Can there be foreshadowing in your real life?

As a devoted and somewhat obsessive English teacher, one of the many topics that we've been exploring deeply in my 11th grade class this quarter is foreshadowing. So, of course, I now see it constantly in every book I read and every movie I see. Now I'm wondering, can my own life contain foreshadowing? Every once in a while Rob likes to tease me while I cut up our mammoth papayas by reminiscing about how I used to buy sad little containers of taste-less mango and papaya at our Brooklyn bodegas. It was a frequent buy of mine because I am a true fruit lover and hope springs eternal; I always thought that one time they would conjure paradise. They didn't quite, but maybe all that was just foreshadowing of the time when I would live deep in a Costa Rican jungle abundant with tropical fruit.

I never planned on coming to Costa Rica, it wasn't a childhood dream, it was a truly surprising offer that we decided to spontaneously grab. Therefore, I'm not one of the many ex-pats who came here seeking a country free from the possibilities of war and I've tried to avoid the cliché of fawning over the lack of a military here. However, I have always been deeply disturbed by war and confused by its prevalence in our world. So, maybe all those feelings, all my life, were a kind of foreshadowing for now. Now, when I live in a country that is deeply proud of not having a military. We just celebrated Independence Day on September 15th and it was a moving experience from start to finish. Independence came to Central America in 1821 when Spain sent a message to the government in Antigua, Guatemala, stating that Central America was now free (Spain was too drained by the fighting with Simon Bolivar in South America to hold onto her colonies). Then, riders, on horseback, shared the news by traveling, by torch, up to Honduras, and down to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. And so, Ticos are quite proud that even Independence came without a fight (at least, without a fight in Central America). Also, in the 1970's, the minister of education decided that without a violent military, the children are the army of the future and should therefore be the representatives of re-enacting the torch run. Every year, a runner re-enacts the running of the torch from Antigua to Cartaga and all along the way school groups meet the runner on the Pan-America highway, light their torches, and run them back to their schools. I think this is beautiful. Then, at 6pm on September 14th, the entire country sings the nation anthem and each town celebrates with a parade of lanterns that the school children have made. Again, a touching and vibrant experience that I won't soon forget. The following morning, on September 15th, we all (really, the whole zone- everyone was there) gathered for the annual parade where the students from various schools celebrated Independence by playing the drum songs that they had been practicing for months, carrying banners, wearing traditional dance costumes, and generally having a great time. It truly was an example of Pura Vida!