Thanksgiving!

Well Paige, Joanne, and yours truly rented a car and headed to Guanacaste for our long weekend. Joanne's aunt and uncle just moved to Playa del Coco and they graciously took us in! They live in a beautiful development right in the town. The place has a few pools, but we never tried them out. Instead, we walked about 15 minutes to the Beach House and we were in heaven. They had huge square beds for you to lie on and a staff to bring you drinks; who wouldn't love that! We took full advantage.

The evening of Thanksgiving, we all went to a "restaurant" for a buffet of all things Thanksgiving. The food was delish...that day. The next morning brought wonderful surprises for many of the folk who consumed the turkey. We went to Tamarindo to go surfing the next morning. Let's just say it was a rare occurrence if all of us were on the beach and no one was running for the bathroom...nonetheless, Paige and I were able to do a little surfing. It was the perfect day for it! (Minus the creeper who stood about 10 feet from us and just STARED the entire time.) I mean, I know I have mad surfing skills so he was probably just looking for some pointers...

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when all your students are driving you mad and they are no longer cute nor funny. Last week I was dreading teaching my Math 8 kids. So, in the half hour I had before class began, I quickly typed up a project and instead of teaching the next chapter, they are all making their very own Math Raps, complete with a music video! For those of you who know my love of math songs, I am ubberly excited! They are coming along quite well. I shall try to post one here once completed; I know you are dying to see them as well! Some are coming along better that others:



"Your song is not appropriate."
"What!?! Why?!!?"
"Well, for starters, the first line says 'I'm going to kill you, you idiot.'"
"SIGH, well, can I at least keep the 'peeing on a hobo' part?"

The other day I also had this conversation:
"Did you just bite my shoulder?"
"Whaaaaat? Noooooo..."
"It is NEVER okay to bite a teacher!!!"
"Why not?"

So, the countdown is in full force: 7 more full days! Then I'm off to beautiful Bahia Drake (Drake Bay) before coming back to the States!

November Shenanigans

Well November has come and it's just about gone! Before I know it, I'll be on the plane back to the US to spread some Holiday cheer! We actually had a long weekend a few weeks back with CR was overcome by a lot of rainfall. San Antonio, which is right up the hill from my school and 5 minutes from where I live, was heavily affected. We have to cancel school for 2 days, we lost power and water, and more than 20 people lost their lives. It was quite sad.

We celebrated Jen's birthday yesterday, the Big 3-0! Well, Jen is quite the avid dancer so, naturally, she wanted to go dancing for her birthday. Liz contacted a dance school and signed us all up for a private lesson! It was actually a lot of fun! Even our Tico boys learned a thing or two. We focused on the salsa and the merengue. I could actually hold my own! Dancing with the instructor was quite danting and he kept telling me to stop bouncing. I was thinking to him, "I'm not bouncing! I'm moving just like you!" Clearly his judgement was slightly off. There was also his "assistant." When I danced with him he must have instinctively picked up on my natural ability cause he kept throwing in all these advanced moves. Naturally, I was able to keep up and throw in my own "special" moves. AKA, I had no idea what he was doing so I tried to do something too. Luckily, this kid was such a good dancer, he was able to get us to "recover" and continue on as though we had it all planned. If only he were older than 17...

I am SO looking forward to Thanksgiving break this week!!! Joanne, Paige, and I are renting a car and heading North for the beach! I have not been to the beach in ions and I am quite pasty! After Thanksgiving Break, we only have 2 and a half more weeks before Christmas! I. CAN. NOT. WAIT.

Hmm, I feel as though I am out of things to say. I shall leave you all with some more Kid Quotes:

"Your hair looks different today. It looks more orange."
"You realize that is not a compliment. I hate orange."
"Oh. Well you also look really purple today. Is that better?"

"Say bag."

A kid sneezed all over the side of my face this week. It was awesome. (insert sarcasm here)

My Tortuguero Adventure!

This past week we had a 3 day weekend due to Columbus Day; we had to celebrate it a week late for some reason I don't really understand. So myself and four other friends embarked across the country in search of tiny little turtles! The Green Turtle has a nesting season from July-October in Tortuguero with August and September being the best months to go. So, I was a little nervous we'd fail our mission since we were arriving at the end of the season.

At 6am we were picked up and we began our journey. As soon as our tour guide, Maria, started taking our names and details about us, I knew I was in for a long ride. She went all around the bus introducing one another and giving little facts about us all. Then she wanted us all to say why we were coming to Tortuguero. "Isn't it obvious?" I was thinking in my rather crabby state. I just wanted to listen to my music and sleep but all I could hear was her loud voice telling me all about Costa Rican facts. Luckily, she eventually stopped talking and I fell asleep. When I awoke, we had stopped at a banana plant (factory? farm?) I learned that bananas do not grow on trees! They are from a herb...didn't really understand that translation, hierba, but whatever.

