Children’s Day in Costa Rica meant a day filled with assemblies and games in the local schools. I was working in El Cocal this past Children’s Day on September 9^th. The day started with teachers presenting the rights all children have. While I agree all the rights are important, I found it interesting how the right to a family was presented. In this community, there are single moms and absent parents. The teachers began by saying every child has a right to a mother and a father, but then adjusted it to say that other people could fill the role of mother or father and the most important right was having that role filled.

Then, everyone sang the Costa Rican National Anthem and Salute to the Flag. Lastly, there was a reading of the quote for the day as Children’s day fell within the Independence Week Celebrations. Finally, it was time to party! The youngest kids played pin the tail on the donkey, the middle ages had relay races with spoons and water balloons and the eldest had a dance competition.

Throughout all this, music was playing. I was surprised that the music was very cute and appropriate for the younger children while they were playing pin the tail on the rabbit/donkey (which also drifted into pin the tail on the volunteer), but as soon as it was time for the dance competition, the regaton was put on. It made me wonder to what extent society is pushing children into adulthood with the music and culture it imposes on them.

September 15th marked Independence Day for Costa Rica. All month people showed their spirit by wearing red, white and blue and preparing for the day’s events. The week before Independence Day is known as Semana Cívica. This week the teachers in our schools and the volunteers worked tirelessly to decorate the schools, make posters with the important messages for each day, and help the boys and girls make lanterns (feroles) that they parade with the night before Independence Day.

Every day, a new quote by an important Costa Rican hero was read by rotating teachers to discuss themes related to independence. One quote spoke of the importance for Costa Rica to guard and protect what is theirs and not lose it to outsiders who do not share their values. Some teachers made a special point to demonstrate that Manuel Antonio has been lost because the countryside and beach are filled with tourists and expats who are mostly gaining the money from the region, not Costa Ricans. I have to say, they have a point.

I’ve often wondered if something that is so different from a traditional culture can be accepted as part of the contemporary culture. In the case of Manuel Antonio, I think the locals have lost their control over the land. However, many of the hotels employ locals and try to capture the pura vida lifestyle that brought them to Costa Rica in the first place. So, maybe a balance can we reached through natural social evolution.

On September 14^th, I went to Damas to watch the kids march with their lighthouses around their community. I even ran into Mr. Eager who you may know from my previous posts. He was happy, smiling and clearly enjoying every moment with his Mom, Dad, baby sister and school friends. He has made so much improvement with his learning cards that he looks like a different child-a happy and eager child who loves to learn and be with people.