December Run Down

This month came and went like I spent it in 2 different countries or something.  I'm behind, so let's do a quick update.

1. Two great friends, Will and Alex, came to visit Costa Rica during the first week of December.  We rented a car and covered some ground. (See map) Laughs were had, beers were drank, roads were navigated with no GPS.  Jungles and beaches were conquered by surf boards, zip lines and horses.  Volcanoes were seen, along with toucans, monkeys, crocodiles and tropical beaches.  Almost no photos were taken.  Sorry about that.

2.  In a desperate attempt to save what little money I have, I chose the cheapest flight home to Charlotte that I could find.  This particular flight included a 20 hour layover in Toronto.  I do not know why, but it was $150 cheaper to fly Air Canada to Toronto and then to Charlotte than it was to fly US Air via any other city. Even better, my uncle happened to be in the city of Toronto working and offered to take me on a rapid fire tour of the Canadian city.  We had Tim Horton's, visited the CN Tower and St. Lawrence Market and I fell in love with a new city in a matter of a few hours.  I hope I get to return some day for more than just a layover.

Canada: I have one bone to pick with you.  The Tiff Bell Lightbox should open earlier.  I missed the Stanley Kubrick exhibit because it didn't open until Noon and I had a flight to catch. 

Oh, Canada! 

3. Being home is great, and it did not take me any "getting used to" other than sheer excitement and joy over some of the little things that I never realized made my life so convenient/luxurious/delicious.  For example, and in no particular order:

• Clothes dryer, and what I like to call a "Set it and forget it" Washer... I'll explain this in a future post in regards to our laundry situation down there. 
• A Car. Gas is even cheap right now.
• Obscene amounts of choices at the grocery store
• Being able to drive said car TO the grocery store to pick up whatever I need on a whim.
• Flushable toilet paper.  I will have to train myself all over again upon my reentry to Costa Rica.
• Hot, and I mean hot, showers.  Like the water gets so hot you can't even turn the hot all the on? That's crazy.
• Bojangles, Chick-fil-a, McAllister's tea, NC beer, NC bbq, sausage & bacon. 
• Drawers, closets, carpet, heat & air. 

That being said, there is a lot I miss about Costa Rica.

• Affordable, fresh produce.  These 2 ideas do not coincide in American grocery stores.  I need to find a market.
• I never thought I'd say this but... the humidity, or at least some of it.  My skin, my lips, my hair are completely dried out by the cold, dry air of a southern winter.
• Natilla (duh)
• Rosita's gallo pinto at Green Forest School
• Running into my students in town
• The option to jump on a bus for $3 and go to the beach for the weekend
• Batidos and agua de pipa 

4. Last week, I spent the mornings taking care of my niece Reagan.  I'd only met her once very briefly in July when I came home for my Grandmother's funeral.  It was an emotional and quick trip, and I had been waiting for some quality time with this little chick.  I'm really not a baby person y'all, I don't freak out over cuteness really.  But this girl is perfect.  And I love more than ANYTHING watching my sister become a mother and Derek become a father.  It's just as special for me as watching Reagan grow into her little self. 

Other than these slight changes in my routine(s), everything feels perfectly normal being at home.  I hope I have the same sense of comfort when I return to Costa Rica (something I can't wait to do...) 

In the mean time, I am enjoying every minute of my time here at home with my family and friends.  Lacey and I are headed to Atlanta tomorrow for 2 nights with Railroad Earth.  I can't wait!  Wednesday is my 26th birthday (whoa!) and Thursday is the start of a whole new year.

I'm about to get real sentimental on you, so bear with me.  I remember last year I made a birthday wish.  I was at Soul Gastrolounge drinking champagne before the Avett Brothers NYE show uptown.  I had already been taking my TEFL courses online, and I knew that I would be taking off within the next year.  I made a wish that I'd be celebrating my 26th birthday in a new country.  For a while, I held on to that idea, and planned my trip home for the holidays to get me back in Costa Rica in time to ring in a new year with new friends in a new place.  But as I wished for home a little more close to my departure from Costa Rica, I realized how important it was to me to be with my friends and family on that day rather than a new place.

