We woke up Monday to a barely-there breakfast (one of the cooks wanted to make rice and eggs, but we didn't have eggs, so he decided to just serve tiny triangles of toast with some fruit). Kendall and I quickly whipped up some oatmeal, and I kept my mouth shut while washing dishes to prevent any snappiness (I'm mean when I'm hungry!). Then came the meeting during which I made at least 10 announcements covering everything from making enough food to participating in after-breakfast cleaning to cleaning your own dishes after you decide to buy and cook yourself a steak (you know, the obvious but apparently not so obvious responsibilities of "independent and responsible young adults"). I posted a status on Facebook which read, "It's been one of those count to ten type of days for which ice cream before dinner is a foregone conclusion..." After a day of material prep (basically herding cats), I walked to town and got an ice cream cone to clear my head before dinner. In conclusion, thank you God for common sense, Mom for teaching me to be independent, and Dad for never accepting stupidity.
Tuesday was FABULOUS (in a so-nervous-I-might-puke-but-this-is-still-so-cool kind of way). We woke up around 6am and arrived at Jesus of Nazareth school around 8am. The team split into two groups, A and B, in order to teach two classes at a time. Since Nazareth is a fairly large school, we only teach 4, 5, and 6 grades (as opposed to 1-6). Tuesday morning was 4th grade...all 5 classes (around 100 students total). We began by entering the classroom with Kendall introducing our group. After brief introductions (names and country), we formed our groups and circled up the desks. My and Javier's group (we teach in pairs) included 2 girls, Doris and Cristina, and 4 boys, Kendall, Jordin, Joseph, and Geral. Our lesson was an art/history lesson on Georges Braque. Everything went fairly smoothly (if I sounded like I didn't know what I was saying, Javier would jump in and cover me) and the kids' eyes lit up when they saw the art supplies (every lesson includes geography and an art project...even math!). The girls reminded me a lot of myself at that age (except quieter) and Kendall reminded me of my brother (intelligent but a pain in the ass). Our second class was mainly girls (definitely very cliquey) and our group included one boy, Franklin, and 4 girls, Nelly, Kimberlyn, Hillary, and Arelys. This group was slightly more challenging as Nelly completely shut down (she was angry that she wasn't in a group with her friends), Kimberlyn did all the talking (Me!), and the teacher wanted the kids to go to lunch instead of finishing the lesson...but we made it work and the artwork was wonderful. The other group stayed behind to teach a 5th class, while we went back to the dorms to prepare materials. All in all, a very productive day :
Today. Hmm. I had to make breakfast today (yea! cooking! ugh.) and decided that I wanted pancakes. So I tried to make pancakes. Operative word being tried. They were edible, but I threw bread on the table in case people were hungry after one pancake, some eggs, and some plantains and watermelon. Add in the fact that some of the guys think it's appropriate to leave the door open when they pee, (I had to run to the restroom in the middle of cooking to blow my nose) and I got to walk in on someone. During the meeting, I made the announcement to shut the door...the guys started to laugh but I quickly shut them up by stating that I passed my anatomy class in high school and didn't need another lesson.
I spent most of the day with a horrible headache and fell asleep during the morning meeting. I slept through lunch and then spent the rest of the day on material prep (we teach tomorrow). I've gotten to a point where I need support and I'm not "feeling the love" as I usually do. As I posted on Facebook, "Whenever school became rough, I had my hallmates and my Shakers. Whenever I had a bad day at work, I had my friends to make me smile. Now, all I can say is, I miss my support teams." Don't get me wrong, I have no problem being away from home (thank you Girl Scout camp!). It's just the frustration of working in a bilingual environment at a very low bilingual level and not feeling fully connected with the entire group. I felt great when I was in Nicaragua with the leadership team, but here in Costa Rica feels different. I only wish we could teach everyday so that I could be reminded of my goals and be inspired by the kids on a daily basis. Their smiles kept me going after a rough start to the week and I pray that they'll lift me up tomorrow.
I don't know, maybe I've just hit a rough patch (it's been almost 5 weeks!). Or maybe it's the fact that I'm not on my annual summer mission trip with my youth group which is occurring right now in North Carolina (it would have been my 5th summer!). Whatever it is, I hope the feeling passes quickly. I haven't been my usual laughing self (and as most of you know, that's just not normal).
Abrazos y besos.
P.S. I spoke before of having to deal with Wellesley's financial aid office...my dad and I figured everything out (I'm going to have to work my butt off to pay back these loans!) and I will be returning to Wellesley in the Fall. Hooray!
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