A Parade, a Trip to the Beach and a Fiesta

My first day as a teacher was supposed to be last Tuesday, July 19th.  Unfortunately, in Costa Rica, things rarely begin when they are "supposed to" so it didn't come as a real shock when I found out that my classes wouldn't actually begin for another week (my first class is tonight!!).  While I was a little disappointed, since I was ready and rearin to get started, it meant I had an extra week of "vacation." (yay!)  However, I still had some responsibilities (like some things to do in the office, meetings with school directors, etc.), so I couldn't exactly get out of town for an extended period of time.  Instead, I hung around in downtown Liberia (I think the ladies at Musmanni know me now), did some reading, hung out with my host family, went to the movies (Harry Potter 7 part 2!  Soooo good, so sad it's over), played some cards, and did a little bit of nothing.  But my most eventful day occurred on Sunday... here's what I did:

My Day In Nicaragua!

So as I mentioned, after the wedding we just went home (to Nieves's sister's house) and went to bed.  The next morning, we got up bright and early, had breakfast and just hung out for a bit.  It was raining off and on, so we were all just sitting on the patio in the delightful rocking chairs or chatting in the house (let's be real, I did and have been doing a lot more listening than speaking lately.  Shocking since I talk a lot in English, but my lack of Spanish vocabulary means I spend a lot more time just trying to understand what is going on around me!)  Here is a pic of the view from the patio of the house where we stayed:

A Wedding in Nicaragua

The first night I was in Liberia, Elba and Nieves told me that the family would be going to Nicaragua for a wedding on the weekend of June 16th and asked if I would like to go.  Always one to enjoy weddings, new cultural experiences, and excuses to add a stamp to my passport, I gladly accepted the invitation.  The plan was to leave for Nicaragua at 10am last Saturday and we would return on Sunday evening (actually, the family wanted to stay until Monday, but I was supposed to start classes this morning so I couldn't.  Today I learned that my classes will not begin until next week, but that's a whole different story!).  Anyway, we didn't end up heading out until around 2 because there was some car trouble and this is, after all, Costa Rica.  Things definitely don't run on a tight schedule around here!  So around 2, Don Hernan, Nieves, Elba, Luis and I crammed in to the car and rode over to Cece's house to pick up the five cakes she had made for the wedding (we were driving so we could transport the cakes....otherwise I think we would have bussed it), and then we were off!

Downtime in Liberia

When I'm not "working" and doing student interviews, I have plenty of down time to hang out here in Liberia.   And I'm not gunna lie, sometimes it can be a little boring because I just don't always know what to do with myself.  Since the weather is so hot and because I'm still acclimating to the warm temperatures, I find that it makes me kind of tired, so I've been taking a lot more naps than I really ever would at home.  I also watch TV, hang out with the family, meander downtown (aka, grab some coffee at musmanni) and read.

Side note: I just started reading Wuthering Heights for the first time in like 15 years, and while I can't put it down, I also don't really like the characters.  I'm already half way through and Catherine just died, and I'm not sad at all.  I don't really like Catherine or Heathcliff, so it's hard to feel bad for them/moved by their twisted love story.  The first time I read the book, I remember being really in to it and the tragic love story aspect, but this time, not so much.  Still, it's a good read.  Also, I tend to be really anti-social when I get in to a book, but I think my family here finds it weird.  I have to be careful not to become too anti-social because I don't want to hurt their feelings.  Elba told me yesterday that I shouldn't read so much because it's bad for your eyes....I think that was a sign that I need to be more social.  whoops!

Getting Around Town

You all know that I am in Liberia to be an English teacher for the locals.  While I have not yet begun teaching classes (first class is 7/18), I have started doing "assessment interviews" with students who want to join my classes.  This has been extremely helpful and fun because I get to meet my students one-on-one in advance of classes so I know who's who, and it allows me to see what my students know, so I know what I should/should not teach during my time here, what we need to review, etc.  It's also been sort of a nice segue in to teaching because I just have to show up at my "office" and meet with students.  I have a little desk in the Del Rio Condominium office, which is more or less a real estate office for some condos they are building across the street.  I'm not 100% sure how this office is connected with the CALITUR office (Liberia Chamber of Tourism/my employer), but it is.  This is where I have free wifi and air conditioning.  Love.

Anyway, the point of this blog is not to tell you about what I've been doing, but rather, to tell you how I get around.  So, I started my interviews on Monday morning, and was given a bike so I can go back and forth between my house and the office.  I do 3-4 interviews in the morning, and then I go home for lunch, and come back for 3-4 interviews in the afternoon.

