All we’ve been working towards was over in about 2 hours with a lot of happy kids!
Thanks to the many people who took one of the 300 angels or otherwise contributed to the project!
Thanksgiving and Angel Tree Completion
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| Our Angel Tree still had 6 left yesterday a.m. but by afternoon all 6 were taken! |
Friday, Saturday and Sunday I am one of about 4 volunteers staying at Su Espacio to receive the gifts as they are brought in. They are kind of trickling in with still 99 not here yet out of the 300, but Ticos do everything at the last minute David keeps reminding me – so by Monday or Tuesday most will probably be turned in (Sunday is the deadline). We have plenty of money to buy gifts for any children that are missed and until next Saturday, Dec. 5. I got more deeply involved in this than I really intended, but it has been fun with a purpose helping a lot of poor children get some nice Christmas presents – possibly the only gifts they will receive this Christmas. So a good thing! And I like to do good! 🙂
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| Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner at my neighbor’s house next door Thursday. Don & Lynda on right are from Oregon & live across our shared driveway. The lady and her daughter on left are “snowbirds” from Wisconsin renting a house 2 doors down for 2 months. |
Snowbirds are beginning to arrive, though some wait until after Christmas. One Canadian couple I was with in the apartments are already here and will stay until sometime in January. Others will come in January. It kind of reminds me of my two years in Miami where the population increases in our summer or your winter with the cold weather residents. And I’m sorry to say that the rain seems to have stopped. We will probably get a few more showers up into December maybe, but “Dry Season” has started.
One good thing about dry season is that I won’t have to put my leather shoes out in the sun to keep them from growing mold! And I recently found a new place for mold to grow – on the sweat bands of my ball caps. They are now hung upside down to help the sweat bands air out! And I have been throwing some of them in the washing machine too! Pura Vida! 🙂
Disgustingly Like the States (Christmas before Halloween!)
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| Walmart (photo) and other stores started Christmas promotion in October! |
Like in so many developing nations, it is the commercial world that is most “up to date” or more “developed” or shows more “progress.” That has mixed advantages and disadvantages. Like Alajuela’s infrastructure (especially streets) is simply not ready for the biggest mall in the country! And the majority of the people cannot afford the expensive stores. It still amazes me how much the rest of the world hates the USA and yet copies it! Or should I say allows U.S. businesses to come in and change the local culture. Interesting to note that all 15 or 20 Burger Kings in Costa Rica have closed. Nada! Some investor was probably losing money. Yet all the McDonald’s and KFC’s seem to do well even with multiple Latin American fried chicken competitors opposite KFC. Likewise Coke & Pepsi do well, while some big or expensive stores depend greatly on expats along with the growing rich among Ticos. I think that will be the case of the new City Mall. Catch the quote below by a North American:
We’re not going to persuade people in the developing world to go without, but neither can we afford a planet on which everyone lives like an American. Billions more people living in suburbs and driving SUVs to shopping malls is a recipe for planetary suicide. We can’t even afford to continue that way of life ourselves.~Alex Steffen
The Shock of a Robbery
Today I took a last minute trip with the Atenas Community Band (Banda) to Puntarenas, the port city on the Pacific side. They were celebrating a local political hero with a parade that had bands from all over the country. I road with the band on the charter bus (and paid my share of bus cost), then watched them get ready and watched most of the parade with many bands, most made up of almost all drums. I’ve been told that is because most schools can’t afford to hire teachers to teach how to play other instruments, nor afford the instruments. All the drums belong to the schools or community bands, not the kids. Anyway, it was a nice parade even if not as colorful as 15th of September Parade. I made lots of photos that I no longer have.
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| At least Nicole enjoyed his “Churchill,” a slushy with ice cream! Can you imagine that? |
A group of 6 of us went to eat at a beach-side cafe where I absent-mindedly laid my camera bag (backpack) on the concrete floor behind my chair next to the sidewalk. We ate, visited, and had a good time together. As we got up to leave I realized my backpack was gone, easily grabbed by someone walking by. I should know better! As someone suggested, I paid my “Gringo Tax” or more accurately my “Stupid Tax.” I did feel stupid, but also a little empty, violated, hurt, and helpless. We told a foot patrol
policia who just told us we had to go down to headquarters to file a report and the bus was leaving in 15 minutes. Nothing else to do.
