Dia de la Independencia

Thursday was Independence Day. So it was a holiday, and I woke up to loud bands marching down the Avenida outside.

Dia de la Independencia
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Costa Rica achieved its independence fully 100 years before Ireland managed to. It declared independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. Since I came back two weeks ago I’ve notice the red, white and blue flags everywhere in the lead up. All the public areas of the school were bedecked with bunting. I work a check shirt on Wednesday to class, and was praised by my students for my patriotism, as it was red, white and blue! Class on Wednesday evening was disrupted by a very loud firework display outside. On Thursday morning, the marching began. I guess it sounds like Mexican music in old films, if you’re wondering what I woke up to. Unfortunately, I was a little hung-over, as one of the teachers was leaving (Andrew from Leicester) and we’d had a night out on Wednesday. When I got up and headed out, they were still marching around Parque Central and down towards the apartment on Avenida Central.

Quieter life
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Wednesday night for Andrew’s booze-up was actually my only night out this week. (Readers who think I live in the bars please note!). It’s much quieter, obviously, without Jack being here. Our Colombian friend Marcella was organising a night in San José on Monday, but I was too wrecked after work to head all the way in. So I’ve been reading a lot, rented the odd DVD, and downloaded some missed episodes of Desperate Housewives. I even downloaded the new Ricky Gervais comedy Extras. So I’m feeling very up-to-date.

La Nación
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I’m trying to read the local paper every so often. It’s called The Nation, and costs 67c. It’s seven days a week, and usually has a number of sections. A single issue lasts me ages. Irish news rarely features. The IRA decommissioning announcement got the front page. And the Irish tourist killed in Kusadasi was also covered. Today’s headline is Fire fighters warn about the bad management of gas. The big running stories are the TLC (known as CAFTA – The Central American Free Trade Agreement), and the up and running campaign for the presidency next year. Former president and Nobel peace prize winner Oscar Arias is the front-runner by a long way. His full-page ad in the paper today says The streets are full of potholes, the ports are inefficient, the airports can’t cope. Yes, I accept the challenge. Then his slogan: Yes! Costa Rica!

Saturday classes
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I’m back teaching on Saturdays. We work five Saturdays on, and five off. I have two beginners’ classes, and I enjoyed it. Classes run from 9am to 3.30pm. This rotation runs until 15 October. At that stage we’ll nearly be in the dry season, so I’m hoping to plan a few weekends away.

Tomorrow I’m back to my Spanish classes. It’s very tiring when you are taking 20 hours Spanish on top of teaching, but I’m determined that I’ll do it week on week off until Christmas. At that stage I’m hoping to be conversational.

Tomorrow the Dublin forecast is windy with rain and drizzle, with a high of 16 C. Heredia’s forecast is for scattered thunderstorms, and 25 C. Have a good week, and I’ll be in touch next weekend.