International Student Teaching Spring 2009

So here I am, Sunday May 4, 2009; a mere 3 days before I board a plane to make the looooong truck back home. I can't believe it. Really. It's been crazy.

Since I've last written I've done a bit more travelling and a bit more teaching. I've actually taught some pretty interesting lessons, if I do say so meself (that was an intentional "me," just fyi). First, I finished up the American Revolution with the Middles by having them perform a play about it that I found online. I divided them into 4 groups and each group did an act of it. Then I showed them the Schoolhouse Rock clip again, and they all seemed to understand it much more this time. They really seemed to enjoy it!

After that, they asked me all sorts of questions about the United States--anything was open. I talked about the Amish, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Civil War, Presidential assassinations, really, everything was free game. They were so curious and so interested, and I felt so proud of the United States and proud to be able to talk about it with them. When we were finished, the Middle Class teacher (who was also asking me questions) told me that she was very grateful that I was here to talk to them about it. "American history is not something they will ever get in school," she said. It was awesome, and probably the best time I had in the classroom whilst I've been here.

Then with junior class I did a science lesson on magnets. There's not much to say except that I think kids that age think that magnets are magic. They were so amazed. "Look Ms. Jones, I think this leaf is magnetic!" said one boy who had a paper clip stuck to one side of the leaf and the magnet was connecting to that." Basically, I gave them a worksheet I made that had little pictures on them and they had to use the magnets to see what was magnetic and what wasn't. Simple, not much planning, and they loved it. Works for me.

Then, right up my alley, I got to teach a "unit" (i.e. two 45 minute lessons) on....wait for it.....PIRATES! Ok, so that was awesome...not gunna lie!. They are going to start reading "Treasure Island" next week, and I mentioned to the teacher that I took a course on piratical history in college and loved it. So, she asked me to teach a history lesson on pirates.

I made it a myth v. fact kind of lesson. And, the best part, is that it required no background research because I knew the content. All I did was make a Power Point that had 9 true/false questions on it followed by writing down what they thought the true answer was.

Then I went through each topic, saying whether it was true or false and then showing a slide that may have had a quote from a pirate (such as one describing the taste of turtle). After that I had them read round-robin pirates' articles, look at pictures or paintings, and even read a recipe for hardtack. The kids loved it. Even the ones that normally give problems paid attention and really got into it. I ended up talking so much and sharing so many neat little anecdotes that my throat was sore by the end--which actually, now that I think on it, may have been a precursor to the cold I'm not experiencing...no worries, it's NOT swine flu.

The second lesson was really more of an archeology lesson where I talked about the importance of archeology by having them read an article from National Geographic about a pirate ship (the Whydah) which was the first pirate ship authenticated in the world, found off the coast of Cape Cod. Then we talked about the article and I showed them a clip from the National Geographic site about it (to give them a visual) and just had a nice discussion about pirates and archeology. It was really neat. And again, they got into it.

On my last day there, the whole school got together to say good-bye to me and all of the kids had made projects and cards to give to me before I left. It was so awesome. I really grew to love these kids, even though they aren't exactly my age group. Some of them were just so sweet and so special that I am going to miss them so much. I gave them my home address and told them to practice their penmanship by writing me letters.

Now on travel:

Last weekend, obviously was very hard for me (see my post, "One Year"). I went into Dublin alone on Saturday to do some things I'd been meaning to do and just soak up the city. It was kind of nasty and rainy that morning, so I went straight to a museum called "Dublinia" about Viking/medieval Dublin. Then I went to City Hall where they had an exhibit set up about Dublin's history. Very cool. By the time I left City Hall, it was bright and sunny, so I decided to spend some time outside. I made my way to Grafton Street via Temple Bar (i.e. the long way) and went into a couple shops here and there, then I went to St. Stephens Green, a park, and just sat for a while and wrote in my journal. It was nice.

I decided then and there that I really love Dublin. It's such a great city, and I hope this will not be my last time here. Last Sunday, I took another PaddyWagon tour to the ancient Glendalough monastery and the town of Kilkenny. It was super nice and really lovely. While I was in Kilkenny, a random guy, who was quite nice looking, stopped me and started talking to me. I kept to the small talk and then kept walking...and felt like an idiot later--guess I passed up my chance for Irish love--HAHA! Friday, I went into town with the other American students and we celebrated our last day of school with dinner at a nice pub where they were playing Irish music and then to Hard Rock. Yesterday, Kathleen and Rachel and I went to the Dublin Zoo. That was fun, I love zoos. :)

Time is coming to an end here! I had my last full week of school. Well we did not have school on Friday because it is Guanacasta`s Labor Day! So on Friday everything in town was closed. No one worked which was nice to see. Though this meant that we could not travel because the buses were not running. However, it was a great day just to spend with my family before I leave.

So the Swine Flu is a crazy thing that is happening but Costa Rica seems to live without worry. Pura Vida!! I love this... no worries, no stress = the good life!

San Ambrosio is still great and I love going there everyday. It is very easy to get up in the mornings because I cannot wait to see what is going to happen next at our school. We get along great with the staff and they are all starting to realize our time is coming to an end. My first and second grade class worked together to prepare a picnic for me and brought me presents. They all brought me something whether it be a card or souvenir. The main teachers made lunch, which was Arroz con Pollo or also known as ACP! We did this on Thursday because my cooperating teacher is getting married on Saturday and then leaving for her Honeymoon!! So I already had to say my first goodbye. On Monday though the school is planning something secret for us Student Teachers and will not tell us anything! We all have taken guesses but we can´t wait to see what happens.

On Saturday my family took Kirbi and me to Santiago´s parents farm and I had the best time there. They have chickens, ducks, roosters, cows, horses, mangos (3 kinds), papaya, sweet lemons, avocados, pineapples, tamarindos, plantains, bananas, and I am sure I left something out. Santiago´s whole family went, which was fun because they are very sweet and fun to talk to. It was his mom´s birthday the night before so we all had a birthday dinner and had a nice time. There was only one rule... no English!! So my gift to her was to only speak Spanish. This was great because I was able to really practice what I have learned here in 5 weeks. I am having the time of my life and I cannot believe it is time to start saying goodbye. Hopefully, these next couple of days will not be too sad!