With no cameras beyond my cell phone, I cancelled my Monzanillo Bird Watching trip (which I had thought about doing anyway with my busy schedule and expenses) and will use the money saved to help buy a single new camera and a better lens that I have been wanting anyway. But it will cost a whole lot more here, whether purchased locally or on internet with import taxes. Maybe the duty free shop in Nicaragua will have a good deal tomorrow, but I doubt it. And in the mean time I honestly feel sorry for the thief, who must live a hard life. Does he give any thought to the person he robs? He can’t think very well of himself!
Tomorrow early I leave for Nicaragua border to renew my visa. G’night!
He who is a partner with a thief hates his own life . . . Proverbs 29:24
15th of September Post 5: FACES
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| Teen in one of the school bands |
Okay. I’ll stop after this, though there are a lot more photos from the parade that I like. 🙂
I could have made this Faces post all children, but since I used some faces of them in Post 1 (children), and a cool youth face in Post 2 (bands), and another youth face in Post 3 (flags); this is mixed, even with adults.
I’ll go back to bugs and bird tomorrow, but Wednesday I head out for 4 nights in the Talamanca Mountains, so more new stuff then! Maybe a better photo of a Resplendent Quetzal! Then the following week to the Nicaragua border on Visa Run again. And the week after that to the Caribbean again. Never a dull moment! 🙂
And don’t you like the looks of the Atenas Ticos?
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| Do you not want me to make this photo? |
“The face is a picture of the mind with the eyes as its interpreter.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
Pura Vida!
15th of September Post 4: CULTURAL COLOR
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| The local agricultural technical school (largest in Central America) had my fave! This is the traditional dress from post colonial days with men’s in next photo. |
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| Students of Agriculture come here from all over the Americas, including U.S. I can see some of the school farms used for SFS, Sustainable Field Service We help improve agriculture all over the Americas! |
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| Beautifully painted oxcarts are a long time tradition here. Two in the parade. |
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| Riding barefoot is a doubtful tradition, though maybe early youth did so. |
Día de la Mascarada or “Traditional Costa Rican Masquerade” (31 October) originated as an adaption of Spanish Carnival. The local band, una cimarróna, strikes up a beat for the masked characters to dance or walk in a parade or fiesta. The next 5 photos are of the masked characters in this particular parade by a school or organization I did not catch the name of:
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| A Fire Truck, Bombero, always leads off in every parade, this time followed by a group of “Future Firemen of Costa Rica” or some similar name in Spanish. |
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| Not sure how 3 younger teens got to skate in the parade, trying to show off, but none of them exceptionally good! I guess they see this as future or current culture!? |
COSTA RICA EXTRA TIDBIT:
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| Surfer at Manuel Antonio Beach |
And will the World Surfing Games (link to article in English) be held in Costa Rica in 2016? Only if someone comes up with $1 Million Dollars in next two weeks (see article) and it is doubtful the CR government will spend that much. But, after all guys, Costa Rica came away from this year’s contest with the most gold medals! (link to 2015 tournament page)
It is like the national sport for those who live on the Pacific coast and Jaco is considered one of the best surfing beaches in the world. Not my passion, but very interesting! Here’s a surfer shot I made at Manuel Antonio Beach last year in mild waves.
Pura Vida! And tomorrow, my last installment of Fotographias de 15 de septiembre desfile: CARAS (FACES) – maybe the best parade post! 🙂
15th of September Post 2: BANDS!
Though the volume made you think there were more, there were only 4 full-size bands in the parade and they were mostly drums, since there are few teachers or classes for other instruments. They were scattered throughout the parade with several small ensembles in-between, like 3 to 8 persons with multiple instruments. There were more flag bearers than band members. Bands are bandas in Spanish.
