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!