Food on my Journey

Food is more than just something that we consume to fill our hungry bellies. Food is as much part of culture as language, religion, or traditional customs … it sometimes is the edible expression of national pride. Both Dalrymple and O’Hanlon allowed food to play a part in their cultural experiences within their writing. I think one of the best ways to fully experience a culture is to eat its food.

Before I chose to go to a four-year liberal arts college, I actually wanted to attend the CIA; no, not the government CIA, but the Culinary Institute of America. I understand that passion and love can resonate through the food that I make and in turn, make others happy when they eat my food. Even though I didn’t go to the CIA I still cook for my family and friends on a regular basis. My understanding of what food can do has allowed me to see that the love one has for a culture can come through in their cooking.

When I travel to Belize I want to experience all the types of food that will be available to me. While doing research for my travelogue I wanted looking into the diet of Belizeans and find out what their national dish is, if they even had one. One thing I found was that rice forms an important part of the daily diet of the Belizeans. They love consuming rice and beans. In Belize, rice is cooked with red beans instead of black beans, which is used elsewhere in Latin America. Along with red beans, they sometimes add grated coconut and black pepper to flavor the rice. It can be eaten alone, but usually the dish is consumed paired with fish, chicken, pork, beef or vegetables. Then of course you have your typical, what I would call Hispanic, foods like Relleno, Tamales, Escabeche, Tacos, Chimole and Negro.

Naturally, with all this rice and beans in the Belizean diet the national dish too incorporates this. Often called 1, 2, 3, the national dish consist of rice and beans, stewed chicken, and potato salad. No, I didn’t make the potato salad part up, but I do admit that it’s weird seeing potato salad as part of the national dish; I associate it more with family picnics then with Belize.

Although all my researching made my mouth water I can’t say that I will actually eat any of it. Let’s be real, I’m going on a cruise ship and only spending one day in Belize. I really only have one opportunity to each this amazing food, lunch time. Then I have to bicker with my parents, who admittedly do not have as sophisticated of a pallet as mine, if they do decide to eat somewhere off the ship. But I take it as a challenge, to help my parents experience new things through food, rather, new cultures through food.