This was a very exciting week for the girls and me. We not only were in the classrooms we also had a chance to explore the biodiversity of Costa Rica. We had the opportunity of joining my 10th and 11th grade classes to INBioparque for the day.
INBioparque, which for the longest time I thought was INVEDO parque becasue they said it so fast, was amazing. It is locted in a town right outside of San jose, The biggest city in Costa Rica. The park show us many of the native, plants, fauna, animals and ecosystems of Costa Rica. Although most of the tour was in Spanish there was a lot we learned.

After visiting INBioparque we had the opportunity to visit a convent. Since the school we teach at is a private catholic school, it is run by three nuns. While at the convent students got to ask about the lives of the nuns at that particular convent. We learned that once the nuns arrived there, they did not leave, and contact with family was limited, almost completely. The students were intriqued by the lives of these women and the commitment they had to their faith.

The rest of the week was filled with new experiences in English class. I have found the best way to teach with these students is to be animated and explain in as many creative ways possible. Next week I will have the opportunity to teach with some younger grades and see the difference in their learning styles.

This week I had the opportunity to teach with Kirbi and Ashley who are in charge of the younger grades. Having the opportunity to co-teach with them was an amazing experience, and I really was able to see the differernces in levels and knowledge depending on grade.

This week I also learned a lot about the educational system here in Costa Rica. My cooperating teacher here is named Elias. Elias has been teaching English since he was 18 and is now 24 years old. His English is the best of all the English professors at San Ambrosio, although all of the English teachers are well educated in English. I had the opprorunity to discuss with him how their training in the universtiy was and how the primary and secondary schools functioned there.

First we spoke about the education the English teachers all receive. Much like a lateral entry teacher in the states these teachers are English majors. They receive little to no instruction on teaching pedagogy while in school. This puts it on the teachers to research and study methods and strategies in the classroom.

Their primary and secondary schools are different from ours in many respects. The biggest difference I noticed was how they do testing. Test days are not determined by the teacher. Test days are determined by the school. The school will assign a specific day that all studenst in the entire school will test. That means that on one specific day the whole school may be testing in mathmatics. The next day the whole school may test in English. This method of testing does not allow for teachers to have a say in when the tests are. That means that a teacher may only be partially through a unit and they may have a test. Or the unit may have been over for a week and they still have not been tested. This method is hard on students who already struggle with testing.
This week was eye opening to education in Costa Rica.

This past week was my last week in Ireland. Tomorrow I am headed back the US. On Thursday Rachel and I were mobbed by all 4th through 6th class students. After being mobbed we had to sprint across the town square because the bus had arrived. That is one way to make an exit.

Friday, Rachel and I headed up toward the GAA museum and Croke Park, but unfortunately it was closed due to the big rugby match the next day. So we decided to go back to Christ Church and actually go inside of it. It was a an interesting church, one wall was leaning very badly and the church had a crypt.

We also decided to go see the Book of Kells; this was a very interesting sight but there were absolutely no pictures allowed. Later on we met Kathleen and went to see Oscar Wilde's house, as well as, a statue of him in Merrion Park. We then met up with Rebecca and headed to the Temple Bar area for some dinner. We ate at a pub called Gogarty's.

The next day we all met up over at my host families house to watch the big rugby match. The match was a semifinal between Munster and Leinster for the Heineken Cup. The game was played at Croke Park in front of a crowd of more than 82,000, which set a world record for a club match. Leinster won 25-6.

I did not do much on Sunday but today Rachel and I went to Glendalough. The tour was a lot of fun except for the chatty tour guide. She talked the entire time we were on the bus. The weather was not great today but it was still worth it. When we got back to the bus from seeing Glendalough our tour guide greeted us with a nice, welcomed drink.

I have enjoyed every minute being here in Ireland, but I am ready to come back home, it will be nice to be back in the US. My host family has been friendly, kind, and very hospitable, something I will not forget. I hope all of you have enjoyed traveling along beside me.

For my time here in Costa Rica the weather has been constant. When I say this I mean HOT and sunny. There has not been a day that I have not been sweaty. Don´t get me wrong I am not complaining. I love the weather here. I have heard that there is a rainy season in Costa Rica. This has been hard for me to believe that it rains is this dry place. I finally saw the rain yesterday. It rained all night and for most of the day. When it rains, it pours. May begins the rainy season here. It is kind of amazing to think that I have been here for six weeks and it has only rained one day. The rain did not stop Ashley and I from going to the beach and walking around town. The rain does not stop people from leaving their homes. The Ticos embrace the rain.

(COOL PLACE)

(The woman of the Family.... Maria and her mom)

Well I had many laughs before I left the country early. I made a cake for my family last week and it turned out miserable. I should have taken a picture of it. I used Sprite with the Funfetti mix, but after baking it I realized that I put too much Sprite in! My family still ate it but I felt bad. We all laughed and had a good time, though.

(Teaching in Costa Rica=FUNNY and FUN)

(One of my students)

Another funny experience in Nicoya with my family---
The neighbor's dog ate my underwear literally! In Costa Rica, many people do not dry their clothes with a dryer because they line their clothes up on a line. My clothes were on the line and my underwear happened to fall off and before I could stop the dog, he jumped over to our house and chewed up my underwear. Funny, I know. And, I'm the girl here with the least amount of clothes and under garments.

Also, this week my 8th grade class, which is my FAVORITE learned Amazing Grace. My teacher, Harold, who sings lovely, loved singing it and learning it as well. We sang it to the nuns at the school and they loved it! It was beautiful! I wrote the lyrics on the board, the students copied them, learned the pronuciation, and then sang it many times. This was after we had our on little hamburger cookout in our room. It was really fun and very different from the states. Students brought knives, uncooked meat, grills, and many other things that shocked me! But it was fun, safe, and they learned how to take directions in English and learned how the US eats burgers.

(LOVE THIS GIRL!!!)

(One of my students getting the bag that I was donated because he did the best on his project... he wore it all week... made me cry with joy)

Well, I will write later.

Sarah

This week has been the most chaotic, but rewarding week of this trip. I was able to take lots of pictures with my two classes because they were not doing a lot in class. We took lots of class pictures outside and the kids really seemed to enjoy being photographed! My cooperating teacher also put together a picnic for me and both of my classes came together for the picnic. The children were very well behaved and really seemed to enjoy being outside of the classroom.

As the week went on, everything continued on the same schedule as normal! The swine flu was continually getting worse and it was all that was on the news. On Thursday we got news that there was a possible case in Nicoya and the person was being checked out in the Hospital. It was a very chaotic day with figuring out what would be the best option for us girls. After much debate, three of us decided to head back to the US as a precaution because we were unsure about the cases popping up all over Costa Rica, as well as how the airlines were going to be dealing with planes coming into the US.

