I was invited to attend meeting at 10:30 at the Friends School. It was delightful; we sang hymns for 30 minutes, then sat in peace for 60 minutes surrounded by the forest, with blue moths, hummingbirds, birds flying around outside the windows of the meeting place. Here's an exerpt from Wikipedia about this school:
What is now considered Monteverde was founded by Quakers from the United States whose pacifist values led them to defy the American draft during the Korean War.[3] The majority of the group hailed from Fairhope, Alabama, and it included people who were not Quakers but pacifists and conscientious objectors. The spokesman of the group was Hubert Mendenhall, a dairyman who had visited Costa Rica in 1949 after joining a farmer's tour.[4] These Quakers and pacifists chose Monteverde for its cool climate, which would facilitate dairy farming, and due to Costa Rica's non-violent, army-free constitution.[5] Mendenhall noted that the soil was fertile and the people were friendly as well. The Quakers stewarded and farmed a large tract of land, which they eventually set aside for conservation. This reserve, which was named the Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde (Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve), has become a major tourist attraction.
After the meeting, I was invited to eat a delicious lunch...many local dishes. All I was asked was to wash my dish, cup, and fork. I think I'll make this a regular pasttime here. It satisfies something in me to sing hymns and then silently sit for an hour with people who abhor war.
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