Driver's Ed, Part Two

Earlier this week, I mentioned that Brian was trying to teach me how to drive stick shift. The driver's ed is coming along okay (I'm still terrified when I get in the car - is that a problem?), but despite managing to keep the car intact, I accidentally left the inside light on...and when we woke up in the morning, the car wouldn't start. Lovely.

Brian and a friend of ours try to jump the car. No luck.

After more than $150 (and an unfortunate conversation between Brian - who speaks no Spanish - and the mechanic - who speaks no English), we got the car fixed.   Success!

Later that night, Brian and I went with  two of our friends to a concert by a Tico band called Malpaís (Badlands) who partned with Vision Mundial Costa Rica (World Vision's local office in Costa Rica) to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year. They put out a new album called Hay Niños Aquí (There are Children Here) with several songs inspired by stories from children Vision Mundial has worked with in Costa Rica.  A portion of the album goes to support Vision Mundial's work in Costa Rica too!  Nearly every major media outlet in Costa Rica covered the story - and the concert was great!  It was really cool to see how World Vision looks in another part of the world, and I was really proud to be a part of such a great organization! 

At the Malpaís concert in Teatro Aduana, just a few minutes from our apartment.

Christmas shopping

Last weekend, I came across a great article in the Tico Times with advice on where to shop for fun little gifts for family and friends in the San Jose area.  Every night after work this week, it's been fun to try to find a new store on the map and go check it out! 


I can't tell you what I bought yet (because some of the people getting these gifts may be reading this blog), but I've had a lot of fun, and I always end up discovering a new part of town, including the awesome, bargain-basement store, Pequeño Mundo.


Last night, after I finished my shopping along Avenida Central, I stumbled across a Christmas choir performing in one of the small squares off of the main street. It was lovely!  The performed a few traditional Costa Rican villancicos (Christmas carols) like "Los Peces en el Río" ("The Fish in the River") and a few more well-known songs like "The Carol of the Bells" ("Villancico de las Campanas"), "The First Noel" ("La Primera Navidad"), and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" ("Oh Pueblecito de Belén").   Dad, you would have loved to hear "The Carol of the Bells" in Spanish!

The Griswold home in San Jose

Every family has holiday traditions.  Ours include watching Chevy Chase in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." I know, we're so classy, right? But there's nothing better than snuggling up with my sisters and laughing so hard we start crying when we hear lines like:


"Little full, lotta sap."
"Clark, get you somethin' real nice."
"Is Rusty still in the Navy?"
"Is your house on fire, Clark?"
"Joy to the World! Take it away, Russ!"
"Hey kids, there was a Santa spotting! (Pause) Are you serious, Clark?" (Contributed by my sister, Chelcie)
"(Todd) Where do you think you're going to put a tree that big? (Clark) Bend over and I'll show ya. (Todd) You got a lot of nerve talking to me like that Griswold. (Clark) I wasn't talking to you." (Thanks, Sara!)


I could go on, but you get the point.  


Well, tonight, walking home from a few errands, Brian and I came across a house that must be the home of El Clark Griswold here in Costa Rica. Dead ringer. Check it out:

If that doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will. And for those of you who haven't seen NLCV yet, you can watch the trailer here:

Driver's Ed in San Jose

So, a colleague down here has been generous enough to let us borrow his car while he's traveling for work (he does quite a bit of traveling throughout the year). The only problem? It's a stick shift, and only one of us in this family can drive a stick shift (and it's not me).


A few days ago, when we realized that Brian would be out of town (first round of med schools interviews next week - yippee!), Brian thought now would be a good time to give me a crash course so I could learn how to drive this car by the time he leaves next week. (How do you say "I am terrified" in Spanish?) It's terrifying.


Not only do I have to drive defensively in a new city, but I'm also trying to drive with two feet and three different pedals.  Guess how many times I've already stalled out the car. I'll give you a hint. It's definitely more than one.

Today is Day 3 of our driving lesson, and I've successfully (definition of success in this case: continued moving forward, did not crash into another person or car, and stalled out only a few times) made it around the block and *almost* to the grocery store.  However, I'm still totally freaked out when I drive! I have a pit in my stomach the entire time.  


Has anyone else ever tried to learn driving stick after they already know how to drive automatic? I mean, learning Spanish is one thing, but trying to learn a "second language" for driving is another!  However, my only other option is walking everywhere when Brian is gone (which I actually enjoy doing - great exercise and a good way to explore!) but that would include carrying our groceries back about a mile down the road.  Harrumpfh.

Happy B-Day to BB!

We celebrated Brian's 29th birthday yesterday - happy birthday, B! 

Birthday present: 

A Gerber Ripstop Multiplier Tool 

Birthday Dinner: 
La Luz in Santa Ana, Costa Rica. Conde Nast rated it "one of the best restaurants in Central America."  We each had 1-2 glasses of wine, an appetizer, entree, and dessert, and it was $90 USD.  A pretty good deal for such a high-class, highly-regarded restaurant. The food was delicious, and the restaurant has this incredible view of San Jose. We'll definitely go back!

• He had: Fiery Shrimp (appetizer), 5-Pepper Shrimp (entrée)
• I had: Avocado Crumble (appetizer), Beef Tenderloin with Strawberry-Vinegar Dressing (entrée) 
• We had: Chocolate Tart (dessert)

Birthday Cake: 
A sweet, braided coffee cake with jellied fruit and raisins from Mussani Bakery near our house.

¡El encanto de la Navidad!

This afternoon, while B was out for a bike ride, I walked over to CENAC (Centro Nacional de la Cultura) for their annual Christmas festival.  A little weird to be walking around in the sunshine and sweating while listening to Christmas music, but it was fun!


They had arts and crafts and an acapella group that sang some fun Christmas songs in Spanish (and a few in English) including:


"Rodolfo el Reno de la Nariz Roja"  (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
"Noche de Paz" (Silent Night)
"El niño del tambor" (The Little Drummer Boy)

I also bought a tamal, the most popular Christmas dish here in Costa Rica.  It's a dish made with yuca, eggs, cornmeal, chicken, vegetables, cheese, salt, sugar,  garlic and sweet cream. I'm hoping to get invited to una tamalada (a tamale-making party) to learn how to make them this year. 

We're getting ready to head out for B's birthday dinner tonight (¡Feliz cumpleaños, mi amor!) at La Luz, but I'll tell you how los tamales taste tomorrow!

Thanksgiving at Punta Leona, Costa Rica

This Thanksgiving was very different than any other Thanksgiving we've experienced in the United States.  Let me paint the picture for you:

Playa Mansa, Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Playa Blanca, Punta Leona, Costa Rica

Playa Mansa, Punta Leona, Costa Rica

 Sand, surf and sun instead of sleet and snow.

Bathing suits instead of hiking boots

Racoons and iguanas instead of squirrels and foxes

But some things were just like home, including a delicious Thanksgiving meal with turkey, potatoes (baked and sweet!), homemade stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake.

Brian cuts the turkey that we bought (pre-cooked) from the AutoMercado.  Notice the decorations: grapes, oranges, and pineapple slices.

We had a great time getting to know some new friends, but we missed our family and friends back home too! And as much as I'm enjoying the experience of Thanksgiving (and soon Christmas) in another country and culture, there are still some things that I miss from home, like the cool feeling of fall, the crunch of the leaves, football games, Starbucks cinnamon dulce lattes, and sitting around talking with my family. 

All good things must come to an end, and after a beautiful two days at the beach, we woke up on Day 3 to rain.  Time to head home!

The rainy view from the resort restaurant.

Using a banana leaf to take cover from the rain. Goodbye Punta Leona, hello San Jose!