RCOE International Student Teaching Spring 08

After traveling around Costa Rica for a couple of days, it was hard to get back into the mind set of teaching again. For the past couple of days, Torrey, Megan, Kendall, Lauren, and I have gone to Arenal, Monteverde, and Mai Pais. On Sunday, we began our adventure to Nicoya and might I add that it was quite the adventure. Let’s just say it was ´team building!´

For the next five weeks, I will be living with Karla. I also have the opportunity to work with her at school. Torrey and I are working with her teaching the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders English. Each grade has about 20 students in it. The first day was a little rough. Even though I have been here for about 5 days, yesterday was the first time that the language barrier really hit. The day was also cut short because the faculty had to meet for a couple of hours. We were only able to meet with the 6th graders.

The four other student teachers and I walked to the center of town and explored. After the second day of school (today), I felt much better. We spend the entire day at school, but we were only able to meet with the 4th and 6th graders because there was an assembly during the time we were supposed to meet with the 5th. The high school English teacher gave me, Torrey, and Kendall Spanish lessons today. I hope to have these each day. I can already tell that it has made a difference!

The school is wonderful. The classrooms are all in buildings, but they are very open. Guess it needs to be since it is so hot! There is a wonderful cafeteria. The cook cooks everything fresh and served hot! Empanadas have become my new favorite food!
I look forward to what the next the five weeks will bring!

**The following pictures are of our travels before coming to Nicoya!

The first week and a half in Costa Rica has been wonderful. When Megan, Lauren and I first arrived at the Liberia airport we were quite overwhelmed, but we have since managed to make our way all around Costa Rica. Before arriving in Nicoya for some actual work we vacationed for a week in various places. We´ve visited the hot springs, ziplined through the rainforest twice, ridden horses, and, my personal favorite, repelled down five waterfalls while in Monteverde. We have been in several different climates from a chilly cloud forest to the beautiful ¨mucho colour¨ beach of Malpais.

I also thought I would lose some weight while in the heat of Costa Rica-wrong! The food is the best I´ve ever had. Arroz con camarones, rice with shrimp is awesome! After such a great vacation with my five new friends, we arrived in Nicoya not without a few adventures along the way. Let´s just say all five of us are well known in Nicoya after riding in a police truck to Karla´s house. Not to worry, we were not in trouble!

Monday was our first day at San Ambrosia School. I´m working with 7th, 8th and 9th graders teaching English three days a week, and I work the two other days teaching science. There will also be times when I spend the day working with the National Forestry Service. I´m really excited about working with them.

The students are great at San Ambrosia and my ninth graders speak English very well. The school itself is open air; its great being outside all day. I work with an English teacher named Harold, who is currently working to teach me Spanish.It's coming along well. I´m working with Diego on an environmental project for my students. Diego doesn´t speak any English so much of my time with him is spent in the English-Spanish dictionary. The kids are so helpful in translating things for us!

Marley and I are living with Karla. We are enjoying are experience with her. Once again we´ve had great food and we even have a mango tree in the back yard. I´m looking forward to everything the next four and a half weeks have in store! Pura Vida!

I am in Costa Rica. It took awhile for me to finally realize this! It seems so unreal. I am beyond thrilled! We arrived in Liberia two Saturdays ago and traveled around the country for an entire week before coming to Nicoya. We visited Volcan Arenal where I saw real lava. We did a zipline tour, horseback riding, and a visit to the natural hot springs.

We stayed at an amazing hotel with fabulous views of the volcano and walking trails where we got to see monkeys and relax in hammocks in the shade. Then, we were off to Monteverde where we did another zipline tour and repelled down waterfalls! What an incredible experience! We spent our final vacation day on the beach at beautiful Malpais and realized that we were beginning to learn some of the Tico culture, but we are certainly no experts. This country is so full of life both in nature and in the people´s culture. We were fortunate to meet many wonderful people, who have helped us find our way and experience true Tico experiences.

Now, we are in Nicoya. It was nice to unpack and find my new home here. My family is wonderful. They are such caring and gracious people. They encourage me to speak in Spanish even though they speak English very well. This is probably for the best, but it is very challenging.

I have already tried many new foods, including marañon, the fruit of the cashew. I am beginning to adjust to the differences in lifestyle and culture. I enjoy learning all about this country and its people. San Ambrosia school is a great place with such enthusiastic children. I get abrazos (hugs) and besitos (kisses) everyday, all day long!

Lauren and I are working with Pre-Kindergarten through third grade. It is a busy schedule but it is interesting to work with such diverse age groups. We sing lots of songs in the younger grades. It is inevitable that one of them is stuck in my head by the end of the day, so I will never be able to forget my days of the week, colors, numbers, or body parts! Even with so many grade levels and students, I am starting to learn names. This is a big step for me and I hope I am able to get them soon because I want to make sure all the students know how important they are. I look forward to planning and teaching some of the activities for my students and continuing to learn about this educational system.

Today we went to the university and were welcomed with much kindness and generosity. We met the dean of the college and talked with some of the students. We were given a tour of the campus and learned much about the history of the city of Nicoya. I am excited to continue learning about Costa Rica and especially about Nicoya!

¡Pura Vida!

