Date Night

Last night, Greg and I got a babysitter so we could go out. We attended the first parents' meeting of the year at the Escuela Interamericana.  It was a gathering of all the parents to discuss - or rather, listen to - the mission, vision and teaching philosophy of the school.  It went about as expected... Don Alfredo (the Director) started with a simple power point with inspirational slides and then went into a typical, mind-numbing presentation of the rationale behind all the decisions of the administration, teachers, etc.  He spoke, without taking questions, for over an hour.  I am very happy with our decision to put the kids in this school, but I was bored (and I understood most of what he was saying...)! I can only imagine how Greg felt trying to understand his educational jargon.

Following this meeting, we separated into grade level groups and met in our children's classrooms to discuss with the homeroom teacher aspects specific to the third grade.  It was in this meeting that I had my first real experience with culture shock here in Costa Rica.  On the one hand, it felt so familiar it was almost scary.  There was one mom who labeled herself as the "annoying parent", always checking in on her child, complaining to the administration, reads every communication sent home, etc. Every classroom has one, right? She is now the president of the parent group, and I have no doubt that she will be great. Then there was the new couple (not us), asking questions to clarify what was being talked about.  They have moved to Turrialba so the father can pursue his Master's Degree at CATIE, but they are from Costa Rica - so while they are new to this school, they are not new to the Costa Rican educational system.  The mom will now be the treasurer for the parent group. Then there was the dad who had a suggestion for each point made by the homeroom teacher, a suggestion he then repeated when Don Alfredo came to visit our classroom.  He's the secretary - taking copious notes of every item discussed.  And then there was the rest of us. I particularly appreciated the woman sitting next to me who chuckled at the same points I did, obviously seeing the humor in the scene unfolding before us.  The meeting went on for 90 minutes - discussing everything from the punctuality of the teachers at 7:30 in the morning to the way the teachers use the space in our kids' "message notebooks" (clearly it isn't being done efficiently enough, and this is quite upsetting to some people).

So on the other hand, the part that was so unfamiliar, was feeling like while I understood the words being said, I just didn't quite understand what was going on.  We were talking about removing a wall in the classroom to make more space for the kids (to be fair, it is a small classroom for 20 kids. But moving a wall? really?). Then we were talking about a letter writing campaign to boost the self-esteem of our kids. I think.  And then there was the part about putting ceramic tiles on all the floors. Oh, and don't forget that if you sign your kid out of school you'll have to have proof of identity and get a seal from the director before you can leave the school grounds (even if they just called you to come pick up your sick child).  And there was something about not bringing toys to school that turned into a heated discussion about whether or not a soccer ball is a toy.

It gave me pause... the not understanding even though I was understanding. I was so overwhelmed I couldn't even ask a clarifying question. Or maybe I was too embarrassed to admit that I didn't really get why we were talking about what we were talking about.  How often do we misunderstand each other for just that reason?  Why is it so hard to ask another person to explain what they mean?  And why did it feel so humiliating to not understand everything immediately?

The third grade parent group decided that we have so much to talk about we need to meet on a monthly basis.  I plan to go back again and maybe even ask a question or two.  But I think I'll find a different activity for our date night.  At least if we go to the theater I won't feel bad for not asking any questions...