Last Day in Monteverde

Hola!
I've been enjoying all of the youngsters who come to visit their abuela, (grandma) my host Mom.  The two 11 year old girls go to a wonderful little school called the Cloud Forest School where all of their subjects are taught in English.  We visited the school yesterday and they are always looking for teachers if any of you are interested.  The school is in the middle of a beautiful forest and focuses on environmental sustainability and English.  The students work in a beautiful garden right "on campus"
and there are beautiful paths for nature walks.  Took photos with my phone which I can't post here right now but it's a sweet school.  There are some American students and many Costa Rican students on scholarships.  I've learned that in Costa Rica they teach English in the public schools but it's like Foreign Language in the U.S., if the students don't use it outside of class, they don't get very fluent.
In a town like Monteverde it's very important to speak fluent English since the tourist trade is so big so families do what they can to send their children to private schools where all subjects are taught in English.  Here's a photo of me and Ana getting ready to plant trees at Life Monteverde:  

I'm posting photos I took at a hummingbird garden where there were so many hummingbirds it was a bit reminiscent of Hitchcock.  The hummingbirds flew by so close to my head I could hear the buzzing of their wings.  I loved it.  Also posting the road leading to my house here, a photo of  the Farmers Market here this morning - a bit different from Meridian but I felt right at home, and a photo of a delicious salad I had for lunch today at a restaurant called Morphos - with painted butterflies everywhere.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Playa Flamingo and our last home stay.  It it's anywhere near as nice as my first two homestays I'll be happy.

Two more days in Monteverde

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Just as I'm becoming acustomed to the routine with my host family in Monteverde, I'll move again on Sunday.  I can't complain though because my next host family lives in Playa Flamingo - a block or two from the ocean!  Both of the families I've stayed with so far are early risers and they go to bed early which works well for me.  My host Mom serves me breakfast at 7:00 and here's what I've had so far: Empamadas with beans, eggs and toast, pancakes and today an omlette in a tortilla.  Muy bien.
We eat breakfast and dinner with our host families and often eat in a restaruant for lunch.  The avocadoes and mangos here are amazing!
Just in case you are wondering, I am doing quite a bit of curriculum work and homework while I'm here - it's not all about beaches and ziplining.
Here are some photos:  A few of us getting ready to go ziplining, our group having lucnh at a great restaurant in San Juaqin called Super Snacks, a phot of me and some young women who were staying with my last host family and some of the young family members at the birthday fiesta for their grandmother who turned 80.

More of Beautiful Monteverde

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I had an exciting morning here in Monteverde.  We went on a zipline tour of the canopy of the cloud forest, which means we were above the trees.  O.K., I know my family is amazed that I did this since I'm not much of a thrill seeker.  It was so much fun!   Riding on chairlifts in the mountains of Colorado was good preparation.
The other experience that has prepared me for life in Costa Rica would be spending time at our family cottage on Crystal Lake.  Many of my colleagues here are complaining about the bugs in their houses but so far the cottage has more bugs in it than any place I've been here.  They say Playa Flamingo is bugier though and I'll be there next week.
I didn't take my ipad with me on the zipline so I can post any pictures of it now but friends took videos and photos so I have proof!
We were already a very close group of people before the zipline tour, but that was definitely a team-building experience.
Below is a picture of me in a beautiful orchid garden that I toured after having an Agua Dulce Con Leche (My new favorite drink - sugar cane, water and milk) in the Orchid Cafe.
I'm also posting a photo of my host family here in Monteverde and a photo of me standing in front of a fountain at the school where I'm learning Spanish.  Pretty nice looking school huh?  When I'm sitting in class I watch the hummingbirds outside the window!

