This is what one of my (beginner) students said on my evaluation after a particularly difficult class last night:
"katie c thanks for being so patient with us students, you're an excellent teacher, very pretty, so I hope you are always with us,by people like you is that we are inspired to work harder to learn"
Not being able to work with students face to face doesn't always make me feel like I'm making a difference all the time, so this was a nice reminder.
Pretty impressive for a beginner student, right?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
i lovermont.
This weekend in CR wasn't nearly as eventful as in the US (read: the east coast). Thankfully we have been spared attack via hurricane down here... just average rainy season days. While I could sit here and talk about how lucky I am to have gotten Jamie's cooking twice in one week (Saturday night I went over for dinner again), I have to ask that the few of you who actually read this send your thoughts/prayers for those who were devastated by Irene over the weekend.
While I'm sad to see all the damage it's caused across east coast, my heart literally aches for Vermont right now. The state that I called home for four wonderful years, and still hold very near and dear to my heart, is struggling. If you haven't seen, click on the link, search for some videos on YouTube...
I know times are tough and most people can't spare much, but there are people who literally just lost everything. Any little bit helps.
While I'm sad to see all the damage it's caused across east coast, my heart literally aches for Vermont right now. The state that I called home for four wonderful years, and still hold very near and dear to my heart, is struggling. If you haven't seen, click on the link, search for some videos on YouTube...
I know times are tough and most people can't spare much, but there are people who literally just lost everything. Any little bit helps.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Mini Reunion, Part 2
First thing's first: Happy Birthday (yesterday) Grandma!
Friday after I returned from the gym, the Brit picked me up and we made our way down to Manuel Antonio to meet up with Bill and Sam. What should have been a 2.5 hour drive turned into a 5 hour debacle that included: taking the super scenic route; purchasing lots of fruit we didn't need from a man who charged us far too much because we were clearly not locals; getting lost a couple times asking multiple people for directions because the Brit declared a map wasn't necessary prior to departure; taking an exit off the expressway that simply turned to a sketchy-looking dirt road instead of the well-marked town it appeared to be (much more hilarious than it sounds); and a suicidal rottweiler 5 minutes from our destination.
Miraculously, we made it to Manuel Antonio in one piece, although the same could not be said for the car, (Said suicidal dog got up and walked away. The car somehow managed to lose that fight. The dog was HUGE.) found the hostel and found Bill & Sam. We scooped up the boys from the closing bar and returned to the hostel to share some beers and Cuban cigars in celebration of Jonathan's birthday. We all then promptly gave up on any ideas we had had to meet up with some other travelers in town and passed out.
Saturday we got a late start and brunch turned into lunch. We ran into the girls (travel friends of B&S) who we were going to meet up with in town the night before. They reaffirmed our decision to lay low and not venture out into the sketchy-ness that is Quepos: one of the girls was fairly certain she got roofied (thanks to her friends, she was fine, but still...). Anyway... after lunch we moseyed into the actual park, saw a sloth, spiders & some pretty plants and then hit the beach for some swimming and sunshine. As we were getting ready to leave the beach there was an iguana trying to get some food. It got a little closer to Bill than I think he would have liked, but it was fun to watch the mini-dinosaur move around a bit.
We hopped in the car and started to make our way toward La Fortuna/Volcan Arenal. We stopped for a map and then to get gas on the way out of Manuel Antonio/Quepos. As we were leaving the gas station, a giant cable decided to scratch up the car, knock off the sideview mirror and rip out the atenna. No one was hurt, it was just... a little ridiculous. We kept on, but not before stopping to check out the giant crocodiles that live under the bridge at Rio Tarcoles. Pretty cool. From a distance, that is. I would not want to get any closer than we were and am even more baffled than I was before at the Crocodile Hunter's apparent insanity. Those things are no joke.
Bill acted as navigator (yay for free maps from Alamo Rental Car!) and directed us toward La Fortuna. Unfortunately, however, there was a crazy storm and the roads we were on had some blockage due to landslides so we decided we'd had enough of driving and headed back home to Heredia instead. We went out for some Peruvian food for the Brit's birthday dinner and met up with Jamie and her boyfriend who is also named Jonathan. Bill & the Brit were exhausted so they went to bed while Sam and I went out for a couple drinks/pool with Jamie and her Jonathan. Good times.
