December

My last couple weeks in CR before I went back to Chicago for the holidays went by in a super fast blur.

The day after I got back from Bocas (Dec. 2), Kerensa, Sara B. and I went for dinner at this fabulous vegan Asian restaurant. I forget what I had, but it was good. That was the third time I had been to that restaurant, the second time I'd eaten there. They have great tea, and delicious dumplings. Also, the owner is super nice and gives you cookies. After dinner, Kerensa and I walked around in search of churros for her, but failed to find any. It's probably a good thing though, we all know I don't need any more junk food than I already eat :)

Friday, it was back to business as usual. After class ended at 9:30pm, I just went home to bed before my 8am class on Saturday. Saturday night, however, Kerensa and I decided we needed a night out on the town together and went to check out some of the bars in Heredia. While we were enjoying the balcony space at one bar, we spotted our coworker, Zach L. on the street. He came up to join us for a little bit before he went home. Our running in to him was just a reminder that Heredia (really Costa Rica, in general) is really not very large.
We were getting close to calling it an early night when a couch-surfer friend of Kerensa's called us about going to a going away party in downtown San Jose. These lovely people came to pick us up and brought us to a fabulous hole-in-the-wall bar in barrio California. [Barrio California is an awesome looking section of SJO that is covered with beautiful graffiti.] The bar itself was full of some fun people, and a hilarious group of Costa Rican hipsters dancing their hearts out. Kerensa and I ended up making friends with a very tall blond boy from the states living in southern CR. At the end of the night, we couldn't remember his name quite right so we affectionately named him "Blondie." After hours of silly dancing to great music, we raced (literally) to catch the last bus back to Heredia, and then waited for cabs together while drunken fools stumbled out of the casino down the street. Small world: my cab driver that night lives down the street from me. Very nice man.
All in all it was a fun night, full of silly dancing and new friends.

The following Monday, Dec. 6, Kerensa and I got together at her place to make dinner together. And by make dinner together, I mean she cooked while I washed dishes. Personally, I think I got the good end of that deal. Especially since she taught me how to make patacones (fried green plantanes) and she made amazing black bean soup. Sadly, we couldn't locate any good avocado to accompany it, but it was tasty nonetheless. After eating, we took a little stroll around her neighborhood to help the digestion, and came back to some yummy Coca-Cola cake. Kerensa is not only a wonderful person, but she can cook AND bake. She's quite the package. Gentlemen, get in line.
Then, our friends Emerson and Esteban came to pick us up to take a trip up the mountain. Sadly, it was a bit cold and rainy, but it was a beautiful view nonetheless, complete with a cork tree. Neat. When we had had enough of the mountain, we went back into San Rafael and checked out a local bar with a juke box machine that also played music videos. If you haven't seen the 'California Love' and 'U Can't Touch This' music videos recently, do yourself a favor and watch them now. Amazing. Yet another great night with my Kerensa.

The rest of the week flew by pretty uneventfully until Saturday night, when Kerensa, her roommate Jackie, Emerson and I went to a couch surfer friend's birthday party in Los Yoses, just down the street from where I stayed where I first arrived in CR. Like any great party, it had an awesome theme: Rubik's Cube. Translation: You arrive wearing clothes and accessories of many different colors and switch with people throughout the night in hopes of ending the evening dressed in all one color. Brilliant. Not only is it hilarious and fun, it's a great way to break the ice, regardless of what language you're speaking. Super fun night.

Kerensa and I stayed the night in Los Yoses and met up with the majority of our coworkers in La Uruca bright and early the next morning. The man that owns Politecnico, Don William, invited all the teachers to come out to his property in Guanacaste - Rancho Humo - for the day as a company Christmas party. Guanacaste is a 4 hour bus ride from San Jose, but we teachers passed the time with mimosas and some early 90's hip hop. Why yes, it was only 10am when we arrived at Rancho Humo and were greeted with crates of Imperial (beer) and watermelon. Right away we all knew it was going to be a great day.
After everyone had had a beer or two, we were escorted on to a giant (12+ people) golf cart (thankfully the technology teachers were assigned the double-decker), and given a tour of the accessible part of the 2700 acre reserve, with beer, of course. Our tour was conducted in Spanish, which was good for those of us that speak Spanish, but probably a little frustrating for those that don't. The tour was beautiful and fun, complete with monkeys and lots of birds, including the endangered Jabiru Stork.
After the tour we were treated to lunch - amazing food - and then we got on a boat to do another tour before we met the bus back along the way home. The boat took us down the river (I forget the name), past the Bird Island where we were able to see thousands of birds and even some alligators. We met the bus and headed back home that same day. I got home happy, exhausted and filthy, around 8:30.

My last week in CR before the holiday break went by super fast, and was full of good times/adventures with Kerensa.
The 13th Kerensa and I headed downtown to the Contemporary Art Museum because it was free on Mondays. We met up with our friend "Blondie" for some tasty dinner at a restaurant called Cafe Mundo and then hopped the train (yes, that is correct, there is A train here in CR that goes from downtown SJO to Heredia) back to Heredia.

Tuesday night, Kerensa and I got together for another night of delicious Kerensa cooking chili (I wash the dishes in return for her fabulous culinary skills - I am totally getting the awesome end of this deal).

Wednesday, the 15th, Kerensa and I went downtown to this small, hidden bar Steinvorth. It was stellar. They have delicious food and even beer that comes from other countries. They have Duvell. Amazing. After we had had enough of the Alice in Wonderland inspired art exhibit and a couple drinks we headed back home.

Thursday morning(ish), Kerensa and I met up to head downtown SJO to have some tasty Lebanese lunch at a restaurant called Lubnan. SO delicious. We then wandered the city for the rest of the afternoon in search of Christmas presents. While it wasn't exactly the most eventful day ever, it was a really nice way to spend our day off. Just walking around and checking out the city. We later hopped the train to come back and make some tasty risotto for dinner.

Friday night, after a disastrous day at work finding out that we were not actually going to get paid again til after the holidays (so much for properly budgeting our spending), Kerensa and I decided to stay in, drink some wine, watch a movie and eat some of her tasty beer bread. Seriously, this woman is amazing in the kitchen.

Saturday was my last class of the year, just exams and giving out grades - pretty easy day. That night, my roommate Saray and I went downtown Heredia to check out the Festival de la Luz: the Christmas parade that is far too huge in San Jose the week before, and the perfect size in Heredia. It was obnoxiously cold (a whopping 55ish degrees, I'm a wuss, I know) so after a couple hours of watching all the kids go by playing their instruments and dancing, we headed back home before the lines for the taxis got too long. It was fun to see, and particularly great because I could actually see over people's heads as I am fairly tall in this country, haha.

The next morning, Saray and I went to the pool to meet up with a few of her absolutely lovely friends. Kerensa eventually came to join us, and we spent the day hanging out in the sunshine and having chicken fights in the pool. Spectacular. Then we headed to the bar across the street to eat some chifrijo and watch the championship soccer match between Heredia and Alajuela. Sadly, Heredia did not end up winning, but we put up a good fight and it was a fun experience nonetheless. It was, quite possibly, the absolute perfect way to spend my last day in CR before heading back to Chicago's horrible winter.

The next post will be more current (finally!), but before then, I just want to comment on my coworkers. Kerensa went to college with a girl I went to jr. high and high school with; my other coworker Zach went to high school with a few people I went to Cheley (camp) with; and another coworker Evan went to high school with a friend of mine from UVM (college). While I do believe that the world really is a lot smaller than we sometimes think, I also believe that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. It's been great so far, and I have a feeling it is just going to keep getting better for a while. :)


ps, happy birthday Kate!!