Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – Food and Dining

Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – Food and Dining

Aero: Meghan Kelly – Costa Rica 2013 – Food and Dining

Food and dining in Costa Rica was very different from what I am used to in the United States. I was fortunate to try many different foods that we aren’t accustomed to in the US. I was very nervous about this aspect of studying abroad. All my life I have been very picky about the types of food that I eat. Before embarking on this trip I promised myself that I would reach out and experience this food since it was a once in a lifetime trip.

Before arriving in Costa Rica I looked up the common foods in Alajuela and I noticed that rice and beans are prominent over there. I was nervous because I am not a huge fan of either of those things. I was worried that I would be served this every night and I would have to eat it because I didn’t want to seem rude. Low and behold this was the case. For what seemed like every meal we had rice and beans. Luckily I learned that these two things were not so bad and actually could be quite good. People in Costa Rica were very good at cooking these things to be very delicious and I was pleasantly surprised. I can’t say that I wasn’t sick of eating rice and beans by the end of the trip but it wasn’t the awful experience I had imagined!

One of the main dishes in Alajuela was called casados. This consisted of rice, beans, salad, a type of fruit, and meat. We had a choice between fish, chicken, or beef for our meat. This was actually extremely delicious. I got it a few different times throughout our trip and enjoyed it.

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In our home we ate many of these classic Costa Rican foods but we also ate other things. Our host father is originally from Peru so we had some dishes from back where he used to live. We also had spaghetti, Chinese food, and other things that we sometimes see back in the United States. All of these dishes were good but they were different than what I’m used to. The Chinese food was what tasted the most different. I haven’t had anything like that back home and it was actually very good. For breakfast most days we had leftovers from the night before with some fruit. I was definitely not used to this because I am used to our classic breakfast foods such as cereal, pancakes, eggs, and things like that. Having rice and beans for breakfast seemed to be custom over in Alajuela. Towards the end of our trip our host mother happened to make us pancakes for breakfast. She realized how much we loved them so she made them more often.

Some drinks in Alajuela were similar but some were also different from the US. There were the typical US drinks such as Coke, water, lemonade, etc. The difference was the fruit drinks that were served. I noticed these at restaurants as well as in my host family’s home. Out at restaurants they served fresh fruit drinks that were delicious. There were made from many different fruits. At home every morning for breakfast our host mother would serve us a different type of fruit drink. We would watch our host mother throw fresh fruit into the blender every morning before serving us. We had drinks made from different fruits such as, apples, strawberries, papaya, pineapple, cantaloupe, etc. It was actually extremely refreshing to know that you were getting a super healthy start to the day. The drinks were not only healthy for us but also extremely tasty.

I found that I was happy that I told myself to try everything possible that I could before going. This is because I liked pretty much everything that I tried over there. I think experiencing food and dining in another country is a great way to learn a lot about their culture. Even though there were few things I wasn’t a fan of I’m glad I tried it all.

– Meghan Kelly

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