I Need a Nap!

So today was my second day of teaching a full day of classes. I am exhausted. I am not really sure why I am so tired, maybe it is because I am constantly thinking how to translate things to speak correctly in Spanish. Or maybe I am just tired from the three-mile walk I just took back from school… in the pouring rain. Or maybe children are just exhausting. Even though I am super tired, I am still having a great time.

Yesterday was a little stressful but I survived. The day didn’t start so great. My alarm didn’t go off and I woke up 20 minutes late. I had five minutes to eat breakfast and get dressed. After I got ready I ran to brush my teeth quickly. My host brother was in the shower leaving me no sink to spit. With a mouth full of toothpaste I looked at the kitchen sink, which was filled with dirty dishes. To save my host mom from having to wash my toothpaste spit off the dishes I quickly unloaded the sink and spit into the drain. I loaded the dishes back into the sink and then ran out the door hearing my host my yell off the porch “God go with you.” It was raining out, which is weird for this time of year. As I hurried down the dirt road to meet my director mud flew up dirtying the bottom of my pants. Costa Ricans find hygiene to be extremely important and I knew I would be judged for my muddy pants and my hair, which I had thrown back in a messy bun during the hustle of the morning. I met my director at the bus stop. Instead of having her husband drive us to school, the director said we would take the milk truck. At first I was relieved to not have to deal with her husband’s crazy driving. The milk truck driver’s daughter sat in the bed of the truck and Georgie and I sat in the front with him. Georgie and I squeezed onto the bench seat and the driver had to come shut the door. He then asked me to hold it because, well, it doesn’t really shut and could come open at any minute. I pulled it tight, fearing I was going to tumble out of the truck into the muddy street. Water poured onto me from the cracked roof and the door window that didn’t fully close. A screw stuck out from the side of the door and jabbed me in my leg every turn we took. I was super frustrated by the time we arrived in Mollejones. The milk truck dropped us off at the bottom of a large hill to walk the rest of the way to school. I arrived, already tired and looking far from put together. Time for the day to begin…

My students are great, but their energy level is something I am going to have to get used to. My first graders can’t sit still. I really think it is impossible for them. At one point one of my first graders was literally sitting upside down in his chair. His legs were thrown over the back of the chair and his head was hanging by the floor. I just shook my head and laughed as I turned him around in his seat. First graders also refuse to keep their hands to themselves. They are constantly touching each other, hugging or shoving, or kissing each other on the cheek (it is super precious). I finally had to make them sit on their hands. This is the first grade’s first year of formal class so none of them know how to read or write in Spanish yet so my class with them is completely oral. It is somewhat unfortunate because only one of my first grader’s can write their name. However, it is also convenient because I can have them sit on their hands because they aren’t using them to write. I think first grade is going to be my biggest challenge this year. They take a long time to absorb information. I can only do two, maybe three, vocabulary words a day. I hope that I have enough patience to last me a year.

The rest of the grades are a bit easier. I teach second and third grade together for 80 minutes. I teach fourth grade for forty minutes. Finally I have fifth and sixth grades for 80 minutes. We are supposed to teach each grade for forty minutes every day. My director combined classes because there are so few students in them (I have a total of 26 students). So I am required to teach the combined classes 80 minutes. It is difficult to hold students attention for 80 minutes but after two days I feel fairly comfortable with it. My forty-minute classes seem to fly by. Maybe it is because it takes Costa Rican students FOREVER to copy things down. What I think will only take three to five minutes takes about ten. The students color code EVERYTHING! Every other word is a different color. Everything has to look perfect. If they mess up they use white out, wait for it to dry, and then continue on. It is quite a process. For the most part, yesterday was a success. I only had one student cry and only because he tripped over a desk while running to show me that he had completed his work. Only his ego was hurt, and he cried out of embarrassment. At the end of yesterday one of my fourth graders gave me a shirt that she bought for me. It is spandex, covered in red roses and has silver thread… I won’t be caught dead in it. But, I suppose it is the thought that counts. Today was much smoother than yesterday. I knew what to expect and felt more comfortable. Despite being frustrated with my no Spanish rule, I think my students are enjoying my class. I don’t have any major discipline problems. I bribe my students with stickers every day and that seems to keep them in check. Man, kids love stickers! I am exhausted and I definitely need a nap. I might be tired, but it is totally worth it. I love my job!