A total lunar eclipse (a blood moon) isn’t something that happens often, and I was lucky enough to see the Total Lunar Eclipse on January 21st in Costa Rica! To me it is amazing how everyone around the world can see this event. It was an absolutely breathtaking view with so many bright stars in the sky and time spent with my Costa Rican family. Something like this is so special, but I think the best part was spending time with my host family and the host families of two other students here in Costa Rica with me.
In Costa Rica, many people are very family oriented. They care so much about their families, spend a lot of time with each other, and often live very close to each other. It’s common for family members to live next door to or across the street, which is how it is where I am living. I live down a little hill with three neighbors, all who are related to my host family. This has been great because I’ve had the chance to meet more people here, but also two of the students in my program live next to me. This has been great because we are able to walk to school together or take the bus together. For the total lunar eclipse our host families all went outside to watch the moon. I really enjoy the family aspect of the Costa Rican culture; it demonstrates the care and love of so many people here.
Close to 11pm we all went outside to watch the total lunar eclipse. We wore jackets, and some of us even had blankets because it can get pretty cold here during the night. As we sat outside we had a typical drink of Costa Rica, Agua Dulce. Agua Dulce is a warm drink, and it is very sweet because it is made from sugar cane. We tried to capture the beauty of the sky, but no photo could truly show how beautiful the sky was that night. The best photo that I have the moon that night is the cover photo, a picture taken by my host brother with a telescope.
We watched in awe as we saw the clouds move and the color of the moon start to change. This was a bonding experience that really made me appreciate all that the families here are doing for the study abroad students.
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