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!