Week Eighteen 4/25-5/1

This week I worked as a music teacher, a first grade teacher, a world geography teacher (HS) and a kindergarten teacher. On Thursday I ran a 5k here at the house on the PHR trails, took me 37 min but it was AWESOME! Later that day I lost my voice, by the end of the day I had almost no voice left. Friday it still didn't come back, so my kinders got to watch a movie once we finished lessons instead of centers because I had no voice to keep them quiet while in centers. We watched The Fox & The Hound. Two girls also colored me pages that I brought home and hung on the fridge for a while. :)

Week Seventeen 4/18-4/24

This week I worked 3 days. I still wasn't feeling great, but I got through it. I was the elementary music teacher, which was actually really fun. I played some music let the kids dance- to get their wiggles out- and then we watched a movie (of course!!) but if they were good they got to play freeze dance. Its a game like muscial chairs & freeze tag combined. I would play a song and if the music stopped they had to freeze. They loved it! All the grades behaved so they could play freeze dance! I also started running again this week. I did 2.21 miles in 28:30, so not great but not to shabby either. :)

Pomegranate flowers, we have two trees in full bloom. So I used some to decorate the table

Set up my tri-pod and took some pics of the full, bright moon! 

Week Sixteen 4/11-4/17

What a week!! I worked as a sub every day this week! I worked as the Inclusion teacher, then I was the theatre teacher. All I did this week was to watch movies. :( It was boring but it was really helpful because it showed me how important it is to have good sub plans really is. This teacher had no plans for me and spent all week watching different movies. And on Saturday I took my certification test. It was so hard especially because I did not know I had strep, a fever of 102 and just didn't feel good! It was stressful to wait for 5 weeks for results. But oh well. Again no pics. Sorry!

Week Fifteen 4/4-4/10

What I wore to the teacher job fair :) 

I planted some morning glory today, hopefully it will take, and next spring we will have a fence covered with big blue flowers!

This has been a big week! I went on a "blind date" with a guy named Brian, and then he took me to lunch the next day because he wanted to see me again. :) On the 6th I went down to San Marcos for a Teacher Job fair. Boy was that depressing. There were over 100 schools registered, and less than half actually showed up. And there were so many teachers there- adults who were already teachers and had lost their jobs so they came to the fair to find new ones. That was the hardest part, to really see all the competition and to see how many of us were going for the same positions. But life is crazy and will find a way to work. I will just keep my head down, keep trying and find joy in each day.

Week Fourteen 3/28-4/2

This week I worked as a sub at Florence for 2 days with the Special Ed elementary kids and then 2 days as a World Geography Teacher. I loved being in the High School, the kids were AWESOME. Again no pics, I lost the memory card for this two week period. :(

Week Thirteen 3/21-3/27

This week was kinda boring. I worked my first "sub-ing" job, as a lunch lady. Not my best day ever. But its ok because it got my foot in the door and I worked as a teacher almost every day after that. :) I also had my first day of "teacher school" in Austin. It was a good experience and was good to see my friend Tyler every week.

Week Twelve 3/14-3/20

This was the week I came home. What a crazy wonderful hard experience. Dad was here, and with that tons of emotions and baggage to be moved around. Mom and I went to a TTC in Cleburne Tx. Hemi decided he wanted to be a road cat and caught a ride in the RV. We also lost a family friend, Sandra Ladd, so we had a candle light vigil for her at the ride.

Amazing sunset the night of the ride

A glowing flame for Sandra

Each sharing a memory or story about Sandra

Raising our candles to Sandra

Gorgeous blood moon that night, it was a vibrant red color. Pic does not do it justice

Week Eleven 3/7-3/13

Volcan Arenal, this shot was taken from downtown La Fortuna

Sadly, one of the best pictures from the birding trip

Another picture from the early morning birding trip

Sunset silhouetting the Volcan Arenal

Learning to make tortillas con queso

At the Childrens Museum. They had a whole floor on the different parts of the body and ways to take care of your body. The big doors looking like a huge mouth lead into a room full of big teeth, it had big tooth brushes and floss so you could learn the importance of brushing and flossing! Such a cool learning place for kids 

Queen! Finally in my rightful place. :) The guides were all more than happy to take pics for me, I think because then they could make fun of me being the only "adult" in the whole building who was not accompanied by kids.

