When Pigs Fly

I’ll become a legal resident of Costa Rica when pigs fly…

How long have I been gathering paperwork for this thing?  Since before I graduated college.  When did I finally have all my paperwork notified, certified, apostilled, and sent back to Costa Rica?  Last August.  Then I wait.

I wrote in January about my experience to get the fingerprints done, as that was on my to-do-list for my work permit application. 

Well I’m not going through this alone, because the other foreign teachers are also seeking residency, but at this point, I am the furthest along in the process.  It’s certainly not a competition though.  I have been the only one fortunate enough to get fingerprints taken.  I went without an appointment, and without any paperwork, whereas the other teachers now cannot even get an appointment because they are told they need some sort of paperwork from the school, yet the school, nor the lawyers can come up with this paperwork.

The lawyer says he has no idea how I got my fingerprints taken.  I was persistent, that’s how.  When they ask me for paperwork that day and I didn’t have it, I was not about to make another trip to San José and postpone the process further.  I said what I needed to and got myself through.

So you’d think I would have my work permit and residency by now, right?  All my paperwork and fingerprints are ready to go and since the school was inscribed by immigration last month, I should be good to go.  Not. We have switched lawyers in the process, and while they try to figure out what’s going on and what really needs to be done, my 90 days are ticking away.  I have exactly one month from today until my visa runs out…

We found out this week that I actually had not done everything on the to-do-list.  I now have to go to the consulate.  The lawyer told me, no big deal, just go during your week off next week.  Well trying to book an appointment with less than a week’s notice was wishful thinking.  Of course there weren’t any appointments available until my first day back to work.  Since this is work related, my request for absence on that day was easily approved, but that doesn’t mean making another trip to San José is easy, quick, or cheap.

I’ll be spending Easter 2013 by myself in a hotel…

On a more positive note:

Yesterday, the school secretary asked me to come into the office for a second.  I was so shocked when I got in there.  She had a brand new globe for me and a meter stick!  Two things I have been asking for for a long time.  I’ve put them on every single wish list that I have ever turned in to anyone, but I kind of felt like I was just wasting ink every time I wrote “globe” on a wish list.  Apparently the school had ordered this for me before the start of this year when I made my 2013 supply list, and they decided not to tell me they had ordered it.  It just took two months to get here.  I was seriously so shocked when I saw the globe and meter stick, and so happy I wanted to cry!  I know that sounds so dumb.  It’s not the fact that I got a globe, but it just means a lot to know that someone is actually listening to me, and that someone took the time, money, and effort to order this for me.

It’s funny there was just a man at school the other day who was visiting from the united states.  He is a president of some educational supply company.  I was introduced to him, and he asked me if there was anything I wanted for my classroom.  Smartboard?  No, I want a globe.  But if we are talking electronics, I would love to have an Elmo.  But a globe and a meter stick.  I told him it’s not that I know I can’t have these things, because everything is possible, but in such a rural area and with such a limited budget, everything just takes longer.  Little did I know at that point that my globe had been ordered two months earlier and was on its way to Cóbano. 

And even crazier than me getting a globe... today the school got something I NEVER thought it would get.  When this was announced at our staff meeting yesterday, I almost fell off of the bench where I was sitting.  Somebody donated a photocopy machine to the school!!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!  Just last week I had to hand-make several worksheets because the copy store gave me 2 fewer than I needed.  The normal solution would be to run to the office and make a quick copy, but without a copy machine that wasn't possible.  Next I would have jumped into my car and drove to the copy store real quick, but without a car that wasn't an option either.  By the time the next bus would come, class would have already started, so what else is a teacher to do?  Hand make her own worksheets.  The students who got my hand-made worksheets actually thought it was pretty cool.  I didn't think it was cool while I was doing it.  Either way, no more hand-written worksheets for this teacher!

I took a picture so I could look back and laugh one day.

I've had a little behavior situation going on with one of my students recently.  A situation occurred last week, and the parents all of a sudden began making accusations against me to things unrelated to the situation that I reprimanded the student for last week.  Details don't need to be shared here, other than that it was upsetting to me that a parent would make these accusations against me- things that go against my character. Well in the midst of that, I received a very encouraging note from another parent.  She had recently spent the day organizing the library, which is accessed through my room, so she got to hear a lot of me that day.  Although I knew she could hear me from the library, I just did my normal thing. Didn't try to impress.  This is what she wrote me:  (I crossed out her e-mail address since this is posted online for all to see.)

This reminded me that the positives far outweigh the negatives.  I know I can't please every student and every parent, but this praise from a happy parent came just at the right time to encourage me through a frustrating situation with a not-so-happy parent.

Side note:

I’m watching The Simpsons in Spanish and eating Chips Ahoy while I write this.  In fine print on the wrapper of my Chips Ahoy cookies, it says “hacer ejercicio es divertido. Practícalo diaro.”  What kind of cookie wrapper says that exercise is fun, do it daily?! Jeez, let me enjoy my cookies without reminding me they are bad for me! Maybe I’ll go for a walk tomorrow…to the grocery store… to buy more cookies. Hahaha

This week in Miss Hill's class...