After telling my family that I was leaving, it was a very emotional night. I spent a lot of time with my host brother and just relaxed with them. I also went into town to say goodbye to Andrea and Harold, the two teachers that were close to us at the school. I really miss my family down in Costa Rica, but I am glad to be back in the US. It was the most amazing experience and I will continue to keep in touch with my CR family in the future!

I have gone on a number of small trips throughout the country these past couple weeks and have failed to mention them in my other blogs, so I thought I would take some time to describe my adventures across the country and within Dublin.

Cliffs of Moher
I took a Paddywagon tour out to the west coast of Ireland in County Clare for a day to visit the beautiful Cliffs of Moher and Burren. From the cliffs is one of the most spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean I have ever seen. The highest point of the cliffs reaches up to 215 meters or around 700 feet. It started out as a cloudy day, so I was a bit concerned that I would not get the best view. However, just as our bus arrived the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and the view was extraordinary. Our tour guide gave us about an hour to explore the cliffs and to get pictures from two of the view points. At the top of one of the cliffs is a small stone tower, called O'Brien's Tower. It is an observation tower, and from that particular point you can see the Aran Islands in the Galway Bay. It was absolutely breathtaking!

The Burren
On the same tour as the Cliffs of Moher, I had the opportunity to explore The Burren. It is also located in County Clare, not far from the Cliffs of Moher. We simply passed through a small town called Doolin in order to get from the cliffs to the Burren. The Burren is a karst-landscape, which is created by the deteriorating limestone along the Atlantic Coast. From the pictures you can see that it is made up of gray rocks that cover the plains and hills along the coast. There doesn't seem to be much vegetation, but if you look closely between the cracks of the rocks you will see tiny plants and shrubs and wildflowers. I don't know which area I liked best: the Cliffs of Moher or the Burren. Both were absolutely incredible.

Howth
One Sunday afternoon, Nick and I traveled out to a town called Howth. Howth can be seen from Dun Laoghaire, which is not far from where I live. It appears to be an island when looking out across to it from Dun Laoghaire, but it can be reached by the DART, or train system. And so, we took the DART out to Howth, which took approximately an hour due to all the train stops along the way. Neither one of us had any plans once we got there. I had heard about a cliff walk that was supposed to be neat, and Nick had heard about the Howth Castle. We did both. However, first we stopped off at a local restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Seafood is a big deal in Howth because it has a large harbor and port. We enjoyed the traditional fish and chips meal before setting off to find the castle.

As we approached the castle, I will admit I was a bit disappointed. I think this may have been due to the number of castles I had already seen. The Blarney Castle still remains the king of castles in my point of view. Although when I look back at my pictures now I think the Howth Castle is quite beautiful!

We walked around a bit, looking at the site from all angles and then decided to head out towards the coast for the cliff walk. What we didn't realize was how long this hike actually was. We had hiked for nearly and hour and a half along these beautiful cliffs, and yet there was no end in sight. Finally, we approached a small lighthouse on the edge of the coastline and from that point we could see across to Dun Laoghaire. We were only halfway around the Howth coastline. We found a trail sign, which suggested that the remainder of the hike would take another hour and forty-five minutes. And so we found a way to bypass this situation by cutting through the town itself to get back to the DART station. After another hour of walking, we were worn out! I believe we both fell asleep on the train ride back due to exhaustion.

Croke Park
Croke Park is the famous rugby stadium in Dublin. I had heard about the rugby museum and tour of the stadium through a friend, and so Nick and I decided to explore that side of Dublin to check out the stadium. Rugby is a big deal in Ireland and it is extremely entertaining. I have enjoyed watching a few matches on television, but never got the opportunity to travel out to Croke Park to see a big match myself.

The stadium was huge! Sadly, when we arrived, we were informed that there would be no tours for that day due to a large match on the following day. We were devastated! But we did watch that match on television the next day. There are four major provinces in Ireland, and they each have their own teams. Leinster is the province in which Dublin is located. Munster is over in the western part of Ireland. The Munster team has had a huge reputation of being the best team in the country, until they were defeated by the Leinster team in an upset of the season in Croke Park. It was an intense match! I think I'm finally beginning to understand the sport and it's rules. I much prefer it to our football in the United States.

Christ Church
I finally went into Christ Church to do some exploring. Nick had heard that the church showcased a crypt, and so we decided to go and investigate. The church was absolutely beautiful inside. It was constructed in the 1180s, but there have been many restorations in order to keep the church in viewing condition. One side of the church is leaning to it's side, which can be seen when looking at the arches from the center aisle. One feature of the church that I thought was particularly interesting was The Peace Chapel of Saint Laud. Each day there is a two minute prayer for world peace. People from all over the world come to pray and light candles for world peace. I think this is incredible.

We also went down into the crypt, which, I will admit, was a bit creepy. People buried into the walls just creeps me out a bit. But it was still fascinating. At one end of the crypt was the church treasury. In the treasury were gifts of gold and silver from different kings over the years. The chalices were extraordinary pieces of work in solid gold. Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures once inside the crypt.

Book of Kells
Nick and I took a trip back to Trinity College to get a tour of the famous Book of Kells, and it was definitely worth it. The tour took us through the process of creating the pages, the colors, and the text. I had no idea that the pages were made from calf skin. I also watched a video on the binding process of the books, which was very neat. The vivid colors in the pictures were created using a variety of raw materials. I was most impressed with how the paints were created and how the scribes and artists found such materials to make the colors.

I watched another video demonstrating the scripting process, which looked agonizing. It took so much time and skill to write just one simple letter. And then we were able to go an view a couple pages of the book itself. That was truly fascinating, although it was a bit hard to see with the number of people and the way the light was projected onto the pages. It was beautiful nonetheless. But what I found most beautiful was The Long Room. It is the main chamber of the Old Library. It houses nearly 200,000 of the library's oldest books. The shelves rose up two stories to the very top. If you wanted a book you would have to climb an old wooden ladder to reach them. I was amazed. Once again, no pictures allowed!

Dublin Zoo

I took a trip with the girls, Rebecca and Kathleen, out for a relaxed trip to the Dublin Zoo. It basically contains all the animals you would typically find at a zoo in the United States, so it was nothing unusual. We had to compete with all the little kids and their parents to see some of the animals, but other than that it was a really good trip!

