Post Travel Thoughts

My student at Calle Hernandez

     It's been a week now since we returned from Costa Rica and I can honestly say that I'm still processing the the experience.  There were so many things that happened and so little time to process it while we were there.  The itinerary was very industrious and there was almost no time left to deeply reflect on our daily adventures.  There are times now when I am reminded of what I saw and heard there.  I find myself realizing that at the time, I wasn't fully aware of how much information was coming into my brain and it's only now when I'm sitting quietly that I can sort through it and examine it more closely.  I've had a little trouble sleeping since I've been back as my mind is filled with the voices and sounds of Costa Rica!  It really was a fantastic experience.
     I know that our trip has changed me forever.  I will always think about my time learning Spanish there and I have already adapted my approach as I teach with more patience and kindness.  The cultural experience has also led me to appreciate my family much more than I had before I left.  I find myself planning my day so that I can spend more time with my wife and children and feel closer to each of my family members than I have in the past. 
     I learned so much during my time at the CPI language schools.  Each of our three teachers were different as was their style of teaching.  There were good and bad points, just as there is in all of us.  But, I know that I have a much deeper empathy for a language learner than I could ever hoped to have before.  For me personally, I will allow my ELL students to complete their sentence and train of thought before I correct any of their language/grammar mistakes.  At times, I believe I will not focus on their mistakes at all and wait until they are more comfortable with English before leading them to a better word usage or pronunciation.  I have come to know that there is a certain level of insecurity or shyness that we all share as we learn a new language and just how important it is to ease these fears.  I want to create a safe environment where my ELL students and I can relax and perhaps even laugh about our mistakes.  As a teacher, I've come to know how to better approach teaching students a new language as well.  I believe it's very important to build as much vocabulary as possible as quickly as possible.  It was my experience at CPI that the focus was grammar and I found that to be frustrating so I attempted to build my vocabulary on my own.  Some simple strategies such as placing photos or drawings along with the actual word printed on them and placing them where they can be easily seen every day.  I will help my students create flashcards and will assess them daily in regard to the vocabulary.  My experience in CR has led me to understand how much faster an individual can learn a language by learning words that have a personal connection.  For me, I learned some new words very quickly because they became part of my daily dialogue with myself and others.  Also, as I learned phrases and expressions (many were greetings) I looked at all parts of those phrases to better understand how verbs and nouns were being used.  This is much different than simply memorizing a greeting as it allowed me to begin to form my own sentences using those same words.  In effect this was personalizing my language learning and giving me ownership--two terms that are used regularly in the education world.  For example the verb "estar" is used regularly, especially in question-greetings.  "Como esta?" vs "Como estas?" and "Como estan?"  Everyone in our group memorized this greeting which means; "How are you?"  However, the verb conjugation implies the personal pronoun without actually using it.  One day Javier asked our group; "Como estan?" and it was a personal revelation to me because he used that conjugation which I realized implied us all as a group.  Also, understanding the word; "como" as meaning how, allowed me to begin to form my own question sentences.  It's difficult to verbalize what I mean here, but it was one of those moments when the light bulb switched on for me and I know how important it is to have as many of these moments as possible to learn a new language.  I will find out what my students' personal interests are and exploit them as vocabulary building blocks!  During one of our teaching experiences I worked with a second grader who was obviously way behind his peers in many ways.  He did not know the body part words in his own language much less in English.  However, that boy loved soccer (they say football) and as I tapped into his interest in that sport, I was able to get him to understand and say the word; "foot" very easily.  It's these small things that personalize words in ways that make it easier to remember and learn.
     As a student learning a new language I began to gain more empathy for my ELL students (which of course was the goal of the program). There were times when I was sick or just simply worn out and I really struggled learning Spanish on those days.  Also, at moments my brain simply could not make the adjustment needed to acquire the new vocabulary.  During these times where I "hit the wall" I was a poor learner.  I feel very fortunate to have worked with my first Spanish teacher; Pilar as she was very attuned to her students and often times in the later afternoon would adapt her methods of instruction to include games using materials that she had made herself.  I really appreciated this because we were able to relax a little and at the same time keep learning Spanish.  This is another "tool" I will add to my own teaching as it was so very effective. Thanks again, Pilar !

Remember, you are not helping when you feed the squirrel!

