Vámonos Gringos!
Yay team U.S.A.! Now I can tease my papatico down here that the gringos won. : )
Yesterday was a good day with the group at Playa Conchal in the morning. I love this beach because the waters are so blue and the beach is actually made up of shells. It’s beautiful. I finished out the day at work and returned home for a wonderful dinner and conversation with my host family. I even had time for a gelato run with my group!
This morning I woke up at 5 for a 10k run out to Playa Grande in the rain! It was a great run and I was soaked by the time I got back, but it was worth it. Tranquila...
------ ----- ------ ------ ------ ------
I want to take a moment to explain what I’ve been doing down here every day for the past two weeks. It occurred to me, in a suggestion from my mom, that those who are new to this may not be able to follow exactly what it is I’m doing. Let me explain…
I officially work for the Spanish language immersion school called Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (or CPI). I work for CPI Grupos. Contrary to what most think, I do not teach English here. CPI is a school that offers Spanish courses for those interested in learning the language in Costa Rica. CPI was started in 1991 in a house in the Central Valley. It has since grown into three campuses located in Heredia (Central Valley), Monteverde (Mountains) and Flamingo (Beach, Pacific Coast). The courses are designed as full immersion for beginning to advanced speakers with a maximum of 4 students per class. The school is equipped to hold university, high school, individual and families of students coming through.
I work for the division of the school called CPI Grupos. I am hired as a chaperone for the summer. Basically, my job description entails working with high school or college groups that are taking classes through CPI. I am the intermediary between the group’s own chaperones and CPI. I am the “fill-in-the-blanks” person. I make sure their classes are ok, that they get fed and that they get to their other activities on time. I travel with them throughout the country and transfer schools with them when they do transfer. When I pick up a group from the airport, I am with them usually until they leave the country. Thus, I am very nomadic in the summer and typically won’t stay in one location for more than five days at a time.
A typical day includes waking up early around 5:30 a.m. and meeting my group at the pickup point around 7:30 a.m. before heading to a planned morning activity (i.e. canopy tour, surfing, volunteering, dance class, coffee tour, jungle tour, hiking, etc.). After the activity, we get lunch somewhere that I have coordinated and then return to CPI at 1:00 p.m. for Spanish class from 1:00-5:00 p.m. At 3:00 there is a 20 minute snack and coffee break. While the kids are in class, I am in the office usually uploading pictures, writing the group blog, confirming the following day’s activities or anything that needs to be done. After class we will all go to an evening activity if one is planned or I will make sure they arrive back at their homestays. This is usually the point when my job ends for the evening, around 7:30 p.m.
In a very small nutshell, this is what I do. There is very little personal time or down time and some of the groups can be intense while others are very relaxed and in touch with the pura vida lifestyle. However, I absolutely love my job and love being here for the summer. I work with a wonderful group of people and for a wonderful school. I am exhausted but content at the end of each day. : ) I will explain more in upcoming blogs about what all goes on here at school. This should give you all a good start!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
El Señor Sapo y La Polilla (Mr. Toad and the Moth)
Sounds like a fairytale doesn’t it? Well, allow me to inform you that at 4:45 in the morning, neither of these seem much like a fairytale.
I had a small zoo in my bedroom this morning.
Let’s begin. At approximately 4:30 a.m. I was awakened by the sound of something hitting the walls and windows inside of my room. I remained in bed because it was dark, I couldn’t see anything, and I thought I could tolerate it. Fifteen minutes later, I could no longer sleep because the fluttering of wings against the window was too obnoxious to ignore. As my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, I saw a moth about the size of my hand sitting on the wall. Awesome. I climbed out of bed knowing I would never sleep with this creature flying around me and spent the next 10 minutes ‘ushering’ it out of my room with my bath towel. In the spirit of the Tico culture, I try not to kill things thus, my exhaustive efforts to see that it made it outside alive.
Finally free of the giant moth, I made my way to the bathroom to use the facilities. Upon entering the bathroom I was first greeted by a centipede. This animal was not so lucky. Either the centipede or millipede is poisonous and because I couldn’t remember which one was more dangerous, this creature suffered at the mercy of my sandal. I’m sorry, Costa Rica. Feeling better, I took one more step toward the bathroom and was alarmed to see a large frog sitting in my shower looking up at me. Neither one of us could move, so we just sat there looking at each other until he hopped a little bit and hid under the shower curtain. Satisfied that he was out of sight, I used the bathroom and went back to my room wondering what to do.
