I can't believe it has been almost 7 months. It feels like just yesterday I was checking into the hostel and trying to find a job here. I am a little sad, but also very excited to go to Nicaragua for a week and little nostalgic to return to the States.
It was a great final weekend though. On Friday, I took my last Spanish lesson. It was a fun lesson and I learned some interesting expresiones idiomaticas that will be useful in the future. (andar por las ramas beat around the bush) (un pie aqui y otro alla Want to stay in one place, but also be somewhere else) y cosas asi. We also had our Christmas party for IESA on Friday night. It was at an amazing restaurant that served so many plates of chips, guacamole, fondue for appetizers. Then for the main dish was the best chicken, steak and fries that I've had since I've been here. IESA paid for the whole thing which also included many beers, margaritas and whiskey and cokes.
We finally had a sunny day on Saturday, so the roommates and I had a picnic with our tico friends. They are a very funny and nice married couple around our age. One of my roommates gave her classes, so they have been over a couple times to the house. The husband, whose name is also Michael, is pretty awesome and reminds me of myself. He loves sports, playstation, and drinking a few cervezas.
I have been relaxing mostly today (Sunday). I went to San Jose to watch some baseball. I talked to a Nicaraguan lady whose brother was playing 1st base for one of the teams. I told her about myself and Amanda and she thought it was really cool what we are doing.
I want to thank everyone who has been reading the blog. At first I thought it might seem a little superficial to do, but I am glad for all the great responses and interest people have shown. Thank you.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Update
I have been semi-busy the last two weeks so I will cram all the latest happenings into one post.
I started a new class two weeks ago and they are pretty awesome. Amanda would love this class. The first day of an advanced class I basically ask the students to do a few fluency drills and talk about some of their interests to see what level they are at, what grammar they need to work on, and what type of vocabulary they are working with. Anyway most of my students talk about their hobbies, sports, family or pets.
Not this class.
The female student talked about how she hates close-mindedness and told a story about how she tried to rescue a dying dog who was laying on the highway. My male student talked about how the United States has gotten way to involved in the affairs of other countries, especially in Latin America, and how he is excited about the new President in US. Both of these reponses were unprovoked, so I was amazed at the creativity and fluency they were able to speak with. I was not expecting these types of responses at all, but they are very good speakers and could express themselves very well in English despite not taking classes for 11 months.
I don't want to sound like a whiner, but it sucks I have to work on Thanksgiving. I have three classes on Thursday from 7-8:30, 12-2, and 5:30-8, so no football or turkey for me. But we did have a nice Thanksgiving get together at the office last week. We had a pot luck lunch (I think that is the term) and it was very good. There was chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, salad, vegetables, cake and sangria. I brought soda, but since there was alcohol and a room full of teachers mostly in our 20's, I was able to bring most of the soda back home unopened. The staff and IESA is great about organizing events like this and I will definitely miss them when I leave in December. We have one more get together on December 5th, an early Christmas celebration, and I hope it will be as fun and as crazy as the Thanksgiving celebration.
I started going back into the city on weekends to watch baseball again. Between all of the McDonald's, Taco Bell's, US tv shows, teaching English, and watching baseball, it hasn't been that much of a culture shock the past 6 months. It has been dissapointing that I haven't experienced as much of the culture as I would have liked to, but I am still trying. I try and make conversation with the locals at the baseball games and this week I had a pretty interesting time. The guy sitting next to me was pretty hilarious. He was an alcoholic and drinking casique straight from the bottle, but at least he was a happy drunk. He was yelling at the pitchers what pitch to throw, telling the hitters to take the ball to right field against the soft throwing left handed pitcher, and telling everyone to listen to him because he had played baseball for 14 years in the Nicaraguan pro leagues. We had a good laugh together making fun of one of the first baseman because he could not pick a ball to save his life. I was able to understand about 60 % of what he said, although he spoke a very drunken accented Spanish.
I am excited to see everyone for Christmas. Dissapointed that I am leaving CR when the good weather is about to begin, but excited to see the family. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and I will see you soon.
I started a new class two weeks ago and they are pretty awesome. Amanda would love this class. The first day of an advanced class I basically ask the students to do a few fluency drills and talk about some of their interests to see what level they are at, what grammar they need to work on, and what type of vocabulary they are working with. Anyway most of my students talk about their hobbies, sports, family or pets.
Not this class.
