ARROZ CON POLLO

You cannot do a more tipical Costa Rican meal than arroz con pollo. This dish is so popular (served at fiestas, birthdays, lunch or dinner) that it is fondly refered to as "arroz con siempre." What follows is a basic recipe that you can tweak to accomodate your tastes (more Lizano? more onion? less cilantro? GO FOR IT!).  To make an even more traditional meal, see my entry for TORTILLAS and serve your arroz con pollo with these and a little side salad.

Make desired amount of rice. 

2 plain chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 large carrot, grated.
1 ½ c. peas
2 large stalks celery, chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 large sweet red pepper, chopped fine
1 c. cilantro, chopped fine
Salsa Lizano (cumin alternative)
Salt, Garlic powder to taste.

In a large pot, sauté onion and sweet red pepper.  Add rice.  Add carrot, peas and celery and mix well. Add chicken and mix well. Add salt, garlic, and Salsa Lizano and mix well.  Cover let sit on low heat for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. (This lets seasonings settle, if your rice is very dry maybe add ¼ c. water.) Lastly add cilantro and mix well. 

Above is a variation that I made at home for my family...hope yours tastes RICO! ENJOY!

Pura vida! 

pictures from visiting fam

Oh hey, that is just me on a 4 wheeler. Steering is a lot harder than I thought and my arms were sore the next day! The background is my Father-in-Law's property...there are many pineapple farms in the arear where he lives. It was pretty muddy, my legs are still clean in the picture lol!

This is "gaspar." This fish is an endangered species, and the place where we went (Tabacón is the name, it is just outside the town of Veracruz) is one of the few places allowed to produce them for commercial reasons. However, they are not allowed to exhibition them...the restaurant had many empty tanks where customers could previously see the gaspar. It was very tasty, and you can see that it was served with "patacones" and refried beans. YUM! I would love to come back for more. 

Caño Negro. I did not realize how much of the town and area of the National Park is water. It looks like marshland! E tells me that this is a very popular location to come for bird-watching tours (of COURSE he knows all about that!) and as a result there is a pretty steady toursim industry in the town. Here you can see one of the many "lanchas" or small, flat-bottomed boats that you can pay to go on and take a tour. The sun was setting and we were not able to do that...maybe next time! 

home away from home

Well I wrapped up my 4th season at CPI almost 2 weeks ago now. This year my favorite group was Aurora University, though I did very much enjoy my Alabama group.

After an early morning airport drop-off (4am! I was up at 3am to get myself together), I went to the closest bus station (La Radial in Alajuela, literally 5 mins away!) and waited for the first bus to Esparza. It must have been about 4:30am and I was sitting on a concrete step with my shin in my hand, half-dozing when a white and orange bus pulled up and the folks around me started yelling "puerto, puerto!" That was my bus! I hopped on and it was a quick hour and 40 mins to my town, I was back in my house by 6:30am at which time I fell back asleep.

The next day (Sunday) E and I went to visit with his Mom and extended family for a few days. This trip to visit my Mother-in-Law was full of firsts! I got to spend quality time with her and my nieces, and also got to visit with my Father-in-Law and his family. I learned to ride a 4 wheeler and a motorbike, ate "gaspar" which is like a long nosed fish that looks likes a cross between fish and caiman...We went to Caño Negro, where I have never been! I saw "paca," which are small rodent like critters that look like large chhipmunks with spots instead of stripes on thier backs. These are endangered creatures and are not seen often, so that was especially cool! I also met 3 more of E's cousins on his Mom's side. He has such a large extended family that it seems like I will never meet all of them! And when we left we rode with my Sister-in-Law and got to spend time catching up with her, and the ride was much more enjoyable than public bus!

On Thursday of last week I went AGAIN to Immigration, and still no word on my status. It seems like I will just be in limbo forever, since they keep pushing the date back! I really hope that when I go next that they will have some news for me. E went with me and then we stopped to visit with my Mama Tica and hit a movie, then went home. I had to finish packing!

On Friday August 2nd I left CR and flew back to the USA, where I will be staying for a little while. I barely made my connection in FLL, I had to RUN to my gate and almost had a panic attack. My Dad picked me up around 12am from the airport, and the time adjustment has been kind of tough. Thank goodness for "sleepy time" tea!

But now I am here in Ohio...you can keep following my adventures at:
http://gringaintheusa.blogspot.com/

Hasta pronto, PURA VIDA!

last week of six weeks in Heredia.

I am not joking when I say that I am Herediana at heart... I just spent six whole weeks in a row here this year! Collectively that is about how much time I have spent in my own house so far since returning in March. I still  haven't seen all of the friends I wanted to see here in Heredia either. Not even six weeks is enough time to touch base with all of the people I want to see. But it just means that I have to come back. And of course this isn't goodbye, it's "see you later" or "hasta luego" or "nos vemos."

Have I really been here since March? It doesn't feel like it has been four months, but taking a look at the calender I can see that it has. April, May, June and July are old news. August is a big month as I prepare to travel back to the USA and spend time with family and friends in very good company (E).