As I laid in bed (gearing up for my big race) I heard a couple of hops and then nothing. By the time I went back in 30 minutes later the frog was gone. I have no idea where it went or how it got in for that matter, but it was gone. I can’t imagine what will await me tomorrow. : )
Anyway, I had my big 5k race today. It should be noted that this is my second 5k ‘race’ ever—outside of the one that I raced against two other teachers in the fall. None have been official but they have been fun. I lost today but it still felt good. Time: 22:49 on hills. I’ll take it.
It is 7:30 a.m. now. Time to get my day going with volunteer work and classes!
Chao pescado, <-- Oh look, another animal…
Jessica Lynn
I had a small zoo in my bedroom this morning.
Let’s begin. At approximately 4:30 a.m. I was awakened by the sound of something hitting the walls and windows inside of my room. I remained in bed because it was dark, I couldn’t see anything, and I thought I could tolerate it. Fifteen minutes later, I could no longer sleep because the fluttering of wings against the window was too obnoxious to ignore. As my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, I saw a moth about the size of my hand sitting on the wall. Awesome. I climbed out of bed knowing I would never sleep with this creature flying around me and spent the next 10 minutes ‘ushering’ it out of my room with my bath towel. In the spirit of the Tico culture, I try not to kill things thus, my exhaustive efforts to see that it made it outside alive.
Finally free of the giant moth, I made my way to the bathroom to use the facilities. Upon entering the bathroom I was first greeted by a centipede. This animal was not so lucky. Either the centipede or millipede is poisonous and because I couldn’t remember which one was more dangerous, this creature suffered at the mercy of my sandal. I’m sorry, Costa Rica. Feeling better, I took one more step toward the bathroom and was alarmed to see a large frog sitting in my shower looking up at me. Neither one of us could move, so we just sat there looking at each other until he hopped a little bit and hid under the shower curtain. Satisfied that he was out of sight, I used the bathroom and went back to my room wondering what to do.
As I laid in bed (gearing up for my big race) I heard a couple of hops and then nothing. By the time I went back in 30 minutes later the frog was gone. I have no idea where it went or how it got in for that matter, but it was gone. I can’t imagine what will await me tomorrow. : )
Anyway, I had my big 5k race today. It should be noted that this is my second 5k ‘race’ ever—outside of the one that I raced against two other teachers in the fall. None have been official but they have been fun. I lost today but it still felt good. Time: 22:49 on hills. I’ll take it.
It is 7:30 a.m. now. Time to get my day going with volunteer work and classes!
Chao pescado, <-- Oh look, another animal…
Jessica Lynn
Monday, June 21, 2010
What just happened here?
So I some how just volunteered myself to race a 5k tomorrow morning. How did this happen you might ask? I’m not really sure.
Yesterday in Arenal I ran with some of the group members on a ‘recovery run.’ However, it ended up being more like a 7k hard run uphill. The runners asked once on a climb if I wanted to slow down and I said ‘no’ because if I had slowed down I never would have made it. I think they took this as a sign of competitiveness. Near as I can tell, this is how I got pulled into a race tomorrow morning. Oh dear. This should be fun. : )
We did put a small wager on it, so the efforts won’t be for naught. Dos refrescos, por favor. Keep in mind though, I do not race 5ks—that is always something I have left to my brother and sister. Any racing tips might be nice. I measured the ‘course’ twice just to make sure it was accurate. Heaven help me. I told my host family that if I didn’t make it back for breakfast that they should come looking me.
Amor y suerte,
Jessica Lynn
P.S. Went surfing today--muy tuanis. : )
P.P.S. The button on CSI Miami is not the same en español.
Yesterday in Arenal I ran with some of the group members on a ‘recovery run.’ However, it ended up being more like a 7k hard run uphill. The runners asked once on a climb if I wanted to slow down and I said ‘no’ because if I had slowed down I never would have made it. I think they took this as a sign of competitiveness. Near as I can tell, this is how I got pulled into a race tomorrow morning. Oh dear. This should be fun. : )
We did put a small wager on it, so the efforts won’t be for naught. Dos refrescos, por favor. Keep in mind though, I do not race 5ks—that is always something I have left to my brother and sister. Any racing tips might be nice. I measured the ‘course’ twice just to make sure it was accurate. Heaven help me. I told my host family that if I didn’t make it back for breakfast that they should come looking me.
Amor y suerte,
Jessica Lynn
P.S. Went surfing today--muy tuanis. : )
P.P.S. The button on CSI Miami is not the same en español.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Gecko Kisses
Feliz Dia de Padres! Te amo Papa!
