RCOE International Student Teaching Fall 08

Yesterday was quite an exciting day. I didn´t think waking up at 3:30 am would ever be exciting, but it was a lot easier to get out of bed when you know you will be in Costa Rica by the afternoon. Our flights were hassle free and Ricardo was waiting to pick us up as soon as we arrived to Liberia.

From there we experienced a stand still of traffic for a few hours, but we eventually made it into Nicoya. We were all so excited and since we have been talking about this for a long time, it was a surreal feeling actually being in Costa Rica. I was the first of my car load to be dropped off in town. I arrived at an electronic store that my host mom, Sileny manages. I felt very welcome and sat down with her fifteen year old daughter Siany until she was finished.

Conversation was a little difficult because of my Spanish and her English, but we figured out a few things we could communicate about. They are two of the most friendly people I have ever met and I am so happy I am going to be living with them for the next five weeks! Our house is pretty close to the school and this morning I walked there with Sileny. I was able to walk around town with her and Lena until lunch time and it was a good first taste of what our experience will be like.

Nicoya is a nice little town with very friendly people. We were picked up from the park and driven back to the school to meet up with everyone for a meeting and tour. The principal and teachers could not have been more welcoming and helpful. I can tell that I am going to learn a lot from this trip, beginning with my Spanish! I feel so lucky to be here and cannot wait to see what kind of experiences I will have while in Costa Rica!

my room

Nicole, Stephanie, and I on the plane to Costa Rica!

Our first weekend in Nicoya

I cain't beleive we are in Costa Rica. It seems like we have planned for so long and now it is finally here. I think this will be a great learning experience and that it will help me grow personally in so many ways.

My host family is very nice. I live with Dr. Ramos and his wife and their five year old daughter Carolina. The have been very warm and welcoming. I am working very hard on my Spanish so that I can communicate better with them since they do not speak a lot of English. They have a lovely house that I can not wait to show to everyone in the US. The floors are all a beautiful tile.

The school is very small. I think it is wonderful!! The students seem to be learning so much. Even though the school is much smaller and does not have the technology we have in our schools the students seem to be ahead of the students in the States. I think I will learn so much from my teacher and new students.

I am VERY homesick right now. I think this will be a wonderful experience for me but I must confess that I have been missing home so much. I have cried many times and I have had to try to explain to my family that I am not upset about being here but that I miss my family. I think they understand but I feel bad that I am having such a hard time adjusting. I know that I will in time and that I will learn so much being here.

My house

Yay! After months of planning and preparation we are finally here! The Cerdas family is wonderful....I walked through the doors of their beautiful house and immediately felt at home. They are the nicest and friendliest people I have ever met. I am looking forward to really getting to know them over the next few weeks!

I love how open all the houses are in Costa Rica. The Cerdas family has an open space in their living room that is full of plants. When it rains, it runs through the open space, watering the plants. I never realized how comforting the rain can be until a few minutes ago, when it started pouring. The sound of the water is so peaceful and relaxing.

Today, we went to San Ambrosio and met the principal, Madre Conchita, who is a nun from Mexico. She was so friendly and warm, thanking us for being here and giving us a tour of the school. The school is smaller than schools in the United States, but lovely....full of green trees and each of the classrooms is very open. (This may not make sense now, but I will post a picture next week!)

After visiting the school today, it seems crazy for teachers to complain about not having a SmartBoard, or other types of technology. None of the classrooms we saw today has computers, yet the students here seem ahead of the students in the United States in the way they write and the way they speak English.

Yesterday I tried Picadillo de Vainica and Chayote. Picadillo de Vainica is chopped vegetables with small pieces of meat...delicious! Chayote is a green vegetable, from the pumpkin family, that Costa Ricans put in their salad.. It was very good, particularly with fresh tomatoes and Ranch dressing. Tonight I am going to a restaurant with my family to have traditional Costa Rican food...I´m really looking forward to it!

I am having difficulty posting my pictures now, but I will post them as soon as I can!

Hola,

The flight from Greensboro to Atlanta and then Mexico City wasn´t bad at all. For whatever reason I thought Puebla was about 30 minutes from Mexico City, and I was wrong. The bus took a little over 2 hrs and we finally got in a little past 8:00 p.m.

There are two homes attached to the original home, and Seth and I have the second house. The Ruiz family is so welcoming and not shy at all. It´s a perfect characteristic combo because my Spanish is almost non-existant. I know for a fact that I will be learning a lot of Spanish before departing time.

Senora Margarita made us dinner which consisted of vegitable soup, mole poblano con arroz y tortilla. We were even taught how to divide the tortilla into 4 pieces and fold it the right way in order to scoop in the mole and rice. It was delicious!

I can´t wait for tomorrow to see Puebla in daylight.

Until then,
Reaksmey

Costa Rica is wonderful! My host family has been nothing but warm and welcoming. As soon as I arrived I was shown my room and offered lunch. My host mom, Adrianna, doesn´t speak English so at first it was a little difficult to communicate but I took out my phrase book/dictionary and that has been very helpful when communicating.

Maria Jose, my little host sister who´s 7, has been my teacher. She would take out a book and point to something in the picture and would say it in Spanish and I would repeat it. I bought my host sisters dresses as a gift when I arrived and for Laura (2 yrs old) I bought a Tinkerbell costume with wings and she has worn the wings everywhere!

My host dad speaks English very well and has been very helpful! From what I´ve seen of family life, it is very laid back. The children are able to go to the stores by themselves for bread or anything needed.

The people of Costa Rica are very friendly. They´ve tried their best to accommodate anything we might need. We visited the school on Friday and talked with the principal.

I´ve been adjusting okay I think. I´m trying to keep an open mind and attitude about everything.

Today there is a huge festival or celebration where the whole town goes to a farm at 3am to cut down trees for firewood for a December celebration of their patron saint.. They have to cut the wood early so it can ripen. I didn´t participate in the cutting of wood, but we all went down town to watch the parade and the oxen bringing back the wood in carts.

One thing that has been interesting is the cold showers. I knew the water was gonna be cold so my showers have been short! I think the more showers I take the better because it is hot here!

The food has been very good this far! I´ve had two traditional breakfasts, one with tortillas, homemade cheese, and sour cream and then this morning I had eggs with rice and beans.

Although the weather is very warm and humid, it´s beautiful. Everything is very green. It has rained on and off. We came right at the end of the rainy season so we´re still getting some rain. Overall, I think I am adjusting very well. The most difficult thing is trying to figure out what I´m being told or asked, but I´m hoping with time it will become easier.

Flight into Costa Rica

San Ambrosio School

The oxes pulling the carts of wood at the Pica de Leña festival.

My host sisters, Maria Jose and Laura.

