how many ticos does it take to install a sink?

Took a typical trip to Frailes (my near by “hub-town”) today. Forgot the stuff I needed to bring to do what I wanted, forgot to buy the things I needed and couldn't find the things I did remember. But I'm pretty unstressed about out. Learned my lesson on that one. My lessons are planned, I studied Spanish for a bit and I bought some oatmeal for breakfast this week (no more soda crackers for breakfast!)

Classes went well today and I came home to a pleasantly surprising scene: three women installing a sink. This seemed pretty unusual given the machismo culture here but then again women are responsible for doing pretty much everything in the house. Anyway, a little background on this sink. We recently got a new toilet, smaller and dark green, installed far too close to the old sink. I couldn't figure what they were thinking. I could barely get my whole bottom on it. Then they bought a new sink but it was sitting outside my room in the hall for over a month. I was surprised to still see it there when I came home from vacation.

So today my host mom, host sister and her best friend were squeezed into our tiny bathroom debating and configuring and connecting the new sink. When I got back from Frailes though it turned into a comedy of errors. My host mom had gone to get a new tube/pipe and then my host dad joined the mix, purely to add his two cents (not to actually help). Next thing I know the four of them are jammed in there, my host mom on the toilet, the best friend holding her phone for light and Kimberly drilling a hole with my host dad “supervising”. What a scene. And after all that the new pipe wasn't the answer and they had to bring in 3 of the 5 different pipes they'd brought out to the garage. Still not sure if its working...

crafts and compromise

I've been super busy and loving it! Finally settling into more of a routine with my teaching a this past unit on community (jobs, places and transportation) when pretty smoothly. One person still failed the test but hopefully we're gonna work on that for the next test. I've been giving English “office hours” between my morning and afternoon classes for students who have questions or want help or want to study or work on homework. Some people have taken advantage, but usually not the ones that need to the most. A lot of people have told me that you can't win them all, that you can't motivate every student and not everyone is going to do well. On its face this seems like good advice, quite logical and realistic but I've never been much of a realist when it comes to teaching. While I'm sure that these people are trying to reassure me that I'm doing a good job and not to worry about a few people, I'm not so willing to make excuses. Obviously there is a lot at work inside my classroom. As I've said to a few people here, the parents and families are part of my classroom too, for better or for worse. Because I can teach my heart out, tell them how important it is to learn, and to do their homework and study but when the go home, the parents maybe sending a completely different message. But I still hold out hope and think that it is possible for all my students to do well and while not all of the responsibility on me, if I'm not doing everything I can, what am I doing? Making excuses, compromising and essentially giving up, even if only a little bit. I think the best I can do is stay true to my intentions, do my best and keep trying as long as I have energy.

Besides teaching (as if that weren't enough!) I've been continuing to knit with a group of people here. Most of them are seasoned crochet-ers so knitting with two needles is a challenge. On the flip side I have taken up crocheting again after over 15 years. Comes right back though and I am crocheting flowers when I'm not working on knitting my market bag. This place is quite crafty so as you can imagine I'm happy.

In other news I've been giving adult English classes on Thursday to a few people who are trying to pass the English bachillerato (the test at the end of high school so you can enter college). It's fun to work with adult students who are motivated and with a clear purpose for the class. Also on Thursday nights there is a youth development class going on. Somewhat difficult to explain what it's all about. It's a project run by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization, a branch of the United Nations) to try to help rural youth organize, educate and eventually start their own micro-business. I know, this sounds like an amazing idea, right? And I'm super excited to have been invited to participate, am learning tons about the community, meeting people and am interested to see where it goes. With that said I also have my reservations about a foreign aid organization coming into a small rural town, telling people what their problem is and "forcing" a solution on them. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh but I guess I have a different approach that involves talking with people and helping them to come to their own realizations, define their own problems and come to their own solutions. Not only does this usually result in the most appropriate, authentic and realistic solutions, but it actually empowers people rather than perpetuating a situation where people are unaware of the part they can play in their own problems and their solutions. I guess I give people more credit than most. Sure they might not have all the answers but I'd like to think most people are perfectly capable of solving their own problems when given the opportunity and the resources. Granted, the class will certainly have it's benefits, if only to get the young people in town to think of their lives and the opportunities available to them in a new light and learn to work together. And I'm learning a lot about what it means to live in a small rural town. So all in all I think it's a plus but it's tempered with some skepticism and disappointment.

Vacation is coming up in a week and I'm heading out of town for two weeks to travel a bit in Costa Rica. More about that later this month!