Well, it's been a week as of today, and so far it has been wonderful and interesting. The first 4 days here we traveled around and went to Monteverde and Malpais. It was so great to travel together and everything was so beautiful. We met some really interesting people and had some excellent adventures.

We arrived into Nicoya Sunday and continued to have our interesting adventures! I´ll just say that we are familiar with the local police! Don´t worry, we did not do anything illegal, we just needed some directional guidance which resulted in an escort!

I met my family Sunday night and immediately fell it love with them. They are a beautiful and welcoming family. I live with my mom and dad and then a 12 year old sister and my 9 year old brother. They speak very little English and I speak very little Spanish so it has been interesting. It gets better every day, though. I am sharing a room with my sister and becoming completely spoiled by my mom's amazing cooking. My mom teaches the local spin classes, and I have been going to them and she is definitely outdoing me!

It is really hard at times living with strangers that I can barely communicate with. It is a very lonely feeling at times. I do not feel like a stranger, though, and they are absolutely incredible and we actually have a whole lot in common.

As for the school, it is very much like I expected. I am teaching 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. The younger grades are much more wild but all of the students are wonderful. they are so respectful and excited to be in school. That is the biggest difference between them and my American students. We have started to get to know the students and work with them in some fun ways. We are traveling this weekend, and I am really excited for that! Overall, the past week has been intimidating, scary, but wonderful. I am excited to see what happens next.

It has now been a week since we’ve arrived here in Nicoya and so much has happened! It feels like we’ve been here so much longer because I’m used to the daily routine! Working at San Ambrosia is so different from US schools but so exciting. It’s so funny to hear “Teacher,… Teacher” all the time. That is what the students call us. During the lunch period, Torrey and I play basketball with our sixth graders. We started that last Tuesday and will probably keep doing it until we leave. There is a lady who cooks all of the food at San Ambrosia, and it is DELICIOUS!

At the end of last week, the fourth grade class made models of the Solar System. The students were split into five groups and then colored the planets and posted them on poster board. They really seemed to enjoy doing this.

Friday was my favorite day! The whole school had Field Day! It was basically “Track and Field” Day because it was all based around a track meet. The students were really excited about doing this. We, the student teachers, had to do a couple of relays. We won some and lost some! I am glad that we had the chance to take part in this activity.

Karla has a life long friend/ parent at the school/ guy who drives us to school/ big supporter of the English program at San Ambrosia who has a house on Playa Samara. She asked him if we could go there for the weekend and he said yes! So, once Friday afternoon rolled around, we were all headed to the bus station. Karla had to stay in Nicoya until Saturday, but Lauren’s “mom” came with us.

Playa Samara is about an hour bus ride from Nicoya and is a gorgeous beach! Once we arrived there, we walked on the beach to the house. It took us about 30 minutes to find, but once we walked up to the beach, all of our jaws dropped. We were going to be staying literally on the beach! As the weekend went on, we saw lots of horses running on the beach, lots of big waves, and beautiful sunsets. We even saw a couple of bulls running down the beach.

I finally found a perfect spot to hang my hammock, but it took a toll on my body when I was trying to hang it. I had the opportunity to literally slide down a palm tree trunk while doing so! FYI… it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Torrey and I have decided that Playa Samara is the best beach to run on! I know that we are all grateful for having the chance to come to this beach house!

It’s Monday morning of our second week here and I am excited to see what week two will bring!

*the following pictures are of this past week...

After a glorious weekend enjoying the sandy beaches of beautiful Playa Samara, our second week of teaching is underway. It was great to get back and see the kids even though the hugs weren´t great for my ridiculous sun burn-- I promise I wore sunscreen.

The language barrier is definitely getting easier. I was able to communicate with my family quite well the past few days and the students also. I am excited because we are getting to know our students and doing some fun activities with them. We are talking about the solar system with two of the classes and then about animal habitats with the other one. I´m learning that a lot of teaching English is about pronunciation, which is funny because that is the hardest part of Spanish for me!

I am excited about Spanish class this week, and we have also been getting a great deal of help from the teachers at the school and Karla.

Nicoya is becoming more familiar to me as well. I think I can find my way home from just about anywhere now! I am excited to see what the rest of the week has in store!

Beautiful Playa Samara-

6th grade girls with their medals from sports days-

There are no words to describe this past week. I love this country and I have already learned so much from in the short time I have been here. Kendall, Megan, and I arrived in Liberia, CR on Saturday, March 22nd without knowing how truly incredible our next week of traveling would be.

From the time we stepped off the time to the time we arrived in Nicoya we experienced adventure. We were lucky enough to visit the Arenal Volcano, the rain forest in Monte Verde and relax on the beach in the beautiful Mal Pais. The language barrier never seemed to be much of problem because the people in CR are more than helpful and are always willing to endure some pretty butchered Spanish.

We met Marley and Torrey in Monte Verde and might I add that we are quite a crew. We were able to explore the rain forest above the trees on a zip line and repel down six waterfalls all in one day. I knew that our adventures had only just begun because we still have five more weeks to be in this beautiful country.

