It has been another good day observing the local elementary school.  The week flew by, and Spanish classes have been going very well.  It has been very interesting to observe the elementary school classes, and to teach some lessons to the kids in English.  I've been noticing how much the school system here differs from the system in the United States.

It has been harder to talk with my host family, and at times it is a little uncomfortable not being able to understand everything that they say.  The more I learn in Spanish every day in class, the easier it is to converse with my family.  I am very engaged in my Spanish class because of the activities that we do.  It is hard to pay attention in class when we are just going over verbs or memorizing nouns.  But when we play interactive games like Pictionary and Scrabble, I find that I learn more Spanish vocabulary.

The first week flew by.  It was very fun living with my host family, taking Spanish lessons, teaching kids English, and walking around the city.  After a calm and relaxing weekend at Manuel Antonio beach, we are back to taking Spanish lessons again at CPI in Monteverde.  My new host family is very nice, and I think that I will enjoy Monteverde even more than Heredia.  My Spanish is slowly getting better day by day, so it becoming easier to communicate with my host family.

Yesterday was a long day of learning.  Emmanuel Cheverrie Alforo came and talked about the school system in Costa Rica and how it differs from our system in the United States.  The main problems with education here are: families cannot afford to pay for books, children's parents do not encourage them to learn English because when their parents were younger they didn't take English, and it is better to get a job right after high school in order to make more money instead of going to a university.

My host family was very welcoming.  My mama tica showed me around the house, showed me my room, then served me some very tasty chicken and rice.  We talked for a couple hours and I visited with Ashlee and Bardin, since they live in the 2 house right next to me.  We talked, ate dinner, and I tried to understand everything that they were saying.  I found that I understood more Spanish than I thought I would.  Last night, after 4 hours of Spanish classes, I spoke to my host mother with ease.  The one day of classes helped me a lot with my Spanish so it looks like I'll be speaking Spanish even better by the end of this week!

The beginning of the trip

It has been a great first 2 days in Costa Rica.  Yesterday we ate great food and had time to get used to the time change.  Today was a fun journey to the mountains to see some amazing waterfalls and wildlife.  Tomorrow, we meet our host families.  My biggest fear of living with my host family is not being able to communicate what I want to say to them.  Other than that I look forward to having a wonderful experience teaching at the local school.