RCOE International Student Teaching Fall 08

I love Costa Rica. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming to us. Last week at school we had an English Day. We planned several activities relating to celebrating Christmas for the entire school. We taught them Jingle Bells and a few second graders told riddles in English. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, even the high school students.

Next, the students went into their classrooms to make Christmas cards. We wrote phrases on the board like, ¨I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.¨ Many of the students were trying to translate phrases and they did a good job. I think it was a very successful activity.

I´m getting tired of eating rice and beans, but otherwise everything is great!

Megan and I getting ready to surf!

Time seems to be flying here in Costa Rica. I cannot believe we have already been here for a month. Life here is becoming easier and I feel a lot more comfortable on my own. I enjoy coming into town and actually knowing where I am going! I saw Arenal this past weekend and am heading to Monte Verde next weekend. I cannot wait to do the zipline through the rain forest!

I am also in love with the beaches here. They are beyond gorgeous and it is so easy to go. Its nice to have finally figured out the buses and how they work. I love being able to pay basically nothing to get a ride to the beach!

School went well last week. We had English day and it went a lot better than I thought it was going to. First, the entire school went to Mass and it was very interesting. Not being Catholic, I didn´t really know what was going on especially since it was in Spanish, but it was a good experience.

After mass everyone gathered in the courtyard at school. We sang songs, did some riddles for prizes, and labeled things all over the school in English. Once we finished those activities, we separated into grade levels and made Christmas cards in English. I worked with the seventh grade and I was thoroughly impressed with their efforts. They got really into it. They were helping each other translate and decorating the paper as best they could. It was a fun activity and they seemed to really enjoy it!

Monkeys at the beach

Playa Carillo

Me getting surf lessons at Playa Samara!

Hola! ¿Que pasan en los Estados Unidos? Pienso que mi español es mejor de cuando llegue aqui. Espero que si. This last week has been really interesting both at the school and outside of it so I will do my best to highlight the parts that come to my mind.

As with last week, we rotated through several classes teaching English or helping out the teacher in any ways we could. It is really refreshing to see the different classes at alternating times throughout the week. This week our teaching included simple past and present continuous in 3rd grade, vocabulary and dancing routines in 2nd grade, different ways that energy is transferred in 5th grade, and vocabulary and sentence construction in 4th grade.

On Thursday (Thanksgiving) Margarita treated us to a Thanksgiving dinner of Cemitas which is a local, very local food. Cemitas consist of a hallowed out pieces of bread filled with as much stuff as you can possible fit inside of it. These are a staple dish of Puebla and I do not think they are sold anywhere else. Needless to say I was thankful!

We were only in 6th grade one day this week out of our usual two because on Friday Reaksmey and I went to El Dia de los Abuelos (Grandparents Day). The festival was held at another private school in Puebla with an auditorium large enough for the mass that attended. The festival was put on by the five levels of kindergarten at the school and by 1st grade. The morning's activities included dance routines, singing, poetry reading and students playing musical instruments. I never knew that there were so many songs in Spanish about Grandparents! The festival was really fun to watch and there were several times when I was surprised and impressed with the routines the kindergarteners were able to perform.

What I enjoyed as much perhaps was the conversation that we had with a grandparent who sat next to us. It was the best long conversation I have had in Spanish with a stranger. We talked about more than the usual family members and what I like about Mexico which I have memorized by now. As we talked she told us that she actually hosts people from the U.S.A. who come down and live with her for up to 6 weeks learning Spanish. She has had guests from the age of 15 to 60 come and stay with her.

After school on Friday we spent a lot of time with Luis and Mario who have become my and Reaksmey´s good friends. Later on in the weekend we were invited to a birthday party by one of Luis´s friends. The party was a lot of fun and I got to try real taquitos! It was also nice to meet some other people our own age, or at least close to our own age! The birthday host was very hospitable and really made us feel at home.

On Sunday Margarita and I walked to the local market to buy gorditas and freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast. The market was smaller than the others in D.F. and Centro we have been to and I really enjoyed it. We had to wait for a little while at one of the restaurants because they began to make our order after we got there. Little did they know that I was taking notes and I am pretty sure that I can make a mean pair of gorditas of all kinds myself now.

In case you did not know a gordita is a flattened tortilla with refried beans on the inside. You place it on a skillet with oil until it browns and the beans become hot on the inside. After this you can make it several ways, with green salsa, cheese and onions, with red salsa and cheese, or with both kinds of salsa and cheese to mimic the Mexican flag.

Later on, and after our massive meal, we put up our hammocks and relaxed. I also spent a good amount of time on the rooftop watching the next door party and talking with God and Luis. It was an awesome weekend.

We have also begun to plan a little bit for the coming two weeks as far as what we want to do. We bought our tickets for the Christmas bazar today which promises to be an eventful night!

That is the news,

Seth Wingate out...


The zocalo at night in Puebla

At a teacher's house for dinner. Very enjoyable.

D'Amicis's campus during the Model U.N.

Hola! ¿Que pasan en los Estados Unidos? Pienso que mi español es mejor de cuando llegue aqui. Espero que si. This last week has been really interesting both at the school and outside of it so I will do my best to highlight the parts that come to my mind.

