Assorted Tasks

I've had a few assorted tasks hanging on, and I finally got them done (whew!).

- updated my brownie recipe post! Many thanks to Eleonora for correcting my Spanish!

- got my kitchen gas refilled. I have 2 canisters, so I never have to worry about running out of gas part-way through a meal (or cookies! what a disaster that would be!). *But!* I waited so long to refill my primary, that my back-up tank was threatening to die. So much for "the system." Always before, I had lugged the empty canister to the grocery store, and taxied back with a full one. Sometimes the grocery story didn't have one, so I had to return. Ugh. This time (!!) I tried calling Tropigas directly - they have a home delivery service that is *excellent!* Wish I'd known about it earlier... Basically, any time between 7am and 7pm, Monday through Saturday, you can call 800-876-7442. They will take your address and phone number, ask what size tank, tell you the price (same as in the stores), ask what denomination of cash you will pay with (so they can bring the right change), and show up *soon!* My guy came within the hour!

- talked to a guy about building a kitchen island. Our neighbor is replacing her tile (noisy, ugh), and her contractor is good. So, we'll see what he can do - he's pretty busy though, so I don't expect he'll be able to do anything for a while.

- inquired about a housekeeper. Hopefully, we'll talk to her on Tuesday, and have a clean house forever more :-s.

- checked up on my permanent residency. No-go; need to call back next week. sigh.

- got art supplies! After scoping out Lehman's on Tuesday, I went back after my trial run to Sabana Sur, and got **stuff!**

Julie's Brownies

I finally brought some of my favorite long-time recipes to Costa Rica. I did this even knowing that some ingredients are difficult (and sometimes downright impossible) to find. However! I am getting used to modifying old favorites for the Costa Rican markets. And I am finally *very* happy with the Brownie recipe I ended up with :-D.

English:

Ingredients:
125 grams Semi-sweet chocolate (5 pieces of "Torras" "sin azúcar," with splenda, or 14 pieces of "La Chocolatería")
3/4 cup (1 1/2 bars) of butter
1/2 cup powdered cocoa, unsweetened ("La Chocolatería" or Hersheys)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for glass)
2) In a big bowl, heat the chocolate and butter in the microwave on high for 1-2 minutes (only until the butter is melted; the chocolate should not be completely melted)
3) stir until the chocolate is completely melted
4) add the sugar and the cocoa powder, and stir well
5) add the eggs and vanilla, and stir well
6) stir in the flour and pecans
7) pour into a foil-lined and greased pan (I use a 12 inch x 8 inch; you can use 13x9, but adjust the baking time down)
8) bake 40-45 min (but test after 30 min). Do not overbake! (this is very important) Test with a toothpick in the center - when done, it should come out with some liquid and fudgy crumbs
9) cool in the pan, then cut into squares

notes:
- you can use only one bowl, but I prefer to use one big bowl for mixing, and a small bowl for stirring the eggs before adding them to the mix
- it is easier to cut the brownies if you first put them in the fridge for several hours. Also, wetting the knife helps.

Spanish - modified thanks to feedback from Eleonora :-)

Ingredientes:
125 g de chocolate semi-dulce (5 piezas de "Torras" sin azúcar, con splenda, o 14 piezas de "La Chocolatería")
3/4 taza (1 + 1/2 barras) mantequilla pura
1/2 taza cocoa pura, sin azúcar, en polvo
1 + 1/2 taza azúcar
3 huevos
1 cucharadita de vainilla
1 taza harina (blanco, trigo)
1/2 o 1 taza pecanas, no muy picadas (opcional)

Instrucciones:
1) Precalentar el horno a 350 grados F (325 por pyrex)
2) En el microondas, poner un plato grande y hondo para calentar el chocolate y la mantequilla por 1 ó 2 minutos máximo (el chocolate no va a derretirse mucho, solo hasta que la mantequilla se derrita y se pongo bien líquida).
3) Revolver hasta el chocolate esté completamente líquido
4) Agregar el azúcar y la cocoa. Revolver bien
5) Agregar los huevos, la vainilla, y mezclarlos bien
6) Agregar la harina, las pecanas y revolver
7) Poner en una cacerola (forrada con papel de aluminio, y engrasado) (tengo 12x8 pulgadas; se puede usar 13x9, pero ajusta el tiempo - menos)
8) Hornear 40-45 minutos (pero probar después 30 min). No hornear demasiado (esto es muy importante). Probar con un palillo en el centro - cuando viene líquido y con unas migas, significa que está listo.
9) Enfríe en la cacerola, luego parta

notas:
Puede únicamente utilizar un plato hondo, pero preferiblemente utilice uno grande para todo, y uno pequeño por los huevos (para revolver antes agregando).

