“What do you want to get for dinner? There’s a McDonald’s somewhere in Nové Město…”
Everybody has a different reason behind their travel, be it a business trip, a culture/language immersion, or a simple vacation. Wherever your intentions lie, everyone has one simple task in common: eating.
One of the many benefits of traveling outside of the United States is to try the many other dishes foreign countries have to offer. Going abroad expands your perception of flavor profiles; raw, authentic flavors that you could have never even imagined can become one of your new favorite meals. Limiting yourself to your own country’s food while you’re somewhere new restricts you from enlightening yourself on the culture around you and tasting something possibly delicious.
A country’s food tells you a lot about their culture; for example, you might ask yourself why a cultural group only eats a certain food during a certain season. While I was in Iceland, I had the most delicious fresh Atlantic salmon salad. In Iceland, the salmon runs upriver from May to October, most frequently during the middle of this period; furthermore, since the country is entirely surrounded by water, fish is an integral part of an Icelander’s diet. The food within a culture also cues you into their history- going back to Iceland, Icelanders maintain a basic diet that reflects the bitter natural conditions in which they historically struggled to survive in.
Most importantly, though, the local dishes wherever you are will never be better anywhere else. Why would ovocne knedliky made with locally grown Czech plums be as good in the United States? The fruit is sourced in their own country! Sure, you can Google a recipe and make it for yourself… I think we can agree that, however, it cannot get any better than chefs in restaurants who have been preparing the same dishes for years from the same recipes that have been used for centuries. All you have to do is enjoy it- eating local dishes is really the easiest way to connect with the culture you’re around.
Discovering new foods while you’re already at your destination can be exciting, but I’d also recommend finding a few cultural dishes you definitely want to try and explore the area trying to locate a place you can try it! It can lead you down unknown corners of a city or help you practice your language skills when asking for directions. Just have fun with it :).
I think that eating is one of the best ways to travel the world. Like I’ve said countless times, whenever I travel, I eat my way through the place. Food is a great way to truly understand a country and a new culture because you are able to taste the authentic- ness and learn about what makes the food so important to the country. When I was in China, I went to a bed and breakfast sort of place, and I learned how to make homemade dumplings and noodles from one of the elders in the town. Not only was the food amazing because it was home made, I was able to learn about why the foods were significant to Chinese culture, and I loved being able to take part in traditions that have been passed on for generations.
The best part about traveling is definitely the food :). My family has gone to Spain a lot and we have picked up some of our favorite dishes from the culture including paella and tapas!
Reading this post before a meal was a bad decision because it made me really hungry! Whenever I travel, I try to expand my taste by trying the food common to the area. McDonalds for other typical American foods are only good to eat if you are homesick.
I love this post because food is such an amazing way to get in touch with different cultures and it is delicious too 😉 sometimes it is a lot more comforting eating American food but you never know what you might fall in love with if you get out of your comfort zone!