Costa Rica A-Z: Part 2

Costa Rica A-Z: Part 2

M – Mom! My mom visited me for a week. She met my host family, we went to the Market in San Jose, we ate delicious meals, and we relaxed by the pool and ocean for four days.

N – Neighborhood. I love to run. About three times a week, I run around my neighborhood and the surrounding areas. My host parents tease me because they say I run all over the place and I should just find a straight road to run out and back. But, I love to discover new neighborhoods, restaurants, grocery stores, and shops. Running is my way of exploring where I live.

O – Ocean. I have traveled to the beach four times and just made plans to visit a new one for a weekend in May. The ocean is my best friend here!

P – Papaya. I generally do not like papaya. However, earlier this week, my mom chopped green papaya (not ripe papaya from our backyard) and cooked it with ground beef. The papaya and ground beef entre is now one of my favorite dishes in Costa Rica.

Q – enriQue Iglesias. This weekend, I am going to an Enrique Iglesias concert. I am thrilled.

R – Rainy season. We are entering winter, which is the rainy season of Costa Rica. After getting caught in one big storm (just on my way to grab a taxi), my “to-do” list includes finding the cheapest umbrella in Costa Rica!

S – Smoothies. As my mom discovered, one of the best things about Costa Rica is the smoothies. The smoothies are made with fresh fruit, ice, and a little cane sugar….all natural!

T – Translating. After a week with my mom, my translating skills were close to perfect! However, translating every item on the menu can be challenging for both parties involved!

U – University. The point of studying abroad is to study. However, classes are my least favorite part of being here! But, after learning about the university system in Costa Rica, I feel very good about education in CR and I am grateful to have such intelligent and hard-working students in my classes.  All students can afford to attend college because of the scholarship system that public universities have. Students have to be accepted to public universities (after taking an exam). Acceptance into public universities can be very competitive and difficult. Once accepted, there are three types of scholarships: full academic scholarships, which are the least common; scholarships that pay for all classes at the university and students have to obtain specific grades; or scholarships in which the students work at the university for a specific number of classes per semester and in turn, their classes are paid for and their families receive money since the student is not helping provide for the family.

V – Vacation. With the exception of classes, sometimes I feel like I am on an extended vacation! I generally sleep 9 hours every night. At least once or twice a month I travel to the beach. I relax on my back porch every evening (although war has begun with mosquitoes, and I am losing big time!)

W – Whitefaced monkeys. These are the types of monkeys that we had outside of our hotel window and swinging from the trees above our hotel pool while in Manuel Antonio. I loved watching the monkeys play and swing branch to branch. As a friend from home texted me, “We have squirrels. They have monkeys!”

X – X-Ray. A new species of frog was just discovered in Costa Rica. The frog is see-through. When looking at the frog, it is like looking at an x-ray of the frog because the organs are visible from the outside.

Y – Yuca. Yuca is a typical vegetable in Latin America. I think yuca tastes like potato, but my host mom says they are nothing alike. For gringos who are curious about yuca, just think of it as tasting like potato, being cooked like a potato, but having a different texture (it kind of peels down the sides).

Z – Zuchinni. For someone that used to dislike zucchini, I have really changed! I eat zucchini about three times a week and could eat it every day! Zucchini is a vegetable that I would not think would be popular in tropical areas, but is a very common side dish.

El Avion....The Airplane restaurant. The restaurant is built around a real airplane!

We made friends with a sloth outside of our hotel one night.

Wood-Fired Restaurant called The Cantina, the chef  was so nice that he let me cook with him!

We enjoyed delicious fruit smoothies every day. This one is passion fruit and mango.

One of the white-faced monkeys at our hotel.

Mom and Me

Mile and I met when I was 11 years old and she was 16 years old. We met at a CISV village in Cairo, Egypt. Mile lives in Costa Rica. Yesterday, I had the unbelievable pleasure of reconnecting with her! Oh, and for those Aggies out there, Mile has three Aggies in her family! Woop!

Papaya and ground beef (surrounded by broccoli, rice, and beans).

One of the highlights of my week was talking with our neighbor. She just returned from two weeks in Ireland where she practiced a little English with her family there. We practice our English and Spanish together. She teases me and we always enjoy each other's company. She is my ray of sunshine!