So, the other day I was taking me daily run when something rather surprising happened. I was almost to the beach, which is where I usually turn around, when all of a sudden I felt something smack my butt. A car of about 4 or 5 Ticos had driven by, and the one sitting in the passenger seat had reached out and smacked my butt with his baseball hat! Talk about being surprised. The funny thing was, though, I wasn't offended and my first reaction was not to give him the naughty finger. Instead, I was just surprised the car was able to get as close as it did to me without actually hitting me! I think I have officially been desensitized to all things rude, crude and male. My self esteem is definitely going to plummett when I return home and walk down the street without hearing a couple cat calls. Oh, the drama...
Than, I have my sixth graders on Tuesdays right after they have P.E. Yes, they always smell absolutely delicious when they walk into my classroom. Usually, they try and mask their odors by spraying about a half a bottle of cologne on. I try and persuade them with the less is more approach, but they just aren't buying it. This past Tuesday, I had one boy spray about a half a bottle of Chocolate Axe on himself. Who even knew Axe had a chocolate flavor? Nuts... And than he tries to tell me, "Que rico, teacher, que rico". No, Jared, not que rico. ugh...
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
adventures in showering
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. I understand that the new school year has officially started back in the States which is exciting! Hopefully everyone is happy to be back at work/school and enjoying their new students/classes.
I am officially back in Manuel Antonio. Last week, I was up in La Fortuna visiting two other volunteers that teach at the other bilingual school there. La Fortuna was gorgeous! It is located right at the base of an active volcano and has numerous hot springs to visit! We were able to see the volcano only one of the days we were there, though, due to clouds. The day it did make its appearance, though, was amazing! There was actually smoke coming out of the top of it! Crazy, huh? I guess they weren´t kidding when they said it was an active volcano! We also went to one of the natural hot springs. These were amazing as well. The school itself was much like ours - crazy children! haha.
As for me, my students are doing well. I think I am more cut out to teach older children, though. Although I think my second graders are cute, I am never too excited to go into their class. I do love teaching my fourth and sixth graders though. I find their little attitudes to be amusing and hilarious!
And now I need to tell you all about the little excitement I had this morning. I was taking a shower after my run and had just started washing my face. I had my eyes closed when I felt what I thought was a hair on my leg. I almost just let it be. Than I felt the hair crawling up my leg. This was NOT normal! I looked down, and there was a huge cockroach climbing up my leg! UGH!!!! You all would be proud. I did not scream. I did bat the thing off me, though, as quick as I could. So gross! I have to say, I thought coming to Costa Rica would help me get over my disgust for bugs. It hasn´t. Although I am not nearly as squirmish (I used to not even use the bathroom if there was a cockroach in there - now I am showering with them!), I still despise the things! But, yes. So much for it only being a hair.
That´s really about it, I suppose. Things are pretty tranquilo around here. I am looking forward to spending a weekend at the beach. Pray for no rain!
I am officially back in Manuel Antonio. Last week, I was up in La Fortuna visiting two other volunteers that teach at the other bilingual school there. La Fortuna was gorgeous! It is located right at the base of an active volcano and has numerous hot springs to visit! We were able to see the volcano only one of the days we were there, though, due to clouds. The day it did make its appearance, though, was amazing! There was actually smoke coming out of the top of it! Crazy, huh? I guess they weren´t kidding when they said it was an active volcano! We also went to one of the natural hot springs. These were amazing as well. The school itself was much like ours - crazy children! haha.
As for me, my students are doing well. I think I am more cut out to teach older children, though. Although I think my second graders are cute, I am never too excited to go into their class. I do love teaching my fourth and sixth graders though. I find their little attitudes to be amusing and hilarious!
And now I need to tell you all about the little excitement I had this morning. I was taking a shower after my run and had just started washing my face. I had my eyes closed when I felt what I thought was a hair on my leg. I almost just let it be. Than I felt the hair crawling up my leg. This was NOT normal! I looked down, and there was a huge cockroach climbing up my leg! UGH!!!! You all would be proud. I did not scream. I did bat the thing off me, though, as quick as I could. So gross! I have to say, I thought coming to Costa Rica would help me get over my disgust for bugs. It hasn´t. Although I am not nearly as squirmish (I used to not even use the bathroom if there was a cockroach in there - now I am showering with them!), I still despise the things! But, yes. So much for it only being a hair.
That´s really about it, I suppose. Things are pretty tranquilo around here. I am looking forward to spending a weekend at the beach. Pray for no rain!
