Dining with Costa Ricans

I love food. So much so that my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving because it revolves around eating. Growing up I was an extremely picky eater. Basically all I ate was grilled cheese. When I was younger, breakfast always caused a fight because I refused to eat eggs. I still am not a fan of eggs, however I’ve grown out of pitching a fit when they are served to me. In high school I became a bit more adventurous when it came to eating. I had never liked seafood but after four years in Baltimore I acquired a taste for crab. Anyway, the point being, luckily I have grown out of being a super picky eater and I am open to trying new things. I can’t imagine how different my experience here would be if I was afraid to try new things. I constantly have to ask what it is I am eating because I have never seen some of the fruits and vegetables before. My host mom served me a juice that had seeds that looked like fish eggs. It didn’t taste like fish eggs, but it wasn’t particularly delicious either. My suggestion that it looked like fish eggs caused a lot of laughter and my family calling me crazy. Next time I see the juice I’ll be sure to take a picture… I know I am not crazy. My host mom is never offended when I tell her I don’t like something, which is good. She knows that I don’t eat fish, which isn’t ever a problem. She is used to dealing with her son who refuses to eat any vegetables other than potatoes. I am sad to say that she always appeases him by making a different soup or dish that doesn’t have the vegetables in it. It makes me appreciate my parents more for always making me eat my vegetables as a child. I think it really makes my host mom happy that I am open to trying anything.

My host mom is a great cook and I am well fed in my house. For breakfast I usually have cereal during the week and gallo pinto (the traditional Costa Rican breakfast) on the weekends. I’ve started eating cereal during the week because my host mom wakes up at three to serve my host dad breakfast before he leaves to transport sugar cane. Though I know she doesn’t mind, I feel bad asking her to wake up again at 5:45 to serve me. So she sleeps, I eat cereal, and everyone is happy. I eat lunch at school. Lunch usually consists of rice, beans and some sort of chicken or meat. The only complaint I have about the school lunch is that it is served at 10 in the morning. When I return to Pacayitas around two in the afternoons after a three-mile walk, I am starving. Luckily, my host mom is always waiting for me with a coffee and an afternoon snack, which is basically another meal. She either makes me a huge sandwich with avocado and refried beans, or sometimes she makes cheese empanadas, which is cheese fried in corn tortillas. Delicious.  Around seven I am served dinner. My host mom usually eats at her mother’s house before so most nights it is just my host brother, Francel, and I eating at the table. Dinner is the most interesting dining experience. By interesting I mean I usually have to fight back my gag reflexes while watching my host brother eat. Manners are not something that is taught in Pacayitas. I often am made fun of for using a fork to eat my meat. Watching my host brother (and other Ticos) eat meat is nauseating. Their teeth rip into the meat sucking and slurping the juices. They suck on the fat until they have relieved it of its taste and then spit it out onto their plate. That isn’t even the worst of it… next is the bone. I have never sucked on a chicken or pork bone, so maybe I don’t know what I am missing, but watching others do it has not inspired me to try. It produces the grossest of sounds, sucking, chewing, breaking, and slurping. I am never able to hide the disgust on my face, but my reaction only makes them laugh and then my host brother takes my left over bone and repeats the process. Ugh, and then there is the process of picking any meat stuck in the teeth with the sharp points of the bone. UGH! It makes me nauseous just writing about it. I have found myself eating chicken alone and having to fight back gags just thinking about what its like when I eat chicken with others.

I surely hope that a year in Costa Rica doesn’t turn me into a vegetarian. I would hate to have a reason to regret coming here.

For the most part I really enjoy the food here. Sometimes I wish there was more variety, as eating rice and beans two times a day can be overkill. When I am craving a taste of home I have a stash of popcorn and a stash of macaroni and cheese. I am not sure why eating mac n cheese comforts me. I never really ate it that much at home. However, there is something about it that makes it a “homey” food. I am sure six months in I’ll be ready to kill for some soup and a sandwich from my favorite restaurant at home, Sweet Basil. Luckily I’ll be returning home for a two-week break in July, which will leave me plenty of time to refuel on my favorite foods.

Well, it is time to head home… I am sure a plate of tasty rice and beans is waiting for me.