¡Sopresa!

On Wednesday, Papi brought us to their farm, which Ines (our sister) named “Mariposa” when she was a little girl. It was absolutely beautiful! He gutted an old bus and made a bathroom inside and bedroom so it’s like a little house. By the bus, he also has a table and chairs that he made with his marble/stone and some chairs are simply big rocks. He’s so creative! We even got to catch some fireflies in a jar when it got darker outside! Papi said that they would come at 6:05 and he hit it right on the dot! I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera…definitely a magical place.

Thursday Sarah and I went on an adventure to Cahuita, which is on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. We ended up taking the wrong bus about an hour and a half in the wrong direction (unfortunately I brought my directional capabilities with me to Costa Rica haha), but we made it there before dark! It’s such a relaxing place and was just what we needed for a last adventure in this amazing country. The hostel we stayed at was adorable…a colorful little bungalow with a hammock in front that is owned by a very friendly Swiss lady, Brigitte. We also went to the Cahuita National Park and got to see monkeys, crabs, birds, and a few other animals in their natural habitats, which was really fun! We ended our trip with a whole lot of reggae music and some fun on the beach. Living the rasta vida!

Our Bungalow :)

Sunny on our last day!

Easter Sunday was by far the best Easter I have ever had. We got up early to go to church for 5…I love seeing Guácimo start to wake up in the morning. It’s so pretty to watch the sun spread light on the town. I knew church would be tough, because it was our last Sunday here and everyone there has been so welcoming supportive of us literally since our first day here. Sarah and I have definitely made a lot of friendships that will last. Mami stood up front and gave her little schpeel about us leaving. A whole lot of “See you later!”’s later we made our way out and back home.

Surprise! Tres leches cake is the best :)

After church, our cousin Xiomara came to pick us up to show us her house in Guapiles. She primarily lives in the San Jose area, but lives here on weekends. She has a beautiful home, but we didn’t realize this was all a distraction. After driving all around Guácimo, we finally got home for our family lunch and there was a lot more than just family waiting. Mami and Papi threw us a surprise going away party and the majority of our friends and family were all there!! Sarah and I were so taken aback. We have been so blessed with our support system here and at home. I honestly could not have asked for a better second family. Mami and Papi have treated us as if we were truly their daughters from the get go and their extended family and friends have done the same, too.

Our beautiful family..just missing a couple! :)

Classroom management has been like a 180 for me in the past week. Many thanks to Miss Amy LaCrosse for coming to my rescue with some simple strategies! I had my kids write down something that they wanted to work for (day to wear normal clothes to school, class without shoes on, bring something to share with the class, etc.) and told them that they would be able to earn one star each day. After they earn five stars, they earn whatever they decided to work for. One of the boys didn’t earn his star yesterday and it was basically the end of the world, so he behaved a lot better today so he could get one. I think it’s funny how during my last week I finally got through to them. They are finally starting to realize that I need to go soon and they are making it ten times harder. I may have been placed in a very challenging class, but I still love them all the same. They find ways to sneak into your heart when you aren't looking. :)

Ricky Martin Said it Best...Livin' la Vida Loca!

Sorry for disappearing for about two weeks, but Sarah and I have been two busy gals! Here are some of the places we have been…

-       Student teaching full time (Yikes!)

-       Basilica of Los Angeles

-       Church ruins

-       Volcano

-       Waterfall

-       White Water Rafting (Ahhhhhh!)

-       Insane in the membrane…insane got no brain! *Name that movie!*

Karen and Carlos, Papi’s sister and brother-in-law, brought us on an adventure along with Papi! Sarah and I learned so much stuff, I wish I could remember all of it, but it helps by starting at the beginning. J We got up around 5 to leave for San Jose where Karen and Carlos picked us up to go to their home in Cartago. There, we had your typical LARGE Costa Rican breakfast with lots of yummy pan (bread), eggs, rice and beans, and yucca patties. After we ate our adventure began!

We started by walking around the basilica by their house, which was really cool because it had some stuff about the Virgin of Los Angeles. The legend has it that on the rock that the basilica holds, there was this doll that a little girl found and brought home, but it was gone the next day. When she went back to the rock, there it was! This went on for a little while, so she brought it to a priest and the same thing happened. He named this a sacred place, because of this and a church was eventually built there.

We also went to las Ruinas de la Iglesia Parroquial de Santiago Apostol—that was beautiful! It was supposed to be a church, but was never finished because an earthquake did a lot of damage. The inside was turned into a courtyard/garden type thing and we were lucky enough that it was open when we went!

Finally, we got to go to the Volcán Irazú! It is an inactive volcano in Cartago, which is (fun fact) also the highest point in Costa Rica! The climate and farming and…really everything is completely different there, so that was really interesting to see. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking on our way up. 

