I should probably be studying for my exam tomorrow, or sleeping. I'd prefer to be doing the latter; however, this will be the last time I will update my blog until Sunday. Tomorrow we are leaving class early and then heading to Montezuma Beach and Isla de las Tortugas. Beach weekend!! Pray for sunshine! I'm not exactly sure what are plans are aside from snorkeling and hopefully getting nice and tan.
Today was a great day! Instead of having class at 8:30, we met our professor at 8 am. Our class, and several others went on a field trip to the capital city of San Jose for the day. I enjoyed learning about the culture and the history of Costa Rica. We took a train to San Jose, so first we saw the historic Estacion de Ferrocarril del Costa Rica, which was established in 1908. Then we ventured to Parque Nacional, where we saw the bronze monument which commemorates Costa Rican freedom and Central America's battles against the American invader William Walker.
Next we walked to El Museo Nacional de San Jose. After buying tickets, you first enter the museum by walking through a butterfly garden. (I didn't think it even came close to the one at La Paz) We found out that before it was a museum, the building was used as a jail. I found that a bit unsettling. We saw A LOT at el museo and I took wayyyy too many pictures. I enjoyed the museum because I got to see some of the artifacts which I have learned about in Latin American Studies classes. It's cool to put two and two together! The museo also had a "bella vista" (beautiful view) of the city.
After the Museo Nacional de San Jose, we walked to el Mercado de Artensania y Pintura. I enjoyed this a lot because everything was hand-made. Unfortunately we only had 15 minutes to spend in the Mercado, but there were so many beautiful items to look at. I entered with the intention of just walking straight through without buying anything. Ha! That definitely didn't happen. I am a sucker for shoes, purses, and headbands. I didn't make it very far before buying a beautiful pair of handmade sandals. Then I encountered some headbands and I tried to walk by the purses, but I just couldn't do it! Good thing my Daddy taught me how to bargain, because I got some pretty good prices, especially when bargaining with the hombres! haha. So maybe I didn't make it out of the Mercado without buying anything, but a) I was supporting Artesans b) I went to the Mall yesterday and bought NADA (nothing) and c) I was making up for the shopping that we were unable to do last year in Mexico.
Next we had a short visit at el Teatro Nacional, before venturing to the bus station. I very much prefer the streets in San Jose to those in Heredia. San Jose actually has stop lights and CROSSWALKS! Woah! I actually didn't fear for my life while crossing streets today. On our way to the bus station, we stopped at Libreria Lehmann. I love books and they had a large selection. Our professor was kind enough to take the time to recommend good books for myself and one other student. Although I am not yet finished with Laura Esquivel's "Malinche," I am looking forward to starting Alfredo Aguilar's "El amor es eterno mientras dura."
After the 45 minute bus ride back to Heredia, it was nearly time for our Flagler class to begin at 1:30. At 2:30, we had our second cooking class and learned to make empanadas de piña (pineapple). I had mentioned last week that I wasn't feeling my best one day. My tummy also hurt this morning after breakfast. I put two and two together, and realized that both days I had eaten pineapple for breakfast. It must be too acidic for me. So I couldn't eat any of the pineapple empanadas, but that didn't mean I couldn't help make them. It was a fun process to roll the dough and press the edges around. The aroma filled the kitchen and everyone wanted to eat them as soon as they came out of the oven. We requested to make Gallo Pinto in our cooking class next week, which will be muy deliciosa!
Today was a great day! Instead of having class at 8:30, we met our professor at 8 am. Our class, and several others went on a field trip to the capital city of San Jose for the day. I enjoyed learning about the culture and the history of Costa Rica. We took a train to San Jose, so first we saw the historic Estacion de Ferrocarril del Costa Rica, which was established in 1908. Then we ventured to Parque Nacional, where we saw the bronze monument which commemorates Costa Rican freedom and Central America's battles against the American invader William Walker.
Next we walked to El Museo Nacional de San Jose. After buying tickets, you first enter the museum by walking through a butterfly garden. (I didn't think it even came close to the one at La Paz) We found out that before it was a museum, the building was used as a jail. I found that a bit unsettling. We saw A LOT at el museo and I took wayyyy too many pictures. I enjoyed the museum because I got to see some of the artifacts which I have learned about in Latin American Studies classes. It's cool to put two and two together! The museo also had a "bella vista" (beautiful view) of the city.
After the Museo Nacional de San Jose, we walked to el Mercado de Artensania y Pintura. I enjoyed this a lot because everything was hand-made. Unfortunately we only had 15 minutes to spend in the Mercado, but there were so many beautiful items to look at. I entered with the intention of just walking straight through without buying anything. Ha! That definitely didn't happen. I am a sucker for shoes, purses, and headbands. I didn't make it very far before buying a beautiful pair of handmade sandals. Then I encountered some headbands and I tried to walk by the purses, but I just couldn't do it! Good thing my Daddy taught me how to bargain, because I got some pretty good prices, especially when bargaining with the hombres! haha. So maybe I didn't make it out of the Mercado without buying anything, but a) I was supporting Artesans b) I went to the Mall yesterday and bought NADA (nothing) and c) I was making up for the shopping that we were unable to do last year in Mexico.
Next we had a short visit at el Teatro Nacional, before venturing to the bus station. I very much prefer the streets in San Jose to those in Heredia. San Jose actually has stop lights and CROSSWALKS! Woah! I actually didn't fear for my life while crossing streets today. On our way to the bus station, we stopped at Libreria Lehmann. I love books and they had a large selection. Our professor was kind enough to take the time to recommend good books for myself and one other student. Although I am not yet finished with Laura Esquivel's "Malinche," I am looking forward to starting Alfredo Aguilar's "El amor es eterno mientras dura."
After the 45 minute bus ride back to Heredia, it was nearly time for our Flagler class to begin at 1:30. At 2:30, we had our second cooking class and learned to make empanadas de piña (pineapple). I had mentioned last week that I wasn't feeling my best one day. My tummy also hurt this morning after breakfast. I put two and two together, and realized that both days I had eaten pineapple for breakfast. It must be too acidic for me. So I couldn't eat any of the pineapple empanadas, but that didn't mean I couldn't help make them. It was a fun process to roll the dough and press the edges around. The aroma filled the kitchen and everyone wanted to eat them as soon as they came out of the oven. We requested to make Gallo Pinto in our cooking class next week, which will be muy deliciosa!
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| Train Station |
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| Statue in Parque Nacional |
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| El Museo Nacional de Costa Rica |
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La Bella Vista from el museo internacional |
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| Inside el mercado |
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| very focused on making my empanada |
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The finished product (first batch) |
I will update you on our weekend trip sometime Sunday. Thanks for reading!
♥ Morgancita
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