After leaving Mal Pais on Saturday we arrived in Nicoya with our packs and a familiar name. After riding in a Costa Rican police car and exchanging a few names we made it to Carla's house. I was the first to get picked up by my family and I knew I was in for a treat. They have been feeding me the best food, and because they do not speak any English my Spanish skills have been improving daily. Meeting my family made me a little nervous but after the first two nights they have made me feel at home. I live with Anna a former teacher at San Ambrosio, her parents and her two nephews. My family knows how to cook and have a good time and I honestly already feel at home here. They have been so helpful and speak to me very slowly so I can always feel a part of their conversations.

I am teaching English at San Ambrosio to pre-K through 3rd students. I am finding that it is a lot harder than I once thought to teach English but I am enjoying every moment. The children at this school are the most loving kids and not a moment goes by that one is not holding my hand or calling me teacher. I am looking forward to watching these kids grow in the English speaking skills. I have a feeling that I will be learning just as much from them as they are from me.

Here are some other important notes that describe why Costa Rica is so amazing.
-Rice and beans or arroz con pollo
-Milkshakes
-Beautiful people
-Spanish
-The soda or cafeteria at school
-Chikis the most amazing cookies in the world!
-Air Conditioned Internet Cafe´s

Week Dos in Costa Rica!

I can hardly believe it. Nicoya is starting to feel more like home each day. Simple tasks such as ordering food, milkshakes, going to the bank or using the internet cafe are becoming easier. My family is still blowing my mind with the amount of food they make me and how delicious it is. I am feeling more comfortable talking to my family and I can definitely see an improvement in my Spanish speaking skills. I still love this place and I have already decided that I am not going to be able to stay away from CR for long.

Megan and I are still settling in with our cooperating teacher and getting to know our students. We will be starting different projects with our first, second, and third graders to help them with vocabulary and other connections. We have been singing a lot of fun songs and learning to speak slowly so our students can understand us clearly. The children at San Abrosio are so willing to learn making my job quite easy. It is so exciting to hear my students say, "Good Morning, Teacher" to me everyday in English. There are improvements and learning experiences taking place daily at San Ambrosio.

This weekend the five of us, Karla and my mom Anna traveled to Playa Samara. We stayed at a beach house right on the water. The was unlike anything I have ever seen before. The water was beautiful and town was fabulous. Although it was quaint, I believe this was the best way to unwind after a busy first week. I am sure there will be more adventures to come!

Another note about why CR is amazing.
Empanadas! Period.

Part two from Costa Rica.

After a tiring, yet wonderful first week of school we spend the weekend playing on the beautiful beaches in Samara. Samara was quaint little town about an hour from Nicoya. We rode horses to a sea turtle reservation in Bueno Vista- it was really a neat thing to experience.

School at San Ambrosia has gone over without a hitch so far. It does take some adjusting from the strict schedule back in The States to feeling productive in the oh-so-relaxed environment we are currently teaching in.

I have a different experience from everyone else, considering I´m working with three different teachers/park personnel. Usually three days a week I´m teaching English with Harold to 7th, 8th and 9th graders. This was a little difficult for me at first, because I´m used to teaching science, which is in no fashion related to how to teach English to native Spanish speakers.

The students seem to enjoy it more when I teach English, as they teach me Spanish. The students typically work from a book and proceed through the units as they are planned out through the book. At first it was really odd not to be teaching to meet objectives from a North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

I´m also working on a school environment project with Diego, who is a science/environmental teacher at San Ambrosia. This has been difficult in that he doesn´t speak English and I´m not quite there yet with Spanish. Hopefully, we can establish some type of recycle program for the school--we´ll see! He currently has a gardening and composting project in place, and I will assist with these.

Today was my first day working with the National Park Service. Anna and Andres are the people I will be working with. It all started with a walk to town at 6:00AM, where they picked me up. We drove through the country picking up students at three small schools outside of Nicoya. We took them to Palo Verde, which is on the Tempisque River.

For about four hours we identified different birds, including the Jabiru, a stork that is on the brink of extinction. It´s actually one of the largest storks in the world. Anna and Andres were very excited to see four juveniles considering it takes almost an entire year for offspring to develop to the point they can leave the nest (nido in Spanish). Andres also told me in broken English that this was a minor miracle to have four offspring from one nest.

We observed other wildlife including crocodiles, hogs, lizards, fish not to mention a massive amounts of bugs. And, I got to see my third monkey on the way home. The students were all very interested and engaged throughout the trip. I wish students back home could have these experiences, which would, without a doubt, help to promote science and environmental awareness as well appreciation for nature as it we know it today. I´m really, really excited about more opportunities to work the Costa Rica Park Service.

Picture from the top of a mountain in Palo Verde from my day with the Park Service.

Crocodile in Palo Verde!

It is now the middle of week two, and I am beginning to learn the routine of the classrooms. Lauren and I have started to work with the students on activities that our cooperating teacher, Edith, has given us, as well as some projects that we have created ourselves.

We are now working with only first, second, and third graders. I´m looking forward to being able to focus more time and attention to these students. I didn´t realize what a challenge it is to have so many different classes, since I´m used to having just one class all day long! I am very excited to feel that I am having an impact on the lives of these kids. They are amazing and so much fun; they are constantly smiling and always happy (or at least most of the time; they are still kids of course).

They have started to realize that if they want me to understand what they are saying, they must speak very slowly, and I am actually beginning to be able to understand them. This is a huge accomplishment for me! And, by the way, the food in the cafeteria is absolutely incredible. I never knew I could love rice and beans so much or that it could be made in so many different ways!