When we finally reached the point of transfer, I was ready for our boat ride. It takes an additional hour to get to the lodge going on the river. We left at 6am and we arrived at Mawamba Lodge at 2pm. Surprisingly, it didn't feel like that long of a journey. We quickly had lunch and then we went on a tour of the place. We got to see a Red Eyed Tree Frog! He was soooo cute!!!! I had just put on bug spray though, so I was unable to touch him...tear. After the tour, I went to take a siesta while the others went for a beer. When we all joined back up for dinner I heard the news: A little baby turtle got lost looking for the ocean and somehow scampered into someone's cabin! My friends got to see him because a worker brought him around before taking him back to the ocean. Poor little guy, needs to work on his directions. I'm pretty sure that, if I were a turtle, that would be me. I was convinced I had missed my chance to see a baby turtle and felt sorry for myself all through dinner. Luckily, we had signed up for the Turtle Tour that night so I still had hope.

We left at 9pm in search of turtles. You aren't allowed to take any pictures at night so as not to disturb the turtles. The turtles come to lay eggs every 4 years. During the year, they come to the beach about 6 times. During their first visit, the whole process takes them about 2 hours 30 minutes and they lay about 120 eggs. By their last visit, it takes them about 1 hour 45 minutes and they lay about 60 eggs. The sad part, only about 1 or 2 out of every 1000 will ever grow to be adults. :( We got really lucky and there was a mama turtle laying her eggs when we arrived. We were a little late so we didn't actually see the egg laying process but we watched her bury her eggs and then head back to sea. It was amazing. She was so big! Probably 3-4ft long and 2-3ft across. Our guide told us that the Leather Backs are twice as big! (They nest in January in Guanacaste and April-June in Tortuguero.) He also told us that the night time is not the time to see the babies hatch. You have to come at either sunrise or sunset. They hatch throughout the day but then they rest underground until the time is right for them to make their escape to the ocean! So our group decided to get up at 5am the next morning to see the little tykes. 5am came...and went. We continued sleeping...

The next day we went for a boat tour through Tortuguero National Park. It was VERY wet. I didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked due to the fact that I was drenched and worried my camera was going to get wet. I did get to see the Jesus Lizard, I think that's his name. The one that can run across water on his hind legs. That was cool. We returned back just in time to head to the beach in pursuit of babies! As soon as we got to the beach we saw a big group hudled around about 200 meters away. We started walking faster, then one of us would run for a few feet and then walk. Finally, I just took off running. There were babies everywhere!!! It was the most precious thing I have ever seen. These little  guys were so adorable. They kept getting stuck in our feet prints and some got a little turned around while looking for the ocean. They would scurry for a bit, quickly rest, and scurry some more. I put my hand down and let them run over it. We got to see three sets of turtles hatch and go to sea! Loved it!

This has, by far, been my favorite experience in CR thus far. I get to come back in April with my students and then my Bro and I are coming in June. Can't wait!!!

On the Road Again

This past weekend myself and 4 other peps decided to head to Manuel Antonio for some much needed sol. We had been sick of the torrential downpours occurring 24/7 in Escazu. It has been raining so much, we have been finding mold on some of our things! Ew. Also, all this rain has really been taking a toll on my shoes. Double Ew.

Our journey to the beach was rather uneventful, if you  call almost being squished between two giant semis and fearing the brakes were going to go uneventful. The new highway is closed because, in the 30 years it took to construct the thing, they did it poorly. Shocking. With all the rain, there are a lot of mudslides and falling rocks. So, they closed it until they can make it safe once again. Translation, we had to take the route through the mountains. This road is so twisty I often get car sick. The good thing about this road is that, on the inclines, there are often passing lanes so you can get around the really slow cars and trucks. Well, Mike was in one of these lanes passing a semi when another semi came around the corner. It was such a tight fit, I don't know how we kept our side-view mirrors. The moment after was full of awkward laughter and terrified looks. Also, since we are up and down so much, Mike started to notice a change in his brakes. I was waiting for the moment they would fail and we'd go soaring into the mountains. Thankfully, they remained intact and we arrived safely!

It was a gorgeous day on the beach! Joanne and I dazzled onlookers with our amazing soccer skills while the rest of the crew soaked up the sun. Molly claims she is now proud to be able to say she received her first jellyfish stings! At the time however, she was not too thrilled. She didn't want to get into the ocean after that. Scott, telling her she has nothing to worry about, went swimming and came back with some stings of his own! I was also filled with a desire to swim. As I was floating up and down with the waves, a crab bit my toe! As soon as that little critter attached to my toe I started flailing and kicking all the way back to the shore. Although I couldn't see the crustacean, I'm sure he was ginormous!