So, I am finally here in beautiful, but very hot, Nicoya, Costa Rica! My family is very, very nice and very welcoming. I have had a great time so far getting to see everything and getting used to the local customs. The food is wonderful here and I am eating a ton!

Yesterday we went to the school and met the principal and other teachers. They were all very nice and appreciative of us being here and even asked if we would want to come back sometime and live here in Nicoya. It is so amazing how welcoming everyone at the school was! Today we got to see a parade that was in celebration of a local tradition. It was really cool. There were a great many animals and local people dancing. I am having a blast and can´t wait to experience more!

We were able to go see this parade this weekend and it was really fun. I enjoyed being able to see everyone and speak English! The parade is in celebration of a religious festival that the town is having. There is a very old church in the middle of town that is very beautiful. I am really enjoying my time here so far and am getting comfortable with my surroundings.

The start of the parade.

The old church in the center of Nicoya.

Nicoya!

Girls dancing in the parade!

Que hizo,
Today was even better than the day before! After a wonderful night of sleep and a brief morning run con Luis, Señora Margarita made us a break fast of refried beans (my favorita) eggs and papias con limon. After this I had a few moments to write down new words that Pablo taught me over breakfast.

Soon after we, minus Mario, headed out to el mercadora. There I tried several different types of authentic Mexican foods. The market was very exciting with people offering everything from Beatles CDs song by a group of guys sounding very much like the originals except they were singing in Español, gaffas de sol (sunglasses), to a man singing out that he would fix any tear you had in your clothes with his hand held sewing machine.

After the market we explored another part of Puebla where one of the local universities was with a wonderful jardin (garden). In this garden there were multiple examples of modern Mexican art including a large blue man ("el hombre azul") a tree covered with writings from students from the university and a car covered with grass.

On our way to another very famous cathedral, which was actually the setting for the movie we watched in the bus on our way to Puebla, we went in several local shops and had several good conversations. Once at the church I was blown away with the size and detail that was taken in it construction. We saw El Friar Sebastian de Aparicio, a man so noteworthy and loved that the people of Puebla actually pulled his body back from his tomb, by order of the current Pope, and put his body on display in this church. En un cuarto lado de hay una otra cuarto donde personas pueden poner y comprar carazones a demonstrar se amor para el. (Next to that room there is another room where people can place and buy hearts to demonstrate their love for him). It was incredible the number of people that had been touched by this friar.

After a short car ride back we arrived at our house were Chan and I helped Luis cut out "S"s for his project, we talked about what Chan and I do on the weekend back home and I showed Pablo the pictures that I brought with me.

Dinner was enchiladas de mole (a chocolate-esque paste) rice and refried beans. Me encantia mucho!

Now it is time for bed...out first day at El Instituto de´ Amicis is tomorrow!


Seth Wingate (or Zeferiuo Carlos as I have been told is my Spanish name)

Dia dhuit (Hello in Irish!)

I have finished my first week in the Glenageary Killiney National School. Muriel Rumball, principal of the school and my host, made the decision to spread out my time amongst all of the classes in order to get the most out of my experience. I spend the first part of the morning until the first break with Jr. Infants. These students are ages 4 and 5, so the equivalent of pre-Kindergarten in the United States. I was extremely impressed with the students’ ability to read. In Junior Infants, I have been pulling students aside to read to me or to practice some sight words.

Also, they were talking about sources of light and the teacher asked if the moon was a source of light and one of the girls told her no, that the moon reflects the sun’s light. It seems as though they are one step ahead. Everything seems more laid back here as well without the weight of testing for students and teachers. Every morning the students have assembly, I was really surprised that the students sang a song about Jesus and said a school prayer during this assembly.

The school has about 250 students. There is one teacher for each grade level, Junior Infants, Senior Infants and first class through sixth class. The class sizes are much bigger. There are 28 Junior Infants and the teacher does not have an assistant. In Senior Infants, they have a teacher’s assistant for the two special needs children in the class. They have one child with Down’s Syndrome and another has Cerebral Palsy. The special needs students get pulled by a resource teacher from the regular classroom each day for thirty minutes.

Another thing that is very different is that the classroom teachers have to plan P.E. lessons. There is music offered in the school, but it costs parents extra money and there are no art classes. The students do art lessons in the classroom. There are eleven subjects in the Irish curriculum. This means that there are six classes in a day and they are very short.
I think when I came into this experience I expected it to be so different, but it’s not as different as I thought. I think so far what I have learned is that kids are kids no matter where they live.

When I stepped off the plane, there was a sign that said "Mind Your Head" at a low enterance. It was at this point, I knew I wasn't in America anymore. The only thing we use "mind" for is your own business, or as something someone is out of. Here, everything is minded: they have child minders, mind each others mail when out of town, and mind the other cars while driving. Also, what we call chips, they refer to as 'crisps', and 'chips' here are like steak fries, which is handy to know when eating out.There are many other differences, but those stuck out to me when I first arrived. Though we speak the same language, our vocabulary varies immensely.

Aside from language differences, I am blessed with the best host family I could ever ask for, and am at a school that is a great fit. I am teaching at Kill O' the Grange National School. They have Jr. Infants through 6th Class (pre-K through 6th grade), one class per grade. While here, I am the 6th Class (same as our 6th grade) assistant in the mornings, and art teacher/helper in the afternoons Monday-Thursday. Friday the art room is used for Music, so I am free to tour the country, or help in 6th class all day.

In 6th class I assist with Maths (they add the 's' here, to acknowledge all the different sections rolled into one: basic, algebra, geometry, etc . . .), English, the Christmas Play (casting and rehersals), and of course, art. Though it is out of my element, I am enjoying the experience of working in a standard classroom. The art room is definitely not the norm, and I have enjoyed the variety this opportunity affords.

As far as art goes, some teachers already have art plans built into their lessons, so I assist them during their art time. With others, I will work with the teacher to create an art lesson that coinsides with their other curriculum. Some of the teachers know what medium they want the students to use, and I go from there. It is really great to be able to work with the entire staff and student body, while at the same time working more indepth and getting to know the 6th class better.

This week I went with 6th class to a local observatory to celebrate Science Week. We learned about the moons of different planets, as well as telescopes, astronomy, and the science of computers and computer programs they use to calculate things happening in space. It was VERY interesting and I am so thankful for the opportunity.

Here are some pictures of the students and the classroom

6th Class at the Observatory
Some Students Drawing the Moons
The Art Classroom
The View from the Classroom

We have been in Nicoya now for 8 days, and we have experienced so much of the culture.

I love teaching at San Ambrosio. Megan and I are teaching 7th, 8th and 9th graders, and I never could have imagined that I would enjoy it. Everytime we speak in English, they get quiet and listen to every word we say. They are very receptive to learning English.

