You’ll be eating like the locals, so what foods you’ll be eating depends on which country you’ll call home. Here are some general characteristics of typical meals found in these parts of the world:

Eastern Europe: Plan on lots of meals served with bread, soup, and your favorite root vegetables. Common foods are potatoes, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, chicken and other proteins, lots of bread, and several types of soups. Tea is also very popular.

Asia: Common foods are rice, chicken, pork, fish, seafood, vegetables, local fruits, curries, stir fries, and soups. Oh, and rice is a staple here — plan on it being served at every meal. In some locations, you’ll have flatbreads and rice, served with curries filled with lots of protein-rich veggies like lentils, chickpeas, and beans.

Latin America: Meals here often consist of rice and beans, fried plantains, corn tortillas, and meat like chicken or beef. Even for meals like breakfast, you’ll typically find a scoop of rice and beans.  You’ll also run into fresh fruits like pineapple and papaya, and lots of fresh juice.

The Caribbean: You’ll find lots of beans, rice, pasta, tortillas, chicken, pancakes, bread, fried plantains, fruit and basic staples in the Dominican Republic. Plan on running into fruits you know from home (like bananas) and others you might not recognize (like sugar apples).

Africa: Many local dishes include staples like rice, beans, pasta, plantains, pork, and fresh fruit like bananas and jackfruit.

South Pacific: You’ll have lots of fresh fruits and veggies (avocado, pineapple, raspberries, coconut, papaya, cucumber, tomato, etc) that are grown locally. Yams and other root veggies are popular, served with rice, eggs, and some proteins like chicken/beef/fish. Lots of dishes are made with coconut milk.

Even though meals are provided, ILP volunteers are responsible for purchasing things like snacks, ice cream and other additional items you may prefer. If you incorporate a lot of fruit and fresh veggies in your diet and you’re headed to a country that doesn’t eat a lot of fresh produce, it would be a good idea to add a bit into your budget to shop at a local market for that.