Festival de Boyero

Today we went to a local festival....one that I was very excited about taking Layne to see.  Escazu (where we are staying) is said to be the place where the boyeros (oxcart drivers) would stop and rest as they were taking their coffee products from their farms to the ports.  Every year, the second weekend in March is set aside to celebrate the oxcart driver.  It's a parade through the town of Escazu up to San Antonio Catholic Church.  Once there, the oxcart drivers and oxen are blessed by the priest so they'll have good crops in the upcoming season.  There are awards given for the most beautiful carts and other things.  These carts are handpainted and some of them have been in families for generations.  There are lots of pics in this post, and two videos, but before you see them...I must warn you about something....In this culture they have what is called "masquerades."  That is these really creepy puppet type things that are unusually large and very strange.  I'm serious, I didn't want to get very close to them.  So, before you accuse me of keeping you from sleeping (due to the nightmares you might have)...just know that you have been warned.  LOL.

Here's the first video..... http://youtu.be/FuKjUmp4D9g

And here is the second (you can actually see Layne and my friend Anbreen towards the end of this one)..... http://youtu.be/p5am8LYjKlk

And here are lots of photos....this was a beautiful day.....It started off with seeing this precious little girl...

Is anyone out there??? Hello? (all I hear is crickets)

I'm just wondering about the people who are reading my blog.  Who are you?  Do I know you personally?  Am I bringing any light into your life through my posts?  Do you like the pictures?  Do you want more?  less?  more videos?  less videos?  Just wondering. Comment on some of my posts so I know that all of this writing isn't in vain :-) 

I need a job!

Okay friends and family....it's time to put your thinking caps on!  I need a job and sometimes that requires connections!  I definitely need to be in the Atlanta area, preferably near Kennesaw or Acworth, and I am certified to teach grades 4-8 in English/Language Arts or Reading.  I created an online portfolio at www.mrszwolle.weebly.com and would love for you to share it with anyone in my area who may be looking for a new teacher at their middle school.  As always, I am open to discussions.  Unfortunately, with me being in Costa Rica it would be quite difficult for me to stop by and meet the principals.  I would love to be able to Skype interview or something like that, though.

Please share my info so that I can start building my network and secure a teaching job for next school year.

Thank you!!!

My mojo!

Well, I am happy to say that it seems I've gotten my mojo back!  I don't know if it was Mark's visit or what, but I am feeling so much more confident than I was before.  I feel like I've got a better handle on the classroom, the students are responding to me, and the material that I'm teaching seems to be sinking in with most of them.

Of course I still have issues, but I am feeling so much better about my position in the classroom.  I am on top of the grading (and there is a LOT of grading!) and on top of the planning (for the most part).  One area where I still need improvement is classroom management, but I am continuing to work on that.  It's really hard for me to keep those few underperforming students engaged in the lessons.  I know the lessons need to be differentiated, but getting those students to keep their eyes on me is a challenge.  Reminding them over and over, and calling their name out in front of everyone repeatedly doesn't seem like the best method.  I need to do some research to try to figure out the best ways to keep these kinds of students engaged.  I welcome any feedback or suggestions from my teacher friends.

I'll figure it out, I'm sure....I'm just glad to have my mojo back :-)

A typical day

My sister said she wanted to hear what a typical day for me was like so...here you go!

On a weekday, I usually wake up at 5:30.  I make a cup of coffee (instant...<insert sad face here>) and spend about 30 minutes waking up.  During that time I sit in the bed, drink my coffee, pray, think, and prepare for my day.

I allow myself until 6 oclock to do these things, and then I start getting ready for school.  By 6:30 (it doesn't take me long to get ready), I make my way downstairs.  I make a PB&J (what I've had for lunch every single day since I've been here) for lunch and I eat some kind of breakfast.  I might make toast, or eat some cereal or something.  The last week or so, I've been eating oatmeal since Mark brought me some from the states :-)))

At about 7:15, the other girls show up from various parts of the house.  We wait for our ride to school which usually shows up around 7:20/7:25.  We ride to school with a really nice lady named Sonia.  Her husband works at the embassy and she works at the school.  Apparently they live really close to our house so she gives us a ride as often as she can.

