You can't live in one of the biggest coffee producing regions in the world and not feel the suspense building and excitement growing during coffee picking season! In the past, I've 'smelled the coffee', but never before have I 'heard' the sound of coffee in this way or 'seen' the people who work so hard to pick the beans and drive the trucks. Thousands of people(literally 15,000) are rolling into Los Santos Region of Costa Rica right now from Panama, Nicaragua and other parts of CR in order to pick coffee (recoger café). The migrant workers are coming to the park each day, waiting to be selected by a farm owner to work on their farm, at which time, they go with their family to live in the little huts on the fincas. During the days, the beans are picked and then at the end of the day, the big trucks that take the coffee beans to the cooperativas, return to their homes up the hill from us, so for me, the "sound of coffee" includes the sounds of the trucks that make their way around town. Vilma tells us her coffee beans are usually ready for picking in January. So until then, Francis and I have a lot of work to do, to free up some time to pick!
Look closely for the red beans on the bushes!
The guy at the loading dock, told me it took one 'short' day (7 hrs), for 200 people to fill this truck. He said, when things really get rolling, they'll fill 2 trucks like this /day. 
Our 2 new friends from the park. Most of the Panamanian women and children wear their traditional dress; they are all different colors and quite beautiful! There's a church near us where the indigenous celebrate, so we hear them almost everyday in song and lament. This town is transformed for several months, kind of like how we feel about the difference in Ft.Collins when the university students are there and when they're not.
Another recent cultural activity that Francis and I participated in was "Fuego Noche". It's every December 8, and is actually a celebration of light for the Immaculate Conception. But most people use it as a time to burn their leaf pile; so I volunteered for the honor of trimming the old dried branches and leaves(something I always look forward to in Colorado), only I got to try my hands at using a machete, the only tool on the rack, and found that it did the trick quite well! We dedicated the fire to Francis in memory of the fire building days of his youth! We also shared some of our N.American traditions with sparklers, roasted marshmallows, BBQ and S'mores!
First the fuel, and then the fire.
To back up a little, you'll see the picture below of our Thanksgiving meal, which we prepared; complete with green beans, mashed sweet potatoes and dairy-free, no bake pumpkin bars! (Vilma is allergic to meat and eggs, so between her food issues and our lactose intolerance, we make a perfect match!) We prepared a fresh pineapple and strawberry salad in lieu of cranberry sauce and substituted chicken for turkey, since there were no turkeys to be found in the Los Santos Region of Costa Rica (occasionally we prepare chicken for ourselves and Monica, and luckily, we all enjoy fish!)
We had a visitor on Thanksgiving Day, which was at first mistaken for a piece of lint on the floor, until we saw it hop!
Over a long weekend in November, Francis and I took a short trip to Cartago and nearby Volcan Irazu. It was a fun get away and we're certainly enjoying getting to know new parts of Costa Rica.
This crater of Volcan Irazu has been dry for the past 2 years. Volcan Irazu is considered to be an active volcano, though it hasn't erupted since 1960. It is 300 meters deep and 1050 m. in diameter. On a clear day, from the top, you can see both oceans, on either side of Costa Rica. (desafortunadamente, it wasn't a clear by the time we got up there).
The Basilica de Nuestra Señora de los Angelos, is the most important site in Cartago and the most venerated and famous church in CR. It's quite a spectacular structure and is visited every August 2nd, by thousands of Costa Ricans who walk from their homes wherever they live in CR,(it's called "The Romeria"; people walk long distances, taking from 6 hrs. to 6 days), to honor the day "La Negrita" (a small statue of the Black Virgin), was found on this site of the existing church. As the story goes, in 1635, the young indigenous woman who discovered the small statue, took it with her to show the priest and her family. The statue miraculously reappeared back where she'd found it, twice. Two hundred years later, La Señora de los Angeles was declared CR's patron saint. The original statuette resides on the main altar of this church in Cartago. During our first 3 months of training (on Aug. 2nd), when Francis and I lived in San Fransisco de Heredia, we walked a short part of "The Romeria"with thousands of others, in their holy procession. The experience of taking part in that walk became even more impactful 3 months later, after seeing the destination of the full procession! 
The church is quite impressive both inside and out.
Another event we got to take part in in early December, was the very special Cena y Baile (dinner and dance) for the 6th grade class of Escuela Leon Cortés Castro. Monica is moving on to 'el colegio' (7th-11th/12th); and next week we'll go to her graduation ceremony, when school will be officially over for the year, though students haven't been attending classes for the past 2-3 wks.