This week has been crazy, it felt like it was dragging by because I was so very ready to be home. The family I lived with is a whole new definition for crazy. The host Mom - Margarita- is raising her grandson as her own son, but the little boys biological mother lives in the house to! Kinda. She was almost never there and only came home to change her clothes, of which there was little fabric. Margaritas oldest son lives in the little apartment above the garage with his wife and three year old, who may be a contestant for worlds most spoiled three year old. And then there's Margarita and her husband, Margarita is super nice and her house is super clean, her husband works as a lawn guy. His job is to weed whack the "neighborhood" they live in. I never once saw him wear a shirt that had more than the last two buttons done and he is very shy, would hardly talk to me. The three year old was allowed to run around screaming, would cry and have a temper-tantrum for no apparent reason, would leave what few toys he did have just out where ever, but the kicker of it all is this: On Thursday the boys wanted to show me something out side, a plant that eats bugs-kinda cool. While we were out there the little one pulls out his wiener and just starts to pee on Alonzo's and my feet laughing. I scold him in English first because I am so shocked that he would pee on a stranger, then scold him in Spanish. After Alonzo and I wash off our feet and go inside, we tell Margarita and her daughter in law what happened, expecting that he will get a spanking or at least punished, I was totally shocked when they laughed and did nothing! Oh and they had cable, which is something I think they were really proud of because from the moment the first person woke up to the moment when the last person went to bed both TVs were on with different programs and competing volume. 

My "profesora" was a 20 year old girl who was taking English classes. She was really nice but I don't feel like I learned a lot because she could get side tracked really easy, so since I can be to it was not a real productive week. It was fun but not productive. The crazy thing is this girls parents wont help her go to college, she doesn't make enough with AEC to pay for school and she really really wants to go. Her parents want her to marry her boyfriend this year and live with them. I am still sad for her because she so badly wants to go to college and would love to come to the states to go to an art school, but she will most likely be married and pregnant within the year.
She did teach me to make tortillas con queso by hand, they were pretty good. I will use way more cheese and a stronger cheese at that when I make them at home. On Wednesday morning Alice and I went bird watching, pretty cool. Saw tons of North American birds because this is where they all winter. Saw some cool tropical birds to, kinda ticked the guide wouldn't let me use the telescope to photograph the birds but would let Alice use her point and shoot to take the pictures. Thursday night we went to the "local" hot springs, if I could have I would have gone every night! Felt so good after wards! Alice had gone to the big hot spring resort in town and said the one we went to was much better. :) It was dark and quiet. she and I just got to talk about our AEC experiences.

This was an amazing trip, I learned so much. On the bus yesterday I was the one translating for the English only speakers about what stop we were at and what was going on. The bus blew two different tires in our 5 hour journey from La Fortuna. The second tire that blew was just left on because the bus only carried one spare! So we drove the last two hours of the trip with a blown tire. Yesterday was awesome, I got to go play at the local children's museum and was able to read and understand all the information and talk to the guides in each room. Then I went to the National Museum, still pretty cool, but not as informative as I would have liked. A lot of the plaques seemed to repeat what the others were saying- basically not a lot is known about the pre-Columbian society that lived here. I did find out that the cool frog pendant I bought is believed to represent fertility and rain. Lovely! :) The National Museum is in an old fort, it has bullet holes in the walls from the last revolution in 1948, and they have preserved the living quarters of the commanders. It was interesting that the style of dress and decoration was almost Victorian.
Today I am just working on my online certification stuff with Texas Teachers waiting to go to the airport. Looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Even more big changes coming. A TTC, hopefully a local job in Killeen, two Teacher job fairs and seeing lots of my friends. Life is good and I am so lucky to have the family, friends and the opportunities that I have had (and will get to have).  

