Overexcited street vendors, taco bell makeout sessions and awesome spanish teachers

I haven't posted for a week so I thought I would cram some stuff from last week into one post. The first was the person selling me pizza on the street. I had never seen anyone so excited to sell a 400 colonie (.80 cent) piece of pizza. The restuarant had an inside, but I decided to get it to go. Good thing because I think if I would have gone in the waitress would have talked my ear off. I gave a couple of polite gracias and was greeted back with no no gracias a ti. Con todo mi corazon. En serio. Really you are thanking my with all your heart? You had to be there to see it. She kept going on and thanking me and it was kind of awkward. It was like I was the only person who had bought something from the restaurant. The pizza tasted fine although I was worried that with all the emocion and excitement the waiter had that there might be some type of illegal substance in the pizza that would get me kicked out of Costa Rica.

The second experience was more gross than funny. And no, I was not fortunate enough to have a make out session with a tica at taco bell. But the PDA at Taco Bell was kind of disgusting considering how long it lasted and that they probably just stuffed down a couple bean burritos with salsa picante. Que feo no.

Finally, moving on to my awesome spanish teacher. I think she is awesome basically because she basically resembles my teaching style in the classroom. She is laid back, throws in a few jokes and tries to make things interesting and talk about things I want to discuss. I also like that, even though I speak spanish like a child, she speaks at a normal to quick pace and does not slow down. I think the only way to learn a language is to hear it at a normal pace and even with beginners like myself it is good to talk at a normal speed. It is also nice having class for two hours a week now instead of one.

Pretty Interesting Article

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/man_who_used_stick_to_roll?utm_source=EMTF_Onion

I thought this was pretty interesting. And it actually came from the sports department of a newspaper. Kind of puts things in prospective, although I still want to be a sports writer in the future.

The story is about Tiger Woods by the way.

I am required to write a least one thought provoking blog a month

So here goes. This months topic: racism.
I wouldn't call it as much racism, but more a feeling of superiority.

Since I have moved here I have really enjoyed the Tico people and their culture. From the people giving up their seats on the bus for older or pregnant women. Or the people taking a real interest in helping my find some place, even though I did not buy anything from their store. It seems like a more relaxed atmosphere, although people in the city drive and walk much crazier than people in the states.

However, the general attitude toward Nicaraguans or Nicos is the only thing that is really troubling. I can understand the general ribbing or teasing one of my students gets because they say he looks like a Nico. That is all in good fun. But it goes a lot further than that. In the baseball game I went to my first week, the catcher and one of the opposing teams fan got into a yelling match and started cursing at each other. The woman, a Nica, and the catcher from Costa Rica. I could actually understand the cuss words then the woman repeatedly saying Nicaragua and don't make fun of my country.

It was not just this incident, but the feeling in general that gives me kind of a sour taste. The people looking and laughing at people buying the Nico Times. The spraypainted graffiti all over the walls.

I know both Ticos and Nicos are very proud of their heritage so maybe I am making too much of this, but it seems very prevalent everywhere I go. One of my students the other night pointed out to me it is very similar to the United States and Mexico. The Nicaraguans working in Costa Rica are generally doing labor work and living illegally. He said most Costa Ricans don't dislike Nicaraguans, but that the few Nicaraguans that do bad things and are bad people give the country a bad name.

I don't really what to think. I haven't read anything in the paper about hate crimes or malicious acts. And the only real fight I saw was at the baseball game. Feel free to send me your thoughts and if you think I am overreacting.

Amanda's awesome blog

I'm sure most of you reading this already know my sister Amanda has her own blog, amandaisthenewblogspot.blogspot.com. But since she plugged my blog on her site, I felt like I should return the favor.

It is very insightful and funny at the same time. So give it a look.

Lizano salsa, jalapeno cheese and hot sauce cures all

It only took me a month, but I finally did some actual cooking rather than making turkey sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, eating out or enjoying one of my favorite snacks; butter cookies.

I tried my hand at rice and beans. Not too difficult right. I read the recipe online and I was all set. The only problem was I forgot an essential ingredient. The oil. I figured it wouldn't be that bad, but it was probably the stickiest rice ever made. But with the help of the juice from the beans, jalepeno cheese, hot sauce, and about a half bottle of Lizano salso I could barely taste the rice.