On Sunday afternoon we reluctantly packed up to head back to Escazu. Joanne and I had a soccer game at 5 that we wanted to get to. Mike has a GPS to help us on our way. But, since the Highway is closed, it always tries to get us back on it. So, we were ignoring "Amy" and Mike was just asking Molly and I for directions...for those of you who know me well, you see the mistake Mike has made. Apparently how you get to the beach isn't the exact way you get home so we ended up taking a beautiful scenic detour. On this lovely excursion, the car kept getting louder and louder. Then, it started having troubles getting up hills. Luckily we got back on the correct route and managed to make it to a town before blowing up.

There must have been some luck shining down upon us because a tow truck came along! He put the car onto the bed of his truck and said he'd tow us back to Escazu. Only problem, there were 5 of us and his car could only hold 3, including him. So, Mike, Scott, and I jumped back into Mike's car and rode in there! It's often fun thinking of all the crazy things we do in CR that are quite illegal in the US! (Don't worry Mom, he promised to go really slow.) Around 5:30, we had made it home! A trip that took us 2hrs 40min to arrive only took us 5 and a half to get home! (We did stop for Subway though.) Sadly, Jo and I missed our soccer game...

The randomness of children:

‎"Ms. K, I came out on TV this weekend!!!"
"Umm, what?"
"I came out on TV!"
"Do you mean you were on TV this weekend?"
"Yeah, that's what I said!"

‎"Ms. K, what would you do if you woke up in Africa?"
"Um, go on a safari?"
"What would you do if you woke up and Folke....oh, haha, maybe I shouldn't say that..."
*Glad to know that, by 8th grade, they are learning to control themselves to some degree...and also glad he didn't finish that statement

Assignment: Create a graph and write a story explain the changes in your graph.
I received a story about Jersey Shore and how ratings increase/decrease according to the cast members antics complete with details of said antics. I also received a story titled "Poopie Paulie" all about farts.

"Ms. K, will you marry me? I'll give you an M&M."

This week we get Monday off for Columbus Day (a week late, but don't get me started on that) so we are heading to Tortuguero! I am really hoping we get to see the little turtles hatch! Until next time...

The Adventures of Gil!

As I eluded to in my last post, I found I needed to have my gallbladder taken out this summer. I affectionately named it Gil, the Gallbladder. I'm so creative! I got lucky and learned that an elementary teacher had her's taken out the week before school started. I contacted her and got all the info on her doctor. I arrived at 6 for my appointment and by 7:15 I finally met the handsome dude. I liked him immediately. He scheduled some bloodwork and yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, flash forward a few weeks and we scheduled my surgery.

The surgery was scheduled for this past Thursday. I had tried to get ahold of my doc a couple of times beause it was now Monday and I still hadn't been able to talk to him about the actual surgery. I called his cell yet again and finally got him...for 1 minute because he was about to go into surgery. He said we were still on for Thursday and he'd call me back...Now it is Wednesday and I haven't heard from him. I call again. Get him just long enough to ask if my surgery is still tomorrow, he says yes, and he'll call me...

My phone rings Wednesday afternoon and it is his Spanish speaking secretary. She is telling me I should come in tomorrow for an appointment. "Wait a minute, isn't my surgery tomorrow!?" "No, it is on Friday at 4." Turns out they forgot to secure the operating room and there was no longer space on Thursday. I had a mini meltdown and then realized this is CR for you!

Jen was ever so nice to accompany me to the hospital before my surgery. After a whole lot of waiting, I was off! Only to sit and wait in anethesia for over an hour. The worst part, I could see the clock, so I just watched it tick. FINALLY they came for me! I was honestly waiting for them to come tell me I was here on the wrong day and that I'd have to come back. Once in the operating room, no one said a single word to me except, "Make a fist." I had no clue what was happening. What ever happened to telling your patient everything so they're more relaxed?!?! Guess they thought I wouldn't understand them.

Upon waking up I hear this nurse trying to talk to me in English. Then I hear another nurse go, "She speaks Spanish." Nooooo, I'm too drugged up to think in Spanish, I wanted to say. Somehow I managed anyway. I think the tears helped convey that I was in pain and needed the magical meds. They made me so warm and nice feeling! Sadly, it didn't last long.

They wouldn't give me any water and I was still hurting. They told me it was from the gas they pumped into me to inflate my stomach. I was told walking is the only thing that will get rid of that pain. "Can I walk around in my room when I get there?" "Yes." This woman must have been trying to kill me! When I got back to my room, my friends were waiting for me! I sat up and told them I needed to walk around. Suddenly, the room started spinning...hmmm, I think I'll walk around later.

Molly was ever so nice to stay the night with me to keep me company. My friends from home even managed to get flowers delivered to me! They came to my room at about 9:30pm. Only in CR would a flower man still be working at that hour! I was told I would be able to leave around 11 or so...1:00 rolls around and we are finally out of there! I am feeling better and better each day. Last night I could actually sleep on my side! What a relief for me! The incisions are starting to itch like crazy, which means they're healing, I believe. I have 4 lovely holes in my stomach now! The best part, they sent me home with a DVD!!! Molly and I watched as little Gil was sucked dry of all his bile and then suck right out of my stomach! Pretty cool! I gave the DVD to Erin, the science teacher. She is a little too excited about showing it to the kids!