Top Ten Spanish Verbs

Rick found an interesting Spanish dictionary the other day - it lists the words in order of frequency-of-use! So you can learn the "most important" words (or at least the words you would hear and use most often) quickly. The dictionary is by Davies, and is called "A Frequency Dictionary of Spanish."

The top ten Spanish verbs listed are:

1. ser = to be
2. haber = to have (as an auxiliary verb)
3. estar = to be
4. tener = to have
5. hacer = to make or do
6. poder = to be able, can
7. decir = to tell, say
8. ir = to go
9. ver = to see
10. dar = to give

Of course, these are simplified translations - most of these verbs have subtleties associated with them, and so have many different meanings and are used in many different ways. Still, it is a nice study list!

Cinema in Costa Rica!

We just got back from the movies! We saw James Bond – Quantum of Solace. If you don’t know, it is largely set in Bolivia (a Spanish-speaking country – remember that, it’s important…).

We got there a bit earlier than we needed to – it started at 6:40, and we were in our seats by 6:30 (us and another couple). At 6:40 on the dot, the lights dimmed, commercials were aired, more people came in… Reminded me of going to the movies in small-town USA (we once arrived a few minutes into the pre-movie commercial, and they offered to re-start it for us – can you see that happening now? Anywhere?). The price was reasonable - c1800, or about $3.25 each. I think the last time I saw a movie in California, it was $10 (and it was a matinee).

An e-friend (you know who you are) tells me that there is a cine in Curridabat where they bring your dinner and wine orders to your plush seat - just like a restaurant, but with big-screen entertainment - Now that sounds too good to be true!

Most live-action movies in Costa Rica are in the original language (usually English), with Spanish subtitles. Note that most *cartoon* movies are in Spanish. Sooo, if you really want to know if your Spanish is up to snuff, go see a movie in Costa Rica that is set in a Spanish-speaking country – like Bolivia… You will find that whenever the characters speak Italian, French, Spanish, or whatever-not-English, the usual I-depend-on-them-but-not-for-long English subtitles are (you guessed it) not *there!* They continue with the Spanish ones - *except* when the characters are speaking Spanish – then NONE!

I suggest starting with an action-adventure movie, where dialog isn’t really all that important anyway. This is in no way meant to slam these movies, which I like – they’re fun!

May 06, 2007 - Spanish keyboard "at" sign?!

To get the @ on a Spanish keyboard, you need to keep the "alt" key pushed, and sequentialy push the "6," then the "4."

The really nice thing about the Spanish keyboard is that you get accents, ¿, and ñ for free!

The internet café in Orosí - at least most of the computers there - let you change keyboards with a click of the mouse. REALLY NICE!

Update: the ¨at sign¨ is actually known as the ¨arroba¨ in Spanish :)

May 06, 2007 - First Intercambio, Spanish School

Friday night, we went to our first "Intercambio" - this is where native English-speakers and native Spanish-speakers get together for conversations in mixed English/Spanish.

It was a very interesting experience, and I will definitely do it again. It started slow, and no one really seemed to be in charge of it, but everyone seemed to expect someone to say "ok, start." But, since my frame of mind is now perpetually in the "expect to be confused" state, I do ok. Susan and I go to a table where there is a mother and her 10-year old daughter; Susan startes talking to the mother, and I listen a bit, and ask the daughter a question or two in Spanish. Then, someone says a word we don't know, and I get out my electronic dictionary. Wow! The daughter (María Paula) really perks up - I show her how it works, and she takes over. In a little while, we are getting a real conversation going (in Spanish). A bit later, two more Ticas sit down, and we talk a bit more in Spanish, and play a language game the María Paula knows (called STOP - one person gives a letter, and the other must write down names, countries, things, animals, etc that start with that letter). After a few turns at this, we all take a turn speaking English. Everyone expects everyone else to correct their language and pronunciation, and we all speak veerrryyy slowly. The conversation starters are very centered on family - how many brothers and sisters do you have? Are you married? For how long? Do you have children (and why not, in my case - I still don´t have a good standard answer, other than ¨we decided not to¨)? When people tell you they have 22 brothers and sisters, and 7 children, they don´t understand too easily when you say you decided not to have any. But, many do.

This Intercambio is run as a community service through the Montaña Linda Spanish school in Orosí. The strange part is that in the 3 weeks we were in the school, between us we had 7 teachers, and not one of them mentioned the Intercambio. I get the feeling that the people who run the school have lost track of the bits of information that new students need to hear about. Other examples:
Volunteer programs and how they work - you can teach English, but the preparation for the classes is vague and inconsistent.
Homework is not really assigned; you are expected to pick something to do, and then (if you want) go over it with the teacher.
They don´t give you an overview of the book or a path of study - it is all very self-paced. This is _great_ for people like Rick - he pushed himself and the teachers, learned a _lot_ in just 3 weeks of class. But for people (like me) who expect more rules... Well, it takes a while to even figure out that the pace is up to you.

