yo hablo español

One of the joys of having a couple of Spanish speakers in my classroom is that I am able to use the language that I grew to love in Costa Rica. Earlier this week, the grandmother of one of these students came into school to visit during lunch. She came up to me and immediately began a conversation in Spanish. It was fantastic. At first I had to make the connection between what she was saying and what language she was speaking, but after a brief half-second we were on our way to catching up. 

When we first found out that our placement for Peace Corps was going to be Costa Rica, I was a little hesitant. Costa Rica, the land of beautiful beaches, volcanoes, and a tourist hot spot? Did they really need Peace Corps volunteers? While I left the country still unsure of my response to that second question, I left knowing quite a few other things for sure. I knew that I wanted to begin my career as an educator (preferably in the younger grades) after endless hours spent working with the pre-K through first grade students in our community. I knew that I had met and befriended people that will always be a part of me, and that helped to change my outlook on life. I knew Spanish. 

There are a lot of people that serve in really unique places during their Peace Corps commitment. They learn unique and obscure languages. They become a part of communities where foreigners may not otherwise be accepted. And while they generally leave their communities at the end of their service with a better idea about what they want to do with their lives and having had their lives changed by the people that they came to know and love, the language skills that they acquired may never be used again. I am fortunate to say that Spanish is not a language that falls into that category.

I am so thankful to have this language skill. While I may be speaking with a Costa Rican lilt, using some of the local idioms that roll off of my tongue, and using a word that is more Tico than Mexico, I am able to communicate with these families that have come from across the border. Through language I am able to form the connections that will help the families have a positive experience within the school community, and I am able to help these students when they do not understand the common phrasing in English. 

I speak Spanish. Yo hablo español. 

life

Sometimes, it happens. Life takes over no matter what your plans are. When I started this blog at the beginning of August, my plan had been to write a little something every day as a means of reflecting upon my teaching experiences and life in general. The highs, the lows, and whatever happens in between. Friday evening I decided that while this was a fantastic idea, sometimes I also just need me time. Or we time.

On Friday, after work, I ran around town trying to complete some errands - some I completed successfully, some not so much. I got home and was able to stock the fridge with hazelnut milk (my newest food addiction) and put quarters away for laundry. I had failed at getting the mister and I registered for a race at the end of September, due to the chamber closing early and then only having registration forms for the bike portion of the weekend of events, no signs of the ones for the half marathon. Life, it happens, and not always as planned.

That evening the mister and I did something unusual for the school year. We sat back, ate some delicious homemade lentil lasagna, and watched a movie. Yes, we relaxed. Knowing that we had a long weekend in front of us we didn't feel pressure to knock out just a little bit of work before hitting the sack. We looked through our Netflix queue and finally watched The King's Speech. It was well worth the time out from our busy lives. During the movie I also finally finished making a blanket for a friend of ours from Costa Rica who is due to have a little girl any day now!

Yesterday morning I went about my normal Saturday morning routine and checked off a beautiful 10 mile run through the high desert. During the last couple of weeks we have had a lot of rain for the desert and I was surprised by the abundance of green. I was also fortunate in that it was an overcast morning so I did not need to battle the heat of the sun, though I did have to deal with some stomach problems. Oh well, life happens, and you keep on keeping on. I finished up my 10 miles in just over 2 hours, which I was quite pleased with (the last mile was accompanied by the howls of coyotes in the distance). This is my longest run on record in well over a year, after battling injury after injury. 

After I left the trails the mister called and we decided to go to Albuquerque for the day. This is once again something unusual for us. I think that I went to Albuquerque "just because" once last Thanksgiving with friends, but the two of us have never done it. Sure, we've been to the city since moving here a little over a year ago, but for things like going to the airport, to run races, or for medical appointments. Yesterday, we shopped. I the past year I have lost a little over ten pounds, and therefore was in desperate need of clothes that fit me well. We also took care of some things on our list that we've been putting off, such as buying new towels and other basic household goods. We topped off the day with a delicious Japanese/Sushi dinner. It was a true treat for us.

And now, life goes back to normal. This morning I worked out and cut tags off of new items and prepared things for laundry. The mister threw together some home fries and a crustless veggie quiche. We are moving past our 36 hours of "freedom" (granted by this long weekend) and settling into work: grading papers, updating student data folders, creating newsletters for the month of September, reading for grad school, doing household chores. 

We may take a break from life on occasion, but it always finds us in the end. Enjoy your long weekend (if you are fortunate enough to have Monday off)!

la llorona

This year I have the pleasure of teaching some native Spanish speakers. During class I am able to clarify questions by rephrasing information in Spanish and I can facilitate the sharing of their language. These students share the Spanish translation for words that we come across in stories and we are able to do fun activities like count in Spanish as an entire class.

Yesterday afternoon I was waiting with one of my students and his sister at the end of the school day. In the time that we were sitting outside before their dad came to pick them up his sister asked me if I had heard of la llorona. Thanks to my time in Costa Rica I could honestly say that yes, I had heard of la llorona.

For those of you that do not know, la llorona is a folklore throughout Central and South America. La llorona translates to "the crying woman." La llorona wanders stream and river beds crying out for her lost children. While I was talking to these two children, the conversation evolved toward a discussion about the differences between the Mexican version of the story (their dad is from Mexico and they spend summers there) and the Costa Rican version of the story.

In Mexico, la llorona wanders the river bed crying for her two children, a boy and a girl. The woman has lost her children. My student's sister informed me that she had heard two different versions at this point. In one, the woman had murdered her children; in the other they had been kidnapped, or taken from her in some way and she wanted to find them.

In Costa Rica, la llorona also wanders river beds crying for her child. In this version there is only one child, and if my memory serves correctly she threw her child into the river rapids because they would not stop crying. In return she cannot stop crying as she searches the river banks for her missing child.

It is moments like this one that remind me how fortunate I have been to lead the life that I do and to have had the experiences that I have had. Thanks to learning about la llorona from my Language and Culture Facilitator during Peace Corps training, and having the legend reinforced through conversations with my students in Costa Rica. Yesterday I was able to bring those experiences with me into a conversation with my student and his sister here and build stronger relationships based on a mutual understanding.