This week has been fairly uneventful. I have been teaching the same information as last week only this time it has been to the slower group. It hasnt been easy. It seems like everything that took 30 minutes last week has turned into an hour plus with this group. It doesnt help that there are 12 people in this group who all need individual instruction and verification of what they are donig is correct, but oh well. I am planning on writing the test this weekend and giving it to the first group next Friday. If I give it to them next week that will leave a week each of extra material for each group and I think that it will be better for them to get tested on the information as soon as possible. Well I mean it will make it easier for me to review with them, I dont think it will have any effect on grades since what I teach one day seems to have been forgotten by the next.
Last night I got soaked on the way to class which really sucked, I felt like I was in some old movie where the rain and wind are so strong that the umbrella turns inside out and ceases to be of any use. When I left my room it was quite pleasant outside (merely drizzling) but by the time I was halfway to the station the heavens just opened up on me. I quickly got my umbrella out, but along with the rain came this crazy wind that just pushed the rain horizontally leaving my umbrella completely useless. Fyi there are no houses for the majority of my walk, only fields, so there was no possibility of shelter.
I got a haircut today, just got it trimmed up. I dont really have anything else to write about, my life has been blissfully uneventful (boring) this week. Pura Vida
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
10-26-09
How about those HAWKEYES!! Number 4 in the BCS is pretty darn good. Although Im kind of hoping that we dont go to a championship and get made a fool of by Texas, Oklahoma, or Florida but thats still awhile off. Ive got nothing else for today. Pura Vida
Thursday, October 22, 2009
10-22-09
I had my second migraine down here yesterday, which really sucked. On top of the whole migraine thing there was a neighborhood stickball game going on outside my window, and it didnt rain at all yesterday. It turned out to be one of the worst days to end up with a migraine since Ive been here but oh well. I just tied a bandana around my head and rode it out, pretty much all you can do. I finally got my shipment of magazines the other day which has been nice. The only problem Im having is trying to ration my reading Ive already torn through 2 of them which puts me on pace to finish them all in a week. I have been trying to split my time equally between reading them and watching my ussual tv shows but for the first time since ive been a college student the written word is calling me more then the boob tube.
I didnt end up teaching last night as my migraine had not ye faded by class time, but this weeks class has an extra week of prep before the test so I didnt feel to bad cheating them out of a day. This week has been tough becuase people who need to be at every class have been missing out leading to lots of repitition and making the more advanced students bored out of their minds. I am praying that next week will be smoother sailing because its that groups last chance o learn the new material for the test, and they arent the fast group. Andres really screwed up more then my plans with moving the test dates but oh well. I saw that my hawkeyes are going to be on tv here again on Saturday so that will mean that ive only missed two games of the season so far, not too shabby for being a few thousand miles away.
I feel like I have plateaued in my speaking down here, which is a very nice feeling. I think I can use the words I know well and effectively and I dont have any problem communicating, but I deffinitely need to learn more. I am hoping to seek out the help of the police officers in expanding my Spanish, but they know what level of language I am comfortable with and stick to the words they know I know, maybe im just hoping for too much. I also have this problem with speaking quickly and no one understanding me, I dont know if I have some funny accent or what but unless I speak with all of my words seperated no one knows what Im saying the first time I say it. Like on Monday I needed a caculator (necessito una calculadora) pretty simple sentence but when I said it to the house keeper I just got a blank stare. Enventually I just said Cal-Cu-La-Dor-a and she understood what I meant. I mean if a Spanish speaker can understand all of the other spanish speakers (and let me say there are some dilects that are more impenitrable to my ear then english from mississippi) shouldnt they be able to understand a little white boy spanish. I dont know hopefully I can get some pronunciation lessons in the next month too. Pura Vida
I didnt end up teaching last night as my migraine had not ye faded by class time, but this weeks class has an extra week of prep before the test so I didnt feel to bad cheating them out of a day. This week has been tough becuase people who need to be at every class have been missing out leading to lots of repitition and making the more advanced students bored out of their minds. I am praying that next week will be smoother sailing because its that groups last chance o learn the new material for the test, and they arent the fast group. Andres really screwed up more then my plans with moving the test dates but oh well. I saw that my hawkeyes are going to be on tv here again on Saturday so that will mean that ive only missed two games of the season so far, not too shabby for being a few thousand miles away.
