Congratulations to the Green Forest School Class of 2014

The seniors of Green Forest School had a formal dinner in La Fortuna to celebrate their graduation.  These are such excellent students, and it was truly a joy to get to know each of them.  They have had a handful of English teachers over the years,  but these are my first students - ever.  For that reason, I will never forget a single one of them.  (It helps that there were only 12 of them.) I loved this group of people and look at them more as peers than anything.  They are so smart and mature and I learned so much from them.  I hope they can say the same about learning a little something from me.

(This picture was taken at about 3 am on a Thursday.  As a sort of senior tradition, they go around in the middle of the night near the end of the year and sing outside of all of the teachers houses.  I'll never forget the sounds of them stomping up our stairs screaming "WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION" and then playing the whole Pink Floyd song, along with Kim Wilde's "Kids in America," which was a reference to our reading of Persepolis.)

I knew from the get-go that I liked this group of people.  They were respectful, but still funny and we had a good time in class.  They were so helpful to me in me finding my way around the school and the new city I lived in.  I was probably, no DEFINITELY, too easy on them, and let them get away with more back-of-the-room-conversations (I'm looking at you Leo, Juan Felipe and Natasha) and way more cell phone time than I should have (Giuili and Kevin!).

They even took a liking to the dogs I've tried to keep around campus, and gave Spot a bath one day.

I'll never forget when I told them about 4 weeks into my time here that I had already illegally overstayed my visa (I only got 2 weeks at first - long story, different blog post.)  I ended up flying back home, but was REALLY scared about what would happen at immigration.  One of my students, Tamara, wrote her phone number on a piece of paper and told me to call her if I ended up in immigration jail or something - it was so funny, and so sweet, and I still have that note.  Nothing ever happened at immigration, but Tamara has been my girl ever since!

Andres was hilarious - always dancing around, and blasting Radiohead or Smashing Pumpkins or some other excellent music way older than he is.  Alejandro, while quiet in class, wrote some of the most moving responses on his exams that would make some of my college professor's proud.  Same with Natasha, who I found out LIVED IN NORTH CAROLINA as a kid, and made me squeal with excitement when she told me she knew what bluegrass was.

I spent a lot of time (and happily still am) talking to Giuli and Ana Elena about attending university in the US.  I did however realize it's been 9 years since I've taken the SAT which was a little depressing.  Arianna did the best damn Ariana Grande impersonation I've ever seen!

All of these young adults are AMAZING and they looked absolutely FABULOUS last Saturday night.

I can't wait to see what you all accomplish. This one is for you guys! Love y'all! Keep in touch! 

Just remember: 

Persepolis, Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ernest Hemingway, TEDtalks and that excellent "Social Studies" class we had. 

-Teacher Natalie 

Chayote Picadillo

Chayote is one of my favorite new "vegetables" that Costa Rica introduced to me.  I think it is actually a fruit. As you can see, it kind of looks like a pear.  As you can also see, it kind of looks like a butt.  Cue Tina Belcher.  

 

But anyways, what you can’t see is that it tastes like a squash or zucchini - which are its cousins (or something) in the gourd family.  I like them better than squash and zucchini. They maintain their crisp texture when cooked, and can fool you into thinking you might be eating a potato. They are starchy, but not nearly as heavy as a potato, and they are a tad sweeter. They have a very neutral flavor and pick up the essence of whatever you are cooking it with.

It's a native of Mexico, but has been introduced to a lot of different places, and is quite popular in Costa Rica and Brazil.  It's pretty healthy: low calorie, high fiber, good source of vitamins and potassium, according to this site.  

My favorite way (and really, the only way) I’ve prepared it is in a picadillo.  I guess the most North American version of a picadillo would be some sort of “hash” like potato or corned beef or something.  It’s just a bunch of vegetables (and in my case, meat) chopped and sauteed together.  It’s cheap, quick, easy to prepare and one of the only options with our limited “kitchen”, aka the Big Black Pan.

It starts out quite beautiful.  I use 3 chayote, some bell peppers, a large yellow onion, and of course, garlic.

I start with the onion, garlic and peppers chopped, and throw them in the Big Black Pan.

Alright, please excuse the aside here, but I’m kind of obsessed with efficient food prep, and this is my advice on how to quickly chop a bell pepper.  

Step 1: Halves

Step 2: Strips

Step 3: Dice

TA DA!  No rocket science there, but it's painful to watch someone take longer than a minute or so cut up an awkwardly shaped pepper. 

I cook these down for a few minutes, waiting for all those yummy smells before I add the meat. I add the meat first to get it cooked through before the chayote, because the chayote doesn't take that long.

You could definitely make this without meat, but my roommates and I are proud meat eaters, and I like to do half ground pork and half ground beef.

I will also add a few spices.  I've come to love this super-easy Season All.  I am a huge fan of cumin and this wouldn't be a Costa Rican dish without some Lizano - a Tico staple (although I add it last). 

