It has been a very, very, very long time since I have written here. So I’m going to start at the very beginning (a very good place to start), and see how far I get. With more consistent internet access now that I am back to my city stay (now you know current location) I promise to be less absent.
So, about two weeks ago was my final week of research in my rural stay. I was working in the high school, doing my best to navigate a school of a lot one thousand kids that changed classes and locations approximately every fifty minutes. They were also in mid term exams a lot of the time , so it was definitely an experience. However, my favorite part of that week was working at a nearby elementary school with the English teacher. It was so fun to work with the younger kids, and as the school only had about 150 students total, over the month and a half that I worked there I got to know them pretty well. The teachers there were very welcoming, and let me help teach their classes as well whenever I had free time. It was definitely a great experience, and is fueling my interests in education and ESL. My final day we spent a little time reviewing the week’s theme (body parts; tongue, throat and stomach being the most challenging words), and then it was time to listen to some good ole American music. The list indlued Hey Soul Sister by Train (try explaining the lyrics to a bunch of fourth graders), Avril Lavine, Black Eyed Peas, Celine Dion and Miley Cyrus. Here are pictures of our air guitar contest during an Avril Lavine song.
When the week came to and end it was definitely sad to say good bye. Hopefully I will be able to visit one last time before I leave the country for good. But ahead I had a whole week of vacation to look forward to. Easter week (or Semana Santa as they call it here) is a national holy vacation for a good portion of the week. None of the schools are in session, and Thursday through Sunday even banks, super markets and a lot of places close. I was going to spend the first part of it in Tortuguero (home of Sarah PS the summer past) and the second part with my host family at the beach.
The first night of Semana Santa Chloe and Mike came to visit for another quality sleep over in my Venecia home. We took it upon ourselves to try to cook a good ole american meal. We went to every supermarket in Venecia (3) in search of pesto but to no avail. The final menu was lasagna with zuchini and home made tomato sauce, sautéed green beans, and guacamole with mangos in it. The final product looked like this
Tortuguero is on the north east of Costa Rica. What makes it interesting is you canonly get to the island itself by boat. Tortuga means turtle, and that is where Tortuguero gets its name. It is the nesting site for two varieties of turtles, and home to a national park with many a wild life spotting. Needless to say it was beautiful, and I saw a turtle laying eggs. This event is probably in the top five coolest things I have ever seen in my whole life. Explaining it in person is probably a better way to convey how amazing it was, and even then I think it probably sounds pretty lame when I try. But just trust me on this one. I payed $15 for a guide, a 50% chance I would see a turtle, and permission to walk on the beach at night. After having seen it I would have paid ten times that much easily. Unfortunately you can’t bring your camera to those walks, but I did have my camera the rest of the time so here are some more pictures for your viewing pleasure.
5 am in the morning, the herons are up and on the go.
crazy black and red crickets. they are about three inches long.
crocodile. we were in a canoe a mere 3 feet away. no one lost an arm luckily.
wood are curtsey of the local forest insects.
dragon fly!
my rain boots for walking in the rain forest. which is meters away form the beach. who would-ah thunk!
dunes.
sunsets. boats. yes.
mike and his sand castle.
Then I returned home after four wonderful days in Tortuguero. Semana Santa was in full swing, and it was time to make empanados mudos. Mudo means mute, but the use of the word is in reference to the fact that they don't have meat. During all of Semana Santa no one in my family ate meat. My host mom started referring to it as Semana Jessi as everyone was eating like they were a vegetarian like me.
The outside pastry is a mix of potatos and yuca with onions and flavoring. The inside is marinated veggies, beans, and cheese. Then you wrap them up in banana leaves and boil them. My family was astonished to find out that we do not have banana leaves for sale in our local super markets. I then mentioned sometimes people eat grape leaves with rice inside. They thought that was pretty weird.
Alright, to keep this from getting overwhelmingly lengthy I am going to stop here for now, but stay tuned for more updates. I will leave you with a picture of the miniature version of the Church of Venecia that my neighbor made (what is this, a church for ants??)
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