I Fell In Love With The Pipa Man

News Flash, this just in: I love the OSA Peninsula.  

I have been in Costa Rica for 8 months. I have seen beaches, I have seen “cities” small towns and rivers.  I have headed North, East and West, up mountains and down into valleys, but I have been missing out because the Osa Peninsula has got it going on. 

A few weeks ago, I decided that it was time for me to schedule a trip down to Puerto Jimenez for a few days.  I had been putting it off for some time now because from everything that I had heard, the bus ride was unbearable and there wasn’t very much to do except for hiking and surfing.  Since I don’t normally do either of those things, I wasn’t chomping at the bit to go.  I figured that it would at least be worth it to visit my friend Erin Rodell, the lone world teacher on the Osa. I am her closest volunteer and am technically also in the province of the Osa, but not on the peninsula itself. 

Class was cancelled for us on Monday so on Saturday morning, I hailed a bus from my site directly to Puerto Jimenez.  The trip took a little over three hours.  (Considering that I regularly spend more than 6 hours on buses to get to a designated location, I thought this was stupendous.)  Erin got on the bus with me in her site, a town called Sandalo, a few miles away from Puerto Jimenez.  That afternoon I met a peace corps volunteer (Raquel) and another local English teacher (Ana).  Ana invited me to spend the night at her house so that I wouldn’t have to get a cabina. 

We rented beach cruisers and biked to the beach for a couple of hours that afternoon.  We played in the ocean and watched local surfers as we gossiped and compared teaching notes.  As the sun started to set, we got back on our bikes and headed to Ana’s house, passing Scarlet Macaws and giant iguanas on the lonesome dirt road.  We took showers and then decided to go out to dinner for patacones (fried green plantains) and Ceviche, which I had not yet tried.  It was delicious and I can’t believe that I waited so long to try it. 

That night we went to a bar and met up with a slew of ex-pats, retired Brits and Belgians who were more than happy to exchange tales of living in Costa Rica and supply us with drinks as the night wore on.  Ana made the acquaintance of a Tico tour guide who became enamored with her almost instantly.  We shook him off and returned to her house by midnight. 

The next morning Erin and I went to a local Soda (restaurant) for a very typical breakfast of scrambled eggs with hot dog, coffee and of course, gallopinto (rice and beans).  Ana went to a friend’s farm for the day, so Erin and I had free use of the apartment and her extra bikes.  We took the bikes back down to the beach and on our way ran into a local vendor who is endearingly referred to as “The Pipa Man.” 

 

As we rode past, the following conversation took place:

Pipa Man: Buenas Mi Reina (Good morning my queen)

Erin: Adios (Goodbye and Hello in Tico Spanish)

Me: Como Esta? (How are you?)

Pipa Man: Enamorado!!! (In love!) 

He instantly became my favorite person of the day.  He may still be. 

We spent the next few hours at the beach reading, swimming and sunning.  When we just couldn’t take it anymore we headed into a nearby restaurant for Pina Coladas and lunch in the shade.  After lunch we went home for quick showers and then biked to Raquel’s house for a cafecito of coffee and crackers.  We stayed there until about 5 and then took the bus to Erin’s actual site. 

I helped her teach class on Monday, which was a lot of fun.  Teaching is a lot easier with a partner.  And when your class isn’t 80 minutes long.  I helped her with 1^st, 4^th 5^th and 6^th grade.  I was extremely impressed with her older students because they were able to speak well and ask great questions in English.  It’s a school that has had volunteers for 7 years, but considering my 6^th graders can’t even remember how to ask for a drink of water, I was impressed. After classes, I got back on the bus and headed to El Vergel, it was then that my exhaustion caught up with me and I napped on my backpack for the majority of the 3-hour ride home. 

So that’s it for the Pura Vida this weekend.  I have meetings in San Jose on Friday, with all of the other World Teach Volunteers, which should be exciting, mainly because that means I also get to take off classes on Thursday for travel time.  I will email out my hotel information for Saturday night in case you feel the urge to give me a phone call.  Later days all. 

 

Teacher Carolina  

Super Trooper

            The Costa Rican Education system is flawed as are all school systems.  Granted, Costa Rica boasts a literacy rate higher than that of the United States and has a great system to keep even the poorest kids in the country in school, (free breakfast and lunch every day).  I’m glad to have had the opportunity to teach, but working with kids who barely speak their native language while trying to teach them a second is just unreasonable.  Every time my kindergarten or first grade class gets cancelled my heart leaps.

Today was one such occasion.  All of my classes except for my 30 minute session with Kindergarten were cancelled today.  This meant I got to skip out on my normal 80 minute session with my 10 madding 6 year olds.  I was able to take advantage of the morning by heading into town and making a couple of important phone calls and sending some emails.  It’s not productivity by American standards, but it works down here.  I finally found a place in Palmar to buy popsicle sticks, which was a major victory considering that I have been looking unsuccessfully since my return to Costa Rica.

