Tales from the Orchard

Sorry that I haven’t written in a while. Nothing has been going on here. You know why? Because it’s a jungle and nothing ever happens here. There are Toucans and bats and vultures around, but that’s about the height of excitement. My family tried to teach me the ways to call of the different animals that live here. Watching my host Mom imitate a chicken call was probably the best thing that happened to me all week. I laughed so hard that I cried, which is apparently not common here because my host sister Melissa asked me why I was crying. I know she’s only 9, but she is so dumb sometimes I want to hurt her. I know I should be more tolerant, because she’s just a little kid, but man, I feel like I am always trying to escape her. Not my site. Abigail, Quito and Wainer my other host siblings/First graders are all adorable. Biga and I have devised an interesting game of hide and seek where she wraps her arms around my waist and I spin around trying to figure out who is there. It’s actually pretty cute.

By the way, my brother asked me what my days are like here and I felt like I should elaborate a little bit for all of your benefit. So here goes.

Monday May 12, 2008
5:30 AM – Wake up to the rooster crow. Use pillow as snooze button over the next hour or so.
6:30 – Get up, eat Pinto for Breakfast (Rice and Beans mixed together) today I also had toast and jam. Pound first cup of tea.
7:00 – 6th grade
8:20 – Recess, Buy a snack and drink a liter or so of water. Hang out with Diego, my only friend, who works at the Pulperia which caters to the 60 odd children on recess.
8:40 – 5th Grade Vocabulary Exam
10:00 – Lunch (Rice and beef stew with potatoes)
10:10-10:30 – Assembly-Sing National Anthem, Pledge of Alleigance, nod when it seems appropriate, keep kids in line and hold hands where necessary.
1030-11 – Kinder- Social Deviance and lots of singing. Plus spontaneously should out words that I make them repeat, just for fun, like “Vulture” “Zebra” “Lego’s” “Monkey!” and my own personal favorite “Chika Chika Boom Boom”
11-12 - Second Grade, lots of coloring, very little English. Today I showed my second graders where America and Costa Rica were on the Map. They are learning to read so it was kind of sweet
12-2 Take shower, unwind, put materials together for class
2:00 – Head to town, send emails, make copies
4:00 – Head back to site and weather permitting, go on a run or at least a long walk
5:00 – Shower again and watch movies, cover self in enough bug spray to kill a dinosaur, Compile grades for 5th grade.
7:00 – Dinner of rice, beans and Plantains.
8:00 – Watch more movies, listen to music, journal, write the books or watch the latest Telenovela: Nuevo Rico Nuevo Pobre, which I just can’t seem to get into.
9:00 Ready for bed.
9:15 – Pass out before the rest of my family can, so that I don’t hear them snoring.

And that’s about it. I read a lot too, but I am almost out of books again so I am trying to hold off on reading for the time being.

So, yeah, that’s my life. Pretty exciting. No? Also, I finally got a slew of mail, so if you feel like sending me things, you can send letters and very small packages to:

Radford Lathan
Maestra de Ingles
Escuela El Vergel
Palmar Norte, Osa
Puntarenas, Costa Rica