The First Step...

I am leaving for Costa Rica in less than a week! I will be teaching English at a local school four days a week and speaking at a community college in English once a week. The term teaching has to be taken with a grain of salt because the tasks could vary greatly. Teaching could mean being responsible for daily lesson plans to assisting the teacher with his/her plans. A common guideline that I am receiving from Cross-Cultural Solutions is that the kids are just intrigued by an international student being in their classes (in many instances, the volunteer's presence alone increases class attendance). The best I can do as a volunteer give lots of hugs, smiles, and encouragement! ..maybe just smiles because i dont want to get the swine flu...jk jk!!..I want to show them that there's a big world out there and staying in school is a vital tool (although not the only one) to success. I'm looking forward to meeting the entire community, especially the little kids I'll be working with!