My official Peace Corps assignment is to support three English
teachers at three different public schools. I am supposed to help the
teachers with their English and share new ideas about teaching
methodologies. The goal is to work alongside the teachers in the
classroom. To co-plan with them, co-teach classes. Then I am also
supposed to help them with their own English skills.
A second part of my assignment is to help the students at the three
schools with their English. This is accomplished by the (hopefully)
successful co-planning and co-teaching going on. Also, it is assumed
that I am going to start an afterschool English club.
A third part of my assignment is to work on the English proficiency of
the community. I am supposed to create opportunities for
speaking/practicing English in my community. My answer to this has
been to start a beginner’s English class for the adults in Chimurria.
We start this Monday.
A fourth part of my assignment, and this is what I am most interested
in, is to work alongside community members on other, sustainable,
non-English related projects. The trouble is, with all the demands
that goals 1, 2, and 3 have on my time, I am worried that I won’t be
able to be able to commit myself to any substantial, meaningful, and
capacity-building projects. Right now my non-English community
activities are not substantial, sustainable, or capacity building. I
am worried about that.
I wrote about the kid’s art workshop I taught. It was
fun, and I am glad I did it, but I'm not sure how high it it would rank in
a substainial, sustainable, or capacity building competition. Another
non-English related project that I’m working on right now also falls
into the entertaining kids category. Once every year my little town
throws a party. A yearly community party is almost obligatory in my
part of rural Costa Rica. All the communities have one, and it is the
event of the year. People have been talking about this party since I
got here in early December, and the party isn’t until the last week in
March. It lasts for four or five days, and there is music, dancing,
bull riding competitions, food, and general festiveness. I wish I had
a digital map to put on this blog to give perspective to the
importance of the party in my town. In Chimurria there are 3
community places: 1) the community center, which is just a big room,
with a kitchen and storage shed on the outside. 2) a soccer field with
2 sets of bleachers. And 3) the bull fighting ring. The bull fighting
ring they use once a year for the party.
This year’s party, the town council decided to try something new. For one of the five days of the party, they are going to have a kids day. For Kids Day they are going to have a clown, two piñatas, prizes to give away to the kids, and the town council asked me if I could help plan it. They thought to ask me for help with the party mostly because of the
success of the kid’s art workshop. During one of the days of the art
workshop, I painted the kids faces. The kids LOVED having their faces
painted. Many of them had told me that they had never had their faces
painted before, and that they had always wanted to have their face
painted. This one event made me pretty popular amongst the kids, and
the adults in the community were amazed that I knew how to paint
faces. “Where did you learn to face paint?” they asked me,
incrediously. “I think there is a clown in the next town who also
knows how to face paint, but no one knows how to do that here.” Mind
you, I am no face-painting expert. I am, in fact, bad at painting
faces. But in Chimurria there is a myth that first you must know how
to face paint before you actually do it. This myth holds true for
other skills, and learning as you go along is not yet embraced as a
learning philosophy in this little town. However, my ability to face
paint, was memorable to kids and adults alike. And my invitation to
help with the Kids Day had almost everything to do with my
demonstration of my face painting skills, and the town council wasn’t
about to let my incredible talent go wasted. They had to have me for
the Kids Day.
Of course I said I would be delighted to help out. I am
glad to help with non-English town projects, and I am all about giving
the children in Chimurria something to do. The one tragic detail is
that I will not be in Chimurria for the party. I have to go to Peace
Corps training that week, and will miss the entire event. All four to
fives of it. The training is mandatory and there is absolutely no way
out of it.
So instead of face-painting at the Kids Day, I am holding,
wait for it…a face-painting workshop. Brilliant, right? I am going
to build the face-painting capacity of the adults in Chimurria.
