Last night I stumbled across a glimpse of life outside of smoggy San Pedro. I was walking back to my apartment, and just two turns away I heard a bunch of yelling, cheering, and whistle blowing. When I looked over, I could just see a soccer game on the top of a hill. The field and teams have to belong to the colegio just two minutes away from my place. So I went over to see if I could get a good look and found myself able to walk right into the field and watch from the goal line of the red team. It appeared to be an actual game, they were playing harder than a scrimmage, but I saw only a handful of fans. With many people speaking Spanish very rapidly and yelling advice, it was very difficult to make out what anyone was saying. I could understand the coach of the blue team though, who was frustrated that his players wanted to practice thier footwork rather than pass the ball. It was a great get-away and mini distraction from my three lesson plans I need to make for Monday.
I've found breaks like this, and making time to hang out and get a beer with my TEFL friends have kept me sane. Earlier in the week I got a gig with Maximo Nivel, the school I'm currently attending to receive my EFL certification. It would be way too easy to hole myself up and just prepare for my classes. With so much time I could get my plans to the level they should be at once I graduate, but having to be in TEFL class 8 hours a day, and 6 hours of actual teaching for Maximo doesn't really permit. If Maximo was so desperate for a new teacher that they had to dip into the still-going TEFL class for me, they can't expect perfect lessons. Plus, if I'm planning to be in Costa Rica, or Latin America in general, for the next year, I'm going to make a concerted effort not to burn out from the week and a half that I'm both student and teacher. Yesterday I didn't do any actual work for the three lessons I have to teach tomorrow. I had four hours of orientation for Maximo, and then I spent the day hanging out with friends and resetting my brain from the hectic week. The 9 hours of sleep last night helped too.
So today I have three lesson plans to make. I've already made teaching and languages my life in Costa Rica. But I'm planning on doing this right, taking to heart Ken's advice: Don't let this stress you out, relax and just do it as you can - be Batman. So far this mentality has served me well in Costa Rica. Pura Vida, Solo Bueno. I will work harder than I've ever worked in my life, but I won't let this week and a half kill me. Who knows, the Super Bowl commercials tonight may give me some great ideas about how to teach the modals 'had better' and 'ought to.'
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