Cold Snap

Well, we had a really cold snap a few days earlier in the week. This meant it was cold at the Black Eyed Peas gig, but it was still a good night. And we had another earthquake.

Monkey Balls
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It seems like a contradiction that summer here brings cold nights, and this week the days were cold as well. I'm now sleeping with a blanket as well as a sheet for the first time since I got here. Tuesday and Wednesday were apparently the coldest days in 55 years. I'm told the temperature got down to 13 degrees centigrade. The coldest on my thermometer was 16, but that's still very cold when there is no such thing as heating! For our weekly meeting on Wednesday I saw people time wearing sweatshirts and jackets for the first time. Some people had brought their warmer stuff home on previous visits because they never use them.

My students asked if it was as cold as this in Ireland. Yeah, maybe on a good day.

Black Eyed Peas
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I thoroughly enjoyed the Black Eyed Peas on Tuesday night. We had hired a bus to take us directly from school on Tuesday. Barbara, my boss, ensured that we'd bought drink ahead for fear we'd have to go in sober! I hadn't really expected much from the gig, and maybe because of that I had a great night. The highlights were the shooting star which shot through the sky right behind the stage, and during one of the songs when they turned off all the lights, and asked people to wave their mobile phones in the air. The array of coloured lights around the stadium was breath-taking.

Another quake
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We had another earthquake last weekend. Again, it was relatively mild, but still unmistakable. Sometimes you're not sure if it's an earthquake or a truck going by. But this time, I was sitting at the table working on the PC when I felt the movement. I looked over at the fan and could see it rocking. I still have to experience a big one though!

Thanksgiving
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This week we celebrated Thanksgiving. It's a United States celebration, not tico. I didn't realise until I worked with Americans how significant a holiday it is for them. It's very much a family holiday. Everyone celebrates it no matter what religion. And it's also very much connected with food, with the dinner very like our own Christmas dinner, with turkey and all the trimmings. There are a few extras that we don't have. Butternut squash, pecan pie, and the like. We celebrated in the school on Thursday, which was the actual day. One of the teachers, Heidi, is having a party today. So I'm dashing off to that after I finish this mail. It's pot luck, so everyone has to bring something. I'm doing mashed potatoes. They're convinced the Irish man is going to have great potatoes, but there is no variety in what's available here. They're all just 'papas', and they're waxy, and it's impossible to make mash like home.
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Well, that's it for this week. After the party this afternoon, I'm off to the airport to collect my friends Paul and Aidan, who are over from Ireland for three weeks, so I'm going to enjoy that visit.

Until next week,

Pura Vida,

Éamon

Today's headline from La Nación: Death of new born baby uncovers calamity in hospital in Liberia.

Midnight Serenade

Folks,

Hi, sorry I'm a bit late this week. I started to write this on Sunday, but lost my internet connection, and then forgot about it.

A quiet enough week. The weather is gradually moving from winter to summer, and the cold nights are starting to creep in. I know, it's kind of the opposite of what you'd expect!

Balcony scene
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Last night, I was sitting up reading when I heard this really loud music blaring. It was nearly midnight, and it's normally fairly quiet at that time. But this was really loud Latin music, and it sounded like it was just outside. I went out onto the balcony, and there was a mariachi band playing directly underneath. Six guys, all in the costumes, two on trumpets, two on small guitars, one on a big guitar, and one playing the accordion. I think it was a surprise for the birthday of one of my landlord's daughters. It was fantastic. They played for a about 15 minutes, and then disappeared into the night.

News headlines
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As a class warm up activity last week, I decided to write up news headlines on the board. Just to give us a conversational English activity while we're waiting for the stragglers to arrive. However, I was amazed at how little knowledge of international affairs there is. And it's not as if they even wanted to know. They just glazed over with boredom. Iraq, yawn. Nicaraguan elections, nothing. The only thing to rouse them at all was the homemade submarine discovered off the coast smuggling drugs from Colombia.

