Well, since Dave and I just graduated in August, I got a bit behind in my posts. So I thought I'd tell you a little about our last month of classes, as well as a little about the education system of Costa Rica. Above is a photo of Aidan and Abby on their first day of school last week. They attend a private school on an American schedule, so classes start in the end of August. The typical Costa Rican school calendar starts in February since their summer (dry season) is from December until April.
Below is a photo of Aidan's schoolmates and teachers from last year. Sojourn Academy is a private school that educates the children of missionaries passing through the language school on the same campus. However, it is also an accredited Costa Rican school. Sojourn is a bilingual school where classes are taught in English and non-spanish speaking students are taught SSL (Spanish as a Second Language). The teachers are either nationals or teachers from the states who commit two years to teaching in a foreign field. So, if anyone knows a teacher that is considering missions or is willing to serve, please send them our way!
Costa Rica requires that every school have uniforms for it's students. The public schools of Costa Rica have taught English as a required class since 1994. However, due to the lack of qualified teachers, these classes are not available in every school. In addition to English classes, the President at that time started a computer literacy program. Although many of the schools do not have sufficient computers or technology for the demands of the program, Intel has agreed to donate 1000 computers to the public school system of Costa Rica. Intel is one of several industries here which has built up the economy by the manufacturing of exports in Costa Rica. Lastly, classes in the public schools have tests every month to review what students have learned. They have a final set of tests that students must pass in colegio (high school) in order to graduate.
As for Dave and I, our official Spanish education has come to an end. However, we are still students of the language since mastery doesn't come in one year! In August, we went through a series of three tests to evaluate our language efficiency. We had an ECO, which is an oral exam lasting about 30 minutes with one of the language professors at the institute. We also had an ECO with an external professor required by our mission and a 3 hour grammar test. Dave and I both passed the grammar test and received an advanced level for our ECO's. It is hard to believe sometimes since I seem to get tongue-tied when I speak Spanish! There will always be times where we make errors or forget vocabulary, but it is nice to be finished with the formal training! We will continue with a tutor and conversation partners, and of course, the daily practice that life in Costa Rica offers.
