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...and Orientation
Entry 4 of 42 | show all | print this entry |
We met most of the rest of the staff today at orientation, then took a walking tour of Puriscal. Most of it was lost on me; I have no sense of direction. But I've got five weeks to figure it out. We visited all of our work sites, although Ally and I didn't get to meet our teachers, because they were out to lunch. I guess we'll introduce ourselves tomorrow.
After lunch, everyone but Alyssa and I had Spanish class, so we played around on the house guitar. My guitar-playing abilities have deteriorated even more than my Spanish-speaking abilities, but once again I find myself among people who know even less than I do about the subject and so are easily impressed. Alyssa wants to learn, so I taught her enough chords to muddle through "Good Riddance" by Green Day, the only song in my repertoire she'd heard of that didn't involve barre chords. (Not that I blame her for not knowing who John Prine is. I really do have old people taste in music.) I think I enjoyed the process more than she did. Back in high school, I gave lessons to a friend's younger sister, and while I was as ill-prepared then to be a guitar instructor as I am now, I like to think we both got something out of it.
Then Alyssa and I had our Spanish class, which for the first day was just a conversation with the instructor to determine our speaking level, after which she will devise a curriculum. By the end of this program, I would like to speak and understand better than I did when I "left off" after the program I attended in Mexico. I don't know if I'll know if or when I get there, but that seems like a reasonable goal for now.
After class, most of us set out in search of pastries. The pasteleria we passed on our tour had a pretty limited selection, so we kept walking until we found a panaderia, where I bought something called a borracho (literally means "drunk," so maybe there was some rum in it or something) that looked like a Boston cream pie, only red and with jelly instead of cream, and a cocana, which looked like a doughnut hole. The former was tasty, but I'm saving the latter for later. Apologies for the lack of pictures; but picking up more batteries for my camera was the last stop on the outing, and by then the whole town was blanketed in a thick fog.
During dinner, some of the girls announced their grand plan for a group expedition involving zip lining and riding horses through waterfalls. (Yes, through. Apparently you wear a bathing suit.) Relieved that someone else was willing to make arrangements, I told them to count me in. We'll be renting a van on Friday, traveling during the afternoon (when it usually rains) so we can do a tour early the next morning (when it's usually dry.) I can't wait!
Latest Comments (3)
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Christmas in Prison (reply)
Sep 3, 2008 13:27 EST by lmeier
Oh, I feel my eyes welling up with tears :) at the thought of you singing that song:
She reminds me of a chess game
With someone I admire
Or a picnic in the rain
After a prairie fire
Her heart is as big
As this whole goddamn jail
And shes sweeter than saccharine
At a drug store sale
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re: John Prine (reply)
Sep 2, 2008 20:19 EST by espriseme
Don't worry--I made her endure a rendition of 'Christmas in Prison.' Now she knows!
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3 votes 