The female student talked about how she hates close-mindedness and told a story about how she tried to rescue a dying dog who was laying on the highway. My male student talked about how the United States has gotten way to involved in the affairs of other countries, especially in Latin America, and how he is excited about the new President in US. Both of these reponses were unprovoked, so I was amazed at the creativity and fluency they were able to speak with. I was not expecting these types of responses at all, but they are very good speakers and could express themselves very well in English despite not taking classes for 11 months.
I don't want to sound like a whiner, but it sucks I have to work on Thanksgiving. I have three classes on Thursday from 7-8:30, 12-2, and 5:30-8, so no football or turkey for me. But we did have a nice Thanksgiving get together at the office last week. We had a pot luck lunch (I think that is the term) and it was very good. There was chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, salad, vegetables, cake and sangria. I brought soda, but since there was alcohol and a room full of teachers mostly in our 20's, I was able to bring most of the soda back home unopened. The staff and IESA is great about organizing events like this and I will definitely miss them when I leave in December. We have one more get together on December 5th, an early Christmas celebration, and I hope it will be as fun and as crazy as the Thanksgiving celebration.
I started going back into the city on weekends to watch baseball again. Between all of the McDonald's, Taco Bell's, US tv shows, teaching English, and watching baseball, it hasn't been that much of a culture shock the past 6 months. It has been dissapointing that I haven't experienced as much of the culture as I would have liked to, but I am still trying. I try and make conversation with the locals at the baseball games and this week I had a pretty interesting time. The guy sitting next to me was pretty hilarious. He was an alcoholic and drinking casique straight from the bottle, but at least he was a happy drunk. He was yelling at the pitchers what pitch to throw, telling the hitters to take the ball to right field against the soft throwing left handed pitcher, and telling everyone to listen to him because he had played baseball for 14 years in the Nicaraguan pro leagues. We had a good laugh together making fun of one of the first baseman because he could not pick a ball to save his life. I was able to understand about 60 % of what he said, although he spoke a very drunken accented Spanish.
I am excited to see everyone for Christmas. Dissapointed that I am leaving CR when the good weather is about to begin, but excited to see the family. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and I will see you soon.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Useful Costa Rica Information
If someone happens to find my blog through google or searching the internet I figure I should have at least one post with useful information on traveling or living in Costa Rica. And if any of my relatives or someone reading the blog want some travel information: here you go.
Beaches
If you are looking for the most beautiful beaches I would recommend Manuel Antonio or Guanacaste. I have not been to the beaches in Guanacaste, but I have heard they are amazing. I should really get out there before I leave. Manuel Antonio has beautiful beaches, the most visited national park in Costa Rica, and good restaurants and nightlife. It is about a 4 hour ride from San Jose. There are public buses that go there for very cheap around $6. You can hitch a ride with some other tourists in a small minivan for about $10 a person. The vans usually fit 9 or 10 people. Or you can arrange your own private taxi (I have never done this, but I assume it would be pretty expensive, unless you could get a travel package online).
If you are a partier, you can try Jaco Beach. It has a lot of cheap hostels on the beach and some crazy nightlife, although you will be asked if you want drugs by just about every person walking on the street. The water is also very contaminated so if you go swimming you will get very sick. The beach is also kind of crummy, but it is still a popular destination for surfing and clubbing. If you want an upscale family vacation you can head to the Marriot Los Suenos in Jaco. It has a huge pool where you don't have to worry about contaminated water, a golf course, casino, 2 restaurants, gym and a spa. The public bus to Jaco is about $3 and takes a little over two hours.
There are many other great beaches that I have not got the chance to visit, but I have heard good things about Playa Limon (near Panama) as well.
Other tourist destinations
Arenal- Arenal is popular for it's volcano and national park. There are also hot springs and many zip lines or canopy tours.
Pacific coast- Many people come to Costa Rica for the deep sea fishing on the Pacific Coast near Panama.
Cruises, tours, rafting and scuba diving are also very popular throughout the country.
Living in CR
A few tips if you plan on retiring or want to work in Costa Rica.
Learn some Spanish- It is nice to be able to have a conversation and human interaction, even if communication is difficult. The Ticos really appreciate that you are learning their language and most will try and help you out.
