7 July 2009

Classes began on Monday with “pre-schoolers,” but in reality, all ages showed up. Children are not required to attend school until the age of 7 in Costa Rica, and they are allowed to quit at 12! What’s more, they attend school for 3 hours per day only, with a morning group and an afternoon group in order to minimize the available space and maximize the teacher’s time. So a given teacher might teach 7 year-olds in the mornings and 12 year-olds in the afternoons. Like most everything else, there is a very relaxed attitude in Costa Rica about education!

But children are children the world over, and except for the language, I saw little differences from American children and Costa Rican children insofar as their spirits, their attitudes, and their desire to learn. They already knew numbers 1-10 in English, and all the colors. They practiced printing the English alphabet in upper and lower case and answered simple questions about “how many” and “what color.” They started to get antsy, so we took them down to the beach where I did some simple rhythym clapping patterns and taught them a step or two of Zumba, which let them release some energy. They returned for the end of the two-hour session to recap what they’d learned that day.

This English school operates as a way to supplement the lack of a complete education the children receive in their regular school and also to teach the children a new skill which they are not taught in public school. It was begun by Kerri Bowers, who was a high school English teacher visiting Costa Rica 3-4 years ago, saw a need, and filled it. Kerri has an MA from American University in International Education but she did not speak a work of Spanish when she made the decision to move here! The first year she was without income, but slowly built a partnership with Cesar Bienavides (nicknamed “Bill”) in offering bilingual tours to the travelling public from which a commission from each tour went to fund the school’s supplies. The school literally meets in a storefront in one of Montezuma’s two main streets! You can see from the pictures that we had 8 children crowded around a table. The biggest selling point for booking a tour with Proyecto Montezuma is when classes are in session! Tourists see the children at work, stop to watch, and book a tour in order to support this worthwhile endeavor. One couple of travelling students from Holland told me at the beach party last night that they booked with us because it supported an educational purpose. The prices for the tours are pretty much the same from place to place, but Kerri and Bill donate a percentage of their costs towards the school’s operation. I was only observing the pre-school class, but today I begin teaching one of my two adult classes. These consist of between 4-5 adults who are mainly venders and storekeepers who want to improve their English so they can converse more effectively with tourists and make a living. Remember, tourism is the biggest industry in Costa Rica—the entire country has a “brand”—Pura Vida, which you will see on almost every brochure or advertisement or billboard concerning the tourism industry. Pura Vida means more than just “pure life;” I’m told it also reflects an attitude towards life, something along the lines of “Don’t worry, be happy.” Works for me!

OK, the bugs: they’re bad. And they got worse when I finally got some food in the house late yesterday afternoon. Any crumb draws those small ants like a tornado of black doom. This morning a gecko dropped down from the bathroom ceiling just after I got out of the shower. Fortunately, one of my compound-mates told me she had 2 geckos living in her house, but that was good because they ate the bugs. I shrugged and walked away when I saw the gecko—wish he’d come out here to the “kitchen” table and eat the ants….

And that brings me to the party on the beach last night—last night rocked! Every Monday night there’s a big beach party, complete with bonfire and a DJ. The moon was almost full and the sight of it rising over the crashing waves of the Pacific coast was a sight to behold. I tried to take pictures, but I don’t know how well they’ll turn out. At any rate, I’ll never forget the sight. Most other nights people just hang around on the sidewalks, chatting, drinking beer, and relaxing from the heat of the day. That’s when you really get to know the locals—they all want to try out their English and you want to try your Spanish. At some point my brain usually closes down for a while—there’s only so much language-challenge I can take at one time!

Well, I’ve got to walk down the Black Diamond gravelly ski slope in flip flips now to get to my class before it rains—adios!