9.09.2008

Only in Costa Rica (or at least not in the States!)

Only in Costa Rica does a teacher have to remind her students not to flush their toilet paper. "Throw it in the wastebasket by the toilet so the pipes will not be clogged!!" I think I've said this too many times already.

Only in Costa Rica are there several minor earthquakes per day. With a bookshelf connected to the wall, my students put a marker standing on its end on the top shelf. Every time it fell to the floor, the students would yell "Earthquake!"

Only in Costa Rica are thunderstorms every afternoon. On a regular basis, I find myself competing for my students' attention with the noise of thunder and the light show of lightning.

Only in Costa Rica do ants get to your food before you do. I ate most of my lunch and then set it down to help a student... next thing I know, there's ants thoroughly mixed in with my gallo pinto. Bummer.

Only in Costa Rica do taxi drivers not let on that they know English until you arrive at the destination. And of course, Trish and I have made fools out of ourselves by commenting (in English) about the driver's race car steering wheel (no kidding, this one drove like he was in the Indy 500!). Then to discover that he understood every word we said.

Only in Costa Rica are you excited (like me :)) to go to the Post Office and have an entire interaction in Spanish, completely understood. I bought stamps and asked where to put my letters. The clerk asked what I was doing in Costa Rica and I told her about teaching and where I was from. Ha, such an accomplishment!

Only in Costa Rica does the city wake up completely at sunrise around 5:30 am. No kidding. The trucks and taxis are already honking.

Well, maybe all these things aren't only in Costa Rica... but they're certainly only in my Costa Rica experiences :).

2 comments:

Kat said...

checking up on the blog, Kate! love you, sis!

K Siscoe said...

Only in Costa Rica is a reminder of how we get used to things where we are at...there are few earthquakes in north central Illinois! I hope you don't have tornadoes...
Love You!
Dad