Some Costa Rican Memories

This past weekend we were expecting some pretty stormy weather, so we stayed in most of the time. Friday evening we got together with some other missionaries for a game night - but we were enjoying the conversation so much that we never got to the game part - we just left that for the kids! On Saturday morning for breakfast I made a traditional meal of gallo pinto - Costa Rican rice and beans. The dish is made different ways and in several countries, but here it has a secret ingredient (that isn't so secret) called Salsa Lizano. Its closest substitute would be Worcestershire Sauce or Salsa Inglesa, but any Tico would tell you that it could not, would not taste the same without this key ingredient. I complimented the meal with some real bacon (we had been getting turkey bacon as of late), a slice of tomato, eggs, and some clementines (which were amazingly sweet!). Dave made us some Americanos to complete this Tico breakfast.

We also made plans to visit our friend, Mayra. We first met 5 years ago because she worked for us, coming to our house twice a week to help clean and occasionally make a meal for us. However, Dave put it well when he expressed to her how she became so much more, she was our teacher and our friend. She listened when we were just starting to speak the language, pushed our boys around the house in laundry baskets, and introduced us to the culture here in her country. On Sunday when we visited her at her house, she made us a simple traditional meal of pastel de yucca - a type of casserole dish that was filling and yummy. It was topped off with some baked plantain with a mozzarella-type cheese. It was a suprisingly tasty treat. What a pleasure it was to spend the afternoon with her and her friend visiting from Columbia, soaking in the beauty of different cultures.

Revisiting the Sites

When the kids are not in class, and we are not in class . . . we like to explore and visit new places. But revisiting old places can be fun as well, especially if it has been 4 or 5 years since being there! Walking down the main corridor of the Museo de Los Niños (literally "kid's museum") that had been converted from an old prison, Jonathan exclaimed, "I remember this place!" - he was 3 when he had last been there. I made sure to take lots of pictures. I imagine I will be able to find some more pictures to compare how some places DO NOT CHANGE much over the years.

Here we are enjoying the many exhibits, too many to include in photos. Some shown are images of a coffee plantation where Dave is standing, the inside of an old train on the right, some "old" clothing styles and instruments, an older plane (inside and out), what the kids would look like as an adult professional, and some art. The kids also felt what it was like to be in an earthquake (it was just a demonstration!), left their shadows on the wall like Peter Pan, got "shocked" by some electricity displays, wrote with Egyptian hieroglyphics, and walked through a tilted house of optical illusions . . . just to name a few.
Oh, did I mention that we did lots of walking to get here and also took the public bus? They do have taxis, but for a family of five, you're supposed to take two! That could get costly to always choose the taxi option.
Stay tuned for our next outing - it may include a volcano!