End of the Week.

This week has flown by and I can not believe everything that has happened. I forgot to mention that we had went on a crocodile boat ride on Saturday and this Saturday we went in Hot Springs. Everything on this trip has been so new and exciting that it is hard to comprehend all that we have done. I have heard a lot of the people on the trip saying,"it feels like a dream." Which a lot of the times it does just because we are constantly doing so many new and exciting things. This weekend has been exciting going to the hot springs and really just being able to relax and get caught up on sleep. Everyone seems to be feeling a lot better and being able to talk about all of the events of the past week.
What is really nice about the weekends is that we are all together relaxing and are able to talk about our Tico families. We are able to discuss the differences with one another and talk about how this new family is similar or different from the one in Heredia. I have found that by talking about all of the things that are happening within our homes makes us all aware of the things that are happening around us and that we tend to either pay attention more or talk to our families to discuss new things that others have found out. I have been able to learn a lot about the culture this way and have enjoyed being able to really understand what it means to be a Tico. Here are some pictures since I have not had much time this week to upload many. Enjoy!

Recap of the past week.

Wow has the time gone by fast here. It is hard to believe that we are already more than half way through the trip and that we only have a whole week left. This week we went to a lot of different activities here in Monteverde.
Over the weekend we went to Manuel Antonio which was a beautiful beach. The public beach we went to on Saturday was a lot of fun and I can now say that I have swam in the Pacific Ocean. I can also say that the ocean at this place had a very strong rip current which was something I had thought I experienced but the current here was much stronger than I had ever felt before. Then Sunday we went to the National Park and saw all kinds of different plants and animals. The one animal that stuck out the most was the sloth that we thought might have had a baby with it. Then when we finally got to the beach there were all of these black dots that were moving along the beach. At first we did not know what to think then when we finally got closer we realized that they were hermit crabs. It was very strange to see all of these hermit crabs just crawling along the beaches.
While we were having fun all weekend we all noticed that we were either thinking in Spanish or having different phrases coming out in Spanish. This made me wonder if the students that come to the United States have that same issue. I found it to be frustrating that my brain was still working on Spanish when all I wanted to do was relax. This is only temporary for me, I can’t imagine this frustrating feeling for the ESL students never going away. If I have a student that is ESL I am going to have to come up with ways to let that student relax otherwise they will just get burnt out.
Sunday night I finally arrive in Monteverde and met my new family. My Papa Tico was all excited to tell me about where he works and all of the different activities that there are here. I found it interesting how different this family and the environment was as compared to my first family.
Later in the week we visited a typical farm which was very interesting. They had bananas, coffee, sugar cane and plantains. It was very interesting to see how coffee is made and how they excreted the sugar water from the sugar cane. Then we were able to make our own candy from the boiled sugar water. Finally before we left the mother of the farm made us this huge buffet of food which was delicious.
It is hard to believe that I had done all of these activities within the first half of the week.

May 18th

The time certainly does fly by here. It feels like just yesterday I wrote in my blog when in reality it has been about three days. There is just so much to do it almost feels like there is not time for it or anything else for that matter. I have started taking my Spanish classes and since I have started I find it a lot easier to talk to my family because I am now understanding what they are saying(well at least part of the time) and I have more confidence to respond back. Even though I may not say the verb in the correct tense or say the right type of noun my family seems to understand what I am saying and I am able to show them the things that I want to share with them. I thought that when I first came here that I would not have a lot in common with my family or that I would not be able to relate to them simply because they live in a different country. Yet I am seeing that my family here and the one at home have a lot in common. When I showed my Papa Tico that my family farms he seemed more interested which I came to know that he sells fruits and vegetables in town. There seemed to be a lot more conversation once I had shown my family pictures to my Costa Rican family. I would have never thought that just a few pictures could open up the conversation into so many different avenues.
I had told my Mama Tica that I wanted to learn how to cook some authentic food and she showed me how to make the rice that they have with every meal. This was one of my goals I wanted to complete while I was here because I love to cook and since I have learned in my past that by cooking with others it is a way of bonding without having to use language. Ever since that night my Mama Tica has given me different small jobs here and there in the kitchen which I like. I feel more apart of the family when I am included in tasks like these.
Today we went to a school and we all got to visit the special needs classroom. This has been one of my favorite activities since we have been here. I was able to work with two girls who I believe have down syndrome. Every time they said a word right they received a high five and sometimes put their hands up for high fives if I forgot to give them one. I was also excited that everyone else was able to work with special needs kids. I find that I talk to a lot of other peers in the education program who have never worked with special needs kids. I find that it is very important for everyone to get at least some kind of experience since no one ever really knows what kinds of kids they may have in their class. I always feel that it is better to be over prepared rather than not prepared. I am excited to go back to this class tomorrow.
Tonight after classes we all were able to take the city bus and go to the mall. From what I have seen of the town I would have never expected to see a mall the size or the type in this city. I figured that a lot of the people on the trip with me had been on a city bus before but a lot of them had not. I have come to realize throughout a lot of this trip that I have a lot of assumptions about many things in my life that are not true. I had thought that I was an open minded person but I am quickly learning that I have had a closed mind about a lot of different things. Therefore my goal for the next destination to be more open minded and possibly not have any expectations of any kind and see what that leads to. Enjoy!

