Life is what you make of it

Silvia had to deal with family matters today. We had Jesús teaching the class and he was a pretty good substitute. He talked a little faster than Silvia but was still mostly understandable. We had an interesting homework assignment, but more on that later. At today's cooking class, we baked a batch of pan de yuca (yuca bread), made with grated yuca root, cheese, eggs and flour. It was delicious, like cornmeal bread but lighter in taste, with the texture of biscuits.

Five of us met for lunch at Mambo Café, a soda one block west from the school. I ordered a casado with grilled chicken plus a glass of guayaba juice – all told, only 2,000 colones ($4.00). It was Ken, Ellie and I, plus Patricia and Carolyn from Intercultura. All of us are Anglophones, and it was strange to talk for an entire hour in English. Even Ellie, my housemate, commented on how funny it was after listening to me talk Spanish 90% of the time.

One of my homework assignments was to interview Zeneida about different aspects of her life. She's lived her entire life in Heredia and grew up only about two blocks from the school. She's lived in the same house for 20 years and can't remember how many additions she's made. Four grandchildren, the first of whom was born in 1983. She got married young, at the age of 16, to a filanderer – I at first was afraid to ask this question but she was very forthcoming about what was a bit of a heartbreaking story. She also says that life in Heredia used to be much simpler and has changed so much (too much, she says) during her life.

Zeneida is a very resilient woman. You can tell how much she loves her family by the way she talks about her grandson, Jonathan – how she describes his studiousness and his warm heart. Jonathan came by last week to help his grandmother with errands and daily chores. It seems like almost every day, someone comes by to visit and socialize. Zeneida even calls the three of us her hijos. With such a tight-knit circle of family, friends and neighbors, it's no wonder how she's able to hold her own after 68 years.

An afternoon in San José

Today a small group of us from the school took an afternoon trip to downtown San José to see the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica and the Museo de Oro. The round trip was only 750 colones ($1.50). We rode one bus line into the city and another one back. It seems private enterprise thrives here when it comes to public transit, thank you very much.

The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theatre of Costa Rica) is an exquisite building constructed in the neo-classical style, displaying many fine examples of late-19th century Italian and French sculpture. The TNCR features frequent dance and classical music performances (ten this month) that top out at a mere 10,000 colones ($20). The main atrium is adorned overhead with Costa Rica's most famous mural, Allegory of Coffee and Bananas, which is also featured on the old five-colón banknote (no longer in circulation since its face value is now equivalent to one U.S. penny). The painting, as our tour guide José explained, takes artistic license in the fact that coffee doesn't grow at sea level, and that the banana bunch as pictured would make one banana nearly the length of a man's forearm.

The Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) features a plethora of indigenous artifacts. The goldsmiths in pre-Colombian Central America were highly skilled and made jewelry and religious articles of great intricacy. The museum also features an exhibit on the history of Costa Rican currency, which hasn't always been easy. Costa Rica has at times recognized foreign coins and even coffee beans as legal currency. Of course, these days many places take American dollars, especially in the tourist areas. One thing I didn't know: Costa Rican coins have Braille on them.

All it all, it was an enjoyable trip. The only disappointing thing was the lack of local food downtown. Subway, Wendy's, McDonald's, Pizza Hut – they were all there. A sure sign the tourist industry is alive and well.