A Treatise on Precipitation and its Effect on the Learning Process (vol. 1)
Michelle Pfieffer had her street-toughened teens. Robin Williams had the constrictive conventions of upper-crust prep schools. Me? I've got the ridiculous downpours of Costa Rica.
Admittedly, meteorological phenomena don't measure up as the toughest of pedagogic challenges. However, they present difficulties that, no matter your level of readiness, you cannot be prepared for.
An explanation: Rain doesn't mist or drizzle or even fall in Puerto Jimenez. It's more the sky power-washing the earth. Giant drops splatter down with vigor, and if you get caught without protection, you'll be soaked in seconds. In a way, it's nice. The temperature drops from “God, have mercy” to “You call THIS mercy?” Dust clouds stop rising from the unpaved streets. And the sound soothes, making a constant patter of static that drowns out everything unnecessary. Unfortunately, it can drown out everything necessary, as well. Most buildings in PJ – and indeed in rural Costa Rica – are built with tin roofs. Some places, like Adina's house, have an interior roof that makes the ceiling more like a real ceiling. But some places, and danged if the collejio isn't one, just have the tin roof with no insulating layer. The noise that's created is actually something I've wanted to blog about for a while: It's like a bunch of knights playing washboard – gauntlets on. Combine that cacophony with a classroom made of all concrete walls, and about one hour in, speaking to my first-ever class became as effective as trying to relay the Gettysburg Address through a tin can phone to opposite ends of a train -- or, to be more timely, talking to anyone with AT&T service (oh no he didn't!). My lecture portions were shot, the interview plan between students (already hesitant to converse in a new tongue) was nearly impossible, and having each individual present to the group, never mind getting the group to pay attention over the noise, was maddening. I suppose I handled it as deftly as can be, turning a speaking exercise into a write-in-front-of-the-class exercise, and modifying the warm-up for the second class to include greetings with handshakes, not across a circle. Even added in some weather vocabulary and a lesson on demonstrative pronouns. So, eat your hearts out, Dangerous Minds and Dead Poets: You got nothing on Drowned Thats.As a bonus, here's a video of a rainstorm during the Super Bowl (vive los Santos!). Sorry about the length; you need only to listen to about 5 seconds. I'd edit it, but I don't have that kind of software on my computer, and downloading is out of the question with Internet speed here.
As a double bonus, here's the best song ever about rain - apologies to Missy and the Weather Girls.
