Pssst

Two things have been taking up my time in the past two days that I had to share with you too! They are very, very different (the war in Afghanistan and Christmas?), but I thought you might enjoy watching and reading through these sites as well.


1. The New York Times' series, "A Year at War," follows the men and women of the 87th Infantry through a year at war in Afghanistan: how does it affect them and their families here at home? It gives a great, honest, realistic look at the situation there; I found I learned far more from combing through the stories, videos, photos, and letters than I ever would through watching the news. You want to go to there.

2. The church I grew up in, Parkside Church, has a pretty incredible Christmas concert every year, and this year, a friend told me that they'd posted the full concert online. What a beautiful way to experience the true meaning of Christmas through music this year! You can watch it here. (My favorite song is the Cedarville University Gospel Choir's rendition of "Jesus - What a Wonderful Child." Those kids can SING!)

Pancake breakfast

Peaceful Saturday morning. Pancakes. Scrambled eggs. Coffee. 80 degrees in December. Sigh. 

La Orquesta Filarmónica de Costa Rica

Teatro Nacional, San Jose, Costa Rica

Last night, I had the pleasure of going to hear the Orquesta Filarmónica de Costa Rica perform a Christmas concert; it was beautiful and tickets were only $20 each! The Teatro Nacional here in San Jose is absolutely gorgeous (see photo above), and it was a sold-out concert. It was fun to get dressed up and head out to the show.  You can also see Facebook photos from the Orquestra here. 

While I miss the snowy, cozy, wintry days of Christmas in the U.S., it's been really fun to experience Christmas in an entirely different way here.  The concert performance program included:

• Jingle Bells Forever (an arrangement)
• Frosty the Snowman
• Santa Claus llegó a la cuidad (Santa Claus is coming to town)
• Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
• Christmas Wishes (an arrangement)
• Blanca Navidad (White Christmas)
• El Expreso Polar (The Polar Express)
• There's Christmas in the Air (an arrangement)
• Frente la chimenea (Translates to "In Front of the Fireplace" but the melody is "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer")
• Noche de paz (Silent Night)
• Winter Wonderland
• La noche antes Navidad ('Twas the Night Before Christmas - a reading)
• Paseo en Trineo (Sleigh Ride)

For unto us a child is born

As we pause this Advent season in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle, this verse continues to touch my heart in powerful and profound ways.  To God be the glory!


"Porque un niño nos es nacido, hijo nos es dado, y el principe sobre su hombro; y se llamará su nombre Admirable, Consejero, Dios fuerte, Padre eterno, Principe de paz."
Isaías 9:6


"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." 
Isaiah 9:6


Amen.


(And if you're looking for a good Advent devotional, I'd recommend this website.)

My boyfriend is back

A belated post just to say how nice it is to have my boyfriend back home! After 10-ish days in the U.S. for his first round of medical school interviews, that handsome man is back in my house. What a lucky girl I am.

(Editor's Note: Brian wanted me to tell everyone that this photo was staged for the purposes of this blog post.)

Up next? Christmas in Costa Rica followed by my *gasp* 30th birthday in Haiti.  

Festival de la Luz

Every year, Costa Rica has a big Christmas parade called La Festival de la Luz (The Festival of Light).  This year, I thought it would be fun to walk to the park and watch, but I had no idea how popular it would be!  When I arrived, it was around 4 p.m., and the parade didn't start until 6.  But the sidewalks were already 5-6 people deep on both sides!


I wandered around for a bit and ended up finding the beginning of the parade; people were putting final touches on the floats, dancers were spinning and twirling in their glittery, colorful costumes, and the bands were practicing one last time. It was fun to see it all! 


I took a few shots with my phone, but you can see some better pictures here at La Nacion or here at Costa Rica News.

Flamenco!

Last night, after our office Christmas party (more to come on that once I get the video uploaded!), I went to see a group called Compañía Yerba-Buena performing Pasíon Flamenca at the Teatro Eugene O'Neill here in San Jose. (There's also an article about it in this weekend's La Nacion).

Courtesy: La Nacion

It was free, and the show was sold out! I had never seen anything like it before; flamenco is strong and powerful and intense.  I was surprised to hear the Moorish influence in the music, but it was beautiful! And the dancing....there are almost no words for how incredible the performance was. 


I couldn't find a video of this company, but I've found another that I think captures a bit of what we experienced last night. Enjoy!





You can also listen to an online-only flamenco radio station here.