Kid Quotes:

"I'm going to be out next week because I need to have my gallbladder taken out."
"Oh no!"
"Umm, Ms, K, will you still be able to pee ok?"

"Yes I will. Thank you for your concern."

"Why are you going to be gone?"
"I have to have surgery."
"Are you having a baby?!"
"Yes, right now  I am currently 9 months pregnant."

A New Year...Well, School Year

As expected, my summer vacation came and went too quickly. I am still feeling a little jipped on that. I only get 6 weeks vaycay here versus my 9 or so in the States...poor me. It was a fun filled vacation nonetheless. I got to travel with my mom to Europe, went to MN to see my friends, got to watch my munchkins for a few weeks, went to NoDak to see my pops, and even got to go to OH to visit my brother (we made amazing sushi!) Lucky for him, I brought with me my amazing softball skills that I have kept hidden up until he and his team needed another girl for their games. Yeah, I don't want to brag or anything, but let's just say the trophy they won should really just be shipped to me...

Well, like I said, it all ended too quickly and before I knew it, I was back at MSP Airport awaiting my flight. Now, I took a shuttle there because my friends were unable to take me. It got me there 3 hours before my flight! What is one to do in an airport for 3 hours you may ask?! Well, there is only one logical answer: Drink! Let me tell you this...it sounded like an innocent idea at the beginning. I stroll into Rock Bottom Brewery...or rather Roll in with my wonderful new luggage...and I find a great spot at the bar. I'll have a few beers, then get dinner, and before I know it, it'll be time for my flight I thought. HaHaHa. I started with a wonderful beer, a tall of course, and soon had another. In that time I made some fine friends at the bar. I quickly noticed that a lot more men travel alone than women. Or maybe it's just that a lot more men drink in the airport than women, hmmm. Anywho, Mr. Man decides that, before he leaves, we should do a shot! Well, 3 shots later he missed his flight! I then ask the time: 6:40. My flight leaves at 6:50. I casually stroll to my gate, which is all but deserted except for one woman at the desk. "Uhh, can I still get on the plane" I ask while I hand her my ticket. She pulls out the walkie "Load Knudson's bags, she's here." I looked at Mr. Man behind me and he and I started laughing. Whoa, she did not like that! "It isn't funny! We're going to be late because of you!" This of course broke me into a fit of hysterics, but I was wise enough to turn around while I laughed. So, yep, I was "that girl" who everyone glares at while entering the plane. BUT, we got to Denver on time, so I didn't feel so bad! And, shocking, I slept the whole way!

Upon arriving in CR I realized it felt as though I had never left. I quickly organized all my stuff...aka, my new shoes...and was ready to hit the beach! We went to Manuel Antonio for a little R&R before our Work Week started at school. While Jen and I are lounging on the sand, some man dressed in palm fronds approaches and asks me, "Would you like a fish for your computer?" I look up to see him dangling a little fish made out of fronds in front me. "Ummm, how exactly would you hang this on your computer?" "How about a boat for your car instead?" The persistent man then pulls out this magnificent boat, complete with an attached palm thingy to hang from your rear view mirror! Thinking he wanted money, I was skeptical to actually hold these brilliant creations. But, he thens looks at Jen and says, "Ugh, I have a funky onion left. You can put it in your kitchen." He throws it to her and then off he goes. I am left only with my vision of him and his palm frond hat...and of course my new decorations for the apartment!

Well school is officially in full force for the year. I am now teaching all 8th grade: Math 8, Algebra, and Geometry (to ONE kid) and a Pre-Algebra class to 7th graders. So far, so good. There is a big difference between the 8th graders and my 6th graders from last year though! I was not blessed with the silent first few classes while the 6th graders adjusted. Instead I got, "Ms. K!!! What's up?? I'm sure you missed me lots over the summer, right? I sure missed you!" "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear anything you said because you just punctured my ear drums." Oh how I missed them! Although it has only been a week, I do have a few new funny encounters:

-While doing my lunch duty two of my former students were talking to me about my hair..how it was blonde and now it's red.
"I liked you with blonde hair Ms. K."
"Well, it'll turn blonde again soon because of the sun."
"The sun doesn't turn my hair blonde."
"Well, that's because your hair isn't naturally blonde."
"Oh."
The other girl chimes in: "I can see your blonde hair starting to grow."
"Yeah, I'm starting to get roots."
"Does it hurt?"
I just gave her a look on this one and luckily she realized what she said and we all burst out laughing.

I have the great pleasure of getting my gall bladder removed here in CR and I mentioned it to my kids because we were having Dessert Day in Advisory and my stomach was hurting so I had none.
"What does a gall bladder do?"
"It helps you digest fats."
"Oh. Well, you don't need that, you're already so slender"
Ahhh, even if it's not true, it still brightens your day to hear it! Then one of my boys goes:
"Ms. K, what if someone would have said, 'Wow, I can really tell yours isn't working!' I'm not really saying that though!"

