TGIF!!!

What. A. Week. I think this is the first week out of my entire semester where I've actually counted down to Friday...This week has been so much work!

Before I talk about this week though, I need to update you on last weekend!

me being a sloth....

 Kelly, Stephanie, and I went hiking on the Tres Cruces (Three Crosses) trail here on Alajuelita Mountain. The hike got its name from the two crosses that you pass on your hike up to the third cross, which can be seen perched on top of the mountain from most of the valley. We didn't have much information about the hike except for the location for the trailhead (which I had found on a former CDS teacher's blog I stumbled across) and the warning of gypsies. Yes, gypsies, the kind that supposedly take you and you're never seen again. Well, after asking just about everyone that spoke English and after I scoured the world wide web, we decided the gypsy theory was bogus. First thing Saturday morning we caught a taxi to Restaurante Valle Azul, which is known for its patio dinners overlooking the lit up San Jose valley. From there we took the trail up off the road, jsut to the right of the restaurant. Once on that trail though, there were several foot paths and cattle trails, none of which had signs (natually, it's Costa Rica, they don't even have NAMES, much less SIGNS, for their ROADS for crying out loud). After exploring a few, we decided upon the first trail that branched to the left and went uphill because 1. it was uphill and 2. it looked the most traveled. After hiking with no clue for about 45 minutes or so, and after pretty much scaling a dirt wall with foot holes, we spotted the first cross, which was more of a plus sign cross than a normal cross. Next we passed wild hot red and yellow baby orchids (which I couldnt resist digging up on my way back down so that I could plant them in my room....) and the vegetation was quickly changing from arid mountainside to hilltop cattle fields.

It was a cloudy morning where the clouds hung upon the peaks, and since we didn't pass many travelers, we weren't sure how much farther the second cross was. Everything was masked in cloud cover, and you could even see the clouds swirling over the land! Very cool. The trail was getting harder and we were getting tired. We started to follow the barbwire fence in a random cow pasture and then out of nowhere we saw the outline of the second cross, in the clouds, only about 30 feet ahead of us! FINALLY. This cross was a wire cross atop a step pyramid. The views here were limited because of the clouds, but we knew coming back down, the view would be beautiful once the clouds had passed. We took a break here, and discovered that there was a bunker type hollow in the base of the corss....that's where the gypsies must live, I thought. No gypsies sightings to far though.....

Yeah SO FAR. After a steep climb through the now cloud forest vegetation, we broke out into a clearing on the mountaintop that surrounded the third and final cross. In the clearing, there were about 5 men, laying on the grass around a fire (at 10am) with minimal bags and dirty clothes. THE GYPSIES. I knew it. Haha there they were. (Kelly and Stephanie tried to tell me that they weren't gypsies because they had cell phones but then I reminded them that when my phone was stolen, where do you think it ended up?!?! WITH GYPSIES. Also, I didn't have a phone and I wasn't a gypsy so that theory was totally busted.) Anywaayyyyyy we explored the area around the big cross a little, still unable to see the valley due to the clouds, but happy we had made it all the way up a pretty challenging hike. Oh the way back down, we passed more hikers, and as the clouds cleared, the valley began to reveal itself. Our predictions about the views at the second cross on the way back down were right, it was beautiful, and we climbed the first cross on our way back down too. Safely to the bottom, and home, we were happy with our hike, and happier that the gypsy myth had been a tall tale. 

third cross at the top

second cross on the way back down

climbing the first cross on the way back down! WAR EAGLE!

So, like I said, this week at school has been bonkers. We had the third grade science fair Wednesday that we had to cram, cram, cram for, not to mention all the other grades' science fairs every other morning that the kids begged incessantly to go to. Thursday (yesterday) was supposed to be my first full day teaching every subject all by myself, and it  went okay, but just okay, not good enough. My class is a little wild, so they have issues with self control, and since I came in the middle of the year after rules were established, I had a hard time drawing the line between okay chaos and not okay chaos. Therefore, my class and I had a little chat this morning and we established some new guidelines, one of which I learned in my 6th grade placement at Opelika Middle School. Thanks to OMS, I was able to implement the voice level system in which voice levels  and appropriate settings for each type are clearly defined. A "0" voice is a voice that is OFF, a "1" is whispering voice, 2 - partner work (two people), 3 - group work (three or more people), 4 - presenting voice, and 5- recess voice. We practiced and practiced, and they responded very well to it today (YAYYYYYY!!!!) and now I'm just hoping we actually remember that next week!! Also, when I want the kids to raise their hands to answer a question, I raise my hand. When I want them to all volunteer out loud, I use my hands to make a "tahdah" sort of gesture, something I may have seen on a classroom management video, something I may have made up on the spot, I don't remember (haha!) but that's working too....SO FAR. Key words there. So. Far. I have faith though, as long as we have a refresher course Monday and really stay on them and be consistent for the first few weeks.

Oh, my class is also playing the the elementary soccer world cup tournament, and we tied today in an overtime 5 round shootout (or whatever the actual soccer lingo is). Regardless, my 12 boys (and a few girls lol) are complete junkies. 

This coming week, I am very excited to delve into the heritage project we just started. These kids are from ALL OVER the place, and their parents are from even MORE places! We charted our heritage on a map in class today using star stickers and yarn to track each child's lineage, and our map is way cool. I also collected data about where they were born and where their ancestors are from, and I'm in the process of making some pretty neat posters/bulletin board stuff to go with our lineage tracking map. With only 17 kids' birthplaces, we represent 8 different countries!!! In case you're curious, my kids were BORN in Costa Rica, USA, Columbia, Honduras, Mexico, South Korea, Denmark, and Guatemala. SO COOL. That doesn't even come close though, to the countries these kids have LIVED in all together!! On Monday, we will be reading a book about family traditions and oral history that is written in both Spanish and English, and it tells many differnt family stories. We will then discuss why telling stories and oral history are important before they will be asked to write a favorite family story of their own. Tuesday we're discussing cultures, Thursday making a coat of arms, and the cover will be decorated in a traditional cultural art style from each of the kids' individual cultures. OH THIS IS GONNA BE SO FUN. They will be making an entire book when it is all said and done, and I can't wait to see the finished project. Mine is going to be so boring next to all of theirs! Very fun project though, and I will be getting observed by our principle next Tuesday during this subject so cross your fingers it goes well! 

That's all for now really....Tuesday elementary volleyball is going better, now that we have established yellow/red cards like in soccer, and I am still having fun with Thursday middle school boys volleyball. This weekend we are headed to Manuel Antonio (beach/national park) for Saturday, and I'm hoping to see all the wildlife right up on the beach like the articles in my travel guides say. I am in much need of a nice beach day. Ahhhhh... :) Gettin mah relaxation and tan onnnnnn....

PURA VIDA,

Jessica