Wednesday 24 May 2017

Visitors Galore!

We had the privilege to host 3 different couples in March and April! While 2 of the couples were new to San Nicolas, the third couple knew their way around quite well :)
Davie and Sarah visited us in March and were able to recconect with people in San Nicolas and see some of the sights around this beautiful country. We loved hosting them and sharing our joys and struggles about living and working in San Nicolas. They just GET IT! We also had a chance to skype with Billy and Kristin while they were here and that was a great time for all of us to connect. We enjoyed catching up and look forward to the next time our paths cross!

In March, we also hosted Jill and Peter who were our friends (and short-term roommates) in Indianapolis. We loved having them here and showing them our lives here. We loved that they were able to visit our schools and help us in English class. Turns out ‘Jill’ is very difficult to pronounce in Spanish ;) We also enjoyed a bit of vacation time with them and visited a beautiful beach near San Juan del Sur.

In April, Greta and Darin made their way south from Portland, Oregon. We enjoyed spending time with them. We visited our schools, hung out in our patio area, and enjoyed some time on Ometepe Island.

(No photo credit to me: Sarah, Jill and Greta! Thanks!!)

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Lunch in Esteli (Kyle, Alli, Jake, Sarah, Davie)

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Getting that wifi from the park

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Enjoying Breakfast with Friends

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“Playing” soccer with some of my elementary students in Quebrada de Agua. My team definitely beat “Team Peter” :)

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Jill and Pete in Granada

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Yoga at Sunset

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Group Picture on the beach (Alli, Kyle, Peter, Jill)

Greta and I at the Mirador—another amazing sunset.

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Checking out the plants at La Garnacha

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Beach Day!

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Incredible views at the Mirador

Alli and Greta

Ometepe was incredible, as always!

It has truly been a blessing to have SO many visitors over our 2 years here. We really feel lucky that so many have chosen to see our lives here and now get it in a different way. I will have another visitor blog coming up, but as we start to wrap up our time here in San Nicolas, I will also start writing about the good-byes and experiences we will be having over our final 2 months of service. I cannot believe we are gearing up for those good-byes.

Love.

Thursday 18 May 2017

Yes, I Can!

That is the title of our 12-week English program this semester. We have switched it up a bit this year and decided to work more towards a “burst” of English with a focus on pronunciation and conversation. With the help of some very awesome Costa Rica Peace Corps Friends who passed on some great planning materials, we are really enjoying the classes and the students seemed to be more engaged. These classes aren’t meant to get to full to fluency in 12 weeks. BUT it is supposed to get the kids up and participating and to get them to the the point when they say Si, Yo Puedo! (Yes I CAN!) If they are willing to get in front of the class and hold a basic introduction conversation without giggling and running away then we are half-way there :D

Last week we did the clothing unit where we learned a lot of clothing vocab and the proper use of the verb “to wear”. Of course, this meant a fashion show (in my younger student class), and the kids loved it! Here are a few pictures from that day:

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Helen, the Fashionista

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Ronmel, the coolest dude in town!

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Ciara, the trend setter

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Luis Aaron, the trail blazer

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All the models and Profe Allison, looking SWEET! :)

Love.