This morning my host mom Marta showed us how to make gallo pinto, the traditional Costa Rican breakfast of beans and rice. It's delicious and somehow we weren't quite able to reproduce it in the USA. Here are the steps:
1. Prepare beans and rice (about 1 cup of beans for every 2 cups of rice).
2. Heat up a pan of oil.
3. Chop up about half of an onion and a little bit of red pepper into very small pieces.
4. Sauté the onion and the red pepper until it darkens a little bit.
5. Add the rice and stir.
6. Add the right proportion of beans and stir.
7. Chop up and add cilantro.
8. Serve it up with an egg, cheese, ham, fried plantains and/or bread.
1. Prepare beans and rice (about 1 cup of beans for every 2 cups of rice).
2. Heat up a pan of oil.
3. Chop up about half of an onion and a little bit of red pepper into very small pieces.
4. Sauté the onion and the red pepper until it darkens a little bit.
5. Add the rice and stir.
6. Add the right proportion of beans and stir.
7. Chop up and add cilantro.
8. Serve it up with an egg, cheese, ham, fried plantains and/or bread.
After our desayuno delicioso Rachel and I took a bus to San José to find out about bus tickets to Panama and we purchased our tickets! We had to walk a total of about 30 blocks to get there and back and there was a downpour of rain midway there but it was an adventure! We are very dependent on the people around us to point us in the right direction because we're not familiar with the city and there's not a clear bus schedule or city map. The interesting thing is that if you ask someone for directions, if the person doesn't know how to get there, they make directions up so that you'll walk away happy, even if it puts you on a wild goose chase!
After our excursion in San Jose we came back to San Pedro and went to the mall, where we had spent tons of time as foreign exchange students 3 years ago! First stop: "Big Mama" because we always used to laugh at the name. Three years ago there was a wedding dress in the window and we always wondered who would buy that dress. Friends of the bride: "I love your dress! Where did you buy it?" Bride: "At Big Mama" :) But I guess someone bought it after all!
After our excursion in San Jose we came back to San Pedro and went to the mall, where we had spent tons of time as foreign exchange students 3 years ago! First stop: "Big Mama" because we always used to laugh at the name. Three years ago there was a wedding dress in the window and we always wondered who would buy that dress. Friends of the bride: "I love your dress! Where did you buy it?" Bride: "At Big Mama" :) But I guess someone bought it after all!
A view from the balcony of the Mall San Pedro:
Then Rachel and I met one of her friends for dinner and then we went and saw the movie "Intensamente" or "Inside Out". It was really cute and we understood almost everything! Here it's only about $5.00 for a movie ticket and $5.00 for popcorn and a drink. A great way to end a rainy day!