Eat outside your comfort zone.

What is the point of traveling, especially to different countries? To simply see a few famous sites, take a photo, and then go eat dinner at McDonald’s or Applebee's? Although I’m sure that is true for some people, my answer is a loud and resounding:  No! I love to travel for many different reasons, too many to list and some I probably cannot even explain. But most of all, I love to meet different people, see different things and unfamiliar places, and experience the norm of local everyday life in a way that is not normal for me. And this includes eating.

In the United States, every town, city, suburban area, and state has basically the same chain restaurants, and many of these restaurants can be found overseas:  McDonald's, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, TGI Friday’s, Applebee’s. The list goes on and on. I, however, prefer eating in independently and locally owned restaurants, wherever I am. Locally owned restaurants, diners, cafes, cafeterias, fast food eateries, and food trucks have better food in my experience, often times locally grown, and the profits go directly back into the community. I’m not against the above named national restaurant chains or any of the big chains. They do employ local people and some of them aren’t all that bad. And when you don’t have many choices (or even if you do), it’s where you go for lunch with coworkers or dinner with friends. But I do prefer the more unique and interesting local businesses where they are available.

Along with my efforts to frequent local businesses at home, when I’m traveling I do the same, only probably more so. If you are visiting another country, witnessing the uniqueness of another culture, there is no better way to experience a new place than through food ... local food, the food that those who live there eat every day.

During my first trip to Latin America, I was with a group of people helping to build a house near the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and we were not there long. Maybe a little over a week. I was enjoying the local food, especially the rice and beans. But when we left the coast and were back in the city of San Jose for our flight home the next day, everyone made a beeline for Pizza Hut for dinner. Seriously? A few days in another country and everyone felt the need to connect with the homeland through mediocre (at best) pizza from the states? I broke off from the group and found a bakery and some local eats. Costa Rican food. Because we were still in Costa Rica. 

This just seems obvious to me ... eating local. I can understand if you are traveling abroad for a few weeks or months and you get a craving for something familiar. Maybe you think some fast food from home would really hit the spot. I get it. I’ve been there. And I’m not suggesting you only eat regional food. If you want pizza, then eat pizza from a local restaurant, rather than Pizza Hut. If you want a cheeseburger, then eat it from a local fast food restaurant rather than Burger King. I've had awesome Indian food in Guatemala, great Italian food in Puerto Rico, and delicious Greek pizza in Panama. Just because something isn’t native to where you are visiting, doesn’t mean you can’t find an interesting variation of it. But you won’t know unless you step out of your comfort zone.

Here are my friends (Sarah, Hanna and Anna) at a local Guatemalan fast food chain after we ate really 

yummy ice cream cones. There were no tourists in there except us. It was still cheap and
unhealthy food. But it wasn't McDonald's!  

Before you take that trip abroad, to a new country with new customs, languages, and foods, try to leave your usual eating habits behind. When you see a restaurant that looks familiar, or that you would see in your country, just walk on by. One of the grandest ways to experience a new culture is through your taste buds. And you’re not going to have that experience if you keep falling back on what is familiar to you. Change those french fries or baked potato for a tamal or an arepa. Exchange that Big Mac for a local dish at a little cafe on the town square. Give up what you usually eat so you can have a truly fun and interesting travel experience. Because if you can’t even do that, then what is the point of traveling? If you can’t give up the chain food, you might as well just stay home and call the pizza delivery guy.