We knew we were getting close when our ears started popping more! We only went to one of the two craters, because the other crater was a long walk and not everyone was up for it. I honestly don’t have words to describe how gorgeous the crater we saw was. The pictures don’t do it justice! After this fabulous day, we finally got home a little before 9…needless to say we slept great! 

The next day, our good friend, Odie, brought us on a hike to a waterfall in la Perla. The hike was pretty muddy, because it had rained over the past two weeks in the area where we live, but that definitely made it interesting! After climbing down we reached some very refreshing water and had a great view of the waterfall. It was taller than the last one that we saw and super loud, too! While there, we talked about going white water rafting. Odie is a very animated person and may have exaggerated about the dangers a little bit, because I was slightly terrified, but Sarah and I agreed to give it a whirl! Who knows if we’ll ever make it back here…have to make the best of it!

White water rafting the next weekend was by far the most fun I think I’ve ever had in my life. We needed six people, so Odie, Sarah, and I teamed up with three men from Michigan (what a small world), who were really funny. The guy sitting behind me was the only person who fell out, but he was a good sport about it! When you’re going through rapids, it’s such a rush. Sarah and I have our mouths open with huge smiles in every single picture (they took over a hundred of them haha)! We got to lead our team, so we took the brunt of the splashes and stuff, which made it super exciting! Every time we made it through a rapid, our guide had us lift our paddles up together and yell, “Pura Vida”, which literally means “pure life” in Spanish. Here it is used all the time when people ask how you are, because it basically means life is good, and that’s the attitude this culture has. It’s so refreshing. I don’t even know how many waterfalls that we saw while we were on the river. All of them were huge and pretty. I even got to go under one! We were on the water for 3½-4 hours, so we were pretty pooped after…and slightly red. Gloria Ines, our sister has been calling us the “talking tomatoes” ever since. Mami has been the most amazing second mama Sarah and I could ask for (from the start). Every day she makes sure our sunburn is getting better and that we have some fresh aloe! Hopefully that passes soon! ;)    

¡Sí Podemos!

"Pura Vida!"

On Tuesday this week, Dr. Delano came to visit us at school! It was great to see her and be able to talk to someone about teaching and strategies and school in general. It was really cute because the kids kept trying to use their English with her and she asked us how to say things in Spanish to them sometimes, too.

Teaching full time has been a rewarding, challenging struggle every single day. I’ve really been struggling with classroom management. Respect is something that a lot of my students don’t understand, and it’s not just with me. It makes me sad, because I have so many fun lessons and activities I would like to do with them, but the teaching style is so different here that I can’t. As soon as we start doing something fun, I feel as if I lose total control, so I’ve only been doing pretty basic stuff lately. I made a bulletin board type thing on the wall to remind them that we are a class and how we can/should act, so I’m hoping that helps! Today I had them sit down and read a children's book (Thanks, Aunt Sue!) that had a focus on division and it was the first time I didn't have any problems getting them to listen to me, so that was an absolutely wonderful feeling! It was great being able to read to them, too, because that doesn't happen here. We're hoping to get them books so that changes! :) Until next time, Pura Vida!

Time to add some color to the walls! 

Nuestros Compañeros ~ Our Class

We respect each other! I have photographic proof! Haha

"Why can't you just live here forever?"

Every week at school it seems as if something eventful happens. Last week Tuesday was “un día deportivo” or a sports day. For about half of the day, the students were able to participate in activities held in the plaza led by George, the physical education instructor. Every grade had a different time to go so that there weren’t too many students there at once, but my class almost got cut short. Right before it was our turn to go to the plaza, a student in second grade stole about $40 out of his teacher’s wallet and ran away with it. I’m not sure what has been happening with that, but we did get to have our día deportivo eventually so the kids were happy. This is what we did…

Time to get our "brincar" on! (Hop)

Hopping in a bag is harder then it looks...

Eventually they resorted to crawling haha

Relay with big people clothes :)

I quickly learned they had great balance...
and they learned that I don't! :)

We ended by playing fútbol! Ticos love their soccer!

Jordan and Sharon have become two very special people in our lives. They invited us to their home shortly after we began student teaching, because Sarah is in Jordan’s classroom. We didn’t realize they meant we could stay the night, so they were very disappointed when we told them we couldn’t have a sleepover the first time we visited! We ended up staying there until dark and had a great time. It truly amazes me how hospitable people can be when they have close to nothing. A neighbor broke into their home last year and cleaned them out, so their mom has been working hard to get things back to normal. Their family is so kind and giving. Since then, we’ve gone over to help the kids with homework and to play at the park. They have the most infectious smiles and giving hearts. Whenever we are there we can feel the love in the room and that is something no amount of money can buy.  

Jordan always makes sure we have "café"
or "refresco" when we visit!