As with last week, we rotated through several classes teaching English or helping out the teacher in any ways we could. It is really refreshing to see the different classes at alternating times throughout the week. Some of the subjects that we taught this week include simple past and present continuous in 3rd grade. Vocabulary and dancing routines in 2nd grade. Different ways that energy is transfered in 5th grade and vocabulary and sentence construction in 4th grade.
On Thursday (Thanksgiving) Margarita treated us to a Thanksgiving dinner of Cemitas which is a local, very local food. Cemitas consist of a hallowed out piece of bread filled with as much stuff as you can possible fit inside of it. The are a staple dish of Puebla and I do not think they are sold anywhere else. Needless to say I was thankful!
We were only in 6th grade one day this week out of our usually two because on Friday Reaksmey and I went to El Dia de los Abuelos (Grandparents Day). The festival was held at another private school in Puebla with an auditorium large enough for the mass that attended. The festival was put on by the five levels of Kindergarten at the school and by 1st grade. The morning comprised of dance routines, singing, poem reading and students playing musical instruments. I never new that there were so many songs in Spanish about Grandparents! The festival was really fun to watch and there were several times when I was surprised and impressed with the routines the Kindergarteners were able to perform.
What I enjoyed as much perhaps was the conversation that we had with a Grandparent who sat next to us. It was the best long conversation I have had in Spanish with a stranger. We talked about more than the usual family members and what I like about Mexico which I have memorized by now. As we talked she told us that she actually hosts people from the U.S.A. who come down and live with her for up to 6 weeks learning Spanish. She has had guests from the age of 15 to 60 come and stay with her.
After school on Friday we spent a lot of time with Luis and Mario who have become mine and Reaksmey´s good friends. Later on in the weekend we were invited to a birthday party by one of Luis´s friends and since I could not get a hold of the salsa club ¨Rumba¨ we decided to go. The party was a lot of fun and I got to try real Taquitos! It was also nice to meet some other people our own age, or at least close to our own age! The birthday guest was very hospitable and really made us feel at home.
On Sunday Margarita and I walked to the local market to buy Gorditas and freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast. The market was smaller than the others in D.F. and Centro we have been to and I really enjoyed it. We had to wait for a little while at one of the restaurants because they began to make our order after we got there. Little did they know that I was taking notes and I am pretty sure that I can make a mean pair of Gorditas of all kinds myself now. (In case you did not know a Gordita is a flattened tortilla with refried beans on the inside. You place it on a skillet with oil until it browns and the beans become hot on the inside. After this you can make it several ways, with green salsa, chees and onions, with red salsa and cheese, or with both kinds of salsa and cheese to mimic the Mexican flag). Later on, and after our massive meal we put up our hammocks and relaxed. I also spent a good amount of time on the rooftop watching the next door party and talking with God and Luis. It was an awesome weekend.
We have also begun to plan a little bit for the coming two weeks as far as what we want to do. We bought our tickets for the Christmas bazar today which promises to be an eventful night!

That is the news,

Seth Wingate out...

In the 5th grade classroom.

Students at the Christmas Bazaar.

On the streets of Puebla with my host family.

All is well here in Puebla. Certain things are drastically different from the first couple of weeks, and certain things remain the same.

With this being the 5th week, I continue to love the culture and the food in Mexico. I also continue to be amazed at how family-oriented D`Amicis is. The past week was portfolio night for the elementary school. At first, I was under the impression that each student´s portfolio contained all of his/her projects and activities from the beginning of the year. I was then told that each portfolio contains all of each student´s work since they were in Kindergarten.

Portfolio night at D’Amicis meant that parents would come to the school during the evening to their child's classroom to talk to the teacher and see their child´s progress during the current year and the years prior. By the end of the night, each parent would put a letter that they had written to their child and put it in their child´s portfolio. Some of the letters are quite long and thoughtful.

Also this past week, the Jardin de Niños (kindergarten) students had put up a big ceremony for their grandparents to celebrate Dia del Abuelo month. It was a wonderful ceremony to witness because one wouldn´t see a celebration such as this in North Carolina—or the U.S. in general.

Something that is drastically different between this week and the first couple of weeks is the fact that it is very close to Christmas time. Christmas songs are starting to play on the radio, and decorations are being displayed all throughout the streets, the house, and the school. Physically, it doesn´t feel like Christmas quite yet because I usually don´t get hot during this time of the year. Nevertheless, you can´t beat the feeling of Christmas being ever so near.

One of my favorite things thus far is the preparation for the Christmas ceremony of the elementary classes. Since art is only offered for the high school students, classes from 1st-6th are doing arts and crafts either in TLC or in their own classroom. Students are now doing Christmas crafts such as sewing a gingerbread man or a Christmas tree, and practicing hard for their dance routine. I have been enjoying listening and watching students practice, and sometimes we would even join in. We know most of the dance for the 2nd grade class, and I personally cannot wait to see how the final dance routine would turn out during the ceremony.

Until next time…

I can not beleive that we have less than two weeks left in Costa Rica. I am going to miss it here so much. My family continues to be amazing and it is going to be so hard to leave them. I hope that I will be able to come back to visit or that they can visit me in the states. I am so glad that I am getting to live with them and really feel like I am part of the family.

Last Friday we spent time at the school helping sort and list all of their English books. I enjoyed being able to see the books that they are collecting. They have some really good books. There collection is growing and they love the books so much. In time they will have a wonderful resource for their students. I think that it is so important to continue sending books for their students. The teachers are working very hard to help their students and these books will help imporove their English.

I was talking with someone a few weeks ago here and she told me that the best way to retain knowledge on a language is to read in that langauge and that is why she does so as often as she can. She buys all of her magazines in English so that she stays up with the langague. I tried to do this with Spanish by reading to my host sister but she said I was awful at saying the words in Spanish. She told me that she didn't understand the story because I was saying the words wrong! I am really working on my Spanish still and I have hope that I will be able to take some more classes when I get home.

I was able to travel to see Costa Rica this week. We went to Monteverde and Volcano Arenal. I loved seeing both and had such a good time. At Monteverde we did a zipline tour of the cloud forest. It was rainy and cold but it was a blast. The cloud forest was beautiful, and the guides are so nice and really make you feel safe.

At Volcano Arenal we hiked to a waterfall. The hike was great and the waterfall was amazing. The water was freezing but we got in to swim anyways. That night we were able to see the volcano erupt. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I am so glad we were able to see it.

Arenal Volcano

swimming in La Fortuna Falls

On Wednesday we will only have one week left! I feel like the time here has really flown by! This has been such a wonderful experience. I feel that I have learned so much about Costa Rican culture! Again, I have to say that my family has truly been wonderful. They have taken me to many traditional restaurants and really made me feel like I was a part of their family. This weekend we are going to San José!

Last week we helped the English teachers at San Ambrosio write down the titles and authors of the books we brought to them. Their library is really growing! I am hoping that more people will donate books, so that they will have a really nice one within the next few years. It took us a few hours to do this, and it was good to be able to look through the books as we were writing them down, and to make recommendations for books we thought the students would really enjoy.