Yesterday Megan and I finished our lesson with about 5 minutes left and the students asked us all sorts of questions about our favorite movies, TV shows, food, etc. We showed them some pictures of North Carolina and they loved it. We are planning some activities for the students to increase their English vocabulary. Next week we are starting an English club after school, where we will speak English to the students, listen to American music and talk about the culture.

Megan, Stephanie and I visited the fire department on Monday and they let us put on the entire outfit (even the helmet) and slide down the pole. Everyone here is so nice and welcoming...it makes the transition from American life much easier.

The front porch of my house

The side entry to my room

The Pica de Lena Parade

After my first week in the school, I have found that this experience is not going to be long enough! The students are very friendly and interested in what we are here to do and about our lives back home in the states. I feel like we could teach them so much if we had more time here. They seem to want to learn English and they listen well to Nicole and me. I am glad we are able to work together because we can share our ideas with each other and it allows us to come up with activities that are more fun and beneficial to the students.

We are beginning an English club soon that will meet after school and will be for us and the students of 7th, 8th, and 9th grades to drink coffee and tea, eat some snacks, listen to music, and participate in conversation with us while only speaking English. Their teacher came up with the idea and I think it will be a great way for the students to learn while being able to interact with us on a personal level.

As for Nicoya, this town is amazing. I love the environment, the food, and the weather! But this weekend we are heading to Playa Samara and I could not be more excited. I have heard that the beach is beautiful and I am looking forward to the time I will get to spend with my friends!

Some student having class outside

The Old Church in town

the town of Nicoya

My first full week at Instituto D' Amicis was incredible! I am so glad that I decided to make this trip to Mexico.

The school is very different from any other school that I have been at in the states both in the atmosphere, campus, available resources and student interactions. Because of its comparatively small size to other schools, about 900 students for Pre-K to 12th grade, the faculty are considered more family than teachers.

Over the past five days we have visited three different age groups of students. The majority of our time has been spent in 6th grade which I have to admit I was a little nervous going into. 6th graders? I was even a little nervous about with 5th graders because I didn't speak their native language. My fears were put to rest as soon as I stepped in the English-only classroom. The teacher was incredibly welcoming and did her best to get us involved right away.

Being native English speakers at this school, which weaves English and Spanish seamlessly in the classroom, makes us of high demand. This school boasts of having one of the highest English-proficent student bodies in Puebla. Several of the teachers had the idea that we should tour the school weekly and involve the students in a conversational type atmosphere with the focus being up to the teacher of the classroom.

On our first day in 6th grade we interacted with the students for almost an hour and half answering their questions and asking some of them. Two days later, we were managing a full day's worth of 6th grade English classes while the teacher was out. The picture that is loaded is an example of an extension that I did that day. It is a theatre game which requires the students to peer into my "magic box" and tell me what they see, the more creative the better. The students really enjoyed this and I can't wait to work with these students again.

Aquas,
Seth

Myself and a few students during recess.

Some tourist action at the Teotihuacan

Costa Rica is beautiful!! I still have moments where I miss home but overall I think this is a wonderful experience. I have already learned so much about myself, teaching, and people. As hard as it is to be so far from home at times.

My family is wonderful. I truly feel like part of the family. They call me their daughter and pick on me non-stop. My host mother offered to let me wear her pearls the other day when I was dressed up for church. I thought that was very special. I think she really cares about me. Also my sister and mother leave little gifts for me in my wardrobe. The other day it was a box of cookies I had told them I liked. It is very cute. My host sister is 5 and her English is actually really good. She can't form sentences but has a good base for her vocabulary. In a few years I think she will be fluent.

I love them a lot.

The school her is so different!! It was overwhelmingat first. The students talk out of turn, get out of their seats when they want, and eat in class. Even with all of this their work is still very good. It has been an eye opener. I now understand my students from hispanic countries so much more. I would get frustrated at one student for talking out of turn when I was at my school in North Carolina. Now I understand that it is part of their culutre and that it is not seen as wrong in school. I think that when I go back I will think about things differently when I teach than I did before. I have a better understanding of different cultures and I have learned that mine isn't always right.

The school is all open air and does not have any technology in the classes. We have computers but that they do not have internet. Their is little on the walls and the teachers have nothing in their classrooms compared to the states. They have one small closet which have a few things in them but not much more than text books. Yet they are teaching and do so in an effective manner. It has taught me that you do not need things to teach. Teaching is about the information not the supplies. Yes it makes it easier to teach when using a smartboard or some other new teaching supply but these things are not necassary to reach your students.

I think that overall this has taught me so much and I am so happy that I came.

Teaching my students!

One of the classrooms.

My family and I

Teaching!

Miss Margarita and Pedro

The kids and I at school

Well, we got to Puebla one week from today. Time goes by even faster here than in the US. I adore the students here at D`Amicis. We have been teaching the 6th graders English, and I believe we will continue to do so. The kids here are fascinated by us, and they love asking questions, and being around us.

So far everything has been amazing. It's hard to know where to start whenever I post a new blog. I suppose I will just talk about teaching and explain about Institudo D'Amicis. The school is quite awesome.The only way to describe what the school is like is to compare it to a mini university campus. A good description for schools in Mexico is paranoid-free zone, as compared to schools in America. The school ground is very open with lots of places for the kids to sit and eat outside on the tables, benches, or the grass. The classes are very homey and open. Also, the artificial lighting is very low, and it`s mostly natural sunlight. The tables are arranged in a group-work manner rather than an individually arranged (my bubble).

My absolute favorite part of the school`s campus is the kindergarten section. They have their own gated section that is absolutely beautiful. The best word to describe the kindergarten section is serene. The section is called Jardin de niños, literally meaning garden of the children. I will take pictures of it for you guys. I wish all the kindergarten schools look like this one.

For most of the schools here in Mexico, students are required to wear a uniform regardless if it is a public school (escuela publica) or (escuela privada). I honestly think that it is a great thing because it's almost as if education is a privilege, something that you shouldn't take for granted. I'ts different because you see kids in uniform everywhere regardless of the area (rico o pobre).

Instituto D'Amicis is pre-school, kindergarten and grades 1 through 12. There are 2 groups per grade (A or B). A normal dia para a student is to have English for the first half and then Spanish for the second, or vice versa depending on his-her group (A or B). Their English class consists of learning and talking just in English. They would learn natural science, grammar, reading and writing. After that, they go to a specials class, then recess-lunch, and then their Spanish teacher comes in to do everything in Spanish.

Seth and I have been teaching the 6th graders' English yesterday, today and tomorrow. The kids love us. The teachers are also very happy for us to be here because the students are paying better attention and practicing their English a lot more.