Somehow, instead of just being in charge of face painting,
I have been given the responsibility of planning Kids Day. I am
really disappointed that I am going to miss the entire event, but I’m
glad I can at least help out and be a part of the planning of the
fiesta.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
superbowl and classes
Superbowl Sunday:
A lot of the PCVs around Costa Rica got together this weekend to celebrate the super bowl. It was more like an excuse to get together, with the pretense of football. It was the first time that my training class had to meet a lot of the other PCVs from other training classes. It was good to meet them, it was inspiring to know that other people have been through what we are going through.
We started the day with a flag football tournament in the big city park in San Jose. It felt like being in college, again. Siting on a lawn and watching my friends play football. Even though I had two impressive seasons of IM flag football back at UNC, I sat this one out and caught up with my friends. The 2nd year of flag football, I was captain, mainly because no one else wanted to organize it. I think we lost every game, and scored 1...possibly 2...touchdowns all season. My inability to play also kept me on the side lines.
For the actual game, we rented out the vip section in hooters. Thats right. there is a hooters in San Jose. There is a vip section. And I went there, with about 50 other peace corps volunteers. It was my first time in a hooters, and hopefully my last. But it was one of the only venues in san jose that could fit all of us and had tvs with american channels. and, the wings aren´t that bad.
The First Day of Class:
Yesterday was the first day of class in Costa Rica. The first day of school, not many of the kids show up, or at least a little over half do show up. Some of the teachers don´t have their schedules, and it´s just a general mess. I was asking some of the kids if they were excited about going to school for the first day and quite a few of them said they weren´t going because nothing ever happens the first day. A lot weren´t going to go until day 3 or 4. The parents were totally on board with this, because, as they said, nothing happens the first day.
So, the first day of class, I went to one of my schools in the morning, but the English teacher wasn´t there. Each teacher gets ´named´each year to a school, and the morning English teacher hadn´t been named yet. ´She´ll be here tomorrow,´ they said. So I drank some coffee with the teachers, and went home and came back to teach with the afternoon teacher. Luckily, the afternoon teacher had been named, and class went as planned. But, since a lot of the kids were not there, we just reviewed some of last years material. Which was helpful for the kids who were there, at least.
A lot of the PCVs around Costa Rica got together this weekend to celebrate the super bowl. It was more like an excuse to get together, with the pretense of football. It was the first time that my training class had to meet a lot of the other PCVs from other training classes. It was good to meet them, it was inspiring to know that other people have been through what we are going through.
We started the day with a flag football tournament in the big city park in San Jose. It felt like being in college, again. Siting on a lawn and watching my friends play football. Even though I had two impressive seasons of IM flag football back at UNC, I sat this one out and caught up with my friends. The 2nd year of flag football, I was captain, mainly because no one else wanted to organize it. I think we lost every game, and scored 1...possibly 2...touchdowns all season. My inability to play also kept me on the side lines.
For the actual game, we rented out the vip section in hooters. Thats right. there is a hooters in San Jose. There is a vip section. And I went there, with about 50 other peace corps volunteers. It was my first time in a hooters, and hopefully my last. But it was one of the only venues in san jose that could fit all of us and had tvs with american channels. and, the wings aren´t that bad.
The First Day of Class:
Yesterday was the first day of class in Costa Rica. The first day of school, not many of the kids show up, or at least a little over half do show up. Some of the teachers don´t have their schedules, and it´s just a general mess. I was asking some of the kids if they were excited about going to school for the first day and quite a few of them said they weren´t going because nothing ever happens the first day. A lot weren´t going to go until day 3 or 4. The parents were totally on board with this, because, as they said, nothing happens the first day.
So, the first day of class, I went to one of my schools in the morning, but the English teacher wasn´t there. Each teacher gets ´named´each year to a school, and the morning English teacher hadn´t been named yet. ´She´ll be here tomorrow,´ they said. So I drank some coffee with the teachers, and went home and came back to teach with the afternoon teacher. Luckily, the afternoon teacher had been named, and class went as planned. But, since a lot of the kids were not there, we just reviewed some of last years material. Which was helpful for the kids who were there, at least.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Address specification
Thanks for all the ideas on kids art projects! The workshop went really well. In the end we made paper snowflakes (which were a huge hit!) Kids in Costa Rica are always asking me about snow, and they loved making their own snowflakes. At the end of the activity we all went into the center of the room and threw our snowflakes up in the air so that it was snowing inside the class room. We also painted rocks that they found, traced leaves on cellophone paper, and made cards.