I feel like I have plateaued in my speaking down here, which is a very nice feeling. I think I can use the words I know well and effectively and I dont have any problem communicating, but I deffinitely need to learn more. I am hoping to seek out the help of the police officers in expanding my Spanish, but they know what level of language I am comfortable with and stick to the words they know I know, maybe im just hoping for too much. I also have this problem with speaking quickly and no one understanding me, I dont know if I have some funny accent or what but unless I speak with all of my words seperated no one knows what Im saying the first time I say it. Like on Monday I needed a caculator (necessito una calculadora) pretty simple sentence but when I said it to the house keeper I just got a blank stare. Enventually I just said Cal-Cu-La-Dor-a and she understood what I meant. I mean if a Spanish speaker can understand all of the other spanish speakers (and let me say there are some dilects that are more impenitrable to my ear then english from mississippi) shouldnt they be able to understand a little white boy spanish. I dont know hopefully I can get some pronunciation lessons in the next month too. Pura Vida
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
10-20-09
This week has brought a few changes to my schedual down here and even though im only a little more then half way through it feels like Im getting ready to leave. When I arrived to teach on Saturday Andres told me that he is planning a big graduation ceremony for the press and government. These are the first police in the country to participate in any kind of English language instruction so it is a big deal for them to have completed 6 months of cooursework and theyre progress will be used to judge whether or not to expand the progarm to other locations or to other agencies. After he told me that and also that I would be responsible for a speech at the graduation ceremony I felt a little more preasure, just a little. So anyway he then told me that instead of having the graduation ceremony in early december he wanted to have it the last week I was schedualed to teach.
That doesnt just mean that I needed to push the final test up a few days it meant that I needed to push the final up by a whole week so that grades could be finalized and certificates of achievemnet could be printed. I dont understand why I have to send in grades its not like anyone is checking that anything was taught and the standards are solely of my choosing so maybe everyone will get an A, I always hated grades anyway. The moving of the test by a week really screwed up my whole plan for what I was going to teach. Andres also told me that I am the last teacher for atleast 6 months here so I feel an added wheight of having to prepare them for the high season as best I can. Oh and I only have one week left with each group. AHHHH
So after I sat down and planned this weeks lessons the remainder of my stay was basically planned. Now I just have to teach the lessons I have planned and write the test. It seems like Im on the tailend of my time already and I guess Im closing in on a month left but it doesnt seem like a month to me, as its all laid out in my notepad. I havent done much of anything outside of classes in a while and I am hoping that Fresnell gets a day off soon so I can have a conversation about something other then the past tense and the chilid support worries of a bunch of 30 year old police officers. I havent missed the absense of another English speaker as much as I thought I would, but Im really hurting on speaking with someone my age. Dont worry though I am doing fine and still loving it down here, Im more worried about when I get back.
Good news on the apartment front though, it seems that the girls that have been leading me and a friend on about subleasing there place in the spring have officially decided to split and let us have their apartment. Now I only have to worry about cold wheather clothing, a backpack, windbreaker, Ipod, and returning to my job. All minor in comparison to not having a place to live. Pura Vida
That doesnt just mean that I needed to push the final test up a few days it meant that I needed to push the final up by a whole week so that grades could be finalized and certificates of achievemnet could be printed. I dont understand why I have to send in grades its not like anyone is checking that anything was taught and the standards are solely of my choosing so maybe everyone will get an A, I always hated grades anyway. The moving of the test by a week really screwed up my whole plan for what I was going to teach. Andres also told me that I am the last teacher for atleast 6 months here so I feel an added wheight of having to prepare them for the high season as best I can. Oh and I only have one week left with each group. AHHHH
So after I sat down and planned this weeks lessons the remainder of my stay was basically planned. Now I just have to teach the lessons I have planned and write the test. It seems like Im on the tailend of my time already and I guess Im closing in on a month left but it doesnt seem like a month to me, as its all laid out in my notepad. I havent done much of anything outside of classes in a while and I am hoping that Fresnell gets a day off soon so I can have a conversation about something other then the past tense and the chilid support worries of a bunch of 30 year old police officers. I havent missed the absense of another English speaker as much as I thought I would, but Im really hurting on speaking with someone my age. Dont worry though I am doing fine and still loving it down here, Im more worried about when I get back.