            I have learned a lot about Costa Rican Education this year, like the fact that students only have 4 main subjects: Spanish, Science, Civics and Math.  (English is new to the agenda and Brunka the native arts and language class is technically an elective.  They don’t have PE, but recess generally serves as such and can last for over an hour.  Furthermore, kids don’t learn to read by learning the alphabet here.  They learn by phonics, which is fine except for the fact that lots of them can’t spell and most of them have never read a book for leisure.  The English that we are allowed to teach is limited to vocabulary, which would be fine if the students could read and write. As it stands however, we are generally forced to rely on my elementary skills as an artist for pictures of everything.  You haven’t lived until you’ve “written” an exam without using any words in English or Spanish.  

            Even so, I grow to love my school more and more every day.  My Director and I have been brainstorming different ways to build a new classroom for the English Teachers in the future.  The other schools with Volunteers in my area have really nicer classrooms than I do and one of them is getting a new room before the end of the year.  This inspired my host mom/Director and myself to spring into action.  (Expect monetary solicitations in your inboxes soon.  You have been warned.)     

             

            I have been working on arrangements to visit the OSA Peninsula this weekend.  Despite the fact that I have been here for 8 months, I have yet to venture South.  I am ready for the most biologically dense place on earth: or as ready as you can be for Jumanji.

            I have no class Monday or Friday of next week due to an In-Service meeting, so I will once again be teaching a 3 day week, I would be excited except for the fact that I keep missing the classes that I actually enjoy.  I have taken great strides with my second graders as of late.  I’m not sure if it’s the material or if we are actually bonding, but they are excited for class and well behaved when they need to be.  It’s like I’m a real teacher instead of just “la ticher” for a change.    

            I received my first package in the mail on Friday, which was wonderful and have been surviving on a diet of PB&J’s for the last 3 days.  All in all, Life is good.  That’s about all from this end.  Sorry nothing exciting has happened.  T-minus 3 months and 29 days.

The Pura Vida Comes Free

Today, my school received a volleyball and a net.  Of course, none of my students has ever really played volleyball before, but it still led to an afternoon of great fun.  Watching my host mom/director toss the ball back and forth with the slew of students on  the court.  The net was strewn between two mango trees and the court was covered in weeds, but that couldn’t stop us.  I tried to teach the kids how to set, but it seemed to be a pretty difficult task considering they have never played a game that you have to use your hands for.  So much for hand eye coordination in Central America.

            Escuela El Vergel has recently received some kind of grant and now the entire comedor (cafeteria) is being redone.  This has cut into my time with Yerly the school cook, who is as nice to me as anyone else in town if not nicer.  (Who would have thought that I would develop a relationship with someone that involved food.)  She is now cooking in the vacant house next to the school.  The remodel is said to include ceramic tables and an oven, I’ll believe it when I see it. 

We are taking our meals outside, but it proves to be challenging when it rains, which, in case you had forgotten, is every day.  Luckily we haven’t had a particularly difficult rainy season this year.  It’s been raining every day, but it usually doesn’t start until the late afternoon or evening. 

I spent last weekend in San Jose applying for jobs and downloading music on iTunes.  I went to see Batman again, which was even more incredible the second time around.  Someone in that movie is getting an Oscar.  Probably Heath Ledger, but it’s not undeserved.  I ate fast food, went window shopping and hung around my hotel room.  On Saturday night I spent some time with my Directors and on Sunday afternoon I came back to El Vergel.  It was actually a very nice and relaxing weekend.  I finished Then We Came To The End  which was incredible and started A Billion Bootstraps, which is unintentionally inspirational.  I even received some phone calls in my Hotel room, which was a first for Costa Rica.  Yay Skype. 

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and is a National Holiday, which I fully support.  I have spent the better part of this week helping my students make Mother’s Day cards and cutting up sheets of colored paper into flowers, hearts and clouds.  Even though there is no school tomorrow, I am going to attempt to stay in the area for the weekend to spend some quality time with my host family.   There is a baile (dance) in Rey Curre this weekend.  (That is the town with the nearest volunteer, Mikki.)  I’m not sure whether or not I’ll go but I think that some other world Teachers are going to make an appearance so I am going to do my best to at least find a ride to and fro.

I went on a walk/run with my 6^th grader Christian yesterday, during which we picked up a couple of 1^st and 2^nd graders who decided to race us on their bikes.  It was pretty adorable.  It threatened to rain the whole time we were walking but didn’t really start until we had gotten home; that was lucky. 

  My days have been pretty much filled with reading and Arrested Development DVD’s.  It’s been extremely satisfying.  I am just about ready to begin the Final Countdown for my return to the States.  I have 4 months and some change left here.  Graduation is supposed to be on the 20^th of December, so the latest I will be arriving home, in all likelihood, will be the 21^st.  I am trying to get my TEFL certificate in December through a program in Manuel Antonio, but I am not sure if it is going to work out.  If I can’t do it there, I might end up coming home and then trying to get it done in Chile or Argentina or something like that.  What a challenging life I lead huh?

I did miss Reid’s birthday this week, which is mildly tragic, especially since it’s the big 2-1 but I am sure to make it up to him as soon as I am able.  I’d better start planning immediately, just in case.  I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of you who have not yet visited that you should book your tickets immediately.  I’ll be home before you know it and who would miss an opportunity to go to Costa Rica?

That’s all for now.  Enjoy the Olympics, I’m unable to watch anything but the highlights to my great disappointment, but that’s still pretty exciting.  Have fun out there and don’t forget to be the change.