Volcano and First Day with Host Family

Today was filled with all kinds of excitement and nerves. First there was the volcano, which was very neat to see since I had never been that close to one before. I kept smelling something that smelled weird and when I had asked by guide he said that it was because of the sulfur in the air from the volcano. Then we hiked to the lagoon that has acid rain in it from the volcano. Since there is acid within the water the only organisms that can live are the bacteria that has been able to survive in the acid water. While our group was enjoying the lagoon a few of us had apples from the previous day with us and we were eating them. Then a little girl came up to us with her eyes so big that she wanted one of our apples. Luckily I had a couple extra that I was able to give her one. I found her to be so brave and she was maybe three years old. She did not speak English but had the courage to come up to me to get what she wanted. I had put the experience in the back of my mind for the day.
Next we went back to the school where we will be learning Spanish for the rest of our time in Heredia. Since we had to take an entrance exam to see where our Spanish skills are was a bit nerve racking to say the least. I had thought I knew some Spanish before I came to Costa Rica and I am quickly learning that I do not have as many skills as I had thought I had.
Then after sitting around catching up on emails and just relaxing for a couple hours, my family came to pick me up to go to their house. Once I got in the car and no one spoke English is when my nerves set in. This was now a real event taking place and I had to try my best to communicate. After getting to the house I felt a little better because it was very relaxed and there was no need to be nervous. Then my Mama Tica made me fish, rice, beans and some kind of tuna salad. I was a little apprehensive since the fish was a whole fish which I had never had before but I have to say it was not bad at all. It was hard to figure out how to socialize with everyone since there were about 10 people here that were all speaking Spanish. It was at this point that I really understood just how brave the little girl was to come up to us and ask for an apple. I was so scared to ask or say anything because I was worried about not saying something right or offending someone when in reality that is what I am here for. I am here to make mistakes and take chances because if I do not then I may miss an opportunity that I will never get again. Luckily my Mama Tica has a son that speaks English and I was able to talk to him about Costa Rica and he was able to communicate with the others and me. He was able to ask my Mama Tica if she could teach me some traditional dishes from Costa Rica which she abruptly replied with tomorrow. For the rest of my stay here I am going to try and have the courage of the little girl at the lagoon today.

The Rain Forest

Today was interesting to say the least. I thought that while being here that I would only learn from my experiences and the children that I will teach. I did not expect to learn from my classmates while I am here. Since we went to the waterfalls today I had thought that everyone had seen a waterfalls before. Since I am from Buffalo I am always taking friends and family to Niagara Falls to see the American and Canadian Falls. These falls were a lot different compared to the ones in Canada. I was just amazed to think that these fellow students had never seen a waterfall before. I did not think that I would get a cultural experience within my own group. Today we were able to see a lot of different wild life up front that we would have never been able to see had we walked in the rain forest. I really enjoyed the toucans and monkeys but could have done without the snakes. We also went into a butterfly house that was really cool to see all of the different kinds of butterflies along with what their cocoons look like. There were also a bunch of butterflies either hatching or about to hatch out of their cocoons. Well tomorrow is another busy day walking at the VOLCANO and we will be getting up very early in the morning. I will leave you with some favorite pictures of the day. ENJOY!

First day done

I can finally say that I now am the proud owner of a stamp in my passport. It is so pretty here and there are just so many different things going on around me that, at times it is hard to wrap my head around everything that is new and exciting. I went to a farmers market yesterday and was able to purchase some of my own fruit and try to use my Spanish to pay. I thought I knew Spanish but I am quickly learning that I do not know as much as I thought I did. Since we went to a bank before the market I was trying to figure out how it all works. Here a U.S. dollar equals 500 colones. I went to the market and got 3 apples and a passion fruit for 400 colones. Here are a couple pictures from the market and other things since I need to get ready for the Waterfalls hike today. Enjoy!

The plane ride down

Well here I am on the plane to Costa Rica finally. The weeks leading up to today seemed to take forever to go by. I am ready to take an adventure in life like I have never taken before. I always wanted to study abroad but I was always intimidated by the semester long stays in another country, I do not think I could be on a vacation for that long. Then coming to Wilmington and finding this short trip with cultural immersion, learning another language, being able to teach and also explore another country sounded like just the right amount that would work for me. So, here I am on a plane to Costa Rica.
I have to say that I am a complete nerd when it comes to learning about the ways in which other people teach others. I am always wanting to know how they teach a certain lesson or a certain skill and then take it into my own life and try to apply it when I am teaching others. Since I work with special needs kids and will become a special needs teacher I am most excited to see what a different country does for special needs children. I have, in my 23 years of life, lived in three different states and in each state there are always different ways in which the state teaches the special needs population. I had thought that because of laws and regulations being so strict that all schools and states would be the same but I have since been proven wrong. Since Costa Rica has taken away their military to put more money back into their education I am excited to see how and what it is that they changed and what the teachers still feel needs to be changed.
Another part of the trip that I am really looking forward to but at the same time am scared about is the fact that I will be living with host families. I am nervous that the language barrier will get frustrating and will be hard to communicated beyond the usual greetings. I would really love to get to know my host families and hear about their lives and also share mine with them. I also love to cook and would love to be able to take home with me some recipes that I can then share with friends and family. I think that the main reason I am a bit apprehensive about the experience with living with others is that I have no idea what to expect. Sure as a class we talked about what others have experienced or previous trips and what they went through but it was not me and I did not experience those things. Yet, as I want to become a special needs teacher a large part of that is being able to adapt to surroundings, people, ways of life, learning abilities and so much more therefore this experience will force me to adapt which will be a great learning experience.
Well I better get some sleep since I chose to stay up instead of getting some shut eye before the flights today. I am sure I will want to write more once I get to Costa Rica later today and get to experience the city and some of the culture. Hope you all enjoy the blog!