a little expat advice

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i'm not usually one to give out a lot of expat advice, mostly because i don't really consider myself an expert. i know i have lived in two different countries for almost a total of three years now but i still feel like there are things that i learn all the time about living abroad. and maybe one day i will write about all of those things that i have learned but for now i am just going to give one teensy little bit of advice.

before you leave a country, make sure you close all of your accounts whether they are banking, internet, cable, etc.

of course when i was in spain almost two years ago i didn't close one of my accounts because i was advised that it wasn't necessary. it is necessary!! i am now dealing with a such a headache from trying to pay things that were charged to me and closing my account and time differences etc. this all could have been prevented if i had just done the logical thing and closed my account when i left.

obviously i am going to take from this: everyone makes mistakes, its not the end of the world (my favorite) and at least it wasn't something more. and i think anyone thinking of moving abroad should remember that when you leave...close those accounts!! 

;)

buffalo chicken

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we got invited to a superbowl party this sunday. neither paris nor i follow football and paris was worried that because of this, we wouldn't really have fun at this party. i told him not to worry because the main reason we are going is the food .. and maybe to socialize. but the food. oh that superbowl food.

last time we went to a "north american" celebration was for thanksgiving and this party is actually going to be hosted by the same person. my apple crisp was a huge hit at thanksgiving so i thought i would attempt to make something just as great for this sunday. 

now, i dont know if i have mentioned this before but paris l.o.v.e.s. buffalo wings. he literally orders them every single time we go to any restaurant. so i thought i would make something buffalo chicken to bring to the party. as most of you pinterest lovers know, there are endless amounts of dishes you can make with buffalo chicken. i have picked out the above three: mac &cheese, dip, and nachos. now i only have to decide which one to make! has anyone ever made any of these?? were they a hit??

second-year

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if you are ever at a loss for what to get a teacher as a gift .. get them something like this. super cool and super practical. just saying.

this friday i am going back to school. back to work! i have teacher meetings and parent-teacher meetings all next week and then the 11th my classes start. ahhh i really cannot believe that i will be a second-year teacher! there are so many things that i learned last year as a first year teacher that i cannot wait to start using this year. probably starting mid-way through last year i made a list of things that i knew i had to change with my policies and teaching style for the next time around. and even looking back just one year, some of the things i did in class or used as lesson plans just make me cringe. oh well! i'm pretty sure my students thought i had been a teacher for a million years though, thank goodness.

i am by no means a professional educator, but i'm really looking forward to learning even more this year alongside my students. but if anyone is willing to offer up some newish teacher advice i wouldn't turn it down...

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friday

dear rocco: sorry that you have been getting sick lately but that doesn't mean when i try and give you medicine you can bite. nope, you can't do that anymore. dear endicott girls: it was so nice to get to hang out with you the past week. stinks you had to leave so soon ... but hopefully i'll see you in a few months! dear school: i'm getting pretty excited for you to start up again. just one more week left, so i should probably get to work on some lesson plans, right? dear bathroom: i really want you to be painted but .. it seems kind of daunting to pick out the right color and paint it myself. any ideas?

apple cinnamon pancakes

wanna know how to make them? head over to my friend nicole's blog and check out the recipe!

scrub-a-dub-dub

so since i've been back i noticed that someone was looking prettyyy dirty. you know .. as if they hadn't had a bath in a while. i wonder if it really had been a while .. like if another certain someone had somehow forgot? i did my best but rocco just was not interested in his bath this time. he literally clung to me for dear life. but we got through it and there wasn't even any crying. although there was that look he gave me in the last picture down there. the "i won't forget about this"  look. sorry, bud!

sunsets on the beach

these shots are a mix of both sunsets from this weekend. the first one i almost missed but i was able to get a few good shots. the second night the sunset was just breathtaking. sometimes i forget that when i go to the beach here it is on the pacific ocean and that the sun gracefully goes right down into the sea until the next night. isn't it pretty?