Friday, July 24, 2009
suenos
I had a dream in Spanish!!! The funny thing about having the dream was that I didn't even realize it had happened in a different language until a few hours after I had woken up and was thinking about the dream. Only than did I realize that the whole thing happened in Spanish! I was super excited.
Other than that, my vacation has come to an end. We had three weeks off (thank you MEP) and I will now be returning back to my site this afternoon. I had an amazing three weeks, though. I went to Montezuma, Bocas del Toro, Panama City and Puerto Viejo. I got to see a lot of gorgeous beaches and spend time with great people. I also visited the Panama Canal, which was really awesome. Although there were quite a few bus hours (the bus from Panama City to San Jose took almost 20 hours!), they were all worth it. I have posted most of the pictures on facebook (minus the ones from Panama City and Puerto Viejo - those will have to come later). If you don't have a facebook, you either need to get one or borrow a friends!
But yes, today I will be returning to Manuel Antonio. Although I don't really want to go back to work, I am also kind of excited to get back in the classroom. I am sure the kids are going to be completely out of it for the first few days, so that should be interesting. I am hoping they have at least remembered some of what I taught them. I also am looking forward to getting back into my routines. Although I love traveling around the country and seeing different things, it is always nice to return home. I also need to start running again. I haven't run in almost three weeks and have been eating lots of wonderful food! I think I may have picked up a few lb's these past few weeks! The mountain in Manuel is going to kick my butt for a few days, I'm sure.
I hope everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer vacation. It is weird to think that people in the states are already finishing their summer vacation and getting ready to go back to school!
I love and miss you all!
Other than that, my vacation has come to an end. We had three weeks off (thank you MEP) and I will now be returning back to my site this afternoon. I had an amazing three weeks, though. I went to Montezuma, Bocas del Toro, Panama City and Puerto Viejo. I got to see a lot of gorgeous beaches and spend time with great people. I also visited the Panama Canal, which was really awesome. Although there were quite a few bus hours (the bus from Panama City to San Jose took almost 20 hours!), they were all worth it. I have posted most of the pictures on facebook (minus the ones from Panama City and Puerto Viejo - those will have to come later). If you don't have a facebook, you either need to get one or borrow a friends!
But yes, today I will be returning to Manuel Antonio. Although I don't really want to go back to work, I am also kind of excited to get back in the classroom. I am sure the kids are going to be completely out of it for the first few days, so that should be interesting. I am hoping they have at least remembered some of what I taught them. I also am looking forward to getting back into my routines. Although I love traveling around the country and seeing different things, it is always nice to return home. I also need to start running again. I haven't run in almost three weeks and have been eating lots of wonderful food! I think I may have picked up a few lb's these past few weeks! The mountain in Manuel is going to kick my butt for a few days, I'm sure.
I hope everyone is enjoying their last few weeks of summer vacation. It is weird to think that people in the states are already finishing their summer vacation and getting ready to go back to school!
I love and miss you all!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Montezuma and Bocas del Toro
I am currently coming to an end of my second week of break. Originally, we were only supposed to have two weeks off of school (hence the name, Quince Dias), but a few days ago, we received an e-mail from the director of WorldTeach informing us otherwise. The Ministry of Education here in Costa Rica decided to postpone going back to school for one more week due to swine flu. This means Quince Dias has now turned into Veinteuno Dias. The volunteers and I are taking the opportunity to do some traveling.
I stayed in Montezuma, Costa Rica for the first week of vacation. This was a small, hippie-like beach town with gorgeous beaches. It is located off the Nicoya (sp?) Peninsula. We spent most of our time at the beaches here. The waves were huge; anywhere between 10 and 15 feet high! They were also super strong. You would be standing in the water and a wave would come up and knock you right on your butt! They were definitely a lot of fun (and kind of intimidating) to play in though. We also took one day to go snorkeling. Since it is low-season, everything was really cheap. We spent about $30 on a day of snorkeling that usually runs for about $75. On our way out to the island, we stopped at a fishing boat to pick up lunch. Talk about fresh seafood! We than spent the morning snorkeling, ate an amazing lunch and played some beach volleyball.
After Montezuma, we traveled to Bocas del Toro in Panama. After working through the confusion of crossing the boarder (things get different when you have a visa for Costa Rica), we arrived at these series of islands. We stayed in a really awesome hostel here. In Bocas, you have to take water taxis to all the different islands to go to the beaches. We went to Wizard Beach. It was gorgeous! The water was a clear, pristine blue and met up with a white sand beach. We spent most of the day body surfing and playing soccer. At night, we took advantage of the Happy Hours that almost every bar on the island provided. Every night was ladies night (good place to be a lady) and the guys were able to get 50 cent beers. We did a lot of dancing and meeting new friends!
