Week 5

          My Tica family could talk for hours about the fruits and vegetables that they buy, but they could almost care less about chocolate. Both my Tica mom and Tica dad had much to say about the fruits that they like to eat and prepare, even to the point of showing me pictures on google images of the different classes of mangos and cas trees. I learned about two new fruits, the manga (which is a type of mango) and the marañon, and my Tica dad prepared both of them for me. The manga was served with lime juice and salt, while the marañon was made into a juice. With all this concentration on fruit, I was surprised when my Tica mom told me that all of the fruit that she purchases comes from Más por Menos. When I asked her why she didn't go to the fresh markets, both my Tica dad and Tica mom replied that Más por Menos is close and convenient. Without a car, the markets become a full day event and my Tica mom says its very tiring. Plus, once you buy all that produce at the market, you must figure out how to get it home without a car. My Tica mom explained that even though the markets are cheap, she has become a smart shopper at the Más por Menos because oftentimes there are sales when produce first comes in. For example, she stated that last Wednesday, a large amount of produce was half price because it has just been shipped in, so she stocked up then for the next two weeks. However, she was quick to tell me that two weeks is probably the longest you could go without buying new produce, since it goes bad so quickly here.
          Nevertheless, my Tica family does not have to purchase all of their produce. Friends of the family provide dozens of limes, mangas, and marañons from their farms in Puerto Viejo and Orotina. Many times I have come home to huge grocery bags full of fruits that look like my family picked the whole tree. My Tica parents say that they are very grateful for this free fruit. This aspect of my conversation with them was the most interesting to me, because this is something that is not as common in the United States. There are not many farmers that will just hand out their produce with no price attached. It seems here that my Tica family has created a system where they have determined the most efficient method of obtaining their produce. They understand the "in's and out's" of Más por Menos and have a network of friends that will give them some help by providing some free produce. I think this could be done in the United States, but we have a major disadvantage. Not only are there not many local farms to get fresh produce from, but I think that a good amount of the produce we eat is not local. Many times, we want strawberries or a cantaloupe in the middle of winter. Here, in Costa Rica, they get what they can take, almost adapting their meals around the produce that they can get at the best rate.
        After all of this produce talk with my Tica family, I asked them about chocolates. They were both very quick to respond that chocolates are made for desserts and little children. My Tica dad "confessed" that he likes eating a couple of my young nephews' little chocolates maybe once or twice a week. However, neither dessert or chocolate are very common in my household. Chocolate is seen more as a candy for children, and chocolate milk was probably the most prevalent chocolate related food in my Tica family. My Tica dad was also very quick to say that how much money one has determines how much chocolate you have. This was also another surprising point as I don't think this is much of the case anymore in the States. Chocolate is everywhere, in candies, desserts, on fruits, in drinks, and on breakfast foods (just to name a few). Chocolate is not made for the upper class anymore. While some might think dark chocolate is an upper class food, I think it is becoming more common, as every milk chocolate produce is now coming out with the same product but with dark chocolate or white chocolate. I don't think that the States is as addicted to chocolate as the ladies who were excommunicated from mass were in Tuesday's reading (3/6), but I do think that chocolate is more common in US households than in Costa Rican homes. As my Tica dad says, "Leave the chocolates to the kids."

It's Huge!

Seller surrounded by his product of Papayas

Customer with a full cart!

So much produce on display!

     The farmer’s market in Zapote was bigger than any market I have been to in the US. With rows after rows fruit and vegetable stands and meat, cheese, snacks, and other miscellaneous stands around the edges of the market, it was very overwhelming as people walked up and down the rows with carts full of produce. Most of the customers looked like parents who were buying the week’s (or longer) produce for their homes. It was fascinating to me the amount of produce that was laid out. Small signs were made, advertising how much different products cost, and mostly everything was paid by weight. To me, the market seemed like a full day event. There were little snack stands and a small band playing to add to the scene. Sellers were very friendly, offering us to taste certain fruits and some had displays of their fruits to show just how colorful and tasty they might be. Unfortunately, I have never been to a farmer’s market in the United States, but my guess is that most people are not coming out of there with as much produce as the people here do. It was most surprising to me to see huge carts filled to the top with produce. I also found it interesting that people were so comfortable to purchase meat and cheese here. In the states, we have this idea that the best meat is probably at a butcher shop. However, at this market, meat was a popular product. Overall, I think the market is a cultural experience of Costa Rica, allowing us to get a taste of what many Costa Rican families do on their Saturdays and Sundays.