Earthquakes and torrential rain

Now there is already the second report, but a lot has also happened. Last night there was a tremor, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1. The epicenter was in the Pacific, but it was clearly felt in the city. You feel completely defenseless and automatically hold your breath. For a while afterwards, my whole body was tense. We know earthquakes from our time in Chile and from Lima/Peru. The Ticos – as the Costa Ricans are called – are less concerned about it. And not much usually happens.

The morning again began sunny, and the sun stayed with us until noon. I enjoy the small courtyard, where it is somewhat quieter than in the house. The traffic on the streets is quite loud. I thought that was only so extreme in Lima. Since around 2:00 PM (now it's 6:30 PM), it has been pouring rain, the strongest so far. In the afternoon, we went with a church board member to La Carpio, a very impoverished neighborhood, where we brought groceries from the harvest festival service to a kindergarten. We took a very long time for a few kilometers because traffic jams are the normal state of the streets. We were greeted warmly by the staff, and the children's beaming faces welcomed us. The director also took us through some streets to a stunning relatively new school, which everyone is very proud of. The students are split into morning or afternoon classes due to lack of facilities. Next to it, the simple dwellings of the people there in corrugated or wooden huts – a stark contrast. The 'returning home' felt like the greatest luxury.

In the evening, we relax with German television from the media library or Netflix.