Tomorrow will mark our two-week anniversary in Costa Rica. Two weeks sounds like nothing, I know, but I can assure you, we are being kept extremely busy, and it feels like it's been far longer than a fortnight (who uses that word anymore? we really should) since we left Austria.
Teaching English- far easier said then done. You never realize just how inconsistent a language is until you have to teach it. Why does every grammar rule have an exception?? Why can't they all just follow the rules like they're supposed to? Why do "kn" and "ph" and "ough" and "th" make such ridiculous sounds? You don't feel very smart or capable as a teacher when you have to tell your students "I don't know why that's the way it is, but that's the way it is."
Really, though, grammar atrocities aside, teaching is going pretty well. Like I've said before, it's as much a new thing for me as it is for them. With the second week behind us, I think we're finding our groove. Today we started reading through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - combining vocabulary and reading skills at the same time. Plus you get a good story :) Works out well!
Okay, I won't bore you anymore with teacher talk. Here are a few more of my thoughts of late:
1) We have gone from being Guntramsdorf's resident night owls to being exhausted by 10 pm and up before 7 am here in Costa Rica. This has been consistent every day since we've gotten here, and I'm still not used to the idea of early to bed, early to rise. Works well here, because of our schedule, but I think i will be slipping back into my old ways once we leave.
2) One significant difference between working here and working in Austria is the number of people we work with. In Austria, we worked with a very small group of people who we saw and interacted with nearly every day - people who liked us so much that they called us by the endearing name of "Brats" and gave us the pleasant tasks they reserved for us because "you're the interns" (you know who you are).
Here in Costa Rica there are dozens of people connected to IT and the Multiplication Center - we've met most of them, but we really only see a certain few regularly. We spend most of our time planning our English lessons, and then teaching our English lessons. I'm glad we're being kept busy, but i am looking forward to some free time.
3) I think the ARC and the Oasis have ruined me - I now find it very difficult to drink black tea.
From left to right: Marcia, Luis, me, and Donald. My English students! :) They're eager to learn, and that makes all the difference in the world.
5 comments:
hmmm...Gladiator...maybe I'll watch that TOMORROW!!!! yeah, that's right I can watch stuff tomorrow. actually I'll probably watch King Arthur...I like it ok, but reading the books made me feel like watching that again...so yeah, this comment was all about me and had pretty much nothing to do with what you or what you wrote...
-the attic child
*with you or what you wrote*
-the attic child's grammatically correct conscience
bring them with you to scotland! i'll teach them how to structure essays and read classical literature.
which one is the attic child again?
Thanks for the great blog and for finally adding another photo! Are you getting to see any of Costa Rica besides the compound you live and work on?
If not, remind Woody the slave-driver that when his daughter was here, we allowed her one day off a week to sightsee. :)
Dad
Why Oh Why do you find it hard to drink black tea?
Please explain.
I find you just add more and more sugar
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