If you look at the very top right hand corner you see a white dot, that is smoke coming out of the volcano not clouds. Its an active volcano but has not had any lava in about 6 weeks. Still smoking like crazy. People are not allowed to climb this volcan because of the toxic gas pockets, the hot craters and the always constant possibility of a "small" eruption

Week Ten 2/28 - 3/6

Cute monkey... the tourists were feeding them banana´s! How sterotypical and they were all down on the beach ¨begging¨ for more banana´s. At Manuel Antonio

Pura Vida. The saying in Costa Rica about everything being good.

Blue Tanager... So pretty. Turquoise body with a grey head! But sure likes to move around! This is the best pic I could get after taking them for a week!!

This butterfly was IREDESCENT!!!! So pretty! At Manuel Antonio

This past week was not really fully of any grand adventures because it was full of fun! The medical students from UVA were so much fun, but all we did was drink! It was like turning 21 again. I could never keep up! I had one drink to their 2 or 3, some of them would drink 4 to my 1. I was CRAZY!! Also this week was not full of adventures because I had private lessons for two days and then my final exam on Friday. I made a 92 on my final, so on the test portion of my final grade I have a 92!!! And I had perfect attendance and class participation so now I just have to finish my paper and submit it and I should be getting two A’s for my final grades in Spanish 3 and 4!!

Yesterday I went to Nacional Parque Manuel Antonio. It was ok. I saw a sloth, some howler monkeys, a few capuchin monkeys, a raccoon and some cool lizards. Then went to the beach for about an hour and went to dinner a final time with some of my new friends. 

Today I got up at left at 6 am, which was fine by me because I was up before my 5:30 alarm. Took a shuttle bus up here to La Fortuna. Got here in about 5 hours because I had to wait in Quepos for an hour for the shuttle pick up time. I am here with a host family again, so lots of Spanish use because no one in the house speaks English. Will be here until Friday morning and then I am headed to San Jose for 2 days. Then HOME!! A week from now I will be boarding my plane in San Jose bound for Houston! And then Austin!!! So ready. I miss Momma terribly and lil miss Aphid. And the peace and quiet of living out in the country. The two weeks in Turriabla were loud because it’s a bustling little area and then two weeks in a dorm, loved my room mate but she and her crew always woke me up when they came home any where from 1-3 am. And because there were 14 of them it took about two hours for every one to get home. Now 5 nights here, in another noisy location. Just ready for the country and my bed and my dog.

But this week I am going to the hot springs here, going on a birding tour, going to see some waterfalls and having 4 hour private lessons all week. J So it’s a good way to wrap up a glorious learning experience, about the language, the people and about myself.

Starting to check things off my list

1. Read a classic novel  Alice in Wonderland and This Side of Paradise
2.  Go to Costa Rica Began on 2/4 ended 
3.  Get my Teacher Certification and my own classroom  
4. Go to a new city in the US
5. Loose 10 pounds and keep them off
6. Run at least one 5K
7. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
8. Go on a Blind Date
9. Do a Photography Weekend Workshop
10. Buy a new Little Black Dress
11. Get my Tech Certification

Week Nine 2/21-2/27

Two chicks heading out to surf at sunrise

My foot prints in the sand

After learning how to surf :) Not the best pic ever taken, but it was a great experience

The lady who cleans my room always leaves me some flowers. So cool

Sunset, on one of our class field trips to the beach

Very cool spider, reminded my of the golden silk spiders in Texas and Florida

Sunset from my school

One of the 10 or so big turtles we saw yesterday. 

Isle de Cano was COVERED in hermit crabs

They loved all the fruit rinds left by the tourists

It was kind of hazy yesterday, made for a cool shot about an hour before sunset

Iguana. They live in the rafters of the buildings, you can hear them running on the roof and then landing on the ground 2 stories down

GIANT bug. I do not know what kind but he is about the size of my palm. Big bug. 