After taking care of some business Sunday morning (laundry and gluing the sideview mirror back on the car), the four of us and the British Jonathan's coworker Jose went out in search of lunch. What was supposed to be a short outing for a little food ended up an entire day of adventures. We ended up at Bar Calipso downtown Heredia for a little while before deciding to head up the mountain to check out the old abandoned church with the cork trees that Kerensa took me to once upon a time, where a friend of Jose's joined us (I think his name was Bernard? Bernal? yikes.). Once it started to get dark we came back down to Heredia. Long story short, we ended up back at my place (after a little drunk grocery shopping) playing Taboo and eating tamales in my room since my roommate had to wake up for work the next morning. Hilarity.
Monday morning B&S headed out to Tortuguero for some turtle watching (jealousy). I "went" to work. Wednesday morning I looked up B&S's flight info to find out what time they were leaving on Friday (as we all thought), only to realize they were supposed to be leaving Thursday instead. Yikes. They ended up having to bargain with some taxi drivers to drive them back here Wednesday night. I went out for some drinks to say goodbye to William and Mecia, who are leaving for the US indefinitely this weekend (sadness in my heart, I will miss them dearly). I arrived back at home shortly before Bill & Sam did, pobrecitos. Thankfully they made it here in time to get to their flights the next morning. Last night Kerensa and I went to Jamie's for dinner and, as per usual, it was amazing.
It was pretty great having Bill and Sam here these last couple weeks. They are great guys and lots of fun to have around. Not to mention Bill showed me how he had Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (one of my favorite video games of all time) on his phone, so I clearly went and bought it for mine. Best game ever. It really has been a fun couple weeks.
Can't wait for stateside adventures in 6 days!!
Friday after I returned from the gym, the Brit picked me up and we made our way down to Manuel Antonio to meet up with Bill and Sam. What should have been a 2.5 hour drive turned into a 5 hour debacle that included: taking the super scenic route; purchasing lots of fruit we didn't need from a man who charged us far too much because we were clearly not locals; getting lost a couple times asking multiple people for directions because the Brit declared a map wasn't necessary prior to departure; taking an exit off the expressway that simply turned to a sketchy-looking dirt road instead of the well-marked town it appeared to be (much more hilarious than it sounds); and a suicidal rottweiler 5 minutes from our destination.
Miraculously, we made it to Manuel Antonio in one piece, although the same could not be said for the car, (Said suicidal dog got up and walked away. The car somehow managed to lose that fight. The dog was HUGE.) found the hostel and found Bill & Sam. We scooped up the boys from the closing bar and returned to the hostel to share some beers and Cuban cigars in celebration of Jonathan's birthday. We all then promptly gave up on any ideas we had had to meet up with some other travelers in town and passed out.
Saturday we got a late start and brunch turned into lunch. We ran into the girls (travel friends of B&S) who we were going to meet up with in town the night before. They reaffirmed our decision to lay low and not venture out into the sketchy-ness that is Quepos: one of the girls was fairly certain she got roofied (thanks to her friends, she was fine, but still...). Anyway... after lunch we moseyed into the actual park, saw a sloth, spiders & some pretty plants and then hit the beach for some swimming and sunshine. As we were getting ready to leave the beach there was an iguana trying to get some food. It got a little closer to Bill than I think he would have liked, but it was fun to watch the mini-dinosaur move around a bit.
We hopped in the car and started to make our way toward La Fortuna/Volcan Arenal. We stopped for a map and then to get gas on the way out of Manuel Antonio/Quepos. As we were leaving the gas station, a giant cable decided to scratch up the car, knock off the sideview mirror and rip out the atenna. No one was hurt, it was just... a little ridiculous. We kept on, but not before stopping to check out the giant crocodiles that live under the bridge at Rio Tarcoles. Pretty cool. From a distance, that is. I would not want to get any closer than we were and am even more baffled than I was before at the Crocodile Hunter's apparent insanity. Those things are no joke.
Bill acted as navigator (yay for free maps from Alamo Rental Car!) and directed us toward La Fortuna. Unfortunately, however, there was a crazy storm and the roads we were on had some blockage due to landslides so we decided we'd had enough of driving and headed back home to Heredia instead. We went out for some Peruvian food for the Brit's birthday dinner and met up with Jamie and her boyfriend who is also named Jonathan. Bill & the Brit were exhausted so they went to bed while Sam and I went out for a couple drinks/pool with Jamie and her Jonathan. Good times.
