Week 2

This looks like a common dinner in my tica home. We always have rice with some type of beans, vegetables, and meat. For me it is really easy to see the Costa Rican culture in the foods I eat in my home. My mom told me similar answers for foods "native" to Costa Rica- beans, coffee, eggs, pineapple, bananas, and empanadas. And as for customs related to food it depends on the holiday as to the type of food that is prepared. For example, for birthdays they usually have arroz con pollo and mashed beans.  In my tica home, the foods that are prepared for me are always fresh and usually bought that same day. I eat breakfast with my mom and dinner with my mom, brother and grandma, and sometimes my tica dad depending on the night. In my tica home, they don't eat a big lunch because everyone has such busy schedules- my mom and dad work and my brothers are in school. So no one is home to eat a big lunch together. However, something that I found to be the most different about meal times was that the television is always on. The tv sits at the table like a member of the family and is watched while we eat. At home (in the US), my parents don't allow a tv to even be in the kitchen. They believe that meal times are time to talk about our days and to be together for the little time that isn't consumed by all of our other activities. That is another major cultural difference that I've had to get used to. 

At home in the United States, I help my mother cook dinner every night and play a big role in preparing dinner. The preparation starts an hour or so before dinner time. However, in my tica home, my mom starts cooking dinner in the early afternoon. While I love to cook, the most my tica mom lets me do is pour drinks. I don't take it personal because I tell myself it's probably just a culture thing. My tica mom also dishes up everyone plates and places them at everyones spot at the table. If you want seconds of anything she dishes that up too. To me it seems to be the role of the mother in the kitchen...which is a stereotype that women are trying to get away from in the United States.