This Week's Favorite Quotes

Kids are funny. Period. That's about all there is to it. Here's some of my favorites this week:


student ''You have 14 kids??''
me ''yes''
student ''well you sure look good after that many babies! my mom complains that us 3 kids are the reason she's not very pretty anymore''

''Do you happen to have a growing laser that I can use?''

''Let's take a field trip on YouTube.''

''I can't believe I'm going on vacation with my teacher...'' (said to a friend about me traveling with his family this weekend to Nicaragua)




OR sometimes it's the spelling errors that make me smile.

''A vaccine has weekend germs that trigger the production of antibodies.''

''I think I never want to merry a man with a beard.''




AND other times there's their journal entries that make me laugh out loud.

Writing Prompt -- ''Write a conversation you would have with your lungs and heart as you run across the gym to catch a kickball. Whether or not you catch the ball determines whether your team wins!''

Student Response -- '' 'Give me more energy!'' I said. The lungs answered, '' Never! '' My heart was thumping hard. I was trying to get enough oxygen as I can. I could see my veins. My arteries were in hyperdrive. My red blood cells said, ''We are going as fast as we can!'' My diaphram was about to explode. My trachea needed more air. Then I caught the ball.''




THEN there's the quotes that almost break your heart.

''I held an orphan baby last week.''

''I might come in with a black eye tomorrow because my test grade isn't very good.''

Amanecer en Puerto Viejo

Sunrise on the ocean just can't be beat... here's Sunday morning's 5am display...

We had a blast with our group of 5 guys and 4 girls. We rented bikes Saturday and rode to Playa Cocles, which is great for watching surfers and attempting body surfing.. note that I said attempting. :) We covered ourselves in sand and played American football (we always have to clarify which kind of football we are playing!... futbol or football, if you know what I mean). We rented a house and cooked dinner both nights, which was also a great treat. All in all, a good weekend of fun and sun!

Nerd Day

Skylar and I rocking Nerd Day last Friday... One parent told me he couldn't believe I had some of those clothing items here in Costa Rica. You know, the striped socks and the wool (lime green!) vest... only for days like these.

Got Bit by the Travel Bug Recently?

I have...

I'm going to the Caribbean this weekend with a group of Sojourn teachers and ILE students.

Then next weekend, I'm headed to Nicaragua for 5 days.

Photos to come! :):)

Did the Sun Do This in the U.S.??

So this afternoon we saw a phenomenon here in CR... a rainbow circling the sun. Could you guys see this in the States?? I tried to capture it with my camera, but of course, it doesn't have the same effect. It was so bright and so dark all at the same time... all the ticos were out in the street yelling and dogs barking and ... the old lady down the street was sure Jesus was coming back. I have yet to see Jesus face to face today... but I'll keep you posted. :)

Costa Rican Independence Day

Soooo we just celebrated what felt like the 4th of July here, except it's on September 15th. The freedom story of Costa Rica is quite interesting, very fitting with their passive international policies. Apparently there was a night meeting of the Costa Ricans and Spaniards where the Costa Ricans were requesting their freedom from being a Spanish colony, and many Costa Ricans lit their lanterns and walked to the cabin where the meeting was taking place. The tico's purpose in doing this was to show that they were united as a would-be country, but the Spaniards understood that with all the lanterns and commotion outside the cabin, that the ticos were planning a suprise attack and now had them surrounded. So the Spanish signed that Costa Rica was free and ... they became free without fighting.
So now the tradition is for every school to have lantern making contest and night parades. Our school has a day parade just around campus, but some schools block off all the streets around and have real parades.

Anyway, here's a peek at our parade and my 4th graders!! :)
Lily and Savannah

Camila

Skylar

Mariana

Arianna

Loving Kids

To sum up love simply is to just admit that it's hard. Sometimes really hard. I have glimpses of how hard it is as I work with kids 7 hours a day, but I think I'm only just beginning these discoveries.

The student that I am most on top of to stay on task, to always be following directions, to only go to the bathroom when the class goes, to keep reading, to finish assignments.... today he told me 4 times how much he loved me. Complete with hugs and everything. Wow. I feel like I'm so tough on him every moment of every day. . . and here he's hugging me and telling me I'm the best teacher ever.

Another aspect of love is the ability to laugh. Today I told one of the girls that my favorite pet here in CR is named Tequila. She looked at me in disbelief and asked if I knew that was a kind of alcohol. I told her that yes, I knew, but Tequila was also my pet dachshund's name. We both laughed about that misunderstanding... that my favorite pet was a type of alcohol.

Love. What else will I learn today?