I have had many first days of school, with some being more unique than others. Today's date is Monday January 20, and this post highlights my first day of immersive Spanish school here in Coronado de San Rafael at Academia Tica (AT).
School meets 5 days a week from 8-12. We have two classes with a 20-minute break in between. Academia Tico's yard and garden are well manicured and inviting. The school inside a sizeable house also offers homestay and live on campus options. People staying on campus live in a couple little cottages on the property.
First, I took a survey to test my language level and next, met in a short interview with the teaching director, Andrea (On DRAY ah). Then we met David (Dah-VEED) for an orientation class. There were five of us newcomers and we were asked to introduce ourselves by sharing our names, where we are from, and anything about our "situations".
David is a sociologist by trade but there are few well-paying jobs in his field, so he began teaching at AT. He gave us a fantastic history lesson. He loves random trivia so the amount of knowledge he has is impressive, especially about Costa Rican references in American movies. He shared some perspectives about Costa Rica and the government I had not heard; he mentioned political parties, propaganda, crime rates and the "narco" trade. It was enlightening to say the least.
After orientation we met in a circle with all the language instructors and a few other new students. Everyone introduced themselves again, this time in Spanish. We said our nombre (name), place of origin, and one thing we like. Besides me being from the USA, there are students from Great Britain, Wales, Germany, and Canada.
Next, we were assigned to our "groups". I am in a one-on-one group with my instructor Andrea. I am a little in between levels compared to the other students. Ruth and Nora are level 0 and the others are almost B1. I must be between A1 and A2. Andrea has me working on expression. She feels I read, write, and listen ok but my expression is low which is no surprise to me. We played a game called "What Am I" to practice some expression and vocabulary then Andrea began teaching me about conjugates, which I haven't learned until now. That is ok. The focus of my Spanish 1 class at PSU was to gain introductory conversational skills and that class achieved its purpose. Our focus will be conjugates all week.
Everyone is so kind. I feel extremely grateful to have this opportunity. There really are no words to describe how grateful I am to be in Costa Rica, immersed in another culture and language and having these experiences. I am very blessed and meeting wonderful and generous people daily.
There are cats and dogs everywhere. People love their "mascotas" here in Costa Rica. There is a cat at school named Cleo. Andrea strongly expressed how gentle and peaceful Cleo acts. I found Cleo very sweet and friendly.
I love David's sense of humor. He said in reference to going to el banco (the bank), "I started a book the moment I knew I need to go to the bank." Another in reference to the ongoing earthquakes in Costa Rica..."If Ticos are running scared then you should too." Side notes about earthquakes since I mentioned those: there are many earthquakes daily in Costa Rica, but they are so deep they cannot be felt at the surface. Once or twice a year there will be an earthquake severe enough to get serious attention but otherwise they are not a big deal. David told us the only thing we need to be prepared is a coat and shoes and NOT to go unde a desk!
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