Good news on the apartment front though, it seems that the girls that have been leading me and a friend on about subleasing there place in the spring have officially decided to split and let us have their apartment. Now I only have to worry about cold wheather clothing, a backpack, windbreaker, Ipod, and returning to my job. All minor in comparison to not having a place to live. Pura Vida
Friday, October 16, 2009
10-16-09
I just returned from a successful trip north of the boarder with my new visa. It was long, boring, and irritating but otherwise good. I didnt get a chance to post something before I left because Victor called me abruptly on Wednesday and told me that the bus needed to be on was leaving in 45 minutes, so I had o run out the door. The original plan was for me to go on Wednesday and return today, but on Tuesday when I called Victor he said Thursday to Friday would be better. So when he called me on Wednesday afternoon I was unprepared to leave, but I didnt really have to much choice as he was getting me out of a three day manditory vacation in Nicaragua.
When I got on the bus I thought I was going to the wrong place, I was heading in the right direction, but the name on the bus wasnt Ciudad Quesada. After an hour of worrying/ telling myself Im not THAT stupid I realized that here Ciudad Quesada is San Carlos. When I arrived at the bus stop in San Carlos/Quesada it only took me a few seconds to find the man screaming Los Chiles before I was on my way. The bus ride wasnt too bad, but it turned out I had missed the ¨direct¨bus which meant that I was on the one that stopped every 50 feet to let someone on or off. So the 1 and a half hour trip that Luke and I took to Los Chiles turned out to be 3 and a half on the bus. The nice thing was that when I fell asleep and woke up Victor was sitting next to me saying ¨you really shouldnt sleep on the bus, youll miss the stop¨ instead of a stranger trying to steal my personal belongings of little to no value.
In the morning Victor and I walked around Los Chiles to various lawyers and government offices which was nice because most of them were airconditioned. He was getting a permit to buy more land around his house, which consisted of going to a lawyer, paying 50 cents for a stamp of some sort, going to get a photo copy of the new stamp, then to the government office, then to the lawyer for another stamp. We did about three rounds of this before we were done and both sweating like crazy. There is some local bullshit in Los Chiles that goes ¨Its not that hot here, even though everyone in Costa Rica says this is the hottest place in the country theyre wrong and we know because we live here¨. Its a crock of shit because Los Chiles is like a freaking oven and the people who live there are nuts. I had to say that to someone and since half the police live in Los Chiles this is probably the best forum to do so.
After Victor got his property thing all stamped and photocopied we headed off to the Rio Frio to head up to Nicaragua. The boat ride took around 45 minutes and then we were in the big Lake in Nicaragua, no one told me the name and if you care enough to know im sure there are plenty of google entries about it. The lake is absolutely huge and it was like being on the ocean, the waves were pretty small, but still big enough to feel on a little boat like the one we were in. Victors wife also came along as she was the reason I could get away with going to Nicaragua for 3 hours instead of three days. She got my passport all stamped up and then we were off to visit their realitives that live in San Carlos (the port town on the lake). After we made the rounds we went and ate lunch at a restuarant on the water, it was amazingly beautiful and I ate some shrimp that live in the Rio Frio. The shrimp that live in the river are HUGE like bigger then your head huge, and let me say that a shrimp that is bigger then your head has the texture of hardboiled tire. Plus the ¨salsa¨that they (or it) were served in was warm ketchup mmmmmm.
After lunch we went to the market and bought a bunch of strage looking fruits and a pound of the root that morphine is extracted from. ¨you cant feel your body when you chew it¨ Victor told me, strange info coming from a police officer buying strange drug like substances in a foreign country, but who am I to judge. We got back on the boat and headed back to Los Chiles where we ate some of the strange looking fruit (one was like a coconut, but the inside was purple, was the texture of avocado, and tasted like chocolate fruit. Amazing) and KFC.
