Puda Vida

A place we stopped to fuel up and get a drink

A lot of things have happened since the last time I have written.  First and foremost I did complete the dirt bike ride!  It ended up being 174 km which is roughly 105 miles.  We rode from Sarapiqui all the way to Rio San Carlos which is the river that separates Nicaragua and Costa Rica.  It was a pretty amazing experience but I won't lie I didn't know what I was getting into.  CR mud is deep, juicy and plentiful not to mention as slippery as ice.  Luckily I was borrowed all the proper riding equipment, because I certainly put it to good use (I crashed maybe ten times and by the end of the ride I looked like I had swam in rice and beans).  The ride was with eight other guys, the group my cousin Ben usually rides with.  I rented a 2009 KTM 250 2-stroke so it was a nicer bike than I am used to at home.  I made it and enjoyed it, I just couldn't walk comfortably for at least three days after wards.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to go again, maybe just a bit shorter ride, but at least I got my money's worth out of the rental!

Looking across the river to Nicaragua

Since then Dana has started school, which leaves me with a lot of free time.  It is pretty nice to have the opportunity to take in life and enjoy whatever it is I choose to do each day.  I have surfed at Jaco, Hermosa, Play Negra, Boca Barranca, and plan to keep exploring.  I do enjoy the quickness of simply cruising out to Jaco and nearby Hermosa, and have found it to be a pretty nice break with consistency and plenty of space to have your own wave.  It is so much more enjoyable to learn to surf here than trying in California.  People are helpful, attitude and ego are something that doesn't affect my time in the water, unless it's some bro from SC!  I'm at the point where I am enjoying every time I get in the water.  I can paddle out comfortably, catch most waves I go for, and about thirty percent of the time stand up and ride it for a ways.  I haven't actually gotten to the point of feeling comfortable, and I can't quite surf across the wave as much as I ride where ever it takes me.  But these are all good and reassuring steps to finding out that I am not surftarded(which I questioned for a while).

Hiking near Ciudad de Colon

More recently I have been spending some time in a furniture shop, in nearby Sanisitro.  I told the owner of the shop when I met him that I wanted to learn how to turn bowls on a Lathe, and asked if he had one.  His response was perfect, " I have a lathe that I never use, I have too much on my plate and every time I look at it I just wished it was used."  Needless to say I got the opportunity I was looking for, not to mention the lathe he ended up having was a Powermatic which is considered one of the best brands of shop tools money can buy.  I watched a few videos, and have been reading some books that Carlos(the owner of the shop) has lent me.  With some basic knowledge I was able to successfully turn some cool items.  I plan to spend a ton more time in the shop.  It is incredible for me to actually be creating, holdable art out of wood.  Building houses in Tahoe is rewarding, but to shape a log into a bowl, and watch the beautiful grains of tropical hardwoods unfold as I carve away more wood, is a rewarding experience.  I have been using wood from fallen trees, so I feel pretty good about the whole process.  I hope to create quite a bit of work during our year, so that I will have it to share with our friends when we come home.
Most recently I have worked on an organic farm, a connection through my buddy Leeland.  Roderick the owner of the farm is super dedicated to the green and organic movement in Costa Rica, and is an awesome guy to be able to help.  I may try to set up a program with Dana's school, where the high school students can volunteer on the farm, and learn about organic farming, where their food comes from and why organic is important.  It could be a great thing to start, I think Roderick the farmer and the kids could both highly benefit from the relationship the program will create.  His dream is to have a farm that people can come stay at in return for their work.  Dana and I have also just finished an amazing course called The Arte of Living.  It incorporates some yoga, meditation, and a a breathing technique called the Shardashan Kriya.  It was an insightful experience, and we are now trying to continue with the breathing exercises for forty days after the course.  The part that most moved me was seeing a short video about what the course has done for other people around the world.  It is used in prisons and extremely poverty stricken areas, in 142 different countries in the world.  It's unreal how much happiness, and serenity it has created in the world, and we would both suggest it if anyone is interested in taking it.