I was also able to travel to La Fortuna and Monteverde! I had so much fun. Both places were incredibly beautiful. We lucked out in La Fortuna. It had been raining for days, but we ended up having sunny weather and were able to see the volcano perfectly. On the night we were staying there, the hotel owner´s husband took us to the other side of the volcano, so we were able to see lava! It was incredible. Sadly, we did not see an explosion...although, I can´t say I´m THAT sad about it.

Monteverde was cold and rainy...by cold I mean windy and in the 50s. We did the zipline and tarzan swing. I am glad we were all able to do this together because it was terrifying. I nearly backed out at the beginning, but I am so glad I didn´t! It was an amazing experience...during one of the ziplines, I was in a cloud. I could not see anything except for the trees below me. It was very surreal. Overall, I thought it was a wonderful trip.

I am looking forward to this next week and a half in Costa Rica. I cannot believe it is all coming to a close.

La Fortuna

Monteverde

On Friday I was able to help the school complete the inventory for the English books that they have. I went through and wrote down the title and author of each book onto a sheet of paper. It was really time consuming, but I could tell that the school really appreciated my help.

I also enjoyed talking with the English teachers about the program that they use to teach English here. They were explaining that they try to teach English that is connected to the topics the students are learning in their normal classes. Visual aids and songs are also really helpful to help the students learn faster. We discussed how being here will help us understand how to help students who don´t speak English in our future classrooms.

Right now seems to be the party season for Nicoya and surrounding areas in Costa Rica. Everyday I hear about some event that the town is having. This last week has been really busy with a lot of different things.

We began to start to travel and see different parts of Costa Rica. We took a trip and went to see Arenal which is a volcano that is still active. It was so amazing to look up and see this huge volcano with smoke coming out of the top of it. During our time in the surrounding town of La Fortuna we were able to hike to a really beautiful waterfall. The water was so cold and it felt like pins and needles were poking your skin when you jumped in. At night we were able to take a car and drive to the other side of the volcano and see it actually erupt. It was so amazing because you would all of a sudden just see this red lava coming down the side of the volcano.

We were also really lucky to be able to see Monte Verde which was completly different. Monteverde is very rainy and very cold, but really beautiful. The 6 of us also got to do a canopy tour where you fly over the tops of the cloud forest on a zipline. One of the lines, which was my favorite went through clouds and I couldn´t see anything except below me.

Last night I went with my family to a rodeo in another town. My family explained to me that the people in the Nicoya area really enjoy rodeos so they will set them up in order to raise money for the schools or hospitals. I have never seen an actual bullriding so it was really fun to experience. I was shocked at how the local people were allowed to go in the ring and run from the bull. People would run right up and touch the bull and then sprint back to the wall and jump up. It was really fun to watch.

After the rodeo everyone usually goes to dance and have a really big fiesta next to where the rodeo arena. I learned from my host mom that from November till March there will be a rodeo in almost every town in this region.

Arenal!

The walk to the beach!

Gaza beach!

This past week has been very eventful. Last week Megan and I went to Cañas and Upala with Haro, an English teacher at San Ambrosio. At first we were a little nervous about what to expect, because everything here is so laid back and we never really got a definitive answer about what we would be doing.

We did know that we would be staying in firehouses because Haro is a volunteer firefighter. Over the course of the next 3 days, Megan and I went with Haro to his classes at the university. We helped the students with pronuncation and conversational skills. It was neat to help the students improve their English, and they helped us with our Spanish. On Saturday one of Haro's students took us to Arenal Lake and we saw the volcano and windmill farms.

On Tuesday Megan and I met up with the rest of the girls to go to Monteverde. Since we were separated, we planned to meet at the bus station in Tilarán and then get on the bus together to go to Monteverde. We had everything carefully planned out, and Megan and I started our journey that day early in the morning to catch the first bus.

When we finally arrived in Tilarán at 12:45, it was raining, we didn´t see any of the girls, and there was no bus waiting for us. A taxi driver came up to us and started motioning with his hands and trying to explain to us that the bus to Monteverde left 10 minutes prior and that he would drive us to catch it. Five minutes later we realized what he was saying and we got in the cab with him. We drove a few miles to a very muddy and unstable looking bridge with a bus on either side of it.

Apparently the bus couldn´t cross the bridge so everyone had to get out, walk across and then got onto another bus. Megan and I finally got on the bus and Stephanie stood up and screamed and started crying because she was so relieved to see us. After a long and bumpy bus ride, we arrived to a cold and rainy Monteverde. The next day we got up early and were picked up for the canopy tour. Even though it was cold and rainy, it was the most amazing experience to be in the middle of the rainforest. Later that day Megan and I went on a hike through the rainforest and saw a beautiful waterfall. The day we spent in Monteverde was definitely the best day I´ve had in Costa Rica.

I am really enjoying my time in Costa Rica, and I can´t believe that it is almost finished. I have learned a great deal about myself and about teaching.

Windmill farm near Lago Arenal

Lago Arenal

Cool tree---those are the roots

Megan and I posing in front of a giant bull, waiting for a bus back to Nicoya

Getting ready for Monteverde.

This past week has flown by because of all the places I have gotten to see. Last weekend Nicole and I traveled with our cooperating English teacher to two different cities where he teaches on the weekends. We were able to help teach English to three classes in Upala and Cañas. We worked on pronunciation and conversation skills along with Harold´s favorite thing to teach, Christmas songs.

It was nice being able to interact with the students because they were older and they were there because they wanted to learn. I also enjoyed getting to see what some other towns were like. While we were traveling with Harold, one of his students took us on a bus to see Arenal Lake and the volcano. It was gorgeous and I am glad we got to experience them the way we did.

My snazzy cooperating teacher, Harold

Nicole and I at the windmill project on our way to see Arenal

Lago Arenal

What another awesome week! I can´t believe how fast the time is flying by. One thing I can believe is how much I love the food! I´ve enjoyed eating rice and beans, tortillas with meat, and chicken on a stick. It´s been a really great thing to experience the different food and force myself to eat things I may not have ever tried before.