Homeward Bound

     It's been a long day!  We woke up early and met in the hotel lobby around 3:00 a.m.  Javier and our driver took us to the airport to see us off.  I will miss Javier and his smile!  I believe he has made us all think more deeply about how we use or misuse the resources of our world and the metaphor of feeding the squirrel will be something that I  will think about forever.  In the future, I will be more careful how I guide my students' learning in the hopes of increasing their own instinct for gathering knowledge.
     The process of immigration and customs took a little to complete and when we finally got on board the plane to leave Houston it began to rain very hard.  This caused a long delay, but it did provide an opportunity to speak with Dr. Aram a great deal about our study away experience.  We all shared our list of "dos and don'ts" and how we felt about the trip. This time spent speaking with Dr. Aram was very enjoyable as we had been very busy in Costa Rica and there were very few times to just sit and chat.  She's a great leader and has a terrific demeanor that makes her a wonderful person and teacher.
    

Everyone tired, sleeping on the plane.
the dog at immigration
very large plane
one last wait in Chicago
Thank you letters
having gotten to know all the members of our group
seeing them all so differently because now we are friends as compared to how little we engaged in the meetings before the trip.

my respect for them all as future teachers and Theresa's being my friend

How i enjoyed learning the language and would like to return some day.

Texting with my new friends Joel and Rubein

San Jose--National Museum and Theatre

 

      After spending the past two weeks in the small town of Santa Elena, I was surprised at how busy San  Jose seemed.  In some ways, this area reminded me of Times Square.  There were so many people and the pigeons...it's actually legal to kill them as they are so abundant here and considered pests.

     Our first stop was the theater.  It's an old landmark here but still active as a working theater.  The architecture is very interesting as is its history.  To be sure, Javier was once again a wealth of information as he pointed to many paintings and works of art in the building.  This was a landmark that President Obama came to see on his recent visit as well.

Eating at the market.

     After touring the theater, we walked for about 15 minutes to a downtown central market area.  This building was filled with many different vendors and the open market of meat and fish was a sight to see!  Herbs and spices and just about anything you can think of were being sold as we made our way to an open area eatery.  By this time, I had learned a traveler's trick and I sat down and pointed at some people who were already eating.  I told the waitress that I would have the same and I was one of the first to get served.  It was a hustle-bustle area and I enjoyed the people watching opportunity very much.  After eating, I walked around the market and kept thinking how much it reminded me of the Ferry Building Market in San Francisco!

Canopy Tour...Zip Lines

    

All geared up!

Last summer, my friend and I went to the zip lines on Hwy 65 near Branson, MO.  That was my only experience with this activity but I felt like I would be able to handle the zip lines of Costa Rica.  After we all watched a live demonstration of the safety protocol and how to prevent spinning, we all rode a short zip line down to the lower level of the park.  At this point, I thought the experience might not be as intense as the one in Branson.  Boy was I wrong!  We all rode a lift up to the top of the mountain and I began to look out and see some other people zipping.  I was shocked at how high these lines were and how incredibly long they were!  On the lift, we could see some of the volcanoes of Costa Rica and the beautiful landscapes. I manged to stay calm and at least act like I wasn't worried but I was getting a lot of butterflies in my stomach by the time we reached the top.  From there, we climbed a three or four story tower and got our first view of a zip line that made the ones back home look like the childrens' rides section of the fair.  Phew!  This was a big test on my nerves! That first zip line (actually the first three) was a little rough as I kept thinking too many "what if" questions.  But eventually, I got over it and had a great time there!  There's something about trusting the equipment for me that was my biggest obstacle.

     I met a man named Justin who was in Costa Rica with his wife and they were from Canada.  He was fun to speak with and we shared a lot about our CR adventure.  Like us, they were thrilled with the country and very happy to be here.
     I'm still wondering how they ever stretched all those zip cables up there!

       

Service Learning Project on a Sustainable Farm

    

 

     Today, we met Guillermo (which is Spanish for William).  I've spoken with three other people here in Costa Rica whose name is also William and it is much easier for Spanish speakers to say as opposed to "Grady."

In the coffee field with Guillermo

     Life Monteverde is a sustainable 42 acre farm that grows coffee and vegetables.  The farm is owned by a group of family members and one friend.  The farm's main focus is conservation and organic agriculture while always keeping in mind how to minimize the farm's impact on the environment. Guillermo invited us all to walk around the farm for 15 minutes asking us to notice how the farm attempts to be sustainable.  After this, we all met back at area that they use as a cafeteria and classroom.  We talked about the many things that we had seen such as composting areas, rainwater collection, alternative energy in the form of methane gas (collected from the pig droppings),  reforesting and much more.  There was even a machine used in coffee production that is operated by a bicycle! 

My new friend at Life Monteverde

Shannon!

     Guillermo asked that we form groups and come up with questions for him about the farm.  There were lots of great questions and he wrote them all down.  He divided our group in half and sent us to work on the farm!  My group worked a little garden area while I used a machete to cut plants to feed the farm animals.  It felt good to be outside working and learning with our new friends.  Afterwards, we toured the entire farm with Guillermo as he educated us all about sustainable farming and ecology in general.  We ended the day with a group discussion in which he addressed all our questions while we drank the coffee from the farm and snacked on fruit and goat cheese!

