Day Eighteen - Beating up the Beat

I like Wednesdays in Monteverde. Usually that’s a statement you don’t hear to many people making – I like Wednesdays. Wednesday is that huge hill in the middle of a tough week that you down 5 hour energy to get through. However, Wednesdays here are pretty awesome.

This Wednesday did begin like one of those “How am I ever going to make it through this day?” kind of Wednesdays. The day started off kind of gloomy with a covering of clouds and a light rain misting the town. Monteverde is living up to its expectations of being a bit chillier and wetter than the other two CPI campuses in Costa Rica. In class, we trudged through some more irregular verb structures and listened to Gloria Esteffan. I was ready to throw in my towel, but then I remember…it’s Wednesday, and Wednesday means cooking class!

Finally, some sunlight in the otherwise gloomy environment. I love cooking class because I get to cook and it’s a free lunch. Today we made chalupas. Not the chalupas you get at Taco Bell, but chalupas that consisted of a fried tortilla, guacamole, pico de gallo, refried beans and queso fresco. In all honesty, the cooking classes don’t seem very Costa Rican, but I won’t complain too much because the food is free and delicious. We had a lot of inexperienced chefs in our class, so I got to help Beatrice, the cocinera, teach them how to slice, chop, dice, and prepare the different ingredients for lunch. I channeled my inner Bobby Flay and flashed some fancy knife work and demonstrated my no fail method of prepping cilantro.

After class today, Kelly and I headed to The Common Cup to finish our homework and use their internet. Besides having a pretty decent cup of coffee, The Common Cup also serves some pretty wicked desserts. Kel and I shared a slice of chocolate cake and one of their specialties – a passion fruit mousse. The mousse was really interesting – it had a yellow coloring with a very silky texture, and on top was a crumble of Oreo cookies and a sprinkle of passion fruit seeds on top. The seeds give a little unexpected crunch that leaves you mouth guessing.

While at the coffee shop, Kelly asked me very interesting question. She asked what I missed about America. After a few seconds, I responded with “Nothing.” That’s not to say I don’t miss my family and friends, but in a reality, life is pretty similar down here. Sure the internet access isn’t the best, but that’s a luxury that I can do without. Truth be told, life is pretty sweet down here. I would gladly trade my big TV for the cloud forest any day, but then again, I’m saying that now when it seems there will be no football season next year. Check back with me in September.

The other ray of sunshine on Wednesdays is Karoake Night at Bar Amigos. At about nine o’clock, which is usually when we’ve been going to bed, Kelly and I walked the short walk to the bar and met up with a ton of CPI folks. The bar looked like it was literally transplanted from the Jersey Shore with the flashing lights and booming bass. We thought we were going for Karaoke, but we ended up just watching the gringo touristas make a fool of themselves on the dance floor. It was an odd flash back to our freshman year of college…let’s just leave it at that.

Pura vida,

Casey