Que Lindas Las Maestras!!

The beautiful employees of Sojourn Academy :). Mimi, Peggy, Else, Karol, me, Tricia.

Final Weeks of School

I've almost survived my first year of teaching! Wow, what an accomplishment! Haha... wasn't sure I would make it, to be honest. 

But here we are in some of the final weeks of school. 9 more days to be exact. I'm tired... exhausted is more like it. There's so many things to do still though and then summer school... I'm missing the feeling during college that when you are done with finals, you are completely done. You don't have to think anymore, you can just sleep, eat your mom's food, and sleep some more. 

What's that? I have to grow up? Ha, I wouldn't say living with a family and having a mom to cook for me still would be considered "growing up". But I would definitely say I'm growing up in the sense that ... well, there's no 4 month vacation involved in this period of life. Bummer...

So I'm exhausted and stressed about teaching summer school. I need an attitude adjustment and rest; There, Mom, I can prescribe myself! (She never thought that day would come... and probably still wonders if that day has come!) Pray for peace and contentment as I experience this time of transition.

On a more cheerful note, we have some fun events planned for this week. Tomorrow is a "Read-a-thon" and we're bringing pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to get comfy with our books. I'm super excited as I will be reading Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes to the 4th graders... and all the teachers are pulling a swap in the afternoon and we'll have another class for about an hour. I'll have the 3rd graders (in other words, my future 4th graders!) How exciting!

Then Friday we have a Field Day with games and races for everyone... I'm not quite prepared for that one yet, but I will be by Friday. 

I'll be sure to take lots of photos of both days :)

Costa Rica vs. Estados Unidos

http://ticotimes.net/photoreports/photos.cfm?paid=85#1

Check out this site for a soccer game I went to last night. The United States national team arrived earlier this week to play against the Costa Rica national team in the Saprissa stadium about a 30 minute drive from where I live. Of course we had to go and had been planning to go since March :). It was a good time, but the US team lost and I'm absolutely exhausted!! We got home around midnight and I got up at 5:30 to get ready for school this morning...

Tonight is an early-to-bed night.

Kindergarten Graduation

Friday was a crazy day for the 5 year olds -- they graduated!!! It's a little confusing, because they still have to come to school for the next three weeks... Trish is telling them now they're doing 1st grade work... ha, kind of. Here's a few photos from the ceremony:

Tricia's words.
How cute!!
A little brother waiting for the graduates.
Elijah, Alberto, Anthony waiting.

The whole class waiting to walk in! They're a little nervous!

Sojourn Adventures

I finally remembered to bring my camera to school again so now I have more photos to show you! Friday was "dress like your favorite book character day" so we were decked out in 4th grade. 

Annabel as Pippi Longstocking. 
Students working on their "Geography Levels". They are learning their U.S. states and capitals... practically by themselves! :) It's great, I love watching them during this time.
Diego... the only boy in the class. Poor guy.
The chaos after chapel time... putting away benches. And there's Miss V. as a character from a book the 5th graders read... I can't remember the name right now!
My students carefully listening in chapel... and poking each other.

A photo like the beginning of the year... now they're growing up! From left to right, our characters are Anne of Green Gables, Lucy from Narnia, Susan from Narnia, Gaby the student, Paula the student, Junie B. Jones, Diego the student, Brooklyn the student, Nicole the student, another Lucy from Narnia, Hannah Montana, and Pippi Longstocking. 

My favorite photos... Jump! 

The twins as Susan and Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia.

Good morning Gaby!!
And teachers at the 6th grade graduation reception. L2R Chrissy King, Kim VanArtsdalen, me!, Karol Massey, Kim Loosa. 

Judit's Coming to Chicago!!!

 "²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory..." Ephesians 3:20-21

My tica sister finally bought her plane ticket to Chicago! WOOHOO!!! She'll be joining me in the States from August 5th to August 12th and we'll stay with friends in the Elgin area as well as hang out with my family in downtown Chicago. I'm super excited!!!

Seriously, God is providing beyond my wildest dreams here in Costa Rica. I mean, a year ago I was panicking about whether or not I would have some kind of phone line to call the States, and now I have a Skype phone number, and English-speaking friends, and Spanish abilities, and art conversations in Spanish, and a job that I love, and even friends who want to come see where I am from!!! 

Wow, God is good. 

Teacher Nightmare

A little shout-out to teachers in enclosed buildings.... Our school is more like a campus than one enclosed building, so when it rains, life suddenly becomes very complicated... especially with 12 students in tow. 

So we are at the bathrooms for our afternoon break. The typical afternoon clouds have moved in and thunder and lightning have been announcing their presence for an hour or so... when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it starts to pour. And I mean, really pour. Like, buckets. And then it begins to blow. Like, straight sideways, right into the hallway we were in. The kids are standing in line, and the rain is blowing all over them... Of course, they're loving it and dancing and yelling and carrying on... 

So we ran back to the classroom and then we were all soaked. We smelled like wet dogs, too, but we couldn't open the windows because the rain was blowing right into the windows! Oh geez... so we smelled and suffocated for the last hour of school. 

What an adventure.