Maggie!

Cloud Forest School

 
Today, we visited the Cloud Forest School which has 230 students who study English much more extensively than the public schools do.  The school is also focused on sustainability and reducing the environmental impact which I found to be a common theme here in Monteverde. With grade levels from preschool to 11th grade, the facility is diverse both in ages and population. It is located on 106 acres which are protected from development by a permanent easement. The children learn much here, and our two guides were well versed in English as well as ecology.  The school has many native plant gardens and a nursery, organic vegetable gardens, a greenhouse, recycling centers, a worm composting house and a biodiesel shed.  All in all it's a wonderful model for ethical living as even the germination beds use biodegradable containers.  Dr. Powell pointed out some trees  (reforestation) that were planted by her students from earlier visits.  These students learn not only how to meet the needs of their local community but also the process of becoming a "global citizen" in our world. I can't overemphasize how well they meet the requirements for teaching our youth to understand the necessity to reduce our global footprint on our world.
     More than 90% of the students are from the local community, however the school is an open door to children from all around the world.  International students come to learn here and English/Spanish is taught regularly.  While most of the natives can't afford to pay full tuition, there is an opportunity for scholarships and 75% of the students receive financial support.




composting

the garden and using biodegradable containers

No cafeteria and eating

the soccer field with astro turf

the steps with staained glass

teachers

La Fortuna...Arenal Volcano

    

Learning with Javier.

It was a long bus ride from Monteverde to La Fortuna.  In order to get there, we had to drive around Lake Arenal.  Corey spotted the volcano long before we reached our destination and there was a tiny wisp of smoke that we could see off in the distance.  The drive around the lake was very beautiful and since the road is not paved, we had to drive more slowly which gave us an opportunity to see more of the local homes and even some wildlife.  At one point our driver (now Julio) had to come to a complete stop and navigate around a giant pot hole of mud that nearly covered the entire road.  I watched out the window as Julio carefully guided us around this obstacle and little did I know that we would all come to know why the local inhabitants have been pleading with their government to pave the roads between Monteverde and Arenal.
 

My wonderful lunch!

   After stopping in La Fortuna for an excellent lunch (I had a great pork casada meal) we all hopped back in the bus and headed to our hiking destination; Sendero Silencio.  Javier led us on a narrow path through the forest and once again pointed out its inhabitants (many of which would have otherwise gone unnoticed)!  I have to say again how much he impressed me and I was thinking about how lucky we were to have him as our tour guide.  Here in the forest, we saw several exotic birds and some monkeys as well.  As the path begin to wind around I noticed how our pathway had been very carefully constructed so as to prevent any erosion from travelers hiking here.  Ecology and sustainable resources were common theme on our entire trip and while this is something I actively study, I learned a great deal.  For many of our group these ideas were new and I'm confident when I say they were also impressed and will be thinking of how they can implement some of the strategies we learned once they get back home.  It was a little humid that day and one member of our group began to feel a little lightheaded, so Javier stopped for her and gave her a little bit of candy.  In about 5 minutes her blood sugar came back up and we were off...Javier to the rescue!  He would have made a good member of our boy scout group in Springfield as he was always prepared and knew just how to handle a sticky situation.  As our hike was nearing the end I was walking with Matt at the very back of the group and we saw some monkeys high up in a tree.  While we watched the monkey leaping from branch to branch I was impressed with how agile and powerful he was.  I told Matt that I thought it would be funny if the our driver; Julio had snuck around to the end of our hike only to spring out of the forest and surprise us all!  We snickered about this and much to our surprise Javier had hidden himself behind some trees.  As we rounded a corner (now way behind the front of the group) Javier laughed as he startled us by shaking some branches and making an animal sound.  Ha!  What a great time!

Our cabin!

     After our hike we headed to the Arenal Hot Springs resort that was the perfect ending for our long day.  There are several pools of differing temperatures and our cabin was excellent.  I especially liked our shower which had a skylight that gave it a feeling of being outdoors.

All of cabins were top-notch and the
buffet-style dinner and breakfast were absolutely fabulous!  I could not get enough of the Costa Rica coffee and I must have bought ten bags that I brought back home with me.  The waters of the pool provided us all with some relaxing down time and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking the grounds and admiring the gardens (there was even a greenhouse filled with vegetables used for the resort meals).  Julio took the opportunity to clean the mud off the bus and we spoke for several minutes.  He was very patient just like Andres and was happy to let me have the opportunity to practice my Spanish.  As the sun began to sink and the light was fading, it was time to meet for dinner.  I enjoyed more excellent native food and good conversation with our group members and some of the resort staff.

