While part of me is starting to feel like I've been here forever, most of me still can't believe I've been here teaching for a month (exactly on Friday!). And I think I have made it through most of the storm for now. Exams were last week, parent conferences this week, and then the dust SHOULD settle. That doesn't mean it will because nothing here every goes as planned, but I can rest knowing that I can plan like a normal teacher and not have to catch my students up for exams that I had to make up without knowing what's been covered!
And MAN am I glad last week is over! After a "normal week," last week had me frazzled, I will admit, and I don't usually get frazzled easily, if that is any indication. Exams were last week, and after I had prepared my students as best I could...they all got sick. HA! Que typico! We managed to get through exams though, and my nerves began to settle as I began to grade them. To my somewhat surprised delight, my students did well!!! We had all A's on the science report (of course, since they loved doing that!), only one B in English, and only 1 B and 1 C in Math! I was proud of my students, especially since the last trimester had been chaos for them!
We had a half day on Friday - we get half days on the last Friday of each month for planning = I was getting reports cards done at lightening speed so I could leave early instead of plan. Grades were coming in, Zahra was helping me with the math and percentages of each grade, and I wrote comments for each student.
Then Thursday morning happened.....Like I've said before, I don't have much experience with little, little kids like my Materno girls, but I like to think I am getting the hang of it really fast. My baby Oreo has helped me hone my motherly instincts as well HA! So we're sitting there in circle time, first thing Thursday morning, and one of my girls gets this look...A look of terror and panic and confusion. I didn't know what was happening, but my instincts told me she was about to vomit. Like, gonna-blow-any-second kind of throw up. I. WAS. RIGHT. Thankfully, our bathroom was close, and my attempt to rush her to the toilet was not wasted. No, we did not make it to the toilet, but we avoided friends, clothes, a parent, the super absorbent mat we sit on, most of her shoes, and me! We had only made it into the bathroom, but at least it was tile. This could have gone a lot worse. I just pictured her throwing up on a friend (maybe in her hair), then that girl puking on another friend, then friends running around stepping in it and tracking it everywhere, and me crying like I was their age. That's how this COULD have gone down, but thankfully it didn't! Whew. It was a close one.
So after that, she just bopped around like she was fine, drinking her water. I should have known better....you ALWAYS feel brand new after you get it out of your system. Well....It wasn't maybe an hour later and I see THE look again....Oh no. Not THE look. Again, we rushed to the bathroom, but only made it onto the tile. Also, this time, she threw up twice, and it was almost entirely the water she had been chugging. Still, better than the said situation that COULD have happened.
WHAT A MORNING. That morning turned into exams for my older kids, and soon, Thursday was Friday. THANK GOODNESS. Friday was only a half day, and I had planned to take Zahra to Matapalo for the somewhat long weekend. It was Nela's birthday too, and she was going, so we all rode together. Friday night, Nela and her roommate Maria were going to Martinez, the only bar even CLOSE to Matapalo, to sell their coffee and scrubs. Martinez was having a big party with a pirate theme, so Zahra and I decided we'd go. I tell you, the people watching was fantastic. Tourists, expats, locals, semi-locals, family (yes children), and friends all gathered at the local watering hole for dancing, beer, and handmade arts and goodies. People of all ages were having a great time, and some of them came up with some really creative, limited resource pirate costumes! Towards the end of the night, the dancing picked up, and I ended up dancing with this older man....Turns out, he's the dad of one of the surfers I met last time I was there. Small town, go figure. He twirled me around in Salsa, and for 60, he did well!
After a fun night Friday night, Zahra and I were expecting to just chill, maybe do a little hiking or something on Saturday. Well remember how I said things here never go as planned? Well, they don't. We relaxed on the beach all morning, and when we were walking up to our kitchen for lunch, we heard a whistle behind us. We turn around, and there's Pollo's dad (surfer's dad from last night), sitting on a horse....Hm....Okay. So we went back, talked to him, and he offered to take us horse back riding! OF COURSE I was gonna take him up on that offer! I love horse back riding! We ran up to our platform to get shorts, shoes, and lunch, and since Zahra had never been on a horse before, I went first. I got up in the saddle, and Pollo's dad got on the back. Off we went, up the main "road" in Matapalo. The road is more like a rocky, off road path...We rode all the way up this jungle road to Playa Pan Dulce, the swimming/beginner surfing beach. The horse, Canella (Cinnamon), apparently loves the beach, so she was ready to run! But, with two people on her back, we had to keep her to a trot at most. After Pan Dulce, we rode back down towards Playa Matapalo, and stopped by at Playa Backwash, which is like the intermediate surfing spot. This is where Nela, Alyssa, Drew, and I had hung out one night last time I was in Matapalo. Finally, we headed back to the beach at the end of the road (Matapalo beach) and it was Zahra's turn. The whole ride had taken about 30-45 minutes maybe, and I am proud to say I held a conversation, IN SPANISH, for almost the entire trip! Plus, he helped correct me so I could learn better Spanish. When we got back to our beach spot in front of Kapu (our hostel), Zahra was gone, so he offered to show me his farmhouse and his rental house. Sure, why not!? He owns all the land next to Kapu, so it was literally next door. His house was so humbling and beautiful in it's own way. No doors or windows really, just a concrete frame and roof and the necessities inside. However, it was situated on the edge of the jungle on a clear stream, and the back room was literally 4 walls about thigh high and a roof over head. It felt like you were right there in the jungle, living with all the animals! So pretty! It was all anyone needed, and I loved it. His rental house was much fancier, and seemed like a nice retreat. He didn't have it rented out at the moment, so if anyone is looking for a cheap second home, I can put you in touch! Haha! We walked back to look for Zahra, and she was there this time, so we sold her on the idea of going on a short horse back ride. (Afterwards, she admitted she liked it!).