After taking care of some business Sunday morning (laundry and gluing the sideview mirror back on the car), the four of us and the British Jonathan's coworker Jose went out in search of lunch. What was supposed to be a short outing for a little food ended up an entire day of adventures. We ended up at Bar Calipso downtown Heredia for a little while before deciding to head up the mountain to check out the old abandoned church with the cork trees that Kerensa took me to once upon a time, where a friend of Jose's joined us (I think his name was Bernard? Bernal? yikes.). Once it started to get dark we came back down to Heredia. Long story short, we ended up back at my place (after a little drunk grocery shopping) playing Taboo and eating tamales in my room since my roommate had to wake up for work the next morning. Hilarity.
Monday morning B&S headed out to Tortuguero for some turtle watching (jealousy). I "went" to work. Wednesday morning I looked up B&S's flight info to find out what time they were leaving on Friday (as we all thought), only to realize they were supposed to be leaving Thursday instead. Yikes. They ended up having to bargain with some taxi drivers to drive them back here Wednesday night. I went out for some drinks to say goodbye to William and Mecia, who are leaving for the US indefinitely this weekend (sadness in my heart, I will miss them dearly). I arrived back at home shortly before Bill & Sam did, pobrecitos. Thankfully they made it here in time to get to their flights the next morning. Last night Kerensa and I went to Jamie's for dinner and, as per usual, it was amazing.
It was pretty great having Bill and Sam here these last couple weeks. They are great guys and lots of fun to have around. Not to mention Bill showed me how he had Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (one of my favorite video games of all time) on his phone, so I clearly went and bought it for mine. Best game ever. It really has been a fun couple weeks.
Can't wait for stateside adventures in 6 days!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Mini Reunion, Part 1
One thing I really used to love a lot about my life is that I know people all over the world. Granted, most are in the US and not in random countries around the world, but still. This has recently become something I have come to hate: that while I love having people to visit in many different places, I so rarely get to see those people. I suppose the bright side to that is that it does make these rare visits all the more special.
This month I get to have a mini elementary school reunion in CR. Bill and Sam decided months ago to do a trip to CR and are currently in the country. They arrived on Friday and spent the day hanging out with me in my neck of the rain forest. We didn't do anything particularly exciting, but it was still pretty great to have company. We (they) exchanged/withdrew some money, cooked chicken tacos for dinner, and went out for a couple beers at one of the bars in Heredia with the Brit.
We called it a relatively early night (12:00) as Bill & Sam had to wake up to catch the 6:30am bus to Monteverde. Unfortunately, they left my house at 5am just to return a few hours later (8am) since the bus was sold out. Thankfully though, they managed to get seats on the 2:30pm bus. They were clearly exhausted from everything so they just napped until they left again to catch the later bus. After Monteverde they were planning on heading to Guanacaste to get some surfing in. I haven't heard from them, but I assume no news is good news. We are planning on meeting up this weekend - I have Saturday AND Sunday off. Amazing!
The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Saturday night, the Brit (Jonathan) and I stopped by the Spanish tapas bar/restaurant for dinner and then made our way over to Kerensa's place for even more food - homemade chili. As per usual, Kerensa's cooking was fantastic, and I put on another 10 pounds. We spent the night watching music videos and movie trailers. Hilarious.
Sunday I worked til 3, and then the Brit and I ventured out for something a little different. He had a car for the weekend so we decided to drive out toward Santa Ana/Escazu in search of a restaurant he wanted to go to. We found one of the two he had in mind, and it took 2 hours and driving by a prison to get there, but still, we found one. Dinner was delicious, dessert was disappointing (worst $5 pie I've ever had... Baker's Square it was not).
Then we decided to try to see Captain America at the mall in Escazu. It was, being a Sunday, totally packed and the only seats would have been in the very front row. No thanks. We wandered back to the car to find it had a flat tire. After failing to be able to remove the flat tire in order to replace it with the spare, we took it over to the Texaco across the way. They, being professionals, changed the tire in less time than it took us to even find the jack (buried underneath a seat in the car instead of with everything else). It was pretty hilarious.
So far this week has consisted of me working 10 hours on Monday, 5 yesterday, 4 today, and 2 trips to the gym. I forgot my beloved water bottle at the gym yesterday and thought it was lost forever because they didn't have it when I called to check. However, it was there this afternoon when I went back and I almost jumped with joy. Is it sad that I was beyond excited that no one stole my Nalgene? Probably. Do I care? Nope, I'm just glad I have it back.
The Oliver Wendall Holmes School reunion continues this weekend, though I'm not quite sure where yet. Regardless, I'm pretty excited.
