A few things that are different here in Costa Rica, some are specific to Monteverde:

Light switches are parallel to the floor, not perpendicular

There is always a pot of rice and a pot of beans on the stove or counter!

Walking is the local sport, however riding in the car is also a physical activity

Toilet paper, once used, doesn’t go in the toilet. I think this is because the plumbing here isn’t as organized as it is in the states, took some getting used to!

You don’t see any sedans here. Mostly dirt bikes, four wheelers, and jeeps and the like.

The showers are electrically heated, so instead of turning it on as strong as you can to get the most heat, you barely turn it on to get the warm water.

Big dogs don’t “belong” in the house and a lot of dogs are not chained up, but someone does take care of them from time to time.

Cat fights are an every day occurrence and even if your cat gets hurt, it isn’t cause for worry. (I have a tough time with this one, especially since “our” cat got pretty badly mauled a couple days ago.

I'll likely add more as I notice them, but these are the most obvious right now.

K

January 17th, 2009

A Day on the Farm

The drive to the grandfather’s farm was about an hour, however, if the roads were paved it would probably only taken half an hour. It was in a valley between some of the “hills” here. Slightly warmer, the vegetation was a little different with some of the more tropical looking trees. At the house, there were about 5 dogs: a german shepherd, a boxer, a smallish scruffy dog (that helped with the recruitment of the horses and cows in the fields), a dachshund and her puppy. There were several chickens and two birds that were gray with white spots, not quite sure what species they are. There is a pet parrot that lives in one of the trees in the yard and talks as well as fans itself with leaves from the trees. If you go down into the valley a little more the working farm begins. There is a lot of land with at least 20 cows and 5 or 6 horses.

When we first got to the house, we stopped in to say hi, but then headed to the actual farm where Danny ran into the field and hopped onto a horse and corralled the rest into the stable. Then the grandfather showed up, gathering the cows into the corral. Sara and I stayed out of the way and watched the gents lasso a couple cows as they could get sprayed for ticks (one of the few insects I DON'T like). Then the three of us got on horses, I was the only one on a saddle, and headed down the hill into a valley where a river runs through it. It was so peaceful and wonderful! The only complaint I had was that the horse I was riding was new and still needed a little bit of training so we had some disagreements, but other than that he was beautiful!

We went back to the stable and gave the horse back to the grandfather, so he could ride home and have a way to get to the farm the next morning, and the three of us went to the wide spot in the river. It was so pretty! I put my feet in the water and it was heavenly! I had brought a change of pants with me, but they were at the house. The water was too amazing to say no, so jeans and all I got in the water! Danny and Sara thought it was so cold, but to my and my standards being the rivers and ocean of western Oregon, this was perfect! Their goosebumps made me laugh! We finally clambered back into the car to go home for lunch.

The day was really fun! Hopefully we can go back, a couple times, and do more riding. We hadn 't given them much notice so there were no extra saddles in the stable, causing Danny to ride a rather bony backed horse, bare-back. I really like this family.

Hugs,

K

Pictures from this week, and Primary forest!

The first few pictures are of the primary forest. Above 6500 ft, this was the land that wasn't cleared for pasture lands. These trees are taller, thicker, greener and all around more jungly. It was fantastic! I was a little insane up there, a little too excited to be there. The students we were with, the seven 11th graders, thought I was a little psycho. They were thinking "It is just another forest!" But what they don't understand it that it ISN'T like any other forest. They are SO lucky to be there! What a marvelous place to study ecology! I'm in love with this forest!

Cool angle on some wicked cool moss.

The teacher I am working with, Anna, posing in the deep greenery of the primary forest. Isn't it outstandingly green and thick!! It was another world up there!

Millipede!!! I love bugs!!

The "river" from a couple of days ago. It is very peaceful and the sounds were perfect to calm the craziness of life sometimes!

More later!!

K

January 15, 2009

In the 9th grade class, we are doing a plant dissection and I was out in the forest picking some new ferns for tomorrow when I got a little too into the process. I found three possibly four different species of ferns. It may not be too exciting to the rest of you, but I thought it was really cool. I made rubbings and sketched them. Each of their spore designs was different, a couple I had never even thought about in relationship to a fern. It might make it more possible to identify the species but despite that, I thought it fascinating.
I am making process in some of the classes. The 7th and 8th grade is doing chemistry and I am re-learning right along with them. They seem to be the most willing to accept me as an authority figure. 9th grade, plant physiology, is also getting used to me. 10th grade however, is less than receptive to me. Anna said that it took her a long time to “win them over” so in the “short” five months I will be here, I doubt that we will connect much. I will probably only teach the 7th, 8th and 9th grades then…but not until they are more used to me and I have gotten all the kids’ names down. Today we has several kids come in during lunch because they had questions about what we were covering (ionic compounds and reactions between them). One of the students had been absent for a couple of days and so she was a little behind. Together we were able to work out what an ion is, how it is formed, oxidation numbers, and forming ionic compounds. We were able to work through the problems that had been assigned during the past couple of classes and by the time she left, she had done half of the problems, the last few done on her own. I don’t know why, but it was SO gratifying to help her and have her understand the information. I guess this really is my calling! I have had doubts. I won’t go into that here, but this is really wonderful for me.
My passion has always been obvious: THE OCEAN. However, the plan to go into teaching was much more subtle. I was doubtful for a while and when I took this internship I didn’t know if it would solidify my plan or make me re-think it all. Now I have a strong feeling that I am doing the right thing. That being here is a great gift and I will learn so much here that when I return to do my studies, I will be much more confident and hopefully be worth quite a bit as a teacher.

