We all get our rules for handling food from somewhere - our parents, grocery store wrapping, trial and error… Well, after a miserable couple of days, we have decided on some *new* rules.
1) Find a butcher you can trust.
2) When you buy meat, rinse it as soon as you get home. Most butchers keep their meat on ice, and you can’t count on what else has been there - rinse it off.
3) Either cook the meat and eat it that day, or freeze it - *that same day*
4) After rinsing the meat, rinse down all surfaces with a bleach solution. Let it stand for at least 3 minutes, then rinse with water.
5) Keep leftover beans or rice for no more than 3 days. Keep any other leftovers for no more than *one* day - make less, eat it the next day, or toss it.
6) Put leftovers in the fridge right away - within half an hour of eating.
For those who were wondering *where* has she been!?!? Now you know. I was sick. Poisoned in my own kitchen. Making up new rules…
Thursday, January 10, 2008
January 6, 2008 - Trucker’s Day
Sunday (January 6, also epiphany) was “Trucker’s Day” in Alajuela. We live right off the Calle Ancha (that’s the “wide street” that circles the central 10 blocks or so of town - it is the boundary where the one-way streets turn into 2-way streets). Calle Ancha was basically the trucker parade route. So, from quarter till eleven in the morning, for an hour and a half, we could see and *hear* the trucks - slowly and noisily honking along.
I remember as a kid, we used to give the sign (your fist grabbing an imaginary air horn in the air and pulling) to truckers whenever we saw one, and they would honk just for us - this was as if a whole town of kids was giving the sign to an *entire* factory of trucks! For *hours*!
It also reminded me of weddings - everyone used to convoy over from the wedding ceremony to the reception; we would all line up, take off, and honk like crazy the whole way. I once nearly burned out a horn doing that - it ended up making these little meee-ee-eep mee-ee-eep sounds…
I don’t know if this was a special day for Truckers only in Alajuela, or if it was all around the country. In Orosí, we encountered a similar parade, but it was right before Labor Day (May 1st).
I remember as a kid, we used to give the sign (your fist grabbing an imaginary air horn in the air and pulling) to truckers whenever we saw one, and they would honk just for us - this was as if a whole town of kids was giving the sign to an *entire* factory of trucks! For *hours*!
It also reminded me of weddings - everyone used to convoy over from the wedding ceremony to the reception; we would all line up, take off, and honk like crazy the whole way. I once nearly burned out a horn doing that - it ended up making these little meee-ee-eep mee-ee-eep sounds…
I don’t know if this was a special day for Truckers only in Alajuela, or if it was all around the country. In Orosí, we encountered a similar parade, but it was right before Labor Day (May 1st).
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
January 5, 2008 – Farmer’s Market
This morning we finally made it to the weekly Alajuela Farmer’s Market! It is on the other side of town, so it was quite a walk for us – but what a *nice* day!
The Feria (Farmer’s Market) is about a block-sized covered area just outside the center of town. It is open on Friday afternoons and evenings, and Saturdays until 2:30. Most people bring bags, totes, and those little carts with two wheels. We took our huge tote (it is the size of the maximum carry-on for an airplane) – I haven’t yet been able to fill it and still carry it… Anyway, there are stands where you can borrow a shopping cart (don’t know if you have to pay, but you can’t take it out), and other stands where you can buy bags. There is a parking lot, and a handy taxi stand too.
We were concentrating on buying produce, but there are also stands that sell eggs, fish, and meat. There are also places to buy shoes, hair ribbons, and other hard goods. There was at least one soda (a stand-and-eat restaurant). I swear, someone could make a *fortune* if they opened a soda with actual seats (or even simple crates!) – there was *no where* to just sit! Well, we did sit on a raised section of sidewalk near the parking lot – but it was right next to a gutter, and smelled something fierce (but it was in the shade).
Well, after taking a load off, we walked a few aisles and started buying. You need a lot of coins when you go to the Feria – almost everything is 200 colones. I made a list below of a lot of the items we saw. I remember looking all over the place for prices of food and other basics when we first considered moving here. If you’re in the same boat, well, now you have some info…
Since we were now loaded down with lots of fresh produce, we took a taxi back. There is a taxi stand right there – we were about to get in the taxi, when we saw Don Oscar a few cabs back – so we did a reverse cut :) and got into his taxi instead. Not exactly kosher, but no one seemed to mind. When we got to our apartment, we invited him in to see what we ended up with (Oscar is the taxi driver who helped me look for a place to live one afternoon. He is also one of the trusted “call him first” taxi drivers; very old school.)
