I had a good time this weekend. On Friday, my new friend Jessica and I went to the movies. We were hoping to see Night at the Museum in English with Spanish subtitles, but since they didn't have that one, we ended up watching Angels and Demons. I thought it was good, but pretty intense!
Saturday I went with Jessica on a tour of Cafe Britt. On the way I practiced my Spanish with the driver quite a bit. Cafe Britt is the most well-known brand of coffee here in Costa Rica. They buy coffee beans from over 1,000 local growers. It takes about 3 years for a coffee plant to start producing, but once it does, it typically produces for 40 years! The coffee beans (called cherries when they are on the bush) are harvested over a period of several months by hand because they don't all ripen at the same time. The cherries actually have several layers that are taken off before the coffee bean is ready to be roasted. It was a very interesting tour with great demonstrations and visuals. Below is a picture of the basket that they tie around their waist to put the cherries in (thereby keeping both hands free for picking).
Then Jessica and I returned to San Jose where we took a tour of the National Theater. It's a beautiful building and the tour was very interesting as well. I think the most interesting thing is the picture that is painted on the ceiling. It represents the economy of Costa Rica and was on the back of one of their bills (that is no longer in use), but since the painting was done by a European, it is wrong in several places. For instance, the way the man is carrying the bananas is incorrect. In addition, coffee beans do not grow near the beach, only in the mountains. The faces of the women are also much more European than Costa Rican. After the tour of the Theater, we went to a small artisian marketplace where Jessica bought an Ox Cart very typical of Costa Rica. I think George will be happy that I didn't buy one! Here's a photo of the picture on the bill:
Sunday I went on a tour of Irazu Volcano. It was a beautiful day and we could see the crater very clearly. The water is a pretty green color because of the sulpher in it.
In addition, I went to the Lancaster Gardens where they have some incredibly beautiful orchids. The picture below shows the orchid that is the National Flower of Costa Rica.
It's taken me all week to write this blog because I've been so busy with classes and homework and other activities. This week I've had one class in the morning and then another in the afternoon. In the afternoon class I've been translating some of the notices that I've written for my job. A lot of work, but very rewarding and I think I've learned a lot. We also had a small cooking class, went to the big Central Market in San Jose, and last week I visited the family I stayed with last time. Hopefully I'll have time to write a bit more next week. 
This picture shows us making tortillas and Picadillo de Chayote. Chayote is a vegetable that grows in abundance here. It is green and shaped a little like a pear and tastes a little like zucchini. I like it a lot. Picadillo is (as they say here in Costa Rica) "Muy Rico! This weekend I have plans to go on a nature tour and then Sunday I'm going to go to a Gymnastics competion in which the daughter of the family I'm staying with will be competing. Busy, busy, busy!
1 comment:
Enjoyed your update. It does indeed sound as if you are quite busy. Glad the Spanish is coming back and that you are continuing to have interesting adventures and especially that you found a friend to have them with. How did you find your previous family? Was it fun to see them?
Same old, same old here. I did have Elisabeth and Sarah Sat evening and did a bunch of crafts with them. Boy was I tired by the time Cyndi and Marco got back!
Love you, Aunt Susan
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