Today we had a lot of fun playing question games with the 6th grade students. Monday is a holiday here for the Mexican Revolution. Tuesday, 6th and 3rd graders are putting up a mini ceremony to celebrate the holiday. They all have to sing the Beatles Revolution song. So, today we practiced singing the song. It was awesome to be able to talk about something that I aboslutely love. It{s amazing how powerful music is, and especially the Beatles because regardless of the language barrier, we can share the same love for a common thing.

I made a pact with some of the students. I told them that I am learning Spanish while they are learning English, so we have to help each other out, and they are more than happy to agree to the idea. I told them that everyday I would write of what happened in Spanish, and the next day they will help me correct my journal (of course, there are ALOT of corrections).

I love this school because it is such a loving environment. It is also the culture that I really like. Students come up to you and kiss you in the morning and before leaving. It may sound strange, but after about a day, you get used to it and you love it. Kissing on the cheek is just as common as waving hello here. I wish schools in America was more like that because it creats such a different atmosphere for a place that so many children come to learn everyday.

Another great thing about this school is the fact that parents come and get the children right at the front door of the class. Parents would have a chance to meet the teacher and be really involved.

More to come.

I find it hard to believe that a week has already gone by! My host family is truly amazing. This past Saturday Ricardo took me to Pica e´lena, which is a celebration in honor of the Virgin Guadalupe. This was actually the preparation for the big celebration in honor of this saint, which will take place on December 12. I don´t know the full details of the story, but the Virgin Guadalupe was apparently able to stop two brothers from fighting.

On Saturday, the men got up early (3am) to chop wood that was donated by a farmer. Oxen and buggies were used to pull the wood into town. The wood is for a huge fire that will be used to cook food for the town on December 12. Many people donate animals (chicken and pigs). On Saturday afternoon we were able to see a parade (also in honor of the Virgin Guadalupe). There were oxen, horses, and dancers that were dancing Bailes tipicos. This is traditional dancing for Costa Rica. It was a lot of fun!

I am enjoying teaching at San Ambrosio. I feel that I have learned a lot about Costa Rican culture just from being there each day. The discipline is more relaxed than in the states....students are allowed to get up out of their seats and visit their friends during class. There are also more breaks...the students have a 15 minute recess, along with a ten minute break, two five minute breaks, and 40 minutes for lunch. I really like that the students are able to take a break after each lesson. This is not done at home, except for recess...which is not as long as it should be. The students at San Ambrosio come back from their breaks refreshed and ready to learn! I wish we would do this in the states. It would make such big difference.

The students at here are wonderful. The language barrier can be a little difficult, but I think it is an opportunity for the students to practice their English. Some of the children are helping me to learn Spanish, which has been great. When I return to the states I plan to take Spanish classes. I would really like to be fluent in the language. There are two high school students at San Ambrosio who speak up to four languages! I find that amazing. They are both cultural exchange students...one is from Iceland (she speaks Icelandic, Spanish, and English) and the other is from Norway. (she speaks Norwegian, English, Dutch, and Spanish) I think schools in the states should enforce learning a second language more. It can help so much in the job world!

I am in love with the food here. Every dish I have tried has been amazing. The fruits and vegetables are so full of flavor! I will have to take a lot of recipes home with me.

I am really enjoying Costa Rica! It has been wonderful to be able to experience a new culture and way of life.

This was our first whole week of school because last Friday was more of an orientation of the school and meeting the teachers. The school is different in many ways from American schools. School begins at 7a.m. and ends at 2:45 p.m. Each day the schedule of classes changes and most of the classes or subjects are given an 80 minute period. This has been hard for me to adjust to because not only is 80 minutes a long time for any given subject but also an extremely long time for teaching another language. I am trying to find strategies that will prevent the students from losing their focus.

Stephanie and I are co-teaching pre-k, kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade. The atmosphere of these classes is very different from schools in the United States because the students are able to roam around if they want. The students can be very sweet and will come up to us outside of class and give us hugs. A lot of the teaching is having students repeat words, acting words and concepts out, and trying to memorize sounds and such.

I like how the students are given a few minutes inbetween classes to run around or go the the cafeteria (an open picnic area) and get something to eat if they´d like. The students also wear uniforms at all the schools. I think uniforms are a good idea because it takes away some of the classifying that goes on if students are able to choose what they wear.

There is this mountain called Cross Mountain with a cross at the very top of it that can be seen from the school or most anywhere in town. We are hoping to hike to the top of it as a group before we leave because one can see the whole town of Nicoya from the top.

I had the opportunity to go and visit some beaches this week as well. I was able to go to Tamarindo and also Samara, both very beautiful in different ways.

The people here are very early to bed and very early to rise. The day starts usually at 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. with breakfast and coffee. The coffee here is delicious! Most of the breakfasts are very traditional, with tortillas, rice and beans, and sour cream. I am beginning to really like arroz con pollo, rice with chicken, because its delicious here! I try everything I am offered to eat because I want to know what it tastes like.

I´m still working on my Spanish, listening and trying to form sentences to use as replies.

Tamarindo Beach

Sunset at Tamarindo Beach

The lunchroom with some students in uniform.

Samara Beach

So I am really enjoying my time here in Costa Rica. I really enjoy spending time with my family and everyone that I am meeting here in Nicoya. I have adjusted to my house, family, school and even the really early wake up at 6 am! Everyone wakes up so early here because the sun is so bright in the morning.

The school is outdoors and I really like being able to go outside inbetween classes. I think it is really good for the students as week because they are able to run and get some energy out in the breaks. The grades that I am with are pre kinder, kinder, first and second grades. I really enjoy being with these students. I am co teaching with Lena, which I really enjoy.

Mostly we are helping the students with pronunciation and vocabulary during our instruction time. We use a lot of visual materials like pictures and posters to help the students learn. We also try and have the students draw a picture of whatever they are learning about so they can better learn. As a group we are trying to plan an english day where the whole school is involved and only speaking english for a few hours. We are finding lyrics to songs and having the kids sing them. We also are creating labels for various items in the school to help build up the students vocabulary.

I am really loving Costa Rica and think that this experience has already helped me so much!

My "sister" and I riding in the car together.

The view from my room window!

The school.

The talent show is the big event in school this week. The students have all been preparing to perform for their classmates. Everywhere you turn there is some student performing a dance or singing a song. I can not wait to see the students! My host sister is performing a dance with her friends and I am loving helping her pick out outfits for her big night! All 6 of us are planning on going together which should be a lot of fun. There is going to be a lot of food and socialization at the talent show. I am liking how at school we can all get together.

One thing I am really enjoying about this whole experience is seeing the actual progress that we are making. Today in class we reviewed phonics with the letters S, L, and M. I really loved seeing the students identify pictures of words that begin with those letters. The kindergarten students are really excited everytime we go into the class.

