Teaching English in Costa Rica...the saga continues!

I apologize ahead of time for being so behind on posts...there are a lot of things going on in my life, most of which I don't have the words to blog about right now. I hope you all can forgive me. Pictures and posts will be updated in the next couple days, I promise! If you want to catch up with my life in pictures, check out my Facebook page...most of the pictures are posted.

This blog will focus mostly on the saga of teaching English in Costa Rica. As I mentioned in previous posts, after I returned to Costa Rica in September 2013, I started teaching English at Politecnico Internacional, a language institute in San José and the northern province, Heredia. I was working part time (about 15 hours a week) until the end of December 2013, at which point, my boss told me there weren't any classes to teach yet, but to keep checking my email while I was back in the States. I figured everything would be fine and I would at least have a couple classes to teach and whatever I wasn't teaching, I could make up with online classes...well easier said than done there. I ended up emailing them a week before I returned to San José, and they responded by saying there still were no classes for me to teach.

I felt defeated, but not completely hopeless. There were still online classes, and I worked my butt off, teaching over 100 hours in January and February (hence the lack of blog posts). I also haven't been traveling as much, which I will probably end up regretting once I'm back in the States, but at the same time, I have to make money somehow. Living here is expensive, but I thank BridgeTEFL for telling me about this online job. It has made life so much easier and less hectic. I'm able to work from home and I have more time to exercise, run errands, and take a few days off if I want to travel. What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right?

I made the decision a few months back to return to Flagstaff in April, no matter what my job situation was like. I'm glad I made that decision, and I vowed to not return to CR to work unless I'm sure it's a reliable job with consistent hours. I'm going to miss the country but it's a part of me, and I know I'll come back to visit. It's going to be hard leaving my roommate, Jenny. She's let me live with her for the last year and we've grown close. I'm going to miss talking to her about everything.

I will be teaching a beginner Spanish class when I get home, starting April 21st. The amazing staff at The Literacy Center reached out to me and wanted me to teach the class. I'm hoping to get a lot of friends to take the class and make relationships with learners that I haven't done before. I feel ready for this new experience!!

New job & new opportunities

While I was home in August, I got a job offer from a school in San José called Politécnico Internacional.  I was hoping there would be full time hours, but I got a part time schedule emailed to me and decided to take it, in hopes of maybe picking up more hours or subbing classes when I got back to Costa Rica. It turns out the school is great, and a lot more organized than Maximo, although there is still a "Tico time" way of dealing with things...I didn't officially sign my contract until the second week of classes!  Overall though, I love working there.  The students are awesome and my fellow teachers and both academic directors are great as well.  The pay is better per hour than Maximo too, but only working part time has been a little challenging, as it's very difficult to save money since everything is so expensive here. The commute is also taxing. I think I've spent half my time here on a bus!!!

Sunday marked a year in Costa Rica, and it really got me thinking. No matter how much I love Costa Rica and my job here, I know in my heart that not everything that glitters is gold.  A year here has been the biggest decision that I've ever made...but I know there are other opportunities that I can take advantage of, and I've come to the realization that maybe I need to explore those.  In order to be able to save money, I took an online teaching position part time, recommended to me by Bridge.  It pays $10 an hour and I think it's going to be really fun! I'll get to meet people from all around the world and apply what I know as well as learning new skills I'll use in my in person classes. The best part about it is that I can teach no matter where in the world I happen to be. After three months, I could switch to a real full time job (40 hours a week), but I would get to teach in my pajamas! 

Right now, the option that I'm considering is to go home for Christmas, come back to Costa Rica for three months, then go back to the U.S. for the summer (until September).  I could work full time teaching online and be able to save money, while still taking occasional weekend trips outside of the Central Valley. I'm really wanting to teach somewhere new, so I think in the spring I'll interview for a school in Cuenca, Ecuador.  I would have to return to the States if I got this job anyway, since I need a visa to teach there and the closest Ecuadorian consulate is 4 hours away in Las Vegas. There is also the school in Liberia, but I don't want to be disappointed if it doesn't work out, so I'm going to have a Plan B this time.