Shout out to Aunt Debbie for the idea on recycle art. I am starting to think about something I could do for another workshop envolving recyclable material. The things they throw away here are different, a lot of plastic wrappers and cardboard juice boxes, and very few tin cans or plastic bottles. I'm thinking up of ideas, though. Also, thanks to Christine for the idea of nature inspired art. That's what gave me the idea to do the leaf tracings and painted rocks. The kids loved going out and getting their own materials.
UPDATE
My PO box number that I gave yall is correct. Except, that it can be more specific. I have gotten some mail at the PO box, but Ashley said that a letter she sent got sent back to her.
So, to be more specific, you should write me at:
Julia Lockamy
Apartado Postal 29-5707
Upala, Alajuela C.P. 21301 CR
Costa Rica
CA
Shout out to Aunt Debbie for the idea on recycle art. I am starting to think about something I could do for another workshop envolving recyclable material. The things they throw away here are different, a lot of plastic wrappers and cardboard juice boxes, and very few tin cans or plastic bottles. I'm thinking up of ideas, though. Also, thanks to Christine for the idea of nature inspired art. That's what gave me the idea to do the leaf tracings and painted rocks. The kids loved going out and getting their own materials.
UPDATE
My PO box number that I gave yall is correct. Except, that it can be more specific. I have gotten some mail at the PO box, but Ashley said that a letter she sent got sent back to her.
So, to be more specific, you should write me at:
Julia Lockamy
Apartado Postal 29-5707
Upala, Alajuela C.P. 21301 CR
Costa Rica
CA
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The host family
The family I live with in Chimurria is way different than the family that I lived with in el Rosario. The switch was really shocking, and I had to readjust to a different family dynamic, and find a place where I fit in...again.
My new family consists of a dad, Rigo; mom, Yanira; 7-year-old son, Jarrick; and a grandpa, Nasario. The house is connected to a little country store, which the family owns. The store is pretty small, but they provide most of the food for Chimurria. They have a lot of rice, beans, coffee, sugar, but they also have a little fruit and vegetable section, some cheese, cookies, chips, etc. It about a quarter the size of a typical US gas station store. My host parents are really hard working. They get up to open the store by 6:30, and then they close around 8 or 9, depending on the day. They are open every day of the week, and only take vacation once a year. There are a few people who come in to help my host parents with the store, but Rigo and Yanira are always there, either attending to customers or organizing new deliveries.
They actually used to live in New Jersey for four years, and their son was born there. But they came back to Costa Rica when Rigo's mom got sick, and they were never able to get their visa renewed. Because of their experience in the sates, my foreignness is less weird to them. They know a lot about US culture, and I'm not an exciting novelty like I was in el Rosario. The change is welcome, and I'm glad not to be a walking curiosity in my own home anymore.
Their little boy is adorable. He is an only child, and the mom definitely babies him. But he is really well behaved and is always ready to play. He likes to play games revolved around hiding objects and then finding them. We made paper snowflakes one day, and he's been getting a kick out of hiding the snowflakes and asking me to find them. We also play a lot of dominoes. And he's beaten me in checkers a few times.
The grandpa mostly sits on his rocker on the front porch and watches the people walk by. In my free time I like to sit on the porch with him and read. This mutual porch spending time is our main source of bonding. He is missing a few teeth, and he mumbles, and is generally really hard for me to understand. So, our communications are pretty limited, but we get along well.
My best friends in the community are my neighbors. There is one family who lives across the street from me, that I spend most of my time with. There is a mom, dad, and 3 kids. Two girls and boy. The mom, Alicia, is the one I went running with that I wrote about. Alicia is always inviting me over to bake or do something with them, and they are always looking out for me.
