The school year here in Costa Rica and at San Ambrosio is winding down. Even though Costa Rica is in the northern hemisphere, they are now entering into what they call their summer, the dry season. There are only two seasons here, rainy season and dry season. I am pretty sure it has stopped raining for good now, but we may get one or two more short rain squals.
There is only one more week left at San Ambrosio and it is getting more and more frustrating for me as an art teacher. As with the schools in the U.S., art programs are on the bottom of the list when it comes to priority and class time. Like I said last week, I only get one day a week with each grade and some grades I have not even seen once yet due to testing. This was my last week with more than half of my classes because they have testing next week. I have been doing my trademark graffiti project with 7th grade through 10th grade and most of them are going to have to finish their stencils at home if they want to spray paint next week one day after school.
Being at San Ambrosio has been different in just about all aspects compared to the artistically gifted and flourishing Durham School of the Arts where I taught for 10 weeks before arriving in Costa Rica. I know that there are plenty of less fortunate schools out there than San Ambrosio but Durham School of the arts is basically the promise land for any public school art teacher.
Aside from teaching I have been playing some basketball with the secondary and elementary students. Let’s just say that they are way better at soccer than basketball.
The family I am living with has 4 kids, one 13 month old granddaughter, 1 other guest student studying at Nicoya University and then there is myself. This is really not shocking at all and almost as amazing, active, and hectic as the Rosell/Ballance household that I am accustomed to back home. For over two weeks now I have been playing soccer with the two teenage boys that I live with and all their neighbourhood friends, young and old alike. This has been great. They sure do love soccer down here. I play about 3 days a week and every time I have played they will not quit playing until you cannot even see anything in front of you because it is so dark out.
Mary Paz, the grandaughter
Last week one of the maintenance guys from San Ambrosio asked me to play on his team on Sunday in their local soccer league. So last Sunday, the maintenance guy, Domingo is his name, picked me up and we drove 40 minutes to Santa Barbra to play in the league. Little did I know but this was a 35 years old and up league, ha! I got there and I was the only gringo in sight for miles. The name of the team that I played for was the Veterans, and it was legit. They had uniforms and everything.
I hope I am doing as well as some of those guys out there when I am their age. There was one guy who was 60 years old running around playing soccer! It was so hot, but it was an awesome experience. We actually played two games and some of my team mates would smoke cigarettes before and in between games and just about everyone had a beer in between the first and second game!
Last weekend was an eventful weekend. Saturday they had the day long festival called Pica de Lana. The pictures do it better justice but basically half the town goes way out into the country and parties, prepares their ox and carts for the parade into town at noon and chops wood for the carts that the ox tow. Do not really know the significance behind it all but it was fun to watch and participate.