We were all able to take a trip to MonteVerde which I really enjoyed. It was raining the whole time, but what could we expect, we were in a rain forest! It was beautiful and very peaceful. We were able to go ziplining as a group and do the superman swing. Even though I was soaked by the end, that is something I will never forget. The longest zipline was incredible because all I could see was the treetops below and nothing but white all around me.

I´ve also surprised myself as to how much I´ve enjoyed all the bus rides. I think it is because all of them, whether taking a bus to the beach or riding the 3 hour bus to MonteVerde, the scenery is fantastic. I think that´s where most of my really good scenic pictures are coming from.

My family has been nothing but wonderful and I´m very thankful for them. My host mom works at the school as the school secretary and one of my host sisters Maria Jose is in the second grade. Even though it´s the grade I´ve been teaching, she´s still very respectful when I teach. They took me to the farm again this weekend and it was so nice. I really enjoy going there because it´s so peaceful. The house has a big open porch from which to see the mountains.
I look forward to my last week here and getting to spend more time with my family.

The whole group after Ziplining in MonteVerde.

A shot from the bus leaving MonteVerde.

My host sisters (Maria Jose and Laura) and me.

Second Graders

Okay, so those of us in the states use the term 'your man' and 'your woman' to refer to a person's significant other. Here in Ireland, 'your man/woman' is used as a generic term to refer to a person, often whose name you cannot think of or you don't know.

Friday, while discussing American politics (a popular topic here believe it or not) with a fellow teacher, she said to me, "I was watching a thing on your woman the other night. Oh, you know, your woman, Walin, no, Sarah, Sarah Palin." I had to laugh because it reminded me of when I first came and heard the term I was terribly offended, thinking of it in the American context. After a month here, I have adapted to this phrase, and don't even flinch when I hear the term, and I have began using it in my own vocabulary. Language is a funny thing.

Well, this week was a good week at school. The Christmas fair was Saturday, so we spent a lot of time preparing things for the fair. We painted candy canes in 2nd class, ornaments in senior infants, and gathered games to play at the fair in 6th. The fair was a success and we raised over €11,500 for the school! I helped with the games in 6th class, other venues included waffles (like funnel cakes in the States), baked goods, used books, face painting, nail art, and lots of other things. It was a huge success.

After the fair, twelve other teachers and I headed into the city center of Dublin to partake in a protest. Education cuts are being made in January. These cuts will increase class size, remove special needs assistants, and, as well, remove funds for subs and field trips. On Saturday over 40,000 teachers from all over Ireland gathered at Marion square in Dublin to protest the cut backs on education. This was a great learning experience as well. I had never been part of a protest before, and though we missed the march (due to the fair), we did make it in time for the rally which was well done. The speakers really hit the nail on the head and I was surprised to hear them quote several American politicians like Kennedy and Obama in their speeches.

In the states we complain about our education system, but the cuts they are making here are just atrocious causing conditions that I would never expect to have to face in the States. My heart really goes out to the teachers and students if these cuts remain. Class size will grow to 35-40 students per class, helpers and special needs assistants will be removed, subs will only be provided for days when there is a doctor's note to miss. Otherwise, classes without teachers will have to be split up among the other classes.

For instance, if the Senior Infants teacher is gone and there is no sub cover due to the type of leave day, 6 senior infants will be sent into each classroom (jr. infants, 1st class, 2nd class, etc . . .) for the day. I cannot imagine having to teach 30 something 8 year olds with six 4-year-olds in the back of the room. So that's what all the parents and teachers were protesting. It's just unbelievable.

Aside from the fair and protest, the Christmas play practices are still going strong, and we are doing a dress rehearsal Friday! Below are some pictures from our practice today and the protest Saturday.

The shepherds waiting to go on stage
Herod, his advisers & guards, and the three kings on stage
Two of our teachers at the protest with a protest sign in Irish =)
A homemade sign at the protest . . . quite nice I thought
4th class was studying Greece, so we made pottery, both pinch pots and coil pots. This is one of the coil pots and coil gravy boats . . . don't know if the Greeks had those, but they do now =)

This week has been good. I have been trying to spend a lot of time with my host family and their friends becuase I know my time here is short.

Last weekend I went to the beach with my family. We went to Playa Contral and Playa Flamingo. We had a lot of fun. I spent time looking for shells at Contral. The sand there is made up of seashells. It feels different when you walk on it, your feet sink down in it since the pieces are so big. At Playa Flamingo we ate lunch. The food was really good.

The rest of this week has been really quiet. I have spent a lot of time with my family at the house or hanging out at my family's pharmacy. They are just wonderful people to be around. I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to be here and live with them. They are very giving. My mother bought gifts for my family, including my grandparents. I told her that they did not need gifts but she told me that they wanted to thank my family for me and so she wanted to get them gifts. They are very special people.

I am ready to go home and see my family but I will truly miss the people that I met during my time in Costa Rica.

The beach with my family

Playa Contral

Spending time with my host sister

Only four full days left! I cannot believe it. I have truly enjoyed my time here but am looking forward to coming home for Christmas and spending time with my family.

During this past week I have spent a lot of time with my host family. We traveled to San José and stayed with my host mom´s (Silvia´s) grandmother. She treated me as if I were her own grandaughter, insisting on making food for me and showing me pictures of her family. She does not speak much Spanish, so spending time with her for a few days was good practice! I am not anywhere near being fluent in Spanish, but my vocabulary and comprehension has improved.

During my visit in San José I was able to see more of the town. Valeria was given an art award on Monday, and her work, along with work of other students, was displayed in a park that was downtown. I had no idea Valeria was such a gifted artist! I loved being able to walk around and see everyone´s art work.

The first time I went to San José it was rainy and quite cold! We lucked out this time; it was sunny and felt like Boone in the spring. I traveled to a few malls with my family, watching them Christmas shop. The malls here are basically the same as the malls in America. Christmas music was playing everywhere; walking around with the girls, I almost felt like I was back home.

Today and tomorrow there is a celebration in honor of the Virgin Guadalupe. There was another celebration for this that took place the first few days we arrived in Costa Rica. It was called Pica é Leña...this was when the men got up early in the morning to chop wood and there was a parade in town. Today there was a mass for the Virgin, followed by a parade. It was interesting to see. Many of the Nicoyans took part in this parade, which I really liked. Regan and I joined in and were able to walk around the town. It was a lot of fun!

