're from the US, but we do have people who make spotlight who are from the UK. And they made a video about a very popular baked good there called Hot Cross Buns, which, you know, I know a little song about. I'm sure you do, too. It is often a song you learn on the piano or the recorder. Yeah, or the recorder. I wish I had my recorder here. It's probably it's probably nearby. I could play it for you, but there we go. Should I do a little concert? No. But anyway, it's about Hot Cross Buns. And then I have actually never had a Hot Cross Bun. Oh, have you? No. Yeah, I mean, I always I always know about them because, you know, they're in the song and I play the recorder. But yeah, as far as eating one, I have never did you know that they have like dried fruit in them? Only because of this video. Yeah, see, I didn't know that either. And then also they have to be there's something about the dough where it has to like sit for a really long time or something like that. And it sounds like you and I need to go watch this video. I know, right? Yeah, I'll link that over here. Ding! Ding! Yeah. Goodness, well, we we are so glad that you have stuck with us as we've rambled on. But oh, before, OK, I just wanted to say this, this program is about finesca soup in general. But there are more programs that we have about Easter foods around the world. So if you have a food that you commonly eat around Easter, you can check out this program and see if I see if we mention your food and if not, tell us about it. Excellent. Yeah, so we hope you've really enjoyed this conversation. I always enjoy talking to you, Liz. And I feel thrilled and privileged. We always say that spotlight has the best audience. You guys are wonderful and kind and sweet. And we hope that this has helped you on your English journey. Practice listening to two native English speakers. Make sure that you like and subscribe to this video on YouTube. But also check out our Facebook and Twitter and our website and our podcast. Wherever you're looking for us, we try to be there. Yeah. So we hope you have a good day and happy Easter, Adam. Happy Easter, Liz.