January 8, 2009
Shake It up, Baby! Yeah! Twist and Shout - What a way to start off the new year!
We had a doozie of an earthquake today - 6.1, and only about 20 miles away; 1:21 pm CST.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2009bpba.php
We are fairly used to earthquakes (California gets plenty), but this one was a little different. First, we are in an apartment on the first floor of a concrete building. Fundamentally, I know reinforced concrete is a reasonable material, but deep down, I just *know* that brick (and therefore all brick-like material) is not good for earthquake country. Our place weathered it well tho - no cracks, no falling pieces... Second, the earthquake wasn't sharp - it sort of rolled and sloshed. And it lasted a while!
When it was over, we were in the doorways (conflicting "wisdom" abounds - go for the doorway, or go for a triangle space) - as were our neighbors. We did the usual "wow, some earthquake, huh?" and guessing game as to how big it was. I guessed waaay low (4.5).
The electricity was on for about 15 minutes afterwards (long enough to get the details online), then - off!
Wait! no INTERNET!?!
Oh, what a fragile thing it is - I just now got a connection. I've been out of touch a lot lately...
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Showing posts with label new year. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
January 1, 2008 - Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Last night (new year's eve) we went to a lovely party! We met some new people and caught up with some old friends, too :). There was plenty of talking, laughing, and joking. We took the guitar and banjo, and spent a little while playing and singing. All through the evening, but especially at midnight, there were a *lot* of fireworks! It seemed that each house had a gathering, and each gathering had its own fireworks display! These are the kind that shoot up into the sky and burst - the kind we only get at community events in the states. They were *great*! Several rained debris (fortunately, not on fire) on the roof of the house - that is how close they were!
Also at midnight, we all opened our package of grapes. This is a Costa Rican tradition - you pack up 12 grapes and tie it with something red, and attach flowers that you gather from in front of a rich person's house. Then at midnight on New Year's Eve, you eat all twelve grapes. And you keep the flowers and red binding. This is how you make sure you have a prosperous new year. We joked that since our flowers were gathered from in front of the alcoholics anonymous building, we would have a drunken year...
Today, we followed at least one of my family's traditions - we had soup. It wasn't stone soup, but it was good anyway. And we didn't hike up the mountain, but we *did* "hike" to the central park. We saw a lot of Ticos doing the same, so we got a good mix of traditions :).
We saw a clown performing for a crowd in the park, and I took a couple of pictures...
Last night (new year's eve) we went to a lovely party! We met some new people and caught up with some old friends, too :). There was plenty of talking, laughing, and joking. We took the guitar and banjo, and spent a little while playing and singing. All through the evening, but especially at midnight, there were a *lot* of fireworks! It seemed that each house had a gathering, and each gathering had its own fireworks display! These are the kind that shoot up into the sky and burst - the kind we only get at community events in the states. They were *great*! Several rained debris (fortunately, not on fire) on the roof of the house - that is how close they were!
Also at midnight, we all opened our package of grapes. This is a Costa Rican tradition - you pack up 12 grapes and tie it with something red, and attach flowers that you gather from in front of a rich person's house. Then at midnight on New Year's Eve, you eat all twelve grapes. And you keep the flowers and red binding. This is how you make sure you have a prosperous new year. We joked that since our flowers were gathered from in front of the alcoholics anonymous building, we would have a drunken year...
Today, we followed at least one of my family's traditions - we had soup. It wasn't stone soup, but it was good anyway. And we didn't hike up the mountain, but we *did* "hike" to the central park. We saw a lot of Ticos doing the same, so we got a good mix of traditions :).
We saw a clown performing for a crowd in the park, and I took a couple of pictures...
I even delayed posting this because we were just too exhausted to do too much - and all the internet cafes are closed on the first... What a good excuse!
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