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Published: June 30th 2011
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On Sunday, June 26th, I got to be a part of a major cultural event here in Costa Rica. Corpus Christi is a Catholic holiday that is celebrated by many Costa Ricans and the name refers to "the body of Christ." The event commemorates the last supper on the day before Jesus' crucifixion. At 5:30 am, I joined Abby and her host family to help "paint the streets" for the Corpus Christi parade in Santa Elena, Costa Rica. We worked until 9:00 am decorating sections of the street with flowers, grass, mulch and twigs. I really didn't know what to expect, but the results were beautiful! We worked with other families and members of the church to create pictures of angels, peace signs, crosses and other holy images on the street. It felt great to be a part of something that meant so much to the community and was a great way to meet a lot of new people. After we finished, I was really dirty so I went home and showered and came back in time to watch the Holy March. The people gather in the church behind the priest and then follow him around the block as he leads
them in song. The people walk alongside the rows of decorations that line the street until they make their way back to the church an have their special Sunday worship service. After watching the march, I decided to have lunch in a small cafe directly across the street from the church. I could hear the singing coming from inside as I sipped on my delicious carrot and cucumber juice. As soon as the service ended, I watched helplessly as our beautiful artwork got swept up into giant trash bags. The festival may not have lasted long, but the memory will stay with me forever. It was one of my favorite days living in Costa Rica.
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Robin Snider
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Good stuff!
Great story and pictures!!!! The artwork turned out lovely.