I am also adjusting well to family life. My parents are very supportive and care very much about my well being. They are always asking to make sure I am okay. It´s nice to know that I have such wonderful people to fall back on. I went to English class with my mom on Monday night and met her teacher and friends at the university. It was a very interesting experience to see my language being taught in that environment. My mom and everyone there spoke very good English. I was amazed and a little embarrassed at the small amount of Spanish that I speak in comparison. We went to Burger King for dinner afterwards and while eating we watched Seinfeld in English with Spanish subtitles, a night in tribute to the United States!

My only little, tiny complaint is the heat. It is hot! But, somehow I feel like I´m actually getting used to it. I never thought I would be able to say that! I think I might even miss it when I go back to the U.S. because then I won´t have a good excuse for ice cream anymore!

We have just completed our third week of student teaching down here in Costa Rica. This third week was filled with excitement. We had a holiday from school on Monday, Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye arrived in Nicoya, Kendall’s birthday, Karla’s graduation, and Dr. Frye’s presentation at the university.
To start the week off, we had a relaxing day on Monday because Costa Rica was celebrating the Battle of Rivas. This is kind of like an independence day for Costa Rica. They were celebrating the fact that they fought off the invasion of William Walker, who was from Tennessee.
On Tuesday, Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye arrived in Nicoya. We went out to eat at a Nicaraguan restaurant. It was delicious. While we were at dinner, we met two American teachers from San Diego. They had taken a semester off from teaching to travel around Central America. One was a first grade teacher and the other was an eighth grade history teacher. It was exciting to meet other American teachers down in Costa Rica. They shared lots of interesting stories.
Wednesday was filled with excitement! Kendall turned 23!  We had a regular day at school. By the end of the day, I think that all the students, in the school, had sung to Kendall! During our fourth grade class, Kendall walked in to talk to Karla. While she was talking to Karla, Torrey told them that it was Kendall´s birthday and to sing on the count of three. The look on Kendall´s face was priceless and the students loved to sing.

After school, Torrey and I went to town to find a piñata. Piñatas are very popular for birthdays in Costa Rica. For dinner, Karla made a delicious dinner with rice, beans, salsa, and pork! Rosy and Lauren´s mom, Ana, made two incredible cakes, too. I’m glad we were able to celebrate Kendall’s birthday with her in Costa Rica.

Thursday was another fun-filled day! In our fifth grade class, we had the students bring in pictures of a vacation they had been on or would like to go on. With these pictures, they made a “vacation poster” and wrote about their trips. They seemed to really enjoy this activity. They love to cut and paste things. They also did a wonderful job on writing complete sentences about their trip.

After school, Ricardo picked us up and took us to the university for KARLA´S GRADUATION! It was very exciting for two reasons. One, KARLA GRADUATED! And two, it was interesting to see how other universities and cultures celebrate graduations! After graduation, we went to a delicious café (Café de Melon).

TGIF! Friday ran very smoothly. During our break, I had to run into town to get some medicine. I think I came down with a little sinus infection or something, but, oh well. Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye came in to observe us during our last class. It was our fifth grade class. We were having them draw or cut out pictures of clothing and write about what they took on their vacation. One of the boys, Emanuel, had a L.L. Bean catalog to get pictures from. He was having a ball looking through it! On his sheet, he pasted pictures of tents, kayaks, water bottles, and water mocs to show that he went to the beach and camped.

After school, we all went back up to the university to listen to Dr. Frye’s lecture. She was giving a lecture on Cinderella. She spoke about how this story has 3000 different versions across the world. She discussed how the different versions portray the different cultures views and values. I had the chance to have Dr. Frye as a teacher a couple of years ago and absolutely loved her. She loves what she does and you can see this through everything she does. I am very glad that I had the chance to hear her speak again!

I can’t wait to see what next week brings! But now, Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye have just arrived and we are headed to Playa Samara for a day at the beach!

This week has been one of the busiest one yet! After another weekend traveling abroad, we came back to Nicoya on Monday night (since Monday was a holiday, we had the day off) and I went straight to bed. On Tuesday, we had a half day and I went into town to run some errands. I was alone but was very proud of myself for being able to successfully make my way around town and get some things done! On my way back home, Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye pulled up next to me and I took them to San Ambrosio to find Karla. We spent the evening touring Nicoya and going out to dinner where we shared our stories of the past three weeks. It was nice to see some friendly faces from home!

On Wednesday it was Kendall´s birthday, so we had to have a fiesta at Karla´s! We had a piñata and the best queque ever (compliments of Lauren´s mom).

At school on Thursday Lauren and I struggled through a lesson with the first grade class. Their behavior can get out of control very quickly. We made it through though, and decided to work towards more activities that take less time and possibly dividing the class into smaller groups.
Thursday was also Karla´s graduation. We went to the university to watch her and then went out to dinner at a little cafe to celebrate. We were so proud of her achievement!

