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.