January 27, 2007 - Highlights from Costa Rica trip # 1

January 27, 2007 - Highlights from Costa Rica trip # 1

Some highlights from our first trip to Costa Rica (January 20 – February 10, 2006)

21-24 January - Heredia
We went for our first Costa Rican breakfast (dos desayunos – daysahjhoonash). Pretty good, and easy to order. The eggs were salty (we hear that in general the food is salty here), but the cheese was great! So far, no one has brought a check – we are not rushed out of restaurants, and we specifically ask to pay. From breakfast, we went to the Plaza Central – it is beautiful, with large shade trees. We couldn’t tell which were the mangoes, but there were a lot of trees. And a lot of benches! Very comfy. After a short rest, we went further downhill to the Mercado Central – Saturday is Market day – it was very busy. We priced a few items from our “shopping list.” There was fresh meat, fish, chicken, and produce everywhere! Most of the chicken was sold by parts, some of the fish was filleted, and some whole (probably cleaned). There was a *lot* of different produce – a lot we didn’t recognize, but looked good. After the market, we were pretty tired, so we headed back to the hotel to rest. We were lugging the laptop and camera all this time. Yikes! At the hotel, we took a siesta/shower/nap – sooo civilized! All day was a very pleasant sunny! Breezy! 23°C day.

We stopped at the park a lot – this is a very happenin’ place! The benches are clean because they are used all the time! But we have always been able to find a good spot (shady).

Next morning we left for a café (sin laptop and camera). Had Gallo Pinto for the first time – the spices were great, and the beans weren’t mushy. The fruit was amazing! Everything had obviously ripened on the tree/vine – very sweet & juicy – watermelon, papaya, pineapple, and bananas.

We found a fast internet café just down the road from our hotel – 300 c/hr, 200 kbps – we got our download in 10 minutes, instead of the 2 hrs we were expecting from a phone line – nice! Just like home . We spent the rest of the hour checking email, etc.

The Parque Central is *really* busy on Sunday evenings! This is when all the PDAs happen. Here and there couples hold hands and cuddle. One girl near us was sitting in her boyfriend’s lap! So much for CR’s reputation for no public displays…

Mostly we noticed all the kids – they were madly running around this huge drained fountain. There was a clown making balloon animals and playing tag with the kids. There were also vendors set up in a row selling ponchos, hats, handbags, necklaces, etc.

The owner of the hotel (Don Carlos) stopped to talk to us as we sat on the patio. He spoke a little English, and we told him we spoke a little Spanish. He told us all about Costa Rica (in Spanish, thinking about how to tell us so we would understand). He obviously loves his country, and is proud of it. What was so great is that we could understand almost every word! He *was* being careful, and would ask if we understood. When we didn’t, he would change how he said it, and sometimes pantomime. He was very friendly and down-to-earth.

We went on our camera urban safari. The town is pretty interesting – there are houses and apartments mixed right in with shops – seems to be this way almost throughout the town – very old European. Downtown has fewer houses, but is still mixed.

Got a taxi to our San José hotel - $10. What a ride! We had been walking all over Heredia, and had learned how to avoid getting hit by taxis, now we learned how to “enjoy” the ride in one. Our seatbelts didn’t work, so it was especially fun.

25-29 January, 2006 (San José)
We take a tour up the Poás Volcano. By the time we got to the top of the mountain, the clouds had blown away from the volcano, and we got spectacular views of the lake in the crater. Our guide gave us a lot of history and a chemistry lesson related to the color of the lake. It often appears turquoise. Today, it was white. The ph balance of the water determines the color.

We attended the ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) seminar on moving and living in Costa Rica. We met a *lot* of interesting people, and heard a lot of good information. The most critical piece of news is that the laws for immigrating are changing as of August this year. Essentially, if we get our paperwork for residency in after August, we will have to have twice as much money in the bank here. So, we joined ARCR, and are going to try to get our papers to immigration before then. After that, it takes 4-6 months to get approved for residency. At that point, the “1 year” clock starts ticking – we have to be in Costa Rica for 4 months in that year. If all works out, we would only move a little earlier than originally planned.

It is interesting what goes through your head when you actually join (and pay money to) a residency association – we had said that so far, nothing would keep us from moving here, but then there was a clench when we committed to it. But then, it is not an awful lot of money – if we freak out on the rest of the trip, oh well.

30 January – 4 February, 2006 (Sámara)
Our first day of Spanish school…

We get to the school for our 7:30 a.m. test time. They test us individually (orally), then we get our class assignments. We found out that we have class in the afternoon today instead of the morning, so we sat out by the beach, read, and tried the internet café. The school has a backyard w/ chairs and shade, and is right on the beach. The internet here is sloooooow (shared dial-up) and expeeeeensive ($2.40/hr)! We gave up.

