Pros and Cons of the Nanny Job
PROS
-The dad is a Spanish teacher, and part of the deal would be that he would sit down and actually give me Spanish lessons.
-I would get to spend my days playing with a super cute baby.
-I would not have to come back and deal with Minnesota Winter.
-I would not have to buy a car, or start the real world of paying bills.
-I would get to continue living in a foreign country.
CONS
-I would miss my family and friends.
-I would miss my Shannon.
-I could make a lot more money in the United States.
-They live out in the country, and would be alone with the baby all day. I feel like my social outlets could be limited.
-I really miss Wisconsin milk and cheese!
Pros and Cons of Living in Costa Rica
PROS-Being able to explore beautiful beaches on the weekends! Seriously, the coasts here are breathtaking.
-I love drinking the all the fresh juices.
-I also love the queso crème, and all the soups.
-The bus system here is relatively easy to figure out and cheep.
-I have had an amazing opportunity to get to know the other student teachers here.
-Every time I walk out of my door it is an adventure. I never know what to expect.
-I am slowly learning a new language. Every time I spit out a sentence in Spanish I get really excited about life.
-I get to be around adorable children with big brown eyes, beautiful smiles, and kind hugs all day long.
CONS
-Learning Spanish has been both extremely rewarding, and FRUSTRATING! I love communicating, but having conversations with the majority of the people I am around is extremely nerve racking and stressful!
-People in Tres Rios haven’t been extremely friendly. The best way I can explain it is that people aren’t mean they are just completely uninterested in our presence. When I smile and say hello they often turn the other way.
-It rains almost every day and gets dark around 6pm.
-My water pressure in the shower is terrible, and my showers are usually cold.
-My internet blows! I just want to be able to talk to my mom and Shannon on Skype without having it cut out every 30 seconds!
Pros and Cons of Teaching in Costa Rica
PROS-I am now teaching full time, and have constant interaction with my students.
-My students and I may not always know what the other is saying, but we sure love each other.
-I learning several classroom management techniques.
-I will forever understand what it like to be an English as a second language learner.
-Everyday I feel more and more like a real live teacher, and I love it!
CONS
-No one at my school really knows me, or has taken the time to get to know me.
-I am pretty much handed 30 worksheets a week and told to teach from them.
-My six and seven year olds spend a lot of time copying notes.
-I have not had a lot of control over planning lesson.
Instead of celerating Columbus Day at my school, they celebrate Dia de Cultura. A lot of my students dressed up in clothes representing cultures from around the world. We also had an assembly where the children played music from around the world, and read poems about diversity. Here are some pictures...
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How cute are they?     |
PROS
-It was a fun weekend away with the girls. I went with Sarah, Amber, Brianna, Kelly, and Kelly’s friend Katy.
-We went on a beautiful horseback riding trip through the clouds.
-We went to a butterfly garden, and I learned a lot of new information about bugs, butterflies, and other creatures.
CONS
-It was a very scary bus ride to Monteverde. There was a hurricane on the coast that was causing an abnormal amount of rain, and the roads were pretty much mud on the ride there. At one point the bus got stuck, and I am glad it was dark out then because we were very close to tittering over a cliff.
-I got a terrible cold.
-The host still didn’t have hot water for showers.
-Everything was damp. I didn’t feel dry once that weekend.
Ready to go horseback riding!
Absolutely beautiful!
Our guide and us by the waterfall.
Just being me :-)
Very cool tree!
Making sugarcane water.
This butterfly can camouflage itself as a snake.
Or an owl.
PROS
-I got Friday off of school to go.
-Manuel Antonio is a beautiful mix of beach and rainforest.
-I got to go zip lining with the monkeys.
-We had a nice hook up, and ending up staying in a nice hotel for super cheap.
-We met several locals, and they were nice!
CONS
-Manuel Antonio is a long bus ride from San Jose. On the way home we couldn’t get a direct bus and ended up on an extremely hot crowded bus for hours that stopped about every five minutes. To top it all off there was lady standing next to us with a baby bird of some sort in her bag that kept making a very strange noise.
-It felt like a very short trip. I wish I would have had more time in the sun!
Sarah's siblings came to visit!
L.O.V.E.
Hanging out at the beach!
We spent a lot of time with a local women and her daughter, Amanda!
Thanks for reading. Now, take the time and email me! I miss everyone dearly!
HEY! Don't go home, live it up. Because after one week back home your going to wishing you were abroad again!!! :)
ReplyDelete-The Ry Guy BACKFLIP
meghan- I have not had much time to read your posts but i try and skim/ and look at the pictures to see how you are! first off, everything looks amazing! And i hope that life is treating you well!
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to give advice on if you should stay or leave. but, i will say that it stinks to not have control over lessons- but it also takes time to get to that control point (pay your dues sort of thing) i also would just like to say that i know you are one of those teachers that makes a difference. that no matter where you are you will be able to develop relationships with the school/faculty/community and most importantly the students and be able to impact their lives. So, what ever you choose you will make the most of the opportunities that are there. keep your head up, isn't it great when you are able to choose between two amazing adventures?!!?!? keep writing!