Saturday night, we get back up to our hostel kitchen, hungry and ready to eat when we realized........OUR FOOD WAS GONE. No, the monkies didn't steal it - although we were told they would steal our eggs so we put them in the fridge earlier. We had also put some leftover rice and beans and our bread in the fridge, and those were the only things left. We managed to find our beloved tabasco sauce, and I dug up a box of mac and cheese in my backpack. So, for three meals, we had rice, beans, mac and cheese, and hot sauce all mixed together (the mac and cheese was just like putting cheese on the rice and beans in our minds, so it worked). Ahhh...never a dull weekend in Matapalo. Yet, I always come back so refreshed and clear-headed. Maybe it's the adventure, change of scenery, beach, spontaneity, roughin' it, being off the grid, or likely a combo of all, and I love it. I could probably live there for at least a few months if I had just one good friend or family member. Any takers?!?!
Sunday was full of absolute laziness. I didn't move from my towel in the sun, except when it was completely necessary. And I was NOT complaining. Just what I needed after a crazy week!
We caught the famous collectivo home Sunday evening, and I ended up talking to the guy sitting next to me. Turns out, he's a tour guide in the Corcovado National Park! He grew up right outside the jungle, and didn't learn to read and write in Spanish until he was 23 (my age!), but 9 years later he's bilingual. Still working on English of course, but he spoke well. During our talk, he informed me that Agua Luna, the salsa bar by the river and bay was going to have a special tonight and play salsa/meringue/bachata/cumbia/etc (latin dances) around 8 or 9. So, we agreed to go. Again, why not? Yeah we had school, but it would end early enough, plus I needed a tour guide friend. We went home, showered, and went to dinner at the awesome pizza place in town (it's a real Italian lady who owns and runs it), and we grabbed a beer at Marisqueria (my student's parent's bar) before heading to Agua Luna. When we got there, my new friend was there. He taught me cumbia, a version of salsa, and meringue, which is pretty easy. He didn't warn me that he was like, a PRO, so by the end of the first song I was super dizzy from so much spinning and twirls! It's easy dancing for the girl - all you have to do is follow - so I had a great time learning and dancing. I managed to end the night with only one elbow-to-another-girl's-head and one back-bump-into-a-stranger. No major injuries, falls, trips, or crashes! Our little house group is planning to go back Saturday night for more practice. :)
Annndddd Monday was back to skewl, back to skewl..... The day went well actually, mostly because I actually had all of my older kids there. I didn't feel too well (I've lost my voice, and I'm afraid my friend Bronchitis is coming for her yearly visit), but the day went surprisingly smoothly.
After school, I went into town to run errands, and I even ran into a friend/our backyard neighbor at the store. We got to talking, and I just threw it out there that I needed a local phone but didn't want to pay $100 for a new, very shoddy one. He called a friend, and even ran over to another friend's house on his motorbike real fast while I grocery shopped, and when he came back, he had found a friend that would sell me one for cheap. So, groceries in hand, I hopped on his bike with him , we ran to a his friend's house, and I got me a little brick of a cell phone! WOOT WOOT! I can finally have real friends who can call me to hang out instead of just trying to run into people on purpose haha I was lucky and only paid $30, and the guy said he'd even buy it back from me when I left. Sweet deal.
Today, we had parent teacher conferences, and so far so good. I'll give details after the second round of them tomorrow - I don't want to jinx myself! I will say, though, that...CAN IT PLEASE BE THE WEEKEND AGAIN?! I live for my weekends and the unplanned adventures...
Hasta luego!
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