More Teaching

    

Working on English "family" vocabulary.

     Yesterday, we did an observation at a local elementary school and then worked some students.  The students were working on their English and studying vocabulary for family members.  It was a great lesson to watch as they came to the front of the class and wrote sentences in English.  One boy was very proud of his knowledge and showed off by writing sentences using; "mother-in-law, and father-in-law" yeah!

Recess!

     Most of us taught a lesson on body parts in English outside.  I enjoyed my student very much and he was very interested in the books that we had brought to school that day.  Later, during recess we interacted with the kids and Matt and Corey played a little soccer with the boys!  The lessons went well for all of us, but I was most impressed with some of the girls who sang a "body parts" song to the children!  "Head and shoulders knees and toes" is still rattling around in my brain which shows how effective a song can be.

My student.

Trapiche "Typical" Farm Tour

Our tour guide and comedian; Jairo!

     This morning we traveled to the El Trapiche farm tour.  Our guide was Jairo and he is a university student who is very intelligent in regard to the farm and local history.  Jairo also has an excellent sense of humor and kept us laughing the entire time we were with him.
     Our tour here was one of the best parts of our program as I learned a great deal about the farming of coffee, sugar cane and how coffee beans are dried, roasted and packed on the farm.  I also took advantage of Jairo's good nature to quiz him about the families of Costa Rica and how the children learn English in the schools.  My action research topic was greatly helped by my conversation with Jairo.

Learning with Jairo.

     Coffee plants are cut down to regrow every 5 years because the beans will not grow in the same place twice.  Also, the plants get to tall for the pickers to reach the beans.  The migrant workers from Nicaragua are the people who are responsible for most of the coffee bean harvesting.  A fast worker can make about $2 per hour during the harvest and while this might not sound like much, people in Nicaragua are lucky if they can make $5 per day back home.
     In the past, the school children used to pick the coffee beans and school vacations were scheduled for the harvest.  But as children spend more time learning English in schools and have less vacation, they no longer work on the farm much.  The individuals who learn English well very often work in the tourist industry which pays much more.

Our Second Host Family & Spanish School

     Last night we arrived in Monteverde and it was raining fairly hard.  We all piled out of the bus and met our host families.  My new family is a very modest one.  Chillo is a few years older than me and his wife; Maria is a few years younger than me.  Brandon (be sure to accent the last syllable) is 12 years old.  Chillo gave me a firm handshake and we jumped in the car while Brandon rode a scooter home.  With the rain coming down and the dirt road becoming very muddy by the minute, I could tell Chillo was a little worried as he kept an eye on Brandon in the car mirrors.
     Maria met me as we came in and showed me my room.  This stay would be much different than my first tico family, but I could already sense that Maria was warm and genuine.  She turned out to be a wonderful communicator and we talked nightly.  She was very patient with me as I practiced my Spanish and we shared a great deal even when neither of us knew the right words to use in English for her, Spanish for me.  I feel confident that I could do very well in a game a charades after my stay with the Costa Rica families.  Here, I would not have my own bathroom and the family enjoyed the television very much.  I learned some new words watching the movie; X-Men as well as several cartoons with Brandon.

Maria's daily breakfast

     Every morning Maria served me a meal of fresh fruit and a cup of coffee.  Pineapple, banana, apple and papaya was the standard breakfast for my stay with them.  Each night we would have rice and beans along with chicken or pork.  The house was smaller than Wagoner's and Maria would ask me about the upcoming morning every evening so we could plan out how we would share the shower.  It was different from my first host family stay, but we managed just fine.
     After breakfast, I had a brisk walk up the road to the dentist clinic where the group met every morning to catch our bus.  Andres, our driver has been a joy to know and he and I shake hands, fist pump or high five every time I see him!
     Today, was our first day at our new CPI Spanish school.  This too proved to be different than the first week and our new teacher; Cynthia does not speak any English during class.  She also expects all of us to speak only in Spanish during class.  This proved to be a challenge, but in some ways it helped me learn more Spanish.  I especially appreciated how she kept her class on topic and moved forward with our language learning daily.
     As a teacher, I saw how easily it is for language learners to become frustrated and once again, I was very glad for our daily 20 minute break (recess).  I think all school administrators who favor reducing recess time for children should experience something like this so that they could regain the perspective of the students.  Sometimes the lessons were rough and I learned how important it is for the teacher to keep the assessment ongoing in order to guide her teaching.  There were times that I really didn't understand the lesson until I got home and  read about what we were doing in a different textbook that I brought with me.  It forced me to use my translation dictionary and the software on my iphone much more in order to clarify what Cynthia was teaching us.
     This school is much busier than the one in Heredia as we have a large group of middle school children here.  There are so many people here with laptops and smartphones that we are having trouble getting on the school's wifi.  I think it would really help if everyone would disable their smartphone's wifi setting when they aren't needing to use the internet.  Today, we had another cooking lesson and everyone enjoyed making tortillas and preparing the vegetables.