Holy guacamole, I have been soo busy with work work work stuff.  Teaching is so NOT a 9-5  (or 7 to 3 in my case) job.  This week has been one of those non-stop weeks where I get off this bus from school, walk to my house, then start working again until it's time to go to sleep and do it all again the next day.  Lesson plans, exams to write, papers to grade, worksheets to make....

It's been a good week though!

with a few of my 6th graders

In fifth grade we have been studying Author's Purpose, so we made PIE on Monday.  I wish it was real, but it was made out of paper plates.  This is a craft I did last year with my fifth graders as well.  I may have posted a pic last year, but I don't remember. I used clothes pins to clip them to the window to show off, but the pies will go home this week so they can use them to study for the upcoming test.

 Here is an up-close of one of the pies:

Open up each piece of pie and we've got definitions for Author's Purpose, persuade (P), inform (I), and entertain (E).

Thursday of this week we recognized the kitchen staff, as it was Day of the Cook or something to that effect.  I cut out flowers and my sixth graders collected sticks.  Then each student wrote a thank you on the flowers to Nora and Rosie, our cooks.  I then cut a two holes in each paper flower to weave a stick through.  This is how they turned out:

Then we put them all together and I tied them up with a piece of yarn to make a bouquet.  I picked a student's name out of my popcorn container and this person got to present the bouquet to Nora and Rosie.

my sixth graders (minus 2) after making the bouquet!

Notice anything new above my whiteboard?  Something I didn't have last year... a clock!  Last week every teacher got a clock!  I used my screwdriver with interchangeable screws and hung it by myself.  Go me!

presenting our thank you bouquet 

Friday was Día Internacional de la Mujer and we had our first acto cívico (school assembly)!  It's funny how I have celebrated a handful of so-called "international"  days for the first time since moving to Costa Rica.  I think it's pretty cool, and important that students recognize these international holidays since there are students from 19 different countries represented at our school.  Did any of you know that March 8 was International Women's Day?

In the morning the director came around to each classroom and told all the females happy women's day. Before snack time we had a short assembly.  Each class had prepared a collection of small construction paper flowers/ leaves/ other items on which each student wrote something for women's day.  My students made hearts, because that seemed feminine, the majority of students in other grades would probably make flowers, and we had just made paper flowers the day before.  My sixth graders each wrote the name of a female who is important to them on their heart and then they wrote why.  While I expected all of my students to write about their moms, I was surprised to see when several students wrote a thank you to me on their hearts!  So sweet!

We all got together at the assembly and the high school students presented a powerpoint to the group that they had made on influential women in history.  Anne Frank, Sally Ride, Marie Curie, Helen Keller...

Then students who wanted to share stood up and said something about why they thought women were important.  

The best part was the end where each class lined up and placed the leaves/ flowers/ apples/ hearts onto the outline of a tree.  After all of the tributes to important women were placed on the tree, you couldn't even tell it was a tree!

Ta da!

Show and Tell!

Since I had an idea what to expect this year, and had a good month or so at home, I got crafty so I would have the materials and decorations I needed to start the year off.  I am so excited to have a calendar this year!   A calendar was the one thing I knew I wanted to buy for my classroom, but clearly I didn't stop there.  I also made a fair amount of stuff on the computer.  I had to take advantage of having a printer while in the United States.  And to make it last, I toted all the paper items I had gathered to Lakeshore and laminated them, all 53 feet.  Thanks Kelsey for all the help cutting it out!  Your cutting is so precise and your edges are rounded; mine are not :)  I can tell who cut what!  I've gotten a lot of compliments on how nice my classroom looks from parents and other staff members, but there's a lot of other people who helped make this space inviting.  Books, whiteboards, stickers, posters, even help glueing and cutting things...there's so much I could name, that friends and family have been so generous with.  Many of you who have never even been to my little school, have a piece of you in it.  That makes my heart smile.  Thank you!

a new banner greets us all!

A fresh coat of paint.  My temporary classroom is the window on the far right.

BEFORE:  A blank slate... even if it's temporary, I'm happy I have this room.  I have my own desk this year!  Until I move rooms, that is :(

AFTER:  Much better now that it has some color.

My theme this year is movies.  The clapboard says Miss Hill's class, Now Starring:  and each star has a student's name on it.

I found these cute popcorn cut-outs at Jo-Ann Fabrics (in the US of course) and each student has their own hook to hang their backpack.

I found these name tags at Barnes & Noble!

These oversized ticket cutouts came from Lakeshore

We are lucky to have this great window that even closes.  And this room has overhead lights!

My new fifth grade class!

My 7 fifth  graders (one is absent) are now in sixth grade, with 3 new faces!