Glendalough
My last major trip in Ireland! My host family had recommended that I make a trip out to Glendalough, which is out in the Wicklow Mountains, not too terribly far from where I live. Unfortunately I waited until the weather decided to take a turn for the worst. It was a cloudy day, and rain was to be expected throughout the entire day. But Nick and I made the best of the situation and enjoyed the trip all the same. Glendalough is a glacial valley that houses two beautiful lakes and an early Medieval monastic settlement. Still standing as part of this early settlement is a round tower, a cathedral, and a stone roofed church. The lakes were beautiful once the wind held up. Our tour guide also gave us a taste of Ireland's Jameson Whiskey. The tour was definitely successful despite the poor weather conditions.

The final week was bittersweet. From the first day I arrived i felt so welcomed by the people of Costa Rica. Nicoya really feels like my home now and the people in the town feel like my family.

I finished my finals days in Costa Rica by saying my goodbyes to my family and students. I have learned ande xperienced a lot through this journey to Costa Rica. I have expanded my view of the world, of diversity and of community. I have observed different ways of education and learning. This trip was the perfect thing for me at the end of my college career.
I am now leaving this country that was so welcoming and life changing, to continue my lief in the States. This was a good transition for me from student to teacher, to profssional. I will always remember my time in Costa Rica, and hopefully one day I will have the opportunity of returning.

This week was my last week in Costa Rica. The week was very on schedule, up until Thursday. Since the swine flu was all over the news and the world, a couple of us were very concerned with our situation in Nicoya. There were so many different stories going around the city, like there were two cases in the hospital already, and another person said that it was one person. None of us knew what to believe and what really was going on.

Thursday was a hectic day and a very thoughtful one. I had to determine whether to go home on Friday, or wait until that next Wednesday when we were originally scheduled to return. I was back and forth on the phone with my parents, and with all of the other girls. Ultimately, my decision was made after talking to Megan's mom, who made really good points about coming home. She shared her thoughts about getting stuck here and planes not being able to come back into the US, as well as if it became a high risk area I would not be able to be on campus for 7 days. If I had to stay away from campus for 7 days, that meant that I would not be able to come to my graduation, which I did not want to happen. All in all it was my personal decision, and I really think that I made the right one for the situation that I was in.

After making the decision, we went back to the school to say our goodbyes to the teachers, as well as the students. Everyone was very supportive with our decision to go back to the states, and very sad at the same time. I was really glad that I was able to get so many pictures with my students, as well as the English teachers and Principal.

After school, I went home to pack and hang out with my family. I made them a cake and sat around and talked to them. I think not being able to see them will be the hardest thing because I have become so comfortable with them and I really feel like I was a part of their family. They gave me a gift, which was two Costa Rica t-shirts and an engraved pen and pencil. I was very grateful, and the tears were free flowing by this point!

The next morning we had our road trip to the airport, which the entire family tagged along for! It was a little weird to be driving to the airport because it seemed as if I had just made the drive to Nicoya on our first day in Costa Rica. I said my goodbyes at the airport before boarding the plane with Megan and Sarah. It was a very good trip back, and I would not have traded my experience for the world!

GOODBYE COSTA RICA! PURA VIDA!

Oh wow. In just a few short hours, I am going to be getting on a plane and flying south...and west....very, very far west. I've come so far in 6 weeks that I hardly know how to begin. Or end. I guess I'll start with my last whirlwind trip and my last day in one of my new favorite cities.

I decided on Saturday that I wanted to go to Belfast, and go I did. I booked a train from Connolly Station in Dublin to take me the just over 2 hour trip to Northern Ireland's capital. On my previous trip North, when I went to the Giant's Causeway and Derry, I had spent a grand total of about 30 minutes in Belfast, and most of that was inside the bus station, but I knew right then that I wanted to go back and explore more of the city.

The first thing I noticed was that Belfast is so obviously not Dublin. What I mean by this is that the city itself just feels different. Dublin is a globalized city that is growing quickly. It is diverse(ish) and metropolitan and bustling. Belfast contains elements of those as well, but there is a curtain hanging over the city of the intense history and troubles that the city has faced. And even today, these troubles are completely gone. The Protestant and Catholic sides of the city have these fences called "Peace Fences" which are closed and locked tight on nights and on weekends in order to ensure peace between the two sectors, which are literally right next to each other. I could not help but get drawn into the city. It was so rich and deep, I just wanted to take it all in.

I took a bus tour that drove around the city and gave its history, and then went on "The Belfast Wheel," which is basically a miniature of the London Eye, and got a birds eye view of the city, along with about 13 minutes of commentary. I was in a carriage alone, so it was another chance to just soak in what I saw. However, as much as I was loving Belfast, Kathy (my host mom) suggested that I would really like this living history museum about a 15 minute train ride out of Belfast, so I decided to make time for that. It turned out, that this was a very good thing.

The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum has quite literally transplanted a 19th century Northern Irish town and set it up. There is the "town" section and a "rural" section (which felt like I had stepped back into time in the Irish countryside). And, because it was the May Day Bank Holiday, they had May Day celebrations all throughout the "town." If you know me, you know I was right at home.

I spent a few hours there before making my way back to Belfast (ok quick side story: I didn't really know where this museum was, so I went to the tourist office to ask how to get there; the lady told me the name of the stop I needed to get off of at the train, so I bought a ticket and made my way there. Everything is fine and dandy, right? NO. I got off of the train at the Cultra stop and I thought I had gotten off at an abandoned station. There were no attendants, no buildings, no nothing but track. I was out in the middle of nowhere with no idea where I was supposed to be going and out of the country twice over--as Northern Ireland is in the United Kingdom.

Luckily just up the street was an Inn and Spa, the only building around for what seemed like miles and they were able to point me in the right direction, but I definitely had a minor meltdown for a minute there. Back in Belfast, I walked around the city, just to see. It was incredible. The history...I can't even really put it into words, but it blew me away. After a quick dinner, I made my way back to the train station to come back to the Republic of Ireland...and just a different world.

I've been reading a book about the history of Ireland and I just read about the 1916 Easter Rising and the struggles with men like Eamon de Valera and Michael Collins with the English, and then the beginnings of the Troubles in the North, and everything just becomes so much clearer. Did you know that for a long time, Northern Ireland was the "most Irish" part of the country, and that's why the Stuart kings started setting up English Plantations in the North and began to Anglicize it, making it the divided country it is today. Suddenly, all of that is so much clearer to me.