Third Day in Beautiful Monteverde

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Monteverde is a beautiful area in the mountains with green hills and lots of open space.  We spent a wonderful morning yesterday at a farm called Life Monteverde where they grow coffee and have goats, chickens, pigs and huge gardens.  We learned a lot about sustainable, organic farming and planted some trees.  Tomorrow we'll go to the Cloud Forest and Thursday we have a Zip Line tour through the canopy.
Today we have time to use the internet and work on curriculum.  It's a good thing because I have all kinds of ideas swirling in my brain and I need to get them in writing.  For you teachers out there, last week was like the first week of the school year - so many new people to meet, names to learn and information overload.  Exciting and exhausting.   Now I'm used to the schedule and my Spanish is improving little by little, although never fast enough for me.  Below is a view from the yard of my new home in Monteverde:

Below is a photo of my new host family in Monteverde - my host Mom Virginia, her daughter and granddaughter.  She also has another daughter, Fabiola, who has a one year old daughter named April and she has a son Erich.  They weren't home when I took this photo.  I'm also posting a photo of their house from the outside.  The little building on the right of the house is where the rooster lives. The photo of the woman weaving was taken at the school where I'm learning Spanish.  I have class for four hours a day - during our break we watched some of the indigenous people weave and work with wood and heard them speak about their craft.
Other photos are of Life in Monteverde Farm.  It's difficult to capture how beautiful it all is but here you go:

More amazing experiences!

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If you're drinking coffee right now did you know that coffee is a fruit?  You can see a photo of a coffee plant below.  I've been to a coffee plantation, a family owned an run organic farm, and my new home is in the beautiful countryside of Monteverde.  It's a change from Heredia.  Instead of waking up to the noises of the sister in law next door yelling at her children I'm waking up to the rooster in the backyard!  I'm usually awake anyway.
The woman in the red shirt in the photo with me is Ana, my host "Mom" in Heredia, who is 20 some years younger than I am.  She is a wonderful cook and host.
My new host Mom has a one year old granddaughter living with her so that is fun.  I speak more Spanish than she does. :)
My new host family does not have internet so I may not be able to post as often as I'd like,  I'm still having an amazing, wonderful life-changing experience.  Here are some photos from Heredia.  I'll post some from my new home in Monteverde soon.

One more day with my host family and then on to another

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I've become accustomed to the routine here with my host family in Heredia but tomorrow we leave for Monteverde and I'll have a new host family.  I'll be in a more mountainous area - a bit more touristy and more expensive from what I hear.
Yesterday we went to INBioparque, which is a wonderful part that's also a type of  zoo although only a few of the animals were in cages - the snakes and spiders!
We had a wonderful guide who is a naturalist and we learned a lot about various plants and wildlife.
You can see him in a photo below standing next to a kapok tree.  I'm including other photos of the park and a photo of the dinner my host "Mom" gave me when I told her I was only a little bit hungry.
I got two delicious chicken/mushroom cannelloni and a plate of mashed potatoes!  And yes, I ate it all.  She's a wonderful cook.  The cute girl in the turtle shell in the photo is Ana, who will be a Junior at MSU this fall.  We have agreed that I'll be her Michigan Mom.  O.K.  I still have some Spanish homework to do so I'll post the pictures and get back to work.  The photo of the food is for you Mary.

Photos of mi casa

Hola!
I'm learning Spanish just as fast as I can since I'm meeting so many interesting people to talk with.
Today we actually met the president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla and she answered our questions about environmental sustainability, gender equity and globalization.  I can't believe we got to meet her but the folks at M.S.U.  sent a request and had a connection here who helped.  We met in the presidential dining room, which was beautiful.  I don't have pictures of that on my ipad but will have access to some to post later.  President Chinchilla shook every one of our hands!  She is very gracious and has a sense of humor.
I feel so fortunate to be welcomed into the Costa Rican home of the Madrigal family.  I took some pictures of the house so you can see where I'm living.  The area with the cars is a gathering place which is surrounded by several small houses - more like apartments in the U.S.  The mattress is on the table because the rain came through the roof last night during the soccer game, which was a big deal.  I watched it with several members of the family who yelled and cheered just like my family does.  Tomorrow we meet with the Minister of Education and the Minister of the Environment.
I'm gathering lots of information to bring back to teachers and anyone else who is interested.
Here's a glimpse of my home for this week.  Next week I'll be with a new family in Monteverde.
I sure hope they are as nice as the Madrigals.