beach weekend

three years ago i came to costa rica with a group of students from my college. obviously it had a pretty big impact on me...you know since i live here and all. that was the first year that endicott made the trip to costa rica and has been doing ever since. the professor that took my group was finally doing the trip again this year and he contacted me asking if i would be interested in meeting up while he was here and i said of course. he then asked me to tag along on their beach trip weekend as somewhat of a mentor to the students so that they could see someone from endicott who took a completely different route than most and is now living and working abroad. weekend to the beach? sure!

i had such a good time. i bonded with a group of girls who i definitely would have hung with during my time at endicott and the whole weekend i was reminded of my time in costa rica with my own group of friends. we stayed in the exact same hotel and i had so many moments where i just wanted to say remember that time?? but then i was reminded those were completely different people. although we did make some new memories that could rival those of the past .. i mean, a 3 hour bus ride with 18 girls in their self-proclaimed acapella group singing pitch perfect songs? girls after my own heart.

 and lucky for me one of the girls from this trip is staying in costa rica a whole four months! three cheers for new friends ;)

off i go

well i'm off to the beach for the weekend. there is a group of students from my school here this month (the exact reason why i came to costa rica the very first time) and they have invited me to join them on their excursion for the weekend! i'm acting as somewhat of an alumni mentor and i'm so glad to do it :)

hope everyone enjoys their weekends!

of course i missed my pup

almost everyone i have talked to since being back in costa rica is, did you miss rocco??

of course i missed him! he is my little baby boy and unfortunately i couldn't take him with him home because i was going to be traveling too much it just wouldn't have been good for him.

the first day i was back we took rocco up to the farm and just let him run around and enjoy the outdoors. it was so much fun to just run around with him and watch him play. oh how i missed him!

anniversary

 this past saturday paris and i celebrated our 3 year anniversary. and what a 3 years it has been! since i had just gotten in late the night before, we wanted to keep it easy....pretty much like we always do. so he took me to the restaurant mirador tiquicia. i had been there once before with some of my coworkers but paris never had (ha!). and i was so happy to go again.

the view is just incredible. you can see what seems like the whole country just lit up. it really is one of my favorite things about costa rica, being able to see so much from high up in the mountains.

we had some enycados to start which are a kind of vegetable mashed and stuffed with some cheese and then fried. sounds good right? it was. paris enjoyed a delicious filet mignon with mushrooms and i had a typical costa rica casado with chicken, beans, rice, salad, etc. it was so good. between the company, the food, and the view it was one of my favorite dinners from the whole time i've been in costa rica.

happy anniversary :)

a pizza post

like i said yesterday, i spent a few days in boston with my bff lindsey. lindsey and i went to the same elementary/middle school/high school together, we played soccer together, we even had lockers pretty much next to each other .. but we weren't friends until after high school. and then i ended up transferring to the college she went to and we became roommates and the rest is history!

so every chance i get to go to boston, which really is almost every time i am home, i go stay with her. she loves it :) last time i stayed with her we made pizza. and this time when i stayed with her we made....pizza!

it was even easier than last time. here's what you need:

1 pizza dough .. we got ours from local pizza place which worked wonderfully

3-4 roma tomatoes .. the roma have less guts aka no mushy pizza!

sliced mozzarella cheese

step 1: kneed the dough onto a backing pan into the shape you would like your pizza to be

step 2: slap on those roma tomatoes. we chose just one layer but if you love tomato i would put on some more :)

step 3: add the slices of mozzarella cheese and some pepper flakes if you're into that. put it in the oven at 350 and just watch it until the crust starts to turn golden brown. for us it took about 15-20 minutes but that may vary depending on how thick the dough is.

and that is it! seriously the easiest thing and oh so delicious.

a tea party

 

my last weekend home was spent in boston. the first few days i stayed with my best friend lindsey and the last few days were spent at festivities for my brother and future sister in law's upcoming wedding.

on saturday we had a lovely tea party for laura and she got to open all her bridal shower presents! 

it was really nice to meet the rest of the girls in the bridal party and eat lots of yummy tea sandwiches and desserts. then later in the night we went out to a fabulous sushi dinner and after that we had some girl time .. but can't give away all the secrets now can i?

on another note, i got back to costa rica late friday night and have been enjoying some time with paris and my little pup. i'm just about done with my vacation posts and then i can get back to real time posts. thanks for bearing with me :)

hope everyone had a great weekend!