This morning I got on the bus at 5 am and arrived in Fortuna at 11. So now I am going to sleep until I have to get up and teach tonight in 4 hours. Pura Vida, or as they say in Nicaragua, Pues
When I got on the bus I thought I was going to the wrong place, I was heading in the right direction, but the name on the bus wasnt Ciudad Quesada. After an hour of worrying/ telling myself Im not THAT stupid I realized that here Ciudad Quesada is San Carlos. When I arrived at the bus stop in San Carlos/Quesada it only took me a few seconds to find the man screaming Los Chiles before I was on my way. The bus ride wasnt too bad, but it turned out I had missed the ¨direct¨bus which meant that I was on the one that stopped every 50 feet to let someone on or off. So the 1 and a half hour trip that Luke and I took to Los Chiles turned out to be 3 and a half on the bus. The nice thing was that when I fell asleep and woke up Victor was sitting next to me saying ¨you really shouldnt sleep on the bus, youll miss the stop¨ instead of a stranger trying to steal my personal belongings of little to no value.
In the morning Victor and I walked around Los Chiles to various lawyers and government offices which was nice because most of them were airconditioned. He was getting a permit to buy more land around his house, which consisted of going to a lawyer, paying 50 cents for a stamp of some sort, going to get a photo copy of the new stamp, then to the government office, then to the lawyer for another stamp. We did about three rounds of this before we were done and both sweating like crazy. There is some local bullshit in Los Chiles that goes ¨Its not that hot here, even though everyone in Costa Rica says this is the hottest place in the country theyre wrong and we know because we live here¨. Its a crock of shit because Los Chiles is like a freaking oven and the people who live there are nuts. I had to say that to someone and since half the police live in Los Chiles this is probably the best forum to do so.
After Victor got his property thing all stamped and photocopied we headed off to the Rio Frio to head up to Nicaragua. The boat ride took around 45 minutes and then we were in the big Lake in Nicaragua, no one told me the name and if you care enough to know im sure there are plenty of google entries about it. The lake is absolutely huge and it was like being on the ocean, the waves were pretty small, but still big enough to feel on a little boat like the one we were in. Victors wife also came along as she was the reason I could get away with going to Nicaragua for 3 hours instead of three days. She got my passport all stamped up and then we were off to visit their realitives that live in San Carlos (the port town on the lake). After we made the rounds we went and ate lunch at a restuarant on the water, it was amazingly beautiful and I ate some shrimp that live in the Rio Frio. The shrimp that live in the river are HUGE like bigger then your head huge, and let me say that a shrimp that is bigger then your head has the texture of hardboiled tire. Plus the ¨salsa¨that they (or it) were served in was warm ketchup mmmmmm.
After lunch we went to the market and bought a bunch of strage looking fruits and a pound of the root that morphine is extracted from. ¨you cant feel your body when you chew it¨ Victor told me, strange info coming from a police officer buying strange drug like substances in a foreign country, but who am I to judge. We got back on the boat and headed back to Los Chiles where we ate some of the strange looking fruit (one was like a coconut, but the inside was purple, was the texture of avocado, and tasted like chocolate fruit. Amazing) and KFC.
This morning I got on the bus at 5 am and arrived in Fortuna at 11. So now I am going to sleep until I have to get up and teach tonight in 4 hours. Pura Vida, or as they say in Nicaragua, Pues
Monday, October 12, 2009
10-12-09
We finally got some water at the end of the day on Saturday and we havent had any major rain since which has been nice. I ended up teaching for 2 hours on Saturday night, the female officers wanted me to do a full class, but Costa Rica was playing a world cup qualifier so they were quickly overruled by the men. I got to catch parts of the first half of the Iowa game, including Stanzis first pass to Michigan for 6 points, but I caught the last half in its entirety which was great to watch. I may not be there to watch it but its great being the fan of the college football team with the second longest win streak in the country. I also go to watch the US advance to the world cup and the Steelers finnally hold off an opponent in the 4th quarter so I had a nice TV viewing weekend.
I am planning on going to Nicaragua this week, I am thinking Wednesday at this point. My trip wont interrupt the two classes being on the same page because of the days we lost last week. ONe of the Officers (Victor who´s 50th birthday Luke Fresnell and I went to) lives in Los Chiles on the boarder and his wife works for the immiration services. She is going to bipass the 3 day out of the country rule for me, so Victor and I are going to take a boat up the Rio Frio, get my passport stamped in Nicaragua maybe get some lunch and then head back. I am super excited that I dont have to go spend a ton of money staying there for 3 days, its supposedly a great deal more dangerous then Costa Rica, and everyone Ive talked to makes it seem like the waiving of the 3 day rule for friends is quite common so I dont feel as if Im putting anyone at risk doing it. The only thing im not looking forward to is the 3 hour bus ride up to Los Chiles, Fresnell says its more like a bus in El Salvador with chickens and more people and stops. It will be another great adventure story to tell when I get back i guess, plus I dont own anything worth stealing now so I should be fine.