Allow me to share with you why it is 9:00 p.m. here on the coast, I am absolutely exhausted but I know without a doubt that I won’t sleep for a while.
Those that know me know that I am not particularly fond of snakes. I found out tonight that I am not particularly fond of chameleons either…even if they are on a leash. I met my new host family tonight (I’ll talk about them later because they are amazing!) and I also met their neighbor and son—who happens to have a pet chameleon. He walked in the door and I nearly jumped out of my skin. My papatico joked that there was an even bigger one sitting in my bedroom, hence, why I can’t sleep a wink. Although I know there isn’t a chameleon in my room, I do know for a fact that there is a big iguana in a cage somewhere on this property… Lord help me.
Anyway, I am in my quarters now listening to the geckos giving kisses to me outside of my room. That’s literally the sound they make—the smacking of lips. My new host family here in Lajas is fantastic. The area where we are staying is a poorer area and although the families aren’t destitute, there is a definite difference in living style compared to those in the Monteverde or the Central Valley. However, I must have won the lottery with host houses. This house is modern, well furnished, I basically have the ground floor to myself and a pool just outside of my double doors that lead to the patio. The family itself is great too! The husband and wife are so warm and welcoming and very laid back and friendly. I have a feeling my group will have a very different experience with their families, so I might not tell them about my living conditions. Tuanis : )
Basic run down of the weekend includes the volcano and hot springs. This morning the group hiked to La Fortuna waterfall. I haven’t been there since I went with UD, and I had forgotten how beautiful it is. I fully intend to take my family there. You can actually swim right next to the waterfall! The rest of the day was spent driving out to Flamingo in the pick up truck with Mario, the chauffeur. The volcano actually erupted during the day today, sending a large mushroom cloud into the sky. I’ve never witnessed that happening before so I was amazed. Of course, this followed last night at the base of the volcano where I enjoyed one of the most beautiful evenings I’ve had in Costa Rica. The sky was clear, the moon was bright and one could see the silhouette of the volcano and the ash rising toward the sky. It was beautiful.
Okay, I really am pooped. I ran 7km today in hills and I am beat. I am going to take a recovery run tomorrow before surfing.
Besitos,
Jessica Lynn
Allow me to share with you why it is 9:00 p.m. here on the coast, I am absolutely exhausted but I know without a doubt that I won’t sleep for a while.
Those that know me know that I am not particularly fond of snakes. I found out tonight that I am not particularly fond of chameleons either…even if they are on a leash. I met my new host family tonight (I’ll talk about them later because they are amazing!) and I also met their neighbor and son—who happens to have a pet chameleon. He walked in the door and I nearly jumped out of my skin. My papatico joked that there was an even bigger one sitting in my bedroom, hence, why I can’t sleep a wink. Although I know there isn’t a chameleon in my room, I do know for a fact that there is a big iguana in a cage somewhere on this property… Lord help me.
Anyway, I am in my quarters now listening to the geckos giving kisses to me outside of my room. That’s literally the sound they make—the smacking of lips. My new host family here in Lajas is fantastic. The area where we are staying is a poorer area and although the families aren’t destitute, there is a definite difference in living style compared to those in the Monteverde or the Central Valley. However, I must have won the lottery with host houses. This house is modern, well furnished, I basically have the ground floor to myself and a pool just outside of my double doors that lead to the patio. The family itself is great too! The husband and wife are so warm and welcoming and very laid back and friendly. I have a feeling my group will have a very different experience with their families, so I might not tell them about my living conditions. Tuanis : )
Basic run down of the weekend includes the volcano and hot springs. This morning the group hiked to La Fortuna waterfall. I haven’t been there since I went with UD, and I had forgotten how beautiful it is. I fully intend to take my family there. You can actually swim right next to the waterfall! The rest of the day was spent driving out to Flamingo in the pick up truck with Mario, the chauffeur. The volcano actually erupted during the day today, sending a large mushroom cloud into the sky. I’ve never witnessed that happening before so I was amazed. Of course, this followed last night at the base of the volcano where I enjoyed one of the most beautiful evenings I’ve had in Costa Rica. The sky was clear, the moon was bright and one could see the silhouette of the volcano and the ash rising toward the sky. It was beautiful.
Okay, I really am pooped. I ran 7km today in hills and I am beat. I am going to take a recovery run tomorrow before surfing.
Besitos,
Jessica Lynn
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Banano Loco
¡Buenas tardes!
I spent Friday finishing volunteer work at the school with the kids before returning to work for the afternoon. Movie night was cancelled so that freed up my evening a little. My big evening off: packing and sleep. I transferred out to Arenal with the group today and then we are headed to Flamingo tomorrow to meet the new host families.