Friday was the day of our observation by Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye. When they entered the third grade classroom all the kids ran over and attacked them with hugs! The lesson went well overall and the kids were very well behaved. We talked about families and worked on ABC books to reinforce the vocabulary of family members. We´ve learned that it is very difficult to communicate to the students what we need for them to do, without speaking in spanish at least some. I think the behavior problems are dramatically increased when they because they often don´t understand what they are supposed to be doing. For the ABC book we split the class in half and I worked with one group while Lauren worked with the other. This seemed to help minimize issues some as we were able to focus more on individual attention and the activity at hand. Generally, I think we are beginning to better understand the needs of these students, especially as compared to the students in the United States. It is obvious they need more direct and explicit instruction which must be repeated more frequently and modeled effectively or they are not able to understand the task that needs to be completed. The only problem with this is that in modeling activities for the students, they simply copy exactly what was on the board and this does not prove that they understand the concept on their own. Hopefully, we will be able to find a solution to this! I´m looking forward to the following weeks and continuing to learn more about Costa Rica and the school!

Volcano Arenal

The Field at School, with a Guanacaste Tree in the center

Valeria, my sister at Field Day

1st and 2nd grades

Solmar, but we call him Mowgli

Our favorite song, If You´re Happy and You Know IT

Fire Safety Day with 1st Grade

Wow, I can not believe that is has almost been a month! This was a short week but a very full week. We did not have school on Monday because it was a national holiday in Costa Rica. It was nice to get back to the students on Tuesday, though; I have learned almost all the names but am still working on pronunciation!

Tuesday was also an exciting day because Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye arrived! It was nice to see familiar faces in our new home.

Thursday was a busy but very exiting day because Karla graduated! It was very interesting to see the graduation ceremony for the University here and we were all very proud of Karla. I was also very thrilled because my little brother came with us and I think he really enjoyed it. To finish up the very busy week, we were able to go see Dr. Frye present at the university after school. She did an excellent job and I thought it was a great experience to be in a lecture type setting with students at the university here.

As far as teaching goes, I am learning a lot and have a great experience. We are doing some fun stuff with the students. We had our 6th graders write letters to students in NC this week, and they loved it. I am hoping to deliver those letters to my students at Mabel. I also have more letters from the older students because I gave them letters from my students at Mabel. It will be tricky to keep the correspondence happening, but hopefully I can work something out.

With the 5th graders this week, we had them plan trips, and have been talking about traveling. It has been really fun to her about some of their dream trips and why. We have decided to do a really cool project with the 4th grade class. Karla had wanted us to help her put labels and signs all around the school in English, and it just so happens that the 4th graders are learning school vocabulary so we decided that we would help them and let that be their class project.

One of the things that I am learning is that pronunciation is very important. I feel as though that is one area that I can be the most helpful in because the two languages have such differences in some areas. The students have been helping me with my Spanish pronunciation, while I help them with their English so it's been a great way to learn for both of us because it is a two way street.

The language barrier is still very evident, but I am learning ways around it. It has been a struggle at times with my family, but we make get by, and I am going to miss them so much when we leave. I am traveling to San Jose with them next weekend so that should be interesting.

Overall, I am continuously reminded of how wonderful this country is. The land itself is stunning and the people are amazing! I am excited to see how the last couple of weeks go!

Mi Hermano!

The girls at the University of Nicoya-

The third week teaching in Costa Rica was quite hectic, but an enjoyable time. This week was a four day week at school, but we had a lot of things to do outside of San Ambrosia. We had Spanish class at the University National in Nicoya, Karla´s graduation ceremony, Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye´s arrival and a little something extra with my birthday.

At school, I continued teaching English with Harold and constructed a recycling program to begin next week with ¨GoGo,¨ the science teacher. Teaching English continues to be a little difficult for me in that I´m used to teaching Biology- the two do not have many similarities. However, I think Harold really appreciates me being there to help with pronunciation and I´m enjoying the experience. I´m excited to see how the recycling program goes next week; GoGo and I made announcements to every class at the school in Spanish and English to help jump start the program. We´ll be recycling plastic, paper and other miscellaneous items.

As far as the extracurricular activities of the week are concerned, Karla´s graduation was a very exciting time. We were all very proud of her and the ceremony was an interesting experience. There were dancers performing a traditional Costa Rican dance and one of my ninth grade students was a performer. My birthday fiesta was absolutely wonderful due to the great planning done by my fellow student teachers and Karla. We had an amazing dinner, complete with the best cake in the world and a piñata. Lauren´s mom made the cake- I´m hoping she´ll know the recipe by the time we return to The States.

Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye arrived on Tuesday. We got to hear Dr. Frye´s lecture on Cinderella and the many different versions spanning many cultures across the world. It was a great lecture and it was wonderful to see someone so passionate about their work. We all took a trip to the gorgeous Samara beach on Saturday and it was nice to get to spend some time Dr. Angel and Dr. Frye. I also rented a surfboard for the first time and thanks to Torrey- I can say I surfed in Costa Rica. Had it not been for my lifeguard friend I would probably be a little more battered and bruised; instead, I can say I stood up on the board and rode on some whitewater in Costa Rica! Amazing!

My Birthday Cakes!

One of my students performing a traditional dance at Karla´s Graduation.

Next week is our last full week! I can´t believe we have been here for over a month already. I have learned so much about the daily life both in and around San Ambrosia school. I have finally begun to recognize and evaluate some of the differences between Costa Rican Schools as compared to schools in the United States.