They are so silly sometimes, but everyone needs a little silly in their life! This is after we were dancing all over the living room. As you can see, Jordan is definitely a character. :) The last time that we visited they asked us why we couldn't live in Gúacimo forever. Try explaining that to an 8 and 10 year old! Their family will definitely be one of our harder goodbyes when we leave. They were so welcoming from the start!     

Tica Time

The weekend before last weekend, Sarah and I were surprised by a visit from Xiomara and Marlon, our “primos” (cousins). Saturday we thought we were going to have a lazy day, but they brought us to a mountain to go hiking, which was SO much fun. We made it to a waterfall eventually and it was absolutely gorgeous. Marlon used his machete to cut through a lot of stuff…so we took the road less traveled this go 'round! They are so much fun to be around and as Mami and Papi said, very "Pura Vida". 

On Sunday they picked us up early and brought us to a restaurant called “El Primo” (How ironic, right?) where we tried our very first café con leche in Costa Rica. They aren’t kidding about the coffee here—it’s amazing! We adventured all around the province of Limón throughout the day from the indigenous reservation all the way to the beach in Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean. We were even in Panama for a spell and Central Limón where we got to see the island that good ol' Christopher Columbus stumbled upon back in the day! Needless to say we had a fantastic day and finally made it into the water! I don’t even have words for how beautiful it was! So blue and so clean and so salty!

Last weekend, Sarah and I ventured into San Jose and had a great day! We stumbled upon a used book store and I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was! It was the first store with books we've seen since coming here. Sunday we had a surprise birthday party for Shirley, Papi’s sister. She had no idea!! I don’t think I have ever been in a room filled with so much love in my life. You could actually feel it in the room. Papi was telling stories about her life and one of her other brothers was singing her songs. Of course there was singing and dancing cause it wouldn’t be a party in Costa Rica without that (or the piñata). You have to watch the video of Papi cause he still has some pretty nifty moves! I'll have to try uploading it again soon.

Shirley being greeted as she walked in! :)

It felt so good to finally teach! I’ve been teaching math here and there and the kids love it, because I’ve been using games a lot more than the chalkboard. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from my teacher, too, which makes me feel better because I have been using a totally different method than what the school uses. Teaching in Spanish and having a conversation in Spanish are definitely two completely different things, so one of my goals for this week is to become more confident in front of the classroom by preparing what I'm going to say and practicing. There are so many words that are unique to a Spanish speaking country, but my teacher and the kids have been extremely patient and aren't afraid to teach me the words that they use for things, so I'm thankful for that. One of the parents last week told Sarah and I we could pass for Ticas (Costa Ricans), which is a great compliment! We must be doing something right! :)  

These are a few of my kids at recess.
They love drawing and this basically sums up their personalities!

Week 1

After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime, Sarah and I FINALLY got to go to school this week! This is the view from our house when we leave in the morning. :)

I am in fourth grade at La Escuela de Excelencia los Geranios where I almost instantly fell in love with 22 children in such a short time. Each of my students already has a special place in my heart. Sarah hit it spot on when she said this is closest we'll ever be to famous. The second I step out of my room there is a circle around me of children of all ages. I love their curiosity, but sometimes they ask questions at the same time and they're super excited, so I have to remind them that I'm still learning so they have to talk one at a time and S-L-O-W-L-Y! haha "What's the United States like?" Well the United States is a really big country, so every state is different. There is a lot of snow where I live, though. "WHOA! What's snow like? Is it really cold?" Snow is amazing AND so much fun to play in (yes, I miss snow) and it's under zero degrees sometimes! "WHOA! What kind of stuff do you play? Is it pretty? Have you ever been to Nueva York (New York)? Have you ever been to Miami? Do you have kids? Are you married? Are you 26? (That one cracked me up. Such a random number!) Why aren't you married? Do you have a boyfriend? Is he in the United States?..." I could fill this whole page up with their questions, but you get the picture. It's adorable. 

We needed a "First Day of School" picture! Sarah and I were so nervous going in, because we knew that a lot of things would be different and we didn't know where anything was besides our classroom. I hadn't even met my teacher yet! Like I said, the kids are phenomenal. They are so caring along with their curiosity. We are constantly being given stickers, cookies, and even a rice tortilla thing one time. My teacher is really nice, too. I haven't gotten to talk to her too much yet, though, because she is sick with dengue fever (that's honestly my biggest fear here, because I'm covered in mosquito bites). How the school day goes is totally different from what we're used to, but it is a different culture so I knew it would be. I just feel so bad for the kids because there isn't very much interaction.

On a normal school day, the teachers arrive ten minutes before school and leave shortly after the children leave. The school must not have access to resources, because my walls are bare in my classroom. In the corner by the window there is a map of Costa Rica and some plants, but that's about it. What really breaks my heart is that I have yet to see a book that isn't the teacher's edition of some textbook. They don't teach reading or writing until high school from what I understand.That really 

surprised me, because that's 

what we focus on at home. 

