Thanksgiving in Costa Rica

I tried to wish the Americans sitting in front of me on the bus “Happy Thanksgiving,” but they were Jehovah’s Witnesses and did not celebrate Thanksgiving.  Haha.  It took me a while to decide to talk to them (I usually don’t like talking to tourists on the bus) and when I did – to share a common holiday – to grasp for that connection that we share in our common culture… DENIED.  Haha.  I laughed to myself when I was reflecting on it after they got off. 

Yesterday, at the elementary school, we had a Thanksgiving “Acto Civio.”  This was also super funny because Ticos have acto civicos for every national holiday.  We didn’t want it to be called an “acto civico” as to not push our culture on theirs, but the Tica teachers wrote “Thanksgiving Acto Civico” on the program.  I guess they didn’t have a problem with it :]  The students decorated, performed a bilingual play of the meaning of the holiday, and sang songs.  They even handed out papers for the parents to draw on and write what they were thankful for.  It was cool because the parents were able to learn about a different culture and see how good their students’ English was getting. 

 I learned, yesterday, that some Ticos thought that Thanksgiving was another name for Christmas and that the US just celebrated Christmas early…..  hahaha!!! Maybe it does seem that way with the shopping for Christmas starting so early. 

Side note – I don’t understand why they have Black Friday here tomorrow if there is no Thanksgiving.  That scares me.  But, there was also Black Friday like two Saturdays ago, so I guess it’s all arbitrary anyway. 

Ok, back to the story from our Acto Civico…. The parents all brought a different simple dish like mashed potatoes, corn, bread… and we had chicken instead of turkey.  Some of the teachers worked together to make pies, stuffing, and green bean casserole.  Even though some of the parents were wary of the food selection and had said at the meeting, “maybe some of us should bring arroz con pollo (the dish they eat at every party)” they seemed to really like the feast.  The one thing they didn’t like was the gravy, which I don’t like either – so I totally understood. 

I am sitting at Café Milagro right now, taking this day off to catch up on my list of stories I want to tell.  I am thankful for so many things; I am thankful for my supportive and loving parents who always talk to me no matter how I am feeling, my really good solid friends that are spread out all over the world, having a healthy body and mind that takes me on amazing adventures, and the opportunities that I have had and continue to have that connect me with others in the most interesting ways.