I think this second week in Monteverde has been favorite of the three weeks. I have gotten used to family and their schedule, and I have even gotten used to Monteverde. We have done and experienced so many amazing things here. First of all, the Cloud Forest School was unbelievable. I was so impressed with the amount of freedom the students had there. Our guide told us that the students make their own paths and trails through the forest, and I cannot imagine that being okay in most of the schools at home. I was also shocked at the amount of time that the students are able to spend outdoors. I was shocked when we were told that teachers take their students on hikes for one or two hours. When I was in high school, our field day got eliminated because we were losing too much “instructional time.” That’s why I was so amazed that so much of their learning takes place on hikes or with plants. I think it is very beneficial for students to spend time outside and learn from nature. It is definitely something I want to incorporate in my classroom.

Going to the coffee farm this week brought out the inner child in me. I used to love doing things like that when I was little, and I loved to spend time on the farm. Walking through the cow pasture reminded me of when my sister and I used to do that at home. We would go to the fence and pet the cows, and of course we named them all. I found a lot of cross cultural similarities in the coffee farm and the farms at home. Just like you can’t plant peanuts or cotton in the same field every year, they cannot plant coffee in the same fields ever year. Crop rotation was just one of similarities that I saw. Not only did planting the trees make me feel like a child again, but climbing the tree was so much fun for me.

Knowing that I have to tell my family goodbye in the morning is already making me sad. I wish I could do more to tell them thank you. They have taken care of me, and they have made me feel so comfortable in their home. I feel extremely lucky to have been placed with them, and I hate to say goodbye; but my Mama Tica told me to remember that I always had a family in Costa Rica, and she wanted me to come visit. So maybe it won't be goodbye forever!

We went to La Carpio during our first week in Costa Rica, and it has taken me a while to write about our visit because I felt as though I needed to reflect on the things I saw and experienced. I have never been to a place quite like La Carpio, and the people and places that I saw while I was there will stick with me forever.

I am glad that we got to go the Montessori school first. Some of the children there had clothes that were torn or dirty, but that did not keep them from learning. The children were smart. They took the few toys and learning games that they had, and they used them to their advantage. We each had a partner that we shadowed and played with while we were there. The boy I was with was just two years old, and I was very impressed with his knowledge. He had a game that required circles to go in the circular hole, squares in the square hole, triangles in the triangular hole etc. He put nearly every shape in its correct place with no help from me. I work in a nursery at home, and I usually work in the two year old room. I found that the little boy in La Carpio was more advanced than the children at home. The two-year-olds in the nursery are not able to place shapes the way that he could, so I was very impressed with him! I know that every child learns at different paces, but that is a good example of how a lower economic status does not prevent a child from learning. They have just as much potential as children from wealthy families. As a future teacher, I need to remember this. I need to have just as high or higher expectations for my students who are of a lower economic status. They are the children who do not receive the support and expectations at home, so it will be up to me to provide these things for them. I want all of my students to know that I expect their best work at all times. I also want them to understand that I will be there to help them when they need it. They need to know that I want to help them because I want them to succeed in my class and in their lives.

One of the things that stood out the most to me was the excessive heat in the Montessori school. There were a couple of fans in the room, but unfortunately they didn’t really help. I don’t understand how they were able to spend all day in there, and I know it had to be bad for their health. After just a couple of hours, I was not only extremely uncomfortable, I didn’t feel well. I wish there was more that I could have done to help them.

After spending a night in my house in Heredia, all I could think about was how small my bathroom was and how uncomfortable my bed was. After seeing La Carpio, I was embarrassed to have had those thoughts. I had my own room and my own bed, whereas many people in La Carpio do not even have those simple things. We saw the place where volunteers come to build beds for the people, and they told us how excited the people were to get them. It was an eye-opening experience for me, and I realized just how fortunate I am.

I think the story of La Carpio that Gail shared with us touched every heart in the room. We were all shocked with the extreme pain these people have gone through, and I was so impressed with the hope they had. I was also extremely impressed with Gail. She showed us that one person really can make a difference.