Meltdown!!!!!

Wednesday. Meltdown.

I was really looking forward to my birthday this year. It is today. Does it feel like my birthday? Not really...

Wednesday was when all the shit hit the fan. The class I'm taking is so intense, moreso that I could ever imagine. We had only been in class for 1.5 weeks. And all of a sudden. Wednesday came around. We were given our teaching assignments. For the next 2 weeks, we have to teach. We each have to teach 6 classes (over the 2 weeks), do 2 one-on-one lessons with someone we pick (I did mine with a lady I met at the bus stop), and had a grammar and phonology test today.

Lucky me. I am the first to teach on Monday. Monday morning at 8am, I will be teaching at the hair salon. There will be 1-4 students. You never know what will happen there. And today, we were supposed to watch Pauline do teach there. We have only seen the demo teachings in classroom settings. The hair salon has some particular things about layout that you have to consider.

Well, today is Good Friday. Pretty much all of Costa Rica takes off. We're in the midst of Semana Santa. And so the busses weren't running today. I walked a good way from Manuel Antonio to Quepos (luckly, it's all downhill), then caught a taxi (say collectivo and it's 400 colones versus some 1500+ colones). Our class waited in front of the hair salon...many stores in Quepos are closed up for the holidays. And such was the hair salon. They decided they didn't want to learn today. So we all went back uphill to the TEFL building.

I was really looking forward to watching Pauline teach, so I could see the dynamic amongst the workers at hair salon. And also, so that I could see how it was set up, and what kind of space I would be able to use. Nope. I'm going in blind. And first.

Well anyways, so back to Wednesday. It's like a torrential downpour came down on us (students). So much work. Holy shit, so much work. No idea where to begin. No idea. I have to meet in an hour to discuss what I'm going to teach? What? I haven't even thought about it! Not to mention homework, too. We had grammar homework.

The teachers looked at me. I stared blankly at them. But finally, some thoughts came forward. Just a few.

Wednesday, I left class, walked down to Quepos as I do everyday. I waited for my bus. And oh, I waited. Wednesday of Semana Santa is when the Ticos take off. Everyone is heading for the beaches. And Quepos was busy. The bus took forever to get there. I was hot, tired, stressed.

I got on and luckily got a window seat. The bus was packed full. And hot. Steamy hot. I found it hard to breathe, especially with all of the extra stress from the day. What was I thinking. What have I gotten myself into. Do I really want to teach English? My asthma kicked in a bit on the ride home.

I was so excited to get off the bus. I was able to breathe easier. First things first. I'm going to get to my apartment, go upstairs, and jump in the pool. I have been so busy with the class that I haven't even had the chance to go to the pool yet. Damn it, I'm going. And wow, what a moment. The pool actually has a nice view, you can see the ocean, and the clouds from the sunset. I was the only one up there. I had it all to myself. I swam to get the stress out. Then laid down on the warm concrete beside the pool, enjoying my upward view of the moon, the sun lit clouds. Ahhhh...much better.

After my de-stressing swim, I decided to treat myself to dinner. It's a rare occasion since things are so expensive here and I'm well over budget. But I deserved it, damn it!

I felt so much better after dinner. Refreshed. But when I went home, I was back to it again. Nose deep in the books...

As for today, I turned 31. Celebrations? Not really. I think after I've got my lesson plan approved and I'm done on the internet, I think I will head down to Quepos, see if there is a bakery open, and buy myself a slice of cake. That'll be my celebration. Unfortunately, the busses aren't running today. So I will have to take an expensive cab ride home (too far to walk uphill!). So all I can afford (hopefully) is a slice of cake. That is, if there is a bakery open...