Last night was the final day of the Fiestas Civicas here (like a fair) so Fresnell and some of his friends and I went down to see the bull fights. After watching what happens to the bulls they use I am extremely glad that I didnt attend a fight in Spain or Mexico where they kill the animal at the end, that would have been way too much. Even without the killing of the bull it was pretty disgusting to watch and we all ended up leaving after the first event. They didnit use full grown bulls, maybe one year old at the most, no horns and they seemed pretty calm to me. There wasnt any rule about who could be in the ring so the matadors were a bunch of drunk guys ranging from high school to middle aged. As the let the bulls out (two at the same time when we were watching) the animals ran around the ring and then just stood against the side. As the bulls werent bringing the fight, the men did, probably 15 people for each bull surrounded the animal and took turns pulling on its ears or kicking it or sitting on it, which only resulted in the animals laying down. This went on for around 15 minutes by which time the bulls were just laying on the ground. Not very fun to watch, so we left.
I woke up this morning to discover that there is an all day harry potter marathon on one of my channels, which is awesome. You all are lucky that im not a big fan of the second movie or you wouldnt be getting a post :). LuLU and I had a nice chat over breakfast, I dont know what it is with her but some days shes great and other days it seems like they are resentful of me being there but whatever Ive found a closer Costa Rican family in the officers and Fresnells family. We talked about how I only have a month and a half left which is crazy to think about, next monday will be the actualy half way point but I really only have two weeks of new material with each class (how I mark the passage of time here). I think I am fully over the homesickness that accompanied Lukes departure and am looking forward to the back half of my time here. Pura Vida
I am planning on going to Nicaragua this week, I am thinking Wednesday at this point. My trip wont interrupt the two classes being on the same page because of the days we lost last week. ONe of the Officers (Victor who´s 50th birthday Luke Fresnell and I went to) lives in Los Chiles on the boarder and his wife works for the immiration services. She is going to bipass the 3 day out of the country rule for me, so Victor and I are going to take a boat up the Rio Frio, get my passport stamped in Nicaragua maybe get some lunch and then head back. I am super excited that I dont have to go spend a ton of money staying there for 3 days, its supposedly a great deal more dangerous then Costa Rica, and everyone Ive talked to makes it seem like the waiving of the 3 day rule for friends is quite common so I dont feel as if Im putting anyone at risk doing it. The only thing im not looking forward to is the 3 hour bus ride up to Los Chiles, Fresnell says its more like a bus in El Salvador with chickens and more people and stops. It will be another great adventure story to tell when I get back i guess, plus I dont own anything worth stealing now so I should be fine.
Last night was the final day of the Fiestas Civicas here (like a fair) so Fresnell and some of his friends and I went down to see the bull fights. After watching what happens to the bulls they use I am extremely glad that I didnt attend a fight in Spain or Mexico where they kill the animal at the end, that would have been way too much. Even without the killing of the bull it was pretty disgusting to watch and we all ended up leaving after the first event. They didnit use full grown bulls, maybe one year old at the most, no horns and they seemed pretty calm to me. There wasnt any rule about who could be in the ring so the matadors were a bunch of drunk guys ranging from high school to middle aged. As the let the bulls out (two at the same time when we were watching) the animals ran around the ring and then just stood against the side. As the bulls werent bringing the fight, the men did, probably 15 people for each bull surrounded the animal and took turns pulling on its ears or kicking it or sitting on it, which only resulted in the animals laying down. This went on for around 15 minutes by which time the bulls were just laying on the ground. Not very fun to watch, so we left.
