El Día de Independencia!

Sullivan proudly wears his parade outfit and holds his bandera

Sitting outside on the patio listening to the loud giant toads in the light rain, I can't help feeling extremely satisfied with the richness of the experiences of this past weekend.  For us, this is the thrill of living abroad.

On September 15, 1821, Guatemala declared independence from Spain for all of Central America.  Several traditions have evolved to help celebrate this important part of Costa Rican history.  On the evening of September 14, the folks in the towns and cities gather at 6 pm to sing the national anthem all across the county.  The schoolchildren all parade with their homemade faroles (candle lanterns).  To our family, this is a great tradition, as all the kids were required to make a farole for school and were encouraged to participate in the parade.

Our faroles followed the common theme of houses

There were judges to determine the best faroles and at least one shop sold ready-made options.  We were thrilled to see all the creativity and also that the rain held off until after the parade through town around the main plaza.

Two other houses, even more elaborate

Though the faroles were great, the evening parade was more like an appetizer when compared to Sunday morning's desfile (parade).  Madeleine was meant to report to the school at 7:15 and the boys around 7:30.  But, we're becoming wise to the ways of Tico Time and made sure we were there a bit before 8.  The teachers and kids had been preparing for quite some time at school for this day.

Madeleine, adorned in her special sash, shirt and earrings

Our sixth grader had been practicing "La Marcha" pretty much every day at school for the last three weeks or so.  She'd been invited to join this group to march in the parade because of her academic achievement at school.  Henry was also invited but eventually declined when he figured out he'd have to do learn some fancy marching steps and carry a flag.  Madeleine, though, was brave and went through with the practices and marched, even if orange wouldn't have been her first choice of colors.  It was fascinating to us that there were two long meetings (a few hours total!) whose sole purpose was to figure out the color and design of their shirts, the sash and the color of the writing on the sash.  Clearly, this is a big deal and she felt quite honored though there was a bit of grousing about actually having to carry through with it all.  And yes, the girls' hair had to be braided on the left side and they all wore matching earrings and hair bands.

There was also a considerable amount of effort and energy spent in the planning of the outfits of the Sullivan's kindergarten class.  Their hats and ties were all made for them and white gloves were required.  They also practiced their marching steps, though not quite to the same extent as the older kids.  Though we're biased, we're not sure if it's possible for a group of kids to be much cuter than that class.  A special time.

Amigos

Amigas

At 8 am, all the kids, parents, teachers and just about everyone else gathered at the school entrance.  There were speeches, songs and flags that were raised.  The official anthems of Costa Rica (country), Guanacaste (province) and Tilar án (canton) were all sung.  Next, the parade began, with the preschoolers leading the way.  There were two marching bands, both comprised of girls playing xylophones and boys playing drums.  Loudly and well.  A couple of dance groups performed along the way, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.  Noticeably absent were any military bands or groups, as Costa Rica has none.  The social gathering point seems to be focused around the school and the parade included only students.  All in all, it was a fantastic time.

The kindergarten crew, with close attention from their parents

Some singing to start the morning

Proud?  Embarrassed?

I couldn't get enough of the band from their school.  None of the tunes were new to us as we can hear them practicing from our house.

Sully and his good buddy Marcos take in the end of the parade

Post-parade bliss

The events of the last two days were great spectacles for sure, but to us even more meaningful as we were participating as members of the community.  This realization was driven home near the end of the parade when two American tourists asked me if one of our kids were in the parade.  They were from Georgia, and their tour bus stopped to check out the scene.  Both Erica and I also shared big smiles, hugs and greetings with a whole bunch of folks we've come to know.  It stuck me that we are indeed becoming integrated and enjoying the cultural experience for which we came.

New friend welcoming us home

A change to "city" living

New digs!

Soon after returning from the States, and even before I was back myself, the search was on for a new house to rent.  Looking to trade the ideally sized house and the killer view for closer proximity to the school and more kids for our kids, we began the search for a house in the town of Nuevo Arenal itself.  We appreciated the garden-like setting of our house in Las Flores but driving the 5 km into town several times a day to and from school became more consuming than we liked.

Morning front porch view

Erica and the kids located our new house while driving around town and became quickly enamored with the location, a four minute walk to school!  There's a pulperia (small general store/candy shop) just down the street and the rest of the town is easily walkable.  Less driving!  Its location, light and open floor plan compensated for its 2 bedroom/1.5 bathroom size.   Because of the unanimous enthusiasm, I agreed to move, sight unseen.  Craziest of all is that our monthly rent is less than our monthly property taxes when we owned our house in Portland.

Madeleine starts her commute to school

We moved in on Sep. 1 and haven't looked back.  Without a doubt, this was our easiest move ever, taking only a couple of trips with the car.  Madeleine and Henry walk to school or store and back on their own.  This has been the greatest benefit of moving but we never would have guessed how fantastic it's been to have so many other kids nearby.  Less than 24 hours after moving in, the first neighborhood kids stopped by to play some soccer in the backyard.  The record so far has been 7 kids here at once.  Just like old times.

Let the games begin, with Jackson and Josemar

The smaller house hasn't felt tight at all to us, especially given the large outdoor covered area where a lot of our time is spent.

Couldn't not have a ping pong table here

We lucked out and were able to quickly pick up a used ping pong table.  It's become a gathering point for the kids and some of the parents too.

Madeleine, Kelly and Tatiana take a break from studying for exams

Unexpectedly, there is a large group of howler monkeys living in the jungle across the street.  They greet us in the morning and occasionally frequent the trees just across the street.

Neighbor across the street

Plenty of vultures nearby

Produce, anyone?

Turns out a produce truck comes through the neighborhood every Monday and Friday.  Can this get any better?

I'll often extend my morning walk after dropping Sullivan off at Kindergarten at 7 am.  The air is often cooler and the light's really soft, accentuating the colors and views.  A few early morning scenes.  .  .

There seem to be fewer barking dogs here but one really loud neighbor cat whose name doesn't seem quite appropriate:  Preciosa.  She has a great affinity for loudly meowing just outside our house at any time of day or night.  She's been known to climb up on the windows and meow inside the house, trying to get in.  At 1 am.  She's clearly terrified of a broom but seems to be smitten with the attention and doting from Sullivan.  Her internal conflict is understandable.

Looking deceptively cute

Overall, this has been one of the best moves ever.  Less driving and more local streets and sidewalks gives us more time for regular exercise and exploration.  The neighbors have been welcoming and getting to know folks is much simpler.  The adventure continues.  .  .