Thankful Post #2

I wasn't going to make this a daily thing, but as I was sitting there eating lunch I thought, I'm so grateful for the Columbian Exchange.

That might seem like a weird thing for most people. But it is not different than a math major doing crazy calculations for fun. Or a psychology major analyzing the people they come in contact with. Or... whatever, the Columbian Exchange is something we discussed in several of my geography classes and it was one of my favorite topics.

In the Church we talk about how Christopher Columbus was inspired and directed by the hand of God in order to "discover" the Americas and therefore set the path whereby the great US of A could be established allowing for the restoration of the gospel. But that was only one of the things that Columbus' contact began.

Before the Columbian Exchange, there were no oranges in Florida, no bananas in Ecuador, no paprika in Hungary, no tomatoes in Italy, no potatoes in Ireland, no coffee in Colombia, no pineapples in Hawaii, no rubber trees in Africa, no cattle in Texas, no donkeys in Mexico, no chili peppers in Thailand and India, no cigarettes in France, and no chocolate in Switzerland.

Can you imagine a world like that?

And since my ancestry comes from the Old World, without the Columbian Exchange, I would be stuck over there eating haggis... or something really nasty, instead of enjoying a delicious tortilla (New World) with black beans (New World) and sweet pork (Old World) smothered in cheese (Old World) and spiciness (Who knows?).

Thank you Columbian Exchange for my sweet pork burrito! And for all of the delicious, creative meals I eat and enjoy!