Holy Week Vacation.

Buenas noches...
Oh farm life has been great. Last week was semana santa (holy week) and it was a pretty big deal down here in Catholic Costa Rica. It was kinda like summer vacation at the farm. The workers were on leave if you will so it was just us kids (which includes - Alan and Mauro who both live on the farm - they are Ticos and both in their mid-twenties, Kristen obviously, Parker - a volunteer from Vermont who is 22, and myself) on the farm, left to fend for ourselves (and besides for feeding the animals and cooking, we didn't have to work). It was ok... we watched a lot of tv. Parker and I cooked breakfast by ourselves two of the days. We decided we were going to start a cooking show 'Two Gringos in a Tico Kitchen'. The kitchen where we do most of the cooking and eat our meals is outside and I love it. I also love cooking and thinking 'hmm... I need some tomatoes... or salad... or herbs for tea' and then going out and picking them. It's great.

On Good Friday, Kristen and I went with Maribel (who works on the farm and lives nearby in La Flor) to her sister's house to help her niece get ready. Her niece was Mary Magdeline in the Catholic procession that does the 14 stations of the cross. So we interacted with the family for a bit... they put in some incredibly gorey and digusting movies such as See No Evil and Ghost Ship and had us watch them because they were in English. Yuck. But there were lots of little kids there to play with, coffee to drink, and intercultural exchanges to be had. The procession was an experience... tons of people, costumes, etc. It was cool to see. After the procession, we went back to Mari's sister's house and ate dinner and watched The Passion of the Christ 1.5 times, and then did a little religious and regular kareoke in Spanish, which I will say that I rocked. (Sorry for my run on sentences.) Later that night we all hopped in the back of a pick up truck and headed back to the farm. All in a day's work.

This morning I worked 'in the field' with Kristen. It was so great to be out in the sun, sweating and working with her. Mom and Dad, you'll be glad to know that my profession is not hoe-ing. I'm no good at it. We had to clear a parcel to get it ready to plant and had to use hoes. Kristen pretty much rocks at it. After the break Alan had me pour some organic insecticide on the corn so the bugs wouldn't eat it. Then we picked some fruits and vegetables for the kitchen. There are so many different kinds of foods that I've never seen before and are so strange and good. I like it.

Kristen and I are in San Jose right now. We had to run a bunch of errands. It's so strange to be back here. To remember being here and see familar places. It's sort of an out of body experience or something. I'm not sure yet. We ran into Parker. He had left this morning for San Jose and he's off to Monte Verde tomorrow. But we just randomly crossed paths downtown which was so weird. So he came with us on some of our errands and then we got pizza. So good.

Anyway... I'm not sure what else to write about... oh wait... maybe some of you might be interested to know that Kristen and I are leaving on Thursday for CUBA! That's right. For a week. I'm so stoked. It's going to be awesome.

Alright then. I hope you all are well.
Much love.
Kat