Week 3 Food Journal

From my host family’s perspective, contemporary Costa Rican eating habits are not totally different from those of the United States. Costa Ricans are also appalled by the pet-eating Chinese traditions and by natives who hunt and eat protected wildlife, such as iguanas. Long-time staple foods are different in obvious ways, but people here have increasingly begun to accept a food culture that has accompanied an equally increasing municipal modernity. Much of this has been absorbed from the U.S. and Europe; some Costa Ricans are starting to demand new foods apart from their cultural tradition as a result. The difference in total consumption of food, regardless of its origin, strikes my host family most. They were implying that consumers in the U.S. should find a purpose in their foods (in content AND quantity) rather than, more or less, eat unconsciously. Foods like papaya, bananas, and pineapple are eaten in my house because they are “good for digestion”. Using a lot of extra sugar is avoided because the diet is so full of fruit to begin with. When I told them about a similar sentiment in the U.S. to the recent one in Costa Rica of limiting fat, sugar, and salt in school nutrition, they were sincerely surprised! When we talk about the international perspective of people in the States eating hamburgers, pizzas, and typical unhealthy foods, the truth of that stereotype is easily glossed over in terms of aggregate consumption. In fact, my host grandmother did not just say that we eat foods like hot dogs and hamburgers often but that we demand too much of anything we eat.

Obesity is a sign of eating too much in general, remaining inactive during most of the day, and maybe even having a “bad mother”. Some people might eat more fatty foods and their children would then be more prone to take up their parents’ habits and be obese. Maybe overweight people spend their money on excess foods more freely, but being unhealthy in this way doesn’t usually mean that one has more to spend. Maybe they are sick, but it always depends on the person. At seeing someone on the street, the things they wear and the people they are with, if any, also come into the picture. As is the case typically, being over or under weight usually means you grew into poor eating habits, are sick, or have a poor diet or inactive lifestyle. The myriad social connotations were much too broad for my family to synthesize. They seem more similar to those in the U.S. than I previously thought; being overweight is normally imagined as a good thing in poorer countries. That is a simple stereotype but one that points to very deep misconceptions I have learned to take for granted about much of the world outside of North America and Europe.

Following are two advertisements that were not only shocking, but also nearly the opposite of what I expected prior to beginning my study abroad experience. Deserts are a very rich representation of food tradition, the type of desert and how it is served. To see an entire page of La Nacion (what Linda H. referred to as the Costa Rican’s daily bible) dedicated to an ice cream cone and three inviting words says much about an evolving ordinary consumer-base in San Jose, at least. The company POPS has impressively remained a purely Costa Rican brand. Further still, the fresh, caramel-covered ice cream in their advertisement beats in viewable deliciousness any advertisement I have seen or might expect from Coldstone Creamery or Dairy Queen. I want to try POPS now.

https://www.billbeardcostarica.com/php/note_detail.php?id_home=5&id_edicion=42

Festival Imperial 2012 offers plenty of good, live music to come hear and enjoy. What is being sold in the background is the Imperial brand that has found a place, polite or glaring, in every grocer I’ve seen in the country so far. Advertisements for a beer-fest in Costa Rica were not part of my expectations. Maybe Costa Ricans are proud of this brand and what it represents. Both of these advertisements appeal to the ordinary tico and come from two of the countries most successful companies. That might mean a great deal for Costa Ricans, or I could be entirely misinterpreting a simple attempt at product-, not brand-based consumer appeal in the marketplace here. Although we are subject to a barrage of beer and ice cream ads in the U.S., I don’t think the same kind of implications may be attached to some of our products.