It seems that here in Nicoya they let fewer obstacles stand in the way of teaching time and allow fewer things take away from that time. Students are not let out of school for heat (which, of course, is always an difficult for both teachers and students) or because of power outages (which is not uncommon and is a big deal because there are then no fans to combat the heat).

Teachers in Nicoya devote more time to the classroom and specifically to learning time and less time to classroom management and organization, reward or discipline systems. The students are given much more freedom, even at a very young age. They do not go walk in lines around school to lunch or to the bathrooms and no one holds their hands as they leave school at the end of the day. One of our first grade students rides his bike to school alone every morning. This is something that would be a rare sight in our communities, as parents are quite a bit more protective of their children.

Students are also given more freedom within the classroom and, therefore, do not usually follow typical rules of the United States like raising your hand before you talk. When we tried to explain this concept to our students, they thought that once they raised their hands they were immediately allowed to talk. This has helped me recognize that when students from other countries come into my classroom in the future I need to be understanding. Behaviors which I perceive as disobedience may actually be behaviors that were reinforced or simply not reprimanded in other communities or cultures because the behaviors we expect are not valued in others places like they are in the United States.

It has also been interesting for me to note that most of the teachers at San Ambrosia have higher expectations of their students and provide more harsh critiques of their students than in the United States, where parents would likely complain about the teacher´s lack of sensitivity towards students. Students seem to take it all in stride, and I believe it is just a different system, in which the students need high expectations in order to succeed.

From a general classroom teacher´s perspective it is also interesting to me that the grade teachers (first, second, third, etc) do not play a role in literally leading students throughout the day. If their students are in PE, English, or Music for their first class, the teacher does not need to show up before those classes in order to organize the students or take attendance. There is no ¨homeroom¨ period during the day. Or if these classes are the last of the day, the classroom teacher may leave school early, she does not have to wait until the end of the day and send her students off.

More than anything else, I believe the observation of these differences will assist me in having a deeper understanding of students from other cultures and their motivations for behaviors which I may not have otherwise understood.

This is William. He is in first grade and he rides his bike to school everyday.

These are the first grade girls!

Only two more weeks left! I can hardly believe it.

This week has been a wonderful week so far. In 4th grade, we are working on our labeling the school project. The students have done a really great job and I think that they are proud of their work.

The 5th grade has been studying about the United States so that has been really great for us to have input on. We have taught them all about the Appalachian Mountains! In the 6th grade, we are talking about amazing people and why they are amazing. That class is really great to work with because they really want to help us with our Spanish as much as we want to help them with their English. I taught one of the students how to respond to "see you later, alligator" with "after a while crocodile"!

It's really fun and I love being able to form relationships with the students despite the language barrier. Also this week, the students are getting ready for their big test. I have had a chance to help my younger brother study for the test because he takes it on Friday. I am communicating a little bit better with my family, but it is still hard at times. Next weekend we are going to San Jose so I am really excited about that. I will be so sad to leave San Ambrosia because it is really starting to feel like home!

Dennis with his school label!

Marley and me with some of our 6th graders!

This week seemed to fly by! It’s hard to believe that we only have a week left here in Nicoya. This week has definitely been the hottest week since we’ve been down here. After being down here for six weeks, I think I’ll definitely be ready for Charlotte’s summer weather!
Since we’ve been teaching at San Ambrosio now for four weeks, it seems more like home. This week has run incredibly smoothly. In all of the grades, we have been working a lot with conversations. Each grade has been working with partners to practice speaking English. In fourth grade, we’ve also been working on the English vocabulary that describes the parts of the school. They’ve designed signs to post up around school. The fifth grade is still working on stories that deal with traveling. They have learned additional vocabulary that helped them write paragraphs relating to traveling. In sixth grade, they’ve been working with stories dealing with “Heroes and Famous People.” San Ambrosio is coming to the end of their first quarter. During the next couple of days, we will have to give the students their English assessments.
Life outside of school was normal! While walking the streets of Nicoya, I feel more and more like a local. I know the city a little better and have my regular places where I go. Last night I went with Torrey and her family to a soccer game! It was very exciting to attend. The game was against the Guanacaste team and San Jose team! It was very interesting to see the difference between sporting events here and back home!
I am excited about next week, but I know I will also be sad to leave!

Soccer Game in Nicoya

The Hokey Pokey

Week four in Costa Rica has been packed with excitement. The recycling program at San Ambrosia is finally underway, Beach Open 2008 is complete and I also spent a couple days visiting Canas and Tiliran where a wind farm is located.

The week started at San Ambrosia labeling giant recycling bins for the recycle program which I helped organize. My ninth graders setup bins for paper, plastic, aluminum cans, glass, ¨frutas¨ - compost and miscellaneous items. After an impromptu speech I gave in English along with other explanations given by my students at an assembly the recycling program was kicked off. All the students seemed to be very involved, placing many items in the bins... including Styrofoam plates in the plastic bin, which I´m sure I´ll be sorting through this week. Overall, though, I think this program will be excellent for San Ambrosia and it will be something they can continue long after we return to the States.

On Thursday, I visited Canas with Harold, the English teacher I work with at San Ambriosia. I saw one of Harold´s adult English classes at a school in Canas. It was interesting to see all different types of people in his class ranging in age from 15 to 50. We stayed at a fire station where he is a volunteer. It was really a fun time climbing to the top of the tower and getting to put on all the fire fighting gear. I don´t know how they wear all that gear in 90 degree heat!

