mural madness

This is our neighborhood equivalent to 7-11. no big gulps but they've got ken's favorite new beverage, rompopo. it's akin to eggnog and comes in individual size drink boxes that (if you were lucky) you got to take on field trips in elementary school. sometimes they have rum in them, so that's a bit different than my elementary years. this place also carries necessities like t.p., strong smelling laundry detergent (to fight mildew), chips and candy of all kinds that kids constantly chow on, cans of tuna, refried beans, and tomato paste. there's a small, somewhat questionable shelf with produce like pineapples, garlic, avocado, yucca, and chayote. these are all a bit limp but you take what you can get. propane tanks are also available. if you're feeling lucky there's a pinball gambling device that participants can win some colones from. completing the kwik shop experience...a form of lottery ticket.
young and old from around the neighborhood can be found here at all hours of operation, lazily going through the motions of conversation... but mostly just quietly munching on snacks from within while chillin' at this little table under the covered front.
the kids watched in amazement as we painted this mural and would shout out the names of items as soon as they were identifiable on the wall. the parents and adults mostly nodded in approval with knowing grins. The owner was so happy that we had chosen his place of business as a canvas. He kept beaming and saying "mucho mucho mucho lindo". Very, very, very pretty.
Today we began painting at the elementary school where we have been asked to make various improvements to existing paintings as well as new murals. What an incredible day. We're not sure if the kids got to hang out with us all day because it was a "learning experience" for them, or if they always get to run amok on the playground and in the road, but we got to share some really amazing hours with the kids. The school is paying us as well as feeding us breakfast and lunch. rice and beans. rice and beans. It goes without saying that their "cafeteria" is NOTHING like the one you or I ate in at school. It is so primitive and raw that it really makes us aware of things in the States that are underappreciated as well as wasted. Ah, the importance of getting out into the wide open world from time to time to experience what is beyond our comfort zones.