Goodbyes and Panama!

Well just as quickly as the school year came, it also went. I can't believe that it all ended a month ago! I apologize to all my faithful fans; I know I have been absent so quite some time. In my defense, I've been a tad busy! Well, let me rack my brain and think back...

The end of the school year was mostly a happy one. The only sad part was saying goodbye to my Math Department CoChair. (There are only 2 math teachers at the middle school so her and I designated our own roles.) Stephanie is leaving me for a boy, typical! She only came on a one year contract and I shall miss her deeply...she was always down for a pedicure and made a great travel buddy to Nicaragua! I shall be taking her job next year and teaching the older of the middle schoolers...which mean more algebra (yay!) but also geometry (eek!) I decided to throw my kids for a loop and I dyed my hair back to red for the last day. I decided that, if she messed it up, I'd just get it fixed in the US! Now I know I can color it in CR and not turn out bright orange!

Molly and I decided to head to Panama City for 5 days before heading back to The States. What was supposed to be an hour flight, turned into 7+ hours in the airport waiting for our delayed plane. We bought Cosmo en Espanol to entertain ourselves. Then, when that got dull, we went into Duty Free and tried everything we could find that had samples! Upon arrival, we headed to our lovely hostel...a square room with a bed...very posh. We decided to upgrade for the following nights! After chilling in the city for a few days, we decided to go to San Blas, this island I had read about. So, at 4:00am, our driver arrives to take us there! At one point we were stopped so that the police could make sure we weren't being kidnapped. Well, lucky me was sitting closest to the cop so I was fortuante enough to be the one to talk to him. The peps in Panama talk much differently than my fellow Ticos and I was having a hell of a time understand the cute cop. I caught part of it and "inferred" the rest. After I answered him, his response was, "Wow, I thought you were foreigners." Yep, I told the man I was a Panamian!

Right after Panama, I was headed for the US! I arrived in Minneapolis for 2 whole days before embarking on a journey to Europe. More on that later!

The Four Seasons y un poco mas

Ahhh, The Four Seasons. My friend Liz was ever so lucky to win a free night stay at the ever so posh Four Seasons!!! Well, Molly, Jen, Liz, and myself rented a car and headed to claim the prize! One may think that, being a $600/night (for the cheapest room) kind of place that they would have SIGNS telling you how to get there. HAHA, nope! Welcome to Costa Rica. We got to a rotunda and weren’t sure which little road to take so I followed the bus in front of me. Apparently that was for buses; for VIPs such as ourselves, we were supposed to take a different road. As we are approaching the hotel, we all start laughing at the obviousness as to how well we are going to fit in.  When we get to check-in, a man is trying to direct me where to go, but I got confused so I just sort of pulled up. He tried to hide his laugh while saying, “This spot is perfect!” We weren’t allowed to remove anything from the car ourselves; they “have people for that.” A woman then offered us a cold towel and some juice.

When we got to our rooms, we very professionally waited for the bellman to leave before freaking out! We would have been content if it had rained all day and forced us to stay inside. However, it was a great day and we headed to the beach.  Hmmm, should we choose the beach that is in the peninsula or shall we go for the open sea beach? Once we were sanded out, we went for the pool. Sadly, we only hit 2 of the 3 pools.

After some rest and showers, I call Jen and Liz in their room. “What are you guys doing?” “Um, just laying on our beds, in the robes, watching TV. What are you guys doing?” “Umm, just laying on our beds, in the robes, watching TV. We don’t want to ever get up.”

We eventually dragged our booties out of bed and headed to dinner. The Gods were shining down upon us this night. We run into a parent from school.  He tells us he is going to take care of our first drink. Apparently first drink is really code for entire bill!  He signed for our whole dinner, somewhere around $200 we estimated. Man, I love rich, generous people! As checkout approached, we made sure to pack any free item we could find! I vow to return…someday.

Change of topic: onto the gym. Well, Jen and I go a workout class each Monday evening. The instructor is, well, interesting. I fear as though he is quite comfortable with us now that we have been coming for a few weeks. It is a circuit class with different stations. Usually, he’ll just stand next to you, check himself out in the mirror, tell you to go faster, and move on. Well, this past Wednesday he decided to spice it up a little. I’m doing burpies at a station when he approaches. I stand there and look at him. He then looks at himself in the mirror, checks out his butt and looks at me. Then he looks at my butt and tries to stick his out to match mine! Not really sure how to react, nor do I have the words in Spanish that I’d like to say, I just say, No. So he sticks it out more and finally leaves. Only to return some stations later to say something along the lines of, “I’m going to put something there so I can compete with you.” I just told him “good luck!” Apparently, my instructor has butt envy.

