Aero: Katherine Kostuk – Costa Rica 2013 – Life at School
Aero: Katherine Kostuk – Costa Rica 2013 – Life at School
Aero: Katherine Kostuk – Costa Rica 2013 – Life at School
When walking to school the first morning I was not sure what to expect. I was filled with both excitement and nerves at the same time. Walking into the classroom, I realized there were both things that were similar and different from what I’m use to. Usually desks are aligned in rows all facing the front, while here our desks were arranged in a half circle. I enjoyed sitting like this because it opened the atmosphere where we could talk to each other’s faces. Just like in the states, at the front of the room there were two white boards hanging on the wall. Through our classes our teachers used the white boards to write down words, irregular verbs, and so much more. It helped to have it written right in front of me as it was being explained. Unlike the states however there wasn’t a smart board, an over head projector or computer; just the white boards. When we were going to watch a couple movie clips they brought a television from down stairs so we could do the activity. Also like many other places in town there wasn’t air conditioning, so there were fans places around the room to help keep up cooled down. For the most part it was only the eight of us for the class. I was very excited to hear that our class would remain the eight of us since I go to a school with small class sizes.
Oscar, the owner of the school, taught our very first class. As he started to speak very fast Spanish, I realized we really weren’t in New York anymore. I quickly pulled out my notebook just like any other class so I could take notes. Not far behind that I realized I would need my books to help me through the class.
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For the rest of the time we were taught by Ana. She had a very different way of teaching the class than Oscar did. Ana would use a variety of teaching techniques with us. At times we would use games that we were familiar with already to practice describing things to each other and asking and answering questions. For example one time we picked out names of famous people and we each had to figure out who we were from what others told us. Another time we split up into groups and had to act out different scenes that she gave us. Many times we would write sentences down and share them with each other. We would be describing someone we knew, someplace we liked or something we had done on the trip already. It helped us practice many different areas of the language such as past, present and future. After we had shared with each other she would then go around the class room asking questions to see if we could remember who said what. I truly enjoyed the ways Ana taught us because she kept my attention which is hard to do by changing what we did each day.
Unlike the states school was not always in the classroom. This was my favorite part about school itself because it was unconventional. My very favorite class was when we went to the zoo. We sat on the lawn in the zoo and there was a group of peacocks walking around us. They were beautiful and got close enough I could have touched them. One of the other classes we had at the Central Park. During this class we had to complete a few activities such as finding different items within the super market that we don’t have in that states. We also had to ask people for directions to the pharmacy, Red Cross, supermarket, and a couple other places around town. We also had to ask where the best place to eat was, and if they thought the city was safe. While doing all of this we had to take notes and then report back to class and explain what we saw and what we were told. On our last class we spent the day in the sun at the country club. As we talked and listened to Ana teach, she sat in the grass and soaked in the sun. Having class outside of an actual classroom was a new experience and allowed us to embrace the language in its true setting.
Like in the states, Ana would encourage us to ask as many questions as we needed or ask for help. She encouraged us to push ourselves and to try to broaden our language skills. I will always remember what it felt like to not understand what was happening within the classroom; at one time or another we all felt that feeling. As a group, we all helped each as we continued through the classes.
While I learned a lot and enjoyed the aspects of class outdoors, the most rewarding aspect of class had to deal with Ana. It dawned on us all one day that Ana wasn’t just teaching us, she was learning with us. She would ask us how to say certain words in English. Through class she would go back to the words again and say it a few times to make sure she was pronouncing it correctly. Within one day we taught her “refrigerator” and “belly button”. For me that was the most rewarding and best part of class to see her learn along side of us.
– Katherine Kostuk
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