I made the "Who Will Pop Up Next" sign and popcorn with each students name inside.  I don't use this all the time, but it is a random way to pick students to run an errand or answer a question.  I have one popcorn container for each grade I teach.

Thanks Mom for the Scientific Method poster set!

"Meet the Cast" of 5th and 6th grade
I made the signs that say English, Math, and Science..

we all signed it, and are accountable!

my hand-made behavior chart.  If you end the day on green, blue, or purple, you earn a sticker on your incentive chart.

Last year my 5th graders came up with the name "Good Times!" for their reward system.  These are the incentive charts where students have a chance to earn a sticker each day.

Target dollar section= prize box!  After each row on the incentive chart is filled up, students earn a small prize, and after the ENTIRE incentive chart is filled the student gets his or her choice from Miss Hill's prize box!

I guess I was so excited about having a classroom calendar that I didn't even take a picture of it.  oops.  It matches the die cut letters that I used to make the signs and also matches the Class Rules poster.

New Beginnings

Probably a lame title for my post, but that's all I got.  Great grammar for an English teacher, no?

It has been a long while since I updated this blog.  I think I have already been back in CR for a month.  Tomorrow starts the third week at school; I know that much.

The school year seemed to get off to a bit of a rough start, but I figure that's a normal thing with the first week of school in any place.  We just had a lot working against us.  I came back excited to see the new classrooms that were to be built over the Summer break, but only saw the same pile of lumber I saw last year.  We got our classroom assignments, and my classroom is so new that it's not even built yet.  The time frame is one month, but that was 3 weeks ago during teacher orientation week... enough money wasn't raised.  The project is projected at $7,000 for 3 new classrooms, and we need about $3,000 more.

Fortunately for me, I still have a roof over my students' heads, but that's not the case for everybody at Futuro Verde.  All of the elementary grades have classrooms, although 3 of us will move once (or if) the new classrooms are built.  The high school grades have to share classrooms until that point, which is difficult.  To have two grades and two teachers teaching two different subjects in one room at one time, is not ideal.  So far the grades that have to share rooms have been having classes outside under the mango trees with a portable white board or either in the lunch room, if other grades are lunching at that time, of course.  

The school was also short 3 teachers, until last week when hiring was finalized.  Everyone has pulled together though and we're doing the best we can with what we have.  I didn't have my 6th grade math series until this past Tuesday.  I got the new text books that I wanted for my students (yay!) because the publisher realized a 6th grade version, but they took a long time to get here from the United States.  We had a week without math books, oh my!

There's other little things, but the important thing is that everything seems to be coming together finally.  The heat here, though, is excruciating.  It is incredibly dry, since last year's rainy season wasn't so rainy.  The school was without water for two days, which was not so good.  We are fortunate enough to have a water tank that fills up as a reserve, but it seems that ran out too.  Fortunately water came back mid-day on Thursday.  Another problem with the heat is the dust.  The school is on a dirt road, because the majority of roads here are dirt.  The dust created by the passing cars and traffic is terrible.  It's like this big red cloud, and I know it can't be healthy for us to breathe this stuff.  I remember it started to get bad at the end of last year, but it is sooo much worse now.  The classrooms have to be wiped down several times throughout the day because of the dust that comes in.  In addition to trying to raise money to build classrooms, there has also been an effort to raise money to put molasses down on the portion of the road in front of the school.  Ideally, it would be paved, but molasses will keep the dirt down and is cheaper in the short term.  We'll pray for a paved road after we can see and breathe.

Anyways, I am happy with my classes and with my [temporary] classroom too.  I brought back many fun things to decorate, and did A LOT of laminating over the break too.  I know it will all have to come off the walls once I get to move to my new classroom, but I wanted my students to feel situated in their space while they are there, however long it may be.

Another exciting thing is that I moved last weekend!  I no longer live with the host family in Cóbano, because I was ready for a change this year.  I found a house in Montezuma.  It's literally just one room and a bathroom, and then a porch and kitchen, but it's enough for me.  So far I'm happy living by myself.  I did make a large sacrifice when deciding to move:  the luxury of hot water in the shower and the convenience of a washing machine.  I can only have so much, I guess.  It sounds crazy to say that I don't have hot water or a washing machine because my apartment in St. Augustine had everything.  Even a garage where I could park my car.  Now I take a dirty, hot bus.  That's how things change though, because clothes can be hand washed and I've found that hot water is just a luxury that I can live without.  I have what I need.  And there are monkeys in my yard, so that's an added bonus!

I think that's all for now.  My body is yelling at me to let it go to sleep because I hiked the waterfalls with some friends today and then walked up the Montezuma hill.  That means nothing if you have never seen the hill.  Should be called a mountain.  Just a typical Sunday in Montezuma.  ¡Pura Vida!

P.S.  If you feel led to donate to the school’s classroom construction fund, you can help us out online by buying supplies.  Thank you!

Click here to donate to build classrooms!