There are various pathways, sunshine and shade. All of them grace. Be not afraid.

I am hesitant to talk about my first week at school in length, because I know it will get better. However, this past week has been the most trying professional thing I have ever done! All five days were an incredible journey of highs and lows. I felt a lot of emotions, and learned an immense amount. There were points I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, and other times I had to go to the bathroom to cry, and do everything I could to talk myself out of running to buy a ticket home. I found a lot of strength in this quote this week…

“Within you lies a power greater than what lies before you.” –Rhonda Blake

I most definitely have had to dig deep, and find a fierce inner power from within to help me through my first week in Costa Rica. I would not describe my teacher, or the staff at Tres Rios, as mean. It is just that most of them seem completely uninterested in my presence. I know that there is a language barrier, but at least half the staff speaks English, but doesn’t bother to use it with me. Also, I have not been entrusted yet with many classroom responsibilities. I often just sit and observe, which kills me because I have a burning desire to be actively interacting with children at all times.

On Wednesday, I finally got my big chance to be directly involved with what was happening in the class. The school was short on staff so they asked me to sub for a couple different classrooms. This experience was both enriching and terrifying! I had no one to look to for translations, and the students had trouble grasping the usual classroom management tricks I use in the US. Also, no one at the school bothered to tell me when the day ended or where I should take the students. When the bell rang, I had 30 students screaming, running, and frantically trying to tell me in Spanish where they needed to go. Talk about stressful! I learned a lot about how to communicate with English as a second language learners, and I will forever sympathize with them about how frustrating it is to not fully understand a language!

By Friday, I most definitely needed to blow off some steam. The girls and I went to a swing dance class at the library about a block away from us. It was a great stress reliever. Even if we all don’t speak the same language, the whole world speaks dance!

Dancing Costa Rican swing!

This is Kelly's host Mama, Flor and her best friend!

On Saturday, we went to the highest point in Costa Rica and played in the clouds! We went to the Irazu Volcano. It was a great adventure, and fun to be around other tourist who spoke English! 

Irazu Volcano

The teacher Sarah works with is twenty four years old and very fun! She invited us to her boyfriend’s birthday party on Saturday night. We had loads of fun dancing to the two live bands at the party, and making some local friends!

We welcomed our newest student teacher friend, Amber, on Saturday. She will also be staying with Emilia!

The 5 student teachers currently in Costa Rica!

Our host Mama, Emilia, and the four of us who are staying with her!