Manuel Antonio National Park & Beach

     Today, papa walked me to the church where we meet for our bus rides and it was a somber walk.  Last night was rough as the neighbors had an argument and woke us all up.  My tico parents got involved and took the neighbor's teenage son to our home and he stayed the night.  This kept everyone up much later than normal and when I got up the next morning, I told papa that I would walk to the church--he didn't need to drive me.  However, he insisted on walking with me while helping me with my luggage.  I really hated to leave that day, I had come to feel like a part of their family and I felt that whatever lay ahead of me would struggle in comparison with my time with Wagoner and his family.  I was already missing mama and her wonderful coffee, but later, as I was on the bus, I would discover she had come into my room while I was in the shower and put some breakfast food in my backpack...I could not have asked for a better tico mama!

Our last walk together

     It was a long bus ride to Manuel Antonio, and I used that time to write extensively in my journal.  I thought about my tico family in Heredia and wondered how my next family stay would turn out.  That week passed so fast, and yet here I was heading to a new adventure with so little time to think about what had just transpired!
     We arrived at the park in the afternoon and Javier was in perfect form as he led us on our tour through the park.  He is so knowledgeable about the local fauna and flora.  Often, it takes us an hour to travel a half-mile because he imparts so much information to us regarding our walk!  This has caused us all to look more closely at nature as we attempt to discover new things to share with our guide.  I'm beginning to develop a closer relationship with Javier and I really like him as a person.  On our walk, we found crabs, butterflies, monkeys and many other new wonders.

     Finally we arrived at the beach!  What a wonder, it is so beautiful!  I put my backpack down by Corey's stuff (because I planned to walk along the beach and talk to my wife), I figured it was the safest place.  It was a good thing too, because he was the only person to recognize that the tide was low and would eventually move up to where we all had left our belongings!  Kudos to Corey for moving all our stuff away from high tide and preventing it all from being soaked!

    The beach was wonderful and I saw an iguana while sitting on a log.  The water was perfect, not too cold and not too warm--just perfect for jumping in or wading!  The entire area was so peaceful and beautiful!  I sent a lot of time talking with my family back home as well as speaking with Dr. Aram as we watched the waves roll in.  It was so very nice to relax and soak up the sun as we shared our thoughts about our Costa Rica experience so far.

My First Week In Heredia

     It's been one week now and our schedule has proved to be very industrious for me!  I've begun going to bed earlier so that I won't be so tired in the morning.  Keeping up with the Spanish homework is a big challenge because I am spending so much time with my tico family.  Mama is a stay-at-home mother who watches her grandchildren every day, so when I come home from school all her grandchildren are here at the house and then within the next half hour or so all the parents start filtering in to pick them up.  We always end up talking for an hour because they want to see how much Spanish I've learned and what I did that day with our group.  Family time is very important here at this house and everyone encourages Fabian to help me out with his knowledge of English.  He's a little shy but we've become friends and I try to play soccer and other games with him and Sebastian.  Sometimes, I bring them treats that I pick up from the grocery store on my walk home.

My typical fruit breakfast!

     Every morning, I get up between 5:30-6:00 depending on what our group was doing that day.  I would take a cold shower and then shave with cold water.  It's something I had to learn on my trip to Guatemala, and it reminds me of how much easier life is back home.  I get dressed and head into the dining room where mama always has my breakfast ready as she's making coffee with what looks like as sock full of grounds that she pours hot water into. She varies my breakfast just as she does dinner and always tries to get me to eat more!  The coffee here is wonderful and mama always asks me:  "?una mas?" or "one more?"  We hug before I go back to my room and get my backpack to head out for either the meeting point or onto CPI (our Spanish school).  I always enjoy my walk to school and back home as it gives me time to reflect and occasionally I get to talk to the local people who I meet at the stores or on the street.
     The climate here is very damp at this time of year because it's the rainy season.  I developed some cold like symptoms and started having a cough.  Papa says it's the "clima" and he has the same problem because he suffers from asthma.  Earlier in the week I stopped by the "farmacia" and told them I had a "toser" and the pharmacist asked me in Spanish if I had phloem.  I said yes and she sold me a bottle of medicine that I brought home and showed to mama.  She told me it was good for my cough and my nurse friend back home told me it was a common cold medicine.  In a couple of days, my cough cleared up and I felt a lot better.  Although, I think my main issue was not sleeping the night before we left on the trip and letting my body get run down.  The medicine made me feel "foggy" mentally during school and I struggled at times--this made me think a lot about how children who might be hungry or sick could be feeling as they too struggled in our U.S. schools while learning English. It's hard to tackle a difficult task when you aren't feeling well and sometimes other people may not understand this and mistake it for laziness or even as being less intelligent.
     I've already discovered that there are times where I get really frustrated during the Spanish classes and I'm so thankful for our 20 minute break!  This has made me think how important the recess time is for children!  Our teacher; Pilar actually calls our break "recess" and that has emphasized my empathy with children who may also be hitting that "wall" and have begun to feel frustrated.  After 4 hours of Spanish, I see how important it is every day to have a little time to speak to my friends here in English!  It feels so good to express complex ideas that I'm unable to do at this point in Spanish and I wonder how some of the children make it through the day when they do not have that opportunity?  I feel like it would be very beneficial if they could have only just a few minutes to speak their native language at school each day.