During the school day, there are four 80 minute blocks with a break in between each. They eat lunch in ten minutes and aren't able to talk during that time, which I thought was very interesting. In class, the teacher copies things from the textbook onto the chalkboard and the students copy it. Some is information and some of it is questions to answer. This breaks my heart. They are in 4th grade and they are learning like I did when I was in high school.

I have been helping one of my girls with writing things from the board, because her right arm is broken. She couldn't figure out how to subtact 8 from 17 without writing 17 marks and subtracting 8, so I tried to show her the 9 thing, but that didn't work, so I showed her how to count up. The look on her face reminded me why I'm here. I want to be a teacher and I can't wait, all because of that light bulb look. What broke my heart is how serious she was when she 

thanked me for explaining 

how to do it, because 

no one took the 

time to before. 

Now I am going to leave you all with a little song that I like to call "A Tooty Ta". For those of you who don't know it, it's super fun to do in preschool, but I think it's even more fun to do in fourth grade. My kids are OBSESSED with it and it's so cute when they say the words in English, because none of them know more than the basic hello, goodbye, my name is...kind of thing. Yesterday, they started doing the dance with me, too. It's been in my head for two days now, so I apologize if you join me! Until next time, hasta luego amigos!

La Iglesia ~ The Church

We went to church for the first time today and it was very different, but a great experience. I knew that there would be a few differences because La Iglesia Fuente de Vida (The Church Source of Life) is an Evangelical church and I have never been to that type of church before (and I’m kind of in Costa Rica, too, so I figured that may make it a little different…language barrier, traditions, and stuff like that you know).  I honestly don’t even know how to describe the passion that filled the little church we were in. The only service of the day was at 9am and began with a long prayer thanking God for all of the blessings he has given us. There was usually music playing in the background during prayers throughout the service, too. In between parts of the prayer, we sang some songs, which I really enjoyed because the words were on a screen and lit up like at karaoke, so I knew what to do and understood everything! J The pictures they showed on the screen during that time were incredible. There was this one of Jesus holding out his hands to the world with a lot of little people—gave me Goosebumps! People were literally jumping up and down and clapping, shouting and cheering for Jesus. I had never seen anything like it before; it was extremely moving. When I think of church it’s usually a pretty strict, quiet setting. This was like a combination of a bible study and church service in a way.

After the prayers and singing were done, the pastor came up and did a greeting. He had all the people with birthdays in the end of January and beginning of February come up front, so naturally I sunk down a little bit in my chair until I was told to go up front. It was pretty special because he said a prayer/blessing for all of the people. For the offering, two adults and a little girl stood up front. The adults had treasure chests and the little girl had a basket. Everyone went up at once and the children put their offerings in the little girl’s basket, while everyone else brought their offering to the treasure chests. I thought that was pretty cool, and definitely different than what my church does. Afterwards, the Sunday school teacher came up with the children that were 6 or under (they start kindergarten at 7 here) and they showed the video below and sang the song with actions (absolutely adorable)! It was time for them to go to Sunday school and the pastor to do the sermon, which was a little difficult to follow for me, but I still think I got a lot out of it.

For communion, everyone went up to the front of the church and stood around a table that had the bread and wine, which was then passed out. The bread was not unleavened and I think the wine was grape juice, so that was a little different. When the children got back, the pastor had everyone come up who is going to be in school starting tomorrow (the beginning of their school year), so Sarah and I were summoned of course. The prayer was very personal and special, though. When everyone sat down, the pastor said a long prayer to end the service. People began by sitting, some stood up, some kneeled down, and many ended up going to the front of the church. There were so many tears and so much love and emotion in the room, I can’t even describe it. The people in that congregation have so much love for each other and passion about life and God. A large portion of the service was prayer, but you could tell they were truly coming from the heart of whomever was speaking. It was really refreshing, but got to be a little long because the service didn’t end until a little after noon.      

Just Keep Swimming

After being here for two weeks, Sarah and I have yet to do what we came here for. We simply just want to teach!! We have been volunteering by helping schools and a day care get ready for the new school year (school begins the first week in February for children in Costa Rica). Throughout the last couple weeks, it has been crucial to keep thinking positively, but it hasn't always been easy! I have been looking to this picture as a reminder, because it is very true. Even though we haven't been in a school yet, my Spanish has definitely improved and Sarah and I have learned a lot about the culture.

 

Just so you have an idea of the type of home I'm in, this is Mami playing with our dinner! :) She has such a free, loving spirit (great cook, too!).

This is our beautiful home! All of the houses here are so unique! You can see a volcano and the mountains from the terrace and it's absolutely gorgeous.

                     

This is the Caribbean side of Costa Rica in Puerto Viejo. It is absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately kind of far from where we are! The sand is even black at la Playa Negra!