Let's Go Fly a Kite!

I've always been a fan of kite flying. To me there's nothing better than a day out with your family enjoying the breeze and furiously trying to launch a bundle of plastic, sticks, and strings into the air. I had never seen a spiritual meaning behind kite flying, but there is here!

Monday was "Clean Monday." Clean Monday is the beginning of Lent, when the locals stop eating meat until Easter, they also fly kites...and dance. The kite flying high in the sky is supposed to represent the soul drawing closer to God. Hmm, I've never thought of it that way, but I like it! Last year I was not able to fly kites because it was raining. I had been waiting all year for this day to experience this amazing tradition. On Monday we finished school early and walked the mile and a half to the festival. There was traditional music and dancing going on (I have been told there was food, but it was long gone by the time we got there!). My friend said we could use one of her kites instead of buying one of the ridiculously overpriced cheapo kites on the corner. Excitedly I watched them unfurl the beautiful kite with it's long tail and...no string. That's right! After a year of waiting and a mile and a half of walking I would not be flying a kite. Oh well, to quote the philosophers Richards and Jagger: "You can't always get what you want." Maybe I'll continue this tradition back home.
Flying high

Kite flying on Clean Monday

As if we needed another reason to sing and dance!