I am currently in Panama City. We arrived here this morning at around 5am after taking a night bus. The city seems really different, but I am excited to walk around. We are also going to check out the canal (aka biggest ditch in the world) and hit up one of the fish markets for dinner. Our hostel here is really awesome as well. It is in an old mansion and has a creaky feel to it.
I am taking lots of pictures, but am having trouble downloading them...hopefully you will be able to see soon enough some of the things I have been doing!
I stayed in Montezuma, Costa Rica for the first week of vacation. This was a small, hippie-like beach town with gorgeous beaches. It is located off the Nicoya (sp?) Peninsula. We spent most of our time at the beaches here. The waves were huge; anywhere between 10 and 15 feet high! They were also super strong. You would be standing in the water and a wave would come up and knock you right on your butt! They were definitely a lot of fun (and kind of intimidating) to play in though. We also took one day to go snorkeling. Since it is low-season, everything was really cheap. We spent about $30 on a day of snorkeling that usually runs for about $75. On our way out to the island, we stopped at a fishing boat to pick up lunch. Talk about fresh seafood! We than spent the morning snorkeling, ate an amazing lunch and played some beach volleyball.
After Montezuma, we traveled to Bocas del Toro in Panama. After working through the confusion of crossing the boarder (things get different when you have a visa for Costa Rica), we arrived at these series of islands. We stayed in a really awesome hostel here. In Bocas, you have to take water taxis to all the different islands to go to the beaches. We went to Wizard Beach. It was gorgeous! The water was a clear, pristine blue and met up with a white sand beach. We spent most of the day body surfing and playing soccer. At night, we took advantage of the Happy Hours that almost every bar on the island provided. Every night was ladies night (good place to be a lady) and the guys were able to get 50 cent beers. We did a lot of dancing and meeting new friends!
I am currently in Panama City. We arrived here this morning at around 5am after taking a night bus. The city seems really different, but I am excited to walk around. We are also going to check out the canal (aka biggest ditch in the world) and hit up one of the fish markets for dinner. Our hostel here is really awesome as well. It is in an old mansion and has a creaky feel to it.
I am taking lots of pictures, but am having trouble downloading them...hopefully you will be able to see soon enough some of the things I have been doing!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
It's been a couple of weeks...
I know it's been a couple of weeks since I last updated so I would like to begin with an apology to all of you serious blog readers. The past couple of weeks have been super busy, but as of 11:00a yesterday, I am officially on vacation!!! We have 2 (much needed) weeks of vacation from school. I will be spending the 2 weeks in Montezuma and Panama with a few of my fellow WorldTeachers. I am excited to spend some time away from my site, relaxing, eating some good food and hanging out with some amazing people. Stories about the vacation in my next posting, though. Today, I want to share a couple of funny (or at least what I find funny) stories from the past couple of weeks.
As all of you know, Father's Day was on June 21st. A couple of days after Father's Day, an announcement was passed around for all of the teachers to read and sign. We get these announcements on a semi-regular basis. They usually let us know about meetings, Acto Civicos, etc. This one was for a Father's Day party we would be having for the first grade teacher, Geison. I didn't think Geison was a father, so I asked a fellow Tica teacher about it. She said that no, he wasn't a father, but he was a guy (and could potentially be a father some day?). And that was that. We had a Father's Day party for Geison.
Then, this past week, I was sitting in the English classroom while the English grammar teacher was teaching 4th grade. They were talking about different ailments that one may have and the remedies for such ailments. There was the normal "if you have a toothache, go to the dentist" and "if you have a stomachache, drink some tea". There was also "if you are angry, eat some fruits and vegetables". Hmph. Who knew?
Well, those are the two best stories from the past couple of weeks. Hopefully you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed living them. I do need to give a quick shout-out to Lauren Evans, Andrea Tassi and my mom. They all have had birthdays in the past couple of weeks. Do me a favor, and if you see any of them, give them a big birthday smooch for me!
As all of you know, Father's Day was on June 21st. A couple of days after Father's Day, an announcement was passed around for all of the teachers to read and sign. We get these announcements on a semi-regular basis. They usually let us know about meetings, Acto Civicos, etc. This one was for a Father's Day party we would be having for the first grade teacher, Geison. I didn't think Geison was a father, so I asked a fellow Tica teacher about it. She said that no, he wasn't a father, but he was a guy (and could potentially be a father some day?). And that was that. We had a Father's Day party for Geison.
Then, this past week, I was sitting in the English classroom while the English grammar teacher was teaching 4th grade. They were talking about different ailments that one may have and the remedies for such ailments. There was the normal "if you have a toothache, go to the dentist" and "if you have a stomachache, drink some tea". There was also "if you are angry, eat some fruits and vegetables". Hmph. Who knew?
