Mi Vida en Costa Rica: Dia de Independencia

September 15 is Independence Day in Costa Rica and is quite a celebration! The kids at the school worked for weeks before hand learning music things--band or choir or both--and making decorations for the school. The evening before the school had a celebration of sorts in honor of the day. The choir performed and the band also, and the torch (signifying the torch that went through the Central American countries to tell of independence for them) came in and there were a lot of national hymns sung--one for the flag, the national anthem, one for Independence Day, one for the torch...I think that was all:). On the downside, it took the parents 45 minutes to leave the school because of traffic...but you should know that the street the school (and my apartment) is on is only two lanes, one lane for each way. So there was quite a bit of horn honking for some time after the celebration. Thankfully, the next day we did not have school and I could stay up a little later listening to the cars trying to leave;).

There is also an Independence Day parade in each city. Colegio Metodista chose to join the San Pedro parade. Due to the time it began, I did not make it to a parade, but I could hear them, that's for sure!

Unlike the U.S., Costa Rica did not have to fight to gain independence. They, along with several other countries, chose to declare their independence from Spain, and Spain more or less said, "OK" since Costa Rica was not as profitable to them as other countries. Also, due to it's location (really, it's distance from the main cities) lack of major trading allowed those in Costa Rica to create a world far different from the other countries more controlled by Spain. Today, the celebration is just as fun and festive as the July 4 in the USA. In fact, the evening before, the whole country is synchronized (thanks to TV and radio stations) so that at 6pm everyone plays and/or sings the national anthem. It was really cool to experience a whole nation, as one, singing their country's song. I suppose it helps that Costa Rica only has one time zone, too:).

Traditional dances are a must!

Graziella and some other ILE teachers were asked to perform at the El Redentor Methdodist church

the band

running the torch in

lighting the barrel

the choir

On September 14, the school provided a typical breakfast for the kids and teachers. We had gallo pinto (rice and beans), fresh bread, and I opted out of the sour cream:). There were also marimba players playing traditiong music for us. I was in heaven--food and music!