Today, I went to Dublin for the last time of my trip. There were a couple of things I wanted to do that I hadn't had the chance to yet, so I thought I'd better. First, was going to the crypt at St. Michan's Church. It's out in kind of a run down area of the city and so far out I hadn't wanted to walk out before, but I have recently discovered the Luas, a trolley like system within the city, which had a stop like right in front of the church, so I went. Um ok, it was awesome.

There are some natural methane gasses and limestone in the crypt which have preserved the bodies almost perfectly in the coffins. There are four in particular that range from a couple hundred to 800 years old that you can see are just incredible. The 800 year old body is a man who could have possibly been a Crusader, because he was buried with his legs crossed. According to myth, it is good luck to shake his hand. Now obviously, they wouldn't let us shake his hand, but a slight graze of the finger is considered the same....so....I touched the hand of an 800 year old Crusader. Awesome. Not even kidding. Then I went to the Decorative Arts and History Museum, which was just one Luas station next to St. Michan's. That was really cool too, just my kind of thing. They had a really interesting exhibit on the 1916 Rising, which was perfect timing for me.

And now here I am, 11:24 at night and I fly out at 10:55 in the morning. This has been a great trip. I don't feel changed; I'm not the kind of person who is going to change her entire life over one trip, but I am taking away something from it. For one, I'll be the only World History teacher in North Carolina to teach Irish history along with everything else. For another, I've learned to travel alone and not panic.

I appreciate my Jeep much more too--I have taken 7 different forms of public transportation since I've been here. And surprisingly enough, I appreciate American history much more. I appreciate what we stand for and how far we've come in so short a time. I appreciate what the American Revolution really accomplished. There are two Irish "rebels" buried at St. Michan's who lived at the same time of the American Revolution. Our guide was telling us how they failed, were captured, hanged, drawn, and quartered (a gruesome process that I am going to spare you the details of if you don't know them). Had they succeeded and lived, they would have been known not as rebels but revolutionaries--as Founding Fathers.

Had our own Founding Fathers failed, they may have held the same fates as these two men rather than becoming writers of the Consititution, Presidents, Secretaries of the Treasury, Senators, ect. But most of all, I'm going to take away a richness of culture that is so entrenched in its people that it exhudes from them. That's why I love the people here so much. That's why I've grown to love Ireland more than I thought I would. That's why I'll be back.

Earthquakes. State Department warnings. Civilians in face masks. What was this, you ask? A plague? A riot? Ancient Aztec Gods wreaking vengeance on the irreverence of modern people? No. This was Mexico in the days following the outbreak of the H1N1 (or more commonly called, swine) flu. But, we'll get to that soon enough.

The beginning of what was supposed to be my last full week of school began with a shopping trip in the mall with Adrienne. We had heard vague stories about something happening in Mexico City that shut schools down on Friday, but since we had been in school, we dismissed it as rumor. We looked at all sorts of stores in the mall, with quite a bit more diversity in the types of stores they had compared to American malls. We ate nachos at the movie theatre before we left. The next day we visited the Regional Museum and Planetarium, which were preparing the national celebration of Dio del Ninos (Children's Day). And we headed home to prepare for one more week of school.

Sometime on Sunday, reports of something called "swine flu" begin floating around. Numbers of people hospitalized and dead fill news stories. And somewhere in the mix of things, people began to panic. We heard on Sunday night that Mexican soldiers had been handing out face masks in the city to prevent airborne contraction of the flu. 6 million masks were handed out. However, in a city the size of Mexico City, that left 22 million without a mask.

Monday began with a different feel than usual. We saw people walking their children to school wearing face masks. There were fewer vendors on the streets. We began class as usual with an art lesson, and several students were discussing the swine flu that had mysteriously appeared. At school several teachers were wearing face masks, and just a few students. This made me feel a little anxious. The masks scared me a bit, and if the teachers were wearing them, then it made sense that it would scare the kids also. I didn't put one on until they were passed out to all of the students. Some drew faces on their masks, while some just kept fidgeting with them. And then, less than an hour later, we were told to take them off.

Everyone was already on edge when the alarm went off. Students and staff gathered outside where we learned that an earthquake had hit Mexico City (we learned later that it measured 5.8 on the Richter scale). The principal then made the announcement that the government had decided to close all schools in the country, from day cares to universities, until May 6th. We then returned to class.

Please, answer something for me: If you were a 6th grader, what would be going through your head if you were told you had the next 11 days off of school, but you still had to remain in school for the next three hours? Yes, that is what my students did.

My teacher then announced to the class that, since schools were closing until after we returned to the United States, that it was my last day. My students hugged me and said they're miss me, and we took class pictures. As their parents came to pick them up at the end of the day, I got more hugs and the goodbye cheek-kiss (even though the CDC and State Department did not seem to approve). My teacher also hugged me, we exchanged addresses, and planned to meet again before I left.

We had Tuesday off, and had begun to wonder what we would do with ourselves for the next week until our flight home. All of the tourist places had been closed down by the government. Stores were almost empty of people, and those that were open (movie theatres, Walmart) seemed a biohazard threat waiting to happen. Adrienne and I checked news websites, the CDC, State Department, US Embassy...everywhere we would think of to keep abreast of new developments on what was being called 'a potential global pandemic.' It was when the State Department website began to list the pros and cons of remaining out of the country, and the potential for border closings, that we decided it was time to come home. After an hour on the phone with airlines, tickets were changed, and Wednesday morning we were headed to the airport with our face masks on and hand-sanitizer at the ready.

I was sad for my trip to end sooner than it was supposed to. We had more trips planned, and I lost a good deal of time with my students. However, it made sense to leave the country when we did, to avoid what could have been a serious disease. When we landed in Charlotte, we learned we were not allowed on campus for the 7-day incubation period of the swine flu, just in case we caught it at the airport. With that in mind, we did make the right decision, instead of returning as scheduled and missing graduation. I guess things work out the way they should sometimes.

Margarita dropped Stephen and me off down at the Zocalo in Puebla. We walked around, enjoying the architecture, sampling the wares of 6 Poniente (I think--I just called it Candy Lane for all the dulcerias and cookie shops), and gazing at the glorious art in Puebla's amazing central cathedral.

We also saw a vehicle that seemed to indicate a very rustic sort of lodging.

