Work hard and play hard: My TEFL course!

The reason that this blog has been so neglected of late is due to the hours involved in my TEFL course. I recently completed a 4week intensive course to get certified to teach English. When I decided to move to Costa Rica with Mark, I knew that I needed something with which I could to fill my days, so completing a TEFL seemed like a good idea. And actually, it was. Not just because I now have another qualification (which we all know means diddly squat in the current economic climate) but because I had so much fun doing it and met some amazing people along the way! They were all Americans (which can be frustrating when learning how to teach people English, but only very slightly. Mainly because Costa Rica is so americanised, so I tend to be the one in the wrong...). I found myself at times saying that I was just 'gonna run to the store' and used the word 'like' about 100 times in a sentence. The day I say "I'm just gonna go ahead and do something..." is the day I give up completely on my British heritage. But anyway, I digress...

Whilst completing the TEFL, I woke up most mornings at around 6.30-7am ( a shock to the system, believe me after a year of doing almost nothing!) and attempted to work out the bus system, which is more confusing than the address system in this country. Buses come often (just not at the times that they say) and cost very little (about 40p). However, I needed 3 buses which would have taken over an hour to complete a 20min drive, had I managed to work out the bus system, which I did not. My first week involved walking aimlessly around downtown San Jose, getting on a circular route bus and ending up exactly where I started and getting on the right bus but in the wrong direction, oh and hanging around with the prostitutes downtown. Remind me to ask which the direction the bus is going in future! Anyone who knows me well knows that I do not do buses, for the reasons mentioned above and so many more! So, when given the option of a bus+taxi every day, I happily took it. However, my bank account did not! Time-wise it was much better as the course hours were pretty long anyway and I had quite a bit of homework in the second half of the course, so the idea of a 2-3hour daily commute time just did not appeal to me.

The course involved the basics from classroom management and lesson planning to hardcore grammar and practical teaching week. This is the week when, after 3 weeks of lessons and beach-going, you are presented with a class looking at you like you know what you're doing. AND the most shocking thing of all is that you actually do! The highlight of my week was a game of Alibi, where students made me cry laughing pretending to be 'detectives' interviewing the 'suspects'. "Hey man! I ask the questions around here, man!" Well, at least they seem to be watching TV in English!

My TEFL classmates were also hilarious, they helped me to celebrate my birthday which fell bang in the middle of the course and we had a great time just hanging out in the classrooms planning and also took a great trip to the beach (More on that later!). We also all got together for the England vs USA game, where we suffered a terrible draw, so they loved that! I did not.

However, I am now a fully qualified (and employed!) English teacher. And my new job is considerably closer than my course was. In fact, I can usually get a lift from somebody to the place to taxi costs have gone down considerably! I'm enjoying teaching. In fact I've just completed extra training to teach little kids, so I'll be the one singing "Put your finger on your nose, on your nose" to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands..." if you are ever passing through Berlitz offices in Santa Ana...! Not the most strenuous job, I'll admit!

Stef x

English Breakfast at Ka'kau in Escazu!

A couple of weeks ago, Mark and I popped down the road for a coffee. It was my birthday and we fancied getting out of the house. We came across Ka'kau, a stylish little cafe in Escazu, and on the board we noticed "Desayuno Ingles": English Breakfast! Brilliant! Just what you need as a hungover ex-pat (nothing else will do!), so we made a mental note to come back one day when we had more time.

That day came today when we dragged our housemate Craig (he is not a morning person!) down to sample the delights. It was scrumptious. We were presented with freshly squeezed orange juice and a beautiful latte, plus a basket of mini croissants and bread with homemade strawberry jam. Then followed the breakfast with the closest thing to baked beans that you'll find here: frijoles horneados. they're pretty convincing. We also got a real sausage (not a frankfurter!) and nice crispy bacon! It wasn't a greasy spoon but overall, we were very impressed and are sure that we'll be back to sample some of their other tasty treats in the not so distant future! They make all of their cakes and desserts themselves and they look delicious! I cannot WAIT to try the carrot cake! I didn't get any pictures this time - these photos are from their Facebook page!

Stef x

"I live 200m south of the big church, 50m east of McDonalds!"

So, you may be wondering why we haven't sent you our address yet? Or even bothered to send a postcard? Well that's because addresses in Costa Rica are a little confusing. Street signs do not exist, which can get a little confusing when you do not name a road. Addresses are as follows: "200m south from the big cathedral and 400m east of McDonalds, next to the black electricity box". Seriously! It can get a little frustrating to say the least. My language school was '100m south and 50m east of the old fig tree..." By 'old' they mean "no longer there", which is equally frustrating! Lord only knows what happens when they move McDonalds! Either all hell will break loose or the address will be modified to "400m east of where McD's used to be..." I shouldn't laugh because this is highly possible..!

However, there is hope at the end of the tunnel! Apparently we have to get a PO Box from the post office, which we can't do until we find out our new "physical address" ie "300m up the hill by the bar with the blue sign". Oh, and we need to find the post office too - it's not like we can just look up the address online! So bear with us!

Stef x

Road Rage in Costa Rica!

Driving in Costa Rica is pretty hilarious, and also pretty hair-raising! Not that I have even got behind the wheel myself yet, but just sitting in the back of the truck is enough! Drivers go where they want when they want and are not particularly bothered about whether they have right of way or not! In fact, it is entirely possible that they do not know what right of way is! There are people wandering down the middle of the road in the dark (seemingly it's safer than walking at the side of the road), dogs running across, goats wandering around in the more rural areas and I have been informed that someone once had to move a cow to get home one night! Brilliant.

