Monday, March 4, 2013

What does EBAIS mean?

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EBAIS is a Costa Rican acronym for Equipo B á sico de Atenci ón Integral en Salud.  I apologize if that's still gibberish to you. It...
3 comments:
Thursday, November 11, 2010

with much gusto

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What's striking about the way Spanish speakers say "you're welcome" is how certain countries will almost exclusively use o...
6 comments:
Saturday, October 30, 2010

Cabecera

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Perhaps the most common Spanish word for pillow is almohada , but Costa Ricans tend to use cabecera for the pillow that you sleep on. This ...
2 comments:
Saturday, September 4, 2010

Converting your laptop keyboard to Spanish

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I just got a new Dell laptop and have been unimpressed by the lack of the numeric keyboard, which I could access on my old HP laptop by pres...
4 comments:

Teaching Spanish

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I started teaching teaching Spanish on the west side of Chicago two weeks ago. While I am overwhelmed by the challenges of teaching 450 stud...
3 comments:
Sunday, April 25, 2010

"Pueblo pequeño, infierno grande"

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"Small town, big hell", many people say in small towns in Costa Rica . While most Costa Ricans I know live in small towns on purp...
2 comments:
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Sorry, Dora, it ain't a "mochila"

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On a few occasions I was subjected to episodes of " Dora la Explordora ", which--unlike the English title--actually rhymes. I alwa...
5 comments:
Thursday, February 25, 2010

Water in Costa Rica

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Agua , one of Costa Rica's most valuable assets, comes in many forms. Water falls from the sky, mixes with clay, springs from the ground...
7 comments:
Wednesday, February 24, 2010

"Momses and Dadses"

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In rural parts of Costa Rica , people often use a double plural form for certain nouns. That is, they attach an extra plural suffix to a no...
5 comments:
Monday, February 22, 2010

Word of the Day: Palenque

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Palenque can mean any number of things in Spanish, from a fence post (or tethering post) to a cockfight. My first exposure to the word was ...
2 comments:
Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Vergazo

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Costa Ricans will often use the word vergazo to mean a strong punch with a fist. This is a colloquial term you might hear in a rural canti...
3 comments:
Friday, January 22, 2010

Word of the Day: Tiquete

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Tiquete is the most common Costa Rican word for ticket. Most people will understand the word boleto , especially in context, but whenever ...
Thursday, January 21, 2010

Va a llover, it's raining

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Often when it rained in the rural area where I lived, someone would say " va a llover ". It doesn't take much knowledge of Spa...
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Word of the Day: Estudiar

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It's been a while since I've posted here. I suppose I should make things clear; I don't have time to post a new word every day, ...
10 comments:
Sunday, August 9, 2009

Word of the Day: Millonario

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You probably won't hear this while you're traveling in Costa Rica , but Costa Ricans will use the word millonario all the time in r...
Sunday, August 2, 2009

Word of the Day: Olla de Carne

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Olla de carne , literally a 'pot of meat', is a Costa Rican stew made with beef and vegetables. The vegetables are primarily starchy...
1 comment:
Thursday, July 30, 2009

Funny Shirts in Costa Rica

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I would make this blog about funny t-shirts in Costa Rica if I had the temerity to snap photos of strangers in the street. Costa Ricans ofte...
11 comments:
Saturday, July 18, 2009

Word of the Day: Filo

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Filo means the edge of a blade in Spanish, but in Costa Rica it is also slang for 'hunger'. Ex: ¿Tiene (Ud.) mucho filo? Translatio...
4 comments:
Friday, July 17, 2009

Word of the Day: Soda

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It's not quite what you expect. Soda is Costa Rican for diner. Sodas in Costa Rica won't give you a menu because the fare is prett...
7 comments:
Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Word of the Day: Dialecto

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Dialecto is 'dialect' in Spanish, but in the rural areas of Costa Rica you might hear people referring to dialect as a language com...