We are trying to plan our travels for the next few weeks that we are here. There are so many awesome things to do here in Costa Rica, and we are trying to see as much as we can. I know that we are definitely trying to go see Arenal and Monte Verde. We also really want to go ziplining together.

One thing I am loving about Costa Rica is the great access to the beaches that we have. You can get to a beach on a bus within an hour. So far I have been able to see Samara and Tamarindo beaches and both were amazing. The water is so blue here, and the tide gets very high in the afternoon. Small islands appear just off the coast in the water so the view from the beach is amazing!

Tamarindo Beach!

Samara Beach!

Class!

I have loved getting to know my host family! They have been so nice and very helpful as I adjust to a new place.

This week was a great week at Glenageary-Killiney National School! I have a schedule where I go into all of the classrooms. In the morning, the students start to arrive into the classroom at 8:30; assembly (if they have it) is at 8:45. Teachers are in their room giving instruction until 10:45, when there is a short ten minute break. The students have a snack and go outside while the teachers have coffee and tea together in the staff room. At 12:25, the bell rings for the students to eat their lunch and get their coats. At 12:30 the students go outside until 1:00. The junior infants (the equivalent to a U.S. preschool) and the senior infants (Kindergarten) leave the school at 1:20. The rest of the students are in school until 2:15.

When I am in each classroom, most teachers have given me the job of small group or individual attention for students needing extra support. I have spent most of my time in Junior Infants. I am with them every morning. In this class, I listen to each student read individually about every other day.

One morning this week, I took small groups of students and talked about magnets and let them play with magnets and let them explore what types of objects the magnet will or will not attract. Also, on Wednesday, the teachers were holding parent conferences. These conferences started before the end of the school day, so I was in charge on 6th class. I showed the students a map of the United States and pointed out where I lived and let them ask questions about the States.

Afterwards, I had the students write the alphabet down the side of a piece of paper and let them write poems. I showed them an example on the board. Because I was talking about America, I told them that I would write my poem about America, but that they could write about anything that they wanted. I had them help me write the first few for my poem. For A, I said “America is where I live.” They came up with “Barack Obama will be my next president” and “Canada is my neighbour.”

Looking back on it, because they had so much knowledge about America I wish I had had them write their poems about America. I find it really interesting that they know so much about America and the culture.

This week is green week at the school. The teachers have talked about recycling in their classrooms and each class has prepared something for Friday morning’s assembly. The senior infants have made music instruments from recyclable material and the fifth class has created dramas to share. I have learned that Ireland is much more environmentally friendly than the United States. It is wonderful. There are bins for rubbish, for milk cartons (which the teachers rinse out at the end of every day), for plastic and paper and for leftover foods for compost. At the end of the day, there really is not that much trash. They are not wasteful at all. Even the pencils are sharpened down to an inch.

It is not just the schools that are environmentally friendly, at the grocery stores, you have to pay for your plastic bags, causing most people to use the reusable shopping bags. I think that this is a cultural difference because it seems as though most (not all) Americans are pretty wasteful and do not put effort into recycling. I think it is wonderful how resourceful Ireland is!

Last weekend I did some travelling with Sierra Parker, the other student teacher from ASU. We went on a Paddywagon tour of southern Ireland. It was beautiful! On Friday, we went to Clonmacnoise, an Early Christian site founded by St. Ciarán on the eastern bank of the River Shannon. The site includes the ruins of a cathedral, seven churches (10th -13th century), two martel towers, three high crosses and the largest collection of Early Christian graveslabs in Western Europe.

On Friday night we went to Galway and listened to some Irish music at a pub. On Saturday we went to the Cliffs of Moher. It is by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. It was gorgeous! On Sunday, we went to Blarney Castle and I can now say that I have kissed the Blarney Stone! It was a wonderful weekend full of lots of great sites!

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Wow! I can not beleive we have already been here for two weeks. At times it feels like time is going so fast but at other times it feels like we have always been here. I have really settled down into Costa Rican life and I am starting to feel comfortable. I still miss home often; however, I am not ready to go back! I think that as I continue to feel at home here I will miss home less and less.

Last weekend my family took me to the beach. We stopped by a friends house and I was shocked to have the man turn to me and speak in English. He is German (with a very dark tan) and spoke English before Spanish. The couple has a hotel at the beach and are a lot of fun. I enjoyed my time with them. The beach at their house was beautiful! I played in the sand with my sister and then the family played in the water. We did not stay very long because my father had a futbol game that afternoon but our time there was wonderful. I think the day was perfect!

School is going well. The best part of the day is when we have finished teaching and can sit and talk to our students. I have been working on my Spanish and I enjoy using it with my students. They often laugh at my Spanish but then they tell me how to say what I want to say. I do the same for them in English. I think that this is really helping them. I love the kids here a lot.

Overall I feel this trip has helped me grow in so many ways. I truly love my family here and have hopes of having them visit the US or at least coming back for a visit. I think that with everything that I like about Costa Rica my family here has been the best. They are a special part of my life and I will miss them so much when I go.

Playa Junquillal

My family at the beach

Hanging out with sixth grade after a test

I feel like our time here is going by so fast! I am beginning to feel at home here....Ricardo and his family have truly been wonderful. Each Friday Ricardo and his family go out to dinner. We always go to restaurants that serve traditional Costa Rican food. Last Friday we went to La Fulana Cosa. It was a beautiful, open restaurant that had a variety of food ranging from traditional Costa Rican to Italian. I tried calamari with rice. It was of course amazing. The food here is incredible. I´ve yet to try a dish that I haven´t enjoyed. Ricardo says that he likes taking me places because I have such a good appetite! I don´t think I´ve stopped eating since I have arrived here...good thing it is sweater weather in Boone!

Last Saturday I went to Samara Beach with Rossy, Gabriela and Valeria´s nanny. She took two friends along with her, María, and Gabriela. Gabriela has a two year old daughter named Jimena who also came. She was very cute! She called me Yaya. Only Gabriela could speak English, so for the majority of Saturday and Sunday I was able to practice my Spanish. I find that I can understand what is being said in a conversation, but it is difficult for me to join in. I am glad I went, I feel like I learned a lot of Spanish vocabulary. The beach we went to was beautiful. There were no seashells, just rocks and sand. The water was like bath water.

I have been teaching third and sixth grade. Third grade has been a challenge! There are 29 children in the class, and for the first few days, they tested me. This past Wednesday they were the best they have ever been. It was a wonderful feeling....they listened quietly and understood the lesson I taught on antonyms. I have really enjoyed teaching sixth grade. There are 15 students in the class, and they are very curious about American culture. They ask a lot of questions about my life, what do I like to do for fun, do I have a boyfriend, what is it like to live in the mountains, etc. I have found that the children here are very giving and appreciative of us being there. Last week a little girl from 5th grade gave me a necklace! It made my day! I am sad that next week is our last week at school....I´m going to miss these children.

