We Meet in Chairs and Shade

The way I ended up working so closely with Ramona, the Peace Corps volunteer in my area, is such a random story that I am convinced we were meant to be partners in these crazy projects.  All of our interactions are serendipitous - one there to help the other when she needs it... synergizing our skills to create things neither of us had previously imagined. 

All of this began from a delay on a plane a year and a half ago when I looked behind me and saw a guy in a peace corps shirt.  The rest was set in motion, just because I spoke to him.  Life is crazy like that... the way talking to one person can influence your life so greatly for so long after when you could just as easily not reached out in the first place.

Standing in line to get off the plane, I never imagined the things Ramona and I would be working on together now.
I brought her into the theatre and we did the play together.
She supported me in building my improv troupe and showed up to practice even when she was tired. 
She wouldn't let me give up when kids stopped coming, encouraged me to send emails, and went with me to hand out flyers. 
She helped me become a better English teacher and showed me the new techniques I needed to tame and engage my high school class.
She listened to me while I thought of how to create my creative presentation for my grad school interview.  She stopped me from "laminating" at my grad school interview ;]
She got us our first improv show.
She bravely yelled with me and joined the craziness that was guerrilla improv.  
She got me involved in Kids Saving the Rainforest and worked with me to create a "theatre for dialogue piece" for the camp.

Together, we learned lines we didn't even understand. We traveled to rural schools sharing the joy of theatre. We went over bridges in buses that normal people would be afraid to walk across. We processed life and the quirks of life in Quepos.  We laughed, cried, and continued on.  One batido at a time.  One crazy bus ride after another.  From airport drop offs in the middle of the night to trying to get our teenage improvisors home from a far away town... we always made it through together - "yes anding" all the way. 

Ramona and I.... we meet in chairs and shade.  We reminisced the other day about how we never really have planned or organized meetings, and yet we meet in the most random places at the perfect times that things need to happen.  We have planned camps on "a group's bench" at the colegio in the middle of the morning when we really had no reason to be there, planned the subbing of my English class at the "malecon" during the carnival parade, invented the plot of my process drama on the bus to San Mateo, learned lines in the batido shop, and randomly developed a theatre for dialogue piece/ rehearsed it in the oven like courtyard of PANI (child protective services) office.  We don't need fancy rehearsal spaces or offices.  We meet in chairs and shade and change the world one project-we-never-thought-we-could-do at a time. 

Thanks, Ramona. You've helped me to believe in myself and the projects I've created as well as the projects I know I can create in the future.  I am so grateful we were able to share this experience together.  And we sure did meet some incredible people along the way ;]

Aguaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

More Onomatopoeias in Spanish

"Purulum purulum" is the sound of something falling.  When that something hits the ground, it goes "pum!"

Example: I was walking when "purulum purulum"... me caí!

"pum" can also be used for something exploding.

Also, the verb for beep is pitar.  I wander what the onomatopoeia is for "beep beep"....? "pit pit?"  I'll have to do some research.

It is so important, though, in story telling to have these onomatopoeias mastered.  It's also so important to have the right vocalizations when saying expressive words like, "alláaaaaa!!!" It has to go up in pitch at the end to signify that it's super far.  Then, the pitch goes down again as if the thing that flew so far away is landing in a far off land.

I wish we were that expressive in English.  I want to say it was over theeeeeeerrreeeeeee in that way.  If I spoke the way I do in Spanish in English, people would think I was crazy.  I just might try, though... just for fun :] 

More Funny Things Students Say

"It's 90 dollars for head." - He meant to say "per head."

"The volcano explains!!!."  - After I explained that the word was explodes, she justified her answer by saying that the volcano is really angry and needs to explain that by exploding.  :]  Gotta love the justification.

"I'm going to throw this paper in the water basket."  - *waste basket

My students thoughts on racism: "We all breathe the same air.  Well, except for Mexico City... their air is polluted."

