Well this week and last weekend, the 5 week program people left Costa Rica. It has been so strange walking to school without seeing the huge groups of people walking around. There are only about 25 exchange students remaining now, so we are all spread out. I miss everyone already!! There are some awesome people staying too though :).
Jasmine, Yo, Kelsey, Kevin (who will be here all 8 weeks), Lisa (our program leader), y Lawrence <3
My new block of Spanish is going well. There are only 4 students (coincidentally all girls), so we get to have a lot of one on one time with the teacher (who is also a lady). We tend to have a lot of gossip/life talks rather than learning out of our books, but that is just fine with me :). Our teacher has a slightly different teaching style, more relaxed view of the class, and is more alright with just taking the time to get to know the students on a personal basis than my last teacher was. I asked a couple of the other students, and they said that basically my new profesora is the embodiment of normal Tico teachings. Most of the teachers here are like her during the other terms. It really is interesting to me! They are so much more laid back here! I love it though :).
This also means the end of my elective class. I’m pretty sad about it! The teacher was pheomenal, and the class was so interesting! To help make up for it, I’ve started attending a dance class. I’ve learned a lot of the basic salsa moves, and some of the more advanced turns. It has been so much fun!! There are some really nice Ticos there, so it is a good chance to talk with people about the school, Tico life, and what dance means to them. I’m still working on figuring out exactly why being able to dance well is very important here, so that’s an ongoing project!
My Environmental Impacts and Social Development class <3
I had my first completely free weekend this past weekend, which was awesome. I basically did homework and relaxed the whole time. It was nice to have a little bit of personal time/time to reflect on how absolutely amazing this whole experience has been so far. It’s strange to think that in just 3 short weeks I will be home! Where has the time gone?!
~Megan
It was just me and one other gal in my Spanish class in Argentina, and we spent many of our class periods learning through discussions on our experiences rather than book work. I totally agree with you that that method was much more contextual and really helped boost my Spanish language skills as a result!
Having moments of personal, quiet reflection time is so valuable to your overall experience. It gives you a chance to take a deep breathe and fully absorb what you’ve seen, done, and accomplished to date. Michele