teaching.

i love teaching.

to start with, i suppose, and on the ego side, teaching implies having knowledge of something worth sharing.

of course, easy enough to have a sure stock of shareable knowledge, knowledge others will be interested in having shared, as a foreigner, and a holder of a coveted tongue.

so in one corner, the stuff you know, or think you know, or can grapple with, with some kind of agility, and that someone else wants to learn.

in the other corner, how to transmit it. in a way that connects and leaves a mark and stays somehow. this is the bit where you can hit or miss. the adrenaline moment. 

in the middle, standing there waiting for the ambush on both sides, the student.

i like the interplay of all these things. I like trying to make it work.

I like helping to open doors.

i like the whole door opening process.

I like teaching.

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i like writing. and also. mixing metaphors. 

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i am teaching a great deal and writing, less.

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hmmm.

This weekend we did an international photo challenge -

Elias and I in Costa Rica, Madeline and Mio in Australia all participated.

the rules were 24 hours to take 15 photos in or around the house of things starting with the letter M.

If anyone out there wants to join in, feel free - there is nothing to win, but, significantly, nothing to lose either! Please post a link so we can check out your work though!

*

And here are my pictures

MOUTH:

MANE:

(well, I hope you get the mane idea)

MONEY:

MARY:

MAP:

you can see where both our houses are - Palmares and Playa Tambor when you take the ferry across the gulf.
(even as i type, Wilson is sitting on the ferry on that faint blue dashed line you see in this map between Paquera and Puntarenas. Spooky!!!....)

MUGS:

some of my favourite things in the world.

" 'ave a go, ya mugs!"

MILK:

we have billingual milk here, and so proud of it, once is not enough to advertise the fact.

MASK:

one of our many masks.

MESS:

Elias' bed!

MAGNETS:

I never noticed before how our magnets have an Australian theme

MAGNIFYING GLASS:

is that a pout I see?

MOUSE:

MONKEY:

but which?

MIRROR:

and finally,

MEMORIES:

well I had it on my rack, my final 7 tiles. but the board was full and there was no where to play it

BALDrICK

meaning a type of medieval sash. for holding your sword. (not merely blackadder's underling)

damn.

now I add it to my

#HITLIST# (NOT a valid SOWPODS word!!!)

of SOWPODS words I am dying to play

which includes

SHITLIST
all the offensive ????HEAD words....

and more...

I just realised I seem to have converted this into..... (*gasp* oh DREAD!!!)..... a photoblog. I remember the controversy that broke out on Xanga when people first started posting pictures more than writing. one of the first xanga mini-wars. 10 years back, long time ago...whole internet generations. I've been here so long I rememeber when all our blogs were in one huge list, no next or previous. bianca broussard. but i digress  -

There was a time when I actually used to write here.

and

I should write more.

and

I will try to.

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meanwhile:

Wilson is down at the beach, working on spiffing up the house a bit, really just making cosmetic changes to make it feel more ours.

Though something important they are putting in tomorrow are insect screens on all the windows and doors; if you can leave windows and doors open, generally speaking, no need to put the airconditioning on - we have been putting it on a little, only at night setting the thermostat at about 25 degrees, so it doesn't get too cold or get to be a shock when you walkoutside in the morning. The houses were designed with 'gringos' in mind, and FULL airconditioning. but really not necessary it you can have some natural cooling.

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the fantastic thing about the beach in the tropics: it is ALWAYS warm beach weather. the water is never too cold either.

we have it rented out for the next 2 weekends, so it looks like it is going to be very helpful for us, and a very sound economic investment. we are also using it to barter for things that previously we had to pay for - a weekend at the beach for the cutting up of a bunch of wood. and everyone is happy, including our bank balance.

Importantly wil also has secured a whole new source of beautiful recyclable wood from the beach. Furthermore several of our new neighbours have expressed interest in his work. 

So we are feeling very pleased with ourselves indeed. We generally do, I confess. Because we're a bit obnoxious that way. hahaha

new wood for working!

*

meanwhile I am teaching in my little home classroom. i have a few students - enough to keep me busy - not enough to keep me rich!  - but i expect that will come. hahaha. well not really. but i hope to be able to at least survive.  i am charging the grand sum of $3 an hour. less for high school students. $2 for some. and nothing for others. I am terrible at the business part. but good at the teaching part. and that's what matters.

I need to get some good materials. a huge part of the work I have to do is in planning each class from scratch, collecting and creating materials and so putting together the entire curriculum for each level. with good course books to use, that process - developing sequence and themes etc is hugely facilitated.  so that's my next aim.

also i am going to get my self a projector for my computer. and have the highest tech little schoolroom you ever saw this side of the third world.

my classroom is also wil's gallery when people come to see his work. but most of the time, it is now MINE. I am enjoying having my own room.I like to sit in here and hang out. I like having my own whiteboard. funny, I have always loved every part of education so much, of course I feel happiest in a classroom* . now I don't even have to leave home to get a classroom fix.

