This is how Kaz looked when he got home yesterday. Even though he had a coat and an umbrella, he was soaked. The mural behind him is on one wall of our house.

February 5, 2009

Sick on her Birthday

Dolly’s birthday is today. She has not been shy about telling everyone she is turning 51. Unfortunately, she has been coming down with a bad cold for several days, and had to call in sick. What a way to spend her birthday.
The odd thing for me is that no one told me Dolly had called in sick. I was just sitting here in a pool of water (everyone is SO wet today), waiting for the power to come back on at the school, and someone casually mentioned that Dolly had called in sick. No one has given me any guidance as to what I should do today. Should I teach Dolly’s classes for her? What does she want me to do with them?

February 4, 2009

Haircut

I wish I had a picture, but I do not, of Dolly getting her hair cut in our office last Friday. A local hairdresser came by, threw a cloth around Dolly’s shoulders, grabbed a pair of scissors off one of our shelves, and cut Dolly’s hair for about $4. The hairdresser really liked the scissors, so Dolly gave them to her as a tip. I swept the hair out the door when they were done.

Tornado-ricane
Could someone please build us an ark? It has been raining really hard almost nonstop for four days and five nights. And the wind has been blowing like the dickens. Today, there was a sudden gust at the school that was stronger than anything I have ever experienced. Everyone noticed it. Some described it as a mini-tornado. People generally seemed alarmed, but also seemed to have experienced that before.

Poor Kaz- everything he carries to and from school is soaked. He took the hair dryer out of the bathroom earlier tonight to dry his books. Then, the power went out, so he couldn’t dry anything and had to do his homework by flashlight. His backpack, clothes and sneakers will take days to dry. No, we do not have a dryer. We still don’t have hot water, a toilet that flushes, or a telephone. So, a dryer is not on our list of priorities.

I have become more or less accustomed to the extraordinary din produced by the wind and rain at night, but there are still moments when they are so suddenly loud that it wakes me or makes me wonder if the house isn’t going to up and blow away. I don’t know how to describe it, except that this must be what it is like to be in a perpetual hurricane or like being at Dorothy’s house at the beginning of “The Wizard of Oz.” Tonight, the lights have gone on and off several times. They have been off now for about fifteen minutes. Where are matches and candles when you need them? Good thing we have flashlights and fully charged laptops.

Staff Meeting
I do sympathize with Scott, the Director of the School. He faces so many challenges, sometimes I wonder how he survives everything. Parents, teachers, students, administrators, finances, facilities, getting supplies, meeting the demands of the Ministerio de Educacion, the weather, high teacher turnover, etc. An added issue is that some parents, teachers, administrators and students do not speak any English and some do not speak Spanish. Staff meetings take twice as long because everything anyone says has to be translated into the other language. I don’t imagine Scott ever feels like he can “coast” for a minute and just enjoy how things are humming along. Having a one-month old baby and two toddlers at home doesn’t help, and Scott seems constantly sleep-deprived. Sometimes when he yawns and his perpetually bloodshot eyes close, I wonder if they will open again.

Spanish
How does my computer know where I am? Many of the programs and websites I use automatically pop up in Spanish here. It makes sense, but sort of haunts me, too.

Isaac the Math Teacher
Kaz just said, “Isaac is crazy. He named the scorpion he found after me. At the Super Bowl, he said, ‘After Kaz came and sat with us, our team won seven points. Then, they lost.’ And he attacked me with love this one day- just ran over and hugged me, and it was good.” The teachers obviously aren’t here for the pay ($500 per month)- they love the kids, they love teaching, and they love being here in Monteverde.

Tracey the English Teacher
Tracy is Isaac’s wife. She teaches English. She came to me today to say she’d noticed that Kaz is disorganized. I acted surprised. Just kidding. Being organized right now is a triple challenge for Kaz. He is much younger at 13 than his classmates, who are all 15 or 16. Therefore, his organizational skills are a couple of years behind theirs. Secondly, he is still adjusting to new teachers, new demands, and new systems. Finally, he is naturally disorganized, and until he has an administrative assistant of his own, will likely be a bit more disorganized than the average Joe.

Tracey suggested that Kaz buy a planner and that I help him organize his papers and homework assignments. We realized that he has been unable to print anything using the school’s computers because his laptop has Microsoft Word 2007 on it and the school’s computers are not compatible with that. I showed Kaz how to save his documents using an “old” Microsoft Word program. If that works, he will be able to print and turn in his overdue assignments tomorrow.

Tracey is not the only one looking out for Kaz. Everyone has been asking both him and me how he is doing and offering their assistance at any time with anything. Isaac told me to let him know if any of the other kids ever bother Kaz, as he will nip any teasing or bad behavior right in the bud. So far, the kids have been nothing but welcoming.

The Play
We arrived after the school’s Spring musical had already been cast. Kaz asked the Director about joining the play anyway, and was told that yes, he could have the part Esteban gave up that day when he decided not to be in the play after all. It wasn’t much of a part, but Kaz went to rehearsals dutifully all last week and gave it his best. Today, Esteban wanted his part back, and the Director felt obliged to accommodate him. However, he also asked Kaz if he would be willing to take on a much bigger role. Kaz said yes, of course. He is very happy.

3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grades
I have spent a fair amount of time with the 3rd-6th grades now. I accompanied the 5th and 6th graders on a 4 ½ hour field trip to the Monteverde Reserve yesterday, and taught the 3rd and 4th graders today how to identify trees using a guide book and samples from trees and bushes around the campus. It was too rainy to have class outside, so Milton (the Environmental Steward for the school) sent two volunteers out to cut samples and bring them into the classrooms. What a tremendous resource this campus is! The woman who taught the kids at the Reserve remarked that no one knows of another school anywhere in the world that sits on 106 acres of rain forest.

I have also looked at student work, talked with the 3rd-6th grade teachers at length, and watched the teachers teach. A couple of things strike me. One is how much more 6th graders can do than 3rd graders. Another is that these teachers are doing some very creative and effective things in their classrooms. The 4th grade teacher showed me an extremely engaging and creative assignment the kids did to learn about fractions. I was really impressed by the students’ work, and left wishing I’d been taught that way. Someone told me that the 5th grade teacher is the best in the school, but I have seen some very good teaching at all levels.

The Colegio
The colegio is the high school here, which runs from 7th to 11th grade. There is no 12th grade in Costa Rica, although the Quaker school down the road offers a 12th grade year. The colegio at the Cloud Forest School is the newest, and most problematic, part of the school. Apparently, there was talk at one point about not having a colegio at all, partly because education is only compulsory in Costa Rica through the 6th grade. Before you judge that, you should know that the literacy rate in Costa Rica is quite close to 100%.