Yes, that price is correct- Apartments in Costa Rica are normally about 1/3 the price of what a similar apartment in the US would run. i.e. (i.e. $900 studio in the US will probably be around 300 here in the Central Valley Area). However, food, gas, and electronics are much more expensive in Costa Rica. All electronics are imported so they are outragously priced. If you can get a tv from the states here than do it, because the smallest tvs here are at least $150. Food is also a little more expensive and gas prices are around $6 a gallon. Most Americans living here take the buses though. Buses go everywhere and are reasonably priced as well, which is why most Ticos take buses also.
Cost of living- So if you rent a 300 dollar a month apartment, spend about 50 bucks a month on transportation, (about average) 70 dollars on food, 80 on entertainment and other expenses, you can live pretty comfortably on $500 a month.
Teaching
I have been teaching English for 6 months here so I will try and impart a little knowledge.
Everyone wants to live in the beautiful part of the country and teach English, but it is almost impossible to do. Almost all the teaching jobs are in the Central Valley, San Jose area. Most of the jobs are teaching English to groups in big companies. The good news is that it is pretty easy to find a teaching job without any previous experience. I was hired by the company one day after I interviewed because I was a native speaker of English. Most jobs pay between 5 and 8 dollars per hour. The company I work for pays 7.50 an hour. There are only a few companies that will pay up to 10 or more an hour, but those require a CELTA or TEFL certificate and 2 years of experience. Most companies will not get you a work visa, so you are technically working illegally, although I have never heard of anyone who has gotten in trouble for this. You will have to leave the country every 3 months because of the tourist visa. One of my fellow employees has done 5 border runs, but said there is never any questioning at the borders, because in the end they really want the tourists money.
I know that was a pretty brief look, but if you have any questions or comments, leave me a message.
Beaches
If you are looking for the most beautiful beaches I would recommend Manuel Antonio or Guanacaste. I have not been to the beaches in Guanacaste, but I have heard they are amazing. I should really get out there before I leave. Manuel Antonio has beautiful beaches, the most visited national park in Costa Rica, and good restaurants and nightlife. It is about a 4 hour ride from San Jose. There are public buses that go there for very cheap around $6. You can hitch a ride with some other tourists in a small minivan for about $10 a person. The vans usually fit 9 or 10 people. Or you can arrange your own private taxi (I have never done this, but I assume it would be pretty expensive, unless you could get a travel package online).
If you are a partier, you can try Jaco Beach. It has a lot of cheap hostels on the beach and some crazy nightlife, although you will be asked if you want drugs by just about every person walking on the street. The water is also very contaminated so if you go swimming you will get very sick. The beach is also kind of crummy, but it is still a popular destination for surfing and clubbing. If you want an upscale family vacation you can head to the Marriot Los Suenos in Jaco. It has a huge pool where you don't have to worry about contaminated water, a golf course, casino, 2 restaurants, gym and a spa. The public bus to Jaco is about $3 and takes a little over two hours.
There are many other great beaches that I have not got the chance to visit, but I have heard good things about Playa Limon (near Panama) as well.
Other tourist destinations
Arenal- Arenal is popular for it's volcano and national park. There are also hot springs and many zip lines or canopy tours.
Pacific coast- Many people come to Costa Rica for the deep sea fishing on the Pacific Coast near Panama.
Cruises, tours, rafting and scuba diving are also very popular throughout the country.
Living in CR
A few tips if you plan on retiring or want to work in Costa Rica.
Learn some Spanish- It is nice to be able to have a conversation and human interaction, even if communication is difficult. The Ticos really appreciate that you are learning their language and most will try and help you out.
Yes, that price is correct- Apartments in Costa Rica are normally about 1/3 the price of what a similar apartment in the US would run. i.e. (i.e. $900 studio in the US will probably be around 300 here in the Central Valley Area). However, food, gas, and electronics are much more expensive in Costa Rica. All electronics are imported so they are outragously priced. If you can get a tv from the states here than do it, because the smallest tvs here are at least $150. Food is also a little more expensive and gas prices are around $6 a gallon. Most Americans living here take the buses though. Buses go everywhere and are reasonably priced as well, which is why most Ticos take buses also.
Cost of living- So if you rent a 300 dollar a month apartment, spend about 50 bucks a month on transportation, (about average) 70 dollars on food, 80 on entertainment and other expenses, you can live pretty comfortably on $500 a month.
Teaching
I have been teaching English for 6 months here so I will try and impart a little knowledge.