*(oh alright, or at the beach!)

zarcero is a special place for us, a favourite daytrip. and today was one of the rare times all 5 of us went there - even more unusual we had no extras people. not a  common happening when you have an extended family as large as ours!

elias got a camera for christmas, and so we tried out an instant photo scavenger hunt, writing up a list while we ate lunch, based on the letter "F"

THE LIST

I misspelt forest! whoops! Elias noticed. I told him HE was wrong.

Now he says "ha ha ha HA!"

and I can only hang my head in shame.

my pictures :

FISH:

FACE

- power  plug faces here always look horrified and dismayed they exist only to have things shoved into all their orifaces.
I always wonder why they don't make them look happy instead. someone's idea of a joke?

FOOD

these guys were pretty chuffed about being in the photo. that's some REALLY healthy food

FOREST

hmmm. well a kind of pretend forest

FIRE

FAMILY

it was a wonderful family day with my wonderful family

FROG

FEAR

(check the guy peeping out through the doorway)

FARM

FRINGE

*

- i must add : i won! Elias didn't finish as he got distracted using Lily's longboard

...some more, non scavenger hunt photos to follow...

well, now resting from the beach at the club house; right now the children are swimming, wil is watching a football match, and I am sitting poolside having finally caught up on my scrabble matches - free WIFI....

ah! life is WONDERFUL

having a perfectly lovely time at our new beachhouse

here are some photos from our last trip - can't be bothered uploading the current ones - probably not til next trip down!

- last time we bought down two extra kids, and we all had a blast

AT the BEACH

elias and wil

elias' friend Vince, lily, bela and cousin Anita

the house: some details:

we bought the one on the right hand side

oh - and I should add - the first house we've 'had' or lived in in Costa Rica with hot water on tap!

amazingly first-world-ish!

(solar heated)

the house came furnished - we still need to 'make it ours' by chaging things, but overall it is very comfortable

the back verandah

los defines - the place - with borrowed golf cart

nice streets

beautiful golf course

lovely gardens

play ground

all the family

journey there are back and around about...

the ferry - even that part of the trip is fun -

looks like getting ready for the rapture!

lovely lovely all around =)

this is going to be very pleasant

=)

today was a HUGE shopping day

we bought...

a new sunhat

new bathers

and.....

a house at the beach!!!

here

now we are ALL SET FOR THE SUMMER!!!

very very happy

I know it doesn't seem like those things could go together- work trip - and exciting adventure -

but in Costa Rica,

doing even a working tour of rural areas
as part of a program of improving the level of English mastered by government school teachers,

you get a bit more adventure than you bargained for, and not just dealing with the roads.

remember Jurassic park? and how it's set in Costa Rica?

it was all TRUE!

only it's actually called MEGAFAUNA park
- and the sign - thank you management! - features some of the kind of English it is our mission - we brave daring undaunted English teachers - to clean up! -

one of the resident 'megafauna'-s....

at first she seemed quite tame....

but then....

she got restless...

....and we noticed the eggs nearby...

about to hatch!

no wonder she got a bit shirty!

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that was the megafauna adventure part of the trip

then we got some other closeups with nature:

 in-between interviews, we got a great tour of a butterfly farm kept by the scholarship students in the UNED in Cañas-

this butterfly disguses itself brilliantly to both look like the face of an owl as well as the face of a snake when seen from the side - look at the picture here from right to left, the jaw, eyes and nose of a snake are visible

and below, the owl's face

and below, the pretty colours to impress the other butterflies....

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and another interesting find sitting on top of an outdoor black board - a little frog

I forgot the name, but i thought the biologist said it was something or other FEOTIS... which means 'ugly'

not ugly at all -

one of my work companions, Manuel, a huge animal lover

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and finally  - another frog found - on said nature- (-and-especially-frog) -loving Manuel, no less - 

evening up my frog count with ryan at last!!!

mwhahahahaha!

anyway, we still had a nice day confirming once more that san jose shops are always disappointingly devoid of whatever it is you are looking for. sadly slipped into a state of obscelesence, outglammed, outmoded and in every way superceded by all the giant supermalls over in more affluent happening areas....

but i still like San Jose.

lots of character, some charming old architecture, much not so charming architecture, grunge, scunge, scuffle and all.

 

after driving in,

let's start at the graceful north end of town

                 

the northern end of town - a tropical 'parisian' feel to it

the conquistador

    
the two conquistadores? or the conquistador and the conquistado?

old school

   

kid's SAVE THE WORLD mural
 

   

under restoratation:

poor daniel Orduber, must get tired of such constant oration - then again, I rarely do...

the old library - declared national heritage means not being able to be fixed up it seems

  

  

nature is claiming it back again by pieces....

and moving back down south to the people's end of town

chaos rules...

 

       

   

   

   

hand made leather goods

the bus home....

and finally the goddamn 'platina' - such a little bump on the bridge - they have been unable to fix - which is the cause of daily traffic jams - more because people INSIST on stopping for it them because they have to
VERY frustrating.

all the same: costa rica, how I love thee