We took a break from the sun in the crowded zocalo itself. It's much like the plazas in Italy, except it had lots of trees, as well as huge crowds for the holiday. Vendors were selling what we used to call "knickerbockers"--two resin balls attached to a string that you knocked together in a relentless, headache-inducing rhythm. Balloons and bubble makers were also popular. You could sit on a shady bench and have your shoes shined--but we were wearing sandals. We sat next to Jaime, an older man who had been widowed three years ago. His children were on vacation elsewhere, so he celebrated his Holy Saturday by watching the crowd and sharing his bench with us. He told us of Puebla's trees and climate, and taught us about the culture of central Mexico.

We watched clowns taking a lunch break, and enjoyed a few laughs with a dad trying to get his toddler to partake of a fountain.

We had a great party on "Holy Saturday" with friends of the Gomez family. Cesar here is not only a great grill chef, but also a podiatrist and a folklore/culture teacher. One of his concerns is that the Mexican government literally changes history (as written in the textbooks) when it changes administrations. His focus with his students is on the truth of their own culture as revealed in song, dance, and all things Mexican, even when studying math and science.

Fitting all these people into the garden was amazing! Cesar and his wife Connie have two sons (Uriel and Uziel) who are students. In the photo below, from the left, Uziel (who is also in the self-defense class with Mario) and Uriel joined Lindsey and Adrienne (and Mario, not shown, who is sitting to the right of Adrienne) for a rooftop view of the sunset over Popo (the volcano). There really was room for everyone on the ground, though.

Margarita's brother, Mario Santiago, and his wife, Blanca, also came. Another friend, Lupita, and her daughters Daniela and Alejandra joined us a bit later. Ale, who sells real estate, lives in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. She suggested restaurants and offered to be our contact when Stephen and I planned to visit there. Cesar, Lupita, Ale, and Daniela gave us travel advice: Don't go through Oaxaca (city) to get to PE, they told us, better to go to Acapulco and drive down the coast (due to huge curves, much worse than the ones we had encountered on a previous trip).

Toward the end of the evening, we got to meet Pedro Pablo's family: his mother, Porfiria, his brother, Fernando, and his niece Karen stopped by on their way back from their travels. They shared with us some of the oranges that they had brought with them, so we had fresh orange juice the next morning after Adrienne, Stephen, and I enjoyed the 7 a.m. sunrise service on Easter Sunday at Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Well, it is wierd to be back. I kinda hate it and love it all at the same time. I feel like I'm more of a culture shock now than I am back to the U.S. than when I was in Costa Rica. Everything is stressed, busy, and pending here! In Costa Rica I had no care in the world... I just taught everyday and lived the life of a tica.

Teaching in another country and not speaking their language was AWESOME! I learned so much about myself and how I can adjust to something totally new. Since the lifestyle was so laid back, I became that way as well. By the last week, I just taught my classes with no preparation because that is how it happens for the most part and loved every bit of it!

It isn't as if the teachers are not doing a good job, it is just different and students are as well. It was hard trying to learn the structure of the school because of how different it was, but by the end I could say, "Everyone needs to be respectful to me or the other teacher," and the students would listen. I started to move students around who would normally being "chatty katty" with and told them instead of talking they need to the listening!

I loved it because I didn't feel as stressed and nervous all the time about teaching, it just happened and flowed out of me. I feel as if my students did learn with me as a teacher. I was teaching one of my classes about possessives and making them hold conversations using those words and sentences. It was fun to be creative each day!

I want to go back and teach again. Without the threat of the swine flu... I'm there. I really loved it and took away so much.

Sarah

So the time has come to depart from my amazing family and friends of Costa Rica. Estoy muy triste (I am very sad). I have become very familiar and apart of Costa Rica and wish there was more time here. The final three days at school were very tough watching people become aware of the fact that us gringas were no longer goes to be showing our smiling faces.

The number one question I got was "When are you coming back?" The answer is unknown but the want is soon!! Everyone has offered their home to me when I come back and I would love to take them up on that offer.

The hardest part about leaving was realizing that I would not have the Pura Vida life style anymore and the opportunity to see the ones I grew to LOVE everyday! I am very much missing them and wish they could travel to the states to see how our culture is.

Tuesday was the start of the festivities for us. The school had been bringing money in the previous week and we had overhead through our new knowledge of Spanish that there was going to be a assembly for us. In between classes they had a break where the English teachers had presented us gifts that the school had bought us. This really made our day and very thoughtful of the school.

After school my mom invited over all the English teachers to our house and we had a party. It was a lot of fun and I will never forget it! Wednesday was the hardest day because I had to say goodbye to my family! They have been nothing but helpful and nice to me and the rest of the girls. I was being picked up at school so I had one more time to say goodbye to everyone. I did not want to go but unfortunately I had to. I had an amazing experience and I wish I had more time there.
God Bless Costa Rica!!!

On Monday, April 13, we went as planned to the resort at Metepec for a few days. Mario Gerardo (Margarita's son) went early in the day with Cesar and his family to fish at the nearby lake, Amatzcalli. The rest of us drove up in the van. The fishing was good. Stephen and I caught four fish, not really thinking about what we would DO with four fish. But we added them to the fish that Cesar, his sons, and Mario had caught, and we shared them with the group at a restaurant at the lake where they prepare the fish for you and serve it to you immediately.

This is Uriel waiting for one of the huge trout to get hungry.

While Uriel and Uziel were still fishing, Cesar was overseeing the preparation of the fish, and the rest of the crowd were waiting...(l-r) Luis Rene, Pedro Pablo, Margarita, Lindsey, Adrienne, Mario, Connie, and Stephen.

Here, left to right, Uziel, Uriel, Connie, and Cesar prepare to feast on the much anticipated Big One.

The resort itself is a converted textile factory. The sounds from the hallway echo through the huge guest rooms. This is just the reception area.

Nothing is air conditioned, but the windows really open, so the rooms stay cool. The restaurants were wonderful, and so was the elote (corn) sold from a cart near the indoor pool. I chose my elote to be on the cob, which is skewered, then slathered with mayonaise, white cheese, and chili powder. Not what I was expecting for my "healthy" evening snack, but very tasty.

The resort was originally opened for Mexican citizens who qualified for Social Security--you didn't have to be a certain age at that time. It has several pools, a ropes course, musical area, helicopter pad, and peaceful paths to walk among the trees. Stephen and I believe that the original factory must have had beautiful architecture to begin with, but the whole complex shows careful and diligent maintenance.

The town surrounding Metepec has a variety of choices when it comes to finding a decent quesadilla. I went to the vendor recommended by Mario and Luis Rene.

Some of the homes in the town were quite grand, while others were more indicative of a grand past, or a loving family.

