We Interrupt a Moment in Costa Rica for this Quick Message

It's been a while since I last posted something and a lot has been happening in the past 6-7 weeks.  I spent three weeks out of Costa Rica to live it up in Asia with my buddy Miguel and cousin Bobby to celebrate Miguel's Bachelor Party.  I know, talk about doing it up right.  I'd just like to say that this trip was planned well before Hangover 2 was even on paper.

It took me awhile to pull all the photos together and the blogs.  Here are the blog links with the photo album links attached to each blog:

Hong Kong - Day 1
Hong Kong - Day 2
Hong Kong - Day 3
Macau - Day 4
Macau - Giant Buddha - Day 5 Part 1
Bangkok - Day 5 - Part 2
Bangkok - Day 6
Bangkok - Day 7
Phuket - Day 8
Phuket - Day 9
Phi Phi Island - Day 10
Phi Phi Island - Day 11
Phi Phi - Phuket - Day 12
Phuket - Day 13
Hong Kong - Day 14

I'll be back with Costa Rica blogs shortly.  I need a break after working on all of this over the past month!

Carnaval - By the People For the People

I had the rare opportunity to partake in one of Costa Rica's annual festivals in Puntarenas called, Carnaval. This is a week long party ending with major appearances from singers and a huge parade.  The main beach road is shut down to host these festivities by lining one side with tons of vendors, stages for open-air night clubs, and people camping between the palm trees with their tents.  The energy during the last night of festivities was amazing.  The street was packed from the main stage and as far back as the eye could see.  As each famous singer came on stage to belt out a few songs, the crowd would go wild, dancing in the streets, singing with the band, and excited to share the experience with each other.

Here are a few pictures that will give you a sense of what kind of festivities occur:

Diay, Jacinto?!

Jacinto is the boy (nevermind the 5 o' clock shadow), who is responsible for teaching about waste and being eco-friendly to the children. The phrase, "Diay, Jacinto?" basically translates as, "What are you doing, Jacinto?!"  By the looks of it, he knows what he is doing.

Carnaval Dancer

  The parade was filled with tons of dance troupes and schools showing off their best stuff. The dancing was equally impressive as the costumes.

Drum Team

The drummers usually followed a group of dancers putting the soul into their step.

Leading the Charge

Each group showed everything they had to offer in the 90+ degree heat.

Carnaval at its Best

This is shortly before the music kicked off and all eyes were on the stage, all hands were in the air, and all feet were moving to the beat.

Payasa

The vendors were not the only attraction.  There were plenty of payasos (clowns) around to cheer up kids, paint tattoos, and have a good ol' time too.

Front And Not So Center

The stage was just far enough to get a great show of it and the singers, but close enough for everyone in our group to enjoy the music.

I was fortunate to experience such a culturally important event to Puntarenas and Costa Rica.  This was a party organized by the people for the people.  Extranjeros need not participate to make this Carnaval extravagant.

Next time you plan on making a trip somewhere, if you have the chance, make sure to experience the culture that is meant for the locals.  I guarantee it will be amazing.

Hours of Operation

The police station of Samara has hours of operation.  They are currently remodeling the station, so there are periods in the day that the station is closed.  If I could paint a better picture for you of what life is like in Samara, then this would be it.

A sign hanging on the front door of the police station that says, "Closed.  Please behave while we are going through renovations. Pura vida."

Dígame con Pasíon

What does it take to fall in love with a romance language?  Some people say they don't understand why spanish is one of the romance languages.  You hear the melancholy and soft sounds of french and feel compelled to declare french a romance language.  You hear the dramatic cadence and explicit demonstrative nature of italian and feel compelled to declare italian a romance language as well.  Spanish can be spoken with such speed, it's hard to hear its soft tones, it's difficult to find the passion in the sound, because it's cadence just happens to be more foreign to our ears. However, the true romance lies within the meaning of the spoken word.

What makes spanish a romance language is the passion interwined with the words conducted by the heart.  The beauty that sits in a well placed lyric or line in a book.  A context so beautiful that it cannot be probably translated into your native tongue without destroying what makes it romantic.

I had come to a crossroads two weeks ago as I sat in class and vehemently chose not to participate anymore.  My quest to learn the language was halted by a mis-guidance of why I should be learning the language.  The school system was sterile.  It lacked the key aspect of the language.  It lacked passion.  How do you teach a romance language without romance? 

I started to fight with myself to find a greater reason for the need to learn.  Why am I here to go to school and learn that a conjugation of a verb makes the verb present, future, or past without any significance beyond that?

I stopped attending the school.  It began to poison the purity of the language.  It began to suffocate my ability to learn.  The structure of the school was driving a stake between the language and its reason for living.  Spanish and passion cannot exist without each other and not understanding this bond will forever hide the beauty of the culture in the shadows of the unknown.

I was fortunately introduced to a private tutor the day I chose to leave the school.  My frustration with the school and my desire to learn were as apparent as the color of my skin.  The fortuitous conversation with the tutor emblazoned my belief in the language once again.  Little did I know, I would begin a new path of education.  I am no longer learning Spanish, but the culture that empowers the words in the language.

I am no longer calculating my need to know a percentage, upward trend of growth, or tactical approach to become fluent.  I am simply enjoying the latin culture through its language as it's presented to me day-by-day.

I now become rich with knowledge from my lessons, not because I learn about a new structure or grammar, but because I learn the meaning behind a song.  I learn about the passion from a writer.  I witness the love for the language in the people I speak with.

Tell me that spanish is not a romance language and I will feel sorry for you all the same.

Spanish is once again like a warm blanket to me.