Lastly, the kids. They have been creating miniature versions of themselves using different ratios. They constructed them out of paper mache.  Each morning, I would look them over to find which new and oh so inappropriate arrangement they have been left in. Such creativity my kids have! Quotes include: “Ms. K, will you be my girlfriend?” “No, she’s already mine. Why do you think I have such good grades?”

While walking up to the snack shack: “What should I get?” “A boyfriend.”

“Ms. K, I’m going to teach you English. Say bag…” (This one will never end!!)

Semana Santa con Mi Mama

Ahhh, it has been so long! A little birdie told me that I am long overdue for a new post. So, I am happily obliging.  I shall scrounge my brain to remember all the way back to Semana Santa (spring break.) I was visited by mother for this wonderful break.  Wanda y yo drove all around the lovely country of Costa Rica, well, actually, we had someone drive us all around! Our first stop, La Fortuna. We went white water rafting and my mother threw me from the raft!  (Ok, so maybe I got myself thrown out.) One dude offered to give me free kayaking lessons the next time I return. Being the stupid person I am, I gave him my number. After he called me CONTINUOUSLY 12 times in a row, for 2 days, he finally gave up.  Something tells me he was expecting some sort of “payment” for these lessons….

Mother and I then mounted some horses and headed to Monteverde! While in Monteverde, my mom and I got massages. This would go at the top of my list as the most “unique” massage I have ever received. Upon arrival, I surveyed the scene. I quickly realized that this chick is one with the world.  The massage was normal, until she started massaging my stomach. I almost burst out laughing; luckily I am so amazing at restraining myself. When I thought the massage was over she asks, “May I find your chakras?” “Umm, ok.” I had no idea what the hell a chakra was or if she would be able to find mine. She starts placing colored stones on my stomach and head telling me all about their amazing healing power. It went something like this: “This is the healing stone. Feel it’s green spirit all over your body and feel how it is healing you.” This went on for 7 or 8 stones…again, had to swallow the laughter. When I thought for sure I was done, she asked if she could “sage me.” I said ok not sure what Mother Earth had in store for me. After I was “saged” she went outside to let me take it all in for a few minutes. She told my mom and the other massage lady that she “just had to sage me. I was so full of emotions!” I was then warned that I may be suddenly overcome with feelings and that I shouldn’t fight them, I should just let them come.  “Great, thanks. Yep, feel SOO much better. Those chakras really did it for me!” I waited and waited…the overflow of feelings never came L

We wrapped up our vaycay with a trip up to Rincon de la Vieja. FYI this place is in the middle of nowhere!!!! Bring booze…lots. Lastly, we went to the beach! I was quickly able to find my mamasita on the beach cause when I scanned everyone; she was the “porcelain” looking one! Love ya mom!

Pi Day y Mas

Well Pi Day was a hit...literally. All 6 teachers got pied! We started with a contest to see who knew the most digits of Pi. Then we moved onto a Pie Eating Contest. This was hilarious! We gave the boys 7 pieces of pie. It was whoever finished all 7 or finished the most in 5 minutes. Approximately 3 minutes into it, a boy had already finished! I could not believe how much pie he shoved down and how quickly he did it! The second place boy had only gotten to piece 3! After the contest, we revealed how much money we raised: 276.000 colones! (about $500) The money goes to help underprivileged kids attend school. Well, since we hit our goal, all the volunteering teachers got pied...including yours truly. I smelled like sour milk for 2 days! It was worth it though.

This past weekend I embarked upon a journey. 30 some 6th grade band students, 5 high school band students, an overly devoted band teacher, and another teacher and myself. This overnighter was supposed to be only a 5 hour drive...8 hours later, we arrived. While getting room assignments, the girls are saying things like, "Ms. K, I'm sticky." "I thought we'd be staying somewhere with at least 2 stars" "I would have rather slept with the cows we passed."

The hotel turned out to be fine. No AC, but there was a pool, thankfully. So we got there, the kids had to quickly change, they played a concert, and then we all went swimming. The next morning we went on a beach walk which was beautiful. After that, I was ready to go home. The kids had an intercambio with another music school. Long story short, it took an hour and a half and at the end, they played one song. I sat and sweated.  By 11pm that night, I was finally home in my bed. Montezuma was beautiful, my circumstances were not.

Today Molly y yo went to the MultiPlaza, the mall. I bought Harry Potter en Espanol!!! Case in point that I need to practice mi espanol: I was checking out and she asked me if I have their card, I said no. Then she put my book in the bag and asked me something else. I didn't understand so I was 'processing.' She looks at me and goes, "Si?" So I respond, "Si." I'm thinking she asked if I wanted the receipt in the bag. She then removes my book. Hmmm, she must not have asked about a receipt...Next thing I know some man takes my book and starts wrapping it! She assumed, because my book was in Spanish, that it was a gift! How rude!!! Molly comes strolling over and gets a weird look. I give her a second to realize what happened and she burst out laughing, "You answered the wrong question, huh?!" The man then asks, "Is this for a man or woman?" To which I reply, a woman. Molly is practically gasping for air and I'm unsuccessfully trying not to laugh as well. So now, on my bed, lays a beautifully wrapped Harry Potter book just waiting for me to open!

