I’m back friends and family! I have returned to follow everyone up
on what has happened this past week in my Costa Rican experience. I have really
appreciated every opportunity of this trip and it has opened my eyes to a brand
new culture, lifestyle and practicality.
Tuesday May 19th,
my mama Tica fixed desayuno: biscuits (not the southern kind y’all are thinking
of), pina fresca, huevos y café con leche. Unfortunately, I threw it all up
within ten minutes after I ate it. I started to feel nauseous and queasy as I
tried to walk with both Tess and Lyn from my group to CPI. Even worse, as I trampled
behind them, I threw up again on the side of the road. I began to think of what
I recently ate that could make me feel this awful. I realized that since I
haven’t consistently eaten meat in the past year, it must have been the meat in
the soup that my mama Tica gave me for dinner on Sunday. Even worse than that
(if you can believe it) was the fact that the group and I were going to the
Calle Hernandez Primary School to teach English lessons to the first and third
graders. Luckily, with the help of a pepto bismol, my stomach felt much better
and I was able to teach the kids! In greater explanation, I fell in love with
everything about teaching English as a second language. Deena, Calle
Hernandez’s English instructor, had previously taught the kids about the idea
of nuclear families and prepositional phrases, which, if you think about it,
are tough subjects for any new English language learner. As we entered her
classroom, the student’s faces lit up with smiles and excitement. Both UNCW and
MSU students broke off into pairs and worked with 3-4 students. I paired up
with Lyn, one of the members from my group. For our three third graders,
Raquel, Juan Pablo and Zach, we described the parts of our homes and had each
student list and draw their family members. Regarding that, they were asked to
share how many people they lived with, as well as, their specific names. I
valued this exercise because it was hands-on, active, and engaging. For the first
graders, we planned an activity where the students had to sing about the
members in their families. The song began with- “these are the people that live
in my house, live in my house, live in my house, these are the people that live
in my house, live in my house!” Once they sang this part, the students then added
the names of their family members within the song. For example: “my mother lives in my house, lives in my
house, lives in my house, my mother
lives in my house, lives in my house!” I was extremely surprised with how
quickly the first graders caught on to the song and how well they pronounced
the words. They certainly understood way more than what I expected them to! Following
the lesson, our group said goodbye to Deena’s classroom and headed to CPI for
lunch and Spanish class. In truth, being at Calle Hernandez made me realize
that this is my calling. I hope to one day, teach English to kids who aspire to
learn, but need the encouragement and motivation to thrive and excel. One thing
Deena said that stuck with me was that: “the students know the information, they
just need the push and the ambition.” Amen to that.
Wednesday, May 20th, my sickness returned yet again. By this time, I accepted that this was just pure
traveler’s sickness. Although it wasn’t fun to deal with, I didn’t want to miss out on anything. More so, today
was the day our group hiked to Vulcan Poas. I have to say, the ride up was shaky, as well as the walking, but I
managed to push through and make the trek. Absolutely worth it. I LOVED seeing the volcano. As one of the
most spectacular places in Costa Rica, and sitting above 8,000 feet, the volcano’s vivid blue of the hot spring with
the rocky dark grey ash of the ridges was breathtaking. On our way down, we stopped at a restaurant called Freddi Fresas.
There, we were served jugo de fresas- mas deliciosa, almuerzo y flan. My stomach didn’t react too well to this; however,
another pepto bismal relieved some of the discomfort. Spanish class at CPI, as always, began at 1:00 p.m. and lasted until
5:00 p.m. By the end of the day, I felt brain dead from Spanish overload. Pero me siento que esta clase está realmente me
haciendo un mejor orador. Did ya understand that?? But honestly, this conversation class has absolutely helped me learn and
benefit from the language. ¡Hurra! Later that night, as a group of us were walking back to our home stays, professor Powell
tripped on the sidewalk and landed on her shoulder. All of us were worried, because we spoke little Spanish and needed
someone to take her to the hospital. Fortunately, a good CR samaritan made a quick phone call and an ambulance came to
pick Dr. Powell up. Turns out, she dislocated her right shoulder and had to have it repositioned. All is good now; she received
a sling and pain medicine. Phew! To end the night on a more positive note, my mama Tica greeted me with a lovely hug and
prepared a fantastic dinner for me: pescado, arroz, pintos, ensalada y fruta. I am so appreciative of her kind and gracious heart.
I fell asleep thinking about what my last few days in Heredia will bring. We shall see, we shall see!
It’s May 21st, a.k.a, the seventh day I have been in Costa Rica! Time really does fly by when you’re in another country.
Today was unquestionably, one of the best days of the trip thus far. Our group left the church meeting point around 6:30 to
go to the Calle Hernandez Primary School once more. Un otro vez más, Lyn and I worked with the same third graders we
had before- Raquel, Juan Pablo, and Zach. I drew a house floor plan on giant poster paper, so that the students could clarify
the types of rooms typically found in a house- bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, garages, living rooms, etc. Subsequently, I
passed out note cards to each student with drawings of items that belong in specific rooms of a household- sofa, refrigerator,
lamp, desk, table and chair. Out loud, the kids had to repeat the name of the item on the notecard and place it into the correct
room of the house. Positively, all three of these students did very well with this activity and they retained a majority of the
information. I was super proud of them! For the fifth graders, Deena had been teaching them about how to properly format
and write letters. For Lyn and I, our group of fifth graders- Angelica, Engel, and Paolina practiced their English by composing
letters to send to people in the United States. We used a sample message for them to use as an example, but they didn’t need it.
All three of these students wrote full letters, about 5-7 sentences long, with proper structure and organization. Toward the end,
Angelica shared hers in front of the entire class and absolutely killed it! Her pronunciation and grammar was impeccable.
Needless to say, I am amazed. These students are incredible, and I had the opportunity to teach them…whaaat? How awesome.
I can’t believe tomorrow is my last day in Heredia! We’ll see what happens next.
Hasta mañana a todos y recuerda…
PURA VIDA! :)
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