Busy, busy

Well, it's been a really busy week. I've been run off my feet in the first week since Barbara left.

The pic of the week is the English department taken just before she left in the garden just outside my classroom.

The English department
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Since Barbara left, just one long week ago, I've been run off my feet dealing with school administration in addition to teaching. Placing students into group and private classes, moving students who are at the wrong level, ordering school supplies and collating all the hours worked and getting them to accounting have all been part of week one. I hope, and expect, that it will die down once I realise what I'm actually supposed to be doing. It's reminded me, though, that I hate administration.

Tourist visit
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The strangest story of the week was about the group of American senior citizens that arrived into Limón on a cruise. Cruises stop in Limón if they're in the Caribbean, and in Puntarenas if they're in the pacific. What the tourists must think of Costa Rica I don't know, because they're the two dirtiest and ugliest cities in the country. But they're the big ports and nowhere else can take the cruise ships.

This week, as the senior citizens were visiting, a group of them was travelling in a minibus, and a mugger with a knife and a gun held it up . One tourist in his 70's challenged the 20-year old mugger, and got him into a headlock which he held for so long that the mugger died of asphyxiation.

The police said that they weren't going to press charges, and the man rejoined the cruise.

Enda's 30th
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It was my brother Enda's 30th birthday party last Saturday. I don't really miss things from home that much, but that is one night I'd love to have been able to go to. He had got a present of tickets to the England rugby game in Croke Park before the party, and so was in great form after Ireland's amazing victory. Thanks to to wonders of Skype, I was able to ring Enda on his mobile, and transfer to several people there. I was on the phone for almost 20 minutes, and the cost was still just around €3.

Saturdays over
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I finished my Saturday rotation last week. It was a long six week rotation, because this is a long semester. It's great to have long weekends now until April 14. There are a few of us planning to go to Playas del Coco on the Pacific this weekend, and I'm going to go to Nicaragua the following one.

Oscars
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I had some friends over for the Oscars on Sunday night. They're on at such a civilised time over here. The red carpet programmes seemed to go on all day, and the ceremony itself started at 7.30. Word was going around the school that I was having an Oscar 'Party', but I had to quash that because I wanted it to be a relaxed night where we could actually sit down and watch it. So Erin, Jennifer, Julia, Emily and Alan called around with lots of food, drink and popcorn, and we had a great old night of it.
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Well, that's it for this week. I'm off to the school now for another early start to my working day! Luckily I just keep a note of all of my hours and I'm paid for it all. So until next week,

Chao,

Éamon

Sunday's headline in La Nación: Firearms used in assaults every two hours