For the next few days I am going to spend as much time as possible with my host family. Tomorrow morning I am going to learn how to make gallo pinto! This is a Costa Rican breakfast dish consisting of rice and beans. It tastes very good, particularly with eggs.

I cannot believe we only have a handful of days left. I plan to make the most of them!

Valeria and her art! (the painting with the flowers is hers)

View of San José from a restuarant where we ate

Parade in honor of the Virgin Guadalupe

I can´t believe we are headed home in a few days! This has been an amazing experience I will remember! Since we haven´t had school I have had a lot of time to spend with my host family. They are nothing but kind and accepting of me. We went to Santa Cruz together to finish up some Christmas shopping. It was very nice having them go with me because they knew their way around.
For the past couple nights there has been a block party right down the road from where I live. The first night we didn´t attend, but could see the fireworks from our front poarch. That was really neat. The second night we did attend and it reminded me of a fair. There were a few rides, bumper cars and little kiddy rides, lots of stands set up with food vendors and the a rodeo area at the very end. I was able to see the event in the rodeo area, they had several bull riders and then sometimes would do bull fighting, but never hit the bull with anything sharp. The way my host dad described it was that they don´t hurt the bull, the bull hurts them. There were probably about 15 or so men in the ring and would get the bull to chase them. It was very interesting to watch. After we watched for a little while, we went to a tent to sit and enjoy some good food. My family bought two big plates and we all shared. Something I noticed while at the festival is that everyone dresses so nicely here. Not only at the festival, but in their every day life they always look very nice.
One thing that was a little hard for me was this weekend my host family and then my host dad´s family all got together for dinner. It was such a nice atmosphere, everyone enjoying themselves, having good conversation and great food. I felt a little like an outsider and I know that is not anywhere near how they felt, but it was just hard to follow the conversations and made me miss my family a little. I enjoyed the evening and of course the food!
I´m looking forward to my last few days here and then arriving home just in time for Christmas!

A picture from the rodeo area.

My host sister and I at the festival.

Fireworks at the festival.

Our real Christmas tree at the house!

So last weekend was so much fun here in Nicoya. I was able to spend a lot of time with my family and learn about customs here in Costa Rica. I have learned that Nicoya is a very close knit community and whenever there is some kind of celebration the entire town is a part of it. The Festival of Lights celebration was this past weekend.

Before the celebration me and some of the other girls went and helped create the float for out school. It was interesting to see how the school made up for the lack of supplies they had. Despite the need to re-use paper or make do, the float turned out really nice. I have learned from this situation how thankful we should be here for the supplies that we have here.

During the festival I actually got to work and help out by helping serve food. Nicole's mother, Vicky, is considered the cook of Nicoya so she was in charge of creating the rice for the entire festival. It was really fun getting to meet different people from the town and being able to help. Most of the people that we served were students from other towns who were a part of the parade. I didn't realize how the surrounding towns all work together so often.

After working for a few hours (which was very tiring) we went and listened to a band that was playing Salsa music. Lots of people were dancing and signing and having a really good time. I am very jealous of the dancing that I have seen here in Costa Rica. I really wish that I could have learned how to dance, but I don't think with the best of lessons I could be that successful. My family always dances and has tried to teach me a few times.

A student waving at me!

The parade!

Students playing soccer during free time.

After wrapping up my time in Costa Rica, I realized how much I learned and grew from the experience. Not only did my Spanish improve significantly, but I learned about the culture and the educational system. I also learned a lot about myself by being forced to adapt to new and different situations. This is definitely an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

We spent the last weekend in Nicoya and celebrated the Festival de la Luz on Sunday night. Megan, Stephanie and I went to my house in the early afternoon to find my host mom making a ton of arroz con pollo (rice and chicken). The house smelled delicious and there were a half dozen people moving around and working in the kitchen in an excited frenzy. Later that day we went to San Ambrosio to help them make the float for the parade. They were very creative with their resources and had made several butterflies out of cardboard. That night Stephanie and I helped serve the arroz con pollo to the participants of the parade. It was a fun and tiring experience to serve food to over 1000 people.

It was hard saying goodbye to my family, but I hope to visit Nicoya and Costa Rica in the future. As a goodbye gift, my family gave me a small plaque that had the old church in the park on the front and it said "Festival de la Luz, Nicoya 2008." I think this is a very sweet gift, because it was an experience that I shared with my family.

At the rodeo in Belen, a nearby village

Stephanie and I serving Arroz con Pollo

The fire truck decorated for the parade

Lena, Stephanie, Megan and I hanging out at the Firestation

Another incredible week in Ireland!

Last weekend I went on a Paddywagon tour to Northern Ireland with Sierra. It was incredible. I have become so fascinated with Irish history since I have been here. Our tour guide gave us a great synopsis of the history of Ireland. It is so amazing to me that “the troubles” as they are called were so recent. When you think of Europe’s formation and its history of wars, it all seems so long ago, but things in Northern Ireland have only started to settle down in about 2002.

There is still a wall that is separating the Protestant and Catholic side that closes every night at 11. Though religion is what the fighting is usually attributed to, it was more about the division of Unionists and Loyalists, those who want Ireland to be a Republic and those who wish to remain under the rule of the Queen. As we were staying on the Protestant side of the “neutral” town centre, our bus driver had to move the van that said “Paddywagon” on the side to the other side of the city because of its Catholic implications.

I have learned so much about myself and about the culture. I have been continually impressed by the cultural awareness of the students here. They are always asking questions about America and love to tell me what they know about it. I have also met some people through travelling that seem so much more culturally aware than Americans. Americans seem to be very self-involved, only caring or paying attention to matters that affect us.

When we went on a tour to the north this last weekend, Sierra and I met a couple from Australia who were going on a 6 month holiday to travel around the world. To me, and I realize that I’m making a generalization, but many Americans that I have met see nothing outside of their town, city state, or country. I think this is such a valuable lesson for me to learn and to bring home.

