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