week 43: semana santa (april 6-12)

let’s go fly a kite: the kids were off of school all week this week, so the volunteers were in charge of planning activities for them on monday, tuesday and wednesday. on monday, we had a sports day, where we basically just had soccer game after baseball game after more soccer and baseball games, making sure at some point all the kids of all the different ages participated in something. it was long and tiring, but a lot of fun. tuesday was scavanger hunt day. we organized one for the little kids in the day time and then one at night in the dark with flashlights for the older kids. we had them running all over our property looking for clues. the tías owe us, because i’m sure they slept well that night. wednesday was probably the best day. we organized a kite contest and the kids spent all morning making kites. i think i explained this once, but kites are like a national pastime here… the kids love making them and it’s almost an art for some of them. they are so meticulous, making sure they are just perfect. the best part is that it provides hours of fun and is practically free. all the kids use is sticks, plastic grocery bags and string. the kids were so cute working so hard all morning trying to make the best looking kite that would fly the highest. in the afternoon, we all headed out to the soccer field to let them fly. it was really, really fun and the weather here is always perfect for kite flying… there’s always a nice little breeze. overall, it was a long, but good start to holy week.

2 different worlds: on holy thursday i got to experience the mass in two totally different ways. i began the day with the chrism mass at the cathedral in san pedro. it was quite impressive. we were in the beautiful cathedral with the high ceilings and stained glass and every priest and seminarian from the diocese was there. the bishop here is very nice, but he’s rather quiet and soft spoken. there were bells and incense and chanting, plus all the traditional hymns. it was very nice… everything a traditional catholic mass should be (without the latin… but sometimes still my understanding of spanish is about as good as my understanding of latin) the only thing was that i was there with the younger kids, so after about 2 hours they started to get a bit restless… but we survived!

later that night, i went with the older kids to the mass of the Lord’s supper. it was a completely opposite experience from the one i had had in the morning. we went to this tiny little church in this poor little barrio (neighborhood) called “sante fe”. it was so tiny and everyone was just squished into every last corner. and it was so hot! i think i sweated off like 5 pounds during the mass! it was really nice though. the priest is super energetic and the people get really into the mass, clapping and singing, etc. and the music was really great… very upbeat with a little caribbean flair. both experiences were nice and it was great to see how diverse the catholic church is… you can have masses with two totally different vibes, but at the end of the day, we’re all reading the same word, sharing in the same meal, and praising the same God.


sweet friday: good friday began with a 5:30 am wake up for a 6:00 am stations of the cross. all the kids, volunteers and staff met outside the nuns house and began the procession around our property. we ended at the school and the kids were instructed to stay quiet and prayerful for the rest of the day. i finally got to experience a dominican tradition that the kids have been talking about forever… “habichuelas con dulce” (beans w/sweets). every time anyone mentions holy week, the kids get so excited and start talking about habichuelas con dulce. it’s like their favorite thing in the whole world. so, the tías spent friday morning preparing treat and then at 2:00 everyone got to eat it as an afternoon snack. basically, it is a huge pot of beans and then they throw in coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, batatas (which are like sweet potatoes) and then it is all topped off with little cookies on top. it sounds pretty gross… and it is. i tried my best to eat a little of it, but i just couldn’t do it. it was soooo sweet! i didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but the kids didn’t seem to bothered… plus there was one lucky kid who got to eat mine too. (it kinda seemed like a weird thing to do on a fasting day, but good friday seems to be the day they celebrate, more so than easter, so i guess that’s just how they roll here in the dr). good friday ended with a trip into san pedro to attend the veneration of the cross service at a local church. the church we went to was a new one that i’d never been to before. the priest there comes from the same order in columbia as the nuns we have working here at nph. it’s a nice church… not quite as small and cramped as the one we were at the night before, but much simpler than the cathedral. overall, it was a very nice good friday.

the longest day ever: holy saturday was a good day, but extremely long! it began early again… with a 6:00 am rosary walk around the home. afterward, everyone headed to their houses to eat and get ready for the day. the volunteers spent the rest of the morning and afternoon boiling, painting and decorating eggs with the kids. afterward, we collected them all and stored them in our house, so they’d be ready to hide in the morning. that night i headed back into san pedro with the oldest kids to attend the easter vigil mass at the church we went to the night before. it was probably one of the coolest masses i’ve ever been to. it began outside with a huge bonfire, where the priest lit and blessed the easter candle. we all then processed inside with our candles (except that we didn’t have any… we didn’t know you were supposed to bring your own… sad day!). it was so cool to see the church light up with everyone’s candles. then everyone blew out their candles and the readings were read in darkness. when the time came for the alleluia, the church lit up and music began playing and the people began dancing. it was really, really cool. i have never seen people so happy and excited at an easter mass. it went on for a good 20 minutes… people just jumping and dancing and clapping and singing at the top of their lungs. the mass continued and it was really great. the music was really, really amazing and the priest was awesome. i couldn’t always understand what he was saying, but he was just so passionate and convicted that you couldn’t help but feel moved. the mass lasted more than 4 hours (and there weren’t even any baptisms!), but it was 4 hours filled with genuine joy and happiness… people truly grateful and excited that Christ has risen from the dead.


pascua: despite getting practically no sleep the night before, easter was probably the most relaxed day of all of holy week. i woke up at 5 am to hide the eggs that the kids and i had painted the day before. we began the search at about 6. everyone found their eggs except one boy… i felt so bad and i couldn’t for the life of me remember where i put it! i felt so horrible, but a couple hours later when we were standing outside waiting for the bus to take us to mass i saw it on the top of this black box on the side of the house. it was so high up, there was no way this poor kid could find it… apparently i was too tired when i was hiding them at 5 am. then we went to mass at the cathedral in san pedro. it was a nice mass, but much quieter and more traditional than the one the night before. when we got home the volunteers organized a game called “the golden egg hunt.” we painted five hard boiled eggs gold and hid them in different places on our property. we had five different searches with the different aged kids. despite a few incidents of cheating, we all had a good time and the winners received an ice cold soda… in addition to the golden egg. the rest of the day was very relaxed. we played a little soccer in the afternoon, but mostly everyone just relaxed. we didn’t even have a special dinner or anything. some of the volunteers thought it was a little weird, being used to easter being a big holiday, but it seems like in this culture, it seems to be the whole week that they celebrate, more so than any one particular day. it was a lot of fun experiences, new traditions and a holy week that i’ll never forget.


"the cross, instrument of torture and death, raised aloft as a sign of glory, continues to confound the wisdom of this world. God's work of salvation stands humans on their heads. humility is exaltation, wounds are healing, death is life."