Baking (and cooking but only because I have to)

As most people know, I don't like to cook. Now...I didn't say I CAN'T cook, I said I don't LIKE to cook. And despite some of my guy friends telling me I'd never find a husband because of it, I'm quite okay with it. On the other hand, I do like to bake (at least way more than I like to cook).

Living up at about 6,000 feet makes baking a bit of a challenge. I used to never pay attention to the special "high altitude" directions on cake and brownie mixes, but now I wish I had those mixes more! Recipes to bake from scratch don't offer the special "high altitude" directions and we've had our fair share of baking "issues". So thanks to my Pinterest addiction (which I highly recommend), I've found some great recipes:

Banana bread

The best things about this banana bread recipe is that it is specifically for high altitude baking. It's also the most moist and really banana tasting bread I've ever had! (And remember bananas are only like 7 cents a piece here).

Recipe:

• 5 large, ripe bananas or 6 small bananas
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup Chocolate chip, raisins and/or walnuts may be added 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mash the bananas in the mixing bowl. Add the butter, sugar and eggs to the bananas. Cream the bananas and egg mixture thoroughly. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Grease a standard size bread pan. (I use our skillet...it's perfect). Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 55-65 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

No Bake Cookies!

Chocolate Oatmeal No Bake Cookies...These are really good and because I don't have to really bake them, they turn out great. (Well except the time it had been raining for 2 weeks straight making them too moist to ever really solidify, but they still tasted good).

Recipe:

• 1/2 C Butter
• 2 C Sugar
• 1/2 C Milk
• 4 Tbsp Cocoa
• 1/2 C Peanut Butter
• 3- 3 1/2 C Quick cooking Oats
• 2 tsp. Vanilla

Add the first 4 ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 1 minute. Stir in the next 3 ingredients and drop onto wax/foil paper. Let cool until set.

In our house we take turns cooking dinner. So I have to cook every Monday and Thursday nights. As previously mentioned, I don't like to cook. On top of that, it's definitely different cooking here versus in the US. Being the daughter of a Pampered Chef, I'm often lost without all of my cooking gadgets and pre-made ingredients (especially crescent rolls). So again, I've relied greatly on Pinterest and have made some things very successfully and others not so successfully, but at least my housemates aren't too picky :)

Feel free to pass any recipes my way that you think might work here!

Día de la Independencia

The 15th of September we celebrated Independence Day here in Costa Rica! It was sort of like the 4th of July, but then again not at all the same. It involved a parade, kids carrying homemade lanterns (most with real lit candles), a torch running across the country and some music and drama by our students. For me these type of activities are not fun because of the hour long walk to nowhere and back, but because it's a community activity that I get to be a part of. All of the kids are out and most of the moms and a few dads. You get to see people out sharing together for a celebrated day. It was really fun (and not just for the 2 days off of school)!  :)

The parade

My friend Julianna's two kids and me

Some of my students after their drama

Two more of my students

On a side note: I've been having some of my girl students over to my house recently, just to enjoy time together. It's been fun watching girly movies, doing hair, eating junk food. I really enjoy getting to be like a caring big sister to so many of these girls!

Gaby and Sandra showing off their pretty hair

Two Weddings and the GRE

This month I got the awesome gift of getting to go back to the States to be in the wedding of one of my best friends. Melissa and Caleb were getting married and I HAD to be there! So due to some wonderful friends and family I was able to come back to be a part of their special day (and do a lot more while there).

In the first half of my trip...I celebrated birthdays: Uncle Ken's, mom's, Brittni's and my grandfather's. I spent a lot of time with Melissa preparing for the wedding and all that goes into that. I spent good time with my parents and my grandparents and ate out way too much (gaining like 5 lbs in 2 weeks). I enjoyed the beautiful and Christ-centered wedding of Melissa and Caleb. We also danced a lot at the reception and had a great time with all our families from when we were kids.

Throughout that time, I was also studying to take the GRE for the Monday following the wedding. I studied a ton, but still had moments of freaking out (in particular the night before). God is so good though! Thanks for your prayers, because between others praying for me and my own prayers, God was faithful as always. I woke up Monday morning, spent some time stretching, reading the Bible, praying, singing, and eating a healthy breakfast. I had a great lunch with a friend who worked by the testing center and she paid for me. (Side note: God's given me some great friends and I'm reminded of that every time I go back to the States - oh and not just because they pay for me). So I went into the test a little nervous of course but really trusting in the Lord's sovereignty and knowing that His hand is over everything that I do even a "randomized" computerized test. I took the exam with that peace (and all the studying I had done) and came out on the other end alive and well. Praise God! [On another note for future blogs I'm sure - If you're asking why I took the GRE, well I'm looking into grad schools for International Development or something similar for the future and that was the first step.]

The second half of my trip...I spent in the great state of Virginia. I got to spend some amazing time with my little sister at my alma mater, Virginia Tech. It was of course interesting staying with her in her dorm room and pretending to be a college student. I was always able to use her ID and people knew I was her sister even without seeing us together. I also got to spend time with lots of people who are still in Blacksburg who are really important to me. That's still a home for me!