Week #4: How Chile made me hungry to learn more about the world.

Wow, I can't believe I've been home from Chile for almost three weeks now. The country taught me a lot about myself, and I came home ready to start a career in English teaching. As excited as I was to come home, I find myself missing the most amazing things about Chile.  I miss the fresh fruit that you could buy for two dollars from the man across the street from my apartment (the strawberries were to die for!), walking the tree lined streets of Providencia on a Sunday afternoon, the stunning views of Valparaiso, and all the friends I made there.  I think what I miss most though, is my host family.  Throughout my stay, not a day went by when they didn't ask me how I was doing, things about my family, if I needed anything, or how my course was going. I will never forget their amazing generosity and hospitality during my short month in Chile.  It's for this very reason that I stay with host families while I'm in a foreign country and I've been fortunate to have two great stays (in Chile and Costa Rica).

Chile made me hungry to learn more about the world, not only because of Santiago's rich history and architecture, but because I went there alone, not knowing anyone, and managed to come away from the experience with a deeper understanding of Chilean culture and the people.  I now have a handful of friends and a host family there, and I can't wait to go back.  I want to see more of the country, and I'm hoping that my next experience there will be as equally exciting and stimulating as my first trip.

Week #1: How I found my passion in Chile

Wow, I can't believe I'm in my second week already! The course is speeding by, as well as my time in Chile. I'm going to try my hardest to see everything, but I already know I need to come back two or three more times to see half the things I wanted to in Chile. A month is definitely not long enough!!!!!


Week #1 has been exciting and exhausting all at the same time.  After recovering from the weekend jet lag, I walked into Bridge ready to learn. I actually expected to know a lot of the techniques for teaching EFL (or ESL in the States) but I've learned so much and gotten so much more out of this course than I ever would have anticipated.  I've definitely changed some of my perspectives on how hard it is to be a teacher and, more importantly, how much harder it is to be a student learning a foreign language (especially English!!!)


I'm learning so much and this IDELT course has made me realize just how much I love imparting my knowledge on to others.  I walk in to Bridge every day excited and challenged.  It's not like most university classes at all...I actually want to come to class because I know it's helping me towards a career (more on that coming soon!!)  Coming to Chile has made me realize just how much I want to be a teacher.

48 hours

48 hours from now I'll be on a plane to L.A., then Dallas, then Santiago, Chile.  It's going to be a long day, but I know it will be so worth it when I get there. The more I read/hear about it, the more I love the country, and I haven't even been there yet.

I'm mostly excited, but a little nervous too. This is the first trip I've taken where I literally won't have anyone I know traveling with me or know anyone when I get there. I'm nervous to meet my host family, and nervous about the course, but I'm excited to experience all of these things too.

I really hope I have enough time to blog every day.  I feel so connected to everyone when I blog, it's like writing emails, except to everyone. I'll even try to share a couple pictures on here if I can!

My next entry will be from Chile! Puedo escribir pronto! (I'll write soon!) :)

update.

So again, here I am with this blog.  It's been a long time, longer than I've anticipated.


Now that I'm a college graduate, I find myself with possibly less free time than I had when I was in school, but it's spent doing things I enjoy, for the most part.


I'm headed to Chile next month...I'm beyond excited about it, I can't wait to see another culture completely different from my own and meet some incredible people. I've heard nothing but good things about the people, the scenery, the food, and the capital city, Santiago, is surrounded by the Andes mountains and pristine beaches.


I'll definitely be updating through this blog while I'm there.  I find it easier to blog when I'm away from my regular life and in a new place...partially because I don't have a very exciting life in general, and when I do, it's usually not anything even worth posting.  Taking a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course might be the most challenging thing I've had to do yet, since the course is 140 hours in a month! I'm ready for the challenge!!!