Howler Monkeys

Howler Monkeys live in the forests around our hut. We have seen them far up in the trees and we hear them between 4:30 and 6:00 AM and again in the evenings. The other evening they were in the trees right outside our door.

Listen to Howler Monkeys

Leaf Cutter Ants

On the way back from dinner we saw a lot of leaf cutter ants crossing our path in the dark.

Hojancha

Hojancha is the town where my wife and I will volunteer in the school. We are staying in a little two room hut on stilts. Beneath the stilts are hammocks that my son and daughter love to play on. The manager of the property is very nice, he has a little girl who attends the school where we will be teaching.

There are lizards everywhere!



There's an iguana camouflaged in the grass. Can you see it?

On the way to Hojancha, the town where I will be teaching, we stopped to switch transfer buses. There were some Scarlet Macaws and Howler Monkeys in the trees above the bus.

Sunset

Costa Rica is near the equator so the sun sets early and quickly. Every evening my host family and I would go outside and enjoy the view.

Spanish Class

I have almost finished my week of Spanish classes they were really fun but also hard work. Today I had to write my life story in Spanish. It was difficult, and it looks like two pages of baby talk.

I'm the only American in my class. There are two Germans, one Nigerian and a young lady from Holland. The teacher of course is Costa Rican. I also have two hours of individual lessons with another teacher.

My Host Family

When I'm not at school I live with my host family. They are very nice, but we don't communicate much, because they don't speak English and I don't speak Spanish. When I first arrived they were watching Costa Rica beat Guadalupe at futbol (soccer) 5 to 1.

The first goal was scored with a bicycle kick back over the head. When that happened my host family went wild; clapping and yelling "pura vida" which means pure life. The Costa Ricans say "pura vida" to describe anything good or anything Costa Rican.

The house is small but very neat. There are six people in the family and sometimes it seems very crowded. I am the only person with my own room. One of my host sisters also runs a hairdressing business out of the house.

My host mom feeds me constantly. She cooks huge delicious meals every day. I'm practicing saying "estoy lleno gracias" - which means -"I'm full thank you."

Cooking in spanish

Buenas everyone!

I have just finished my third day of Spanish language school. Seven hours of Spanish a day. The first day was very hard but slowly I'm learning and having a lot of fun. I just helped cook a Costa Rican style snack; the cook did not speak English. The picture above is of the cook.

I have seen lots of birds the most common seem to have lots of yellow on them. I have also seen tons of flowers. I have not seen any monkeys or lizards yet maybe when I go into the countryside this weekend.

First Day in San Jose

Hello Ames,


I have arrived in San Jose the Capital of Costa Rica. The next five days I will spend learning Spanish. My host family does not speak a word of English, but they are very nice. We had beans and rice for breakfast. It was delicious. It is called gallo y pinto and it is a traditional Costa Rican or Tico meal.

Having a great time,

Mr. Kellar-Long

Welcome students or should I say Bienvenidos

On July 19th I leave for Costa Rica on a six week trip. If you can, follow me online. I am going to try and update the blog every few days. Costa Rica is a small country in Central America.
The first week of my trip I am going to take Spanish classes in the capital San Jose, I am excited and nervous about going. After that I am going to volunteer at a school. Third I am going to work on a sea turtle conservation project. Last I am going to explore the rain forests of Costa Rica.

Information about Costa Rica


Here are some good books on Costa Rica.







Check this blog every few days for updates. I can't wait to see you at Ames this year. I hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

Mr. Kellar-Long