super-contenta.

of the many wonderful things about the fast, one is getting to see the sunrise :)


these are some beautiful trees in the park where many of the art festival performances are. don't they look painted? i love them...

I know I’ve been a bit of a slacker with this blog, but tonight I feel inspired to write! I’m so happy/joyous/excited/ full of love and gratitude. Tomorrow (and today after sunset, technically) is the Bahá’í New Year, Naw-Ruz in Persian. In the Bahá’í calendar, there are 19 months of 19 days with 4 intercalary days to fill out th3 365. So, there are 18 months, then the intercalary days, called Ayyam-i-Ha, then the month of fasting, and then the new year. Today, then, was the last day of the fast and tonight and tomorrow we celebrate the new year. Tonight we went to break fast at the house of a Bahá’í couple, which was so nice! There were people from all over the place, from Costa Rica, obviously, from El Salvador, from Canada, the U.S., Iran, etc. We all gathered, said a handful of prayers, and then ate. Guess what we ate? Persian food! You don’t know how happy I was to see some Adas Polo (rice with cinnamon, lentils, and raisins), Lubia Polo (rice with tomato sauce, green beans, and ground beef), Ghormeh Sabzi (a sauce of chicken or beef with kidney beans and tons of herbs, like parsley, cilantro, mint, etc), Ash-e-Reshteh (a soup with noodles, chickpeas, meat, and tons of greens and herbs), and Persian tea too! All that was missing was some good Persian yogurt, but I guess I can’t complain. My host family came, too, which was so awesome! Turns out one of the Bahá’í ladies who I actually had met in El Salvador was a student of my host mom’s like 18 years ago, and another person there was the mother of another of my host mom’s students. It was a fun night. Tomorrow afternoon is another Naw Ruz celebration in another part of town. This time is always a bit sad because although the fast is difficult, it’s a special time. Fun times, however, are on their way!

This week there is the Festival Internacional de los Artes here in San Jose so every day there are various theatre, dance, film, and music performances. Not this week but the week after is Semana Santa, which is a week where everyone has off school and work. I’m going for a few days to go visit a Bahá’í couple in Progreso, which is in southern Costa Rica close to the Panamanian border in an indigenous reservation. After that, I’ll come back and hang out here for a few days. Also, I’m going to visit Amy noodle in Puerto Rico at the end of April!!! Deciding to visit may just be the most spontaneous thing I’ve every done, but I’m pretty excited. So, yes, good things to come. In other news, I have nothing to take next year. Really, aside from Senior Seminar and Thesis, I think I’ve taken everything. I may be mistaken, but I went over it today and I think I’m done with major and GenEd classes. What do I take?? Well, I think you guys are just about caught up. Feliz Naw-Ruz!!