Trust

     We landed safely Friday afternoon! First things first, we went to the bank to exchange our American dollars for colones. After my first experience with colones, I realized that I didn’t know nearly as much as I should about the exchange rates and values of this new currency. One thousand colones is worth about two American dollars. When we arrived, we stood in line and waited for the next available teller, just like at home. When it was my turn, I simply handed the teller my American dollars and said, “Colones por favor.” The woman counted out the Costa Rican currency and handed it back to me. Once we were on the bus, I took out my money and begin to try to count it. There were bills marked 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000. As I counted, I wondered, what if this wasn’t the right amount for the money I gave her? How would I know? How would I know how to spend this money? I had to trust that she was honest and gave me the correct amount. I would also have to trust that anyone I gave any money to would give me the correct change.

     After the bank we went to the market or “Feria”. There was a surplus of fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat. I have never seen pineapples so ripe! It is currently the season for Mangos, one of my favorite fruits, and they were everywhere and selling for very low prices.

     I experienced my first earthquake as we were getting on the bus to leave town. It was very small, so there is nothing to be worried about. While riding through town I noticed every house, business, and school had gates and bars on all the windows. The narrow streets were full of large buses, cars, and motorcycles. There are no lines on the streets and as far as I could see, no speed limits. Vehicles came within inches, maybe centimeters, of each other and everyone was generous with the horn. But oddly enough, no one seemed to be angry.

     After riding on the narrow streets, extremely sharp curves, mountain sides with no railings, and at what I consider to be excessive speeds for the conditions, I learned to trust in Roy. Roy is our driver for the next three and a half weeks, and I trust that he will do an excellent job! On Saturday, we visited the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. Other than on T.V and movies, I’ve never seen a real waterfall, not one this big anyway. It was amazing! To be so close to something that powerful was a really great feeling. 

 I held a live centipede!

     While touring the park, I noticed that most of the signs were in both English and Spanish. This certainly makes it easier for those that do not speak Spanish to understand. Something to think about in my own classroom would be to have things in both English and Spanish for the students and the parents; items such as forms, permission slips, labels in the room, etc., for both my English language learners and for parents that may not speak English. Another thing to think about when teaching my students about money is to have multiple examples of each bill or coins worth. Also, allow for multiple opportunities for my students to use the money, such as in a classroom store.

      Tomorrow we are going to see an active volcano! I am very excited! We also meet are first host family tomorrow evening. I am not sure what to expect but I cannot wait for the next part of my adventure!