Everyone Knows I’m In Over My Head

Everyone knows I’m in
Over my head, over my head
8 Seconds left in overtime
She’s on your mind, She’s on your mind
-The Fray

I’d like to tell you a lot of things.

I’d like to tell you that Costa Rica is the most beautiful place that I have ever seen. I’d like to tell you that my classes are a breeze and that I look forward to going every day. I’d like to tell you how much I love my host siblings and how they are the best people I have ever known. I’d also like to tell you that my food situation has improved and that I am now receiving a balanced diet which includes animal proteins and vegetables on a regular basis. But I can’t. That is not to say that I am unhappy.
The things that I can tell you include the following. First of all, the rains have come. They say that this is really light and very irregular and that this isn’t rainy season, but be that as it may, every day for the last week, in the afternoon or evening, it has rained. The whole valley is cooling off and it’s wonderful. I can also tell you, that I am slowly starting to win the battle against mosquitoes in my room. My current bug bite count is down to less than ten. Oh yeah. Take that Darwin. I do like my host family. I am particularly fond of one of my aunt’s who has stepped in as school cook until they can hire one for the year. She has a pulperia and is always very nice to me. Plus she speaks extremely slowly and always has food for me. What’s not to love? My host brothers Pablo and Negro don’t really talk much but they are both nice. All of the creepy Uncles seem to have gone back to their jobs, so I haven’t been bothered in a while. Things are, for the most part, on the up and up. Furthermore, as far as food goes, I am slowly learning to fend for myself when it comes to fruits and vegetables. For example, if I go into town, I now know that I can get a plate of steamed vegetables from the Chinese Restaurant. I also have built a bit of a relationship with the local fruit vendors. Now all I need is a friend in a Panderia (Bakery) and I will be set to go.
I would segue onto the next subject if I knew how but I don’t so . . .
Sometimes while I’m in the shower in the mornings I get scared by cows. That’s right, I said, “Scared by cows.” You see their pen is right next to the bathroom and if you don’t have your wits about you those Moo’s can really get the best of you. I saw my first wild toucan during class the other day, which was pretty cool. The second and third Toucans sitting in the tree were just gravy. A salamander lives in my classroom and often distracts my students, but I don’t mind, because I am usually just running out the clock. Another thing that I can tell you is that I really enjoy having roosters as alarm clocks. Its like they know that I have hit the snooze button in my imagination at 5:30 and just when I might be starting to fall asleep at around 6:00 they go off again. Besides that, every morning when I wake up I think of Dwight Schrute.

Michael: Where were you this morning?
Dwight: Slept in, the damn rooster didn’t crow.

I can assure you now, that never happens.

I have made my first Tico friend. Or at least I think I have. His name is Diego and he is one of my host cousins. His mom lives in San Jose and he is in town building one of the 37 new houses for the people of Vergel. (All of who seem to be related to my family.) He wants to go to University to study Criminology. (I guess CSI is big down here as well.) I have a sneaking suspicion that he only talks to me so that he can practice his English, but I just like the company. He was Alex’s (the volunteer from last year) best friend last year so he is used to talking to Gringos.
My classes this week were tough, but there was no class on Thursday or Friday and on Thursday we went to Curre for a Track meet. As such, I can’t really complain. Besides, my “Bad students in 4th grade” didn’t even come to class so I didn’t have to worry about them. As for the track meet, it was amazing to see all of those little kids with no sports clothes running around barefoot. Most of them ran in jean shorts, a couple of them just wore their school uniforms. It gives me a real reminder of how poor it is here. The people are very proud and would never let you know it, but they are all without. On my run this morning I passed by a shack on the side of the road that didn’t look inhabitable, but hanging on a clothes line outside was a little tiny boy’s school uniform. Surely one of my students lived inside, but I would never want to ask because I am sure then I would pity him and I know that’s the last thing they would want from me. I am here to help them help themselves, not to pity them.
I have got to teach my host siblings to wait for a response when they knock to come into my room. It hasn’t been problematic yet, but I am sure that it is just a matter of time. One of them came into my room when I was napping. That was what woke me up. It’s not a big deal, but if my door is closed, it’s probably because I need a little “Radford” time. Not Teacher, not Carolina. Just Radford. I have also started listening to one CD in my music Library every day that I have not listened to in a while. It seems to help pass the time.
I had my first real bout of loneliness on Monday night after everyone in my family had gone to bed so I couldn’t even go and sit with them to wait for the feeling to pass. When it hadn’t subsided on Tuesday during lessons, I decided that I would go visit Mikki in Rey Curre. I did and it was just what the doctor ordered.
We proceeded to make calls of good will to a bunch of our fellow volunteers. We only got a hold of Joe Brown and Kristi but we left messages with several other volunteer’s families. It helped cheer me up to hear about Joe’s host brother Douglas (pronounced Doo-glas) who is attempting to single handedly decimate the local beetle population.
I had a serious lapse in language usage as we tried to call Jill. I suddenly (and quite unexpectedly) found myself talking to the international operator and said, “Uh, disculpe me, uh, yo lo tengo, uh, the wrong numero.” This sent Mikki and myself into fits of laughter, because I don’t know why I suddenly felt rushed, but I cracked under the pressure. About two hours later I remembered the word for wrong, but it didn’t do me any good.
(If any of my fellow volunteers are reading this, please know, that we did try to call most of you, so don’t feel left out. Don’t worry, we’ll catch you sooner or later.)
I had my first crier in my second grade class on Wednesday. His name is Jose Carlos and he got very upset that he couldn’t correctly pronounce, “My name is.” (He was really close, I just kept making them all practice so that they would remember. Apparently, that is not a tactic that works with second graders because next thing I knew his head was hidden under his desk and one of the other 2 students in the class said he was llorando (crying). That was when I decided to move onto something a little easier. So we colored. For the next 45 minutes. That went over much better. On the upside, they really do know their colors. Meanwhile, my first graders were very disappointed that I didn’t play the guitar because the last two volunteers did. We read a book in class the first day and they all repeated everything that I said. It was adorable. They are going to be a fun group, I can tell already.
The first parent meeting went relatively well, everyone was excited that I spoke Spanish and they seemed very eager for their kids to learn English. At least I feel wanted here. It helps keep everything in perspective. The first 6 weeks have flown by. Now it’s time to see if I can settle into a routine and really make a difference here. Keep your fingers crossed for me, and start sending those books. Remember, no boxes!
That’s really all that there is to report. Thanks for reading.