I have officially been in Costa Rica for one month (and a few days) and I have been having a pretty wonderful time. We started our school year last Monday and things are going well. I am working harder than I have in a long time, but so far it has been very rewarding. My students are intelligent and confident. However, before starting classes we had one last week of orientation. One orientation activity included taking all of the first year students on a quick tour of San José. I took some photos of my tour group posing with some locals and with some local birds.
Last Saturday my roommate decided to make an appearance in my bathroom, he’s pretty cute! And hopefully he’s helping keep some of the bugs away.
Here are some shots of my walk to school. These were taken today (Saturday) so the campus was pretty empty. However, before you worry about me being at work on a Saturday, know that I was there to take pictures for the photo challenge.
The classroom corridor. All the rooms are along the right side.
A flower I can see from my classroom.
This week’s photo challenge was a nature and wildlife theme where the image should show patterns and textures. Since the campus is very green with lots of plants and wildlife, I thought it would be a good place to try and get some photos.
Golden silk orb-weaver spider
While taking this photo (which I ended up submitting to the challenge) two students were calling my name.
Baby raccoons.
All I heard was “Andrea, look” and I tried not to panic, but I was thinking that something was probably sneaking up behind me. Instead, they were pointing out these cute little guys:
Lots and lots of wildlife around these parts! I can’t wait for my first trip to the wilderness.
From ojalá to insha'Allah 
The campus is really pretty.