Day Two

Today was loaded with information! We had 3 hours of class from 9-12, where we learned about various ESL techniques. We took copious notes on all different ways of eliciting vocabulary and learning the definitions without explaining or defining words. We talked about using demonstrations and miming as well as pictures and examples to convey meaning. For lunch we went to a local Soda, a traditional costa rican corner cafe. I had a delicious lunch of rice and beans, the national dish known as Gallo Pinto, with a fried egg and passionfruit juice. The meal cost just under TWO dollars. After lunch we went back to studying and learned about the EPL model of teaching which consists of various steps to apply to a lesson plan. We then split up into group A and B for our observation and teaching schedules. I observed the teacher do a lesson for three costa rica young women and then wrote a paper on it and the various techniques she used.

Today was much easier in terms of adjusting to the new culture and environment. I went to this building on the corner between my house and the school to see what was available. It was set up oddly with a handful of stores distributed throughout the building, all connected by ramps. There is a hardware store, a house goods store which was decked out with holiday decorations, a supermarket on the bottom and a stationary store. I picked up a jump rope which was an excellent surprise to find there and plan to use it for cardio which my dad suggested since people don't go jogging here. I also got a notebook and some groceries. I bought a few bags of pasta, two bags of platanitos-my favorite central american treat of plaintain chips, some hot sauce, tomato sauce, saran wrap and some bananas..for a total of $12 dollars.

I got home just as it was about to rain. Every day starts out sunny and tropical but around 2 o'clock becomes gray and overcast and there is at least one inevitable rain shower. It also gets dark by 6pm which makes it feel much later than it is. (I am 2 hours earlier here than at home on the east coast) I made my pasta, after overcoming my shock of seeing one of the small cockroaches scuttling around the pot, reassuring myself that any germs would be boiled away. I opened the salsa de tomate, excited for my first cooked meal, only to discover that the sauce (salsa=sauce) was in fact, Salsa, as in chips and salsa. It is a source of confusion that salsa de tomate translates as tomato sauce, but can mean, salsa in the American sense, marinara sauce, or ketchup! I ate my pasta plain because we don't have butter or olive oil.

One thing that surprises me is that the women here wear long pants and high heels everyday. The pants is surprising to me because it is very hot when the sun is shining, but that is a trend I've noticed throughout central america. The women wear long pants and high heels despite the many cracks in the sidewalk. Between the sidewalk and the street are holes that are a foot deep and a foot wide only covered in a few places by grates. Walking in the dark one has to be very aware of anyone else on the street but also keep an eye out for these big gaps.

I'm hoping to get internet at my apartment in the next few days which will make posting easier.

more to come later! thanks for reading!