Aero: Katie Zawisa – Costa Rica 2014 – Life at School
Aero: Katie Zawisa – Costa Rica 2014 – Life at School
Aero: Katie Zawisa – Costa Rica 2014 – Life at School
Katie Zawisa
When I was told that I’d be taking a Spanish class while in Costa Rica, I got nervous. I was picturing, what I think of as a typical classroom, chairs and desks all in rows with the teacher at the chalkboard and at least twenty students. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised when I walked in the first day! Chairs and desks on the perimeter of the small room and only our group of six sitting in the chairs, phew! Our young teacher, Joxiny, got my attention right off the bat when she told us we would be learning like little kids learning their primary language which meant games, games, and more games! Bingo with black beans was a popular, yet messy one. The repetition made me remember words I hadn’t heard in years and learn and remember new words within an hour.
I was used to listening to a teacher speak all in Spanish and frankly I can listen and comprehend much better than I can speak. So when Joxiny would explain what we were doing in Spanish it was easy for me to understand right away. But I kept forgetting that not everyone was as rehearsed in Spanish as I was so I got confused when she would explain it in English because it was like I was hearing the simple directions twice.
Costa Rica 2014 Photo Gallery
One of the things I will never forget is forgetting Joxiny at the school when we were supposed to bring her to the Country Club with us for class that day. We were all so caught up in who was driving and riding in which car that we forgot to take the teacher…uh-oh. We felt so bad! Luckily we didn’t forget her when we went to Zoo Ave for a trip. After walking around Zoo Ave we had class in a grassy area where there were peacocks roaming free. We played some typical games that I would play with kids as a summer rec counselor, had nothing to do with learning Spanish, but it did make me realize how out of shape I was! After getting out blood pumping we sat in a circle to go over when to use accents while writing a word. After 7 years of studying Spanish and attempting to learn that multiple times, it finally clicked and sunk in with Joxiny. She had a way of explaining things that I couldn’t understand and making them seem so simple. Her teaching style was exactly what I need. I just wish I could have packed her in my suitcase and brought her back with me to be my Spanish professor at college…she was small enough to fit.
Learn More: Study abroad with Modern Languages @ FLCC: Costa Rica!
– Katie Zawisa
The LEAF Project
www.leaflanguages.org
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