Other forthcoming stateside reunions I look forward to include trips home to Chicago and the weddings of some of my absolute favorite (Cheley and UVM) people in the world, which will, in turn, include some of my other absolute favorite (Cheley and UVM) people in the world as guests. I count my blessings.
This month I get to have a mini elementary school reunion in CR. Bill and Sam decided months ago to do a trip to CR and are currently in the country. They arrived on Friday and spent the day hanging out with me in my neck of the rain forest. We didn't do anything particularly exciting, but it was still pretty great to have company. We (they) exchanged/withdrew some money, cooked chicken tacos for dinner, and went out for a couple beers at one of the bars in Heredia with the Brit.
We called it a relatively early night (12:00) as Bill & Sam had to wake up to catch the 6:30am bus to Monteverde. Unfortunately, they left my house at 5am just to return a few hours later (8am) since the bus was sold out. Thankfully though, they managed to get seats on the 2:30pm bus. They were clearly exhausted from everything so they just napped until they left again to catch the later bus. After Monteverde they were planning on heading to Guanacaste to get some surfing in. I haven't heard from them, but I assume no news is good news. We are planning on meeting up this weekend - I have Saturday AND Sunday off. Amazing!
The rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Saturday night, the Brit (Jonathan) and I stopped by the Spanish tapas bar/restaurant for dinner and then made our way over to Kerensa's place for even more food - homemade chili. As per usual, Kerensa's cooking was fantastic, and I put on another 10 pounds. We spent the night watching music videos and movie trailers. Hilarious.
Sunday I worked til 3, and then the Brit and I ventured out for something a little different. He had a car for the weekend so we decided to drive out toward Santa Ana/Escazu in search of a restaurant he wanted to go to. We found one of the two he had in mind, and it took 2 hours and driving by a prison to get there, but still, we found one. Dinner was delicious, dessert was disappointing (worst $5 pie I've ever had... Baker's Square it was not).
Then we decided to try to see Captain America at the mall in Escazu. It was, being a Sunday, totally packed and the only seats would have been in the very front row. No thanks. We wandered back to the car to find it had a flat tire. After failing to be able to remove the flat tire in order to replace it with the spare, we took it over to the Texaco across the way. They, being professionals, changed the tire in less time than it took us to even find the jack (buried underneath a seat in the car instead of with everything else). It was pretty hilarious.
So far this week has consisted of me working 10 hours on Monday, 5 yesterday, 4 today, and 2 trips to the gym. I forgot my beloved water bottle at the gym yesterday and thought it was lost forever because they didn't have it when I called to check. However, it was there this afternoon when I went back and I almost jumped with joy. Is it sad that I was beyond excited that no one stole my Nalgene? Probably. Do I care? Nope, I'm just glad I have it back.
The Oliver Wendall Holmes School reunion continues this weekend, though I'm not quite sure where yet. Regardless, I'm pretty excited.
Other forthcoming stateside reunions I look forward to include trips home to Chicago and the weddings of some of my absolute favorite (Cheley and UVM) people in the world, which will, in turn, include some of my other absolute favorite (Cheley and UVM) people in the world as guests. I count my blessings.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Gluttony.
Aside from a teeeeeeeeny tiny earthquake, this past week was uneventful. This weekend, however, was a good time.
Friday was my only day off this week, so I made plans to meet up with Jamie for lunch since I hadn't seen her in a while (she's been sick/working a million hours a week). Two more people from Politecnico joined us - Becky and Robert, which was just lovely. We had pizza and gelato. It was a fantastic Italian-themed lunch with wonderful company.
Friday night I made my way over to Kerensa's place for dinner with her and Martin. She had been craving tacos for a while and decided to make some. Background info: Tico tacos are not tacos. They are deep-fried, like most things in this country, and they put ketchup on them. Sometimes they slightly resemble taquitos. Tasty, but not tacos. Kerensa's tacos, on the other hand, were magnificent. Chicken cooked in onion, garlic, tomato & some spices; cheese, lettuce, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream. DE-lish.
Saturday morning I woke and got to Skype with my mom and Lily. I have to say there is literally no better way to start your day than having Lily sing you the ABCs.
After I finished working Saturday early evening I made chocolate chip cheesecake. Then, half baked, Jonathan (the Brit) scooped me up in a cab and I relocated to Jamie's to finish baking the cheesecake and eat Jamie's cooking: chicken breasts stuffed with ham, basil & cheese; breaded and fried green beans; and home-roasted garlic (she literally roasted her own garlic) mashed potatoes. Drooling yet? Yeah, I could have kissed her. There are just no words.
