We had the yearly primary program today. You know, the one where every child in the primary has a few lines to say and they all take turns reading or saying them. In between the little talks there is always lots of singing. Well, it's pretty much the same here as it is in the US. Continue reading Primary Program
Month: November 2009
Wedding Traditions
As I sit here writing this blog there is loud music blasting next door. The sister of our next door neighbor is getting married. The event does not happen for another two weeks. However, here in Costa Rica they have several parties before and after the wedding. Our neighbor invited us over for a few minutes to enjoy the festivities. They had a full mariachi band playing (I had no idea that they had mariachi bands in Costa Rica). Anyway, for this particular party, all the women stay inside the house with the lights turned off. All the men are outside the house. As the mariachi band plays, the fiance goes to the door with a boquet of flowers. He knocks on the door. The bride comes to the door and they kiss. The lights in the house are then turned on and the women come out to enjoy the mariachi band.
It was kind of fun to watch. I think traditions such as this are a wonderful thing.
Thankfulness
We just got back from celebrating Thanksgiving with the other gringo members of the church in Puriscal. It was wonderful; the food, the company, the food! The only thing lacking was three of my children. As I think about it, this may be the first time celebrating Thanksgiving without all of our children with us. I suppose that is inevitable as children grow. However, this time it is my fault. Anyway, since it is Thanksgiving, I'd like to make a short list of the things I'm thankful for:
- Family
- Atonement
- Health
- Beauty all around
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Arribada
There is a very unique occurrence here in Costa Rica. Locally it is known as an “arribada” which means “arrival.” In this case it is used when turtles come on the beach by the thousands to lay their eggs. These particular turtles are called Olive Ridley sea turtles. There are only a couple of places in the world where this occurs.
Bridge of Doom!
On the road between Puriscal and the beach was a very old suspension bridge. Here is what it looked like when we first arrived in Costa Rica. We drove over it a few times going down to the beach. It was quite the experience. Continue reading Bridge of Doom!
We Were Robbed
Attack of the Shower Spider
This morning as I was taking a refreshing suicide shower, I casually glanced down to see a ginormous spider rapidly crawling up my leg. When I say ginormous, I mean ginormous! So he wasn’t quite as big a tarantula, but he must have been a close cousin. Continue reading Attack of the Shower Spider