Hello again from Costa Rica! In training peace corps
stresses the importance of being flexible, and I’ve definitely experienced
that. During the first Peace Corps retreat my project partner was the only one
who didn’t show up of all the volunteers’, but I just had to take a deep breath
and not stress it. Then a couple weeks
ago (after being informed by a PTA member that they were at war with my school’s
principle) I show up to school to find my school’s PTA posted in front of the
gates not letting anyone enter. So
currently neither my schools principle or the PTA can legally enter the
premises for a month until things are sorted out. I’ve always considered myself a relaxed
person who can go with the flow, and I find that part of myself is something I have
to exercise to an extreme here. If you let every little thing that doesn’t go
as you expected get to you in Peace Corps you would drive yourself insane and
be on a plane back to the states asap.
I was
pretty sure no one was going to show up to a meeting to plan our community English
class. Then around 20 minutes after the
start time, when I was about ready to pack up, 15 people stroll in. The same applies for classes in my high school;
class generally starts 10 to 15 minutes after scheduled. You just generally have to switch your
conception of time here.
My
community English class got off to a good start last week. The class is going
to a Basic English conversational course, Monday and Wednesday from 6-7:30pm. I was pretty nervous going into the class
considering I’ve never taught on my own before, only co-taught, but I had my
second class this week and I already feel a lot more comfortable and confident
teaching. The first class about 25
people showed, and honestly I was pretty surprised. Then this week I got a nasty stomach virus
and couldn’t give class on Monday so I was skeptical many people would show up
on Wednesday. Again I was surprised when
more students showed up than there were chairs in the classroom. I think its good we’re starting out with a
big group because apparently people drop like flies, so hopefully we’ll end the
10 week course with a smaller, dedicated, group of students.
Besides
teaching I have a lot of free time and I’ve been able to do fun stuff with my
host family. Last Sunday I got to go
fishing with my host dad and his nephews and I caught 3 fish! Considering I can’t remember if I’ve ever
been fishing before, I think I did alright. I’m hoping next time maybe he’ll
teach me how to use the harpoon, but I’m guessing his machismo is going to get
in the way of that one, so I’m going to have to be satisfied with line and
hook. On another random note, apparently for summer vacation we’re going to
camp out at the beach and my host grandma is going to bring her giant turkey
and cook him up too. According to her
before killing a turkey you have to get them drunk…so this could get very
interesting. Drunk turkeys on the beach, only in Costa Rica…
