My Reflection

If I could sum up my experience in Costa Rica in one sentence it would be: Living in Costa Rica was one of the best, most amazing, eye opening experiences of my life, which I would not trade for the world. Even that sentence cannot do my experience enough justice. Every day I learned something new. I learned in a first hand manner, not while I was stuck in a classroom; because I learned like this I will forever remember most of what I was taught.

I learned so much about the culture and was able to make a lot of comparisons to our culture in the states. Aside from a few small differences and a little more freedom in Costa Rica, their school system is remarkably similar to our school system. The young generation loves to go out and party and hang out with their friends just like the young generation in the states and they have a lot of the same goals as we do. One pretty big difference I noticed was that Costa Ricans are a lot more family oriented than we are. My family in Monteverde would always spend time together watching television or playing with the girls.

            For me, going to Costa Rica gave me the ability to do something I never thought I would be able to do; successfully speak Spanish. I have always wanted to become fluent in a foreign language but had never really succeeded in becoming comfortable with a foreign language. However, after living with host families and speaking Spanish for three weeks, I learned that not only was it possible for me to become fluent in a foreign language but that I was well on my way towards mastering the language. This trip actually encouraged me to consider minoring in Spanish. I am very thankful I was able to go on this trip. I fell in love with the country and cannot wait to make another trip back; I am already starting to plan one out during Christmas break or next summer.

(6/2/12) We had to say goodbye to our host families in Monteverde this morning. I did not want to say goodbye, especially since this means that my trip is coming to a close. We got to explore downtown San Jose today. It was not much different than  downtown Wilmington in my opinion. Originally we were supposed to visit a museum and the national theater downtown but the majority of the group voted to opt out of that part and shop instead. Luckily I was still able to see the theater with two other girls and our amazing tour guide Javier. I loved seeing the theater, everything inside was original, I think Javier said they had only replaced a few windows since it had been built. When we were done looking at the theater we walked to a small market area and did a little more shopping for our families. Thankfully I had already purchased everything I needed so I could just look around and observe everything.

            While I’m typing this I am also sitting in my hotel room at La Condesa where we originally started this trip only three short weeks ago, slowly packing my bag for the flight home tomorrow. I am not looking forward to tomorrow in any way, shape, or form. I’m really hoping something will be wrong with our plane and we’ll have to reschedule our flight for sometime next week.

(5/30/12) On Tuesday we went to a school in the cloud forest called Creativo. This is a Montessori school, the children here have a lot more freedom than most students in Costa Rica and definitely more freedom compared to the students in the United States. They had a preschool class in Creativo as well. Their 3-4 year old class was called Kinder while their 5-6 year old class was called Prepa which was comparable to our kindergarten classes here in the states. The curriculums were basically the same except they have one teacher that speaks English only and teaches lessons in English and another who does the same but only in Spanish. I really liked this aspect of the school. I have been talking to a lot of teachers here in the different schools we’ve been to and so far I have discovered that the preschool system and curriculum is strikingly similar to the preschools in the United States. This kind of surprised me but at the same time I thought it was really cool that the two countries are so similar. I really don’t want to leave Costa Rica; I am really enjoying my time here.

(5/28/2012) This past weekend we took a trip to Arenal Volcano and spent time in the hot water springs. This was probably the most amazing resort I have ever been to. The hot springs were beautiful and our view of the volcano was breathtaking. I did not know I could take so many pictures in two days. We spent all of Saturday at the springs and ate dinner at the resort. We also met some more students from CPI that stayed with our host families in Heredia the week we left. The next morning only two other girls and myself went on a hike around Sendero Silencio with our wonderful guide Javier. I am really glad we went on this hike; it was a great experience that I would have kicked myself had I missed out on it. After the hike we were able to spend about an hour in the hot springs before we had to check out of our rooms. I hate that we only stayed one night; this trip was so relaxing it definitely should have been at least a two night stay. I plan on coming back to La Fortuna soon, it was that amazing. I also hate that the majority of my group did not want to come on the hike; it really was a great experience they will never get to have.

5/25/2012

Since my last blog post we have been to the primary school Santa Elena twice, once on Tuesday and once on Thursday. On Tuesday I observed a preschool class, they also had similar materials one could find in a preschool in the states; however they did not have as much equipment as we do due to their budget. I later found out that my hemelas (twin girls) ticas attend that class at 11. I discovered that the ages in Costa Rica are the same as they are at home. Materno is four years old, Kinder is five years old, and Premario is six years old. The children were in play time when I was observing them so I could see the different centers in the room.

            I forgot to write about giving my family their gifts in my last post. I made the girls sparkley headbands with leopard print pink or purple ribbon and got them some coloring books with Tinkerbell on them. The girls absolutely loved the gifts and I think it meant a lot to the parents that I handmade the headbands.
           Oh and just as a side note; as I’m writing this I’m sitting in the living room watching Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End, in Spanish and actually understanding most of it. This is probably one of my proudest moments yet, make what you will of it, but I’m thrilled to say that I’ve learned enough Spanish to understand what is being said.

So far we have been to many different and interesting places. Friday we went to a Montessori school in La Carpia. It was really interesting; I’ve read about them but had never seen one before. The students ranged in age from two to eight and there were a few sets of siblings. I really wanted to know more about the school but the teacher was busy taking care of at least twenty children. I learned that the school does not have any set standards as far as learning goes because it is private. I was talking to my hermana tica two days ago about preschools in Costa Rica and actually learned they are pretty similar to preschools in the United States. She is a second grade English teacher in a private school that has a preschool in it. They have different levels of preschool; maternal, kinder, and one more (that I can’t remember), then the students go to kindergarten. The public preschools have government mandated standards and curriculums and all students going to a public elementary school have to take an assessment of their skills before they can go. I also learned that if a student is advanced enough as soon as they meet the age requirement for the next grade level they will be moved into that classroom.

            We are now in Monte Verde and the home I’m staying in has two four year old twin girls that are in maternal right now so I should be able to find out a lot more about the preschool system while I’m here.

La Paz and Poas Volcano

This weekend we went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Poas Volcano. I saw a lot of indigenous animals in La Paz that I had never seen up close before. We saw Maccaw parrots, tucans, jaugers, panthers, and many different species of hummingbirds, just to name a few. Poas Volcano was amazing! When we first got to the volcano it was cloudy but it cleared up after about a minute of waiting; I never thought I would see a volcano in person. We walked to a lake after the volcano but the clouds had come back so we were unable to see the lake. After we left Poas Volcano we went to CPI for a little bit and took placement tests for our classes tomorrow and then met our host families. I was so nervous to meet mine and was terrified I would not be able to communicate with them. I was, and still am, really surprised at how easy it was to talk to my mama tica. I understood about 80% of what she said to me and was able to respond back in a sufficient manner. I did not realize I had learned so much Spanish in high school. Buenas noches for now!

Pre-departure

I am now a junior at UNCW, my major is Education of Young Children. This is the second time I have been out of the country but the first time I have gone without my family. I do not know much Spanish but I am better at listening to it than I am at creating it myself. That is probably the thing I am most nervous about as far as this trip goes. I am really excited to immerse myself in a culture different from my own. I have decided to do my project on the types of early childhood education Costa Rica offers their residents, if they even offer any. I hope you enjoy reading my blogs! I'll try and post some pictures when we get there!