This is the SSL (Spanish as a Second Language) classroom where Kaz spends an hour and a half every day. He has mentioned that he sees the parallel to the ESL classes at his home school, and has a new appreciation for what those kids are going through. Classes are generally taught in English here, but there's a lot of Spanish flying around, and Kaz sees how much it will help him to speak the language well.

This is Milton's classroom in the school's extensive greenhouse. It is open to the air on two sides. Milton is the resident expert on the flora and fauna of the area, and has been responsible for the reforestation of the campus, directing the kids in the planting of 8,000 trees over the past ten years. I enjoy teaching with him- we have very diferent strengths and complement each other very well. He told everyone yesterday how productive our joint classes are for the kids. I have to agree.

Here you see, from right to left, Milton, Dolly, Jane (Milton's intern), and two gentlemen from the University of Georgia's Costa Rica research site who were visiting us. The kids were telling our guests what Milton had been teaching them about the importance of epiphytes (look them up) to the rain forest.

Dolly and I were meeting with a Ph.D. student from the University of Washington about the plots on our campus she is studying. She wanted to get the kids involved in collecting data on the growth in the 16 different plots, and she wanted to set up a research site and process that will allow students to continue to collect data on the plots long after she is finished with her dissertation. I happened to look down at one point and realized we were all wearing hiking boots. Everyone pretty much lives in hiking boots here, due to the nature of the area, the roads, and our work. It struck me how different our work clothes- dirty jeans and hiking boots- are from the "norm."