And if you think you know potholes - you ain't seen nothin' yet! There are HUGE gaping holes in the road and drivers swerve around them at 100km an hour throwing passengers up against the window without even the blink of an eye. Fully confident English drivers in my car are sitting covering their eyes as we swerve another roadsign which they just place in the middle of the road with no lights in the middle of the light. If you see it too late, you hit it!

Now you have to bare in mind however that I have not yet seen one argument and maybe road rage was the wrong title for this blog entry because actually they are all quite calm, just going about their business in their conked-out pick-up truck. So I'm not actually that concerned about driving because as long as you are relatively aggressive yourself (hesitation will get you nowhere at what they like to call junctions!), you should have no problem! Plus the public transport doesn't appear to be as developed as one may like. I miss the tube already! For those of you that know me, you will find it amusing that I have to get 3 buses to my TEFL course - I don't do buses EVER, because I like to be on transportation that cannot veer off course at any given moment! So, I have at times considered driving, but then again, cars are ridiculously expensive here, I have never driven on the other side of the road, nor have I ever driven anything bigger than a Punto and a Jeep seems to be the elected mode of transport around these parts... the list goes on!

So for now, I think i'll stick to the buses (which by the way are converted American schoolbuses - some are even still bright yellow!)

Stef x

Galiza Suites and Mini Golf champion!!

I thought I'd just show you all where we have been staying. We move into our house on Saturday with a few of the guys from the company, but until then we are stuck here. It's a hard life, isn't it?

We're staying in Galiza Suites. It's a nice little aparthotel in San Jose near to lots of restaurants and bars and an amazing mini-golf course. I actually LOVE that place! We played twice last night and I first beat Mark 45-50 (par is 44) and then I beat all of the boys, including the handicapped golfers with a score of 48. And obviously being poker players, they all had to put a little cash on the game so I walked away with a nice little $200 profit! Brilliant.

Another thing that I keep forgetting to mention is that you can leave comments under these blogs to respond to our blogs - You don't have to sign up to Google to do it either if you don't want to. It would be nice to read a few messages from you all!

Stef x

My First Impression...

San Jose, Costa Rica

Hello all!

This is my first update from Costa Rica! I arrived late last night after travelling for almost 24hrs with broken suitcases - I do not recommend this by the way, because dragging suitcases without wheels is a workout that you just do not need when you've been up for twenty hours and stuck on a plane for eight!

The flight was pretty good, all things considered. From Heathrow to Newark, I had three seats to myself, so I could stretch out and watch movies quite comfortably. I then had a connecting flight from Newark to San Jose so had just enough time to make it through security, recheck my bag and grab a drink before boarding a slightly more crowded flight for five hours! Luckily I did at least sleep for most of this flight, once I'd had my complementary burrito (things were looking up!) and watched the hideousness that is Did You Hear About The Morgans? with Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant. I do love Hugh Grant, but she is Carrie Bradshaw and that is it I'm afraid. She is cursed with the same problem the FRIENDS cast have - that show will always be better!

Anyway, I've been here for a few days now and the jet lag is starting to wear off. I'm not as hardcore as Mark and fell asleep in the casino on my first (and second...) night! Haha. And I was pretty damned tired at the poker tournament that everybody played in last night too! The people here are so lovely - locals and the Poker Farm group. We've had some lovely meals out and I really feel like part of the group, so it seems to be a pretty easy life to settle into. PLUS, we are moving into the most AMAZING house that you have ever seen! It's like something out of Cribs on MTV and we're all really ecstatic. Floor to ceiling windows and views over the whole city, it's pretty incredible. Obviously, there'll be more photos to follow when we finally get to move in, though that may be a couple of weeks yet.

I start my course on the 24th May (on the other side of town :s), so I've still got a couple of weeks to explore first. I'm spending my time in the office with the others, either working on my blogging/websites etc or helping out with a few things, and hitting the gym a few times a week. The weather is still pretty good so I'm enjoying the sun at the moment. There is sun every day but it's the start of the rainy season and we are due some heavy downpours this week. Rain like you've never seen it before - it falls so hard and so fast that you're grateful to not be in it, because I'm sure that it must hurt! I've been on the hotel balcony when it hits and the workmen outside just carry on as normal - very odd! Having said that, it clears up just as quickly as it starts so you can be back out sunbathing before you know it! Not that I've done much of that yet - I fully intend on starting tomorrow though!

Anyway, that's my first little update - next time I'll give you the lowdown on the hotel apartments that we are staying in. And my camera needs a memory card before I can do much with it, so photos will follow once I've done that too!

Hope you're all well,

Love Stef x x

Sun, Strippers, caSinos - 2 week update!

That's pretty much what's happened the last 2 weeks.

We arrived here on Wednesday 7th. I got moved to a different flight and had to fly via Houston, meaning I did the whole 20 hour journey alone :( Luckily the entertainment on the flights was ok; Wedding Crashers, The Invention of Lying, The Office and .... It's Complicated. Meryl Streep is every woman *modern family reference*.

First night we went to Hooters, another bar, then a strip club. First time inside a strip club. Quite an experience. All paid for by the company.

Second night we went to the casino. Everyone lost a fortune at blackjack. Elliott decided to put down $25 and keep doubling his bet. Dont think he had any intention of stopping unless he got to maybe $1million. He didn't.

That weekend we went to the beach in Guanacaste. Fue de puta madre. But really hot. Got a bit burnt for the 30 minutes I wasn't in a shaded area playing poker.

Since then we've been working hard, drinking hard and gambling hard. We've almost got the 80 players we need and we're starting the training on May 3rd. pretty excited about building a team of awesome poker players but not too excited about being in the office everyday from 6am till 9pm.


Hope this post makes sense, I've rushed it before we go to the casino.

Cliff notes : Life here is awesome.
Only money I've spent has been in the pit.
Bout to start working very hard.

Mark