It wasn't an easy decision, but I am SO EXCITED to finally announce that.....
I'M MOVING BACK TO COSTA RICA!!!!
Yep, here we go...AGAIN. How many times is this now? Four, in case you're wondering. Not only that, but....
I'M GOING TO BE AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER THERE!!!
Whoooohooo!!! So here are the details.
Who: Academy del Sol (School of the sun. Perfect.) It's a private, bilingual school with expat and local families.
Where: Nosara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, I will be on the Pacific coast, on the northern Nicoya Peninsula. (Last time, I was on the southern Osa Peninsula).
What: PreK/Kinder social studies and language arts and 1st-3rd grade English, math, and science. (Sound familiar? ha)
When: I will land in Costa Rica next Thursday and spend a much needed weekend with Paco before starting work in Nosara on Oct. 28th.
How: Google, email, Kayak.com, Facebook, Sacramento, plane, Atlanta, car, Auburn, plane, San Jose, bus, Nosara. In that order.
And the biggest question: WHY. I have a job here in California, right?
To answer as candidly as possible, I am unhappy here. I came into this chapter of my journey with high hopes to teach, live, and learn about alternative lifestyles. Teaching a Farm to Table class and helping with field trips and working with my hands, outside in the beautiful weather, sounded nice. Quakerism would be an added twist to this wonderful adventure. This experience was supposed to be rich and challenging but instead, I am finding that this is not at all what I was looking for.
Unfortunately, there was miscommunication or misunderstanding somewhere along the line, and it turns out that I am only teaching one hour....yes, ONE. HOUR. per week, if that. If I add up all the hours, that means about 8-9 hours a semester. That's what one teacher gets in a day or two! Career-wise, that's just not going to cut it. While I appreciate high school students for some reasons, I've learned that my true calling is with the young minds. At that age, they light up the room with young curiosity, laughter, raw potential, spontaneity, earnestness, and creativity - all of these things you can find in high schoolers, but there is just something about kids' earnestness that captivates me! That's why I love teaching elementary grades, and it took that being absent for me to realize it.
Life here is also challenging in a way a didn't expect - working, living, and playing on the same campus with virtually no contact with "the outside world" turned out to be harder for independent me than I expected. I miss going and doing and seeing new things all the time. I also like to be able to separate work and play, and again, it took me not having that freedom to realize how important it was to me.
However, it hasn't all been bad. I learned to play soccer here, which I really am surprised I like so much. I doubled my knowledge about plants and farming, and I hate to admit that I have even adopted a Quaker practice or two! Haha! I have met people here that are very special, few and far between - I've learned about myself and the world around me through big conversations and teamwork with them. The community has been nothing but supportive, especially in this decision process, and I feel quite guilty for leaving them, especially Maggie who really needs my help in the garden. I learned about many things that I value, and I learned that I want to make those things a priority.
I go on these huge, crazy, life adventures in search of an amazing life that fuels my passion for teaching, learning, cooking, exploring, loving, growing, and being healthy, and although this process right now is hectic and makes me want to panic and run away into Lalaland, I have to remind myself why I am making this leap of faith yet again. I have never felt as happy, healthy, and whole as I have living in Costa Rica (especially this last time!), and I hope that is how I will feel again. I can't wait to meet my kiddos and coworkers and new friends, and it will be nice being closer to at least one person I love. I will be near the beach and surfing too. Plus, there will be more bananas, pineapple, coconuts, AVOCADOS, and Gallo Pinto than I can eat, and the coffee snob in me will once again be satisfied.
The best part? My new school has the best extracurricular clubs maybe ever. Every Friday, students get out at noon, teachers plan for a couple hours, and then everyone meets up at the beach for SURF CLUB!! A local surf shop lets us borrow boards so we can all enjoy an afternoon of surfing. EVERY WEEK. Yes, please.
So, I leave tomorrow to go back home to repack and visit family and friends for a couple days. Then, I will fly to San Jose and visit with Paco for a long weekend before taking the bus to Nosara. Hopefully, I'll have housing secured by then, and I will move in and start work the next day. My students will arrive on November 3rd, and I am so excited, nervous, and anxious, and I want to hug them all already! My very first, real, First Day of School.
And here we go again.....
PURA VIDA
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