Macaw at Playa Negra

We have really been enjoying our time down here, but we are starting to experience small doses of homesickness.  It is nice to know that we are coming home in October for a two week visit, and when we return is the time some visitors are going to start coming.  We are excited to share this beautiful place with our friends and family, but I can definitely say that where the majority of the people reading this live, in Northern California, is a pretty special place.  I feel lucky to have the life that we do in Truckee, and don't think we could be happier to call any other place home.  It was exciting for us but hard to not be a part of the ToeJammers winning our second kickball championships, and I really think this was the catalyst for the effects of homesickness.  Don't take this the wrong way, we are fully enjoying everything here, we are just happy to know that we always have a place to come back too.  Tuesday the 31st is Dana's birthday, so we are going out to a fancy Italian restaurant, and both look forward to celebrating her quarter century.  On the 14th of September we are planning on seeing Israel Vibration, at an independence day concert, which is the following day(Dana has off of school).  Enjoying our lives to the fullest, and can only hope the same for everyone connected to us, Pura Vida and remember to smile!

School

So much natural light, I have yet to use the lights!

Last week was my first week of school and I couldn't have asked for it to have gone more smoothly.  I am one of two second grade teachers at the European School, and Mrs. Norma has been great getting me into the groove of how second grade flows. 

We are in the primary wing of the school, with gardens and grass outside every door.  Each classroom has a bulletin board outside the door which is redone every month.  The amount of creativity from the teachers is amazing- I can't wait to see them throughout the whole year.  I have an amazing full time aid in the classroom with me named Gita, from Latvia, and I can already tell we are going to be great friends- We have a very similar way of working with the kids and couldn't be a better match!  As of now, we only have 19 kids and I am proud to say I already know all of their names and am already getting to know them well academically, as well as personally.  I have a lot of freedom in the way we do things in our room and it allows much more time to really get to know the kids and what motivates and interests them.

Their props for the first poem

     Each morning the kids begin the day with Morning Music in the music room and I can't help but get the chills when they sing!  They love it and sing songs in English and Spanish.  Every Monday they get a new poem to study for the week, and on Fridays they recite the poem for the class and share a homemade prop that represents the poem (always made from recycled items at home).  The school uses notebooks for every subject and photocopies are pretty much against the rules- I love it.  The kids take a lot of pride in keeping their notebooks nice and orderly, because they keep them for the entire year.  The students only know the Costa Rican cursive alphabet at this point and their penmanship is beyond impressive! It has been YEARS since I have written in cursive so I have really been trying to practice mine! 

    Lunch time is a sight to see.... Kids are not allowed to bring any food on campus.  The teachers eat in the lunchroom with their students everyday.  Two students leave a couple minutes before the rest of the group with Gita to set the table properly and serve the salad.  Once the salad is eaten, they are served the main course, then fruit for desert. There is no toleration of students not eating their food and they must eat everything before being excused.  All of the food is fresh and organic (some of which is grow on the property we live on) and so far I think it is delicious!!!  I have mixed feelings about making the kids eat whatever is on their plate, but it really hasn't been an issue so far- they know the drill at this point.  Once a week I have recess duty and the only rule strictly enforced is "No climbing to the very top of the trees".  I love it; they can use their imagination, run around all they want and BE KIDS!
   We had a back to school night already and it went very smoothly.  The parents were requested to bring either wine or cheese, to mingle after the classroom meeting.  The amount of trust and faith in the teachers and the school's philosophy by the parents is incredible!  It was great to take the edge off of meeting the parents by sipping some wine with them and chatting about school and life  :)

Laguna Barva

The school offers so much for the students and teachers.  Every Wednesday is a half day, so that the kids can take extra curricular classes on or off campus (baseball, soccer, ballet, art, music, dance, etc.).  They also expect that the students and teachers will use this time for any dentist or doctor appointments, so they will not have to miss any school.  For teachers, they offer yoga, massages, chiropractor, Spanish classes, etc. weekly.  They also just began a program this year where 11th grade students organize and take a younger class (the same class) hiking one Saturday each month, as part of their community service for the IB program.  Jacob and I joined my friends Nicole's 5th grade class today just  for fun.  We went to the Barva Volcano (not quite to the top) and it was beautiful!!!  It started to POUR while walking back, but the students were troopers!  I think it was a bonding experience....

All in all, I can already tell that it is going to be a fantastic year down here and an incredible teaching experience!!!!   I don't think I will ever want to come back and teach in the States!