Crack the Code

As a teacher, I am daily trying to ''crack the code'' that each student is communicating to me as the authority and to their classmates. A daunting task to say the least. God is amazingly creative and has created each of my 22 students so differently that I am sometimes overwhelmed by the list of diverse needs.

I have 4 ''tough guys'' in my class this year, and I cracked 3 of the boys' codes last semester. I now know that one really needs to be offered a choice as he likes to have a sense of power, another appreciates a conversation (sitting side-by-side :)) about how he can do better next time, and the third responds well to when I ask him ''How can I help you next time in that situation?''

I was also able to establish personal connections with these 3 last semester through asking them about their fencing class, the baby brother, the older sister, etc.

So that leaves the 4th and I think I finally made advances this week. He and I had an ''expectations meeting'' on Tuesday to clarify what I expect of every student in class, and after clarifying expectations, he had a couple of great days. Then the bomb came on Thursday morning when he started acting out during the math lesson, making noises to distract classmates, making faces to get attention and laughs, etc... I went over to his desk and asked ''Do you have questions about the assignment?'' and he asked me several questions, then got right back to work. Could it be that he gives up on the concept and begins to act out because he doesn't understand?

My hypothesis was correct again today as he became outwardly stressed during computer class because his computer wasn't working. He wasn't able to finish the project and became visibly irritated and began making fun of classmates. I walked over, asked ''How do you feel about your computer not working?'' He responded ''I feel stressed.''

Progress: he stated how he felt. His face said he wanted to do well, to understand.

Cracking codes are part of my job... among many other things!

Painting with Santiago

 Natalia got out the paints last Sunday...

 And it lasted for (maybe) 10 minutes...

 Then we were off to other adventures...

 like rock-collecting.

 and hide-and-seek.

 and posing for photos.

 and hugging the Virgin Mary statue.

 trying out our new sandals...

 one last pose...

and then he turned his back and wouldn't look at the camera anymore.

I'm a Bad Blogger and I Know It

Okay, you don't need to tell me. Yes, I know. You feel left out of my Costa Rican life and would really like to know what's up.

Haha, that's a narcissist statement if I ever heard one! While I haven't updated in over 2 weeks, I also know your lives don't revolve around mine :)

That said, life has been crazy here. I flew to back to Costa Rica Feb. 5th after two necessary weeks at home with family. The summary of my last 12 days can be summed up in what my nerdy teacher self would call a phrasal verb: catch up. From whirlwind review with fractions and hydrosphere units to grading endless mountains of papers to hearing from students all the substitute injustices they experienced to long spanish conversations... I've just pretty much been exhausted after 7pm every night... with more papers to still grade. BAH

I had joined a gym for a month before the family emergency, so now that I'm back, I'm putting it to good use. From the elliptical to the taebo/pilates classes, I am enjoying the emotional outlet. Could be why I'm so tired after 7pm :)

Also, through a connection my tico family has, I got a translation job writing English subtitles for a destination travel TV show. Random, I know, it just kind of came out of nowhere. But hey, they're paying me to study Spanish, so for now, it's working out.

So that's a summary. Busy.

Students have expressed their gratitude that I am back. It's good to be appreciated :) and I've received so many compliments about my fraction-teaching skills, haha. ''Miss Siscoe, you're so much better at this than the subs were!'' ''Math goes by so much faster when you're here!'' Just what a busy teacher needs to hear.

So with that, I'm off to bed. Again, I apologize for the lack of posting... I have photos of tico family adventures to post soon!

A Eulogy in Photos

Lyneal Weston Siscoe was my grandpa. There are many reasons he was the best grandpa I could ask for.

 Reason #1. He gave bunny ears mercilessly.

 Reason #2. He shared his toys with his grandkids.

 Reason #3. He made floats for local parades.

 Reason #4. We played dress-up in his work clothes.

 Reason #5. He was strong enough to carry us.

 Reason #6. He used to be young too... even though I don't remember :).

 Reason #7. He was the youngest of 14 kids... He's the baby in this photo!

 Reason #8. Grandpa danced the YMCA all by himself at his daughter's wedding.

 Reason #9. He married my grandma! :)

 Reason #10. He raised some cool kids.

 Reason #11. He made us stand in a sunflower field for a summer photo.

 Reason #12. He bought a motor for his paddle boat.

 Reason #13.He gave us rides whenever we needed it :).

 Reason #14. I was his first grandbaby :).

