Culture Day

Today we had our culture day at school. Each trimester we have a day devoted to learning interesting things about the Latino culture. In previous culture days we learned about Christmas traditions, national holidays, food, music, and many more interesting little facts about life in Latin America. Today was no different as we were privileged to hear about common home remedies, popular children's games, music and dance, and of course food. It took me almost 13 years of marriage and becoming missionaries for Ken to finally take dance lessons with me, but it finally happened! We learned how to do the merengue and the salsa.

Another neat part about culture day is we get to eat some of the local cuisine, but this time we actually got to help cook it too. I finally found out the secret to making something with the brick-like substance they use instead of brown sugar. They melt it down with coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove and make a sort of candy with it that is pretty good. We also had a great potato and meat dish with corn tortillas, fruit salad and a refreshing fruit drink. All in all it was a lot of fun and a great opportunity to experience some of the culture. Below left you will see the photo I call "white men can jump" and to the right I call it "white men can dance".

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

Here are some pictures from Kayleigh's 1st grade teacher's Surprise 50th Birthday Party. Happy Birthday Peggy. We love you.

Young at Heart

This last weekend I had the pleasure of going on a one night retreat to an area about 1 1/2 hours outside of San Jose with the ladies from our school. The theme of the retreat was "You are His Stars" and each of us was treated like stars during the day we were at the retreat with chocolate, star name tags, people to pray for us, and some wonderful messages from Marge, our speaker.

When we went there I was starting to feel a bit tired and worn out from the daily trips to school, continual studying, and feeling like I was moving at a snail's pace learning Spanish. I guess some people would call it a slump, but as I get closer and closer to the big 4-0 I think at times that maybe I am just feeling my age. Then I went on this retreat. They had fun games for us to play including one where we all lined up around the room according to our ages. I felt a little bummed as I looked around the room and realized that I was in the older 1/3 of the 70 or so women that came to the retreat.

During the retreat we were given a couple of hours to enjoy the pool and the big water slide. Because I recently dyed my hair back to it's original color of brown, (don't ask me about the "zanahoria/ orange" color I had been sporting for 5 months through an early miscommunication with a Tica hairdresser) and I didn't think it wise to get in the pool, but I enjoyed watching other ladies go flying down the slide squealing the whole way. The funny thing about the slide and the pool was that the ladies most represented were the women in the 50 something category. While me and my 30 something friends were staying a safe distance from the water, the 50 something "red hat" ladies were having a blast in the pool, doing water ballet, playing chicken, and acting like little school girls.

As I watched them frolick in the water I realized that they might be older than me, but what a blessing it was to see that these ladies were truly young at heart. And so I left the retreat renewed in my spirit with perhaps a lighter and younger heart than when I came.

Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

- Psalm 103:2-5

Playa Tambor

Here are some pictures of our recent trip to Playa Tambor with the iglesia here. We camped for 3 days on the beach. We had a wonderful time with our Tico and gringo brothers and sisters.

"Monkey Snot" and Other Delicacies

There are many things about Costa Rica that are fun to experience. One of these is the variety of exotic, albeit sometimes strange fruits and vegetables available here. A favorite of our children is lovingly called "monkey snot" by gringos (also known as passion fruit). The shell is thin and when opened has several small seeds that are about the size of sunflower seeds. They are surrounded by a sweet flesh and are crunchy when chewed. Yum! The picture on the above left is of the mamón chino. The spines are surprisingly soft, and the seed inside is surrounded by a sweet flesh that you suck on and then spit out the seed. They are very popular here as a snack and fortunately very cheap as well.

Above to the right is the mangosteen. We were first introduced to a small cousin of this fruit at the beach. It is incredibly sweet. The outer shell is very similar to "monkey snot" and the inside seeds are too hard to eat, but the flesh around them is very tasty.

I learned finally why the cashew nut is so expensive. As you can see from the picture the cashew is actually attached to a fruit (Maranon) on the cashew tree. The nut itself is actually poisonous prior to cooking. It is the case that the double shell surrounding the raw cashew, which is technically a seed and not a nut, contains urushiol, a resin that can create significant skin rashes, and can be toxic when ingested.
Urushiol is the same chemical found in poison ivy, and it is present on the leaves of the cashew tree as well as in the raw cashew shell. Processing raw cashews can be a laborious and nightmarish ordeal, and people who work in cashew processing plants tend to exhibit greater allergies to cashew shells over time. There is a high incidence of skin rashes among people who either harvest or process raw cashews.

A favorite of Costa Ricans is the cas. They use this fruit mostly to make natural fruit drinks (frescos). You can actually take its fruit and peel it and place the flesh in the freezer. When you are ready for a cold refreshing drink you just place it, seeds and all, in the blender and blend away. There is no need to add sugar or anything. It is very delicioso and healthy!

Apples, grapes and pears are very expensive here. It is actually considered a nice gift. My language teacher was thrilled when another student gave an apple as a present at Christmas. Watermelons are available here but a bit pricey too. Now what they lack for in the usual fruit offerings they make up for in the availability of fruits like pineapple (about $1.25 a piece), mangoes ( around $.50 each), and papayas ( less than $1/ lb). Lemons, limes and mandarin oranges grow in people's yards, so I can buy 6 for $1 most of the time. Coconuts are so easy to find here that people actually buy them at the feria (market) with a straw in them just to drink the juice and then throw the rest away.

So next time you find yourself biting into a big juicy hamburger and feel sorry for us eating our vaca flaca ("skinny cow"our nickname for the beef here in Costa Rica), just remember that we can eat our weight in tropical fruits like "Monkey Snot"!