Easter: La Pascua

So I spent my Dominican Easter at an Indian hotel hanging out with a bunch of Americans. Yep. Breaking all the traditions this year. 
But let me start from the beginning. 
Traditionally, Dominicans don't seem to have too many traditions regarding Easter. No Easter egg hunts, no chocolate bunnies, no baskets full of goodies on Easter morning, not even a Peep in sight. For a country that is so heavily influenced by the U.S., this one holiday seems to have somehow escaped the clutches of consumerism (which is probably a good thing). They do, however, have one strange tradition: sweet beans. Nope, I'm not talking jelly beans (oh, how I wish!)

Sweet beans, or habichuelas con dulce, are a strange concoction of red beans, sweet potato, milk, coconut milk, sugar, raisins, cinnamon, and other spices, all stewed and creamed together to form a soupy pudding and served up with mini vanilla wafer-like cookies. Every Dominican family has their own secret recipe and its traditionally eaten the first and last week of Lent, although nobody seems to know why. Even the end-all be-all source of information, the world-wide-web, couldn't explain the origin or tradition behind this interesting dish. Mysterious. 
I tried it once. 
Let's just say its an acquired taste. 
Dominicans would beg to differ though. I polled all my students (that's about 80) to see what their favorite part of Easter was, and at least half of them claimed it was habichuelas con dulce.
I just don't understand. 
This is one tradition I'll let the Dominican Republic keep for itself. 
The only other custom associated with Easter (and this is really a custom for all Dominican holidays) is to head to the beach and drink copious amounts of rum (which is what the other half of my students claimed was their favorite part) Now a beach vacation is definitely a tradition I can get behind. 
And that was my original plan for Thursday and Friday of Semana Santa (holy week).
Mother nature had different ideas. After a sweltering hot start to the week, Thursday through Sunday turned into one of the coldest, rainiest weekends of the year. Good thing I also had plans to go to the mountains! Gotta have all your bases covered here :) 
So after a restful Thurday and Friday in Santiago, I loaded up in a mini guagua with a herd of Hub friends and headed up to the hills (woah, look at those alliteration skills, I wasn't even trying!)

Our destination was the Blue Moon, an eclectic Indian retreat nestled on a lush and fairly secluded mountainside. 

The whole trip was organized by the Hub, and was open to all Hub members and friends. It was a pretty large crowd, including plenty of old friends I hadn't seen in a while and new faces I'd never met before. So we all gathered around the bar to grab a drink and mingle. One of the best parts about being involved with the Hub is that everyone is fascinating. Really. They are. Everyone has a different story, a different experience, and a unique perspective; it makes for lively conversations, especially when everyone is sipping on the Blue Moon Special :)

Then it was time to take our bags to our spacious and charmingly decorated cabins and wash up for dinner. The tantalizing scent of curry had us all drifting back towards the dining area in no time. 

In true Indian fashion, we sat cross-legged on cushions with leaves for plates and flickering luminaries to provide a slightly magical aura. 

The owner of the retreat came out to explain each course and to teach us how to eat Indian style; that is, without silverware and only using the right hand. 

And then came the food: Corn and plaintain fritters, carrot-raisin-peanut salad, curried vegetables, fall-off-the-bone tender spiced chicken, jasmine rice, and a series of intriguing and finger-lickingly delicious sauces.

We feasted....

....until we could feast no more. 

Then the little 'uns came out to dance and entertain while we sipped on coffee and tea and groaned about how happy and full we were while we waited for dessert (of course there is always room for dessert.)

One of the most adorable couples ever. 

Dessert, a perfect blend of creamy yogurt, fruit, and toasted coconut, was the perfect way to end the night. Not too long after we all drifted dreamily back to our cabins and into a peaceful sleep. 

The next morning we were up-and-adam early for a sunrise service. 
Happily holding our warm coffees and teas, sweetened with dollops of sugar and fresh cows milk, we filled the morning air with hymns and laughter at our sometimes off-key attempts. To tell the truth though, I like that we sometimes sing off-key. I know that God doesn't mind, he's just happy we are all there together, and for me, that's more beautiful than any song in perfect pitch. 

Aside from being slightly out of tune, one of our two trays full of the Body of Christ may have accidentally ended up spilled all over the sidewalk. Somehow, I think Jesus might have gotten a good chuckle out of that. The good thing about the Body of Christ though, no matter what happens there's always enough to go around :)

Next it was time for an Easter Egg hunt! As I explained earlier, its not a tradition here, but a visiting Hub friend from the U.S. brought down loads of plastic eggs and candy especially for the occasion. We filled up the eggs with all sorts of chocolaty goodies and hid them around the yard. 

After enjoying the kiddos' mad scramble to find the hidden eggs, it was time for breakfast and the ride back down the mountain. 

All in all, a beautiful Easter with beautiful people. 
Thanks so much to Elaine and Marcos for bringing us all together!