Dinner at Minor's

In a really nice gesture, my supervisor for the 2 projects I am working on at Habitat, Minor Rodriguez, invited me and wes to dinner at his house after work on tuesday. We left the office around 5:15 and headed out of San Jose to the suburb of Santo Domingo in Heredia. As his wife and kids were out shopping for groceries, Minor gave us a driving tour of the town - pointing out architechture highlights (he's an engineer). We saw traditional Tico construction with stucco walls and white paint with blue trim; we saw victorian style houses with large coppolas and ornate trim; and we saw colonial style houses with steep roofs and unique wooden siding...but the best house of all - was Minor's - when we pulled into his driveway. He lives just on the outskirts of town, in a small, quiet neighborhood and has a nice plot of land - which has been elaborately landscaped to include mango, lemon, pineapple, and papaya trees; a coffee bush, an herb garden with basil, cilantro, green onion; as well as lots of beautiful display flowers. The backyard is a tribute to his 4 children, with swingsets, playhouses, soccer balls and swings placed about the yard; with a nice shady hammock for Dad to relax in while watching the kids. Inside was just as nice if not nicer - with ornate tile floors, stained wood finishes and artwork everywhere. We settled into the kitchen, and had a conversation in spanish with Minor's wife. After they had unpacked the groceries, we met Minors baby daughter (2 yr old) and his precocious little 4 year old Melissa...and wes and I offered to help with preparing dinner. Weilding a large chef knife i demonstrated my some of my skillz in the kitchen - chopping up lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, herbs etc for the salad and fried rice. Wes put together some ham n cheeze squares for appetizers and Minor was working the wok - making the fried rice. When the food was done, he gave us a tour of the back yard pointing out all the different plants; and then we hopped in the car to grab drinks and ice - while waiting for Minor's colleage at Habitat - Belinda to arrive. When we returned, Belinda was in the living room with her neice and her sister from Columbia who is travelling with her daughter on a vacation around costa rica. we chatted over a glass of wine and wes' appetizers before it was time to dig in. Just before we ate, i set the timer on my camera and grabbed the pic above. Dinner was delicious - vegetable fried rice simmered in a tomato sauce made from scratch, accompanied by my salad and tomato wedges...and a drink made from boiling the seed of a plant called tamarindo (tastes kinda like peach iced tea). After dinner we walked outside for a little bit and played soccer with Minors oldest boy Danny (11) and his friend. When everyone got tired, we ended the evening and said our goodbyes and thankyous...and Minor gave Wes and I a ride home. All in all an outstanding evening, good company, a great meal and a lot of fun.