My new family consists of a dad, Rigo; mom, Yanira; 7-year-old son, Jarrick; and a grandpa, Nasario. The house is connected to a little country store, which the family owns. The store is pretty small, but they provide most of the food for Chimurria. They have a lot of rice, beans, coffee, sugar, but they also have a little fruit and vegetable section, some cheese, cookies, chips, etc. It about a quarter the size of a typical US gas station store. My host parents are really hard working. They get up to open the store by 6:30, and then they close around 8 or 9, depending on the day. They are open every day of the week, and only take vacation once a year. There are a few people who come in to help my host parents with the store, but Rigo and Yanira are always there, either attending to customers or organizing new deliveries.
They actually used to live in New Jersey for four years, and their son was born there. But they came back to Costa Rica when Rigo's mom got sick, and they were never able to get their visa renewed. Because of their experience in the sates, my foreignness is less weird to them. They know a lot about US culture, and I'm not an exciting novelty like I was in el Rosario. The change is welcome, and I'm glad not to be a walking curiosity in my own home anymore.
Their little boy is adorable. He is an only child, and the mom definitely babies him. But he is really well behaved and is always ready to play. He likes to play games revolved around hiding objects and then finding them. We made paper snowflakes one day, and he's been getting a kick out of hiding the snowflakes and asking me to find them. We also play a lot of dominoes. And he's beaten me in checkers a few times.
The grandpa mostly sits on his rocker on the front porch and watches the people walk by. In my free time I like to sit on the porch with him and read. This mutual porch spending time is our main source of bonding. He is missing a few teeth, and he mumbles, and is generally really hard for me to understand. So, our communications are pretty limited, but we get along well.
My best friends in the community are my neighbors. There is one family who lives across the street from me, that I spend most of my time with. There is a mom, dad, and 3 kids. Two girls and boy. The mom, Alicia, is the one I went running with that I wrote about. Alicia is always inviting me over to bake or do something with them, and they are always looking out for me.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
So, I´m outside of my host parents little store, and a lady rides up on her motorcycle. ¨come here for a minute¨she says. ¨me?¨ I have to clarify. ---I am always shocked when people ask for me, personally. It makes me endlessly happy when people remember my name and know a little about me, but when a total stranger knows about me, it makes me feel less invisible, and I know that I am making some kind of headway at making a name for myself in the community.----´
¨yes, you, are are Julia right, the Peace Corps volunteer?¨
holy crap she knows my name AND she knows that I work for Peace Corps.
this is a great start to the conversation. so we get to talking and she tells me that she works for World Vision, one of the biggest NGOs in the world of development and child services. They have a branch in Upala, which is where she works from. She, Mary, told me that World Vision wants to have an art workshop in Chimurria for the kids in the community while they are on vacation, and asked me if I would be interested in helping them.
(Really, she knows my name, the peace corps, and she is helping find ways to help the community, I am exctatic)
So, I get to lead an art workshop for the kids in my community, and World Vision supplies the art supplies and finds the space. We had our first little art workshop last friday, and we will sart again this wednesday. It is only for 3 days and we have two groups. One for 3 hours in the morning and one for 3 hours in the afternoon.
If you have ever seen me draw, you might doubt my abilities to lead an art workshop, but I am telling you it was so much fun, and the kids loved it. I am kind of short of ideas on what to do with them next class, I might have to resort to making turkeys from traced hands, or maybe make fortune tellers. So if you have any ideas on fun kids art projects, let me know!
side note- I am getting really homesick, and its hard to keep myself motivated some days. Some days I have fun art workshops to lead, and others I just wander around the community looking for people to talk to. This job, my life in Costa Rica, is harder than I anticipated. When school starts I will at least be busy enough to forget about my homesickness for a while. But keeping my mind off of something only works temporarily, it doesn´t really solve the problem. I think the only way to cure homesickness is to feel at home in my community. That will take time, I know, you can´t just arrive somewhere and make it home. but, I wish it were a little easier. They have told us from the beginning that the first 3 months are the hardest. I don´t think I really imagined how hard it would be. Being alone in my community is way different than being in training with all my friends. Well, at least I have one month down. Two more to go, right? I am putting a lot of hope on month 4. --
Until then, I am trying to take life one day at a time, and looking for joy in the little things. Any other ideas to kick homesickness and to feel more at home in Chimurria are more than welcome.
