Wow, blog, it's been awhile. I read my last blog just recently, and I realized that I needed to update people about the new stage of my life that I'm about to enter into (and sort of already have).
Since my last post, I've returned to the U.S. The transition was a lot easier than I thought it would be, since I was back home and in my "comfort zone", so to speak...skating, teaching a beginner Spanish class, volunteering, and still teaching English online. Before I left Costa Rica, I was scanning The Literacy Center's blog and saw a job opening for Program Manager. I didn't know she was leaving, but I emailed her and the Executive Director asking about it, and they both wanted me to meet with them about possibly taking the position! I didn't really think it was a possibility, since I didn't have all the job requirements, but they basically said I could train for the job, and if I didn't think it would work out, I could opt out at any time. It's now mid-September and I've been the Administrative Assistant for almost 2 months, which will be ending the end of this month, but I will continue to train for the Program Manager job until November 1st, when I will officially start. The non-profit world is a perfect fit for me, and it fulfills my life goal, which has been to help people improve their language skills, no matter their race, ethnicity, educational background, etc.
This job is just what I've been searching for, and although I still want to continue traveling abroad, I think this is the best choice for me right now. I actually got offered a teaching job at a school in Cuenca, Ecuador, but I would like to travel there first, and with four paid weeks off a year, I'm hoping to travel around South America some more.
I'll post my summer adventures soon...I got to do some traveling within the U.S., first to California to see my family and bestie, then to Colorado for a week visiting my skating friend Max, then to Idaho for my annual BBR adventure.
14.9.14
16.3.14
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!!
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!!
29.10.13
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.
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.
25.10.13
Back in the U.S.A. (Part 2)
About a week after coming home from Challis, my friend Kristin went with my dad and I down to Tempe for the "Livers of Steel" Tour aka the most fun I've had in the Valley in a long time. Three of my favorite groups (Wade Bowen, Micky & The Motorcars, & Reckless Kelly) all in one night was like a mini Braun Brothers Reunion all over again. To escape the miserable desert heat, Kristin and I went skating at Oceanside. After that, we headed back to the hotel to change clothes and get ready for the concert. They were playing at an unusual (but gorgeous) venue for them, the Tempe Center for the Arts.
After eating dinner, we walked along the walkway for as long as we could stand the late afternoon desert sun beating down on us...I think we lasted about 15 minutes! The view was beautiful though. Tempe Center for the Arts is located right along Tempe Town Lake.
After eating dinner, we walked along the walkway for as long as we could stand the late afternoon desert sun beating down on us...I think we lasted about 15 minutes! The view was beautiful though. Tempe Center for the Arts is located right along Tempe Town Lake.
The concert was amazing...these guys are great musicians. They somehow manage to get better every time I see them! We ended up hanging out with some of them after the show...it was great getting to know them a little bit better. They're so nice and it was awesome to go out on Mill Avenue with them!
The last couple of weeks in town were great. It was bittersweet to leave, but I knew I'd be back over Christmas, so only a few more months!! It was so wet and green in Flag when I left...hopefully there will be a lot of snow and I'll come home to a white winter wonderland!!!
3.10.13
Costa Rican despedida/Back in the U.S.A. (Part 1)
My contract with Maximo was up at the end of July. I was sad leaving the great staff and friends I had made along the way, as well as my students. Thank goodness for social media so I could keep in touch with all of them! As sad as I was to leave, I had made up my mind to come back in September for at least a few months. I had a potential job lined up, but it wasn't a for sure thing when I left Costa Rica. Two other girls from Maximo were leaving too, so we had a little goodbye party or "despedida".
Home was great. It was so great to see all my friends and of course, my parents. It had been 8 months, and being in the comforts of home again was refreshing.
I had been a little down my last month of teaching, I think mostly due to burnout. It's great to know that when I need to and when I can, I can go home again and clear my head...one of the best (and worst) things about Flagstaff is that nothing changes. This is especially great if you've moved away.
The first week I did experience some culture shock. This was to be expected, and I think the altitude that I knew for 24 years and loved was the most shocking part. I was so tired the first couple of days, I didn't really want to do anything, but I got back to my old self just in time to go to one of my absolute favorite places Challis, Idaho for the annual Braun Brothers Reunion Festival. It arguably beats Disneyland for the happiest place on Earth.
Dad and I got to hang out with our friends, The Departed, and see our old friends Gunda, Jerald, Jenny, Jared, Josh, and some of their friends and enjoy the best music not heard on the radio. My favorites included:
Todd Snider backed by The Departed,
Wade Bowen,
and Randy Rogers Band!
I love this festival...knowing I might have to miss it next year is going to suck, because it's the best out there right now!
I had been a little down my last month of teaching, I think mostly due to burnout. It's great to know that when I need to and when I can, I can go home again and clear my head...one of the best (and worst) things about Flagstaff is that nothing changes. This is especially great if you've moved away.