There is a chicken pox epidemic going on in 5th grade. Six people have it, including the teacher! One of the little girls that has it was in class yesterday. I asked the English teacher if the little girl was going to be sent home and she said not unless the girl was feeling bad. The U.S. is so strict when it comes to illnesses! She would have been sent home immediately.

We have been having a little trouble with a boy who is in fourth grade. He throws temper tantrums anytime he does not get what he wants. When I asked the English teacher about this, I learned that four months ago his father was run over by a car and killed. The little boy was with his father at the time, they were on a motorcycle and the father lost his hat. He jumped off of the bike to retrieve it and was run over. The little boy saw everything. I cannot imagine seeing something so horrible at such a young age! No wonder this boy has so much anger. I feel so bad for him...I wish there was something I could do to help. I hope that he is able to talk everything out with his mother each night. Right now, it seems that he has a lot of bottled up anger. Who can blame him.

This has been such a worthwhile experience. We have only been in the classroom for about a week and a half, but I feel like I have learned so much about the students here. It´s hard to believe that next week is our last week of teaching!

Samara Beach

Jimena

Teaching the 6th Grade

An intense game of Connect Four!

Okay, Irish vocab lesson for this week: bits. Everything is a bit, or bits for plural. I got the ironing board from my host mom's room the other morning, to find her watch and some other accessories on there. She came out and as she picked them up she said "Excuse my bits." At school, the children know a 'bit' about this an that, will trade you 'this bit for that,' and see 'all those bits on the floor.' They do have pieces, things, or parts, whatever we in America would use those words for, they simply replace with 'bit' or 'bits.' Also, a 'bobbin' is anything that goes in your hair. They do not call things hair clips, claws, scrunchies, barrettes, or anything else. Anything and everything that goes into your hair is simply called a 'bobbin.'

At the school everything is going very well. Flexibility is the name of the game right now and I am enjoying every minute of it. On any given day I go from teaching one subject to the next, from one class to the next and somehow manage not to skip a beat. For example: on Tuesday I went from assisting in 6th class to teaching maths and English/creative writing in 4th class while the teacher was in a meeting, followed by an art lesson and project with Jr. Infants (pre-K) on Kandinsky (see images below), the on to the parish to work on the Christmas play with 6th class. I then ended the day, still with 6th class working on their WW II art project: propaganda posters.

Wherever there is a teaching missing, an aide absent, or an art project needed, there I am. When none of the above is necessary, I assist in 6th class. Being here has definitely furthered my ability to think on my feet, as well as be able and willing to jump in where needed.

In Jr. infants (pre-K), we have been talking about primary colors and line. How you only need three colors to make all the other colors, and the different types of lines there are, how everything is made of of lines, and how you draw different lines. This week we did a project based on Kandinsky's work. They used the primary colors to paint a background of color, not objects, then painted different types of lines on top in black paint. The results were incredible.

Outside of school, last weekend I went on a tour of South Ireland. It was beautiful. We went to Galway, saw the Cliff of Mohr, visited Killarney, and saw the remains a few ancient castles, churches and burial sites. Below are the images of one ancient church site at sunset. I thought these best summed up the beauty of Ireland's landscape.

Hola!
I had a very busy but wonderful week. My host family took me to their family´s farm, the finca, and I was able to try coconut water/milk right off the tree! I also saw cows, chickens, a turkey, and a beautiful view. We spent the afternoon there, walking around going to different crops and collecting vegetables and fruit that were ready.

This past week at school has flown by! It´s been great teaching because the students seemed to enjoy the activities we have planned. Stephanie and I are teaching together, pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade. We use a number of visual aids and have the students learn through repetition. We play games, one of which involves sitting in a circle and passing a word or phrase around to practice pronunciation and fluency.

Thursday night we had the talent show, which was great! The atmosphere was lively; several students performed dances and sang. It lasted three hours! There was also food available, which was very rico (tasty)! I tried a chicken kabob with a tortilla on top of the stick. I´ve gotten used to the food and really like the arroz con pollo (chicken and rice).

I´m looking forward to being able to go and visit the volcanoes. My host dad keeps telling me that Arenal Volcano is a wonderful place to go see because sometimes at night it still is active and is a beautiful sight. I can´t believe I have been here for three weeks already. I look forward to the rest of my time here, taking in the Guanacaste culture.

My host dad's sister, Milena, and I drinking coconut juice!

View from the farm.

Maria Jose eating the coconut.

One of the 2nd grade students, Jose Victor, singing in the talent show.

Some of the 3rd grade girls performing a dance.

I am having a great time in Costa Rica. I have adjusted to my life here, and I am really enjoying teaching during the week and traveling during the weekend. Last week was a great week at school. I love teaching the 7th, 8th and 9th grades, the students are very welcoming and excited to see Megan and me everyday. We planned some activities to help them with their pronunciation and spelling, and they loved it. We gave out stickers, erasers, pencils and books as prizes and they were extremely motivated by this.

Last Thursday was the Talent Show at San Ambrosio. Throughout the week we saw students practicing their dance routines, and we were excited to see the finished product. Some of the teachers transformed an area of the school into an outdoor stage and decorated it with stars and butterflies. It was neat to see our students out of their uniforms and interacting with each other and their families. There were a lot of talented actors, dancers and singers, and I´m glad we were able to go.

On Wednesday there will be a mass in the morning and then we are all planning an English day. Stephanie and Lena made English labels to put around the school and we are teaching the students Christmas carols and Christmas traditions from the United States. It will be fun to teach them our traditions and to learn about theirs.

My Spanish is improving everyday and I am able to understand a lot better than when I came here. Armando (my host brother) doesn´t speak any English, but he has taught me a lot of Spanish and he is very patient with me.

Learning how to Salsa

Hiking up the mountain

Megan, Lena, Stephanie and I on top of El Cerro, the mountain next to Nicoya.

Today began my third week at Kill O' the Grange, and the lightening struck, both literally and figuratively. Around 11:25 this morning, I was sitting in the computer lab typing narration bits for the Christmas play when all of the sudden our building was struck by lightening. There was this loud bang, and I learned that lightening is not common here in Ireland. The whole school was in an uproar: Did you see that? Are you okay? Kids were screaming, students were crying, teachers had jumped out of their skin and were trying to slide it back on. It was incredible. All day that was all anyone could talk about was the lightening strike. Lightening is not very common here, and lightening strikes happen even less.

Toward the end of the day, the 6th class teacher had a meeting, so I stepped in and taught for the last hour. During this time I had my own lightening strike. You see, here they have a different view on classroom management. In the states students are expected to be silent during lecture and work time. When talking is allowed, they are to keep it to a dull roar at most.