ITEMS (cost in colones (current rate is approximately c500 = $1; weight is in kilograms):
Avocado – 1000 / bag of 8
Cilantro – 100 / bunch
Pineapple (medium) – 300 each (I got a large one yesterday at the supermarket for less, but on special)
Mango (small, ripe) – 300 each
Tomatoes – 250 / kilo
Onions (small!) – 400 / half kilo bag
Cucumbers – 150 / bag of 3
Carrots – 200 / kilo
Camote – 200 / bag
Chili (sweet red) – 250 / small bag
Flowers – bunches ranged from 800 to 1800; singles (don’t know the names) went for 100 each
Eggs – 1200 / kilo (white); 1300 / kilo (brown); 15 eggs is usually about a kilo
Celery – 500 / large bunch
Bananas – 400 / kilo
Green beans – 400 / kilo
Ayote (large squash used in soups) – 400 / quarter
Mora (blackberries) – 500 / big bag; 250 / small bag
“brain” fruit (don’t know the name, but we think the inside looks like a brain – tastes good) – 500 / bag of 11
The Feria (Farmer’s Market) is about a block-sized covered area just outside the center of town. It is open on Friday afternoons and evenings, and Saturdays until 2:30. Most people bring bags, totes, and those little carts with two wheels. We took our huge tote (it is the size of the maximum carry-on for an airplane) – I haven’t yet been able to fill it and still carry it… Anyway, there are stands where you can borrow a shopping cart (don’t know if you have to pay, but you can’t take it out), and other stands where you can buy bags. There is a parking lot, and a handy taxi stand too.
We were concentrating on buying produce, but there are also stands that sell eggs, fish, and meat. There are also places to buy shoes, hair ribbons, and other hard goods. There was at least one soda (a stand-and-eat restaurant). I swear, someone could make a *fortune* if they opened a soda with actual seats (or even simple crates!) – there was *no where* to just sit! Well, we did sit on a raised section of sidewalk near the parking lot – but it was right next to a gutter, and smelled something fierce (but it was in the shade).
Well, after taking a load off, we walked a few aisles and started buying. You need a lot of coins when you go to the Feria – almost everything is 200 colones. I made a list below of a lot of the items we saw. I remember looking all over the place for prices of food and other basics when we first considered moving here. If you’re in the same boat, well, now you have some info…
Since we were now loaded down with lots of fresh produce, we took a taxi back. There is a taxi stand right there – we were about to get in the taxi, when we saw Don Oscar a few cabs back – so we did a reverse cut :) and got into his taxi instead. Not exactly kosher, but no one seemed to mind. When we got to our apartment, we invited him in to see what we ended up with (Oscar is the taxi driver who helped me look for a place to live one afternoon. He is also one of the trusted “call him first” taxi drivers; very old school.)
ITEMS (cost in colones (current rate is approximately c500 = $1; weight is in kilograms):
Avocado – 1000 / bag of 8
Cilantro – 100 / bunch
Pineapple (medium) – 300 each (I got a large one yesterday at the supermarket for less, but on special)
Mango (small, ripe) – 300 each
Tomatoes – 250 / kilo
Onions (small!) – 400 / half kilo bag
Cucumbers – 150 / bag of 3
Carrots – 200 / kilo
Camote – 200 / bag
Chili (sweet red) – 250 / small bag
Flowers – bunches ranged from 800 to 1800; singles (don’t know the names) went for 100 each
Eggs – 1200 / kilo (white); 1300 / kilo (brown); 15 eggs is usually about a kilo
Celery – 500 / large bunch
Bananas – 400 / kilo
Green beans – 400 / kilo
Ayote (large squash used in soups) – 400 / quarter
Mora (blackberries) – 500 / big bag; 250 / small bag
“brain” fruit (don’t know the name, but we think the inside looks like a brain – tastes good) – 500 / bag of 11
Friday, January 4, 2008
January 4, 2008 - Everyone Knows It´s Windy
And it has been *WINDY* every single day this year! (I just love saying that).
