Week two is in the books and here I sit asking myself, "How does time go by so quickly?" This week I met a handful of people in many different places, all of whom have shown such wonderful hospitality and interest in what makes me, me. From surprise parties, to the whole staff at Los Geranios (yes, I do mean every single person who works at our school all in one room), to people Papi runs into at the super market, each person I have met this week has touched my heart and welcomed me to Costa Rica as if it's still my first day here.
Similar to last week, I spent my days at the Libreria. Seeing as this past week was the final week before school starts officially, many teachers were out and about preparing for the new school year. That being said, the Libreria was constantly filled with teachers, professors, and principals in need of copies of exams, worksheets, and books. SO MANY BOOKS. It's very normal for professors to have the texts they are using in their classrooms to be made via photocopy instead of having multiple copies of the actual text. It's also very normal for them to need about 50 copies all at one time too; let's just say Lindsay and I were very busy communicating with professors all week long. It was very heart-warming to hear about why they were choosing these books for their curriculum though; it was obvious their passion for teaching was used to make these decisions.
Amongst the books, I was able to help out a seventh grade teacher create and prepare his English exams for his students too. Of course I was all for it, especially since the material included was similar to what I may be teaching at my school! I loved seeing what level the students should be at in regards to their English knowledge as of seventh grade and it was fun to proofread the exams as well (is that weird?).
As I mentioned before, the people of Costa Rica are incredibly hospitable. Below is the group of people Lindsay and I worked with during the past two weeks. Everyone was so excited to help us with our Spanish and they even learned some English too! Andre and Diego, pictured below, caught on to some phrases quite quickly; "Ready!", "More books!", and "Brittani...Spears" were the most used. They thought the Brittani Spears one was so hilarious, I'll let you be the judge of that one!
Amongst the books, I was able to help out a seventh grade teacher create and prepare his English exams for his students too. Of course I was all for it, especially since the material included was similar to what I may be teaching at my school! I loved seeing what level the students should be at in regards to their English knowledge as of seventh grade and it was fun to proofread the exams as well (is that weird?).
As I mentioned before, the people of Costa Rica are incredibly hospitable. Below is the group of people Lindsay and I worked with during the past two weeks. Everyone was so excited to help us with our Spanish and they even learned some English too! Andre and Diego, pictured below, caught on to some phrases quite quickly; "Ready!", "More books!", and "Brittani...Spears" were the most used. They thought the Brittani Spears one was so hilarious, I'll let you be the judge of that one!
Friday was very exciting for me because I officially met the teacher I will be working with during my time at Los Geranios! The school is absolutely beautiful, better than I could have imagined. It's very open, full of different fruit trees, and covered in murals. We were able to see the different classrooms, meet the cooks, and then to our surprise, the ENTIRE STAFF at once. I'm not going to lie, it was a bit overwhelming to stand in front of a group of teachers who speak Spanish at 100 miles per hour, but I think Lindsay and I handled ourselves to the best of our abilities! Everyone was smiling and really excited to meet us. At one point the whole room was saying my name multiple times, it's a pretty hard name to pronounce here (thanks Mom and Dad), but once they finally said it correctly, the whole room started cheering. What a first impression, memorable I suppose!
Saturday was spent out in the sun at La Habana. It's a local pool for families in the area and it's super cheap (my bank account was happy). We arrived at La Habana around 10:00 am and didn't take the bus back home until about 3:30-4:00 pm. It felt so nice to relax after a long week!
On Sunday, Mami invited us to attend a surprise party for someone she goes to church with. Lindsay and I were excited to go because who doesn't like a surprise party! When we arrived at the house, again everyone was welcoming and making sure Lindsay and I felt like a part of the family. I'm telling you, I feel like I have multiple families here and it's pretty great.
There were a bunch of kids at the party too, which of course I played with because I'm a kid at heart. Lindsay and I played Twister as well as other yard games similar to ones in the U.S. I think my favorite part was sharing games from the U.S. with the kids, they were so eager to learn new games to play. I also threw some FYE activities into the mix as well (shoutout to the LSE office for those) and the kids loved them. My competitive side did come out a little bit, especially during our game of Tug of War. We used people instead of a rope (you should have seen my face when one girl explained that to me- I was very confused and concerned for my safety), but we won! There were some falls, but it proved for a good laugh at the end of the day.
There were a bunch of kids at the party too, which of course I played with because I'm a kid at heart. Lindsay and I played Twister as well as other yard games similar to ones in the U.S. I think my favorite part was sharing games from the U.S. with the kids, they were so eager to learn new games to play. I also threw some FYE activities into the mix as well (shoutout to the LSE office for those) and the kids loved them. My competitive side did come out a little bit, especially during our game of Tug of War. We used people instead of a rope (you should have seen my face when one girl explained that to me- I was very confused and concerned for my safety), but we won! There were some falls, but it proved for a good laugh at the end of the day.
Ending my Sunday with the Superbowl was just what I needed. It was basically all in Spanish, but it really didn't matter to me. The little things like American football and texting my family during it made me so happy. Marito, one of Mami and Papi's sons, wanted the Panthers to win so there was some friendly disagreement in the house, it was great. I think the best part of it all was hearing the different terms for the calls in Spanish; a "sack" was called "captura" aka a capture of the quarterback. Makes sense, right? Lindsay and I got a kick out of that one.
Because of political elections, Monday is a day off for everyone in Costa Rica. It was entertaining to see all the candidates campaigning yesterday, especially when their supporters would drive around in their cars blasting announcements and waving flags representing who they wanted to win. I spent the day mostly preparing for the first day of school and hung out with Papi's family (I'm telling you, I feel like I have a family everywhere I go!). I'm already looking forward to blogging next Sunday because I'm positive there will be loads to tell each of you about teaching during this upcoming week!
Because of political elections, Monday is a day off for everyone in Costa Rica. It was entertaining to see all the candidates campaigning yesterday, especially when their supporters would drive around in their cars blasting announcements and waving flags representing who they wanted to win. I spent the day mostly preparing for the first day of school and hung out with Papi's family (I'm telling you, I feel like I have a family everywhere I go!). I'm already looking forward to blogging next Sunday because I'm positive there will be loads to tell each of you about teaching during this upcoming week!
"Be brave. Take Risks. Nothing can substitute experience."