 Reason #15. He would read to me.

Reason #16. He always let us drive.

Scoring Bonus Plane Miles

So I flew back to Costa Rica last Tuesday, thinking I was saying good-bye to friends and family for 5 months. Then Friday night, Mom called to say Grandpa had a stroke and that I should consider going back to Illinois to be with family. On Saturday, Mom called and told me to buy a ticket, so Sunday, I was back on a plane to Peoria, Illinois. Four airports, three plane rides, and 2,500 frequent flyer miles later, my Uncle Jason picked me up at the airport.

So here we are, the whole family (the adults) at the hospital, sitting with Grandpa in his room in the neuroscience intensive care unit. Like my dad's cousin said, the hospital is never a place you want to be, but it's definitely a place you need to be in times like these.

I think I finally graduated from the kid level to the adult level of my family. I mean, this process takes a while because all the adults (grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents) see you as a child the first 18 years of your life and then all of a sudden you want to be treated like an adult, but it takes a while of ''proving'' that you're an adult before everyone actually sees you as and treats you as an adult.

The Message paraphrase of the Bible says something like ''hard times bring out your true colors.'' Our family is experiencing the emotional rollercoaster together, and I'm really glad I came home to be with everyone. I mean, you can't DO anything in times like these... all you can do is BE. So I'm being with my family and experiencing laughter and tears all within minutes (and the long hours).

Next Sunday when I fly back, I will earn 2,500 more frequent flyer miles... that makes 7,500 miles in 13 days for my Continental OnePass account... a bittersweet bonus to this week's events.

Plane Window Photography

I've heard that many people prefer the aisle seat when riding an airplane. The two reasons I am given are that you don't have to look out the window (and think of the ''what ifs'' of flying miles above ground) AND easy access to the bathroom without the awkward request for 2 other people to get out of their seats in order for you to make your way to the ''lavatory'' (as they are commonly called on planes, haha).

I, on the other hand, love the window seat. Despite the occasional awkward bathroom request, I don't mind one bit. Why? Great photography ops! :)

 So I was taking photos of the clouds... and I know during winter in the States, it's pretty normal to go weeks without seeing the sun. Being above the clouds in a plane got me thinking that just because we can't see the sun from our viewpoint doesn't mean it's not there. The sun is still there, it's just above the clouds.

 Sometimes I think we think of God in a similar way... just because we can't ''see'' Him working means He's not there... the sun reminds me that it's there, no matter if I can see it or not.

So there were lots of clouds and I was fascinated with the different textures on the top. Now I know there's a whole science behind what texture means what kind of cloud it is, but I am not a meteorologist, so I was thinking of the clouds in more artistic terms... that it would be really fun to create cloud textures :).

 The moon was in the sunset. This photo looks like a satellite photo to me :).

And then there was a really pretty thundercloud during the sunset...

...and I caught the cloud's lightning in the photo!!! I have tried this before with no success, and this is the only one of about ten attempts that I was able to capture it :).

Warp

It's amazing to me how quickly life can change. I feel like in the last 24 hours, I went through a time warp, a culture warp, a language warp, and a weather warp. That's a lot of warping for one person to do in 24 hours, but I make this warp every time I travel back and forth between Chicago and San José...

Time warp. There's no time change on the clock between the two cities (except during Chicago's Daylight Savings Time), so I guess it's better to describe the time warp as a couple decades or something. Fashion is even more 80s thrown in with today's fashion must-haves (think tight leggings with a hot pink shirt with matching shoes and hoop earrings). Technology is the same here but it's not as common... and maybe I feel like it's a time warp because I'm car-less again... so I feel 15 again, with the frustration of wanting to go places but no way to get there. Well, I always have the bus, but it's just not the same as having your own car.

Culture warp. I am quickly reminded that I am a minority while walking in the street. Conversation is slower as I say hello, ask how is your family, and what are your plans before I can get to my gringo point of the convo.

Language warp. English Spanish swap... a.k.a Spanglish on the brain. This one is hard to explain unless you have experienced it for yourself. It's like you forget words in the language you are speaking but you can remember the words in the language you are not supposed to be speaking... makes for an interesting conversation when you're trying to describe vocabulary without knowing the actual word (example: you might describe a gorilla as ''tall black monkey'')...

Weather warp. Cold, snowy winter to warm, sunny summer. I'll take a weather warp any Illinois winter day :).