I bring this up, not because I'm saying one choice was better than the other, but because either choice is good, and that is a lesson I've learned from my time living in Costa Rica.  I hope I do spend one birthday and with that, one New Year, in that exact circumstance I described earlier.  But for now, I am home, from my first 6 months living and teaching abroad, with another 6 months ahead of me come January.  I am grateful for the opportunity (way to be, AirCanada!) to even be here, because I know many people who couldn't make it home.

So, here we are, at the end of December and the end of 2014.  My Facebook "year in review" sucked.  My personal brain-powered soul-centered year in review says I'm not doing half bad.  And I guarantee that if you are reading this, you had a direct or indirect influence on it, and for that, I thank you.

 Had to hit up NoDa Brewery with my Southern Shows partner in crime, Kelsey. 

 My parent's little piece of Carolina. 

 An impromptu Wilmington reunion on a cold winter's night in Asheville.  I love you people. 

 Charlotte, NC showing off.

My Dad and niece Reagan becoming the best of pals. 

This must be the place. 

Home. 

The one, the only. 

 Sweet baby Rea with her Costa Rican sloth. 

And this pretty much sums up my social life for the past 2 weeks. 

Cheers to a Happy New Year!
Natalie

Congratulations to the Green Forest School Class of 2014

The seniors of Green Forest School had a formal dinner in La Fortuna to celebrate their graduation.  These are such excellent students, and it was truly a joy to get to know each of them.  They have had a handful of English teachers over the years,  but these are my first students - ever.  For that reason, I will never forget a single one of them.  (It helps that there were only 12 of them.) I loved this group of people and look at them more as peers than anything.  They are so smart and mature and I learned so much from them.  I hope they can say the same about learning a little something from me.

(This picture was taken at about 3 am on a Thursday.  As a sort of senior tradition, they go around in the middle of the night near the end of the year and sing outside of all of the teachers houses.  I'll never forget the sounds of them stomping up our stairs screaming "WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION" and then playing the whole Pink Floyd song, along with Kim Wilde's "Kids in America," which was a reference to our reading of Persepolis.)

I knew from the get-go that I liked this group of people.  They were respectful, but still funny and we had a good time in class.  They were so helpful to me in me finding my way around the school and the new city I lived in.  I was probably, no DEFINITELY, too easy on them, and let them get away with more back-of-the-room-conversations (I'm looking at you Leo, Juan Felipe and Natasha) and way more cell phone time than I should have (Giuili and Kevin!).

They even took a liking to the dogs I've tried to keep around campus, and gave Spot a bath one day.

I'll never forget when I told them about 4 weeks into my time here that I had already illegally overstayed my visa (I only got 2 weeks at first - long story, different blog post.)  I ended up flying back home, but was REALLY scared about what would happen at immigration.  One of my students, Tamara, wrote her phone number on a piece of paper and told me to call her if I ended up in immigration jail or something - it was so funny, and so sweet, and I still have that note.  Nothing ever happened at immigration, but Tamara has been my girl ever since!

Andres was hilarious - always dancing around, and blasting Radiohead or Smashing Pumpkins or some other excellent music way older than he is.  Alejandro, while quiet in class, wrote some of the most moving responses on his exams that would make some of my college professor's proud.  Same with Natasha, who I found out LIVED IN NORTH CAROLINA as a kid, and made me squeal with excitement when she told me she knew what bluegrass was.

I spent a lot of time (and happily still am) talking to Giuli and Ana Elena about attending university in the US.  I did however realize it's been 9 years since I've taken the SAT which was a little depressing.  Arianna did the best damn Ariana Grande impersonation I've ever seen!

All of these young adults are AMAZING and they looked absolutely FABULOUS last Saturday night.

I can't wait to see what you all accomplish. This one is for you guys! Love y'all! Keep in touch! 

Just remember: 

Persepolis, Louis Armstrong, Langston Hughes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ernest Hemingway, TEDtalks and that excellent "Social Studies" class we had. 

-Teacher Natalie