Rain, Rocky, Religion, Rulers, and ...Turtles.

Right, so I didn't blog for a while. I mean excuse me, it's not like I was teaching or anything. Hahaha yeahhhh so this week I started to actually teach at Colegio de Santa Fe. I'm not going to get into too much detail about the school itself, but I will say my experience thus far has been eye opening and fabulous. The kiddies (grades 7-11) are hilarious, and for some reason think I'm funny. Anyways I love it.

Since a lot has happened since my last entry, I will limit my post to things that begin with 'R' and tortugas.


1. Rain

Rain is underrated. There are many times in Maryland when rain is annoying, but here it is not. Rainy season technically starts in a few weeks, so it is extremely, extremelyyy dry here. On Tuesday, my host sister Merlyn and I jumped in the pool to cool off in the extreme heat. Of course, that's the first time it decided to rain. I didn't even care! It felt so nice to have the rain cool off the sidewalks and for the 'fresh rain' scent to be in the air. It rained for the second time during my run this afternoon. It smelled like summer and I could see the steam rising off the road. Of course luck would have it that I was wearing a white top. Well, the neighbors will remember me. There's a dog that's been running a half mile or so with me everyday. He looks a lot like Houston, but way nicer and Spanish-speaking. Anyways, I was glad the rain did not deter him today. I like to vent about my life during our time together.

2. Rocky

Rocky is the yellow lab that sits outside this house. Technically, he's my host family's pet, but dogs are treated differently here. He really just lingers outside the door. He is absolutely adorable (as a lot of labs are). I assume he's a pretty hardy specimen as we all know Molly can't exist outdoors for over ten minutes. Anyways secretly I pet him when I'm outside. I think he needs a friend. The chickens that meander about the yard don't like to talk to him.

3. Religion

Okay, well if you've heard about my adventures through phone calls or email, you know I found religion on Saturday (ha). No, but besides that, I've found it really interesting to participate in the Catholic activities of Costa Rica. Easter Sunday, Katey, Marge and I headed to the cemetery in Atenas to participate in the services and the parade. Seriously, I saw about 300 kids in their Easter clothes that I wanted to stick in my suitcase. No need to call the police, I held off. Back to the service- the music was beautiful, the church was breathtaking, and most importantly, Katey's parents bought us cotton candy to celebrate the holiday.
My host family is also quite religious; a service was held at the pool house (yeah, I said pool house) on Tuesday. I didn't participate due to my obligation to drive with my sister to take my brother to English classes, but the music upon our return was nice. My host mom has been singing the songs since, so I think I'm set for the next gathering.


4. Rulers

Oh... right... school. Yeah, keeping it short, I just want to reiterate that I love the school and the students. It's a different pace from the US, and I can't tell if that's refreshing or nerve wracking. By that I mean that time is a lot more... fluid in the schools. Classes change whenever, students show up whenever, recess lasts til whenever, etc. At first I was freaking out when one out of 15 of my students showed up at 7:30 am, but by now, I know that's just the way it's going to be. And that's fine. I mean we're in school 7:30-3:15, I certainly think I have enough time to do what I need to do. I can also say that the fluidity extends to curriculum. I went from HSA classes to "read this book by May." Wow. This point I kinda like. I was reading To Kill a Mockingbird with my ninth graders and I realized they didn't understand segregation or America in the 1930s. I actually had the TIME in the curriculum to stop and do a two-day crash course on post-reconstruction America through the Civil Rights Movement. By providing the context to the story, I think it's making a lot more sense. I can't fault my mentor teacher for not explaining 1930s Alabama; I mean, how's she supposed to know? I'm glad I can provide this insight to my students. (Who am I kidding? I'm just glad I was able to teach history for two days.)

5. TURTLES

Right, you were wondering when I would get to the turtles. So tomorrow morning, around 8 am, I will leave on an epic weekend trip to save the lives of leatherback turtles. I know, I am so selfless to spend another weekend at the beach. We're going to the Atlantic this time, so I get a whole new side of the country to explore!
I'll be sure to post pictures of that whole experience, and please PRAY that my transportation goes well!

Miss you all!