Class is interesting – there are 6 students in mine (this is the most allowed) – some know absolutely zero Spanish. Our teacher uses Spanish and gestures (and very little English for our class – the later classes don’t use any English at all). Our book does have some translations, but a lot is in Spanish only – you look up some words in the dictionary; some are explained in class using Spanish and gestures, and sometimes in English from another student.

It was dark when we left the school – things sure do look different after dark – so…. We got lost. Fortunately we only backtracked once.

They alternate groups during the week between morning and afternoon classes, so that everyone gets a chance to enjoy the beach at both times. Plenty of time to do homework and have fun. So, on to the beach! We had our usual breakfast, and walked down to the close beach. The tide was low, so the beach just went on and on! The reef protects the bay from any strong waves, and the beach is sandy and flat-ish. We just floated along for about an hour. There were a few others, but it was not crowded at all. The water temperature was like a cool bath – perfect! And the rain last night had cooled the air a bit.

We had to write a short speech for the graduation ceremony. We had some good conversation, and a few “Guaro Sunrises,” and then the graduation ceremony started. I was the *first* one to give a speech – yikes! Well, then I got to enjoy the rest . At the end, all the professors gathered to decide on prizes. I got the first prize – for best speech!! Afterwards, we had dinner, more drinks, more conversation, and some dancing.

One guy had gotten stung by a scorpion on the beach the other day – he was telling his story and showing his swollen foot.

Everyone had class and finals this morning (I know, the graduation was probably a bit premature). It is amazing how much progress you can make in just one week! We passed our tests, and had a short break until 10:30.

After the break, had a Costa Rica culture class. We focused on the national seal, and what each of the elements represents. Things like:

· 7 stars represent the seven provinces

· 3 mountains represent the 3 calderas (ranges)

· 2 ships in 2 oceans represent the imports/exports from both sides (Pacific and Caribbean)

Xinia (our Tica hostess), Rick, and I walked to a beach called Buena Vista. This is where a lot of turtles lay their eggs, and a small camp is set up there to collect data and protect the baby turtles when they hatch. We got to an estuary right before the sea, and met up with Ronald (Xinia's novio). He had a backpack full of goodies :).

We spent several very pleasant hours swimming in the estuary, joking about sharks and crocs, drinking guaro, eating fruit and shishkebab (pincho) sausage and pasta (Did they come prepared! Xinia even had a small frying pan that she put over a small campfire!!)

Later, we walked to a restaurant for dinner. You should have seen Xinia trying to wheedle a beer out of the owner – it is the weekend for elections, and all liquor is locked up Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We joined in, asking for guaro and vino – everyone had a few laughs, but no alcohol.

What a good day!

5-10 February, 2006 (Alajuela)
We left for our hotel in Alajuela, got checked in, relaxed for a couple of hours, and went to a late lunch (early dinner) in town. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and election day, so a *lot* of places were closed. We had Chinese food again – I think it will be a Sunday tradition for us :).

We met people from the seminar again! Everyone here is very friendly, and several are moving to Costa Rica, so there is a lot to talk about.

It’s a very comfortable temperature (maybe upper 70’s or low 80’s), but they say that it is cooler than usual for this time of year.

It rained for about half an hour at noon – Rick waited it out in the internet café (didn’t even notice the rain), and I waited in the ice-cream store :).

We caught a ride from a fellow seminar alumni to the “ZooAve.” The ZooAve (say suave = smooth; a slang here for “cool”) is a zoo full of plants, birds, reptiles, and mammals. Well, by the time we got there, it was 4:00. The place closes at 5, *and* charges $15 each for tourists (but only 2100 colones for residents). So, we said “mañana,” and caught the bus back to town. Yet another anxious few moments for me – we were pretty sure that the bus would unload everyone in the center of town, but…

Well, no problem – we got off along with everyone else, and started walking back to the hotel. But the walk seemed a lot longer than it looked like it should be on the map. And Alajuela seems to have fewer street signs even than Heredia. So, now it is Rick’s turn to be nervous. Well, we were on the right track, and eventually got to the hospital park, very near our hotel – we’re good to go!

We’re off to ZooAve again! Midmorning, we catch another ride, and have plenty of time to see all the plants and animals. It was worth the $15 (once), but we will probably not go again until we are residents. Rick checked on availability of our prescriptions at a farmacia – they have all our pills (much cheaper than in the states), except the ones for Rick's tendinitis.

Norman from our B&B took us around to see several apartments – we saw what was available and how much they go for. Lots of range here. After seeing the apartments, we stopped at the market, and Norman showed us around while he picked up some items for his restaurant – pretty interesting.

Rick and I went to a bookstore and bank, and Rick checked out a nearby market.