I'm usually at school by about 7:30 and I boot up my computer to get things ready.  Around 7:50/7:55, someone (I never know who, I just hear it) blows a whistle on the playground and the kids start coming towards the room.  They line up on the fence outside of our room and wait to be invited in.  Now, do they wait quietly?  No.  Do they wait patiently?  No.  Are they in a straight line?  No.  Do they stop talking when I begin to address them?  No.  But, I'm working on these things.  LOL

Once they come in the class, they write their homework in their agenda and meet me on the carpet.  We sit in a circle and have a morning meeting.  This is where we greet each other and share (if we have something we want to share).  We usually play a little game and then watch CNN Student News to get our day started.  After that, we begin lessons. 

The schedule at this school varies day by day.  I've been here 6 weeks now, and I'm still asking about our schedule every day.  It's so confusing to me.  But, the kids seem to have it down pat and they'll be sure to tell me if I get off track.

At 10:15, the kids leave me.  They go to Spanish class, then recess, then lunch.  On some days I get the same group of kids back at 12, but on other days I get a different group of kids at 12.  See, told you it was confusing.  Sometimes we have straight lessons for a couple of hours, but most days we are interrupted by something.  They go to "specials," which were called electives back in my day (and we never had them in elementary school), or we have an assembly, or a fire drill, or something.

The kids leave at 2:55ish to go home.  There are no bells here, so everything is just looking at the clock to see where we are on time.  Some days, I can ride home with Sonia, which means I leave the school at 3:45, but lately she's had a lot going on and can't take us home, so I've been riding the bus home which leaves at 3:10ish.  (Except on Wednesdays when I have to stay until 4:30 for professional development)

Once I get home, it's a free for all.  Sometimes I fall asleep, sometimes I'm starving (PB&J doesn't last very long) so I make early dinner.  Sometimes I have to go to the grocery store, which I don't like doing.  First, it's a hike to get there.  Secondly, we have to carry all of our groceries home.  And thirdly, I don't like walking around after dark.  We live in a very safe area, but I just don't think it's smart to take chances.  When I cook, I usually make something like pasta or rice.  We don't eat meat very much, maybe 3 times a week.  In the states, a meal isn't a meal unless you have some kind of meat, but it isn't like that here.  We get our protein from beans or from eggs. 

Layne spends his day working on his school work (yeah right, he's playing video games) and just hanging at the house.  I try to get him to go out in the evenings, but he's such an introvert that he doesn't ever want to go anywhere.  Tonight we are going to an Asian place for dinner.  It's the birthday of one of the other student teachers.  He actually got dressed up and looks very handsome.  We don't go out to eat very much...especially during the week...but this is a special occasion.

Then, tomorrow, we will wake up and do it all over again!

Tortuguero - Day 2

We woke up pretty early on this morning.  We were scheduled to go on a 5:45 a.m. tour to look at wildlife.  When we got up, though, I was worried that it was going to rain.  I heard what sounded like wind blowing hard...you know that howling sound when a storm is coming?  That's what it sounded like.  When I looked out the window, however, there was no wind.  It was creepy.  Mark and I felt like we were in a horror movie listening to some unknown entity off in the forest.  Later we found out it was the howler monkey...and they do this every morning.  It was so cool to have heard them in their natural habitat.  We started off in a boat tour through the national park....

 

Our first sighting was more monkeys....here's one jumping from one tree to another...

 

Here are pics of lots of other wildlife that we saw....there were so many beautiful birds...but I can't remember the names....I found myself wishing my mom was with me because I know she would have so much new material to paint!

Our guide freaked out when he saw this little guy...he tried to grab his camera, but the little guy started running away.  I snapped a pic, but it's blurry.