I cant believe another week has already passed! Seems like I just got here to Playa Dominical. On Tuesday I took a surf lesson, it went pretty well. By the end of two hours I was able to stand up almost every time. On Wednesday I got a massage, it was amazing! You could hear the ocean and they had some great music playing. I so needed that after the disaster that was last Sunday. I was so very sore after carrying everything around for an hour. I had bruises all the way until Friday. Have spent most of my free time this week with two girls from Austria, Anna Maria and Kristina, and Rolf from Switzerland. Very cool group to talk to, we talked about what our home countries were like and compared them. Very fun and interesting conversations that have only deepened my desire to go to Europe as soon as I can.  And the girls said they would show me around Austria and Rolf  said he would show me around Zurich. So thats an exciting proposition. the group from Europe had no idea about "The Sound of Music", so I had to youtube some clips and explain the plot. It seemed crazy that they had never heard of the movie. Oh and another cool person I have met was a pharmacist named Terri, she travels all over the state of Alaska helping different villages. She was a fellow student here last week and told me to let her know if I made up to Alaska in the next year or so and she would meet me in Juneau to show me around. So very cool to meet all these people and to learn about the lives they lead when we are not here in this tropical wonderland.
Yesterday I went to Isle de Cano, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_del_Ca%C3%B1o The snorkeling was so awesome, the water was super clear so visibility was high. Saw tons of fish species I did not recognize, but some I did. Like parrot, puffer and a really really big snapper. Thanks to my TMJ I only snorkeled in the morning and did not go back out after lunch. Having to bite down on the mouth piece was just to much for my jaw, it was popping and cracking after about 45 min of snorkeling. My sunscreen fell out of my bag and was still on the boat so I did not have sunscreen while I was on the Isle. And I fell asleep, burned myself pretty good. But today its pretty much a lovely tan color, my skin just feels a little to tight. So more aloe and lots of water.
In class this week we didn't really learn a whole lot because we had 3 different teachers. And it was a review week, largely in part to the three teachers, but also because I was between the two levels of classes being offered. And we played lots of games, which was fun but not extremely educational. Also class ended an hour early every day last week. Some days we went to the beach or went to get ice cream-which is home made, super creamy and sooo yummy. The dance class no one went to so I have not yet learned to salsa. :( And I was the only student in the cooking class, we made Barbudos, which has become a new favorite. So yummy and good for you. Here is a recipe I found online http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=667117  We didnt use any spices or salt, but I will add that when I get home. We also used fresh green beans. So yummy. Some other recipes I found of this added cheese which sounds yummy. The school served this as a meal over white rice that had a home made salsa mixed in. I also made fried plantains last night for dinner, so very yummy. Think large banana. I am hoping to make some yucca this week, but every one says its really hard. I bought a cook book (for $15) and the recipe doesn't sound to hard. Hopefully it works.

Week Eight 2/14-2/20

First let me apologize for all the errors in my previous posts! I have read over some of them and my grammar is just atrocious! I am so very sorry! I will now pre-write my posts so I am not stressed about how much internet time I have left.
This week went by so fast! I only have 21 days left here in  Costa Rica. In Turrialba we (the students)  figured that we walked just under a mile to school each morning, and that it was just over a mile to town from the neighborhood we lived in. So each day I was walking a minimum of 2 miles, at that was only for school. I walked so much more than that because there was nothing else to do besides sit at home, so I walked to town everyday. My mamatica did not have internet, tv, or a radio so frequently I was out wandering just to find a way to occupy my time. This past week I did not have class on Wednesday so I went to Guayabo National Monument. It is an ancient ritual site, pre-Columbian, with working aqueducts and ceremonial grounds. Here is the link for information about Guayabo. All the cool artifacts they found at Guayabo though are in a museum some place because all thats left at the site are what they could not move. Either way it was cool.
 http://www.costarica-nationalparks.com/guayabonationalmonument.html

