Am I a Christmas Grinch?

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Help me decide if I'm an office Grinch. Which of these things sound the most ridiculous to you?

• Our office is having an office Christmas party.
• Our office Christmas party includes a "Secret Santa" gift exchange.
• I was told the minimum price for these gifts would be 10,000 colones (roughly $20 USD).
• When I selected my "Secret Santa" recipient, I was told she wanted a black or brown sweater, but I have no idea what style she prefers or what size she wears.
• When I went shopping this evening, I ended up spending about $35 USD for the sweater and gift wrap.

Am I a Grinch? I mean, call me crazy, I love Christmas and gift exchanges as much as the next gal, but $35 seems a little steep for an office colleague I don't know that well. I was expecting to buy a candle or some nice-smelling lotion for one of my colleagues, but who asks for a sweater at an office gift exchange? I mean, who does that?

So proud!

Brian had his first medical school interview today. I'm so proud of him (and doesn't he look handsome in his new suit?)*

*Special thanks to Heather for helping him pick it out! 

My first tamale

Tonight, I tried my first tamale.  I've been told that los tamales are the most important part of a Tico Christmas meal, so I bought a few at a Christmas festival last weekend.


After adding some sliced avocado with salt and lime and a little mango habañero sauce, dinner was served!


Although, after hearing so much about tamales, I have to say that I was not that impressed.  It didn't really have much taste to it, and most of the tamale was just cooked cornmeal.  I think I'll stick with my mom's Swedish coffee cake for Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas in Costa Rica

Brian left for the U.S. this afternoon for his first round of medical school interviews.  While he was away, I thought it would be nice to get the house ready for Christmas, so I've got a few surprises ready for him when he gets home! I'll show more photos once Brian gets home so I don't spoil the surprise.

In the meantime, here's a quick shot of my pre-decorating snack.  It's something called pejabaye, and it's usually served peeled and warmed up, with a little bit of mayonnaise and a squirt of lime juice.  It was delicious with my white wine!  A little Christmas music and some cinnamon-scented candles from Muñoz y Nanne, and I'm ready to go!  

Monkey time

We were lucky enough to go to Punta Leona two weekends in a row - last weekend for Thanksgiving with friends and this weekend for my office Christmas party.  It ended up being a great little getaway for us to daydream about our next big decision (medical school) before Brian left today for his first round of interviews this week in New York City and Baltimore (pray for him please!). We feel very blessed in this season in life right now with so much to look forward to! 

Costa Rica has certainly been joyful - and at times very challenging - and we're also looking forward with expectation to this next phase of our lives as we begin medical school. Only the Lord knows where we'll end up! We should have a good idea by the spring and then we'll move in the late summer/early fall.

One of the challenges that I'm discovering in living here is that it can be a lot lonelier than I realized it would be - and I very much feel like "the outsider."  This has nothing to do with my colleagues who have been friendly, warm, and inviting (they even asked me to join their office Christmas choir for the office fiesta this Friday!), but it's constantly humbling, challenging, and emotionally limiting to be constrained by language.  

At the same time, I realized this weekend that I'm also learning some valuable life lessons about humility, learning to love others well (particularly those who may be "outsiders" in our community), and trusting the Lord for strength.  I told Brian that I hope to find a way to minister to Hispanic immigrants when we return to the States - as I think the Lord is using this year to help me develop my language skills but also increase my compassion for those who may struggle to live in the United States, feeling like "outsiders."  

Anyway....this morning, before we left Punta Leona, we had breakfast at their beautiful restaurant in the jungle.  They've really done a nice job of nestling it in the trees, and you feel like you're right in the middle of nature!

Traditional Tico breakfast - yummm! I missed these. Gallo pinto, huevos, plátanos maduros, papas fritas, fruta.

We realized just HOW close we were to nature when we walked into the restaurant and saw at least 20 monkeys (monos) and 20 pizotes  (I don't think these exist in the U.S., but the best translation would be a White-nosed Coati) climbing all over the walls, the roof, the chairs and the  tables.  It was fun to watch at first, but after awhile, they really became a nuisance!  One couple next to use got up from their table to get something else to eat, and as soon as they left, a monkey jumped down, grabbed the banana off their plate, and hopped back up on the roof.  A few minutes later, we saw a banana peel fall from the roof.  Glad someone enjoyed their breakfast!

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!