At the end of an essay test at the HS: "Moriah, I want to like you this summary :] "

In a summary of the movie Big Hero Six: "And he ends the university.  He is immortal because in the university he wears a good clothes."  I have no idea where he got this or what it is supposed to mean. 

My Favorite Student Responses - Conditional Tense

In the High School, I gave a test on the conditional tense and got some pretty amazing responses. The bolded parts of the sentence are the parts I wrote... they completed the rest. The ones that don't have bold, they wrote all by themselves. 

If I were a boy, I'd be a handsome boy.

If I met one person, I'd be kind. 

If I ate fish, I'd be dead.

If I were hateful, I'd apologize.

If I talked with a beautiful girl, I'd call all of my friends to tell them what happened.

If I was in problems, I'd call all of my friends to tell them what happened.

If I could have lunch with anyone in the world (alive or dead), I'd write a book.

If I could have lunch with anyone in the world (alive or dead), I'd choose alive. 

If I were an engineer, I'd create a Baymax.

If I were an adult, I'd be serious. 

If I were an adult, I'd run really slow.

If I could travel anywhere in the world, I'd go to my room. 

If I could travel anywhere in the world, I'd buy something for teacher Moriah.

If I could turn back time, I'd come back to school. 

If you felt sad, I'd make you happy. 



:]  They make me smile.  This kind of stuff is what makes being an ESL teacher so much fun. 

Reflections on Connections - and a BIG YES

"Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water,
the actions of individuals can have far reaching effects."
 - Dalai Lama

The past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about connectedness. About how I have gotten to where I am in life and all of the people I have interacted with along the way.  Stories appear in my mind like movie clips - vignettes in which each person clearly has an essential role in the development of the plot.  All of these characters have taught me something and helped me grow in some way.  

Then, I begin thinking about all of the stories I don't know... the movies that have not yet been written or are being written in this very moment.  All of those movies in which I am a supporting character.  The possibilities are endless and I will never see all of these movies.... but merely imagining them puts me in awe. 

This is one of the many reasons I love teaching.  Spending time with young people every day, challenging them to think about the world, supporting them in constructing their own identities, listening to their voices and helping give those voices power... these are the things I care about.  These are the things that make me say YES!

This is why I am PROUD to announce that I am saying YES to graduate school!!!!
I could not ask for a more positive, supportive, passionate, and creative learning community than the one at UT Austin's Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities MFA program. 

May I have the opportunity and courage to develop my skills of facilitation and be able to continually make a difference in the lives of those I interact with... laughing and playing all the while. 

Through All of the Differences, Seeing the Similarities

Sometimes you have to pick things apart to put them back together again. 

Sometimes you have to focus on all of the differences, all of the idiosyncrasies, all of the weirdness...

To come back to a point where you see similarities, the connection.

The happiness I find here is a part of me. 

This part of me will always be there.

No matter what river bank I pause on before jumping joyously back into the current. 

Cultural Norms as Exposed at Subway

I love observing.  In fact, I think that observing is one of my favorite activities... which is fortunate since it is something I can do anywhere. 

Today at Subway, I watched a Tico couple walk into Subway and stand, gazing confusedly at the process of ordering a sandwich.   It struck me that in Costa Rica it is common to have cafeterias where you hold your tray and pass through the line, asking for what you want on your plate. 

Maybe that's why they took a tray from the top of the trashcan - the discarded trays customers had left behind - and then proceeded to get into the wrong end of the line.  Once they realized the line was moving towards them instead of towards the food, they moved but carried their trays with them.  They looked so awkward and lost in this American style restaurant.  All of the odd looks I saw other customers in line give as they glanced their way and then back at each other in agreement.  Nobody speaking up to clue them in on these unspoken cultural norms we take for-granted. 

How interesting it was, though, to see this experience I have had so often from the other side...

A little piece of the US in the wrong country.  I guess you really do travel in a Subway ;]