I couldn’t have done all this without your support though. Thank you.

Post for January 14th, 2009

Today has been a little hectic, with a small respite near the end of the day. On Wednesdays, in the afternoon, the 7^th, 8^th, 10^th and 11^th grades get to choose a class. There was the creation of a CEC newspaper, a theatre one, a trail sign making one, home electronics, organic gardening and a field guide for young children with Anna (and me). Each class session we will begin with a nature walk and journal. Today we walked to the “river”. At least that is what the kids here call it. It is little more than a creek (I’ll try to post pictures). However it was the most glorious place ever. It is likely to become one of my favorite places ever. We each did a nature journal, and for those of you who know me, I jumped at that chance! The goal is to try to observe nature, plants, animals, insects etc, which we can then use to make a guide to the Cloud Forest aimed at younger children. I rediscovered the art of leaf rubbings. Some of the plants here have fantastic venation, perfect for rubbings! I thought you might like to hear some of the things I wrote while sitting on a large rock in the middle of the happy creek:

“A bubbling stream and falling water sound in my ears. The gentle rustle of the leaves as the wind rushes through the trees. Life couldn’t be much better than this.”

“Vines creep up the trunks of the other trees, trying to reach the top in hopes of a glimpse of pure sunlight, un-impeded by the attempts of other greenery.”

One of the assignments for the students was to think about what animal from the Cloud Forest they would be. This is what I chose:

“I would probably be a Emerald Toucanet, with bright colors and a strong outer presence. However, on the inside I am just soft and lovey. I fly though the glorious trees, with the clean air beneath my wings and I am free. The forest is my home and I treasure it in my heart.”

It was fantastic to be able to just sit there for half an hour and absorb the spirit of the forest. Letting it become part of me, feeling myself become part of the forest. I have a feeling I will grow to love this place, and when I go home, I may feel like part of me is being left behind.

Hugs,

K

The base of one of the outstanding strangler figs. The land was cleared a long time ago to be used as pasture for dairy farming. The rest of the forest is only about 15 years old. The stranglers however are much much older. They were not cut down. They were a poor source of resources, so it wasn't worth the cost of harvest, plus they are the only plant that fruits all year, making it a critical member in the temperate rain forests here.

All the way to the top!

Coffee pot, ala Costa Rica. A fabric bag essentially that the grounds are placed into and the hot water poured over the top. Marlene has the cute teapot form one you see here. I might just give coffee another chance...

Hugs to all!

K

Post for January 12th

I have finally met everyone in my host family. Until yesterday I believed there was Marlene, her daughters Mileidy, Johanna and Andres. Now I know that there is a son, Danny, in between Mileidy and Johanna. And it is his girlfriend that I see around here sometimes. I made a fool out of myself though, but now the tension is broken. We are all friends. Life here is simple but nice. Mileidy’s birthday is during my stay here so we will have a fiesta. Apparently they like to barbeque and have all the family over. I’m excited to experience a family event.

Since I have gotten here, I have shared my pictures with my family and they really enjoy seeing my family and friends. I also brought some of my jewelry and tie dye I did as well as a cross-stitch project. She is convinced I am and artist. We are getting to know each other more and I really want to be able to give her something she would really appreciate. The dog, Winnie, is such a baby and as much a member of the family as the children. She is babied and loved and I am beginning to warm to the idea of small dogs.

Today I got my first chance to work one on one with some of the students and it was very fulfilling. I was able to answer her questions and she felt more comfortable with the subject. During my time here I will be teaching an entire unit to three of the five classes. I journeyed home today with three textbooks, one of which was larger than my Biochemistry book from College! The chemistry book is 10 years old and has a mistake right on the cover. I suppose they are lucky to have ANY books at all, even outdated ones. On my way home I ran into some visitors from Texas who asked me if I was taking classes here. I mentioned the school and how lucky these students were to study and learn in such a spectacular location with amazing resources at their disposal.

I am planning on purchasing a version of Harry Potter, in Spanish of course, to be able to see some of the verb conjugations that I don’t know. Of course it will be slow reading, but hopefully my familiarity with the book and its story will help me learn it better. My Spanish classes have been moved to Wednesdays after school, instead of Fridays which is nice because it allows me more time during the day if I wish to travel somewhere. There are some places that are defiantly weekend trips, like to the Volcano, that are musts before I leave. The places like the local insect jungles and so on are things I can do after school if I want, or to just have a nice relaxed weekend.

Through the school, I can be reimbursed for up to two vacations, two nights at $10 or less, which might come in handy if I chose to go to San Jose or if someone is coming to visit and I go to meet them. Granted it is only two for the entire semester and while most of the interns here are only staying until March or April, I am the only one here for the full 5 months. I have to make it all last a little longer.

As requested here are more descriptions of the glory I am experiencing here. The trees are greener than any emerald ever discovered. The sounds are unknown and intriguing, making every walk to school a new experience. When I walk between classes or glance out the windows of the classroom and see the mists wafting over the hills and through trees that have been in existence longer than most of the people on earth. Each view is new to me and takes my breath away every time. My heart calls for home and things familiar to me but I am working to embrace this outstanding experience. My experiences here will be with me forever and I can only try to remain open to the challenges. Thank you ALL for the support and love I feel. It gives me strength, which makes facing each day in this new world a little easier to embrace and learn from.