Customs of Costa Rica

So my time here has been a whirlwind of new places, new customs, and new friends. I want to share with you some of the customs and "Costa Rican" life I am learning. The best way I know how is through pictures! Hope you enjoy:

I'll start with the food, very important in this girl's life:

Here is my typical morning breakfast. A smoothie made with fresh fruits ( usually gathered at the Markets on Fridays) So far the best combination is mango and banana with all natural orange juice. Topped with homemade granola bought at the Mennonite stand= perfection.

My first fish tacos bought at Bubba's right on the beach. Heavenly! The corn in the corner was grilled... never had that before but it was sooo good!

My all time favorite meal here. Gallo Pinto. The best mixture of rice and beans. Of course I like to add tomatoes and avocado to top it all off! Seriously, every day. Doesn't get old.

Now here is some 'fun' local customs that I have found hilarious. I caught Senada, the house maid for Daniel and Sarah, asking for crackers the other day after she poured some coffee. "Sure", Daniel and I thought- but what we saw next was like.. woah-- I need to look at this. She proceeded to place them all in her drink and walk off sipping from the cup. We both just stared at her. Never have I ever seen that, so I went and grabbed the camera. When she was out of the room I snapped this shot. Hilarious. We had her and a few other girls over yesterday and they all wanted the same thing!!! I called them crazy then decided to try it myself. Not half bad- it's a good combination of sweet and salty. I didn't dump them in... I dipped. I can't do cracker clumps at the bottom... those don't go down so well.

And lastly, Thomas had a 'fiesta' for their last day of school ( They are on Christmas break here, it's their winter) Most normal children receive bags of candy, small prizes, cute papers at parties yeah? At least I did. Here is what he returned home with: A bag of grapes, rice pudding (rice mixed with condense milk-- really good, but super sweet), and an apple. ( He also had some candy, from the pinata-- and funny stories about the clowns)

Here are some of the animals you might see upon a visit:

Here he is. The little booger that dove right into the pool one afternoon. That was it for me. I officially don't like these little baby dinosaurs. End of story.