When I have a classroom, it will be my job as an educator to make my students more culturally aware.

the tallest Celtic Cross in Ireland

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Slane Abbey

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Derry was severely affected by "the troubles."

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The Giant's Causeway

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Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

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Belfast City Hall

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One of Belfast's famed walls. No matter where you stand, it appears that this man is aiming his gun at you...a constant reminder that someone is always watching you.

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the gates close every night at 11:00, separating the Protestant and Catholic sides of town.

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how the north feels about George Bush

I can’t believe that my time in Ireland has finished. I have learned so much about culture and so much about myself.

During my time, I was continually impressed by how well the students in Jr. Infants read. These were four and five year olds who were already reading sight words and starting phonics with the “Letterland” program. During my last week, I was sitting in on a conversation with the Jr. and Sr. Infants teachers. They were discussing some students who were really struggling with reading and saying that they thought that students started reading too early and that they weren’t ready at such a young age. Where I thought that this was an incredible thing to have students at this young age reading, these teachers saw fault in it.

The students I saw in my classes in Ireland seemed to be more advance than students I have come into contact with in the United States. I credit this to the parental involvement at Glenageary-Killiney National School. There are no buses, so parents are there to pick their students up to drive or even walk them home. During my first week in the school, there was an afternoon dedicated to parent-teacher meetings. The parents were quick to sign up. Before I left home, my cooperating teacher sent home note after note reminding parents to sign up for a time to come meet with her. This could also have something to do with the socio-economic status of each school. My school in Raleigh was set in an area with a very low socioeconomic status while my school in Ireland was set in a relatively wealthy area.

Another difference between cultures that I noticed was how much healthier students seemed to be. Obesity did not seem to be a problem in the school I was in. Students had a snack in the morning and had a relatively small lunch. The parents were in charge of bringing their own food. The school did not have a cafeteria and did not provide lunches for students. Many of the students were involved in afterschool sports. They went outside every day for their lunch break. Students in Ireland seemed to be more active and ate less, something that American students could stand to do.

During my last week, I went to Johnnie Fox’s pub, which is the “highest pub in Ireland” (so named for its location on top of a mountain) with two of the teachers. We had dinner and enjoyed traditional Irish music and dancing.

On my last day at the school, I was given a card and a harp Christmas ornament, the national symbol of Ireland. I gave the school the book, T is for Tarheel: A North Carolina Alphabet. I was also thrown into the second class on my last day because one of the teachers was out. I found out on our way to school and had to plan my day in about 15 minutes. I read the North Carolina book and then the students and I together created an Ireland alphabet. This lesson went well. The kids had a fun time!

Also, I had been helping their teacher with her corrections and knew that they were talking about regrouping with subtraction. Because I had been doing their corrections, I knew where many of the students were going wrong and was able to address these with the whole class. In the afternoon, one of the resource teachers came to the second class and I went to the first class where I gave the students letters that my class in Raleigh had written to them. The students read the letters and wrote letters back. They were excited about the idea that students in America were going to read their writing!

My last night was spent at the staff Christmas party. I couldn’t have asked for a better way for me to end my time in Ireland.

Since I have been back, I have been asked many times how my trip was and everyone wants to hear about everything that I did. I have to sum it up by saying that this was an amazing experience that I am so glad that I had. I have learned about myself personally and professionally. I learned that there are differences among cultures and these differences are not a negative thing. Everyone has something to contribute to this world. I know that I will not have many students in my future classes from Ireland, but I can apply what I learned about students and cultural differences to any culture or any race.
I look forward to doing more travelling in the future.

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my room

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the school

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2nd class recorder performance

traditional Irish dancing at Johnnie Fox's pub

Junior Infants

Staff Dinner at the Purple Ocean

(Muriel, my host mother, is sitting on the right side at the far end)

(I am pictured here with the Senior Infants teacher and the first class teacher.)

(I am pictured here with the fifth class teacher and the second class teacher. Both were students at Trinity and graduated during my last week at the school.)

Jardin de Ninos section of the school

A grandpa came in to read a story

School Market sale

School Market Sale

Lighting Ceremony

November is a busy month because there are a lot on the agenda. This past week wasn´t really eventful as far as teaching goes. Monday was a holiday; Tuesday there was the mini ceremony; Wednesday through Thursday the high schoolers had the big market sale; Friday was a half-day.

One amazing thing about D´Amicis is the community aspect of it. The purpose of the market sale was to raise money for the graduates to have a graduation party. All sorts of things were for sale, but my favorite was the food section. There were a lot of games for the kids to enjoy, and for us to watch. It was a lot of fun, and different that what you would usually see in the US.
We all went back to school Friday evening for the Lighting ceremony. The ceremony was a good way to end the market sale, and start the weekend.

We have finally figured out a schedule with all the teachers that we want to work with. On Monday, we have the 6th graders, Tuesday-4th, Wednesday 3nd, Thursday-5th. The 6th graders are our favorite, so we go to them again on the half-day Friday. We pretty much take over the classroom and teach whatever the teacher tells us. It is our intention to be as resourceful to the teachers as we possibly can.

I am in Ireland!

I had a hard time getting through customs this morning. The letter that I was provided by Diane Middelton did not appear legitimate for the customs officials. She thought that it was a document that I could have created myself because it was not on "headed paper." After a phone call to Muriel, my host mother and principal, the customs officer allowed me through.

I collected my luggage and waited for a bus from the airport to Greystones station where Muriel met me. She jumped right into conversation. She offered me food when we arrived to her house and then sent me straight to bed. She insisted that I take a nap. She had a student teacher come from the United States before who insisted that she would stay up and while she was there ended up getting sick. Muriel was sure this was because of her lack of sleep early in the trip. I went to sleep and woke up a few hours later.

Muriel's husband, Alistair, and her two children, Alyson and Alexander were downstairs. I found out that Alistair owns a sailing school and the whole family is very involved in sailing. He has also done work with film, helping out with scenes on the water in P.S. I Love You, Saving Private Ryan and many other films. He is getting ready to start work on a television commercial. I had dinner with the whole family. Muriel's son comes home from university on Sunday nights for dinner and to watch Top Gear, a British television show about cars. The family has been so wonderful so far! I am looking forward to my next five weeks and all the experiences that I am going to have the opportunity to have!

