La vida se acelera

Life has really picked up the pace here in Costa Rica this month. As soon as the volunteers left, we started our first week of teaching. Two days a week Leslie is teaching first through third graders reading, writing, grammar, and phonics. Miah is subsitute teaching for a month, filling in for the math teacher. It is hard work, but very rewarding. The students are kids from all over the world whose parents do not want them to attend Costa Rica public schools but cannot afford the big private school in this area. Therefore, most of the kids speak two if not three or more languages which makes us so jealous! It is especially difficult teaching the first graders though because a few of them are still struggling to grasp the English language, much less handle classes reading, spelling, writing, etc.

We also had another set of visitors, the newlyweds, Ryan and Shannon who were in Costa Rica for their honeymoon (congrats, you two!). They spent the first half visiting the Arenal volcano and then came to Guanacaste for some beaches and sunshine. Luckily, the rainy season is very late in starting this year so the weather has remained beautiful. As usual, the highlight of their stay was the sailing/snorkeling trip which we caught the very last day before the boat is dry-docked for the next few months. The water was the clearest we had ever seen it (the guides said the same thing). We found a giant manta ray and plenty of fish. We spent most of our time trying to catch a puffer fish, but to no avail. Our guide was able to catch a large lobster though and afterwards we took it to our favorite restaurant in Tamarindo for them to cook for us. Delicious!

We also went to a going away/birthday party for our Costan Rican sister before she left for the Foundation's scholarship program at LaGrange college in Georgia. It was our first proper Costa Rican party and they certainly do things right. They had a chef in from San Jose who cooked amazing appetizers and dinner. We also played Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Musical Chairs, and other such games that had been off our radar for too long. They had made a homemade piñata as well as balloons full of flour for the end of the night farewell. Our moment of glory came when we were able to win the married couples "guess your partner's answers" in Spanish. We were handsomely rewarded for our efforts with a blue duck butter dish.

The rest of the month looks like it will stay just as hectic. Three more sets of friends are coming to visit, but only two will be staying with us. A last hoorah before Chez Wander is empty for awhile. We are counting down the days until football begins!!

Go Pack!
Team Wander