Kid saying of the week: "Ms. K, you look really nice today. Do you have a date?" "You know, it is hump day."

Mi Cumple y Mas

I have just past my second birthday in a foreign country...the first being my 18th in Brazil. It was quite nice to be able to hang out in my swimsuit in March!!!  The Friday before my bday we went to a wonderful Brazilian restaurant, Fogo del Gaucho. They didn't have my most favoritest food, pao de queso, but they made it especially for me! The next day, to celebrate my 26 years on this lovely earth, a friend and I decided to hold the First Annual Beer Olympics! Events included: beer pong, flip cup, fondo blanco (chugging,) beers be (spelling?), Drinko, beer bong, and relay races in the pool! Imagine the surprise to the guests when everyone was eventually thrown into the pool. Honestly though, who didn't see that one coming? It was quite fun showing all the Ticos how Gringos spent their college years!

My students have recently discovered the wonders of my skin. If you poke my arm, it stays white for a few seconds before turning back to its beautiful golden hue. This will amuse a 6th grader for at least 3 minutes. This will annoy a teacher in at least 3 seconds.

I think it is time to have a "boundaries" talk with the kiddos. Reasoning: "Hi Ms. K! Will you be my girlfriend?" "Umm, NO." New boy: "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I have enjoyed how my girls are realizing just how gross and immature the boys are at this age. (There is such a developmental difference around 6th grade.) We do Mad Libs in my Advisory sometimes. When I ask the boys for words I get farting, licking, smelly, butt...

I have a class called Just For Boys where we play different sports each week. Well, last week I told them if they didn't put all the baseball equipment away, we wouldn't be playing baseball on Thursday. The equipment didn't get put away, SHOCKING. So, Thursday rolls around and I told them they had to think of a game to play that didn't involve ANY equipment. "What, like tag?" one 8th grader sarcastically asks. "PERFECT! Tag it is!" So I made the boys play tag. It was quite comical! The next day the boys were talking about a kid who is really quite in my Boys class, but really loud in Math. "Yeah, he has two personalities, like you. Normally you're fun Ms. K, but yesterday you were mean Ms. K. We want fun Ms. K back!"

Next week we are celebrating Pi Day at school...the teacher with the most money in his/her jar gets pied...

My Excursions

Well about 2 weeks ago the ladies and I decided to hit up Jaco again for Liz's b-day. She really wanted to go surfing. The trip started like this: I wake up to my phone ringing, "Kelsie, it's Paige, I'm in the taxi on the way to your place." "*!#@" I jumped out of bed and ran to Molly's room. She was still sleeping as well. She wouldn't listen to me so I run to my room and start shoving whatever I could find into my backpack. The time: 6:57. Our bus was leaving at 7:10 from San Jose. Paige comes up to our place and I put her in charge of getting Molly's ass out of bed. She succeeds and somehow we were out the door. Our cabbie, bless his heart, starts tearing through the streets trying to get us there on time. We hit traffic. "Everyone out! Start running!" I'm the first one out and I start booking it for the bus terminal about 3 blocks away. Everyone is staring at the crazy gringas and all I can do is laugh and keep on running! At one point I turned around to make sure they other two were coming. I hit the bus station just as I see a bus leaving. "Is that going to Jaco?!?!" I asked some guy standing there. YEP.  AGHHHH, I run towards the bus and get them to stop. I step on the bus to see Jen and Liz sitting comfortably in their seats. "Nice of you to make it," they say. Then, they get a glimpse of us and just laugh. (I may have left out the small detail that we didn't get home until 5:00 am that same morning. Darn those happy hours that never end!) So we made it to Jaco and had a lovely weekend of sun and surfing! (Surfing is used loosely here.)

Last weekend we had an extra day off for President's Day. To truly honor the dead white guys, Steph and I headed to  Nicaragua! We flew into Managua on Friday and took a taxi straight to Granada. The next morning we went in search of the bus to take us to Ometepe Island. It was a yellow school bus! Luckily the man in charge asked us where we were going because we never really thought about asking where we get off. We both assumed the bus would just stop there and we'd get off! So we get to one stop along the side of the road and some people get off. We stay. Then the guy comes to us and is like, "You need to get off here." "Yes, of course. Totally knew that."

