Danger ZONA!!!

Dear Friends-

Crisis Mode.  It’s October.  It’s my favorite time of year.  Halloween, the presidential election, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all right around the corner and I am in the labyrinth/jungle that is the Zona Sur.  This means I am missing out on pumpkin pie, costume parties, football season, scarves, corduroys, fall shoes and Christmas music.  I need your help.  If you love me, make me a care package. Include mixed CD’s of your favorite new groups or Christmas music, Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese, newspaper clippings, old copies of the economist, fun size candy bars or lollipops (not chocolate), pictures of yourself or postcards from your current location and anything else you deem necessary or just want to donate to Escuela El Vergel in order to get it out of your house.

 

Radford Lathan

Maestra De Ingles

Escuela El Vergel

El Vergel, Palmar

Osa, Puntarenas, Costa Rica

 

Alright, now that that’s done, some information on my life.  I came to a startling realization yesterday, the most rewarding thing that I have done in my life this far is not teaching or any kind of volunteering.  It was the LA Marathon, which leads me to believe that I am not nearly as generous of a person as I previously thought.  It only benefited me and I’ve never felt so good about life or myself.  As such, I am trying to pick up running again.  It has been extremely difficult with all of the rain these past few months and I am sure that it’s not going to get better, but I am making a point of going out for walks or jogs every afternoon that it doesn’t rain.  (Besides, I have to work off the rice ring that has surrounded my middle.)

      I went to Portrero Grande last weekend to visit my friend Jen Turner.  It’s very close to me geographically speaking, but the buses and waiting time make it a long trip to get to her.  (Getting back only takes about an hour but getting there can take about three.)  She had a baile (dance) in her town and invited me to come and help her tear up the dance floor.  It was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, I seemed to attract the town drunks and crazies and spent a good portion of the evening turning down eccentric and intoxicated Costa Ricans.  Her host family was very nice and let me stay in one of the cabinas that they normally rent out, for the evening.  It was swell.  It was definitely the best twin bed I have slept on since my arrival in Costa Rica. 

      Classes are going relatively well.  4^th grade is still excellent.  They had an exam on the rainforest today.  It was adorable.  They had to tell me the layers of the rainforest and endangered species and things that we can do to prevent deforestation.  I also broke the news to my 1^st graders that paper comes from trees.  It pretty much blew their minds.  Some of them are still trying to recover.  (I jest.)  3^rd grade went well today, most likely because only two of them showed up.  There have been workers at my school remodeling the Cafeteria for a couple of months.  This past weekend they made me a couple of extra desks so that there are enough desks for all of my students in my classroom.  They also closed the gaping hole in the back of my classroom so that chickens and children can no longer enter at their leisure.

Cynthia, the kindergarten teacher has asked that I start tutoring her in English.  I agreed, but haven’t actually had a session yet.  I am excited to work with her.  It will be good to work with someone who has already gone through puberty.  The only problem is that her younger brother also wants English lessons, but I don’t want to give them to him because he kind of gives me the creeps.  But then again, so do most Costa Rican men.   

  Right, well, that’s all from this end.  I trust you are all staying out of trouble north of the border.  I haven’t made any students cry yet this week, so that’s an improvement and I haven’t told anyone that their work is trash, so I guess I’m not such a bad teacher after all.  Then again . . . It’s only Wednesday.