Week 3

 --What are some things that Costa Ricans find "weird" of others' eating practices and foods?  

·      My Tica sister really put an emphasis on fast food.  I found this very interesting, because I expected her to name specific foods or habits that differed from her own, but she instead spoke about the weirdness of eating fast food instead of cooking in the kitchen.  She made a good point, however, that the Costa Rican lifestyle is much slower so people have the time to cook in their kitchen for a long period of time.  She also mentioned that fruits and vegetables are easy and cheap to buy here so it doesn’t quite make sense to buy food, especially junk food.  Moreover, she said it’s weird to see people eat frozen foods and canned foods.  Again, I related this back to the fact that fresh produce is readily available in Costa Rica and probably cheaper than frozen or canned foods.  In terms of fast food, I think it is more of a social thing here whereas in the US it is more of a convenience and often perceived as the poor mans meal.  From what I have observed, it seems that fast food used to be very expensive, but prices have since dropped and it is now a gathering place for young kids who are not old enough to go to bars. 

Are there any things that will absolutely not be eaten in Costa Rica or that are taboo?

·      This was kind of a hard question for my sister to answer, but she said that unusual but typical cuisines in other countries, most likely wouldn’t be eaten in Costa Rica.  Her examples were frog legs and fin soup.  She said that people would find things here that they too would not eat in their country.  I think this goes for all people from different parts of the world, even in different parts of the United States.  We are accustomed to specific types of foods and would never eat other types of foods.  I also think that food is an important part of culture here in Costa Rica so eating foods from far away places or foods that don’t represent their history or way of life isn’t the norm.  I’ve observed that foods are very fresh and local and have little to no preservatives as compared to foods in the United States. 

--What does food "say" about a person?  For instance, if someone is a bit overweight does it mean anything socially?  How about if someone is very, very skinny?

·      My sister said that food definitely says something about a person, but she does not make a judgment about the person but rather views it as a health concern.  I completely agreed with everything she said regarding food and that you are what you eat.  My mom always prepares balanced meals, with small portions of each food.  Just as it is in the United States, there is a pressure to be skinny but not too skinny.  This often leads to a psychological issue of being too scared to be fat which in turn leads to being too skinny.  My sister she feels sorry for people who are too skinny because they may have a twisted image of themselves which could lead to an unhealthy eating disorder and sometimes even death.  I think that the trend to be skinny is just as harmful as the trend to eat junk food, because both are the extreme ends of the spectrum.  I think it is all a question of balance.  It’s necessary to know what your body needs and does not need.  Last week I was talking to my mom and she mentioned that she doesn’t like pineapple but she eats it because of its nutritional value.  I thought this was interesting because I think it would be hard to find someone in the United States to say something like that.  Typically if people don’t like a specific food, they’ll never eat it.  Maybe this has to do with the fact that people eat more locally here and are more aware of the nutritional properties of foods they consume. 

 I constantly see advertisements about beer, especially Cacique.  Cacique is a Costa Rican liquor made from sugar cane.  It seems that Cacique is used in many drinks and very popular among the people here.  I think the many advertisements toward a Costa Rican liquor represents their pride and commitment to their local production.  In the United States, we have advertisements for foreign beers and liquors, but I think it would be hard to find an advertisement for Samuel Adams or any other type of beer/liquor.  I think the Costa Rican lifestyle and “pura vida” is being sold along with this advertisement.  You can “taste” the Costa Rican lifestyle with Cacique.