Thanksgiving

So, in October, I asked my family here if we could have our own Thanksgiving, because being a "gringo", you can't just not celebrate Thanksgiving! So, I had an adventurous, fun, thankful, amazing Thanksgiving weekend.

On Wednesday, I went to PriceSmart (aka the Costco of Costa Rica) with my Mami, Lupe, Naoko (an exchange student from Japan), Digna (my contact person/the funnest woman in the world!), and Carlos, the husband of Digna. We were on a hunt for turkey, of course, pie, potatoes, and all the other stuff for a typical Thanksgiving dinner. Well, we were hoping we would find a turkey that was already ready....nope. We find the turkey, and they are like 18 lbs! And my Mami loads it up onto the cart like it's no big deal. Ummmm.......I don't know how to cook a turkey.....ohhh well!

And of course, what's going to PriceSmart, without a little fun!(;

So we get home, put away the food, and I go straight to my computer to look up, "How to cook a turkey". Little did I know, it takes a good 3 days! Did I have that time? Nope! So we decide we are going to have a Thanksgiving, but with a tico twist! The next morning, we decide we are going to have a Thanksgiving lunch instead, because my abuelos were coming over along with some cousins, and Digna and Carlos were going to come over for dinner. So I go down to the cabanas to help my Papi with the turkey. We pretty much cooked it like a stew, which didn't take too long. As that was happening, I made my mashed potatoes, and by noon, everything was ready. After putting the turkey in a stew, my mom took it and fried it up, sorta. Actually I have no idea what she did with it, but it was realllyyy good! And everyone enjoyed the food, especially the apple and pumpkin pie!

We separated the pieces of the turkey first...

Then put it in our "stew",

And then it was ready! Que rico!! (My abuelos, and cousins, along with my family and I.)

Later that night, Carlos and Digna came over and ate, but there was still so much turkey-there is still turkey in the fridge, and it is Monday! But everyone enjoyed the meal, everyone thought it was a cultural learning experience  (for the US.), and it was just a great way for the family to get together and eat. The next day, I left to go to Playa Jaco with some of the other exchange students from the US to celebrate Thanksgiving together. It was a really relaxed weekend, which was just what I needed. 

My week full of Thanksgiving was great, and now I have an excuse to start singing Christmas music! So, I hope everyone else had a great weekend, so for now, hasta luego!

Musica y Baila

Music is a way to express yourself here in Costa Rica. The types of music you listen to describe what type of person you are, and here, there is a wide variety of music. From British rock to the typical music of Guanacaste, you will be able to hear music everywhere!

Teenagers here are really into "musica de gringos" or the American Music. This means, Rihanna, Maroon 5, and Katy Perry are played a lot. Also, British Bands are pretty popular-of course One Direction has made it's way around the world, and all of my companeras think they are the cutest guys alive, but there is also the Artic Monkeys, and Muse. They also like the pop music of Latin America, and my companeras personally like the really emotional music. I would personally compare the singers to Adele or Taylor Swift, because the songs are VERY emotional and every time my friends tell me to listen to a new song, they are singing their lungs out and saying, "Ahhhh que triste! Que linda!" (How sad! It's so pretty!) A lot of people also like the reggae, and rap. The rap songs here always make me laugh because the rappers are SO FAST! But there are a few songs I understand, and they have to be some of the funniest things! Adults here are into the older music from the 70's and 80's. My mom likes listening to the radio in the mornings when I help her clean the house, and the songs are pretty fun!

Also in Costa Rica, there is typical music, or folk music. This folk music is played with a marimba, a wooden xylophone, and many other instruments. The music is very pretty, and the dance that goes along with it is gorgeous! I love watching the dancers, here is a link:     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTBcdcTH_Ag

Music is played everywhere, whether you are at your house, at school, or at a party. And when there is music, there is dancing. In Latin America, the dancing involves a lot of hip movements! I personally suck at dancing, but my Mami is trying to teach me! The steps aren't that hard, but once you get the entire dance going it is fast and veryyyy difficult! The salsa, merengue and cumbia are a few types of dances that are also quite popular! Everyone loves to dance, it's as if you were raised on with the expression drilled into your head! Here, dancing is a BIG part of the culture, and it is fun to see all the people, young and old, having a good time!

So that's all I can think of right now about music and dancing in Costa Rica. Other than having the most random English songs from 5 years ago pop up on the radio, I don't have much to add! I hope you liked the link of the typical dancing, and I hope you thought it was as pretty as I did-hopefully I will learn a bit of it before I leave!

     

Spanglish

Now, I am sure a lot of you know the meaning of Spanglish, a mix of English and Spanish. These past weeks, Spanglish has really been involved in my life!(;
I have some of the funniest girls in my class, and they like to "practice" their English with me. However, practicing English means making up new words that even I don't understand. These girls also tell me my English isn't correct, and that they need to teach me. So, my Spanglish is getting quite well.

The first thing you need to know, is that the verbs in Spanish end in -ar, -er, or -ir. So, the verb "to eat" is comer, or the verb "to walk" is caminar. Now, instead of using these words, my friends have come up with a new way of speaking-Spanglish. They now say, "Abby, vamos a eatiar!" (Abby, lets go eat.). The first time they told me this I was so confused, but now I have been accustomed to their new language, and I even caught myself using the word, "shaviar"!

Some other expressions that are regularly used in my group of friends are:

• "Una cosa beautiful" - something beautiful
• "Vamos a go" - we will go
• "Swimiar en su pool" - swim in your pool
• "Baile hot" - dance hot
• "Un chico sexy y hot" - a hot and sexy guy
• "Vamos walkiar a clase English" - Let's go walk to English class
• "Sitiar en la chair" - sit in the chair
• "May guapo en el world" - The most attractive in the world
• "Muy good gente" - very good people

There are so many more, but these are some that I heard today! Spanglish is a way for the girls to practice their English with me, but honestly I just can't stop laughing. As my friend Chini would say, "Es una cosa muy beautiful!"