Week 5

--When and how is chocolate eaten in Costa Rica?  Is it only for special occasions or in desserts?

Chocolate is very special in Costa Rica. It is normally eaten in desserts or consumed as hot chocolate in the extreme cold. This is extremely different from the United States mindset. In the United States, everything is a reason to eat chocolate, including anything from getting an "A" on a test, to a nasty breakup, to just having a craving for a frozen Hershey's Dark Chocolate with Almonds. In the United States, chocolate is eaten everyday at all times of the day. While it normally has a feminine connotation, many men do enjoy eating chocolate in their desserts and on a day to day basis. 

My family gets most of their fruit from local vendors and markets like that in Zapote. They think they are fresher and cheap than buying it at a super market like Mas por Menos. While they do occasionally buy produce from Mas por Menos, it is normally when they need something very quickly because of the proximity of the store to our home. They buy an abundance of produce generally once a week on Saturday. This normally gets our entire family through the week. This is very different from how my family in the United States gets their produce. We buy produce approximately once every week and a half, and it normally is not a large amount. We do not have any local markets, so all of our produce is bought from the super market in town. We will still shop around for the best price, but it is still purchased from a super market. Shopping for produce in the United States will be very different after living for Costa Rica for four months. 

PHOTOS:

The farmer's market in Zapote was full of crazy people and fresh produce. People of all ages and provinces were there. Fresh produce of all kinds were being sold, including many fruits I have never heard of before such as caiote. There are also prepared food stands that have food and drink for purchase for buyers to enjoy while they shop. Sellers are trying very hard to sell their products, and buyers try to haggle prices down. It is very similar to markets in Israel. However, I have no markets to compare this to in the United States, because I have never been to one. I would think that they are very similar to markets here, understanding how cheap and greedy Americans/people can be.