Finishing up in Cocles

Here are some pictures of my classes in Cocles. The pictures speak a thousand words about what I had to deal with on a daily basis during my classes! =)

4th grade

One of the classrooms

1st-2nd grade
3rd grade

View of the schoolyard

7-8th graders

I can't believe I am finishing up my time in Cocles. It has definitely been an interesting experience. I have learned some delicious recipes, taught more than 100 crazy kids some basic English, spent a ton of time at the beach, and improved my Spanish a lot! I can't believe it is my 8th week in Costa Rica- the halfway point! Some days it feels like I have been away from home forever and I miss so many important people from home, but at the same time I cannot believe how fast time seems to be going. I have mixed emotions because I cannot wait to get home in December and spend time with all my favorite people, but I don't want this amazing experience to end. I have grown a lot as a person in my time in Costa Rica... and especially during my time in Cocles. Because I am basically excluded from other "gringos," I have basically been forced to improve my Spanish and get by on my own. Although I feared this greatly, I can see now why it was so important for me to do so.

For example, teaching English in Escuela Rio Negro was an absolutely overwhelming task. The students are, to put it nicely, out of control. How can anyone teach more than 100 students English when you only have about 9 days with each class... and only about 1 hour with each class. All the English you need to know in 9 hours... I think not. In spite of this, I had a lot of fun working with the students. Plus, if I can handle these kids in another language, I think teaching will be a lot easier in the U.S.! Working in the school also helped me improve my Spanish a lot because I had to deal with screaming, flirting, fighting, and every other aspect of elementary school you can imagine in Spanish. What an experience.

In other news, today is one of the coolest days that I have experienced in Cocles. I would consider it about 75 with a slight breeze. When I woke up this morning, my mom was in the kitchen making apple tea because it is "so cold" and she didn't want me waking up to the cold. I then explained to her that this is basically a warm and/or hot day in Chicago. She proceeded to explain that I need to move to Central America to maintain my health... apparently "cold" weather is not good for you. All of my students were wearing jackets during class and could not believe that I was not cold in a tshirt and a skirt. I would like to see them during a Chicago winter!

On Saturday morning at 7am, I catch my 5 hour busride back to San Jose. It will be nice to return to a bed with a real mattress, get away from the mosquitos, stop eating ants with every meal, not sweat through my clothes everyday, and spend some time with my friends. The actual internet access and ability to Skype with everyone will be awesome too!