Break time (recess) with cafe con leche!

CPI grounds

     I'm enjoying our classes here and I've noticed that our teachers know their content really well in the sense that they know grammar and of course speak their language very well.  However, they are not all well trained educators and that shows (some more than others)  I'm hearing my peers talk about their experience in class and I'm thinking more about what is working well and what is not working so well so that I can apply it my own classroom in the future. I feel fortunate that we have Pilar as she is making an effort to meet each of us (there is four in our class) at our level and she differentiates here lessons so that she touches upon multiple learning styles (she even creates worksheets that use sentences with each of our names)! I have had two non-credit language classes at the university back home and I noticed that there were students in both courses who attempted to divert the instruction by telling personal stories that consumed a lot of classroom time.  I see that happening here with one of the students in our group, and I assume it is a tactic that is designed to reduce the amount of time that this particular student must face uncertainty and uncomfortableness. I will keep this in mind as I teach ELL student in my own classroom.

Pilar's classroom!

    

What I've Learned So Far

     In the short time that I've been here in Costa Rica, I've already learned a great deal.  I want to share this with others in the hopes that they too will find it significant and relative to their daily lives.

     The people that I've met here very much enjoy sharing their language, culture and perspective.  For these people, it is a great compliment when we share their food, music, heritage and especially their language!  Nothing makes my new friends happier than to hear me speak my "cave man" Spanish!  They are so eager to help me learn more.  Everyone is my teacher wherever I go and perhaps the ones that want to help me the most are those who speak little or no English.  Those that I've met who do speak English very much appreciate my attempts with their language, but are slower to correct me and are more patient with me as they wait for me to finish a sentence before telling me about my mistakes and mispronunciations.  I can feel a different kinship with these people and perhaps it's because they know what it is like to learn a new language and can empathize with me (something that I most certainly will use with ESL students in the future).

  Coming together with another culture has forced us all to deeply consider our own culture and value system in the U.S. and we've already had some interesting discussion regarding this.  What we value at home vs what the people of Costa Rica value is "muy" different to say the least.  This has provided much impetus for change among our group and I can already see an "evolution" of sorts among us all.  I feel that too many of us have lived our entire lives within a very narrow/small cultural walls in which we focus on such a tiny piece of life.  For me, I'm so happy to spend the entire day without having to hear the constant marketing noise of the television!  My family here in Heredia rarely watches t.v. except for the occasional news, preferring to come together as a family every evening and discuss the events of the day.  I feel blessed to have this host family and even more so as they make an attempt to include me in their family dialogue!  I hope that the rest of our group will continue to question the value system that exists in many parts of the U.S. and more closely inspect their own as they experience life on "Tico-Time."
     We've all noticed how well mannered the C.R. people are and how they say; "thank you" and "please" so much.  In fact, their national phrase:  "Pura Vida" (the pure life), has come to mean so much more.  When I say to papa or mama that I'm sorry, they always very quickly reply; "oh, pura vida!"  It means so much more than the literal sense as it replaces phrases such as; "don't worry about it," "that's fine," "I understand," or even "it's all good!"   Earlier today, my partner Matt mentioned that children here may have different time management skills as they approach their school life by living on this "Tico-Time."   That will be an important consideration as I engage future students from other cultures.

