Al chile?

I just got back from a family lunch of 17 people and nearly 17 comidas- tortillas, beans, rice, salad, fried eggs, sardinas, tuna, pasta, soup, and arroz con leche. Today is Sabado Santo, a day of rest and relaxation and preparation for the resurrection of Jesus. There is another procession tomorrow from Río Conejo to the parish in San Juan Norte. Since Thursday, there has been no bus service, no soccer games, and no soap operas. We have been eating a small (-er) breakfast of coffee and pan casero (bread filled with chiverre, which is sweet) and then a large lunch at noon. All the students are on vacation, so there have been primos in and out every day. Yesterday, I woke up from a nap to find my host mother, her daughter, and granddaughter braiding another granddaughter’s hair for the Easter procession on Sunday. Hours later, Melanie had 100 braids. My friend and I commented the other day that no moment feels wasted here- whether we pass them braiding hair, washing clothes, practicing guitar, or painting.

Easter break was well overdue; although, classes on Monday and Tuesday were great! We spent Monday at my friend’s house learning from his padre tico how to plant and cultivate coffee. Tuesday, we spent the day at my house learning how to make tortillas and pupusas. Wednesday dragged, as technical days often do, but Thursday was well worth the wait. Many friends were invited to spend Semana Santa away with their tico families and I was disappointed that my family had nothing planned. While I was anxious to participate in the religious celebrations with my family, I was equally anxious to get away and experience something new. I was thrilled when my friend came over to invite me camping with his host family.

The site was a twenty five minute walk from their house, but it felt much further. We were probably 10 or 12 in total and had three tiendas (tents) between us. Everyone helped prepare dinner, cutting culantro by the light of a foco, pouring coffee, stirring frijoles, and warming tortillas. The scene was so refreshing- the campfire, the full moon, the cool breeze, the wine, the word games. As I have said earlier, camping would have been enough to make me stop and smile, but camping in Costa Rica with new friends was incredible. We walked to the river in the morning, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs, salchichas, gallo pinto, and coffee, to play charades and rhyme time.

Last night we watched a movie with the same bunch and ate palomitas (little pigeons- popcorn). While we left late to walk back to my house, the path was completely illuminated by the light of the moon. Luckily, a month into our service, we are still struck by the night sky, and stopped to take it in. It’s funny how when we travel to a place for a week or ten days for vacation we fail to notice things like stars shining, clouds moving, birds chirping, and wind whistling- we don’t have time. Instead, we pick out the beautiful buildings, the store windows, the fountains, parks, museums, and people, because they are easiest to spot and appreciate. I do not feel rushed in this way, as I have 26 months ahead of me in Costa Rica. I do not feel pressured to capture every moment on film and, as a result, I am able to savor every moment for the moment. This is truly a blessing.