It’s still too early to fully absorb or process how this experience has changed me. I think, like Angela said, I'll be processing and absorbing this experience for years to come.

Molly and I just landed in the Atlanta airport and were COMPLETELY overwhelmed by the light, noise, and speed of everything. We wandered around overwhelmed in the food court and couldn’t figure out what to order or how – there were too many choices, too fast. Too many colors. Too many gringos!!

WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!?!

How did America become this way? Are there any other countries like America? Cause we are wayyyyy too frantic.

We just wanted to walk across the street and buy a banana for 10 cents.

I feel zillions of times more confident in my Spanish, now, for one thing. I know that I can get through almost any situation with confidence that I'm communicating effectively in Spanish (at least at a 5-year-old level), and I have improved on my vocab and grammar a whole lot. I realized this trip that I think our brains are processing language learning for a long time after we leave a situation, and even when we don't realize we're learning. I can communicate so much better now than I could last summer in Nicaragua, and I think there are several reasons for that -- one being that I was one of the more fluent members of the group here and therefore acted as translator a lot (so I HAD to be good at it, cause I was often the intermediator); one being that more time has passed and I've had more practice; one being the language school in San Jose; and one being that I do think our brains are always processing, processing, processing. Which gives me hope.

In terms of culture shock, and what I've learned from these people, this culture, this experience... gee whiz. It's a lot. I want to be surrounded by swarms of Latino children all day every day! I already am very sad that I know that won't happen.

And I am finding myself questioning the sort of world I'm set to prepare my American students for, even more. The purpose of educating Costa Rican children is a little bit different than the purpose for educating American children, at least in philosophy. It's a different world they are entering. The developing world is different from the developed world, and EVERYWHERE is different from America.

Not that I've ever been a really happy camper with the fast pace and cultural values of the US, but coming back from Costa Rica I just see so many different sides to our education system, and theirs, and what they're all here for... it's just so much to absorb. I am thinking even more about the purpose of education, and questioning myself and my assumptions.

I will probably post more on this later, but right now I am dog-tired and need to go to bed.