*Immediately* after the New Year´s Eve party, the wind picked up. Roofs are flapping, stuff is blowing in under the door, windows are slamming shut (and open). It is non-stop!
We saw a towel (some poor unfortunate´s laundry) hanging in the telephone wires. So I immediately started using 3 clips for each shirt, and constantly looking out the window to make sure none of my laundry had blown away. It didn´t, but it sure did twist and turn (and I´m glad I did use extra clips – several had come loose!).
It is getting easier to get to sleep – we are starting to take the racket for granted. I think if it suddenly stopped, I would as suddenly awaken not knowing what was going on.
I sure don´t envy anyone trying to fly in or out of
The good news - I am stuck on songs like "Everyone Knows it's Windy" and "Blue Skies."
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
January 2, 2008 - House-buying Frenzy?
House-buying Frenzy
One thing that is guaranteed to happen when you get a bunch of people in Costa Rica together from the USA - you talk about housing. Actually, you talk about buying and/or building a house. It’s easy to see why so many people think there is a buying frenzy here. “I gotta get mine before they’re all gone!”
Two years ago, when we went to the ARCR seminar on living in Costa Rica, the old-timers had advice on renting vs buying. The laws here highly favor the renter, and rents were pretty cheap. The rule-of-thumb (for a house with a mortgage, which is actually very unusual here) is that rents should be about 1% of the total worth of the house. Well, rents were running at about 0.65% - quite a deal! And renters can usually lock in a rate for 3 years.
At about the same time, all of the books we had read on moving to Costa Rica stated that it was very easy to find a nice place to live at a very reasonable cost (e.g., a basic, furnished smallish 1-bedroom apartment in a nice neighborhood of San Jose for $250/month).
We spent the next two years watching (just casually, since we really aren’t ready to settle on a place yet) real estate ads - and we saw a good half of the houses for sale languish for over 6 months (many for over a year). Then we met a friend who wasn’t sure whether Costa Rica would be right for her, so she decided to buy a house and live here for a while. This was to be *less* of a commitment than going through the residency procedures, and somehow better than renting… Well, within a few months, she knew that she wanted to move on. She put her house up for sale, and left. Six months later, it still has not sold.
All this was a pretty good case for renting - forever!
But…
More and more often we talk to people who bought property 3 or 4 years ago, and say that they wouldn’t be able to afford that same property now.
Others talk about neighbors who sold their houses within days. They calculate that their house has increased by 15% (or $40,000, or some other nice figure).
Housing tours are getting to be big business. The latest tour that we heard about had 14 people in it - in 10 days, they were shown various properties around Costa Rica, and by the end, *eight* people had bought houses!
Mortgages for houses were unheard of in Costa Rica only a few short years ago. They are still very uncommon, but we are starting to see ads for them. They are hard to get, with a lot of hoops to jump through (e.g., you need to get life insurance to cover the loan in case you croak), and the interest rates are *high*!
So, perhaps it is getting to be less true that it is easy to buy, but hard to sell. Perhaps the housing bubble is moving from the states to Costa Rica. Perhaps the baby boomers will turn it into a solid market.
Whether there is a “valid” frenzy or not, it is still difficult to know who to trust - “buyer beware” is the watchword, and plenty of things can go wrong - adding unexpected costs and anxiety to the experience (buying *or* building).
And you still need to know *where* you want to live.
One thing that is guaranteed to happen when you get a bunch of people in Costa Rica together from the USA - you talk about housing. Actually, you talk about buying and/or building a house. It’s easy to see why so many people think there is a buying frenzy here. “I gotta get mine before they’re all gone!”
Two years ago, when we went to the ARCR seminar on living in Costa Rica, the old-timers had advice on renting vs buying. The laws here highly favor the renter, and rents were pretty cheap. The rule-of-thumb (for a house with a mortgage, which is actually very unusual here) is that rents should be about 1% of the total worth of the house. Well, rents were running at about 0.65% - quite a deal! And renters can usually lock in a rate for 3 years.
At about the same time, all of the books we had read on moving to Costa Rica stated that it was very easy to find a nice place to live at a very reasonable cost (e.g., a basic, furnished smallish 1-bedroom apartment in a nice neighborhood of San Jose for $250/month).