Giving quizzes is so much easier than teaching

It really is. There is no work involved. Just looking over an answer key for correct answers. But honestly, I was glad to see my students did pretty well, so I guess I am doing something right. Or maybe it is just because they are an advanced class and already know the material. Either way I was glad to see no one was totally confused after the first weeks.

The advanced students I am teaching are pretty funny and very witty. Most of them are around my age so they have the same interests and seem to learn better because we talk about things that are interesting to them and not just material straight from the book.

Although we can't have in-depth conversations, I think after classes are over I am going to enjoy teaching the beginning level students just as much or even more than the advanced students. I think seeing them evolve from me name Pepe, to: my name is Pepe, I have 8 kids, three dogs and I like to go fishing will be very satisfying.

Banks in Costa Rica= The DMV in the United States

At least I know if I ever lose a check in Costa Rica it will never be cashed by someone else. I waited in line for about 40 minutes today to cash a check and when my number finally gets buzzed and I get called up to the register I hear the bad news: Solo pasaporte original. I can only cash a check with my original passport. I tried giving the women the extra copy in my wallet, my drivers liscense and my ID from Ingles Empresarial, but no luck. I know there aren't many foreigners using the bank, but I think a sign saying you need your original passport would be nice. It is ok though. Next pay check is direct deposit, so it is all good.

Happy Father's Day

Sorry I couldn't write this yesterday, my internet was down. Happy Father's Day pops. I know you all had a rough trip coming back from Michigan, but I am glad you guys are safe. And the US Open actually went into a playoff so I'm sure you can watch some of the golf while you are busy at work today :-).

Restaurante Macchu Picchu

Yo sentia como si fuera en Peru otra vez. There is a restuarant in my neighborhood called Macchu Picchu that I went to yesterday and it was delicious. They even had the native Peruvian music playing and a nice place to sit outside. It was a nice change from the McDonalds and Taco Bell that I have been eating the past few weeks. I actually did some grocery shopping as well, so I will be eating healthier and trying to get in better shape in the near future.

I am meeting a friend tonight to go out to dinner and a bar. (No class tomorrow =) It will be my first bar experience in Costa Rica. After class Saturday I think I am going to head to the beach. All my students tell my I have to get out of San Jose to see the beauty of Costa Rica, so it will be nice to do something else besides riding the buses and teaching.

Success

I am not in an internet cafe writing a post, but in an apartment in San Pedro with wireless internet. I moved in today and it is a beautiful complex. The owner is a very nice and speaks English. The person who runs the place was also very accomodating. She is a tica and a very fast speaker, but I got the gist of most of what she said. The only downside is there is no tv, but I think it will be good to live for a month without it. This way I can improve my lesson plans, make my classes more exciting, finish my online teaching certification course and actually look over some spanish textbooks. Next month there is an opening for a very nice apartment in Ciudad Colon, which is a little cheaper, so I think I will only be here for a month.

I just found out today that I will be teaching another course, so now I am teaching four classes. One class that meets Monday and Wednesday from 530 to 8. One class that meets early in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. One class from 530 to 8 on Tuesday and Thursday and one on Saturday from 9 to 12. It is a lot of work, but getting the experience of teaching a lot of different levels will be good.

Mom, if you are reading this, I promise I will call sometime this week. Make sure you have your skype on.

Classes

Classes have gone by smoothly so far until the power went out last night when I was teaching. We were almost done with the lesson so it wasn´t that disapointing. Everyone seems to really want to learn the language and is excited about learning. I am at our teaching headquarters now, writing this post. We are supposed to have a meeting today and tomorrow.
I actually had someone reply to an email about housing so hopefully I will have a permanent place by tomorrow. Friday and Sunday are the only days I have off, but tomorrow still looks to be pretty busy. I have my spanish lesson at 10 oclock tommorow, then a meeting, and after that I am going to head out to San Pedro to look at the apartment. Living in the city has been nice because the buses are very close and everything is easy to find, but it will be nice to get out. Plus everyone in my classes tells me how dangerous the city is and to take my tie off before I head back.
Although I am teaching five days a week, it is only for 2.5 to 3 hours a day, so I have had plenty of time to find some authentic places to eat and cruise the city. I hope to find a few nice beaches over the next few weekends so when people come to visit I will know the hot spots. Okay, well I am headed out to do some laundry. Until next time.