Author: Sarah Hackman
This year Halloween fell on a Saturday. Usually a perfect night for Halloween festivities, the volunteers were uncertain as to if and how the usually much anticipated holiday would be celebrated in Costa Rica. It seems that Halloween has caught on slightly, depending on where one is in the country. There are no ‘trick or treating’ outings, bags full of candy or costume parades at the schools, but the volunteers were able to find some Halloween themed parties for themselves. 
With limited supplies and a lot creativity, the volunteers put together their costumes. Some created home made outfits while others simply bought masks from a shop opened in San Ramon just for the holiday. Fio, our volunteer coordinator, celebrating the holiday for the first time, was the best dressed Tica in San Ramon in her black angel costume. Others dressed as a devil, a Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtle, and characters from the Wizard of Oz. A San Ramon bar had a Halloween party, complete with skeleton and pumpkin decorations. It was not your typical Halloween party, only a few witches and various other costumes. Several other volunteers traveled to the more touristy beach town of Dominical for the weekend where they had better luck finding a true costume party. Although it was not a typical Halloween with elaborate costumes, jack o lanterns and sugar overloads, the volunteers really enjoyed celebrating the holiday in Costa Rica!
