Coffee, Coffee and more Coffee
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As a "good Costa Rican", I've incorporated this part of Costa Rican culture to my daily life here at Wheaton. As mentioned in class, coffee is a stimulant because caffeine is a drug that alerts you and a relaxant because its used by people to take a break from their work. At Wheaton I usually don't drink coffee in the morning because I have morning practice and I don't need a stimulant to wake up. Furthermore, I usually don't have time to relax because my classes are early in the morning. However, in the afternoon after all my classes are done I definitely need to relax and wake up in order to do homework. Here at Wheaton, I've modified this coffee tradition by incorporating American products such as Nutella, Oreos, Bagels and other snacks. But my coffee is Costa Rican coffee that I buy when I am back home. Two kilos of coffee is plenty for the semester!
Due to the fact that "coffee time" is when I get to relax, sometimes I invite some of my friends to my room to drink coffee with me. However, I usually have low attendance and only one of my friends joins me in this event. Although I know that my groups of friends is not necessarily a good representation of the Wheaton population, I still find this ironic because according to Dunkin Donuts "America Runs on Dunkins"meaning that coffee should be an important aspect of American culture. I am sure that this kind of advertisement is somewhat true because coffee shops are very common and stores such as Dunkin Donuts and Star Bucks are found everywhere in New England. Therefore, I've concluded that the meaning of coffee is different in both cultures (Costa Rica and Wheaton/USA). At Wheaton many people bring their coffee into class or to the library when they are doing homework and the beverage is clearly being used as a stimulant. In fact, I usually have a greater attendance at my coffee breaks during finals week, and mid-terms when people are busy and need that stimulant in order to survive through the academically challenging week. But the importance of coffee as a way to relax is probably not as important at Wheaton as it is back at home. Here at Wheaton people may drink other beverages as a way to relax such as tea, hot cocoa, apple cider... But to me, it must be coffee.
I was also going to make a post about coffee, until I saw this post. The importance and significance of coffee where your from is pretty interesting. The fact that you are considered a "good Costa Rican" just sums up how important it is in your culture. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteI myself am a huge fan a coffee. I wouldn't say I am "addicted" to coffee but definitely have a habit where coffee is one of the first things I have to make or get to start my day. I really enjoy the taste and the stimulating effect it gives me. I would say that 90 percent of the time I will get a coffee from Dunkin Donuts rather then making it. Back home I would usually make it at home but me living off campus in Norton, I have a Dunkin Donuts that is literally probably 50 steps away from my house so I just get it from there.
In terms of drinking coffee in the morning as well as in the afternoon, my summer job back at home practices that as well. Typically there will be a coffee break from 9 to 9 30 in the morning and then one from 2 to 230 in the afternoon. I would say the morning coffee break is to get you going and ready for the day, and the afternoon break is really for the relaxing aspect that coffee represents, as you said above.
I would definitely put myself in that class of Americans that "run on dunkin".
I find this very interesting, because I grew up in Germany, where coffee (or tea) is a very big part of the culture as well. It's not as common among younger people, but regardless, it is still a cultural norm for people to sit down and have a coffee break in the late afternoon. We call it "Kaffeetrinken", which literally translates to "coffee drinking". People will make coffee or tea, and usually will have something sweet to eat, like a pastry, cookies, or cake. Drinking coffee was never as big a part of my personal experience as it is of yours, and I certainly have not continued the tradition here, but I do find it very interesting that Americans, as a whole, don't have one specific culturally traditional way of drinking coffee.
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