I woke up this morning to discover that there is an all day harry potter marathon on one of my channels, which is awesome. You all are lucky that im not a big fan of the second movie or you wouldnt be getting a post :). LuLU and I had a nice chat over breakfast, I dont know what it is with her but some days shes great and other days it seems like they are resentful of me being there but whatever Ive found a closer Costa Rican family in the officers and Fresnells family. We talked about how I only have a month and a half left which is crazy to think about, next monday will be the actualy half way point but I really only have two weeks of new material with each class (how I mark the passage of time here). I think I am fully over the homesickness that accompanied Lukes departure and am looking forward to the back half of my time here. Pura Vida
Saturday, October 10, 2009
10-10-09
I have encountered a few problems with teaching outdoors every night. For one the bugs are a constant threat, and some of them are as big as matchbox cars, but the biggest problem I have run into is mother nature. Last night we were an hour into class when it started raining, little by little the intensity increased until the gutters were overflowing on all sides of the classroom. At that point we decided to cancel class in order to fight the lake that was lowly making its way into the classroom and police station proper. The storm continued for about two more hours and deposited an amazing amount of rain around the station. I have a picture of the patrol cars wheel sitting about an inch deep in water( the driveway is level with the classroom fyi).
Earlier in the day the water had suddenly stopped flowing from the taps all over town, and let me say that in a tropical climate where everyone in sweating ALL of the time this leads to some pretty unpleasent circumstances. The thinking today is that the storm had knocked out a water treatment plant on its way into Fortuna. I think the water stopped flowing around 4 and the storm didnt hit here until 7 (which is really strange becuase it ussually rains from 1-6 in the afternoon). So when I arrived at the police station Mercedes, this weeks cook (she is amazing) was pretty pissed because she had to make soup with no water (not an easy task, it turned out more like a stew, still great though).
After class was cancelled Fresnell, two people from OIJ (the FBI), and I went to shoot some pool, because if you cant learn english you might as well wait out a storm in a pool hall with cold beer right? On our way out to the pool hall we got to see what kind of desrtuction the storm was wreaking in other parts of the town, in one 5 minutes strectch of road it looked as though someone had dumped a rivers worth of softball size rocks all over the place. In another we had to drive through some water that was up to the middle of the tires (not a good idea in a 2001 toyota yaris), but we made it safely to our destination. Around 1 in the morning the storm let up and I headed back home, only to discover that there was still no water. I woke up this morning to the same reality, 19 hours no water. So after awhile I decided that I was going to call the police station to see if they had water (which they did). So I am currently nice and clean and using the internet for free in the comfort of my second home here in Fortuna. This is aparently the only place, ven on this side of town, that has running water. I dont know why or how but I really dont care. It tastes a little funny when you drink it, but Ive been putting it through my filter just to be safe.
Hawks play tonight on ABC at 8, going for 6-0 start against Michigan. Go Hawks! and Pura Vida
Earlier in the day the water had suddenly stopped flowing from the taps all over town, and let me say that in a tropical climate where everyone in sweating ALL of the time this leads to some pretty unpleasent circumstances. The thinking today is that the storm had knocked out a water treatment plant on its way into Fortuna. I think the water stopped flowing around 4 and the storm didnt hit here until 7 (which is really strange becuase it ussually rains from 1-6 in the afternoon). So when I arrived at the police station Mercedes, this weeks cook (she is amazing) was pretty pissed because she had to make soup with no water (not an easy task, it turned out more like a stew, still great though).
After class was cancelled Fresnell, two people from OIJ (the FBI), and I went to shoot some pool, because if you cant learn english you might as well wait out a storm in a pool hall with cold beer right? On our way out to the pool hall we got to see what kind of desrtuction the storm was wreaking in other parts of the town, in one 5 minutes strectch of road it looked as though someone had dumped a rivers worth of softball size rocks all over the place. In another we had to drive through some water that was up to the middle of the tires (not a good idea in a 2001 toyota yaris), but we made it safely to our destination. Around 1 in the morning the storm let up and I headed back home, only to discover that there was still no water. I woke up this morning to the same reality, 19 hours no water. So after awhile I decided that I was going to call the police station to see if they had water (which they did). So I am currently nice and clean and using the internet for free in the comfort of my second home here in Fortuna. This is aparently the only place, ven on this side of town, that has running water. I dont know why or how but I really dont care. It tastes a little funny when you drink it, but Ive been putting it through my filter just to be safe.
