Change

   In the blink of an eye, it seems, the weather has changed. I'm sure we will get more rain, but since one week ago, the nights have been cooler, we wake to blue skies and it's hot and sunny all day!

    And that's not all that has changed. We had been winding down projects over the last 2 months, but once the students took their last exams, the 3rd week of November, they had no reason to return to school (nor did we except to do planning with our Project Partners)!  So we celebrated the end of the Mentor Guia Program with a little party of all the Mentors and their 7th grade Mentees  (Aprendices).  We presented a slideshow with the results from the questionnaires that we did, asking the students about how they had changed in certain skills, based on having been involved in the program.  The results were fantastic, as 100% of the students said they would recommend the program to their friends and 100% of the Mentees said they wanted to be Guias when they reach 10th grade.

7th grade Aprendices

 A week later, we presented these results as well as those from the other programs we had been involved in at the high school, to the Sub-director, and some teachers and counselors, with whom we had worked.  They asked if we could do the same thing next year!  We had prepared ideas of changes we would make to the programs, based on what we learned this year (which was a ton!), and it seems they are all on board.  The Subdirector, even suggested putting the Mentor Guia Program on the schedules of all 7th graders, and giving them a classroom (which we had to scrounge for each week this year!).  That was all very positive; but we're not sure how we will accommodate approximately 180,  7th graders.  We'll have to figure out some criteria, or we'll need to train a ton more Mentors!  But those are all good problems to solve!

8 of the 11 Mentor Guias

   I hope to see some of our students from the high school this summer, during some of our other activities. I will be holding a couple of Workshops of Sexual Education, along with leaders of the Red Cross Youth Team and putting up a big mosaic on the side of a park building.  Francis will be running a month-long English Camp (along with another PCV), for a group of 23, 6th graders.




 This is in addition to ongoing activities with the Girl and Boy Scouts. We are in the process of preparing our 2nd in a series of Yoga and Orienteering Sessions for them. Francis has some really fun games planned for learning to use a compass, which they had never used before!

   In the meantime, we are also preparing a presentation for an Annual Conference of the Regional Counseling Department Coordinators of all the schools in the country (it's Dec 7th).  The Youth Development Program of Peace Corps is trying to improve its effectiveness (based on the input of our group, Tico 28), not only by presenting and carrying our projects at our designated sites, but also by training and encouraging change from the top-down!  Francis and I were asked, along with another PCV from our group, to present our projects at this conference.  And so, Circulos de Amistad (Friendship Circles Program), is taking its show on the road, only this time, it's in Spanish!  (Thank goodness for Power Point slides!)  This program's foundation is teaching Peaceful Conflict Resolution through Negotiation and Mediation, as well as dynamic activities for developing teamwork, empathy and positive communication.  Mara, a compañera of ours, is presenting a project she created at her high school, along with the Counselor and students, called Cortes de Paz (Peace Courts), where the student leaders assist the students who are the victims and perpetrators of conflicts at school, to create restorative justice solutions.  In other words, they identify a means of restoring the harm done to the victim, through a solution that is agreed upon by both parties.  It is not so much a punishment, as it is a means of restoring the relationship.  Mara is an attorney by profession and this idea was a big success for it's first year and will be continued next year as well.  As with most programs, our goals are to figure out a way for the programs to run without the PCVs involvement, since we'll be leaving, obviously.  So this year, we will all be changing things up a bit in order to focus on the sustainability of the project, if they so choose to continue it.  You can see how Peace Corps is a never ending set of challenges!  They certainly keep us on our toes!

We helped Vilma make some traditional CR food recently.  These empanadas are filled with either potatoes or cheese.  They were fun to make, even though we couldn't eat them: fried foods do a number on my stomach, not to mention the cheese!

Francis took his job of folding and filling the empanadas very seriously.

After frying, they slice them open and put cabbage inside as well; that part I liked!

                                                              ¡Speaking of food!
   Francis and I were invited to join other PCVs at the home of an American Embassy family for Thanksgiving!  Maybe it's a matter of missing it last year, or like when you haven't eaten in a while, or like when you're camping, anything tastes good!  I must admit, it was one of the best Thanksgiving meals I've ever had, but, more than that, it was the company and the complete indulgence in all things American that was so appreciated that day, that made it so special!

I volunteered to carve the turkey.  Felt just like home!

The Green Family.  Travis manages the Embassy facilities in San Jose.  Sarah manages the family and all of the moves  every 2 years.  She home schools Thomas, Sadie and Helen.  Sadie and Thomas are dancing in the Nutcracker Ballet this month in San Jose.

    We have been on several awesome hikes this last month, have seen lots more beautiful countryside, mostly green vistas everywhere you look.  But I was also treated to a Quetzal siting, a bird that's famous in the rain forest, for it's beautiful colors and long tail.  Myself, and some of the teachers from the high school, with whom I hiked, watched a few female Quetzals (and they watched us), for quite a while.  We also enjoyed some beautiful hummingbirds, which surprisingly allowed me some great shots!  That was one successful hiking and birding day!

The elusive Quetzal (center of picture)

View from "El Dragon" (2506 meters)

Moon Rise (photo by Francis)

It's been a busy, but wonderful month of activity: work and play.  We have vacation plans at the end of the month with Hannah and Chad, so we can report on some new vistas in CR that we haven't yet explored!  In the meantime, we'll be thinking of you and missing you much during the Christmas holidays.  As you know, it's hard to identify with this being "summer" and "Christmas" at the same time.  But somehow we'll manage.  Please keep us posted on your lives and your own holiday adventures, so we can feel a part of it from afar!  Mucho amor y saludos de Navideño, Hanukkah, y otras celebraciones!  We'll see what other changes lie ahead in the months to come, I expect there will be many.