Decisions, Decisions

Well, I wanted to put up photos from the ballet, but they're on Trish's camera and she's currently in the shower... unless I creep through her purse... but that's alright. I'll have to ask her for the pics later.

We're making some big decisions about finances and where to live next semester. Kim is possibly returning to Sojourn as a hired teacher (this semester was her student teaching), and she definitely wants to live with a tico family to work on her Spanish... so Trish and I have been discussing options for what we should do. We could stay here in the apartment and pay more rent... we could get another roommate... or we could just take the plunge (that we were thinking would happen next summer sometime) and dive in with tico families as well.

After talking with Gretel today (she's in charge of tico family housing at ILE), we acquired a list of names and numbers of available families. We'll be visiting them within the next week or so. PLEASE PRAY as we make these decisions! To be honest, I'm nervous about it (of course!) and I want to find a good fit family (of course!). My main motivation for doing something like this is for intensive work on my Spanish vocab and speaking abilities.

My mom says I'm braver than she is. Maybe I'm just crazy.

A Taste of Home

We walked into Wendy's today in downtown San Jose... you read that right, Wendy's. It smelled so much like ... well, it triggered my "home" compartment of the brain... and that doesn't happen often these days. So of course I had to get my favorite junior bacon cheeseburger. YES!

And then another stop off at McDonald's for an Oreo McFlurry. Aaaahhhh, a day of healthy eating, for sure. Healthy in terms of tasting home, anyway.

Exploring San Jose

We had the day off today, so of course we explored the city and shopped for Christmas. What a great day!

Here's some photos of the architecture ceilings with wire -- to keep the birds out?

a cathedral

palm trees and the Costa Rican flag

The National Theatre... we're going tomorrow night for the ballet! Que bueno!

Conversation from Today

Student: Miss Siscoe, is teaching hard?
Me: Well, sometimes... but not really. Why do you ask?
Student: I don't know.
Me: Do I make it seem hard?
Student: Well, no.
Me: What might be hard about teaching?
Student: Because of students like me.


Ha, if only he knew!!!

A Chocolate Bar and a Fan Make My Day!

Students brought in gifts today :). We just moved to a new classroom and desperately needed a fan for the stuffy room... So Jackson brought in a fan for us! He was so proud to present it to the class, and his mom said he was so excited that he carried it the whole way to school (15-20 minute walk!) and refused any offers of help from his parents. The fan was definitely appreciated today!

And Bayley went to the States this past weekend and brought back a jar of peanut butter and a giant Hershey's chocolate bar for me. Oh yeah, I'm living the life now. Ha, it's not too difficult to make my day. :)

Coach Trish

Here's a sneak peek of Trish coaching her basketball team. Ha, she has the funniest expressions while she's on the sidelines.

Steve was roped into being the referee. Who knew?

Another Trish coaches the cheerleading team. This is one of my favorite snapshots of the night, even though it's really grainy.

And we watched the sun set as the game progressed. Gorgeous, huh?

Home Sweet Home

Costa Rica is becoming home. Slowly but surely. What makes it "home" for me?

Cooking. I'm enjoying trying out new recipes and knowing where to buy ingredients. We eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies -- carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, avocados, peppers, pineapple, bananas. Fresh spices -- cilantro, garlic. I love mixing it all together and seeing what happens.

Fabric. Kim V. and I went shopping for fabric for curtains in our classroom, and maybe this is a bit too domestic for my nomadic lifestyle, but I LOVE all the textures and colors of fabric. I bought two yellow fabrics to make curtains...

Spanish. Mi vocabulario es pequeno y mi grammatica es pobre, pero aprendiendo poco a poco cada dia. (My vocabulary is small and my grammar is poor, but I'm learning little by little each day.) It's a good challenge, a tough challenge, but each day I learn something else.

Kids. My students are another healthy challenge for me. Enough said.

Sunshine. Ha, it's crazy that it's November and I can still sit out in the sun. It's as if summer has just followed me. I don't mind, not one bit.

Friends. I didn't know these girls before moving to CR, but when you are the only gringas around, you become pretty good friends, no matter what.

And, my bed. I spend 7 or 8 hours a day sleeping on our rock-hard bed, so I figure it better be homey with my blankets from college. Que bueno!