Week 7!

The conversation with my host mom was very similar to the previous conversations that we have had about coffee and it was more difficult to go into depth, I have a feeling she is getting tired of interviews!The main reason that coffee is important to my host mom is that it is a major source of income for the country. She emphasized that it has helped the country socio-economically and that it represents the foreign relationships that Costa Rica has with other nations. The relationship that coffee has with politics is very interconnected and complicated. My host mom emphasized that in the past, coffee exportation controlled the relationships with other nations and that only in more recent years has that changed. Her opinion is that Costa Ricans produce the coffee and do not control it, so they are dependent on the foreign nations to import the coffee. I agree that this is the pattern that has prevailed in the past with Costa Rican coffee, but I also see that the country is diversifying and they are becoming less dependent on the one crop. Our readings and the information from our tours has taught me that Costa Rica is becoming more of a niche market for coffee. The article "From Silver to Cocaine" expresses the change from being a producer of coffee to being a producer of high quality coffee. My host parents are in their 60's or 70's and I think that her perceptions are based on a previous time, which would explain why she does not see the switch. I also think that the switch could only be apparent by people in the business or foreign consumers. It is interesting to think that she still perceives that Costa Rican growers are completely reliant on other nations. I am sure that this is true to some extent; however, I do not think that she sees the change at all. The conversations we have had made me realize how little I know about coffee and how I am even separated from the coffee culture here. My family does not emphasize its importance here and I have no interest in exploring it's presence. I think that my distaste for coffee has made me have a view of lesser importance and the fact that my family members are not dependent on the drink gives me a different perspective. The more that I ask and we discuss, the more I learn that my one family does not represent the cultural values of a nation and that their opinions are just a fraction of the truth. I think that our class discussions and learning about other families is the best way to accurately form an opinion on the coffee culture in Costa Rica. I am grateful that I am not just learning from my family, because the information I have been receiving is biased and I would assume that it does not always accurately represent the opinions of the masses. 

The two places that are pictured are two cafe/coffee shops on the way to school from my house. Both of the coffee shops offer an different atmosphere and are unlike the fast, on the go shops that we have in the United States. Amanda's Cafe is a small restaurant that offers specialty coffee drinks and healthy food options, and it has the atmosphere of sitting down and relaxing for a meal. Caffe Biscotti is a small bakery and cafe that is owned and run by a Tican couple. It is tiny and the shop has it's regular customers that fund the business. Both of the restaurants (?) are selling an intimate experience that is not very popular or well known. The thought of spending a long period of time eating and talking at these places would be natural and I believe that their attraction is a common meeting place. I think that it is incredible that the sign for Caffe Biscotti has the words "para llevar" because the idea of to go is so foreign that you have to call ahead. I have observed that small coffee shops are promoting the idea of gathering together and talking, but that they are not very popular and have frequent customers and younger clientele.