While in Canas, one of Harold´s students took Lauren and me to visit the wind farm. I was amazed at how large the windmills were, yet they didn´t seem to create any noise. I was literally standing about 40 feet from the windmill and could barely hear any sound coming from the massive structure.

I know some of the concerns with building a wind farm in Ashe County were the noise level and the eye sore the farm creates. However, I can assure you the wind farm doesn´t create much noise and in my opinion isn´t all that aesthetically unpleasing. Its great to see the clean energy that is being produced all over Costa Rica. My only question is why can´t the United States jump on board with renewable energy?

This past weekend we went on a beach tour of the Pacific Coast with Karla. She borrowed her uncle´s car and we visited three different beaches. All of which were absolutely beautiful!

Wind Farm

Recycling Project

Fire Station

It seems like we just started teaching at San Ambrosio, but we actually just have a couple days left. For the past week, the students have been taking exams at the beginning of the day. The fifth and sixth graders had their English exams on Monday and Tuesday. All of the students seemed to take the exams very seriously. They all seemed to say they were going home every night to study.

At the end of last week, Torrey and I took inventory of the books in the library. San Ambrosio has a wonderful library. The library has a wide range of children's picture books and novels in it. There are even Spanish books in there. We ran across books that have both English and Spanish written in the book. There are a lot of Caldecott Honor and Winner books. After taking inventory, Torrey and I took the chance to bring some of the books in to the classroom and read them to the students. The fifth and sixth graders seemed to really enjoy it. Even though they couldn't understand all of the material, they still tried to and enjoyed looking at them.

A couple weeks ago, one of the student's mom came in to measure Karla. Karla told use that she was an incredible dressmaker and she was going to make Karla a couple dresses. Last week, Karla's dresses were done and they were beautiful. After seeing them, Torrey and I went to the fabric store to get one made, too. Within a couple days, our dresses were complete. They are beautiful.

This past weekend, Karla took us on a beach tour. She borrowed her uncle's car and we drove to some beaches that are northwest of Nicoya. We went to Playa Junquilla and Avellana. They were beautiful beaches with very few people on them! We went to a restaurant at Playa Avellana that was called Lola's. Well, Lola's has a pet that is the "second most famous pig in the world." The pig is gigantic! On Sunday, I rode bikes to Carrillo with Torrey and her mom. It only took us about two hours to ride up and down 36k of hills . When we got there, we met the rest of Torrey's family and Kendall and Karla. We had a nice and relaxing day on the beach!

Me and Mariá José

All of us with Brian. His mom is the dressmaker.

This is the gigantic pig! Lola.

We are nearing the end of a wonderful experience here in Costa Rica. I´ve spent the last week working at San Ambrosia as well as with Anna, from the National Park Service. On Tuesday, I went to Filedelfia with Anna to a public school to assist in teaching the kids about the severely endangered Jabiru Stork. We along with a couple others from the National Park Service gave a three hour presentation to a group of fifth and sixth graders. Now that the students have completed the course they will be able to go to Palo Verde to observe many different kinds of wildlife including the Jabiru and crocodiles.

It was a bittersweet week at San Ambrosia, knowing it would be our last full week with the students. I continued teaching English with Harold and working with Diego mainly on the garden. My seventh graders surprised me yesterday with a going away party at one of my student´s houses out in the country. He lives on a farm where I got to ride horses and watch the cattle being ¨rounded up.¨

Its been a life changing experience to work with the students at San Ambrosia and I cannot yet fully realize the impact this experience will most likely have on my future. I know I repeat myself each blog in saying the students are so much fun to work with. They are always motivated to learn, especially English which amazes me everyday.

The structure of the classroom is much more relaxed and at times lessons are spontaneous. However, without so much structure the students seem to learn just as much as in the classrooms back home, if not learn more at times. Maybe some reevaluation by teachers and administrators of how classrooms are run in the US would be worth the time. In a way it could relate to the inquiry based classroom we are trying to achieve in the sciences- we´ll see.

Well Hasta Luego, Costa Rica- Thank you for a wonderful adventure!

The 7th Graders at my surprise going away party!
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Rainbow after the rain.

My final week at San Ambrosio was a mix of emotions. We had many breaks this week as the students were being tested for the quarter (This was their only test for the entire quarter.) and the end of the week came rather quickly. We didn't really remind our students that this would be our last week and so Friday was almost a shock to them. We were overcrowded with hugs, especially in third grade where the students literally blocked the doorway and would not allow us to leave! We gave out our email and mailing addresses and promised never to forget our students in Costa Rica.

I know I will never forget them or the experience I have had. I have learned so much about Costa Rican culture and more importantly their school system. I will take these experiences with me to future classrooms and hope to influence and enrich the lives of other children by broading their horizons. I cannot believe my time at the school has ended and as I walked down the road towards my home for the final time I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever see it again.

Our last day at San Ambrosio

At the top of the mountain!

A view of the city of Nicoya

Well, it is over. I have left my new family, my new friends, my new home, and my new school. My mom and I cried when I finally had to leave my home and I handed her the keys. I know I will never be able to repay them for the kindness they have bestowed upon me, in welcoming me into their home and helping me to explore and learn about the culture of their country. I've been looking forward to going home and enjoying the air conditioning and my favorite foods in the United States, but soon I realized how much I was really going to miss everyone and the city of Nicoya.