Well, those are the two best stories from the past couple of weeks. Hopefully you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed living them. I do need to give a quick shout-out to Lauren Evans, Andrea Tassi and my mom. They all have had birthdays in the past couple of weeks. Do me a favor, and if you see any of them, give them a big birthday smooch for me!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Happy Father's Day!
First of all, Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there (especially my dad <3 )!
This is going to be a short blog only because I don't have a ton to tell you. The week has flown by and I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already! Crazy!!
I do have a funny story about one of my 6th graders, though. We have a Writer's Workshop every week where the kids draw a picture one day, write things about the picture the next and than write a paragraph on the last day. One of my 6th grader, Mariana (who happens to be one of my most challenging students as well), drew me (yes, I was flattered). The next day she was writing sentences about her picture and one of her sentences said, "The teacher has skin the color of milk." The funny thing is, Mariana, like many Ticos, is very light skinned. In fact, her skin is lighter than mine right now just because I have been spending some time on the beach. I was laughing when I pointed this out to her. I do not think she was nearly as amused by the whole thing as I was.
Only a couple of more weeks until we have two weeks off of school...I am looking forward to the break! Hope everyone's summers are going well so far...
This is going to be a short blog only because I don't have a ton to tell you. The week has flown by and I can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already! Crazy!!
I do have a funny story about one of my 6th graders, though. We have a Writer's Workshop every week where the kids draw a picture one day, write things about the picture the next and than write a paragraph on the last day. One of my 6th grader, Mariana (who happens to be one of my most challenging students as well), drew me (yes, I was flattered). The next day she was writing sentences about her picture and one of her sentences said, "The teacher has skin the color of milk." The funny thing is, Mariana, like many Ticos, is very light skinned. In fact, her skin is lighter than mine right now just because I have been spending some time on the beach. I was laughing when I pointed this out to her. I do not think she was nearly as amused by the whole thing as I was.
Only a couple of more weeks until we have two weeks off of school...I am looking forward to the break! Hope everyone's summers are going well so far...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hey All!!!
I know I have not posted in a while and for all you ¨regular¨blog checkers, I am sorry. The sibs were in town last week and so I did not make it to the internet. We were too busy taking underwater photos and trying to find cheap drinks (easier said than done, trust me!). I almost didn´t come to the internet today in efforts to save 1 mil, but being faced with the option of checking e-mails and facebook or staying in the classroom and working, I chose to splurge.
Teaching has gotten a lot better (keep praying that it stays that way) due to the bribing I have been doing with the school supplies sent down by SSJ´s fifth grade class (now sixth grade!). Thank you again! I did have to break up two fist fights yesterday, though. I think there must have been a full moon or something. I had two second graders (a girl and a boy) get into it as I was walking out the door at the end of class. They were pretty easy to break up because they were young. Later that day, I had two sixth grade boys get into it, throwing desks and everything. I was a little less willing to get in the middle of that one, but I ended up not getting hurt so all is good. Things are always interesting...
Rebeca, Jenny, Luis and I have been making jewelry the past couple of nights. My sibs brought down a bunch of beads and my host siblings love it. After dinner, we sit around the kitchen table and make all sorts of things. They are really cute too, because they always ask me if some color combination is ugly or not before they actually start stringing the beads.
Tomorrow is Friday and I am looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend at the beach (hopefully no rain). I hope everyone has had a great first couple of weeks of summer! I love hearing from you so please keep commenting! Chaoito!
Teaching has gotten a lot better (keep praying that it stays that way) due to the bribing I have been doing with the school supplies sent down by SSJ´s fifth grade class (now sixth grade!). Thank you again! I did have to break up two fist fights yesterday, though. I think there must have been a full moon or something. I had two second graders (a girl and a boy) get into it as I was walking out the door at the end of class. They were pretty easy to break up because they were young. Later that day, I had two sixth grade boys get into it, throwing desks and everything. I was a little less willing to get in the middle of that one, but I ended up not getting hurt so all is good. Things are always interesting...
Rebeca, Jenny, Luis and I have been making jewelry the past couple of nights. My sibs brought down a bunch of beads and my host siblings love it. After dinner, we sit around the kitchen table and make all sorts of things. They are really cute too, because they always ask me if some color combination is ugly or not before they actually start stringing the beads.
Tomorrow is Friday and I am looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend at the beach (hopefully no rain). I hope everyone has had a great first couple of weeks of summer! I love hearing from you so please keep commenting! Chaoito!
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