Next, Nicole and I were supposed to meet up with the other girls in Tileran to make our way to Monteverde. This was interesting because even though we left Nicoya at 6 am, we did not arrive in Tileran on time and we had missed the only bus to Monteverde that day. Luckily a taxi driver figured out what was going on and quickly drove us to meet the bus. We did not fully understand what we were doing until we arrived at the bridge.

My snazzy cooperating teacher, Harold

Nicole and I at the windmill project on our way to see Arenal

Lago Arenal
The bridge the bus to Monte Verde travels on was not wide enough to allow the bus to cross so the passengers had to walk across the bridge, a very muddy and wet bridge, to the other side. Here they get on a different bus that continues the trip to Monte Verde and here is where Nicole and I finally made our entrance on the correct bus. I am so glad we were able to meet up with the rest of the group because I really do not know what we would have done otherwise.

Monte Verde was incredible. I loved everything about the town. We stayed a little out of town at the Monte Verde Inn which turned out to also be the trail head for the Hidden Valley Trail. We all went to the canopy tour and it was by far the coolest thing I have ever done. It was truly amazing. We went through a cloud forest on multiple ziplines and all I could see below was the rainforest. Afterwards Nicole and I hiked the Hidden Valley Trail and it is safe to say I have never been on a better hike. Boone trails will never compare to the plants, animals, and pure atmosphere the rainforest has to offer.

This last week I am going to spend as much time with my family as possible. I am really going to miss them. Siany and I communicate in Spanglish a lot and we have decided that she is going to try to come and live with me in the US after she graduates next year. I hope she can because it would be a great experience. I am not ready to leave this place. I love it here!

Me standing in front of the largest tree I have ever seen.

The coolest stump

Waterfall in the rainforest we hiked behind our cabin

Our view of the sunset in Monte Verde

My "mom" Sileny and I

My "sister" Siany and I

One of my favorite pictures on this trip. This picture was taken from Piramide de Luna, therefore you can see Piramide de Sol.

Piramide de Sol

A seller playing the traditional flute-like instrument.

Me trying to pretend I can play.

Biggest meal I've ever had and it was amazingly good!!! We ate at Quinta La India Bonita restaurant.

(November 16th 2008)

Tomorrow is a holiday here in Mexico, we will celebrate the Mexican Revolution. Today we went to Angelopolis, which is the biggest mall in Puebla.I have been informed by my family that Puebla's full name is Puebla de Los Angeles, meaning town of the angels. Supposedly, the man who designed the down was informed by an angel in his dream as to how the city should be arranged.

Yesterday was an exciting day. It was a full 12-hour day for us to travel to Teotihuacan-Cuidad de Los Dioses (City of the Gods). I believe the ride there was about 3 hours. I'm not sure because I was asleep for most of the ride. We left the house around 7am and got back around 7pm. The ride there was interesting because there were a lot of tolls and there were people just walking between rows of cars selling camotes. Camotes are traditional sweets made of sweet potato and comes in different flavors such as coco (coconut, my favorite). Traffic here is kind of nuts...sometimes when I cross the street I would rush to the other side and the guys would say, "Why run? You'd only die tired." Maybe they were joking, maybe not.

Teotihuacan: amazing. It was a lot of climbing up to the top of the pyramid. After climbing up to the top of Piramide Del Sol (above picture--Pyramid of the Sun), we walked on Calzada De Los Muertos (Street of the Dead) towards Piramide Del La Luna (Pyramid of the Moon). Calzada De Los Muertos got its name from the believe that the kings were buried in the tombs along the major walkway towards the pyramid of the moon.

Overall, Teotihuacan was one of my top favorite places in Mexico. It was incredible.

The students practicing for the Christmas ceremony

Backstage before the Christmas Ceremony

My final week at D'Amicis was both exciting and sad. I knew from the start that I would miss all the students very much once I return back to the States.

It was an exciting first week because the children practiced for the Christmas ceremony and then we finally had the actual ceremony on Thursday. The ceremony was the best. We sat front row to make sure that we wouldn't miss anything. The children had practiced hard, and I'm sure the teachers were all stressed out with all the dances and costumes. Finally, to see it all come together, it was beautiful. I felt like a parent watching my many children dance and celebrate with his and her classmates. I was so proud at all of them.

Came Friday, we went around school to say goodbye to the children. It was rather sad, and all the children felt the same way. Many pictures were taken and many hugs and kisses were given. Towards the end of the day, all the teachers had a meeting, and they all thanked us for being at the school to teach. We all thanked them back. Also, we were given a D'Amicis T-shirt, which I will wear often.

I will miss Mexico a lot. Mexican food will never be the same and I will never forget the people, and especially my host family and the students at D'Amicis.

So here I am, back on U.S. soil after 6 weeks abroad. I feel like Lucy and her siblings as they stepped out of the wardrobe from Narnia. They had lived a life full of experience, change, and growth, only to return to a world just as it was when they left; a place frozen in time, awaiting their return to go on.

I feel it is the same for me now that I'm back. Though it is not the same day I left, the same obligations awaited me when I returned that loomed over my head before my departure, but I am different now, changed forever by this experience overseas. Never again will I approach a classroom the same way, or treat students like I have before. Nor will I look at life through the same lens I always used in the past.

The walls in Belfast, murals of Derry, Galway's pub, Kill 'O the Grange's 6th Class, words about parents, God and Santa from Jr. Infants, all these things and more have impacted my life in such a way that will effect how I live from now on.

My last days were full of lots of good-byes from the students and staff. My last night with my host family we were sitting watching television and my host mom looked over at me and said, "It's going to be odd not having you here. You've become like part of the furniture." She went on to explain that it was a compliment and that, while all the students they've hosted have been grateful and wonderful students, they had their own life, came and went, and life was the same with or without them there. I, however, had become part of their family. I lived with them, interacted with their lives, and would be missed. That comment really meant a lot to me after she explained.

I am so thankful for the experience of being able to teach abroad. It has changed my views of the classroom, and made me thankful to be a teacher in the states. Though I will return to Ireland as soon as life allows, it has made me appreciate being a teacher in the states. The cuts made to Irish education I described in my blog about the protest, I do not believe would ever happen here. As I mentioned above, I will not be the same.