Mi Casa y Familia de Liberia

Okay, so I finally wrangled my family into letting me take pictures of them!  Just like in the states, nobody wants to get their picture taken and nobody thinks their pictures look good!  I really really like the family that I'm living with here in Liberia!  Everyone is extremely nice, friendly and very funny!  They do a good job of making me feel included and are trying their best to teach me Spanish.  (This is a very difficult task, as they constantly have to try new methods of explaining things so that I understand!  I think it's probably almost as difficult for them as it is for me!  That being said, I can understand a lot more Spanish than I can speak, so I usually get the gist of what they're saying (when they speak slowly), even if I don't know the correct words to respond well!).

I will intermix the pics of the house with the pics of the family so you get a full idea of where I'm living :)

Liberia: Around Town

Hey Everybody!  So last Saturday, Esteban took me on a little tour of Liberia and I took a bunch of pics to share with you.  Hope you enjoy!

The first stop was the "Museo de Guanacaste" which is actually a really old prison, so it's super creepy inside (more pics to follow).  This is my tour guide, Esteban.

From Training to Liberia to a Little Dose of Culture Shock!!!

On Thursday morning, I arrived at the Aliarse office nervous for two reasons: I was presenting my first English lesson and I was leaving the comfort of San Jose and Kristi to go to my new home in Liberia.


My English lesson that morning actually went really well.  My students were energetic and seemed to have a good time, and I think I legitimately taught them something new.  That’s not to say I don’t have a lot of room to grow as a teacher!  Again, my hat is off to teachers in general!  It is WAY harder than it looks!  Not only are you just trying to impart information, you are also thinking about a million other things at the same time (like if/when you should be doing error correction, if your lesson is on time, if your students are speaking enough, etc., etc., etc.).  Muy dificíl, but still pretty fun!

More Training Days in Costa Rica!!

The morning of training day #3 was volunteer visa day.  Kristi took me to what was essentially a police station so I could get fingerprinted and put into the CR system.  Although they didn't initially let Kristi come in with me (there's a short interview that they do), I was SO glad she was around to escort me through town, as Kristi is practically fluent in Spanish :)  It obviously makes a huge difference to travel around an unknown city with a native speaker who knows where you are at any given moment in time.  Thank you Kristi for making the very large city of San Jose much less overwhelming/intimidating and actually very enjoyable!!!

Training Days in Costa Rica!!

Training: Day 1
About two weeks before I arrived in Costa Rica, I heard from my program coordinator, another Emily, that she was heading back to the states and that a new girl, Kristi would be taking over her position. So, my first real interaction with Kristi was when I met her at the Aliarse/EVOLC office on Monday morning. She is also a tall, blue-eyed blonde and is super friendly, welcoming and a great teacher. Needless to say, I was very happy with the new person in charge, and that put me instantly at ease. We spent the day talking about Costa Rican culture, safety, what to expect in a home stay, etc. AND, we did a little Spanish practice. Since my Spanish is pitifully poor, this was a good thing. However, when Kristi gave me a sheet of questions written in Spanish (and English) and told me I was going downstairs to the park to ask random people the questions in Spanish, I tried not to have a minor panic attack! Talk about instant immersion! Fortunately, ticos live up to their friendly nature, and I was surprised at how easy it was to approach them and ask them random questions about their country's history. Good lesson!...

I'm Here!!

Okay, I have been in Costa Rica since last Sunday, but there has been so much going on, I just haven't had time to get it all up on the blog, so get ready for information overload!!!  But don't worry, I'm going to use multiple posts to relay all my experiences so this won't be one gigantic post :)

When I left the San Jose, California airport and embarked on my long trip down to CR, I had many HOLY SHIT moments, where I questioned my decision to take on this little adventure! This stint abroad has been in the works for about a year, and until last Sunday, was sort of just something that was going to happen in the future. Let me tell you, it became very real when I landed in a foreign country and made my way through the streets of San Jose Costa Rica to my hotel. Fortunately, traveling here was a breeze: all my flights were on time and customs/immigration was easy peasy.  There were a few moments when I got a little scared on my cab ride to the hotel because, as the driver explained, we were not going through very good areas.  He identified a few ladies we passed as "gang members" but they looked more like prostitutes, and that's probably what they were (apparently prostitution is pretty common here).