Field Trip

Our Spanish classes took a field trip to a factory where they dry wood to make all kinds of jewelry, wind chimes, bead curtains, purses, etc... basically whatever you can think of, but all out of wood. These items are sold all over Costa Rica as tourist souvenirs.

The racks of wood drying... They said the wood has to dry from 6 months to 10 years.

Nothing to do with the wood, but I really like this photo. Jared on the right and Avery on the left.

Wood beads in process...

A carving of two horse heads...

My friends Caroline and Jared... I know it has nothing to do with the wood factory, but I really like this photo that I took :).

My conversation teacher, Lissette, and I.

My grammar teacher, Marlene, and I.

Volcan Arenal Otra Vez!!

Last time I visited the fabulous town of La Fortuna was when my Aunt Janna and Uncle Jason travelled here in December... and the time before that was more than a year ago when my friend Jaclyn and I came here to "preview" Costa Rica...

This time I was with a group of students from the intensive course... This time we upgraded to an actual hotel instead of a hostel, and we took a van instead of public buses! Wowee!

The group in front of the waterfall... we hiked all the way out there in the pouring rain. It was so much fun and so cold and so, well, cold. My hands were purple at one time... and we were utilizing one of the guy's techniques for avoiding hypothermia. Good memories.

Here's the upgraded hotel :)
And the upgraded transportation. :)

Manuel Antonio Otra Vez!

I mentioned a while ago our impulsive beach trip to Manuel Antonio, and here's several photos finally! I travelled with a group of young adults who are studying in the same intensive course that Trish and I are currently in. ...but I just realized that I somehow forgot to take a group photo, so I guess I won't be able to show that one.... oops.

But I do have these cute photos of a monkey! :)

He was determined to get into the coconut...

...but then later on he stole someone's camera and dropped it from the trees... not a very friendly monkey.

Beautiful!

Summer Art Students

It's been good to have a high school teacher's schedule this summer and have different groups for short periods throughout the day. Here's some photos of various students...

6th graders ...

2nd graders... another 6th grader...

5th graders.... aka my past 4th graders ;)

Abstract Art

Here's a sneak peek of what I've been teaching in my Art&Design classes this summer. I know some of you might think, "Aw c'mon, Kate, I could paint that..." and you're right, you probably could... but what I teach in my class is that it's all about the process behind the finished product.

This process was to color one piece of paper with a secondary color (orange, purple, or green) and then to color two larger pieces of paper with the two primary colors that make the previous secondary color (for example red and yellow because they make orange, etc.). Then cut the smaller secondary paper in half and glue in the middle of the two primaries... Wallah! The secondary color looks like it's two different colors!!!

This process is to first design a glue stamp and let the stamp dry overnight. The next day, paint the stamp with the desired colors and then stamp another piece of paper... Wallah! Abstract art! The kids loved this project because all the results were so different. Paper mosaics were also a big hit... we were working with organic shapes (aka torn construction paper) to piece together whatever our minds concocted!

And basic line drawings... the rule was that the kids had 10 minutes to draw a shoe, but they couldn't pick up their pencil! Some just started scribbling after a couple minutes, but there were a few that turned out really well.

Happenings

alright, ready for the random happenings in Costa Rica?

Summer school is in full swing... and then the Administrator of Health and the Administrator of National Security (or something like that) makes a national decision that all schools, churches, and stadiums must close for the next week to stop the spread of the swine flu. There have been 6 fatal cases here in Costa Rica and since there´s only 4,000,000 ticos, I guess 6 is a big number to them. Sooooo the students won´t be attending school at Sojourn next week, but us teachers still have to go in to work... What will we do without students? I´ll keep you posted... I´ve heard rumors of painting classrooms and heavy duty cleaning.

Spanish classes are humbling, trying, challenging, stretching, growing. I am daily praying Philippians 4:13 and 2 Timothy 1:7 to prepare myself for being humbled once again. Even amidst the challenges, I trust God is pushing me and challenging me and requiring me to lean on Him even more every moment of every day. My latest Spanish assignments: To explain how to butter bread, To explain how to brush your teeth, To interview a Bible character, To give steps for a recipe, To defend my opinion on various topics. Some of these tasks are difficult in English, let alone Spanish!

And as far as posting photos goes, I still have daily battles with the Internet... and I´m losing the war. They will come!

I am joining a group to travel to the Arenal Volcano this weekend... lots more adventures in store!

8 days until I´m back in the States!!! It´s crazy to think (and even a bit crazier to say) that I have lived here 11 months and I have only been in the States 10 days of those 11 months! But we are about to change that :)

San Jose Photo Shoot

We found a tiny door...

and then Judit took a photo of me with it because I'm a "giant" as she calls me.

Judit modeling with the garage door.

an awesome store

The little plaques surrounding the door are scenes from a famous Spanish play...

the Mexican embassy.

the National Library that keeps all the thesis of Master's students... Judit's thesis is now there too!

a cork tree... I didn't know cork is from a tree!

steps in Parque Espana

See no, Hear no, Speak no evil.. with cats... I thought you would like this, Kallie!

pictures to come from my art classroom :)