Megon and I slipped back into reality this past week after nearly a month of what seemed like a constant state of transitions – in-service training, visiting family and host family outings. And there was no better way to reconnect with La Otoya than by celebrating Semana Santa, or Holy Week. The majority of Costa Ricans are Catholic, so students and teachers around the country have the week off to enjoy Easter. Many vacation at the beach or go to the river, but most spend the time with family.
We used Semana Santa to get to know other members of our community, go fishing and swimming in the rivers, do some planning for the next topic of our community English class (Costa Rican and U.S. cuisine), catch up on some reading, and take long walks in the sweltering heat.
Months ago, everyone kept telling us April, especially Semana Santa, is the hottest month of the year. They weren’t kidding. Temperatures soared into the low to mid 90s last week and it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.
It’s been so hot we feared the worst for the Girl Scout cookies (Samoas and Thin Mints) that Dawson, Shelly and the kids brought from Seattle, so we had no choice but to eat them – quickly – before they melted. It’s been so hot I sweat while reading Harry Potter. And the Goblet of Fire storyline isn’t to blame. One day I asked Megon what she’d prefer: A minus 20-degree day in Anchorage or 95-degree day here. “Anchorage,” she said. “You can always dress up when it’s cold.” True that, but I’ll mark those words for when we return to Alaska in December of 2012.
A highlight of Semana Santa was sharing a typical Easter tradition with a family down the road. We spent an evening painting eggs, and followed that up the next day with an Easter egg hunt. This family is full of artistic people, but even they thought it was a bit strange to be painting eggs. But the weirdness wore off once we made the evening into a competition, giving awards to the Ugliest, Most Beautiful, Most Creative, and Most Costa Rican. The strangest part for Megon and me was trying to properly dye brown eggs; finding white eggs in these parts is difficult.
We all had so much fun together that the family invited us to the river. This is a special trip for families because in Sarapiqui it’s one of the only methods for people to cool off … well, other than taking cold showers or drinking glasses of beer with ice cubes. A couple homes around here have backyard pools, but there are absolutely no air-conditioned homes. The only air-conditioning we’ve felt are at the school library at my school, our schools’ computer labs, and the bank.
The river we visited is one of the few with flowing water. That’s what happens when you’re in the heart of the dry season. It’s rained only a handful of times in the past month, so many of the rivers and creeks are just a trickle, if that. The past few afternoons we’ve seen rainclouds and heard thunder rolling off the foothills of the nearby national park, but it’s just a tease. We could use the rain, but this time of year it can be a double-edged sword. Rain followed by sun equals an intensified heat like you wouldn’t believe. It’s like stepping into a sauna.
Speaking of the heat … How about those first-place Cleveland Indians bringing it to the American Leauge? Figures, I leave the country and the Tribe put together a decent start that I can’t watch. I know better than to get too excited, though. Costa Rica will freeze over before the Tribe ever win it all.
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