On Sunday I went with my two new great friends, Allie, from Toronto, and Rebecca, from London, to take the bus to Dominical which is a little popular surf town. It was so fun! Only about an hour away and it has a bunch of cute restaraunts and surf shops and a great beach. We went to a bar and the end of the day and ended up meeting with another group of volunteers, missed the bus and all 7 of us had to cram into a crazy taxi on the long and bumpy dirt road home. It was a great night! hehe.
Monday was the first day of class...quite the experience:
The other girl who teaches English and I walked for about 20 minutes to get to the school and when we got there, the director guy just said hello and showed us to the class. No direction, no materials, no idea what to teach or HOW to teach! We both kind of freaked out and just ended up basically having the kids tell us their names and how old they are and went through animal names. It was so stressful. But the kids were super cute and after a couple classes we felt a little more comfortable..now we know we have to do lesson plans! I thought I would be a "teachers assistant" for the first couple days, apparently I was totally wrong. oh well. Its all part of the experience!
Today we had the day off so we went to the beach and swam and then rode horses on the beach and through the forest. I hadnt ridden a horse since horse camp in 4th grade when I had to ride the pony because I was so short, but I got a regular size horse named Cyman who liked to trot, and we had a great time together. We saw a sloth and some crazy birds. No monkeys though. I need to see some damn monkeys. Apparently there are a ton around here so I am just waiting to see them swinging through the trees.
We went to the beach tonight in thunder and lighting and a torrential downpour and I got to help release about 50 sea turtles into the ocean! It was so amazing. They are so tiny and take forever to get to the ocean but finally they all made it.
The turtle volunteers have to go on patrols at night looking for mama turtles laying their eggs and after they do, they take the eggs and dig a new nest for them in the hatchery where they are safe from poachers, poor people in this town who sell the eggs for good money because they are considered a delicacy. When the eggs hatch, they release them into the wild. Fabulous.
I am having a great time here! Attached are some pics of my adventures.
I am missing everyone at home and hope all is well. Please email me and keep me updated on your lives!
Playa Matapalo
4 comments:
those baby turtles are so cute!!!
omg, janna! i miss you..but am so glag u are having such an adventure! u rock
Hey jans- so glad to hear things are going well:) I miss you and I'm researching tickets as we speak. Can't wait to see you... and meet the women that have replaced me so quickly;)
loves from home!
Hola de Su Madre! I LOVE the tortugas pequenas! Remember the book Beach Music? That had a lot about releasing the turtles in South Carolina. I bet it was a shock to not have a lesson planned and realize it was all up to you! Wow, that would be so stessful, and you are here to talk about it. I bet your sister is laughing like crazy. Te quiero, Su Madre, Diana.
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