Costa Rica Diga (Costa Rica, You Say)

Thanksgiving: Tico time not Turkey time

franklintools — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:52:10 +0000

November 24 2011. We got treated to one of the best Thanksgivings ever with giant puppets,calypso and salsa music, dancing, barbecue, and lots of tico love. Tico is what the Costa Ricans call themselves – it means small and sweet. The puppets are a tradition imported from Spain. And we loved and hated them at the same time. Click here to see a video of the celebration.

Camille, a high school history teacher from Alabama, eyes the Devil Puppet I

Local Calypso band

Katie, a middle school Spanish teacher from Rhode Island, and scary lady puppet resembling Baba Yaga

Emily, a high school social studies teacher from Nebraska, dancing in the warm rain.

Paulo, a middle school science teacher from New Mexico; Tracy, a high school Language Arts teacher from Florida ; Josh, a high school social studies teacher from Chicago; and Angela, a high school science teacher from Idaho dance it up!

Scary giant puppet

Earth University

franklintools — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:09:28 +0000

November 24-26 We stayed at the most interesting Earth University in Guacimo, Limon Province. It’s students come from Latin America and Africa with full scholarships offered to 50% of it’s students and the expectation that students return to their countries to engage in sustainable development and agriculture projects. I will write more about the school and it’s projects soon, but for now I just want to show you a few flowers. By the way, there are two seasons in Costa Rica– the rainy season and the more rainy season. . .

Rodeo at School

franklintools — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:33:00 +0000

High Schools in Costa Rica

franklintools — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:06:00 +0000

Last week we visited two very different schools. Blue Valley School:private, IB accredited and Colegio Technico Profesional de Guacimo: a rural public high school where students select from 6 career fields. The two schools were filled with some bright dedicated students and passionate teachers. But the resources couldn’t have been more in contrast. The private school had a state of the art library media center, a teacher librarian who teaches integrated research, and lots of books and technology, bright displays, and plants. The public rural school had a padlock on the library, an empty room, and a library lady who said she did not like students touching the books because they mess them up. The Minister of Education told us about all the ways the government is trying to improve literacy in the schools, but he did not once mention libraries. Could the achievement gap in any country be reduced library equity? Hmmmmm.

juniors at BVH

BVH primary school

Boys from then public high school being tutored by BVH students

Girls at Colegio Tecnico

Library at BVH

Library at Colegio Tecnico

More farm pictures

franklintools — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:37:39 +0000

Our home stay was the best! Beautiful new friends.

Fernando Sr. And Jr. Fishing for tilapia

Sebastian

Paula

More fish!

Lunch

Our Home-stay: Viejo Fernando Tenga La Finca

franklintools — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:19:53 +0000

November 27 we woke up to howler monkees, roosters, birds, and of course the rain. Then came the beautiful voice of Lydia greeting us and the morning with a song. ( Stay tuned for later upload of song.)

The night before, Chris, Susan, Lydia, Manuel, Valeria, and Fernando and I swapped stories about celebrations, dating rituals, children, our fears. Though Valerie is the most proficient, we all know enough Spanish to get by and I discovered that my Spanish listening and speaking skills are still lurking close to the surface.

We had arrived at Finca Las Laureles by a road so bumpy the bus rolled from side to side like a boat on rough seas. Don Fernando Dona Lydia have lived only Finca for 16 years after Don Fernando lost his railroad job when Costa Rica reduced their lines. Now they raise Talapia, cows, and have a beautiful garden with passionfruit and limes and other fruits for the family. And of course bananas and coconuts are everywhere.

La Finca Las Laurales

The open air kitchen and dining room.

The Milking Station

Our hike

Don
Fernando

Fernando y Sebastian

Lydia y Sandra Milking the Angry Cow
When we arrived at La Finca we met the rest of the family which included the 19 year old Ivana and her boyfriend Aleris, Fernando Jr. , his wife Paula, and their 3 yr old Sebastian. We hiked the property which was about ten acres. Manuel is a student at Earth University from Liberia staying on the farm to improve his Spanish.

We ate a fabulous dinner, played dominoes, and talked. The next morning we milked cows, caught fish, and made lunch.

Graffiti Art in San Jose

franklintools — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:50:04 +0000

We are deep in the rainforest now, but I want to remember the beauty of the city.

Art and Architecture in San Jose

franklintools — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:25:35 +0000

November 21-22, 2011 More that Julio shows us.

Do You Know the Way to San Jose?

franklintools — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:20:22 +0000

November 21-22, 2011 We arrive and take a walking tour with our fabulous guide Julio, teacher, historian, and chocolate maker. Julio shows us his childhood memories and explains the politics of a city where no one lives. . . .

Texas Time

franklintools — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 00:51:01 +0000

Monday November 21′ 2011: It was 4 am in San Antonio. That was 2 am Portland time. My fellow teachers and I were riding the bus to the airport, heading out to Costa Rica through Houston after 2 days in San Antonio. 4am and we were laughing. They are a great group.We have bonded over tech tools, good food, and a sense of humor. They are Enthusiastic. Smart. Passionate. Teachers from New Jersey, Rhode Island, Michigan, Washington, Florida, New Mexico, Georgia, California, New York. . . 19 states! Spanish, Biology, Economics, Environmental Science, History,Math, Engineering, Literature. Josh, from Chicago, found out I was from the same city as one of his teaching hero: Bill Bigelow of Rethinking Schools. I was excited to tell him he is a colleague, friend, and former teacher at our beloved Franklin High. Besides having the chance to see Costa Rica and think about the environment, this trip is so clearly about having the opportunity to connect and exchange and develop ideas with some on fire teachers. All in one room, one plane, one rainforest. Oh yeah it is also about having lots of fun!