Residents, Presidents

Yesterday I had the amazing privilege of meeting the president of the Republic of Costa Rica. But, to be honest, that wasn't the highlight of my day. My highlight was being part of the Albernia community and seeing the joy on the resident's faces as they met the president.

Let me give you some context...

San Isidro is a quaint little town. We used to have two one-lane bridges to facilitate crossing the river near the center of town. Late last January the river flooded one of the bridges. A driver who attempted to cross the flooded river had his car stall and he was swept away by the current and drowned. It was a tragic accident that resulted in a project to replace the existing bridge.

Normally, a one-lane bridge that spans maybe 25-30 feet, probably wouldn't take too long to build, but here it has taken 14 months. Rush hour has certainly been more interesting with only one functioning one-lane bridge. In December, a whole lot of work was done, and it seemed like we were days away from the re-opening of the bridge, but then they stopped and we started to hear rumors. The most interesting rumor was that they were going to wait to finish the bridge so that President Arias could come out and cut the red ribbon.

The rumor turned out to be true. So, the town was dressed up and ready for his visit to inaugurate our new bridge yesterday. I didn't go to the inauguration or to the visits to the church or the school. Instead I walked all the way to the Albernia nursing home to await his scheduled visit there.

As I got to the Albernia gate, a guard told me, "You are not allowed to enter. This event is by invitation only." I asked if he would just allow me to step in and ask the director if I could attend. The president's representatives asked my forgiveness when Ana, the director, vouched for me. The next hour I spent in wonderful conversation with my best friends in town. The staff had all new uniforms and had whipped the place into the best shape ever.

Finally, when the president appeared, he greeted a few of the residents and then took a seat of honor under a lawn awning set up for the occasion. There were lovely flowers and an official presidential podium.

The most embarassing moment for me was the first thing on the program - the singing of the Costa Rican national anthem. TV cameras panned the audience as everyone belted out the words... all except me, that is! I still haven't learned all the words! I just hope I wasn't on TV, making foolish, blubbering sounds like Mr. Bean.

After the first two speakers, the president was introduced. Instead of stepping behind the podium, he walked right over to Don Edgar, sitting in front of me in his wheelchair. He asked Edgar's name and told him he looked familiar. He spoke briefly to the residents on each side of Edgar. Then he looked straight at me, and said, "And you?"

"My name is Susan and I live in San Isidro. I visit here each week."

He had a few more words with me, and then stepped back up to the podium. Woohoo!

It was marvellous to see my friends faces glow and to see the president of this country humbly care for his compatriots who are a bit older. Don Oscar Arias is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a compassionate president. He has chosen to give half of his presidential salary to donate to nursing homes around the country. Yesterday he announced that he uses the other half of his salary at his discretion, and he has chosen to use part of it to help Albernia for three or four months as well. (The Albernia property was originally donated by the president's uncle, I learned.)