Today was an adventure of varying degrees. It started out when my luggage transportation arrived. It was a mid-size pickup truck. I actually thought the driver was mistaken, but no, it was I that stood corrected. We loaded the students’ luggage into the back of the pickup while it was pouring down rain. To keep the suitcases dry we managed to jimmy rig some pieces of tarp and plastic together with some rope. It seemed to have worked well enough… Once we tried to get underway, it was realized that the other van wouldn’t start, so once again the students had to push it down the road to get it started. This was all before 7:30 a.m.
Once on the road, however, things seemed to smooth out and we arrived at Don Juan’s Organic Farm right on time. A short tour and organic lunch followed before heading into the town of San Carlos, or La Fortuna. Remind me to tell my family that there isn’t much going on in San Carlos so we can take our sweet time driving there.
Right now, I’m at the base of Volcán Arenal and enjoying relaxing and listening to the rain. In about an hour, the group is headed to the hot springs. Assuming I’m not sporting a rice and bean belly yet, I’ll don my swimsuit and enjoy the springs too. I'm thinking I'll introduce Meggie to the banano loco that is complementary for guides.
Oh, and I am sitting through one of the hardest rains I’ve seen down here this year wondering if I should even attempt to get back to my cabin…I’m thinking otherwise.
Arroz y frijoles,
Jessica Lynn
P.s. Kristen, if you’re reading this, I looked all over for Jet bars today and couldn’t find them! I will keep searching. I must keep searching.
I spent Friday finishing volunteer work at the school with the kids before returning to work for the afternoon. Movie night was cancelled so that freed up my evening a little. My big evening off: packing and sleep. I transferred out to Arenal with the group today and then we are headed to Flamingo tomorrow to meet the new host families.
Today was an adventure of varying degrees. It started out when my luggage transportation arrived. It was a mid-size pickup truck. I actually thought the driver was mistaken, but no, it was I that stood corrected. We loaded the students’ luggage into the back of the pickup while it was pouring down rain. To keep the suitcases dry we managed to jimmy rig some pieces of tarp and plastic together with some rope. It seemed to have worked well enough… Once we tried to get underway, it was realized that the other van wouldn’t start, so once again the students had to push it down the road to get it started. This was all before 7:30 a.m.
Once on the road, however, things seemed to smooth out and we arrived at Don Juan’s Organic Farm right on time. A short tour and organic lunch followed before heading into the town of San Carlos, or La Fortuna. Remind me to tell my family that there isn’t much going on in San Carlos so we can take our sweet time driving there.
Right now, I’m at the base of Volcán Arenal and enjoying relaxing and listening to the rain. In about an hour, the group is headed to the hot springs. Assuming I’m not sporting a rice and bean belly yet, I’ll don my swimsuit and enjoy the springs too. I'm thinking I'll introduce Meggie to the banano loco that is complementary for guides.
Oh, and I am sitting through one of the hardest rains I’ve seen down here this year wondering if I should even attempt to get back to my cabin…I’m thinking otherwise.
Arroz y frijoles,
Jessica Lynn
P.s. Kristen, if you’re reading this, I looked all over for Jet bars today and couldn’t find them! I will keep searching. I must keep searching.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Ants in the Pants
The nocturnal nature hike is all fun and games until someone gets ants in their pants.
Naturally, these wouldn’t be your normal Ohio ants. They would have to be some form of rainforest ant that stings you. (I was told that ants don’t bite, they sting.) And of course, there wouldn’t be just one ant, there would be 12. As chance would have it too, you’re not on the hike alone and you have to try and play it cool in front of the group you are chaperoning by pretending it doesn’t sting or your leg is on fire. Welcome to Costa Rica.
The rest of the hike was pretty neat though. We saw a tarantula and some other enormous spiders along with a giant rodent and something that looked like a raccoon. Unfortunately, there weren’t any jaguar or puma sightings.
I finished off yesterday by going to a place with the other CPI chaperones called Mata e Caña and had a great time. It was nice to just hang out with everyone and relax for a little bit. Who knows when we will get to do this again…
On a different note, if you remember, I decided to do my laundry the other night and was really excited about have a washer and dryer to use. Well, let’s put it this way, I had a washer to use. I got my entire load washed, threw it in the dryer, pushed the button and waited. Nothing. I pushed the button a second, third, fourth and fifth time. Again, nothing. I now had a full load of soggy laundry and no way to dry it. All I could do was laugh. Fortunately, this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation so I took the laundry back to my room and laid it everywhere hoping it might dry by Friday. By the morning, it was still soaked. However, the maintenance man showed up by chance after my run and I explained my predicament and he promptly fixed the situation. Twelve hours later, I dried my laundry. Considering the normal turnover time for drying laundry, this wasn’t bad!