Everyone wants to live in the beautiful part of the country and teach English, but it is almost impossible to do. Almost all the teaching jobs are in the Central Valley, San Jose area. Most of the jobs are teaching English to groups in big companies. The good news is that it is pretty easy to find a teaching job without any previous experience. I was hired by the company one day after I interviewed because I was a native speaker of English. Most jobs pay between 5 and 8 dollars per hour. The company I work for pays 7.50 an hour. There are only a few companies that will pay up to 10 or more an hour, but those require a CELTA or TEFL certificate and 2 years of experience. Most companies will not get you a work visa, so you are technically working illegally, although I have never heard of anyone who has gotten in trouble for this. You will have to leave the country every 3 months because of the tourist visa. One of my fellow employees has done 5 border runs, but said there is never any questioning at the borders, because in the end they really want the tourists money.
I know that was a pretty brief look, but if you have any questions or comments, leave me a message.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Panama
My roommates and I had to do our three month border run this past weekend so we headed to Bocas Del Toro in Panama. It was very pretty, although it rained just as much as it does in Costa Rica. We did manage to get in a scenic bike rike in the jungle during a dry period. The nightlife and the hostel were pretty cool. It was split pretty evenly between locals, Europeans, Americans and other Latinos. It is always nice to get out of the city, eat good food and drink good beer. I am debating going to Nicaragua for a weekend before I leave for the States, but we'll see how things go.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
COSI: A true melting pot
The company I work for- Ingles Empresarial- shares the building with a Spanish school named COSI (Costa Rica Spanish Institute). So there are often new students coming in and out who are taking Spanish lessons. Anyway there was a new batch of students today that were there while I was lesson planning and I couldn't help but laugh out loud just a little bit. Most of the students are college kids from the United States, but this time there was a Japanese student and a girl from Switzerland trying to communicate and it was pretty funny because the Japanese guy didn't speak any English. So the Japanese guy is trying to ask this girl in his beginner Spanish why his internet isn't working and why hers is, and why his keyboard is screwed up. The girl is trying to explain back to him in Spanish, and her Spanish is even worse, so she has no idea how to say things like keybord or your computer is frozen and she is flayling her arms and trying to speak with arm actions and I am just dying. It was the guy's first day and he is so frustrated because he was trying to send this long letter in Japanese, but the internet is messed up like it always is at COSI. Anyone I felt a little bad laughing, but it was hilarious. And the best part was the guy was trying to teach her some words in Japanese when they were talking like "en Japones decimos blah blah" and the look on the girl's face was priceless because of course she had no idea what he was saying and wasn't trying to learn Japanese.
I picked up another class today. It is with a group of advanced student's in La Uruca, 15 minutes from downtown San Jose. I was getting a little bored with only two classes for about a month, but now I will have three again, so I am looking forward to it.
One hour until game one. GO RAYS.
I picked up another class today. It is with a group of advanced student's in La Uruca, 15 minutes from downtown San Jose. I was getting a little bored with only two classes for about a month, but now I will have three again, so I am looking forward to it.
One hour until game one. GO RAYS.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Latin Idol Madness
I know Costa Rica is a very small country, similar in size to West Virginia. But I never really gave it much thought until every single person in the Country was glued to the TV to watch the Tica singer compete in the finals a few nights ago. I am a softee and one of my students really wanted to watch the finals, so even though we had a half an hour of class left, I let them turn on the tv during class. It was pretty amazing at the bus stop on the way home to see everyone huddled around a small tv on a street corner to watch. The Tica lost, but I'm sure she will get to sign a record contract somewhere. I think someone even said Oscar Arias, the president of Costa Rica, bought her a car. Pretty crazy, but you gotta love it.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Mejorando
I am not even close to fluent, but I feel like my Spanish has improved a lot since I moved. One of the teachers I am living with is dating a Tico and one of my roommates is from Costa Rica, so when we are all together we only speak in Spanish even though it is four gringos and two costariccenses. Finally some practice! I have also stopped being lazy and started reading the newspaper in Spanish every day to try and pick up some new vocabulary. Although half of the words in the articles are circled, (because I don't know them) I think there is still some hope. Since my Tuesday-Thursday morning one-on-one student often has to reschedule for Monday, Wednesday or Friday morning classes, my teaching schedule is pretty sporadic so I don't really have time to take a Spanish class. I think after a month Christmas break I am going to take a month off of teaching and travel to another country to take Spanish lessons and live with a host family. I have heard pretty good things about Guatemala schools and also a school in Grenada, Nicaragua. Let me know what you all think.
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