Over the Hump

Halfway.

Wow.

Sometimes I realize where I live.

San Jose, Costa Rica. Latin America.

It's hard.

It's good.

Oh my goodness it's halfway over!


Humbling Experience # 567:

My roommate and I have been searching this city for volunteer opportunities since we got here, and it turns out it's pretty hard. Most places either want you to pay or want you to stay longer. Well, we met this lady who talked to some public elementary schools here. We had a meeting with a principal on Friday, and it was a crazy experience from the minute we stepped in the door. The first principal sent us to another school because we could only volunteer in the afternoon. We found the second school, got let in (everything is gated), walked in the office, and were hired on the spot. The principal told us we could teach English, introduced us to a teacher, and took us to a fourth grade classroom. Let me try to describe the school... NOISE. So much noise and disorganization. It's a big square concrete building in the middle of downtown. In the middle is an open area were the boys were playing futbol and where the students "go" for recess. There are three stories of classrooms surrounding the open area. We were instantly surrounded by a crowd of girls who wanted to show us the school, speak really fast in Spanish, and tell us their really difficult names. The bell rang, and the students rushed into the classroom (which was desks, a whiteboard, and four concrete walls). The teacher told us to introduce outselves, and then she left...

And she didn't come back...

For and hour and a half.

And there were 35ish fourth graders speaking Spanish.

And these are not easy, well-behaved children.

Oh no, these are kids who Lord knows what kind of families they have, what kind of conditions they live in, what they eat for dinner. These are name-calling, spitball throwing, get up in your grill little fourth grade Jose, Carlos, and Maria.

And did I mention they don't speak any English?

So we taught them. We taught them family words and played some games. I used my teacher voice :)

And we're going back every Monday and Wednesday! I'm excited for this challenge. Let me explain a little about the schools. Although Costa Rica boasts about it's education system because it has always been a step ahead of the rest of Latin America, it is far from perfect. There is a huge gap between private and public education, and obviously only the people with money can send their children to private school. Public schools are underfunded and under-resourced, and three out of ten students will drop out of high school for various reasons, but usually to work to earn money for their family. The students are supposed to learn English but don't because most of the teachers don't know it at all. So... we'll see if we can't get a few important words in their brains in the next few weeks ;)


Humbling Experience # 568:

The other day I was talking to a friend on Skype about life and some of the struggles I'm facing here. There might have been some tears involved in this conversation. Then I went downstairs to eat dinner, and our domestica (maid), came down. She is new and I hadn't talked to her very much yet. She sat down at the table with me and asked if I was sad. I told her I was missing home and my family, and she was so kind. Then I started asking her about herself. She is here from Nicaragua to work and make money for her family because there is no work in Nicaragua. I asked her about her family. She has an 8 year old daughter...

who she doesn't get to see untill May because she can't afford to go home on the weekends (which is about 5 hours away via an $8.00 bus).

And she misses her daughter.

And she's here cleaning my bathroom and making my bed.

And this is the story of millions.

And I walk around like I somehow deserve the life that I have.

Clash.



A couple movie recommendations that I've seen here that will make you think:

Sin Nombre (a story that shows the gang problems (The Maras) in Central America

In the Time of the Butterfiles (tells the story of the Mirabal sisters, who worked in an underground movement against Trujillo in the Dominican Republic)