Semana Santa

This past Thursday, I witnessed a good sized battle with one of our neighbors to the north. The fighting was fierce, and I was both exhilarated and frightened. The ¨rally ´round the flag¨ effect was striking, when the fighting took place, everyone wore the national colors and flew Costa Rican banners. It was an experience that I will never forget...

...I am, of course, referring to the Costa Rica vs. Mexico futbol game that I went to the other day. The Tico team dominated the Mexican team and won 3-0. It was insane. Latin American soccer is comparable to College Football. They go crazy. For the first time, I was actually glad that they did not serve beer in the stands. Had the crowd been drunk, I could imagine that some decapitation would take place.

Four of us Gringos went with Julies´ siblings...all 8 of them. The family introduced us to our neighbors in the bleachers, who in turn taught us all of the Tico chants. When I returned to my host family belting out the chants, they went wild and declared that I was becoming a Tico.

This week is Semana Santa...the Ticos take a whole week off for Easter and Good Friday. The Peace Corps gave me Thursday and Friday. Yesterday, we took advantage of the day off and explored our vicinity. My Peace Corps buddies, Julies siblings (the whole tribe), and I grabbed our packs and water bottles and went hiking in the surrounding mountains. The views were great and made my suburban town seem purely rural. The trees swallowed everything so that the pulperias and crowded streets were erased from sight.

Church processions have been filing through the streets, and the local stations are filled with Easter movies. While surrounded by so much Christianity, I am completely at ease. My host mother is very accepting of my Judaism and seems to appreciate it. ¨No hay un differencia entre su iglesia y mi iglesia,¨ she says. ¨There´s no difference between our religions,¨ she said. ¨As long as you believe in something, you are okay in my book,¨ this seems to be her message. Most of my family members and neighbors seem to feel the same way. It is in such words that my apprehension regarding my Judaism were relieved.


I plan on taking the rest of my vacation easy. I´ve got some Peace corps Work to do, but besides that, I´m free to spend time with my host family and friends. I hope that everyone is doing well back home. Drop me a line it you have time.

Best,
Dave