Something to Appreciate about Grocery Stores in the US - the yogurt scavenger hunt

Pretend you walk into your local grocery store and wonder - hmm....what products will I be able to buy today...?

I'm pretty sure that when you go to the grocery store in the US there are the same products every time you go.... and if the store is out of something it is a big deal and people are disgruntled.  I think I can safely say, though, that usually you can expect that the product you buy there one day will be there the next time you go.

That is not the case, here.  I am constantly on a scavenger hunt for plain yogurt, fresh orange juice, and some days... even bananas.  When a little store runs out, that's it - no bananas until the next ones arrive.  No big deal.

The yogurt, on the other hand, I don't understand.  One store will have it one week and then I won't see it there for another month. There's not even a space for it... It is like it never existed.  Another store will have one or two containers and then never have it again.  Am I the only one in this town buying the yogurt and I keep using up the stock?

It definitely makes shopping more interesting... and more fulfilling when you find that one container of yogurt (possibly the only one for the month).  Today was not a successful yogurt day... It made me want to come  home. 

Creative Toasting - Who needs a toaster?

Finally Teaching High School

Ever since I graduated from high school in 2004, I knew I wanted to teach high school.  Here in Quepos, Costa Rica... 10 years later - I got my wish.  On February 4th, I started teaching an intermediate English class to 27 students in a bare little classroom that has a window with a jungle-view.  I definitely never imagined this ten years ago.

I started this post in early February and never published it.  The excitement and novelty of teaching HS quickly wore off as the month progressed and the behavior digressed. The early schedule (getting up at 5:30 everyday), the procedures in planning required by the school, and the classroom management issues I was having were taking a toll on my spirits.  It got so bad at the beginning of this week that a part of me was starting to consider other career options.  Another part of me, though, deep down inside knew that I didn't want to quit and that I could do this.... but how?

Thanks to some great support that I have, I came up with some ideas.  First, I've noticed that they are the worst on Mondays and whenever we work out of the book.  I think they are tired and bored.

Integrating Theatre Into an English Classroom – Community Building

I also realized that I had one advantage... they like the theatre games we play!!! They seemed skeptical at first, but now they ask if we can play "Bibity Bibity Bop." haha.  That was it... the key.

I decided to start the class with a game to warm them up and get them focused.  Then, move into journaling and other activities.  I'm going to try to incorporate more movement into the hour and twenty minute class.  That's a long time for a teenager to sit in a class.

Today I started class with a game of "Zap" and it was the quietest they had ever been.  The ones who came in late - the same ones who always come late and disrupt the class as they make their grand desk dragging entrance - looked sad when they saw they were missing the game.  After that, we did a tongue twister - Peter Piper - and then I moved without a beat into assigning seats from a seating chart.  The grumbling I had feared didn't happen and they moved into their new seats with minimal resistance.  It was amazing.

The rest of the class, they behaved like a different group than I had seen previously.  It was almost like they had wanted that to happen so they could control themselves better.  I don't know why it took me so long to do this... I guess I was afraid of fighting with them and felt like I didn't know them well enough to decide where to put them. I guess it's better late than never - and now I know they are malleable and that there is still hope.  I knew they were capable of it... I saw them in their other classes, working and engaged, and respectful.  I thought it was just bad in my class because I'm an outsider and they thought they didn't need to respect me.  Maybe I'm earning their respect. I am trying to get it across to them that I want to learn from them and that I care about them and their lives.  I am going to continue managing through soft eyes, high expectations, and strong kindness. 

I know there will be days of ups and downs, but hopefully we will continue in a slight upward motion together.

I'm grateful that I made it back from the edge of giving up.

Holding High Expectations

Una Pijamada de Tres

The Bank

I learned a lot at the bank today when I had to go to cash my paycheck:

1.  It will always take a long time.
2.  No cell phones are allowed in the bank.
3.  The guard at the door locks and unlocks it anytime someone needs to enter or exit.
4.  People who have babies or who are old or are with a business or have a disability get a priority ticket... which is almost everyone.
5.  It is cold. 
6.  They don't have a bathroom.

"Cualquier Cosa, Me Llama, Mori"

The first few days in my new appartment:

Feeling alone, a flood, no water, getting locked out of the bathroom, another flood, electricity going out, spotty internet...

But, each day my new land lady who lives in the front house (just across the laundry area) would say goodnight and then say "cualquier cosa, me llamas Mori....me llamas" It got to be a joke that every day there was something else to call her about.

Thankfully, things here have settled down and it is really nice to have my own space to work and rest in.  Also, my great friend helped me warm the house with a slumber party which was very happy :]

Everyone from the house and the repair guy from down the street in my bathroom at 11pm

Weirdness of the Week - Episode 3.14159

Shoe Repair Man - I fixed your Chacos, you just can't get them wet.
Me- um.... that's what these shoes are for.
Shoe Repair Man - hm..... well... not anymore.  

*also, I haven't gotten them wet and after just this week, the soles have already fallen off again. 
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Six year olds calling me "Rica, Guapa" from their porch as I walked by in my new neighborhood.

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Having a woman call me "muñeca" as I walked by her porch in my new neighborhood.
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Having a woman say, "gracias mi corazon" to me when I shined a light so she could see where she was walking in my new neighborhood.

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Seeing a man driving a car with a baby on his lap.... so that it looked like the baby was steering the car.

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Getting into a collectivo where my fellow passenger in the back seat was a 3 year old girl... standing like it was her job to ride.  Maybe the driver was her grandpa?  I never found out and I'm still wondering why she had a piece of newspaper stuffed into the back of her shirt. 

"Moriah, nunca voy a olvidar esta obra."

"Moriah, nunca voy a olvidar esta obra."  This one comment from one of my improv students, tonight after watching the play by the National Theatre, made me feel like everything I'm doing here is worth it.  

After just three weeks of Saturday improv classes, we have a small but strong group of 4-6 teenagers.  They want to be there, they're not afraid to look silly, and I can see them already building skills. 

Not only are they participating in my group, but they are becoming a part of the theatre.  Starting the improv group has brought adolescents into our theatre community.... and that, is sssssssssssooooooooooooooooooo beyond exciting.  Today, I told them that if they came back at 6:00 to help set up chairs and worked as ushers/sold food at the soda they could see the play for free, and that it was a great opportunity for them.  They came.  As we were all working together - setting up chairs to the beat of the pop music filling the theatre, I remembered what a community theatre builds.  What a space it creates for, especially, adolescents. I remembered the feeling that caused me to study theatre arts education in the first place. 

Watching the little group of them running the soda, laughing, making silly jokes about charging my water bottle rent for sitting on the table and charging service fees for handing people chips, I felt so proud that they were there.  And that maybe I helped a little bit to set this experience in motion for them.  And that maybe this beginning would lead to a journey that would continue far longer than the bit of the path I am walking with them....