Although this looks like a melting Hershey's kiss, it's actually a reminder that Metepec in Old Mexico is like Roswell in New Mexico: known for its UFO sightings.

After we returned from Metepec, Stephen and I boarded a bus to Veracruz. Margarita had decided that Oaxaca was too far away (and she was concerned about us driving a car in Mexico--she was probably right). She recommended Veracruz, and we were so glad she did!

We made arrangements to stay at Hotel Bello, and enjoyed a taxi ride from the bus station. Our driver, a true Jarocho, as the natives of Veracruz are known, told us about the changes to his city since he was a little boy. The folks at Hotel Bello were very kind, and gave us an excellent room with a view of the ocean. Although few people that we met at the hotel spoke English, all were very patient with our limited Spanish. We shared the hotel with about 100 small children who were in town for soccer (futbol) tournament. We had lots of time to interact with our fellow guests because, we were going up and down the elevator with all the buttons pushed! (Another bit that transcends language and culture, apparently.)

We enjoyed the air conditioning in the room because the drastic change from the dry air of Puebla to the very humid atmosphere of Veracruz was a bit of a shock. We had noticed the terrain changing--and the mountain drop-offs along the road (Yikes!), but didn't think about the humidity until we stepped out of the bus station.

Our visit to this city included important places, like the Acuario, the fort, and the Gran Cafe de la Parroquia. We also found time for relaxing in the zocalo, strolling along the beach and the malecon (the official boardwalk-type sidewalk), and visiting the mall for Rainey's haircut.

The fish at the Acuario were beautiful, and some were VERY large. We remembered those fish when we went swimming at the beach the next day. (Hmmmm...everything we saw in THERE is also in HERE with me....)

We took a harbor boat tour, and in addition to being boarded by a "pirate," we passed the famous sites of the city such as the huge Pemex building, the Isla de Sacrifios, and San Juan de Ulua fort. We saw some of the Mexican navy (a Navy "residence" is here) in a group near the Pemex building. We also saw some truly enormous ships and watched a special crane transferring cargo containers from ships to waiting tractor trailers. Now that's skill.

img alt="veracruz%20fort.jpg" src="http://blogs.rcoe.appstate.edu/projects/intstudteach_s09/veracruz%20fort.jpg" width="320" height="240" />

We had breakfast at the justifiably famous Gran Cafe. The service was impeccable, and the waiter who did not speak much English, was kind to me about my Spanish. I really enjoyed the black bean omelet he recommended for me, and Stephen was thrilled with his feast. The high point of course, was the cafe lechero, served in a glass with coffee and hot milk poured into it with great style. As enchanting as the food experience was, Stephen was delighted to be able to communicate with the waiter enough to learn that his dream was to someday visit the United States.

As we walking or riding in a bus or a taxi, we saw several of U.S. fast food chains. Although the signs lead us to believe that they might be a bit different from what we've seen in the U.S., we were not tempted to partake. And yes, apparently Dominoe's delivers in Mexico too.

Although we saw many people swimming in their street clothes (the beaches we went to were as much for the locals as for us), we did use just our swimsuits when we went swimming. As we lay on the sand, various vendors offered us their wares: mangoes and other fruits, raspados and gloriosas (snowcones and snowcones made with milk), cartoon figures made with pipe cleaners, and rubber chickens, just to name a few.

On the bus back to Puebla, we saw large sacks of coffee beans for sale along the side of the road. Truly, the road back is lined with just the sort of geography that looks like it should grow coffee: fertile, green, and very steep.

When I arrived back at school on Monday, I was saddened to learn that one of my fellow teachers, Adriana, had miscarried over the vacation. She was unable to teach for at least a week, so Lourdes (aka Lulu) asked me to take the classes. Lulu and I planned to teach the classes as a team, which is my favorite way to teach. Although some of the classes were business classes, taught in English, we focused on building the students' fluency with tricky tenses that Adriana had identified as difficult for them.

The first step was to figure out which classes Adriana had when and with which students. At D'Amicis, this is much more difficult than in the U.S. schools where I've attended or worked. The system is that students have "their" classrooms. They mostly stay in one room, and the teachers move from room to room. However, for classes taught in English (U.S. History, Reading and Writing, ESL, and Business and Management), the students are shuffled into different groups based on their proficiency in English. Also, each day means a different class schedule.

So, on Monday, Adriana's schedule may be a 45-minute ESL class at 7:20 a.m. with 3rd-year students (12th graders in the U.S.), followed by a break, then a double class (90 minutes) of Business and Management with 2nd-year students, another break, and a 45-minute ESL class with 1st-year students. Each day is a totally different schedule, so the teachers in the English department often look at the schedule and exclaim, "Oh, I have a class now!"

This is a class of 3rd-graders (equivalent to 12th grade in the U.S.). The boy in the right front of this photo has been "called-up" by Mexico's version of selective service to be trained by the military every Saturday morning "to learn how to march." He also attends lectures on military procedures and hierarchies. Margarita's son Mario also was selected. Part of Mario's training was doing community service projects, building teamwork and responsibility.

I was impressed with the students' proficiency in English, which is much more advanced than I remember experiencing when I took Spanish in high school and college. I was delighted to be of help to the department and to be teaching the students, as well as to be able to work with Lulu. Each day meant learning something new--even if it was a commonsense, simple lesson.

One of my lesson plans included a cultural exchange discussion, to help students polish their conversational skills. We discussed the cultures of Mexico, the U.S., and other countries that the students had visited. I learned about differences and similarities along with the students. I was amazed (as before) with the affection between the students and their teachers. I explained about how in the U.S., students are never to be left unattended by a teacher, even in the 12th grade, and that teachers and students do not regularly hug or kiss one another on the cheek as they do in Mexico.

They told me that in Mexico, there are no laws against littering, and they are considered adults at a younger age than in the U.S. Also, many young adults in Mexico live with their parents until they get married. This photo is of Remy (in the cap) and his small group working on their Venn diagram of cultural differences.

The English office, where the teachers gather, meet, have their breaks, and prepare their lessons, is a busy place. Students come in and out throughout the day to ask questions, print their assignments, visit with the teachers, and turn in work. One student, Daniela, delivers salads. She's 15 and in the segundaria or middle school, which includes up to what would be the 9th grade in the U.S. One of her school projects was an "Impulsa," which is sort of a Junior Achievement project (as we called it when I was in high school).

