Giving Kids a Camera Can Be Dangerous...

...for your self esteem, for your idea of ''classroom management'', for your timetable of what needs to get done in the 2 minutes before the bell rings... etc. :) Here's what last week´s CameraLady captured of me in action...

 the thinking, slightly confused Miss Siscoe...

 the I'm-just-smiling-to-humor-you Miss Siscoe...

 the caught-in-the-headlights Miss Siscoe...

and the hair-flipping-out-again Miss Siscoe.

Hard Life Lessons

I think that when people living in the U.S. think of what it´s like to live in another country, they think of the exotic beaches, the beautiful handmade goods, beautiful weather and landscapes, the cheaper cost of living... but what they don´t think about is that you´re only real-life access to your family is via Internet, that you have to speak another language to navigate yourself (well, at least here you do), that there´s rainy days here for months at a time, that people try to cheat you out of money because foreigners (North Americans) are assumed to be richer, etc.

Something that´s been on my mind lately is thinking, ''Well, when I move back to the States, this _______________ won´t happen anymore.'' (I put a blank there because I fill that blank with many different things, like ''culture differences,'' ''language barriers,'' ''people charging me more for my groceries because I'm a foreigner,'' ''confrontation in friendships.'') However, I have to keep reminding myself that just because I return to the U.S. will not make those problems go away. In fact, it might make language barriers harder because then I´ll be interacting with the U.S. melting pot version of Spanish where everyone has their own accents and vocabularies according to what countries they are from... It might also make culture differences more difficult as I am the one who has changed a lot culturally in the last couple years and I will have to learn to communicate my differences in my beliefs based on the last two years of living-abroad experiences.

And I have to remind myself big-time that confrontation in friendship will probably never go away, no matter where I live. Sure, there will be moments when I have to speak up about something that's bothering me and moments when everything is fine. And my current living situation doesn't guarantee healthy and committed relationships...

Thank goodness, God's got all the details. He knows where I'll be in a year and how He'll be providing in a year. He also knows that I'm right here on my couch right now and how He'll provide for my needs today and tomorrow and the next day and the next... I'm so thankful that no matter where I live, He's got my back.

¿Cómo se llama?

Yesterday, I asked at the customer service desk at PriceMart (think Sam's Club) if they could call a taxi for me. The lady said sure and asked for my name. I told her ''Kathryn'' because that's just easier to explain in Spanish than ''Kate'' is. She wrote my name and my taxi number on a ticket and handed it to me to go wait outside. She spelled my name C-A-T-E-R-I-N-G... um, that´s a new one!

School from a 5th Grader´s Perspective

We just went through ''job training'' in 5th grade this week, so students are busily and purposefully going about their jobs. One job is new this year -- CameraMan. I am allowing students to use my old camera that I bought in 2004 to document our class memories. (We agreed on the consequences for breaking the camera is Saturday School.) I told them I would use the photos for a slide show of memories. :) What they didn´t know is that I would also be using the photos for newsletters and the blog! :)

Hiding from the camera at the class meeting.

Studying hard.

I often forget that students look ´´up´´ at me, that they don´t see on my eye level.

Reader´s Theater with puppets.

The photographer taking pictures of himself.

They give each other smiles for the camera that they wouldn´t give me :)

We are in process of doing an experiment with calcium... What would happen if we didn´t have any calcium in our bones? (Put an egg in vinegar for 2 or 3 days and the vinegar takes the calcium out of the egg shell... then the egg bounces :))

And the egg fizzing away.



Costa Rica Video

Perhaps this video is propaganda to get you to visit Costa Rica... I have experienced many things in the video, and yet I am amazed at how much I still want to do (like see hammerhead sharks and whales!!). While I do wonder about the statistics when it claims that CR is one of the cleanest countries in the world (um, what about the garbage in the street outside my apartment? or the polluted air that gives my lungs so many problems??), it is a beautiful country once you get out of the city, as this video shows. Enjoy! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58nbhSzFzZg

Introducing... Michelle!

This is my new roomie, Michelle. She´s Chinese by heritage, Costa Rican by birth, and North American by where she was raised. She speaks English and Chinese fluently and is currently learning Spanish :). She´s also enjoying making me try new foods like pig´s ear, cucumber and clam salad, and pickled ginger.

Here´s us at the parade this morning.

A cool pic of Michelle and our friend Melissa in San Pedro.

And trying to act cool while we were actually really tired sitting on the couch. We both get goofy when we´re tired!

Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica!!

I wish I could take credit for this hilarious photo... but I can´t. I totally found it on Google. Costa Rica's colors are also red, white, and blue, so this dog could be from either country (U.S. or CR)... not really sure which is accurate :).

Tomorrow is ''el quince de setiembre'' (think 4th of July) so we have the day off of school!! Michelle and I attended a traditional parade of lanterns this evening that all schools put on as part of the holiday celebrations. We were walking past Sojourn (the first school I taught at here in CR) and their parade had just begun. We watched the short ensemble go by and I waved at many students and teachers that I still know. I saw one of my past students, now in 5th grade, and she came over to give me a hug. Before I knew what was happening, I was surrounded by 7 or 8 of my old students, all jabbering in Spanglish and telling me how much they missed me and how school was really different without me. One girl had tears in her eyes and my empathetic heart sprung into action and I also started crying! I soon realized the kids had just left the parade line completely and were standing there talking to me instead of continuing with the other students, so I walked the rest of the block with them until we got back to the school gate. A flurry of good-bye hugs later, I was left to give them back to God again, trusting that He is continuing to care for them and love them even without my presence in their daily lives.

All of that to say, Happy Independence Day, Costa Rica!! :)