I have one day left in Monteverde. : ( I got ice cream yesterday with the kids from my favorite Costa Rican family, Julian and Diego. Of course, I had to do my backflip for them. Good thing I’ve been practicing over the past year!
All right, time to get my day underway!
Chaooo,
Jessica Lynn
P.s. Feliz cumple, Papi! (Yesterday) : )
Naturally, these wouldn’t be your normal Ohio ants. They would have to be some form of rainforest ant that stings you. (I was told that ants don’t bite, they sting.) And of course, there wouldn’t be just one ant, there would be 12. As chance would have it too, you’re not on the hike alone and you have to try and play it cool in front of the group you are chaperoning by pretending it doesn’t sting or your leg is on fire. Welcome to Costa Rica.
The rest of the hike was pretty neat though. We saw a tarantula and some other enormous spiders along with a giant rodent and something that looked like a raccoon. Unfortunately, there weren’t any jaguar or puma sightings.
I finished off yesterday by going to a place with the other CPI chaperones called Mata e Caña and had a great time. It was nice to just hang out with everyone and relax for a little bit. Who knows when we will get to do this again…
On a different note, if you remember, I decided to do my laundry the other night and was really excited about have a washer and dryer to use. Well, let’s put it this way, I had a washer to use. I got my entire load washed, threw it in the dryer, pushed the button and waited. Nothing. I pushed the button a second, third, fourth and fifth time. Again, nothing. I now had a full load of soggy laundry and no way to dry it. All I could do was laugh. Fortunately, this isn’t the first time I’ve been in this situation so I took the laundry back to my room and laid it everywhere hoping it might dry by Friday. By the morning, it was still soaked. However, the maintenance man showed up by chance after my run and I explained my predicament and he promptly fixed the situation. Twelve hours later, I dried my laundry. Considering the normal turnover time for drying laundry, this wasn’t bad!
I have one day left in Monteverde. : ( I got ice cream yesterday with the kids from my favorite Costa Rican family, Julian and Diego. Of course, I had to do my backflip for them. Good thing I’ve been practicing over the past year!
All right, time to get my day underway!
Chaooo,
Jessica Lynn
P.s. Feliz cumple, Papi! (Yesterday) : )
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Going Extremo
On my way to work this morning!Today began with a trip to Extremo Canopy Tours with my group. The last time I was able to do this particular zipline was 2 years ago when I was here with The University of Dayton. I’ve been on others since, but personally, Extremo is the best. It’s the longest/highest/fastest canopy tour. It has 12 cables, a Tarzan Swing and a Superman cable (new this year). Naturally, I would be inclined to like this zipline the best.
Toward the end of the zipline the group got to the Tarzan Swing and unfortunately I did not get to partake because I was taking pictures. The guides told me I could go twice next time. Tuanis. Anyway, the very last cable now has a new option: Superman. This means that instead of riding it like normal you can opt to be suspended in your harness from your chest and legs. You are literally facing the valley below you as you soar across the cable head first. It’s a pretty cool rush. Familia, prepárense. : ) Afterward, in town, I finally got my coffee ice cream! From there, we headed back to school for Spanish class and dance class (my favorite!).
Toward the end of the zipline the group got to the Tarzan Swing and unfortunately I did not get to partake because I was taking pictures. The guides told me I could go twice next time. Tuanis. Anyway, the very last cable now has a new option: Superman. This means that instead of riding it like normal you can opt to be suspended in your harness from your chest and legs. You are literally facing the valley below you as you soar across the cable head first. It’s a pretty cool rush. Familia, prepárense. : ) Afterward, in town, I finally got my coffee ice cream! From there, we headed back to school for Spanish class and dance class (my favorite!).
Superman Cable.I was telling someone today that I was pretty frustrated with my Spanish at the moment, but today has been a good Spanish day for me and I am relieved. Whew! I thought I was going to need remedial courses. We’ll see what tomorrow brings…
Ok, what started as a beautiful morning here has turned into wind and rain. It’s Costa Rica so I should not be surprised. Time for dance class!
Laundry night tonight with a washing machine! Those of you might remember from last year my laundry night involving my shower and ceiling fan and why a laundry machine this year is a really big deal.
Chao pescado!
Jessica Lynn
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