The first week I did experience some culture shock. This was to be expected, and I think the altitude that I knew for 24 years and loved was the most shocking part. I was so tired the first couple of days, I didn't really want to do anything, but I got back to my old self just in time to go to one of my absolute favorite places Challis, Idaho for the annual Braun Brothers Reunion Festival. It arguably beats Disneyland for the happiest place on Earth.
Todd Snider backed by The Departed,
2.10.13
Santa Teresa
The first weekend of July, I needed to get out of town...it had been a little bit of a stressful week and I needed to clear my head. In Costa Rica, what better way to do that than to go to the beautiful beach town of Santa Teresa? Santa Teresa lies on the Nicoya Peninsula, and getting there is really nice, even though it's a little long. I went with my friends Jenny and Sonia. We actually decided to go to Puntarenas Friday night after Sonia and I were done teaching.
This would shorten the trip the next day and we could take an early ferry across the peninsula the next morning and still have enough time to take in the sun and play in the water that day before having to head back to San Jose on Sunday afternoon. We ended up only sleeping about 45 minutes when we were in Puntarenas, but we ate the most delicious treat I've ever had in my life and we went to a bar and watched a pretty good live band.
The next day, we caught the 5:00 a.m. ferry from Puntarenas and got to Santa Teresa around 9 a.m. It was absolutely awesome. Our teacher friend Isla recommended we stay at the place where she was living, and it was awesome...she had a great view of the ocean.
This would shorten the trip the next day and we could take an early ferry across the peninsula the next morning and still have enough time to take in the sun and play in the water that day before having to head back to San Jose on Sunday afternoon. We ended up only sleeping about 45 minutes when we were in Puntarenas, but we ate the most delicious treat I've ever had in my life and we went to a bar and watched a pretty good live band.
The next day, we caught the 5:00 a.m. ferry from Puntarenas and got to Santa Teresa around 9 a.m. It was absolutely awesome. Our teacher friend Isla recommended we stay at the place where she was living, and it was awesome...she had a great view of the ocean.
After checking in with the owner, we changed our clothes, ate some breakfast and went to the beach. It had been raining that morning, but the afternoon was filled with sunshine.
We each even got to drive Isla's ATV around Santa Teresa. She told us she had to teach a night class, but to take a ride a few kilometers down the road to a beach called Playa Hermosa (not to be confused with the one near Jacó, or the one in Guanacaste!) to catch the sunset. I'm so happy we did, because not only was the sunset great, but we got to see a full rainbow!
I would recommend the Santa Teresa area to anyone wanting sun, amazing beaches, and a laid back, relaxed vibe. I hope to go back soon!
28.7.13
San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua
My second visa run led me to the tiny, touristy beach town of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. I was fortunate that my friend from Flag, Lindsey and two other friends (one of whom is also from Flag) wanted to go with me. My first border run experience was so fun, and I knew this one would be too...a new adventure in a new country!!!
We decided to leave a little later than I probably would have. Maximo gives me a paid day off of work, so if I had been traveling by myself, I probably would have gotten out of town around 5 or 6 a.m on Friday morning. We didn't end up leaving until 9:30 a.m.! The bus ride there took about 6 hours, and of course this doesn't include getting off at the border, which was actually a relatively smooth process! We met an expat on the bus named "Poker Dan", who helped us out a lot with making sure we got the correct amount of money when exchanging and explaining the process to us. He was...interesting to say the least!!!
That night, we didn't get to San Juan del Sur until about 6:00, so we checked in to our hotel and got some delicious, cheap pizza! The next day, we walked along the beach and drank and ate a lot! We had to take advantage of the super cheap food! That night, we went to watch a concert in the streets of San Juan del Sur! It was great to hear live music again...there hasn't been much in my time in Costa Rica. I wish I had more time...I went back home with Bethany, while Lindsey got to stay in Nicaragua for another three weeks with our other friend, David (lucky girl!).
We decided to leave a little later than I probably would have. Maximo gives me a paid day off of work, so if I had been traveling by myself, I probably would have gotten out of town around 5 or 6 a.m on Friday morning. We didn't end up leaving until 9:30 a.m.! The bus ride there took about 6 hours, and of course this doesn't include getting off at the border, which was actually a relatively smooth process! We met an expat on the bus named "Poker Dan", who helped us out a lot with making sure we got the correct amount of money when exchanging and explaining the process to us. He was...interesting to say the least!!!
That night, we didn't get to San Juan del Sur until about 6:00, so we checked in to our hotel and got some delicious, cheap pizza! The next day, we walked along the beach and drank and ate a lot! We had to take advantage of the super cheap food! That night, we went to watch a concert in the streets of San Juan del Sur! It was great to hear live music again...there hasn't been much in my time in Costa Rica. I wish I had more time...I went back home with Bethany, while Lindsey got to stay in Nicaragua for another three weeks with our other friend, David (lucky girl!).
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