This is my last full week with my Alabama group, and on the whole I have to say that it has been a blast, with only a few bumps in the road. All of the kids in the group are sweeties, and it has been great getting to know them and sharing Costa Rica with them. Hard to believe that after this week I am done with groups, that another season is wrapped up and can be tucked away into memory. All of my polos can be washed and turned in, including the light blue one that has now survived 3 whole seasons with me. (Picture below)
This year I didn't have too many groups...only five! That seems like very few, but most of them were here for two whole weeks which is a pretty significant chunk of time.
Which group was my favorite?? I feel that I should reserve judgement until I finish with this group, but I think that the winner has already won in my mind. But I will wait to tell you.
Every  time I leave CPI I always wonder if it will be my last season. I was pretty sure that 2012 would be my last, yet here I am wrapping up another couple months of work in 2013. This time around I definately felt like the seasoned pro, and got a lot of phone calls and helped my compañeros in various small ways and was able to do so because of my experience. I felt like the head chaperone, even though there really is no such title. But I am glad to offer advice and help when I can, and being the oldest of the group makes me feel pretty responsible for how well my compañeros do on the whole. I did as much as I could, that much is true.

So what is next???
That is the million dollar question. If only I could have my cédula in hand, and not worry about my status here in CR, then so many things would be clearer for me. Whatever comes next, I feel confident that I can handle it, especially with the support of my esposo and my family. ¡Los amo!

PURA VIDA

soundtrack: rainstorm

This Friday evening I went with a "welcome party" of a few students to Juan Santamaria Internationl Airport (SJO) and picked up the new professor for my group. We spent less than five minutes waiting, and because the students know this professor it was easy to spot him and his daughter as they exited the arrivals gate. It was without a doubt the fastest airport pick-up I have ever done, thank goodness! We talked that evening about Costa Rica and I gave them an introduction to the program.

At 5:30am I was up on Saturday and caught a bus home. In the end it was around 8:30am when I got there and E made a great breakfast of gallo pinto...I had not eaten rice at all during the week, and it had been forever since I had eaten gallo pinto!!! It was delish. And I had café, which was also good. Café Britt is some good stuff, there is still a bag in our cabinet that we might not use before August.

Saturday and Sunday were pure relax days...I loved just relaxing at home in a lounge dress and making food, watching tv movies and catching up with E. On Sunday I finally got to sleep in and it was so wonderful. The sun was coming up and getting higher, and I could hear the chickens in the backyard and I let myself close my eyes and sleep some more.
What a wonderful feeling!!! I have not been able to sleep in for a very long time. Remember everyone, when you have a moment to breath deep and relax, do it! It felt like I was finally starting to understand the concept of "Tico Time" while I let the afternoon drift away with the fading sunlight...
Later afternoon we went to twon tp pick up some dinner and beat the rain home, and while we ate dinner we listened to the storm outside and the sound of the rain hitting the roof  of our little house and the flashes of lightning outside the window, illuminating the dripping trees and raindrops sliding of the roof.
It was really pretty cool, and I fell asleep early with a very full tummy (fried chicken will do that to you).

Today I woke up at 4:30am and caught the direct bus back to Heredia and week #3 with my group is in full swing...already over...what a crazy fast Monday.

PURA VIDA

DON'T SAY GOOD-BYE

I am not one for good-byes. Saying "good-bye" just feels so final, like something is ending or is over, and that can be very tough to accept. Usually I prefer to say "see you later" or "until next time," something along those lines instead of something as final as "good-bye." In fact I usually say this to my students at the airport, and even if it isn't always true it is positive and doesn't make thier departure quite so sad. (Though I have never cried for any of my groups...! Not that they have not been awesome!)

Today I did say "nos vemos" to the professor of my Alabama group who left today with her daughters to return to the USA. I can never express enough just how incredible my job is in terms of how many awesome people I meet. This professor I met four years ago, during my very first season, and we hit it off so well. SHe has come every year and I have gotten to know her better and watched her young daughters grow, and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to continue to foster a friendship and professional relationship with her and her family. I will never forget the feeling of knowing that she specifically requested me as her CPI chaperone, a feeling of being appreciated and excited..so gratifying! Being able to spend some quality time with her over the last two weeks (she was my neighbor at the CPI apartments, invited me to dinner twice, and we had many good talks while students were in class) has been truly wonderful.
We agreed that when I am back in the USA that I have to come and see her in Alabama, or we have to at least meet halfway.

Watching her and her girls climb into the car to leave to the airport I kept telling myself, "This is not good-bye."  And it is not. I will see her again...it is one of those relationships that you know are going to last no matter distance, no matter time between visits.

"Nos vemos...!"

Pura Vida.

compañeros

This is Justin. He has been at CPI since December 2012 working as a chaperone, and like me, he was a CPI student before coming back to work with groups.

It has been so much fun working with him and having him as a friend and room-mate for the last month!
In this job I have met so many wonderful and unforgettable people...! And I am so blessed.