This is a basilisk lizard...if you can see him.  He's the kind that runs on water, but it's very fast and he only does it when he feels there's no other option.

 These little guys took off right after I took this pic...I wish I had gotten one of them taking off.  They have beautiful pink legs and they were so beautiful flying in unison...

Yep, that's a parrot.....

 

Before we left, I had to get one more pic of the Caribbean Sea....

 Oh, and did you know that banana plants/trees have flowers?  I guess I never really thought about it before, but it makes sense since they're a fruit.  I'd never seen a banana flower, but it's really pretty and deep red.  It's on the end of the stalk.

 

 

One more thing....when I got to school on Monday, I told my students that I went to Tortuguero for the weekend.  This doesn't compare much to their weekend jets to other countries, but one student raised his hand and told me that his best friend's dad owns a lodge/resort in Tortuguero named Mawamba or "something like that."  I was like....WHAAAA???  That's where we stayed!  I told this student that we want to go back so he needed to hook a sistah up with some free accomodations!  He said he'd talk to his friend and see what he could do.  I'm starting to like having connections with these kids!!!  LOL

 

 

Tortuguero - Day 1

Wow...so much to say...and so many pictures to share!  Tortuguero, Costa Rica is one of the most amazing places I've ever been.  I kept telling Mark that I wouldn't truly feel like I was in Costa Rica until I saw a monkey in the wild.  Well, I feel like I'm in Costa Rica now!!!

Our trip started at 6 o'clock on Saturday morning.  We had to take a bus for about 3 hours (half of which was down a dirt road) and then a boat for about 2 more hours.  This is not a ride at Disney World, people!  This is the real thing!

 

On our way to our lodge, we saw more wildlife than we could have hoped for.  This was my first time to see monkeys in the wild and I was just thrilled!  There are no cages here, and these monkeys aren't the kind who come up to people because they're familiar with them.  This was truly a moment that I will remember forever....

(video of the monkeys)....  http://youtu.be/qNe5vZfvqIQ

 

As we were pulling away from viewing the monkeys, someone spotted a three toed sloth just hanging out above the water.  At first, I thought it was upside down, but then I realized it wasn't.  Our guide said he had been leading groups here for a very long time and had never seen a sloth out here...so this was a special day for us, for sure!  Our guide said that since the sloth detected our presence, it was moving at full speed. LOL

Video 1 of sloth......  http://youtu.be/gt_7VlKEvmg

 

Video 2 of sloth..... http://youtu.be/7YDelHsAyE0

 

Once we got to our lodge, they greeted us with cocktails.  Then we unpacked and had lunch by the pool.  Here are some pics of our cabin and room...

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we headed down to the village of Tortuguero.  The guide pointed out so many things.  The main one that I was drawn to (of course) was the school.  Here is a picture of the library....

 

There were only two classrooms for the entire elementary and middle school...here is one of them...

View of the "street" in front of the school...

 And, this is the library, elementary, and middle school...all in one building...

 

Walking through the village, we saw a lifestyle that we've only seen in books...here are a couple of people cooking their dinner over an open fire....this was what it was like all over the village...

 

This lady was making carvings from the Jicara fruit.  She made cups and candle holders, too.  They were really cool and I was surprised when she threw one on the floor to prove to me that they wouldn't break.  This is a very strong shell!  We bought a carving that she made of a sloth, to commemorate what we saw on our way there.  We're going to attach a magnet to it so we can keep it on our refrigerator at home....

 

After visiting the village, we walked back to the lodge along the coast.  We were disappointed to find out that the rip tides are way too strong here, so there were danger signs everywhere and we couldn't swim....

 

and here's a greeting from me.... http://youtu.be/sZL6QtiOzhk

 

When we got back to the lodge, we settled for a pina colada by the pool...not a bad second to the Caribbean sea....

 

Oh, we also saw a toucan in the wild right here by the pool...listen to how loud it is...

http://youtu.be/MQNRA8HLafc

 

That's enough for one post....I'll put day 2 in another post...