It's difficult to imagine never returning to a place that has had such an incredible impact on my life and my career. My Costa Rican parents have offered me a home in Nicoya whenever I want, for as long as I want and I hope that I am able to take them up on that offer. I now know I will miss the rice and beans, the kindness of the people, the relaxed settings, the beautiful views, the open air buildings, the hugs from the kids, and the companionship of the friends I have made on this trip, both Costa Rican and Appalachian!

My Tico Family

Our Final Picture in Costa Rica, at the Liberia Airport

The last week or so at school was bitter sweet. I am really going to miss these kids and this town. We had some really cool experiences this week. Marley and I had a chance to go through the school’s “library” and take inventory of the books. They have some really great stuff that has been donated. We got so excited that we declared it “story day” and read to the students the rest of the day. They loved it, especially when some of the books were bilingual so we would let them take turns reading with us.

We then had them draw illustrations for the books and tell us about them. My favorites were for "Where the Wild Things Are" which has always been one of my favorite books. Since we have been down here, we have been surprised to see how little emphasis is placed on literature and reading in the cultural and how much they value books. It was wonderful to see how excited the kids were just to hold the books.

As far as my family goes, things are still going wonderfully well. I rode bikes to Playa Samara with my mom this weekend and it was a blast. It was a difficult ride, very similar to riding on the parkway for 36 km. It was a great bonding experience with my mom because we both really love to do that sort of thing. We then spent the day in Carrillo which is a gorgeous beach just south of Samara. The rest of my family met us there and it was great to just spend the day with them.

Everything is really starting to feel like home! I can’t believe that it is almost time to go. I am looking forward to our last few days with our kids but also dreading having to say goodbye!

Playa Carrillo

Wow! I can't believe it's all said and done! The last few days were wonderful and I am going to miss it all very much. On our last day we had the kids write little autobiographies for us to keep so we wouldn't forget them. They were so cute, loved writing about themselves, and adding stickers and color. They love stickers! It was hard to say good-bye and after about a thousand hugs, we were finished. I learned so much from these students, way more than I could ever teach them. They were a huge inspiration in their desire to learn English and in the way they treasure their education.

Overall, this experience will help me so much in my future teaching career. I will be able to relate to other students so much more and will understand the feeling of being in a foreign place and not understanding a word!

Saying good bye to my family was really hard, much harder than I ever expected. We went to San Jose for the weekend for a birthday party and had a blast. The family members were so much fun and I really felt like a part of the family. We said goodbye a few short days later. My mom cried, which made me cry! They told me I have to come back and we have already starting planning activities! My family was such a blessing, and I will miss them dearly. They really took me in and made me another member of the family despite the fact that I could not even speak their language.

Well, goodbye Costa Rica, thanks for everything!
Pura Vida!

Eating mangoes with some students:)

My brother!

Hokey Pokey!

As I sit here, back in NC, I cannot come up with adequate words to describe my Costa Rican experience. Actually, words cannot describe my experience. I am very grateful for having the opportunity to go down to Costa Rica.

The first thing that I now think of when I think if Costa Rica is the group of girls I was with. I feel that my experience should be credited to the four other ASU student teachers that I was with. None of us really knew each other before this trip, but we all got along very well. We had quite a few bumps in the road with our travels, but we all worked through them AS A TEAM! This was very important because we were five American girls in a foreign country. At the end of the trip, I was unable to leave the country with these girls because I stayed a couple extra days. I wish I could have left with them.

I also give credit to my cooraporating teacher/ mom, Karla. Karla was a huge part of my experience. I worked with her at school. We taught English to the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. She helped us out with the language barrier and also with the day to day activities. Outside the classroom setting, Karla had ideas for us, suggestions on what to do and where to go, and helped us get around town.

This experience has allowed me to see how another culture lives, works, and learns. This has opened my eyes up and hopefully this will make me a better and more understanding teacher. I feel that I have more to offer after taking part in this student teaching experience.

Last day at San Ambrosio... Me and Lauren with a couple of 6th graders

Last day at San Ambrosio... Me, Torrey, and Karla

It is hard to believe that week three has already passed by. Things are starting to get a bit more familiar around here, walking around town, finding CR's most delicious milkshakes. I am starting to feel like I am truly a part of this town and my family. One, thing that I am still not becoming more comfortable with is the heat. However, I can sacrifice the comfort of air conditioning for the amazing food, friends and family that is only CR!

I am starting to become more familiar with what works and what doesn't work in the classroom. I recently taught my students the classic jingle "If Your Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands." This quickly became a favorite with my students and we start each class off with this song. Megan and I were able to make connections with emotions by making modifications in the song. We have started several projects with grades one through three including number flash cards. We are finding that it is important to make connections with everyday objects and pictures for increased comprehension. Repetition is particularly important when teaching English and has become an important part of planning.

In other news, I am falling more in love with Costa Rica each day. I found a new favorite cafe that has a delicious carrot cake and coffee. Here is an updated list of treasures found in CR.

-Carrot Cake from Cafe de Melon
-Chicharones from the guy beside the super market
-smoothies made by my mom