lots of love,
Julia
¨yes, you, are are Julia right, the Peace Corps volunteer?¨
holy crap she knows my name AND she knows that I work for Peace Corps.
this is a great start to the conversation. so we get to talking and she tells me that she works for World Vision, one of the biggest NGOs in the world of development and child services. They have a branch in Upala, which is where she works from. She, Mary, told me that World Vision wants to have an art workshop in Chimurria for the kids in the community while they are on vacation, and asked me if I would be interested in helping them.
(Really, she knows my name, the peace corps, and she is helping find ways to help the community, I am exctatic)
So, I get to lead an art workshop for the kids in my community, and World Vision supplies the art supplies and finds the space. We had our first little art workshop last friday, and we will sart again this wednesday. It is only for 3 days and we have two groups. One for 3 hours in the morning and one for 3 hours in the afternoon.
If you have ever seen me draw, you might doubt my abilities to lead an art workshop, but I am telling you it was so much fun, and the kids loved it. I am kind of short of ideas on what to do with them next class, I might have to resort to making turkeys from traced hands, or maybe make fortune tellers. So if you have any ideas on fun kids art projects, let me know!
side note- I am getting really homesick, and its hard to keep myself motivated some days. Some days I have fun art workshops to lead, and others I just wander around the community looking for people to talk to. This job, my life in Costa Rica, is harder than I anticipated. When school starts I will at least be busy enough to forget about my homesickness for a while. But keeping my mind off of something only works temporarily, it doesn´t really solve the problem. I think the only way to cure homesickness is to feel at home in my community. That will take time, I know, you can´t just arrive somewhere and make it home. but, I wish it were a little easier. They have told us from the beginning that the first 3 months are the hardest. I don´t think I really imagined how hard it would be. Being alone in my community is way different than being in training with all my friends. Well, at least I have one month down. Two more to go, right? I am putting a lot of hope on month 4. --
Until then, I am trying to take life one day at a time, and looking for joy in the little things. Any other ideas to kick homesickness and to feel more at home in Chimurria are more than welcome.
lots of love,
Julia
Thursday, January 20, 2011
zombies and workouts
The most entertaining things about the past few days:
1) explaining zombies to my host family
2) going ¨running¨with my neighbor
Zombies:
I´m reading a book right now, World War Z, about a zombie apocoplypse and how the various countries around the world would respond. It´s mostly stupid, but its´s also funny. Anyway, I have the book out, and my uncle asks me what ¨war¨means in Spanish. And we start talking about the book I´m reading.
Salvador (my uncle): What is the book about?
Me: oh, its a book about a ficiticious zombie apocolypse.
(funny looks)
Me: You know, zombies. Uh. They are dead people who reanimate and feed of the flesh of the living...(I imitate a zombie)
Cousin: Oh, huh, I think I saw a movie about that once
Salvador: It has to be about this book!
Me: Anyway, the book hypothosyses what each country would do under such an event
Yanira (my host mom): Do you mean mummies?
Me: No, zombies
Yanira: Are they sleeping
Me: No, they are dead.
Cousin: OOOH, like I am legend with Will Smith
Me: exactly! Yes, Exactly like that
Salvador: I think I have that movie! I will go watch it tomorrow.
Anyway, the collective knowledge of zombies does not exist in Costa Rica. And it is way harder to explain in Spanish than my Spanish classes prepared me for. But that conversation had me laughing for days.
Running
I go running pretty frequently in my little town, and a neighbor told me she loved to run, and we decided to go running together one evening.