We get there, make our ferry ride to the island and head to our hotel. The island is in the middle of the largest lake in Central America, Lago Nicaragua. It is made up of 2 volcanoes. We got to our hotel around 3 and decided to try and find something to do that afternoon. How about kayaking? The flyer looked neat. Note to self: Flyer may be misleading. While the kayakers in the flyer seemed to be gliding beautifully through the water, Steph and I couldn't even manage to go straight let alone glide anywhere! I blame the wind on the lake though! As we zigged and zagged through the water, I kept glancing at our guide. "How come he takes one stroke for every 3 of ours?" I asked Steph. The overall goal of kayaking was to make it to a river and see the wildlife there. I'm sure the wildlife is amazing, I'll never know. We couldn't make it; our arms were too tired! When we decided we wanted to turn around, neither of us wanted to say it to our guide so we just sat in the kayak, doing nothing, for about 5 minutes. Finally I said we wanted to go back and then I quickly looked the other way so he'd think Steph said it! I think he was really disappointed in us because he asked us about 4 times if we were sure cause, "We're really close to the river." Trust me, we were sure. If I really need to see the wildlife, next time I'll visit the zoo.

The next day we knew we needed to get back to Granada so we schedule the Hike from Hell at 6:00 am.  We were going to climb one of the volcanoes. One, Concepcion, is still active so you can only go so far up it. Being true 'adventurists,' we went for the other, Madera. 6km up, not too bad I thought. That's around 4 miles. Piece of cake...hahaha. We get to the Mirador, the viewpoint, and it's really pretty. That is where we should have turned around. At the point where Steph and I were talking about how exhausted we were, he told us we were at the 3km mark! Then we got to the part of the volcano labeled, "Exhausting." No joke. And it was! We felt like we were contestants on The Biggest Loser! We were dying and wanted to quit so badly! But we were worried about our reputations since we had quit kayaking early, we couldn't quit this too. By the grace of God we somehow made it to the top! Then we also went down into the crater and had lunch. Somehow we managed to drag our butts down the mountain and back to our hotel  to get our stuff and head  back on the ferry. Only to sit in front of a group who apparently has a hard time with rough water. Thank goodness they had good aim though and made it into their plastic bags!

We made it back to Granada and meet the strangest man ever! Long story short, he kept following us wherever we went and we eventually had to get a bartender to kick him out! Granada is a really pretty city. It had a fun little plaza area with a lot of vendors set up. Steph and I bought some rockin' t-shirts there. All the houses are full of color! I decided there must be a city law that you can't paint your house the same color as your neighbors. The streets are full of blue, orange, yellow, pink, red, and sadly, no purple that I saw.  We made it successfully back to San Jose on Monday.  By Thursday I could finally walk normally again. Apparently my legs were not adequately prepared to handle a 7 hour hike!

And I'm Back!

Ok peps, I know you all must be DYING to hear about my latest shinanigans! I hadn't realized it had been so long! Let me think back...way back. Well, the ladies and I took a trip over Thanksgiving break to Rio Celeste. Now, this river is supposed to be amazingly blue due to the run off from the volcano (or something like that.) We rented a car, got our GPS, and proceeded to take out the antennae within the first hour! That bush came out of nowhere!

On the way we stopped to see some cute cows! I decided I wanted to pet one and we hopped the barbed wire fence...then we realized the cute "cow" was a bull! We quickly got our asses out of there! When we finally arrived at our quaint destination, we were treated to a horseback ride! I, of course, got the rebel horse who always wanted to be first and did not like following the beaten path. I later waddled up to our cabin to lie in the hammock. The next morning we head to find the river. During our walk through the park, it starts pouring; of course this happened just as we got to the steep decline in the "path." I trudged on being the guinea pig. I'm sure we looked like idiots. We could barely see in front of ourselves, yet we were determined to see the damn river! Well, it wasn't blue due to all the rain! We proceeded to drag our drenched asses back to the cabin and we packed up and headed for the beach! There we had an amazing time! I brought back a souvenir as well (see photo taken just after the dude finished.)

One interesting thing the school does before winter break is have a middle school water fight! Steph and I raided Lost and Found and got some school uniforms to participate! It was a lot wetter than I had anticipated!

Then, before knew it, winter break came! I packed up my belongings and headed for the US. I struck up a convo with the guy directing traffic and boy am I glad I did! I soon found out I had packed 10lbs too much in one of my bags; opps, totally forgot to check that. So I had to transfer my things or pay $150! The guy grabs my bags for me and throws them up on this table. Mind you this is at the point where everyone in San Jose is checking in and I just so happened to pack all of my bras and underwear last! Awesome. Well the dude helped me move my coffee and jeans into my smaller bag and I was off...only to get stuck in Denver for the night. But, I eventually made it to ND, only to get snowed into my house for two days. Then, I managed to make it Mpls to see all my friends and finally go snowboarding, only to have Erica hurt her elbow on the 5th run down. I did get to see my Bro in Ohio though, only to get the most amazing shoes ever!!! As I was returning back to CR, the man at security goes, "Finally some color, all I have been seeing is black!" I should probably tell you now that my new sneaks are purple and pink! (Shocking, I know.)

The latest problem has to deal with our maid. As we were heading to work yesterday, I thought she asked Molly if it was ok that she brings food to eat. Molly thought she said she sometimes eats our food when she stays later. Molly was right. We returned home one less avacado and fewer brownies...until next time...