We had cheesecake for dinner and, if I do say so myself, it was quite tasty.
I had leftovers for dinner tonight and it was spectacular. I still have an entire container full of green beans. YUM.
I might have gained 15 pounds this weekend because I ate so well, but it was worth every bite. You should be jealous. I'm jealous of myself. Amazing food, genuinely wonderful company.
Friday was my only day off this week, so I made plans to meet up with Jamie for lunch since I hadn't seen her in a while (she's been sick/working a million hours a week). Two more people from Politecnico joined us - Becky and Robert, which was just lovely. We had pizza and gelato. It was a fantastic Italian-themed lunch with wonderful company.
Friday night I made my way over to Kerensa's place for dinner with her and Martin. She had been craving tacos for a while and decided to make some. Background info: Tico tacos are not tacos. They are deep-fried, like most things in this country, and they put ketchup on them. Sometimes they slightly resemble taquitos. Tasty, but not tacos. Kerensa's tacos, on the other hand, were magnificent. Chicken cooked in onion, garlic, tomato & some spices; cheese, lettuce, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream. DE-lish.
Saturday morning I woke and got to Skype with my mom and Lily. I have to say there is literally no better way to start your day than having Lily sing you the ABCs.
After I finished working Saturday early evening I made chocolate chip cheesecake. Then, half baked, Jonathan (the Brit) scooped me up in a cab and I relocated to Jamie's to finish baking the cheesecake and eat Jamie's cooking: chicken breasts stuffed with ham, basil & cheese; breaded and fried green beans; and home-roasted garlic (she literally roasted her own garlic) mashed potatoes. Drooling yet? Yeah, I could have kissed her. There are just no words.
We had cheesecake for dinner and, if I do say so myself, it was quite tasty.
I had leftovers for dinner tonight and it was spectacular. I still have an entire container full of green beans. YUM.
I might have gained 15 pounds this weekend because I ate so well, but it was worth every bite. You should be jealous. I'm jealous of myself. Amazing food, genuinely wonderful company.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thrilling.
My life lately has been less than exciting, but here are some fun updates:
1. We have a dryer! It's awesome. It is particularly helpful as it is now rainy season and nothing would ever dry if it weren't for our lovely dryer. It is also especially helpful with addressing my (slightly) irrational fear of bed bugs as I can now throw everything I own in and kill any potential bugs that have attached themselves to my belongings.
2. I am mildly allergic to the local beer. I get congested as soon as I start drinking it. As I have had a sinus cold this past week and a half (thank goodness for the neti pot), I decided to lay off the booze and give my sinuses a chance to clear out. I went out on Saturday night, however, and couldn't resist the liter-sized mugs at the bar and went to bed much worse than when I started the night.
3. I failed at making creme brulee. That s*** is hard to do well! I tried, but it just didn't turn out as wonderful as it should have. It didn't taste bad (how could it, it's just cream, eggs & sugar), the consistency just wasn't right. Oh well, I'll be trying to make some chocolate chip cheesecake next. Hopefully that'll turn out better.
4. Apparently Illinois signed the DREAM Act into effect today! Awesome. Super good news to start the week with. And my gay friends can get married in NY. Yay for civil rights.
That's all for now. Happy August! USA bound in exactly one month!
1. We have a dryer! It's awesome. It is particularly helpful as it is now rainy season and nothing would ever dry if it weren't for our lovely dryer. It is also especially helpful with addressing my (slightly) irrational fear of bed bugs as I can now throw everything I own in and kill any potential bugs that have attached themselves to my belongings.
2. I am mildly allergic to the local beer. I get congested as soon as I start drinking it. As I have had a sinus cold this past week and a half (thank goodness for the neti pot), I decided to lay off the booze and give my sinuses a chance to clear out. I went out on Saturday night, however, and couldn't resist the liter-sized mugs at the bar and went to bed much worse than when I started the night.
3. I failed at making creme brulee. That s*** is hard to do well! I tried, but it just didn't turn out as wonderful as it should have. It didn't taste bad (how could it, it's just cream, eggs & sugar), the consistency just wasn't right. Oh well, I'll be trying to make some chocolate chip cheesecake next. Hopefully that'll turn out better.
4. Apparently Illinois signed the DREAM Act into effect today! Awesome. Super good news to start the week with. And my gay friends can get married in NY. Yay for civil rights.
That's all for now. Happy August! USA bound in exactly one month!
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