She developed a business selling salads. Her mother provided her with a capital investment and still helps her with the administrative details. Daniela takes orders for her mixed lettuce salads. We can order them with olives, chicken, egg, cheese, bacon, croutons, balsamic vinaigrette, or a homemade cilantro dressing. And after buying 5 salads, we get the 6th one free. She delivers to the office and takes up the plastic containers to be reused. She's a very impressive young woman who took a school lesson and created a real-life business for herself.

This photo is of another group working on their Impulsa project: lamps made with recycled materials. Lulu is on the far right.

At the end of the day, diligent students take their materials and books with them to do homework.

One afternoon I had a nice surprise. I was staying late in the English office to work on my lessons and create a rubric. I was excited to be going home on the bus with Pedro Pablo and glad to be able to work a few extra hours without distraction. At one point, a man who looked familiar came into the office, asked if Lulu had left, then came up to me and kissed me on the cheek before wishing me a good afternoon.

I realized that I had been introduced to him before--it was Gabriel, who oversees the diploma program (Lulu's boss). I was a little startled because I realized he would be like one of my assistant principals in the U.S. It was a kind and friendly gesture in Mexico, but very different from what my kind and friendly supervisors would do in the United States. (Max, a British man who teaches English at D'Amicis, said when he returned to England after 2 years in Mexico, he actually concluded a job interview by kissing his prospective employer on the cheek. He apologized, she was not offended, and he got the job!)

Friday was my marathon teaching day. Starting at 7:20 a.m., I had five classes (three or four preps) back-to-back with no breaks--not even transition time between classes, because one class ends at 8:05 and the next class begins at 8:05. So, I ran from room to room. Lulu was in meetings most of the day, so I was pretty much on my own, although she was able to help me with errands like retrieving the tape player from the office.

On Fridays, classes end at noon and students can go home. Teachers stay for training until around 3:00 p.m. Because the training was in Spanish, Lulu said I could skip the training--it was about Mexico's teaching standards (like our North Carolina Standard Course of Study). Instead, Alex took the time to show me some of the his artwork that would be included in Miss Laura's exhibition in June.

Although I hadn't been assigned to one teacher or one class, the time I had spent student teaching in North Carolina had helped prepare me to step in and teach. In Mexico, I was involved in classes almost everyday, so I already knew most of the routines. The teachers were all quick to give me gentle advice and kind encouragement. Their modeling and feedback were a great help every day.

I was not sure what to expect when I arrived to Costa Rica. However, it did not dawn on me until I saw my schedule that I was like an elective teacher here in NC. What I mean by that is I had break throughout the day and I would teach multiple grades. I really enjoyed this. When I walked into my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classrooms I felt overwhelmed and useless. The students did not understand that I did not speak or understand Spanish because they continued to come and talk to me. I just simply smiled and said No Se y Lo Siento!! I found out through the first week that learning a second language is very difficult but being immersed like we were it was the best way to learn.

Students in Costa Rica do not have a choice of which language they want to learn. They only have English as an option. For the grades I interacted with I learned that repetition and repeat after me is how the students learn English. They have textbooks that the teacher follows with because it gives a good foundation. The book has a pronunciation topic to introduce like long e sounds. then a story is give where the teacher reads it. The sound has many words about the particular topic. However, the teacher takes it further by going more in depth with the story and learning the vocabulary of the story and asking comprehension questions. The teachers I worked with were great!

It is possible and not hard to teach students without all the fancy manipulatives and technology... is what I Iearned in Costa Rica and is different from what I already new. I have been surrounded by manipulative and technology that I have seen many classroom teach without all these things. And the students learn just as much and it is not as hard as some people say.

The teachers wanted to learn English and communicate with us. After we were there for a week more teachers would try and communicate and see how they can help us and vice versa. By talking with others we all agreed the difficult part about each others language is not understanding it but speaking it. The pronunciation for the same letters in each others language is different and that is hard to adjust to.

I really liked the unity of the school teachers. Every Wednesday school is dismissed at 12:00 so that the teachers can have a meeting. It is similar to a faculty meeting but since it is a private Catholic school, they discuss their lives and God. They all help lift each other up when problems arise outside of the home.The teaching methodology is similar to ours in the fact that you teach topic by topic and not overwhelm the students.

However, one main difference is discipline. They have a universal discipline plan but the students are very rambunctious. The organization of the class is not in place and I know the English teachers are looking into other methods. They are looking at different state's discipline plans and they want to change theirs sooner than later.

I learned that at first things will be difficult but keep at it and will soon become easier. This was
true for me learning Spanish and for teaching my students. It was difficult but I wanted to learn so therefore I did. I learned that I am a good teacher and by continuing to learn I can be a great teacher.

Where you live affects what the students are going to learn because the best way to teach is by relating the information to them. So in science they learn about animals Costa Rica has first then goes into similar animals around the world. Same for Social Studies, as in they learn there history first and then learn how other countries has affected them. Also they environment that you teach in affects how you teach. If the school is a more active and hands-on school then you will tend to teach that way. Everyone's culture has different morals so in Costa Rica every kid goes to school because that is important for their future. Culture plays a large role in what is being taught and what is not being taught.

The last week was very short for us because it was only about three days including the trip home. Because of the swine flu in Mexico and the risk of flights being cancelled, we chose to leave early.

On Monday we said goodbye to all of our students because they closed the school down. It was very sad knowing that I wouldn't be able to see the kids anymore. We were able to take pictures with the students and I gave the students a way to keep in touch with me. I am definitely going to miss the students.

Tuesday, we just hung out at the house and read a lot of online news about the swine flu. Tuesday night, the CDC warned Americans that they may have to stay in the country until everything ended if they didn't get out soon so we decided to have our flight switched to Wednesday, April 29th. I was very overwhelmed and sad that we had to leave so suddenly but also glad that we had made a decision about whether or not to leave early.

We woke up very early Wednesday to get on the bus to Mexico City. Margarita recommended we wear our masks on the bus and while we were in Mexico City. We thought that was a very smart idea to make sure we didn't pick up anything airborn. When we arrived at the airport we check our bags and then bought food and spent the last time we could with Margarita. When we checked our bags and before we went through security, we had to complete a checksheet of syptoms.

Lindsey and I needed to finish up some souvenir shopping so we did that inside the terminal. After we our plane took off, some people took off their masks but I decided to keep mine on the entire flight. The flight was long but not bad, even though it was a full flight.

Coming home was very weird for me. I definitely experienced some reverse culture shock adjusting to everything at home. I really enjoyed my trip and will never experience the things I did in Mexico again. I learned a lot about the culture and the schools.