Here, talking is a constant throughout the day. Students are quiet for lecture, but often during work time there is conversation, and when they are allowed to talk, they immediately reach full capacity. Coming from an American classroom I was taken back by this practice. How could anyone get anything done, and how can the teacher effectively teach?

Then today, when I had the class to myself, I found it happening. The students were talking. How could they get any work done? However, as I began to walk the room, lightening struck and I learned that you don't need a silent classroom for an effective one. Some of the very students carrying on conversations while working were also the ones half way through with their work. If something is on their mind, instead of keeping it in there to fester, they discussed it while doing their English homework. This type of conversation provides an outlet yet does not overwhelmingly distract from the task at hand.

Also, it does not infringe on respect either. Once the teacher starts to speak, the class does quiet, and if the teacher is talking to someone else while the student requests help, there is no butting in. Rather, the student waits patiently until the teacher is free. So while my lightening strike did not stop the entire school, it did make me realize that work can be done in a noisy classroom. Students are capable of both conversation and productivity. Just because you have one doesn't mean you cannot have the other.

Tomorrow we are having an entire day of English at the school we are working in. I am really excited to see how this whole day works out because we have worked so hard to make sure it is a success! The day begins with the entire school going to mass together, then we come back and are having a group assembly. After the assembly we are going to lead a group sing along. Then we will break up into groups and do age appropriate activities. My class is going to be writing and creating Christmas cards to give their families.

This experience has taught me a lot about planning. We are having to completely create something that has never been done before here. It is really neat to see the whole process come together. Finding the time and supplies was probably the most stressful part of planning.

I am enjoying my time with my family as well. They have been so welcoming and I feel like they are making my experience here better than I could have imagined. I love learning about their food and traditions when I am trying my best to converse with them. All in all, this past week was great and I am looking forward to the week ahead.

explaining English day to the school

students working on Christmas cards in English

My host family, Sileny and Siany

I can not believe our time here is already half over!! The time here is going so fast and I will be upset when it is time to leave. I love Costa Rica. I have really started to adjust to life here. I am not really experiencing culture shock anymore. I am understanding the people here so much more than I was. I still have communication problems with my family, but I know that they will not allow anything to happen to me. I trust them fully so when they tell me that we are going somewhere I get in the car.

Last Sunday my mother told me that we were going on a trip with her family to Cartago. Lena went with us. We ended up going to see the Basilica de la Virgen de Los Angeles. The story behind this church is very interesting. Apparently a young girl found a statue in the woods. She took the statue home and put it in her room. The next day the statue was gone and she found it in the woods again. This happened several times. A priest then declared that this was a special site so they built a church. Today many people travel there to drink the water that flows from pipes that are with the statue. The people believe that this water can heal people. My family filled bottles up to take this water home. The church was beautiful. I enjoyed my time there a lot.

School is starting to slow down here. We had an English day for our students. We sang Jingle Bells with the entire school then separated into different grades to make Christmas cards. My fourth and fifth graders enjoyed this. Some of them were not able to write much in English but I helped them write a short message. One student didn't want my help so he copied a paragraph out of his notebook introducing himself. He was so proud of it that I didn't say anything about it being to his parents. The kids here are really great. I feel like they have taught me a lot about teaching.

Basilica de la Virgen de Los Angeles

My students making cards

Students playing outside the school

The weeks are flying by me! I can’t believe that I have already been here for three weeks! I m already halfway through my time here! School is going wonderfully!

Because today is Thanksgiving, the students in fourth class baked me “American chocolate chip cookies” and made me a card, which I thought was really wonderful and sweet of them to do! My host family had a special dinner in honor of Thanksgiving and we all went around the table and told what we were thankful for, as this is a tradition at my house on Thanksgiving. I have continued to learn so much and am so glad that I decided to do this!

In school, I spend most of my time helping students individually or in small groups, something that the teachers here can’t really do as they don’t have teaching assistants to do it. I am trying to learn a bit of Irish as I go along, but it is much harder than I thought it would be. Nothing is said the way it is spelled. There is a lot of controversy as to whether the language should be taught in the schools. Many believe that it is a dead language and that students and teachers are wasting their time by learning and teaching it. Many others, however, believe that it is essential to holding onto Irish culture. I personally think it is wonderful that they are honoring their traditions and ancestors by learning to speak it.

I have noticed that teacher’s here are not as strict about students’ behavior in the classroom. The students here are not required to sit in their seats silently all day as they are at home. Students are not required to ask to get up and go to the bathroom or reprimanded for moving around their table. I think that this has really opened my eyes to why students from other countries in our classrooms at home may find it acceptable to speak without raising their hand or to get up in class.

I have included a picture of my school on "green day" and a picture of myself at the Cliffs of Moher.

The English day that we had on Tuesday was really successful. We had a second grade student come up and give an opening speech about the whole English day experience. After that we had two younger students come up and ask riddles in English for the other students to guess what they were. The seventh grade students then came up on the stage and helped us teach the school how to sing Jingle Bells in English. I really enjoyed seeing everyone have such a good time during the English day. During the individual class time I was with first grade. We made Christmas cards for the students to send home to their parents for Christmas.

Today during school we helped the other English teachers take inventory of all of the books they had in their office! It was a very long process, but I think they all really enjoyed the help that we gave them. I enjoyed discussing what some of the books were about that we were writing down. We discussed ways that we think the books could be incorporated into the English program at the school.

I am so excited because we are going to start traveling to different areas of Costa Rica soon. We are currently planning a trip to go see Arenal which is a volcano that is still active. After that we are going to go to Monte Verde and participate in a canopy tour! We are very lucky that we are having such help from our host families in planning our adventures.

The decorations we made for English day.

One of the second graders and I practicing riddles for English day.

A picture of a label we made for English day.

I am really having a wonderful time here. Last weekend I went to San José with my host family. It was cold and rainy! We were all freezing,....it was in the 50´s...which is VERY cold for Costa Rica. The mountains in Costa Rica are so beautiful....very different from the mountains in North Carolina. They are more barren and very green. Also, the higher the elevation is, the more likely you are to see coffee plants! I was able to take several pictures....coffee plants need shade to grow, so the plants were surrounded by miniature trees.

I didn´t realize how dangerous San José could be until we arrived there. I went to a supermarket with Ricardo and was surprised to see that he had to take a card from a person working in the parking lot in order to park the car. When I asked him about this, he told me that car theft is common in San José, and that he has to give the card back before he leaves so that they know he is not stealing a car. There were security cameras and guards all over the supermarket! It is a beautiful city...but I do not think I would be comfortable living there.

