TEFL Con Ticos

Imagine either Megon or me sitting in one of our respective high school classrooms. It’s a Monday and we’re there to observe an English teacher who is scheduled to give a lesson to, let’s say, 30 students in the 11 th grade (the final year of high school). But plans have changed. Instead of a lesson, it’s picture day. Not for the yearbook, but for graduation. It’s an important day for most students, especially the girls, who want to look their best for photos that will eventually be framed and hung on the cement walls of their parent’s homes forever. As students wait in line, they look in the mirror checking for the slightest hair out of place or consulting their friends on which smile suits them best. The time and preparation put into these pictures is impressive. I remember just how important my senior pictures were to me too; my Parchment Panthers baseball jersey positioned just right, corduroys perfectly smoothed, hemp necklace centered exactly. Sitting back in that Costa Rican...

Anticipation hung as thick as the dust in the air as we marched down the gravel road. Colorful lanterns shone in the darkness as far as I could see and shed just enough light to see the excited faces of the people walking next to me. The refrains of familiar songs wafted through the crowd and the smell of burning paper alerted me to the nearby presence of many small children carrying fire on sticks. It was September 14 th , the night before Costa Rica’s Independence Day. Local tradition dictates that faroles , or lanterns, be lit and carried from town to town or school to school to celebrate freedom. When Costa Rica gained its independence from Spain in 1821, villagers spread the news of the country’s accomplishment in this same way, though I imagine their lanterns were not shaped like oxcarts, typical houses, or tropical birds. Making the perfect lantern is a big deal in our town. Kids and their parents spend days planning and creating theirs. There are only two rules: you must be ...