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| Banda Escuela de Musica is a community band for all ages (child-adult) that meets, learns and practices after school. It includes my Spanish teacher, his son and son’s nanny, and another friend. I help raise money for their Panama trip. Notice, like others, they are now all drums except for 2 saxophones and 3 xylophones called marimbas here. |
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| I like their spiffy uniform shirts which they are wanting to replace with “real” uniforms sometime. It is a community activity requiring donated money not easily obtained. |
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| It is an after-school, community music school that teaches how to read music, how to play other instruments when they can be obtained, and the band will add more instruments over time as they can. It could become big in Atenas. |
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| Banda de Colegio San Rafael is a suburban high school smaller than Liceo but sharper looking uniforms. All drums because of lack of music teachers. |
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| Ticos teens like to dress sharp and appreciate cool hats! |
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| Banda de Colegio Liceo is the largest from the largest school with golf shirts as uniforms and again mostly drums because of few music teachers. |
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| All drummers are cool and since nearly all of the band are drummers . . . Boy! My band director would never have allowed sunglasses! 🙂 So maybe this is why Ticos are the happiest people on earth!? |
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| They are followed by and overshadowed by the largest troop of flag bearers in the parade, also a part of Colegio Liceo. More flag photos tomorrow! |
By now you may have learned that high schools are called “Colegio” in Spanish in Costa Rica. If not, that is your new Spanish word for today! 🙂
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| Unknown school with 8 boys on drums – what I was calling an “ensemble.” |
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| Escuela Central Elementary School As with the others, mostly drums with a few marimbas (xylophones); smaller and less organized than high school bands. |
15th of September Post 1: CHILDREN!
I’m still sorting the 600+ photos from a wonderful nearly 3-hour parade for Independence Day here with lots of bands and flags and children. Tonight I share just a few of my children shots, some in the parade and many watching it. This satisfies what I wanted to photograph in last night’s lantern parade and did not accomplish. Children are so photogenic!
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| Watching the parade with me at Gelly’s |
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| Representing one of the schools in the parade |
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| Nicole, 6 or 7, is already a drummer in a band! Son of my Spanish teacher, in band I raised $ for. |
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| Some of the dancers weren’t so good, but this group was great, with traditional dancing! |
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| I watched this boy sneak under the railing to sit on curb for closer view! |
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| The red, white & blue traditional dress is most typical for Independence Day and I’ll show adults wearing them another day. |
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| And this is the typical traditional dress for boys and men. I wore a hat like this but no bandanna, just a red, white & blue shirt! |
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| Another traditional dress for 15th of September! All of these are made by parents or a seamstress, you cannot buy them in stores. |
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| And finally, a father-son bonding moment on the parade route. This may be my favorite photo from the parade. |
I have lots of photos of a lot of bands and really a lot of flags I’ll share a few of, plus some adult costumes and some “different” things in the parade in future posts.
Angel Tree Project
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| Trees in two places to get sponsors. |
I volunteered through Su Espacio and met today with some of the other committee members to discuss the approach this year and how we will secure sponsors of 300 very poor children (no parent working full time). We also need to pay for food and entertainment at the party in December when they receive their gifts. I suggested that in addition to angels which is the child a person buys a gift or gifts for, we sell “party angels” to pay for the party. Susan (also from Su Espacio) suggested we make those stars. So now people can take an angel from the tree and get gifts or pay cash for a star to pay for the party. My first contribution to this project. 🙂
Of course Susan and I are in charge of the stars and tomorrow we go to Escazu to see if anyone has silver and gold poster board from which we will cut the stars. Silver for 5,000 colones ($10) and gold for 10,000 colones ($20). David and Corinna at Su Espacio are interviewing the parents to see if their children really qualify for the free Christmas gifts and will host the party. We will all help cut out the angels and write names and Christmas wishes on them. Susan and I want to recruit children to color the angels. We will have a big tree at Su Espacio and a smaller one at Kay’s Gringo Postres where we met today and where we should sign up a lot of gringos. Plus we are promoting it at Kay’s Gringo Halloween Costume Party with a raffle to earn some of the party money.
I’ve become David’s flier maker, so expect I will be doing that again pretty soon about the Angel Tree. And some of you thought all I did was sleep late and sit on the terrace photographing birds!
On Aprendo Espanol en Atenas I tell about Spanish learning for free at Duoling.com
Preparing for 15 September
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| Escuela Central older students prepare for Independence Day Parade |
This is the primary school and these were learning to march with flag poles (sans flags) which will be part of how their school participates in the 15 September Independence Day Parade. This morning at the same school the band was practice marching in this same place but I couldn’t stop, running late for my class. All the high school bands are preparing too as I can hear their drummers and we have a community band that will also participate in the parade next Tuesday morning.
On the night before there will be a lights parade with prizes given for the best decorated lanterns.
Hoy aprendo verbos saber y conocer en Aprendo Español en Atenas.