Hawks play tonight on ABC at 8, going for 6-0 start against Michigan. Go Hawks! and Pura Vida
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
10-7-09
The real teaching adventure begins tonight. On monday I had planned on teaching emotions and working on the verb to be for the rest of the week, but when I arrived and asked them if they knew emoptions they of course did. So that was an oh shit moment, but we ended up getting by with a review of emotions and the alphabet. The officers are not very good at stringing lessons together, as I am sure I have mentioned before. The most frustrating thing with working with them for Luke and I was that they dont know the English alphabet well enough to use it in the classroom. So for about an hour we did alphabet review, I cant tell you how exhilarating that was ¨E¨, ¨No! the English E¨ yeah it was great. I think that I bored them into submission though and they will study theyre alphabet and use it to spell and help eachother in class. Alright that last sentence was a complete lie except for the boring them into submission part. By the end of the class I only had 2 students (not because I scared them away) there were only 3 to start with and the other person had to head out to El Castillo for the night.
So yesterday I wracked my brian trying to think of what I could possibly teach them, because my emotions study was going to lead into a deeper dicussion of to be (not in some exestential sense, purely grammatical). After 3 hours of searching through really terrible and counterproductive ESL websites I decided that I was going to do the irregular past tense. Luke and I had done this with the other group during a three day week because its mostly memorization (because its irregular, in case you were wondering). So I got my lesson plans all laid out for the rest of the week and even typed up worksheets for them to do in class or at home and then when I got to the station to eat I had one student. So we cancelled class and thus its been a pretty easy transition into teaching solo thus far. I really wasnt upset to miss class because I got to watch ¨Lost in Translation¨, which is a great movie, but slightly depressing when you are in the States and even more so when you are actually in a similar situation. No worries though I didnt let it get me down and I followed it up with that ever hilarious story of internationl comedy titled ¨The Constant Gardener¨.
Today has been hotter then hell, no clouds no rain, which is strange because we have had pretty regular early afternoon showers for the past two weeks. Tonights class should be good, and missing a day will insure that I wont run out of material for the rest of the week. I wish I could be there to watch the leaves change and get accustomed to the cold, everyday I dread the fact that I am going to be dropped into the subarctic temperatures of Iowa City in winter with no time for adjustment. Then I realize I havent even unpacked my pants here and all is well with the world. Pura Vida
So yesterday I wracked my brian trying to think of what I could possibly teach them, because my emotions study was going to lead into a deeper dicussion of to be (not in some exestential sense, purely grammatical). After 3 hours of searching through really terrible and counterproductive ESL websites I decided that I was going to do the irregular past tense. Luke and I had done this with the other group during a three day week because its mostly memorization (because its irregular, in case you were wondering). So I got my lesson plans all laid out for the rest of the week and even typed up worksheets for them to do in class or at home and then when I got to the station to eat I had one student. So we cancelled class and thus its been a pretty easy transition into teaching solo thus far. I really wasnt upset to miss class because I got to watch ¨Lost in Translation¨, which is a great movie, but slightly depressing when you are in the States and even more so when you are actually in a similar situation. No worries though I didnt let it get me down and I followed it up with that ever hilarious story of internationl comedy titled ¨The Constant Gardener¨.
Today has been hotter then hell, no clouds no rain, which is strange because we have had pretty regular early afternoon showers for the past two weeks. Tonights class should be good, and missing a day will insure that I wont run out of material for the rest of the week. I wish I could be there to watch the leaves change and get accustomed to the cold, everyday I dread the fact that I am going to be dropped into the subarctic temperatures of Iowa City in winter with no time for adjustment. Then I realize I havent even unpacked my pants here and all is well with the world. Pura Vida
Monday, October 5, 2009
10-5-09
Today marks a month that I have been here in La Fortuna. Luke left this morning so I guess the ¨full emersion¨ portion of my trip starts today. My knee has been better, and I have been staying off of it for the past few days. On Friday Luke and I took a canopy tour, which is esentially a series of ziplines through the trees. The majority of the time we were around 15 meters off of the ground, and most of the ziplines only took around 10 seconds to complete. It was pretty fun, but not super exciting, they did have a feature called the tarzan swing were you get tied to a rope and dropped out of a tree which was fun and pretty stimulating. All in all it only took us about an hour to go through the course and then it was back to town.