We spent the next two years watching (just casually, since we really aren’t ready to settle on a place yet) real estate ads - and we saw a good half of the houses for sale languish for over 6 months (many for over a year). Then we met a friend who wasn’t sure whether Costa Rica would be right for her, so she decided to buy a house and live here for a while. This was to be *less* of a commitment than going through the residency procedures, and somehow better than renting… Well, within a few months, she knew that she wanted to move on. She put her house up for sale, and left. Six months later, it still has not sold.
All this was a pretty good case for renting - forever!
But…
More and more often we talk to people who bought property 3 or 4 years ago, and say that they wouldn’t be able to afford that same property now.
Others talk about neighbors who sold their houses within days. They calculate that their house has increased by 15% (or $40,000, or some other nice figure).
Housing tours are getting to be big business. The latest tour that we heard about had 14 people in it - in 10 days, they were shown various properties around Costa Rica, and by the end, *eight* people had bought houses!
Mortgages for houses were unheard of in Costa Rica only a few short years ago. They are still very uncommon, but we are starting to see ads for them. They are hard to get, with a lot of hoops to jump through (e.g., you need to get life insurance to cover the loan in case you croak), and the interest rates are *high*!
So, perhaps it is getting to be less true that it is easy to buy, but hard to sell. Perhaps the housing bubble is moving from the states to Costa Rica. Perhaps the baby boomers will turn it into a solid market.
Whether there is a “valid” frenzy or not, it is still difficult to know who to trust - “buyer beware” is the watchword, and plenty of things can go wrong - adding unexpected costs and anxiety to the experience (buying *or* building).
And you still need to know *where* you want to live.
January 1, 2008 - Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Last night (new year's eve) we went to a lovely party! We met some new people and caught up with some old friends, too :). There was plenty of talking, laughing, and joking. We took the guitar and banjo, and spent a little while playing and singing. All through the evening, but especially at midnight, there were a *lot* of fireworks! It seemed that each house had a gathering, and each gathering had its own fireworks display! These are the kind that shoot up into the sky and burst - the kind we only get at community events in the states. They were *great*! Several rained debris (fortunately, not on fire) on the roof of the house - that is how close they were!
Also at midnight, we all opened our package of grapes. This is a Costa Rican tradition - you pack up 12 grapes and tie it with something red, and attach flowers that you gather from in front of a rich person's house. Then at midnight on New Year's Eve, you eat all twelve grapes. And you keep the flowers and red binding. This is how you make sure you have a prosperous new year. We joked that since our flowers were gathered from in front of the alcoholics anonymous building, we would have a drunken year...
Today, we followed at least one of my family's traditions - we had soup. It wasn't stone soup, but it was good anyway. And we didn't hike up the mountain, but we *did* "hike" to the central park. We saw a lot of Ticos doing the same, so we got a good mix of traditions :).
We saw a clown performing for a crowd in the park, and I took a couple of pictures...
Last night (new year's eve) we went to a lovely party! We met some new people and caught up with some old friends, too :). There was plenty of talking, laughing, and joking. We took the guitar and banjo, and spent a little while playing and singing. All through the evening, but especially at midnight, there were a *lot* of fireworks! It seemed that each house had a gathering, and each gathering had its own fireworks display! These are the kind that shoot up into the sky and burst - the kind we only get at community events in the states. They were *great*! Several rained debris (fortunately, not on fire) on the roof of the house - that is how close they were!
Also at midnight, we all opened our package of grapes. This is a Costa Rican tradition - you pack up 12 grapes and tie it with something red, and attach flowers that you gather from in front of a rich person's house. Then at midnight on New Year's Eve, you eat all twelve grapes. And you keep the flowers and red binding. This is how you make sure you have a prosperous new year. We joked that since our flowers were gathered from in front of the alcoholics anonymous building, we would have a drunken year...
Today, we followed at least one of my family's traditions - we had soup. It wasn't stone soup, but it was good anyway. And we didn't hike up the mountain, but we *did* "hike" to the central park. We saw a lot of Ticos doing the same, so we got a good mix of traditions :).
We saw a clown performing for a crowd in the park, and I took a couple of pictures...
I even delayed posting this because we were just too exhausted to do too much - and all the internet cafes are closed on the first... What a good excuse!
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