Service Learning Activity at La Carpio

                                                         "Poverty can be invisible!"--Gail 

     This morning we traveled to La Carpio which is a piece of land adjacent to the local landfill/trash dump--a neighborhood of 36,000 refugees from Nicaragua and other Central American countries who have been allowed to homestead in the area.  Here, we met Gail who organizes a humanitarian effort to help the women of La Carpio and their families.  The area has a strong smell of sulfur and is very loud as there are over 100 garbage trucks that pass through the area daily.  Sometimes, we could barely hear Gale as she spoke--a condition very familiar to the local students.
     Gail spoke of "poverty as a childhood disease" and stated that we very often "put a mask on it" so we don't have to address the issue and sometimes it is right in front of us but we never realize it, because parents are too proud to ask for help.  It's true that poverty is very familiar to the families of La Carpio.  Gail talked about the strains these people face daily such as; no water/or no clean water, no housing, no food/or no good food, no healthcare, no belongings, abusive family members, and an uncertain future.  As a result the people experience a lot of stress and feel isolated, disempowered and "invisible" because nobody wants to hear their stories.  Gail stated that she tried to keep the long term vision in her mind while she dealt with the immediate needs of the people (her examples included a 13 year old girl becoming pregnant with her husband beating her and having the roof of their house fall apart).  She described the peoples' needs as a hierarchy similar to Masolow's ideas in which basic needs of food and water were the most important and as these survival needs are met, then the people can look more positively at the future in which they might receive better housing, education and employment.  Gail made it clear that she did not live in La Carpio and stated:  "If you live with the people, then you become the people...and then you can't help them."  She descried a learning activity in which the children were asked to draw pictures of what they had eaten that day.  One child drew only one picture--his school lunch, and that was because it was all that he had eaten that day.

     The service learning project that day was to assist the local "Grandmothers Program" go door to door and hand out flyers to the residents with our leader Rosa.  We spoke to them about keeping the trash indoors until the pick up day (Wed & Fri) so that dogs did not tear the bags and spread the garbage along the street.  The goal was to help everyone understand that keeping the streets clean helps to protect everyone's health.  In La Carpio, the water runoff is on the edges of the street and I noticed how careful Rosa was to avoid contact with that water.  In the future, Gail hopes to encourage the local people to separate their organic waste and recycle it, which is a good idea if it can be implemented.
     It's always tough to be exposed to people living in a poverty-stricken environment.  However, it's something that I see here in Springfield daily.  There are homeless camps in the woods near my home and our city is known nationally as a place that has a big outreach program which in turn, draws many of these people to Springfield.  I think a lot of us wanted to help the people of La Carpio but it's also very difficult to understand.  When I discussed my visit with the local working-class people of Heredia, they were quick to say these people were not invited to their country and most thought of them as "criminals" and "lazy people" who didn't contribute to the economy.  That sounded harsh to me, but I couldn't just dismiss their opinions. I honestly don't know how to help this situation.  However, as a teacher I think I will have more empathy for those children who come to school hungry and cold.  It's heartbreaking to realize that some children only have one decent meal a day and that they get that meal at school.  I guess it's best to take a line from Gale and focus on the immediate need in front of you and try to keep the perspective of the long term vision...it's challenging for everyone, that much I'm sure of.

a neighborhood of 36,000 refugees from Nicaragua and other Central American countries who have been allowed to homestead in the area. - See more at: http://news.co.cr/la-carpio-costa-rica-36000-refugees-from-nicaragua-and-other-central-american-countries/12773/#sthash.PvDBnqup.dpuf

a neighborhood of 36,000 refugees from Nicaragua and other Central American countries who have been allowed to homestead in the area. - See more at: http://news.co.cr/la-carpio-costa-rica-36000-refugees-from-nicaragua-and-other-central-american-countries/12773/#sthash.PvDBnqup.dpuf

a neighborhood of 36,000 refugees from Nicaragua and other Central American countries who have been allowed to homestead in the area. - See more at: http://news.co.cr/la-carpio-costa-rica-36000-refugees-from-nicaragua-and-other-central-american-countries/12773/#sthash.PvDBnqup.dpuf

Teaching at Calle Viquez Primary School

     Today we visited the Calle Hernandez School where Dina works.  She is a very industrious teacher who had previously spoken to us all at CPI (our language school).  Dina mentioned that it is the "love of language" which drives her students to learn English and I found this to be very true with our group as well as her children.  She went on to say that one her main goals was to improve education because even after 11 years of English, she felt the "quality" of language could still be improved.  "English is conceived as a linguistic and cultural tool for communication which compliments education as a whole."  Dina feels that learning another language provides the opportunity to gain a broader sensitivity to other cultures and continually stressed that as teachers we should: "teach the child to love himself."

The Fabulous Sock Puppet !