On Friday evening my new friend Alice and I went to a very local restaurant, so glad we did! She and I will be in Arenal together the last week, looking forward to hanging out some more. Alice is from Ashville NC,  she and her husband spent three years teaching English in Japan, very interesting lady. Beautiful views of the Turrialba valley, the restaurateurs had placed bird feeders all around the property and we saw acollared aracari . A member of the toucan family, but much braver, and a very social bird.  Saturday was spent reading and relaxing. Sunday I left Turrialba at 8 am, 3 buses and 2 cabs and 10 hours later finally arrived at Dominical. On my way back to San Jose en route to Arenal in two weeks I will be taking Dramamine to make the bus ride a little more pleasant. Because yesterday’s trip really took its toll on me! I don’t think of myself as a car sick kind of person, but after Christmas and then the driving here I am starting to wonder if maybe I am. Although here the drivers have a hard time staying on their side of the road so there is lots of weaving back and forth across the road.  Guess it makes each trip a little more interesting. :/

So the orange trees only bloom at the in January, this is at the end of the month so they are starting to loose their blossoms. So beautiful though

An aquaduct at Guayabo

Waterfall at the park

Me up above the ceremonial grounds

Ceremonial Grounds

Poor Man's umbrella, they can grow up to 6 ft wide, this one was 3 ft or so

At the restaurant,

One of the views from the balcony at the restaurant

Alice and I with Turrialba valley behind us

My mamatica's house, her daughters car

AEC in Turrialba

Week Seven 2/7- 2/13

This past week has been so interesting. I love my classes, I wish that class was like this for forgien languages, math and science. Its so wonderful being able to ask as many questions as I need to, being able to always participate in the lesson, which was something I have always had an issue with in those 3 subjects for fear of sounding dumb. And we get to talk so much in class, it really help me understand the language concepts because we are talking about what instances you would use CUAL (which) instead of  QUE (what). For the record it is the opposite of English, you use cual when there are no specific choices given and que when there are specific choices. That rule really threw me for a loop!
Ex: What is your favorite color?- Cual es tu favorito calor? Crazy huh!
And we have been practicing sentence structure, as well as having to give oral presentations every day, yes there are only 2 other people in the room but its still hard!

There is a big group of medical students here from Texas. There are about 10 people in the group and they are about to start their residencies when they get home. Very nice group. They rented a house in the middle of town so they are all living together for a month, it’s a cool house. Momma would love it, every single room is painted a different color and they have a living wall that’s covered in plants. Although we could not figure out how the plants were getting water, except from the moisture in the air!

On Thursday I went on 5 zip lines, repelled down 4 waterfalls and crossed a slat bridge! It was so AMAZING! I loved the repelling! Except when I went under a ledge in one of the falls lost my footing and smashed my knees into the rock face. But it was still so cool. Wish it was cheaper because I would go every day! What a work out! One of the girls from the Texas group has a water proof digital camera so when she emails the pics I will add them here. Oh and we saw a sloth just hanging out in a tree, acting like we were not even there.

On Friday my profesora took me on a field trip to town, we went to the local farmers market, the local market place, think permanent flea market. And she showed me where the post office is. :)

Yesterday I went to a place called CATIE (caught-e-a), it’s a local school that is studying renewable agriculture, sustainable growth and studying the medicinal uses of plants. Because of what they are doing they have built a huge botanical garden, its amazing! I saw lots of birds but they were all either flying or not in good places for photos. But the park was beautiful and it was interesting to read about what the school was doing.

Took this picture last weekend... ucky huh!  The mark is still there, fainter, but still there

This is at the local farmers market that is open on Fridays and Saturdays. My profesora took me to see it as a field trip!  

This is a flower from CATIE, it is also now my desk top. Looking at Aphid every day made me miss her even more!

This is my Mamatica- Nelsie- I could not get her to smile for a picture! We were on our way to church last night. 

Today I went to the local volcano which is still active, but it’s at 10,000 feet. At about 8,000 (we were above the coffee line) I started getting a head ache and my ears were killing me, so I asked the cab driver to take me home. I got about nine and boy I am soo glad I did! About an hour after I got home it started raining, it has not stopped!