Ten Things I Enjoy in Costa Rica

1. Coffee. It’s something else here. I still like coffee best with a bit of milk and sugar, but Costa Rica’s the only place where I’ve been able to a) drink a cup of coffee every day, and b) drink coffee without my favorite additions. Tonight, my friend Laura and I had café chorreadore, made from a traditional wooden coffee strainer (like a French press, but better!).
2. Buses. I pay less than fifty cents for a one-way trip to the center of the city.
3. Nature. Flowers of all sorts exist here, as do lovely animals. On a jaunt to Volcan Arenal last weekend, we saw a family of monkeys climbing the trees and a herd of wild pigs crossing the road.
4. Fruit. I’m going to miss all the fresh pineapple, mangoes, papaya, guanabaya, cas, and more.
5. Time. I’ve had time in the mornings and evenings to read, to go salsa dancing, to write some, to play video games and Gran Banco, to sit and think…
6. Friendliness. At a market downtown this afternoon, a vendor named Vanessa sat me down and had me tell her my life story (in Spanish, por supuesto) before I could buy anything from her. And I love this one lady at aerobics who nearly dragged me into the class the first time I visited.
7. Casado. No, I’m not married. Casado is what we call dinner/lunch plates here, filled with rice, beans, picadillo (chopped veggies), fried plantains, and some sort of meat (beef, chicken, or fish). I think this dish is called such because it’s the typical dinner a married man gets from his wife.
8. Walking. I enjoy my ten-minute walk to the Institute, with or without a companion, and I’ve enjoyed walking around my neighborhood of San Francisco de Dos Rios.
9. Mountains. San Jose is nestled in the mountains, dotted with lights at night.
10. Rest. No additional words needed here.