Since language continues to be the barrier to developing deep relationships (mas profundo), we also enjoy spending time with our English speaking friends when we get the chance. A group of us PCV's, along with 2 Ticos, spent a day helping a friend of a friend get his Italian Restaurant ready to open next week. I told Paolo "I'd work for vino and pizza" any day! He speaks primarily Italian, but its very close to spanish, so we can communicate with him about as well as with any Tico! Actually, I must admit, I can see a gradual improvement in every aspect of my spanish, but it's not nearly as 'rapido' as I'd like!
We hiked to the Cerro del Cruz("cross on the hill") last week and got a really good workout; it was about a 2 hr. hike, almost straight up! There are other, less steep trails, but this time we went for "the road less traveled." Next time I'll take the road 'more travelled', which happens to be less steep and much more manageable! There's a beautiful view of the San Marcos valley and surrounding pueblos from the top. I really felt like I was back in Colorado hiking, though the trees were palms and junipers instead of pines and furs.
You can see the cross at the top of the hill. 
Views from the top: The pueblo in the near vista with the field, we passed on our way up to the cross, and the pueblo in the far distance is across the valley from where we live. Every pueblo has its church and 'cancha' (soccer field), both of which are highly utilized facilities in all the pueblos around CR.
There are lots of coffee farms you can see from here.
Francis with Rachel (another PCV) and Nikki, a friend from Scotland who teaches English in San Marcos. They guided us up the 'cerro'.
This is a pool at a local hotel we have been to a couple of times with Monica and her friends, both to "supervise" and to swim. 
While it may seem that we haven't done anything but play lately, we try to sneak in a little work when we have to. This was an event w/ a group called PANI, Patronato Nacional de la Infancia. It's the equivalent of our Child Protection Services. In addition to protecting the rights of children; PANI also has a mandate by the government to provide PREVENTION activities. That's where we'll come in. PANI is charged with designing and carrying out programs to develop youth as leaders and get them involved in the community. We have been invited to several of their events where the youth have had to create programs that would address problems in the communities where they live. It's a pretty big task for young kids (5th-11th graders), but with a little guidance, they've done a pretty good job of coming up with ideas. It's been a great opportunity for us to meet many people. In addition to the kids in the group from the local escuelas and colegios, we've met adults from around the community in different organizations that support youth. Starting in January, we'll be involved at a different level, when they start enacting some of their ideas, for example, giving talks to groups of parents, or training kids in teamwork and leadership.
Last week we led a morning's worth of activities with a group of kids from Cruz Roja. The main mission of the Red Cross here is that of an ambulance service. But another brilliant program the government of Costa Rica has designed, is to charge the Red Cross, with a branch which also develops programs for youth. They do educational and recreational programs around the community. We decided to partner with them(which means getting involved as much as we can w/ their activities), in order to meet people in the community, learn cultural strategies for teaching and integrating into the community and to use them as a resource to refer kids to who are in need of alternative forms of recreation.
I can't do a blog that doesn't include flora or fauna! There are always so many beautiful colors of flowers and trees. Right now, the amaryllises are blooming all around town!
Monica painted this picture for us, so we have a Snowman and a Christmas season decoration! Contrary to Francis, I like NOT having things around that remind me of Christmas back home, so I don't feel so homesick. Neighbors DO have their Christmas trees and lights up though and the municipal band is playing Christmas music that we can hear from our hillside home. (I did however, bake some cookies the other day to share w/ the people we work with and that helps to give this season its special meaning!)
It's fun to experience traditions of other cultures, especially during holidays. I'm looking forward to the Christmas tamales and fruitcake! Francis and I are going to the beach for a few days leaving on Dec.25, so that will be another little variation on the Christmas tradition. But either way, we will miss being home and with our kids and friends during the holidays. The weather is drying up and getting quite warm during the day, so 'summer' is on its way. We will be on our own schedule for the next 2 months, preparing the data that we've gathered since we've been here, to present to our PC counterparts in January along with our project plans. We'll be picking coffee, smelling coffee, drinking coffee and listening to the sounds of coffee and hopefully, enjoying every minute of it!
We love you and think of you often! Please let us know about your holiday festivities as well, because hearing from you is very important to us!
Feliz Navidad y Feliz Año Nuevo to all of you, our Friends and Family!Love,
Chris and Francis