I met Silvia´s (Ricardo´s wife) family while we were in San José. We actually stayed with Silvia´s mother, who was very welcoming. She made me feel very at home. I loved Silvia´s family. I was given a hug and a kiss from everyone who met me. The culture here is so warm and comforting....I really like that.

One of Silvia´s sisters is an English teacher and I was able to talk to her about education in Costa Rica versus education in America. I do feel that teachers in America are not nearly as warm as the ones in Costa Rica. Teachers give hugs constantly in Costa Rica, but in America, it does not happen often. It was interesting to listen to Silvia´s sister´s views on No Child Left Behind. She says that we are so concerned with getting ahead of everyone, that we focus too much on testing particular subjects, instead of having a balanced curriculum. I totally agree with this.

Many times in school, social studies and science are pushed to the side due to the EOGs. I think that´s ridiculous. I also spoke with her about learning different languages in school. In many places, it is a priority to learn at least one other language. The majority of Silvia´s family spoke English. In the United States, this is not a requirement. I think it should be. Traveling to other places where the majority of people can speak two languages or more can almost be embarrassing for Americans! As a nation, we seem to focus only on ourselves, instead of learning about other cultures.

Teaching is going well! Last Friday was the talent show. The students love dancing to raggaeton, and we all enjoyed watching them dance on stage. It was great to mingle with the kids that night and watch them be supportive of one another. Wednesday was an all English day for the students. Stephanie and Lena made signs in English to put around the school, and we had the students sin ´Jingle Bells¨ and make Christmas cards for their families in English. During this time I talked to the sixth graders about Thanksgiving . Most of them knew what it was, but not where it originated. I tried to explain, but wish that I would have brought some pictures books, so that they could really understand!

On Thursday I went to the zoo with Regan and her family. I was able to see crocodiles, monkeys, parrots, toucans, a pig, and tapirs. Tapirs are endangered animals that live in the jungle and forest regions of Costa Rica. I had a lot of fun!

San José

For some reason, the site is not letting me upload any more pictures, but I will come back later and try to upload some more....

I can´t believe that this experience is half way over! This past Sunday I was able to go with Regan and her host mom´s extended family to Cartago to go and visit a beautiful church. The name of the church is the Basilica de los Angeles. It was very neat to go visit and we were able to go to mass. It was interesting to experience the change in weather, going from warm, pleasant days in Nicoya, to a very chilly, rainy day in Cartago.

It´s been a struggle to use what little materials we have to create lesson plans, but it´s so rewarding in the end seeing just what can be done with so little. The students are doing well, and I´m impressed when they are able to answer respond in English in their notebooks.

I had the opportunity to go with the 2nd graders to the Zoo on Friday. It was really fun! Before we went, I was able to do a review with the students, naming the animals we might see in English. At the zoo, we fed a camel and also an ostrich. The students really seemed to enjoy the visit.

One thing I enjoy about the life here is how friendly the people are. On the zoo trip one of the mothers was very nice to me. Even though my Spanish is very minimal we were able to talk a little. She offered me a sandwich and water and was just so sweet the whole trip.

I also love the fact that right next my host family´s house there is a small market that every morning my host sister walks around the corner to go get fresh bread for breakfast or if we need something for dinner we can go right there and get it.

Some of us had the opportunity to climb the cross mountain in Nicoya. It was a little bit of a tedious hike, very much uphill, but once we got to the top, the view was worth it.
On one of the visits to the the beach we saw the congo monos! Monkeys! It was crazy how close they were and being able to watch them swing from branch to branch.

The beach we visited was the Carrillo Beach, which was beautiful! We were able to arrive very early in the morning and got to take some great pictures because the beach was so empty. I´m excited to be able to visit the volcanoes soon and hopefully zipline through the rain forest!

Me in front of the Basilica de los Angeles Church.

Carillo Beach

The View from Cross Mountain

Giraffes at the zoo.

The whole second grade class at the zoo.

Three weeks down, three to go. At the halfway point of my trip I am finally starting to get the hang of life here. I now walk to the left side of the car to get in, not the right. I no longer hesitate when told to put something in the boot (Here, the boot is the trunk of the car, in addition to the type of shoe you wear on your feet.). Also my ears have finally adapted to calling an eraser a 'rubber' (That's what they're called here.), as well as 'rubbing' things out instead of erasing them. I think that has been the hardest one. I have come a long way in these 21 plus days and wouldn't change anything for the world.

This weekend Katie and I headed up north to Derry and Belfast on another Paddy Wagon tour, and it was the most mind-blowing experience. I never knew what was going on in Northern Ireland until my trip here. To be honest, I didn't know Northern Ireland was any different from Ireland before my trip here.

Come to find out, it is a place so rich in history, and even more so in recent history. From 1966-2002 (yeah, only 6 years ago) Belfast was basically a war zone. We took a black cab tour (which I highly recommend if you are ever there) through the streets of Belfast to see its murals, walls, and learn its history from someone who experienced 'the troubles' as they call them, first hand. Unbelievable.

My mind and eyes were opened to things I could barely grasp: gorilla warfare, walls separating parts of town, gates that close at night, buses turned on their side and set fire to create a blockade. All this not 200 or even 50 years ago, no, 10, 20 years ago this stuff was going on, not in the Middle East or Africa, but here in Northern Ireland, Western Europe.

Aside from my trip, things are going well at the school. I am helping direct the Christmas play and we are going to three rehearsals a week this week. The play is really great. It's about two wise men who have been wondering the desert in search of the Messiah, only to arrive at the Inn where he was born 33 years too late. It's very humorous and the students play their parts so well. I will try and take pictures this week to post. I wish I could send you all some video though.

I am really enjoying my time in the school and getting along well with both the teachers and students. I feel like I'm one of the faculty here. As far as art goes, we did a lot of traditional activities this week like snowflakes in 2nd class, and painted ornaments in Senior Infants, but the students had a lot of fun painting and sprinkling glitter. I feel like a celebrity every time I assist in 2nd class. All the girls give me compliments like, "You're the nicest teacher," "I love your accent," "I like your outfit," and so on. It is always such a confidence boost.

I am so thankful for this opportunity, and not just for the compliments, but the experience of working in a different culture.

According to tradition, this is the place where St. Patrick (Ireland's patron saint) gave the example of the trinity being like the shamrock.
Here I am standing in Northern Ireland, but across the water you can see Dunegal, in the Republic of Ireland. So close, yet two very different places...
They told us it never snows in Ireland. On our way back from the Giant's Causeway they were proven wrong =)
This is one of the many (41 I think) walls in Belfast which separate the Protestant side from the Catholic side.
This is the gate in the wall that opens every morning at 6 and closes every night at 11 to separate the Protestant and Catholic sides and help 'keep the peace.'