Friday afternoon I left Hokie Land and spent the evening at Smith Mountain Lake with Josh and Todd and Todd's parents. It was probably the first time in the whole trip that I actually got to relax. I was also (as usual when I hang out with my Young Life friends) so encouraged. I do miss having such awesome brothers in Christ who love me so well surrounding me and encouraging me regularly. Thanks, guys :)

Then Saturday, through the hurricane, we drove to Richmond for Kerry and Stafford's wedding. Our plan was to stop somewhere to eat and change into our "cocktail dress". Unfortunately the road we were on didn't have anything for so long and by the time we finally found somewhere (a Subway) Irene was in full force and the Subway was out of power with the two employees sitting outside on the sidewalk. Instead we went into the Food Lion next door running on generators. As we walked in with my dress and the boys' fancy shirts, the lady asked us if she could help us with an odd expression in her voice. We said we wanted food and to change for a wedding. She questioned whether the wedding was cancelled, a thought which hadn't even crossed our minds. Gladly the wedding was not canceled and though the power was out in both the church and the reception, nothing could have brought down the joy of that day and what it signifies for Kerry and Stafford. It was so great to get to be there and to share such sweet time with so many of my good friends from college who are still such good friends despite the long distances between us. I'm so thankful for all of you!

Our hotel that night did not have power and neither did my parents' house when I finally arrived home Sunday night. (Thanks for the rides Laura and Alex!) I packed up all my stuff and the hundreds of gifts to bring to the Dozier family all in the dark but with lots of candles (see the picture below). I slept for a few hours and then headed back here to Costa Rica to continue the adventure that God has thrown me into.

Thanks again for such a sweet and encouraging time in the States :)

First Summer Update (and much too late)

As you can probably tell from my lack of blogging, we've been kept very very busy this summer. It's hard to know even where to begin, but I'll try. (Warning: I'm way behind, so this is going to be long!)

Eastern: The Masters students from Eastern University's International Development program spent a week with us at the end of April. We outfitted the ADE center with a new kitchen and bunk beds enough for 27 people - and just in time. It was a great experience for everyone involved. The Eastern students got to see some of Costa Rica, study natural disasters (specifically volcanos), work with the ADE colegio students, and help both ADE and our local community. There were also lots of really good discussions between individuals and the whole group and development, sustainability, ecology, and community resilience to name just a few. For our ADE colegio students, it was great for them to get to build some relationships with new people, learn about development and disaster preparedness with the masters students, get a view of higher educational possibilities and take part in serving their own community alongside others. It was great for our staff (myself totally included) to really get to have meaningful conversations with others in the same mind and gain the experience of hosting a group of that size. I was really exhausted after that week, but it was definitely good.

Nicaragua: Shortly after the huge group left, I headed on the Tica Bus to Nicaragua to renew my visa, visit my friend Leah and relax. It was so great to see Leah and Hemby who are in Nicaragua for the year with Manna Project International. I just hung out in their house (and pool) for a few days and read. I also got to see some of their projects and have lots of good convos about community development, learning from the good and bad of their program. It was a sweet time thanks to Leah - You're awesome :)

Interns: We've got interns (and volunteers) here for the summer! Amanda Rinker, previous YL leader at East Mont, came down in May. She's taking her summer break from getting her masters and seminary degrees to get her hands dirty in this community. Her specific role is working with our agriculture project (which Morgan, who was here over spring break and then came back for a couple weeks in May, helped to start). Lauren Ko, also a Hokie alum, came down in May also to be here for the summer. She just graduated from Tech and is working hard here. She's specifically working with some of the environment issues going on here with the reconstruction. Lauren and Amanda have been each so helpful with all of the different projects and needs we've got here. They've done everything from moving rocks and painting signs, to creating handbooks and inventories. For one week in the end of June we had Karen here doing a week of intensive English learning with our students. With years of experience in teaching English and in the process of getting her masters degree in it, she worked hard for a week and brought down tons of awesome resources. Hopefully from the training and resources she gave me, I can be a better English teacher! Now Maria is here for the month of July all the way from Austria (we met while I was in Vienna). She's up for doing anything and everything we need and filling a great need for us this month. And of course, we can't forget Mikki who was here from April to the end of June. She definitely was here right when I personally needed her - and I miss her lots now that she's gone. Look at all the amazing people God brought to join us during this summer. Blows my mind!

Georgia Group: We had a group of high school students from Georgia here for 2 weeks. They spent the first week down in our ADE Center seeing the area, working with our students, and learning and serving in this area. For the second week, they went to a small town on the Caribbean coast to do some service/learning there and our group went with them. Our students worked hard to fundraise for the trip. They hosted a Bingo night in town and made enough money for everyone to go. (Bingo is maybe the most and only successful fundraiser in this community - no lie). It was a great time with our students and serving another small community like ours.

Restaurant: Here's the big one that has totally changed my time here in many ways. On June 11th, 2010 along with the opening of the World Cup, we opened a restaurant with women from our community! It's been an exciting but very challenging venture. I myself have never really worked at all in the food service industry (much less starting a new one). So I've been learning a ton. The women are incredible! For me that's been the greatest part, getting to know each one of the "associates" (as they're definitely not employees as we're all partners in this business). The women range in ages and family status, but what is greater is bringing together and seeking relationships across borders that are usually not crossed - specifically between Evangelicals and Catholics in this community. It's been so great for me getting to know each one and feeling more and more like a part of the community and have friends (close to my age or older - unlike before when my only friends were my students)! It has also been very challenging and definitely needs your prayers in terms of money and response from other local businesses. You can check out our new website (still with lots under construction) at: www.RestauranteArcoiris.org


To come in July and August... visitors, camps, and my family!

Spring Break 2010!

So this week we've got 4 spring break students from different schools in the US here learning Spanish, contributing to the community projects and getting to see Costa Rica. We've done so much already and it's only Tuesday:

• Worked on Spanish with local community students
• Gone to church (awesome cultural experience)
• Seen waterfalls, butterflies, and jungle cats
• Eaten typical foods
• Held toucans
• Made empanadas
• Seen the volcano
• Hiked in the jungle
• Tracked a tapir
• Milked cows
• Laughed a lot

There's a lot more to come and I'm really excited. I'll write more and put up pictures after the week. Definitely be thinking of and praying for us :)