On Friday the second group of police took the test. This group is traditionally a little bit slower then the other group so throughout the week we essentially taught them the test. They ended up doing pretty well over all, not as good as the other group buut good none the less. I believe the average was a B- for the first group and a C for the second. After talking with the officers and Luke I think I am going to try and take the class in more of a speaking direction. In my opinion its more important for them to understand what is being told to them in English then to recall vocab words. I know that having ample vocab is also necessary but they dont seem to connect the dots between verbs and words that are associated with them so I will be working on that too. This week im working on to be verbs (only one in English, multiple in Spanish) it should be interesting.
Saturday was Lukes going away party and it was fun to hang out with the police officers and meer some Lukes extended host family. Fresnell was there as well so I got to hang out with him and try to figure out how I can still hang out with him now that he is working all of the time. It sounds like I might just get to go hangout at his work sometime, its a 5 star resort outside of town but this time of year no one is there so they could get me in for free, we will see how that goes. Im a little blue with Luke gone now but I dont think the absense of someone to speak english with has fully set in yet, im sure ill keep you updated on that. I have to go do some work for class now since its all me, im also a little nervous about that but im sure it will be fine. Pura Vida
On Friday the second group of police took the test. This group is traditionally a little bit slower then the other group so throughout the week we essentially taught them the test. They ended up doing pretty well over all, not as good as the other group buut good none the less. I believe the average was a B- for the first group and a C for the second. After talking with the officers and Luke I think I am going to try and take the class in more of a speaking direction. In my opinion its more important for them to understand what is being told to them in English then to recall vocab words. I know that having ample vocab is also necessary but they dont seem to connect the dots between verbs and words that are associated with them so I will be working on that too. This week im working on to be verbs (only one in English, multiple in Spanish) it should be interesting.
Saturday was Lukes going away party and it was fun to hang out with the police officers and meer some Lukes extended host family. Fresnell was there as well so I got to hang out with him and try to figure out how I can still hang out with him now that he is working all of the time. It sounds like I might just get to go hangout at his work sometime, its a 5 star resort outside of town but this time of year no one is there so they could get me in for free, we will see how that goes. Im a little blue with Luke gone now but I dont think the absense of someone to speak english with has fully set in yet, im sure ill keep you updated on that. I have to go do some work for class now since its all me, im also a little nervous about that but im sure it will be fine. Pura Vida
Thursday, October 1, 2009
10-01-09
I wont tell you how beautiful the volcanoe was today because of course I followed the doctors orders and didnt put too much stress on my knee. It was mostly cloudy anyway so we only saw a few flaming rocks rolling down the side. I mean would have seen if I would have gone... Luke brought his camera along, so hopefully I will get some pictures posted tonight on facebook. After we got done idly viewing the volcanoe from the car, absolutely not walking 4 miles to see it; the police took us to drink fresh coconut milk and eat coconuts. There isnt too much flavor to a coconut when it hasnt been roasted, shredded, and saturated with sugar but they were refreshing and oddly filling. On our way back from the volcanoe we pulled off at a canopy tour provider (a series of ziplines through the trees (all the rage among the tourists nowadays)) that the police are friendly with and Luke and I now have free passes for tommorow morning.
My knee still hurts pretty bad, but it didnt this morning and I am planning on it getting better soon. If it doesnt I am keeping my options open about what I can do and when I should do it to make sure I can walk for the rest of my life. Although Im not sure if getting another surgery would help in keeping me on my feet for the rest of my life. Is it posible to walk without any miniscus? and what happened to stem cells I want a new body part shouldnt we be able to do that yet?
Anyway like I said I should have pictures on my facebook by the end of my night, hopefully of all of the trips Ive taken with Luke since weve been down here so that will keep you people off my back for awhile :).
My knee still hurts pretty bad, but it didnt this morning and I am planning on it getting better soon. If it doesnt I am keeping my options open about what I can do and when I should do it to make sure I can walk for the rest of my life. Although Im not sure if getting another surgery would help in keeping me on my feet for the rest of my life. Is it posible to walk without any miniscus? and what happened to stem cells I want a new body part shouldnt we be able to do that yet?
Anyway like I said I should have pictures on my facebook by the end of my night, hopefully of all of the trips Ive taken with Luke since weve been down here so that will keep you people off my back for awhile :).
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