     In Costa Rica, all public school teachers must teach English.  Preschool children (what we know as kindergarten) receive 40 minutes per day of English learning.  The expected result by high school graduation is that all students will be bilingual.  Dina and her supervisor; Andres described the 4 Main Blocks of Preschool to our group:  -1. Who am I?  -2.  I communicate with others in different ways  -3. I discover and enjoy my surroundings and -4. My relationship with people.  They were both so very passionate about the public education system and went on to tell us that; "Attitude is EVERYTHING in life!  Because even a Harvard graduate can be a poor teacher."
     The challenges these teachers face can be enormous at times. According to Dina; inadequate facilities, lack of classroom space, lack of positive attitude, and limitations of the teacher's own English-speaking ability all factor in how well students succeed in the Costa Rica public schools.  But you won't find anyone working harder than her for her students!
     Everyone in our group was matched with a partner and we all taught a lesson on body parts in English.  My partner (Matt) and I worked with Esteban (Steven) and we were able to develop a good rapport with him very quickly.

     Matt loves to interact with the kids, and is a youth sports coach.  He was able to engage them as they played soccer (futbol) and I'm sure he enjoyed it all just as much as the children.  We walked around the playground with Estaban encouraging him to point out colors and shapes as he spoke in English.  There were many children who were especially interested in us men, and on our second visit here two days later, they quickly sought us out and visited with us.

     When we came back the following Thursday we taught a different child; Johan.  He had been removed from his family by the local government due to an abusive situation.  Johan was a fast learner and afterwards during the group session he proudly answered each question posed by all the other teachers of our group.

     After we were finished teaching, one of the mothers prepared some fruit with jello and served it to the children and all of us.  Later, while speaking with Dr. Aram, I received a beautiful compliment from Dina as she turned to Dr. Aram and said:  "This one has that spark we spoke about!"

Day 1 Of First Home Stay In Heredia

     As we all gathered around to await our names to be called out so that we could be matched up with our first host family, I scanned the crowd of people...looking at all the faces and estimating which ones matched the description that I had received in the email that described my new family. It didn't take long for me to find Wagoner and Annabelle and as they stepped up in line, I immediately began walking toward them--before my name was called, I turned to Theresa and said:  "That's my family!"
     Wagoner is a big man, a former high school soccer goalie with a fast smile and a firm handshake.  There was always a little bit of sweat on his brow, as if he had just finished working really hard.  As I walked up to greet them both, he stepped in front of his wife and stuck out that big hand of his--a hand that I couldn't quite wrap my fingers around and it always seemed to swallow mine.  I was maybe 3 or 4 inches taller, but clearly outweighed by a good 50 pounds.  His smile disarmed me completely as he turned to introduce his wife; Annabelle.  She was equally charming and I knew immediately that any concerns or worries that I might have were unwarranted.  I tried to sit in the back seat, but Wagoner wouldn't have it.  I was their guest of honor and in the days to come I would come to find just how much they truly valued me as their guest.  During every meal only Wagoner and I sat at the dining table where mama always served me first as I sat at the head of the table.  The rest of the family took their meals at the kitchen table and only after Wagoner and I had finished.  The food was "muy que rico pero mucho!" Eventually I convinced mama to let me put my own portions on my plate and papa would happily eat the rest.  They are a modest family, and yet were willing to share all that they had with me.

My tico papa!

     Wagoner is taxi driver, but he might just as well be a racecar driver.  He maneuvers his car through the maze of traffic with such little effort, that it makes his riders relax and lose any worries. He drove us to the home--all the way talking and laughing, quite unaware of just how little language I understood as I strained to hear his words.  But words aren't the only part of communication, and the rest was quite clear to me.  I laughed too, and shared what little Spanish I knew and all the while felt at ease and comfortable.  This family would be a joy, I knew that immediately.
    In just a few short minutes we arrived at the house and were met with an iron gate that enclosed the entire home.  Before I could manage a word, Wagoner was out of the car and unlocking the gate...as he slid it back on its rails I looked into what appeared to be a patio of sorts with a tiled floor and long hallway filled with several chairs.  I would come to know the first door on the left as Rubein's room (a student who rents from the family and my new friend), the second door on the left as my room and the rest of the home followed that hallway as one door opened to Evelyn's room, another to the main dining area and the last one to the kitchen (cocinar en espanol).  Wagoner quickly drove us into the space and once again jumped out and closed the iron gate and locked it.  Within a few short minutes, I found myself escorted into the home, shown my quarters, and then immediately engaging with the entire family!

     The parents are:  Wagoner & Annabelle, they have 4 daughters and 1 son.  Children in chronological order are:  Elizabeth, Carlos, Evelyn, Mariella and Wendy.  Wendy is 19 and lives at home. Evelyn is in her 30's and married to Eduardo they also live in the home and have two children:  Fabian (12) and Sebastian (8).  However, Mama Anabelle watches all the grandchildren during the day, so everyday after school I would be greeted by as many as 16 family members who would all gather in the patio area to speak to me and each other! This was a new found joy for me and I quickly resolved to adopt this habit upon my return home.  Here, family was very important and respected deeply.  We rarely watched television (except for a little news), preferring to share with each other what we had experienced that day.