As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, one of the things I am enjoying about living on a farm in rural Costa Rica is the fresh food that we eat. With sustainability being such a popular concept these days, it is great to experience it firsthand. I love eating the fresh fruit and veggies that we just picked from a local tree or my host dad's farm. Speaking of fruit, I have tried so many different types of tropical fruits, most of which I don't even think have a name in English. Some of the fruits that we have growing in my town are: Mangos, Pineapple, Manzana de agua, Coconut, Caimito, Guava, Guanabana, Grenadilla, Granada, Oranges, Jocones, Limones. I will have to take a picture of some of them soon and post them.
Many of you know that before doing Peace Corps I was not a big meat eater. In fact, I think I once went over 5 years without eating beef. And after having Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation speak at my college graduation, I was even less inclined to eat beef, especially from McDonalds. Well, things have definitely changed! At first, I was still hesitant of eating meat, but once I realized that I didn't have much choice (since a strictly black beans and rice diet gets old really quick) I gave it a chance, and am actually enjoying eating beef and pork. It also helps that I know exactly where the meat I am eating came from. If the pig was not raised 50 feet outside my bedroom, by my host family, then it was probably raised by one of our neighbors. And the beef that we eat is almost always a calf of one of my host-grandfathers or also from a neighbor.
In high school, I wouldn't dare step foot into the "wet markets" in Singapore, which had cows, chickens etc hanging up with their blood dripping out. Or if I did ever venture in with my mom, I would only look at the ground and would hold my nose the whole time. Oh how things have changed… I now joyously go to the slaughtering of the cow or the pig, and I take lots of pictures! I have decided not to post the bloody pictures here, but if you would like to see them, just let me know. I have quite a few! As I mentioned in my previous post about the hen, it has been so interesting learning about the anatomy of the different animals, such as seeing the various stomachs of the cow! I really do think I am turning into a farm girl.
As I mentioned above, a lot of the meat that we eat might come from our neighbors. This is another benefit of living in a small town – everyone shares their crops, meat etc. If someone's cow dies and they have to butcher it, they will send the meat to at least 10 different families in town. Or after someone picks all the yucca, pineapple, or other vegetable, they give a lot of the extra to whoever wants it. This really creates a sense of community, and is something that you won't find in the big city!
Here are some fun pictures to reflect my farm life:
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