“Cockroaches really put my ‘all creatures great and small’ creed to the test.” ~Astrid Alauda

I was doing some research for my trip next weekend and guess what I found?! Puerto Viejo, my destination last weekend, was rated in the top 10 destinations in the world in 2011 by Frommers! How cool is that? It certainly was a beautiful place.

Speaking of beautiful things, I found Charlie in my room this morning. Ok, so maybe Charlie isn’t as beautiful as the beach, and maybe I wasn’t as excited to find Charlie as I was to find the awesome little purple sea urchin in the picture above. Nevertheless, Charlie came to visit me this morning. Charlie wasn’t the first of his kind to visit me, nor will he be the last, which gives me the hibigeebies. The thing is, Charlie was a cockroach. Yes, I said ‘was.’ Charlie passed away in my beautiful blue toilet this morning.





Here is Charlie:                                                          My cooking class and teacher:

In addition, today is Wednesday! Cooking day! We made picadillo de papa con carne, which is chopped potatoes with beef. It sounds boring, and German, and unappetizing. But actually it was decent, not fantastic; I wouldn’t make it again, but I liked it. Surprisingly, the food in Costa Rica isn’t that flavorful. It is very different than Mexican food. They don’t like spicy food at all and don’t use very many seasonings. Luckily, they often have this sauce, called Lizano, which is a sauce flavored with cumin, pepper, and turmeric. Also, I have to throw out a ‘Thank You’ to my mom, my grandma, Paul, and anyone else who has helped me in the kitchen, because today in my cooking class, a girl did not know how to peel a potato. Thankfully, I have mastered that skill and am very excited to move into my apartment this fall where I will have my own kitchen and I can cook everyday!

P.s. Thanks for all of your comments! I am so happy people are enjoying my blog; I'm having a blast writing it and love hearing from everyone!