It is time to update you about the 3rd week in Costa Rica.
The week was very similar the past week. A lot of Spanish and new stuff. We became a new teacher this week. Xinia is a nice teacher but learning is at full speed. Rápido, Rápido. I think it is her favorit word in Spanish classes. Never the less, it works for me but Johanna is confused and stressed. Sometimes it is a bit to much, no time to consume the new stuff before we are moving on to something else. You have to stay focused. I know it is a bit easier for a person who have tried to work and have a lot of experience compared to a very young person with only a few years experience.
Wednesday we leaned about the Yucca. Yucca is a plant where you use the root. It is similar to potatoes but with a different taste. It is very important alimento in Costa Rica and other countries in Latin america. You can find it in Africa and Latin America. In Africa it has a norther name maniok. The origin of Yucca is Brazil. It contains a lot of antioxidant which is very healty. Antioxidants reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure. It is a low fat,, low carb and contains vitamins.
Back to the cooking. We learned that the Yucca can be used for fries, substitute for potatoes and a lot of other dishes including cake.
Thursday after class we went to a center for children living at the low end of the society. Their parents are poor and not able to give the kids a meal every day. Some of the kids only get their meal because they come to the center. The center is payed by the government and helps kids to have a place to socialise and it also works as an education center, helping to raise and teach the kids how to behave in different situations.
The kids have free transportation to and from the center every day, the government takes care of the kids during school until the age of 18. The school is located adjacent to the center.
The reason for having this center is to avoid that the kids are removed from their home and placed in an orphanage.
Most of the kids are reserved and some even don’t speak. During the few hours at the center a lot of the kids came and showed us the things they were playing with. A girl and a boy, my guess is 4 years old, came and showed me their buildings made in China Lego several times. So nice.
Friday another exam was coming uo. With all the new stuff we learned during the week we was terrified. What to come?
I passed the exam once again 100% correct, but it took about 25 minutes to complete the test.
After school Johanna, Sadie and I went to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side. We stayed in a Hostel Friday and Saturday night. Relaxing and having a couple of beers and drinks in the evening. Saturday we went to the beach and relaxed. A very nice weekend, no Spanish and best of all no tareas.
One thing to have in mind visiting the beaches. The sun is strong. Sun protector 30 doesn’t help, I used it and was burned even though I used half a tube that Saturday. Remember to bring a sun protector 50 as minimum if you stay in the sun. I used a T-shirt the entire day including a sun protector 30 and got burned through the T-shirt. Just a good advice.
Now it is Monday and I am left alone with Xinia, our teacher, she says that is excellent, we can speed up the learning and add a lot of new stuff. Today my brain was very close on a total breakdown, four or five different subjects was introduced and taught during 2 hours combined with 2 hours of talking in spanish. Practicar, Practicar she say. Correcto, next days I probably will start to dream in spanish.
Ned of week three, see you later.
Hasta luego, Pura vida.
