I decided to study abroad in Costa Rica because I wanted to learn and improve my Spanish before I did my Fall semester in Spain. I wanted to go to a country that was in Latin America because I knew that I was going to be spending time in Europe. My mother is from Guatemala and I am very familiar with the culture from that country. Because of the background in that culture, I wanted to pick a country that was familiar, but still had different aspects of the culture. The culture in Costa Rica is like the culture in Guatemala. At the beginning of the trip, I felt like I was going on another trip to Guatemala. Something that surprised me that was a large difference in the culture between the two countries was the food.
I had never had any typical food dishes from Costa Rica before going to that country. The typical food dish in Costa Rica is called a Casado. A Casado is a Costa Rican meal using rice, black beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla, and an optional entrée that may include chicken, beef, pork, fish, and so on. A Casado is typically served at every restaurant.
Something that was interesting is that the Casado can be served different ways depending on where you are in Costa Rica. Costa Rica geographically is located in between two different bodies of water. On one side, it faces the Pacific Ocean. On the other side, it faces the Caribbean Sea. On the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, there is a heavy population of people from Jamaica. Jamaican people as a part of their culture, mix their rice with coconut oil. This makes the rice sweeter and gives it a different taste than just regular rice.
Other than the Casado, Coconuts are a healthy and tasty drink and snack combined in one! There are vendors that sell coconuts for very cheap usually around the beach and in popular tourist areas. The vendors are locals and they can cut open the coconut for you and put a straw at the top so that you can drink all the coconut milk. After all the milk is gone, the vendors can cut open the coconut so that you can eat the meat inside.
Costa Rica is also able to provide an American fix for you if you have had one too many Casados. If you go to the right restaurant in the right location, you can find some burgers that are good enough to give you an American fix. Something else that I loved that I had never seen before was a pizza cone. These cones are not something typical that you can find in Costa Rica. Sometimes you just have to be somewhere at the right time in the right place to be able to try a new food adventure!
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Come meet Miriam and the other peer advisors at a Hogs Abroad 101 information meeting! These hour-long sessions are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Center for World Languages, Literatures and Cultures (JBHT 207).
Come meet Miriam and the other peer advisors at a Hogs Abroad 101 information meeting! These hour-long sessions are held Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters from 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm in the Center for World Languages, Literatures and Cultures (JBHT 207).