So it may seem like I'm writing this entry after I returned to the United States, and I am...but for some reason my first entry I did in Nicoya was deleted, so I am redoing it in the future, but writing as Past Nicole.

When we arrived in Nicoya it was a rainy afternoon and it took us several hours to get to Nicoya from Liberia because of traffic. I was dropped off at my house and it was a very weird feeling...here I was thrown into a house where I knew no one and could barely communicate. Armando (my host brother) was very nice and welcoming, though, and gave me a cup of coffee and started chatting with me. I had to keep telling him to slow down so that I could understand him, and he was very patient with me.

During the first weekend we went to the Pica de Lena festival in town. There was a parade with a bunch of bulls carrying carts full of wood. It was fun to see this parade, and it was a very cultural experience.

I am excited about spending the next five weeks here, and I hope I will learn a lot and improve my Spanish.

By the second week in Mexico I felt that I had really acclimated well to the new culture and so was free to begin moving around and transverse with the people of Puebla even more. During my fourth week in Mexico I got to do a lot of things that I had not expected to be able to do.

During that week I went out several nights in a row to the Central area of town. Because of our incredible host family I was introduced to several people my own age, most of whom I saw at least twice more on social occasions. I think that is one thing that makes this such a good experience because I am actually able to interact with people my own age here as well as students and adults, all of whom have different perspectives on Mexico and with whom I interact differently.

On one particular night, I accompanied Mario and his friend Monica to an event known as Lucha Libre. You might recognize the event, if not that name, as Mexican Professional Wrestling. I'm not sure which one was invented first (American or Mexican wrestling) but I do know which one I prefer: Lucha Libredores. The action was much faster than in the United States with hardly any pauses in the fights at all. Another plus was that because of the size of the arena in which they were fighting, the wrestlers were almost forced to interact with the crowd.

They needed little persuasion though and there were multiple examples of the wrestlers evading one another by running through the crowd. This was a really great cultural experience in its own right, but was made even more interesting as I was leaving the arena because I heard English, German and I am pretty sure Italian all being spoken just in the short walk to the stairs. I this was really interesting that people who may not speak very much Spanish could still enjoy this event that was entirely in that language. I was once again the foreigner, something that I had never been to this extent in my life.

Another exciting part of this week was staying after school to participate in an after school art class. Miss Laura was just incredible. I do not know if I will be able to finish my art work or not before I leave, but I am excited to try it. Several of the parents of our sixth grade students are also taking this art class and I know that they have enjoyed getting to know us a little bit more. One parent in particular has been very inviting to us and I happily practice English with her on the occasions she is there.

This week is flying by faster than I can imagine and at this time I only have another 2 weeks before I head back to the states!

The Christmas decorations are set up in the Central with large lit piñatas hanging from many of the large streets such as Cinco de Mayo.

I will be home soon.

My final week in Puebla promised to be as only busier than the ones before it. This week we had not only the Christmas Festival for the primary grades, but also the secondary school's fundraiser event "Across the Universe" which was very entertaining. The majority of our time this week was spent in getting prepared for these two festivals. The students at all age levels really kept up a good level of enthusiasm for their events.

On Tuesday, the day before the Christmas festival, I was fortunate enough to work with the 6th grade students for an extend amount of time on their dance routine. This was really a treat for me because I have at least a small amount of experience with stage work and so was able to give several of the male students who were stugling some advice that seemed to make it easier for them. On both Monday and Tuesday the majority of our morning was spent with the students practicing for not only their individual dance routines, but also for the grand finale that showcased all of the students from all of the grades.

The actual event, which lasted all of Wednesday morning, was a lot of fun to watch. I sat in the front row as I told me students I would and took as many photos and videos as some parents I am sure. After wards myself and all of the other faculty (minutes a few) went to eat at an old time hacienda that had been changed into a restaurant. Juice cocktails are the breakfast drink of choice here and I happily ordered a Orange, Apple and Carrot juice drink. I have never had the quantity of salsa and chili for breakfast that I had there. After wards my host family and I went to Central to continue our Christmas shopping.

The last two days after the festival were really nice with lots of goodbyes and promises to stay in touch. I was given what seems like over 50 student emails so that will be exciting if even half of them try to return my emails. While I was at school those last several days I introduced some of the students that enjoyed dancing to some of the basic steps of swing dancing which I hope was an interesting cultural experience for them.

Saturday was highlighted by the salsa bar we went to that night. Not, for, beginners. They were all incredible dancers. I did the best I could under the circumstances of limited Spanish proficiency and pure intimidation at the quality of available partners. It was a unique experience that I am very glad Margarita made available to us and reignited my fervor for Salsa dancing in The United States of America.

In Central again with Monica

Reading over the lyrics to one of the songs for the Christmas Festival

Students preparing to practice the grand finale

I cannot believe my trip is over! What a wonderful experience that I will carry for a lifetime. The last night in Nicoya Regan's host family invited my entire host family and I over for a small fiesta going away party.

It was so nice to have my whole family come to the fiesta. There was a small band playing traditional music and a few people dancing. I loved the atmosphere of the fiesta, so light and carefree. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves! The ticos are such giving people, always asking if we wanted more to eat or drink or if we needed anything in general.

I will definitely miss my family in Nicoya. Even though it was only a few weeks that I was in their home, I felt as if I had been there for a year. They made me feel at home, my host mom even told me that the door to her house was always open. I plan to go back and visit and hopefully take my NC family with me and show them the beauty of Costa Rica.

The first day back to North Carolina was very different and distracting. I didn't get back home until late in the morning because of a flight delay and the next full day here I had adjusting I had to do. For example, the busy sounds of life here and the chilly weather were different!

I feel this experience has taught me many things I will be able to use when teaching. I now know first hand what it feels like to be an second language learner and how it feels to be in a room full of people and have no idea what is going on.

I also feel that being put in those situations has helped me be able to take a step back and examine what is going on instead of just giving up. I'm very proud that I was able to teach at San Ambroisio and will carry this experience with me for a lifetime!