At the agreed upon time, she showed up at my house in jean capris, and a button up t-shirt. She was carrying a plastic bag with a water bottle in it, and was accompanied by her 6-year-old daughter. ¨I´m ready¨she says. I am doubtful, but go to change into my running clothes.
We get maybe 3 minutes into the run when the little girl needs a break. So, we walk the rest of the way, and pretty soon it gets dark and we head to the soccer field to run there, and do other exercises, and the little girl can be there and watch or participate if she wants. So we start running across the field, pretty soon another neighbor joins us. She is also wearing jean capris. Her dogs and her daughter come out to exercise, too. This turns into the most entertaining workout of my life. We would sprint across the field, they would stretch, and I would do some crossfit inspired exercise, then we would sprint again. Dogs, kids, jean capris, and all.
We are planning to meet up again tonight for another workout. Hopefully we can round up a few more participants.
1) explaining zombies to my host family
2) going ¨running¨with my neighbor
Zombies:
I´m reading a book right now, World War Z, about a zombie apocoplypse and how the various countries around the world would respond. It´s mostly stupid, but its´s also funny. Anyway, I have the book out, and my uncle asks me what ¨war¨means in Spanish. And we start talking about the book I´m reading.
Salvador (my uncle): What is the book about?
Me: oh, its a book about a ficiticious zombie apocolypse.
(funny looks)
Me: You know, zombies. Uh. They are dead people who reanimate and feed of the flesh of the living...(I imitate a zombie)
Cousin: Oh, huh, I think I saw a movie about that once
Salvador: It has to be about this book!
Me: Anyway, the book hypothosyses what each country would do under such an event
Yanira (my host mom): Do you mean mummies?
Me: No, zombies
Yanira: Are they sleeping
Me: No, they are dead.
Cousin: OOOH, like I am legend with Will Smith
Me: exactly! Yes, Exactly like that
Salvador: I think I have that movie! I will go watch it tomorrow.
Anyway, the collective knowledge of zombies does not exist in Costa Rica. And it is way harder to explain in Spanish than my Spanish classes prepared me for. But that conversation had me laughing for days.
Running
I go running pretty frequently in my little town, and a neighbor told me she loved to run, and we decided to go running together one evening.
At the agreed upon time, she showed up at my house in jean capris, and a button up t-shirt. She was carrying a plastic bag with a water bottle in it, and was accompanied by her 6-year-old daughter. ¨I´m ready¨she says. I am doubtful, but go to change into my running clothes.
We get maybe 3 minutes into the run when the little girl needs a break. So, we walk the rest of the way, and pretty soon it gets dark and we head to the soccer field to run there, and do other exercises, and the little girl can be there and watch or participate if she wants. So we start running across the field, pretty soon another neighbor joins us. She is also wearing jean capris. Her dogs and her daughter come out to exercise, too. This turns into the most entertaining workout of my life. We would sprint across the field, they would stretch, and I would do some crossfit inspired exercise, then we would sprint again. Dogs, kids, jean capris, and all.
We are planning to meet up again tonight for another workout. Hopefully we can round up a few more participants.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
PO BOX
Sometimes, I admit, I get lonely and miss home. So, in order to have better communication with my friends and family I have opened up a PO Box, here is the address:
Julia Lockamy
Apartado Postal 29-5707
Upala, Alajuela C.P. 21301 CR
Costa Rica
CA
You can send letters, packages, what ever to this address. If you send packages be sure to do it with the US Postal Service. It is cheaper and more likely to get to me. Fed-Ex packages get held up in San Jose and I have to take a 5 hour bus ride to get to it.
I am excited to have an official address, and this will be it for 2 years, so write it down!
Julia Lockamy
Apartado Postal 29-5707
Upala, Alajuela C.P. 21301 CR
Costa Rica
CA
You can send letters, packages, what ever to this address. If you send packages be sure to do it with the US Postal Service. It is cheaper and more likely to get to me. Fed-Ex packages get held up in San Jose and I have to take a 5 hour bus ride to get to it.
I am excited to have an official address, and this will be it for 2 years, so write it down!
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