I am lucky boy
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Another warmer I do is just to ask the students what they did yesterday, or last weekend, or whatever, to get a little conversation going, in past tense. Usually the replies are 'I workid', or 'I watchid TV'. But last week one student surprised me by telling me he'd been in a car crash. He was driving, and another car smashed into him through a red light. His car spun around and crashed into a house. As he told the story, the others realised they'd seen coverage of it on the news. He had a cut on his lip, which I'd noticed, but also some on his forehead under his fringe, and apparently had other cuts and bruises. But otherwise he was ok. He finished his story by saying - I am lucky boy.

Black-Eyed Peas
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I'm off to see the Black-Eyed Peas tonight. I'm not a big fan, but international acts rarely come to Costa Rica, but there's a bus going from the school after work, and a fair few of the teachers are going. It's in the stadium of the biggest football team in San José, Saprissa, and the tickets cost just €14.75. My boss is arranging that we can get beer for the bus, because she's horrified that they don't sell alcohol in venues here.

Jesus's birthday
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No, not Christmas, but the birthday of Jesus, who's a teacher in Sámara. He was down at the weekend, and a group of us headed into a new gay bar in San José called Ancóra. It was a good night. In fact, I was spoiled for choice on Saturday, because in addition to Jesus's do, my boss Barbara was arranging a night for her boyfriend, and my Columbian friend Marcela was in Heredia for the night with friends.
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Well, that's it for this week. Thursday is Thanksgiving. Not a celebration in Costa Rica, but very big for the American's at work, and we're having some activities and Thanksgiving grub in school on the day, so looking forward to that.

Until next week,

Pura Vida,

Éamon

Sunday's headline from La Nación: Security in prisons in the hands of agricultural workers

News of the Neighbours

A quieter week this week. I had a late night on Tuesday, watching the American elections. The results caused great celebration in the teacher's lounge as news of the Republican's rout came through. There were also elections in Nicaragua and a couple of weeks ago, there was a referendum in Panama

Future Plans
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You may remember that my plan was to finish in Intercultura in December, and to move to the coast in the new year. However, given the recent upheaval, I now feel that another semester in the comfort of the school and without a move is in order. So I've changed my plans by six months roughly. I'll stay in Intercultura until June, and then move to the coast after that.

Buses to Nicaragua
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Last Sunday was election day in neighbouring Nicaragua. Lots of Nicaraguans live here in Costa Rica, and there were special buses ferrying people home for the poll. They saw it as a very important election, and it's good to see such a commitment to democracy and voting. Daniel Ortega, the former Sandinista leader, was the favourite. There seemed to be groups frantic to vote either for or against him. In the end, he won on the first round.

Panamanian referendum
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A couple of weeks back I neglected to mention the Panamanian referendum. They had a vote on whether to increase the size of the Panama canal. It was built in 1914, and ships are a lot bigger now. The economy of Panama revolves around the income from the canal. There is now more competition from land routes across Central America. Here in Costa Rica, they are building a megaport in Limón to compete. The vote was passed by 78% to 22%. There will now be new locks built, and the canal widened and deepened. It will finish in 2015. An interesting piece of trivia: Because of the S-shape of Panama, the Pacific entrance is east of the Caribbean one.

Mayoral elections
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Not to be outdone in the democracy stakes, the mayoral election campaigns for the cities in Costa Rica have just kicked off. The vote takes place on December 3rd, and I'm fearful that this means 3 days of no alcohol!

Summer's Nearly Here
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We're in the final weeks of the rainy season. It's been so much easier than last year. It's been a few weeks since we've had really torrential rain. As we get into the second half of November, we should feel the change to summer. Very little rain, lots of sun, but cooler nights.
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Well, that's it for this week. I've just finished my Saturday rotation, and so it's four day weeks for the rest of the semester.

Until next week,

Pura Vida,

Éamon

Today's headline from La Nación: CCSS (Department of Social Security) loans teams and buildings to companies at no cost.