Here and Now

So, what am I doing now? I know you must be dying to know...why else would be reading this? Seriously.

I'm an English teacher! I teach at a school (or rather, a language institute) called Maximo Nivel and that's where I got certified too. It was a pretty seamless and comfortable transition. I teach full-time and I absolutely love it. I happily wake up around 5-5:30 am everyday and that's how I know I like this job. I think this may actually be the first job in which I've feel as though I am putting my actual, natural skills to use. I'm starting my second week tomorrow and I'm really getting the hang of it. My students are wonderful and funny and incredibly kind. Last week, while tutoring one of them, she said to me, "I can see that you love your job". Well, melt my li'l heart!

You may have gathered from the previous post that San Jose isn't my favorite place in the world and truthfully, neither is Costa Rica as a whole. Is it spectacularly beautiful once you get out of the city? Yes and I really do appreciate that and I'm happily embracing it too, BUT Costa Rica is very Americanized. I had heard that before coming here and considering I'd never been outside of America, I really didn't know what that meant. In fact, that kind of made me feel more at ease with coming here. Thankfully, I was able to experience the rich cultures of Mexico and Guatemala before coming here and was able to see what kinds of things I do want out of his experience. I just left America, so the idea of staying somewhere that has a True Value up the street and a Hooters down the road isn't entirely appealing. Also, I realized how important it is that I experience indigenous culture while I'm in Latin America and CR doesn't have much of that.

That being said, during the certification process, we learned about some of the other Maximo Nivel locations, one of which is in Cusco, Peru and after doing some research and talking to some folks who've lived there, it seemed like just the kind of place I wanted to be, so I applied for a position there. Considering the San Jose location is currently in need of teachers, they offered both Cameron and I a six month contract with two months here in San Jose and then four in Cusco, through December. From there I'm not sure what the future holds for me, but methinks if I like it there, I'll stay and teach until next summer, but not before coming home for a lengthy visit. I think it's safe to assume that I'll be BEYOND homesick by the time January rolls around.

So, that's where I'm at now. I promise to have shorter blogs from here on out. If you've read all of these, THANK YOU!