Snow in New York?

Nope, just confetti after the Giants won the Super Bowl.

The Post-College Hunger

Well, this isn't very good:

Hungry Grads are Hit by Recession

When Christy de la Cruz was an undergraduate student at Fordham University, she never thought she would have to worry about paying for food.

"You expect that when you get out of college, you'll get a job that [will] make more than enough to survive," de la Cruz said. "But the real wake-up call comes when you find out that it's not enough."

De la Cruz is not alone. Almost 3 million New Yorkers — 35 percent of New York City residents — had difficulty affording food at some point in 2011, according to the Food Bank For New York City.

I knew the economy was bad, but it's a shock to me that people with college degrees would actually be starving.

Pura Vida

When I lived in Buenos Aires 'Pura Vida' was a juice bar across the street from my apartment - my near-daily relief from the endless supply of meat and starch that constitute so much of the Argentine diet.

Here in Costa Rica, 'pura vida' is the national saying. While its literal meaning is 'pure life' it's generally used to mean something like 'cool' or 'great':

Como estas?

Pura vida, por dicha.

But Pura Vida is much more than just a phrase...it's a way of life. To live la pura vida is to really and truly live, to be healthy and happy.

Well, I'm leaving Costa Rica in a few hours. Pura vida!

I noticed that many of the local workers here still keep Bill Clinton's portrait in their offices. I haven't seen a single one with George Bush. I asked someone about that - what happened to all the Bush portraits? -and he said 'We can't vote in the American elections, but we can express our opinions in other ways" and he pointed to the wastebasket.

Volcan Poas

Some people might think it's dangerous to live in the shadow of several active volcanoes. These people are paranoid lunatics who wear raincoats in the shower so as not to catch cold. Nothing is wrong with unless you have some kind of crazy allergy to thousands of tons of ash falling on you.

At all other times (the non-erupting times), the volcanoes make a lovely natural park. The trick is to get there just as the mist is receding...

But before it comes back...

Also there are some waterfalls, but these aren't a patch in Iguazu.