So while the meat, peppers & onions are cooking, let's take a look at these weird fruit/vegetable/gourdy things.

First of all, they must be peeled. The skin is tough and not good to eat. The skin is weird though - sometimes it has little spines on it that make it difficult to peel. Kind of like okra hairs? But bigger. Thankfully, these did not have the little spines. But the chayote oozes this weird sticky/slippery substance when peeled. One literally flew out of my hand. It's nontoxic, but it can irritate some people's skin. You can peel them under running water if that is the case.

After it is peeled, you cut them into smaller pieces. I start by cutting the whole fruit in half, which exposes the seed.

Once it is cut in half, I use a spoon to scoop out the seed.  It is soft and easy to do. 

Now you've got these nice little pear half looking things that can be chopped and diced and thrown in with your meat & other veggies.

Make sure to go the extra mile and really peel these suckers.  It can be tough on that little butt crack crease  (hehe) but I accidentally left some remnants on this batch, thinking it would just cook down, but it really is tough and inedible.  

I cook it for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, and adding a little more of the spices and Lizano.

It smells AMAZING.  I like mine pretty chunky as you can see, but you can cut everything up finer if you'd like.  

All done :)

Wait, wait... NOW it's done:

Update: I had leftovers for lunch, and added a fried egg, because YUM.

The Big Pineapple

I just got back from San Jose.  I wanted to see Interstellar at the I-MAX to fully appreciate all of its glory (loved it, by the way).  I also like the novelty of having to go to "the big city" to do such a thing.  It is 45 miles from Ciudad Quesada to San Jose, and takes about two and half hours by bus, depending on traffic.  One time we made it in 2 hours.  One time when it was really foggy out it took over 4 hours.  That's right: four hours to go 45 miles. Tonight, the bus broke down on the way out of San Jose and we waited for 30 minutes  on the side of the road for another bus to pick us up, making it a solid 3 hours.  You just never know.  

My first time in San Jose, I couldn't wait to leave.  In fact, even before I visited San Jose, I had flown into the airport in Alajuela which is just outside of the capital city.  The first 2 things I saw as we pulled out of the airport were a Hooters and a Walmart. Not even joking, they are on the airport exit, and if you come visit me I will show you.  I kind of resented that and swore off the city, vowing to spend my time on the farms, at the beaches and in the jungles of Costa Rica.  But with understanding comes appreciation, and San Jose is just as much a part of the soul of Costa Rica as the tropical rain forest paradise is.  

(A note about the photos.  A majority were taken with my cell phone. They are also all taken over different trips to San Jose throughout the past 5 months.) 

Panorama from El Museo Nacional de Costa Rica 

 El Estadio Nacional y  Parque La Sabana 

La casa amarilla 

San Jose might not be the most "beautiful" city in the world, or in the country.  But who is to say what is beautiful?  It's teaming with little red taxis and sprinkled with a layer of litter.  It sits in the Central Valley and is framed by mountains. The graffiti complements the historic architecture in such a way that really highlights what I love about the city. It's a mix of the traditional and the contemporary, and I like taking part in both. The best part of San Jose is that it's full of Ticos- which are some of the nicest people I've ever met. It's also a great place to meet fellow travelers, as it is the transportation hub of the whole country.  You can spot a gringo a mile away by the backpack bigger than they are and the Tevas and/or Chacos.  (Unfortunately, this stereotype 100% applies to me, which my students were happy to point out.) 

Perfect mix of modern & traditional 

The building that now houses El Museo Nacional was originally a fort. 

 Plaza de La Cultura y Teatro Nacional

I've been to 3 excellent museums: Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, Museo de Arte Costarricense and my personal fav Museo de Oro Precolombino and still have more to visit.  There are parks tucked around every corner, full of tons of different plants and picturesque benches.  There is one with a statue of John Lennon sitting on the bench which I have yet to encounter, but am still on the search for.  Lauren, Anthony and I went to a national book fair in August in San Jose that covered the whole spectrum of Costa Rican literature, folklore, academia and art. There are lots of cute cafes, shops and I can't leave without visiting the souvenir market at Plaza Democracia (it's not JUST a tourist trap - there are some neat things in there!) I even saw the Orquesta Filarmonica de Costa Rica do a tribute to Pink Floyd's The Wall.  I mean, come on!  They flew a pig in the Teatro Popular Melico Salazar!

There is a lot to uncover about Costa Rica through San Jose, and I've only just started to dig in. I'm grateful for the opportunity to spend the amount of time in this beautiful & humble country to realize such things.  

(Would definitely recommend Costa Rica Backpackers Hostel)

 Universidad de Costa Rica

I drink a lot of coconuts now. 

 Che and Jesus are two really popular dudes down here. 

"La diversidad es la regla"

"Diversity is the Rule"

Until next time, amigos.