charliedoggett.net
It is the one patriotic parade of the year so of course it has to have lots of flags! From the primary school through high schools are flags here and though no good pix, there were some with adults representing the Fire Department and Red Cross. Here’s a few of the students with flags in a short slideshow:
For all aspects of the parade see photo gallery 2018 Independence Day Parade Atenas
The children were the main part of the parade this year with respect to the teens. They are taught that this is a historical event and thus most are dressed in historical clothing for the parade. And of course kids are cute and make good photos, so enjoy the slide show of kids in the parade and later will be a post of the audience which includes a lot more kids.
For all aspects of the parade see photo gallery 2018 Independence Day Parade Atenas
“Quince de septiembre” (fifteenth of September) is the more common name kind of like “4th of July” is probably used more in the states than “Independence Day.”
There is a nation-wide strike going on in Costa Rica, so it affected some aspects of the parade this year with nothing from the university in parade but all the local and neighboring schools were happy to make it almost a nino parade, which is fine! Today’s post is just some of the bands with other aspects of parade in the next few days. Note that here bands are all dominated by both drums and boys, though more difficult instruments are more likely played by girls. Another day I will show dancing which is almost all girls and so it goes as cultures, femininity and masculinity struggle everywhere, especially in schools. 🙂
For all aspects of the parade see photo gallery 2018 Independence Day Parade Atenas
Experiencing the simple life of an indigenous people is a true blessing and learning experience!
Live a simple life; you will own the most beautiful treasures of the world!
~Mehmet Murat ildan
¡Pura Vida!
This stop reminded me of growing up in Arkansas with natural swim holes on streams with and without waterfalls and cliffs that teens love to jump off. This is the kind of swim hole rural people everywhere enjoy, including the indigenous here. We were there on the weekend so lots of local kids and whole families were there enjoying these wonderful swimming holes and of course I enjoyed getting shots of the kids jumping (3 different sequences below – watch as slideshow), most are indigenous Bribri kids, though other local Ticos come here too! The adult man ran a little snack stand at the top of the hill by the parking lot where we ate cold watermelon. A cool, old-fashion summer experience on Rio Dos Aguas near the Bribri village of Watsi. I’m the luckiest man in the world to live where I can enjoy these kinds of experiences in nature. ¡Pura Vida!
I suspect every one of the above teens felt something like this:
“I nodded, pretending to be a hundred times more courageous than I felt. But that was the thing about courage. Sometimes you had to fake it to feel it.”
― Lisa Tawn Bergren
¡Pura Vida!
“Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.
~Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
I watched the funeral of John McCain today all the way down here in Costa Rica thanks to modern technology. His casket sat in the very spot where I partook of communion in the worship service I attended there back during my 2013 Visit to Washington, DC.
With all the ugly divisiveness coming from the White House and Republican Congress now, it was good to see a bipartisan celebration of a truly good man’s life today. There is still hope for America that different political parties, races, religions and lifestyles can come together to make a difference, to build a country on ideas that make it truly “A shining light on a hill” for democracy and equality for all mankind! But it still depends on the actions of every American and the Hemingway quote struck me the most from the funeral, “But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.”
God bless America! I had about given up hope for you.
One of my regular activities when not traveling and photographing nature has been to work on the total rebuild of my personal website while continuing to build a collection of Blog Posts or Articles about being “Retired in Costa Rica” which is now at the same location of my website, charliedoggett.net.
I moved my personal website that was Joomla-generated and continuing to give me technical problems to an easier-to-use WordPress.com hosting service. And since WordPress.com started as a blogging platform and is considered by many to be the best for blogs. I transferred/moved my blog from Blogger.com to WordPress. The blog part transferred everything but the subscriptions so that I still have my blog history of the big move to Costa Rica and now with many more ways to find articles about different subjects I have written on, though most are under “Nature” and the “Places” I have discovered here. But there are some practical articles about actually moving here, residency processes, healthcare possibilities, and even some more mundane daily life issues for the followers who are considering a move here.
In addition, as with my old website, there are many “static” (WordPress label) pages about me, my adventures, family and family history as aids to those writing and researching their own family history related to my family lines. i.e. I have several family cemetery inventories with photos, lots of old family photos and reports on family reunions, etc. I also have extensive research recorded on my Uncle Earl Doggett whose plane was shot down in World War II.
For both fun and to get to know me better I have an extensive About Page full of details and fun “Life Stories,” “Biographies,” “Schools,” “Doing Good,” “Art Lover,” “Photographer,” and more! And a lot of fun and interesting history is wrapped up in my extensive research on the ship or Frigate Charles Doggett in the 1800’s with ties the Mutiny on the Bounty, the nickname of “Old Glory” for the American Flag, the American Civil War, Nashville, and South Sea Island adventures! As I approach the end of my life I will have it all documented or reported on right here on this website and along with the failures and disappointments, some great experiences and accomplishments to help me see that my life did have value. And maybe a tiny bit of inspiration for someone.
So, for a boring, rainy day you might want to explore my website which is still being built. The Header Menu or Top Menu could be divided into these three sections: (1) BLOG, (2) LINKED PAGES, and (3) STATIC PAGES
But I felt like I needed at least one thorough explanation of my new website/blog combination. You got it! Contact me with any questions and I try to respond quickly to all comments on blog posts.
Why we need to break down the barriers between us and nature.
An article on the BIRDLIFE website. I have to include a little nature in all posts! The birds require it! 🙂
I’m guessing that only 6th & 7th Graders are in the band and maybe 5th Graders. And it must count as PE or Physical Education because those green & blue uniforms are their PE uniforms, while the two boys in white shirts and black pants are in their school or classroom uniform.
It is almost all drums in all the bands here, this one with cymbals and some kind of scrappy rhythm instrument on the back row. I’m guessing again that is because of lack of money for instruments and music teachers or a priorities thing. The high school bands usually have a few girls playing xylophone with some bigger cities adding brass and reed instruments, but not many.
The group above is practicing in the city sports park across the street from the Primary School, Escuela Central. And I suspect they are getting ready for the September 15 Independence Day Parade and subsequently the December Christmas Parade. I admire the few girls who play drums which the boys tend to dominate here (and maybe everywhere).
Life in a small farming town in Costa Rica! ¡Pura Vida!
See also my PEOPLE & FIESTAS Photo Gallery for the bands marching in the parades.
This trailer in front of the public primary school sells snacks to young children and it appears here to mothers too! 🙂
And I remember having sweets available for sale near my elementary school way back in the dark ages. A world-wide tradition?
All I really need is love, but a little candy now and then doesn’t hurt!
~Charles Schulz
Around noon every day you see some of the elementary school children eating their lunch with their mothers in the park across the street from the school. Some grade levels only go a half day, morning or afternoon, meaning they eat lunch before or after school. But all ages of children are very close to their mothers making lunch with Mom very natural. Almuerzo con la madre.