Do you know the way from San Jose? I've been away so loooooong?

It's time to head back home.  NOTE TO SELF: Book taxi (cost $30.00 and pay exit fees cost $28 + $3.00 hotel fee) before leaving the country.

This is the car that picks us up and drops us off to head for the volunteer project.  The cost for the round trip is 1250 colones (about $3.25).

ANOTHER NOTE TO SELF:  Not having an opportunity to practice and speak Spanish the past few days was weird.  The 2 hours spent at Maximo Nivel at the end of my volunteer day made the day painfully long...but also provided me an opportunity to practice with others who did not speak Spanish.

Shots of the outside of Maximo Nivel. This is where I caught the shuttle with the other volunteers to go to the orphanage.  It's also where I took Spanish lessons for 2 hours each day for the first 5 week days I was in Costa Rica.

One of the classrooms at Maximo Nivel. 
Although Maximo Nivel encourages guests to write a positive story on their Facebook page - and in return will give you a free t-shirt, I opted not to.  Here's why:

1. They forgot to make my reservations
2. I didn't get my Spanish workbook until the last day of my Spanish class.
3. The volunteer project that I requested (and was confirmed by Maximo) was not available.
4. The volunteer project I originally got was much farther away than the 20 minutes by bus.  It took almost 90 minutes on very bumpy roads to get to that project.

The question is, 'would I recommend Maximo?'...the answer is - "I'm not sure".  Other people whom I spoke to had similar experiences as mine. In their defense, the Maximo staff tries hard to be accommodating and helpful.  Overall, I would give this experience a B-.  

Perhaps the most unsettling part of this experience was the fact that the staff at Maximo didn't warn me about the perils of navigating the roundabout (with no stop signs or stop lights). At the very least, they should have suggested that I take a taxi or a bus on my first trip to Maximo from the hotel.  This should have been taken into consideration because the people at Maximo are very aware of my back condition.  

The lounge area at Maximo Nivel

Sometimes when the internet was down at Maximo -- we were told that the wi-fi next door at the bar may be working.  There were no charges for wi-fi, but the owner wanted each person to order at least 1 pitcher of beer.  

One of the things that I noticed while in Costa Rica, is that many of the students are well educated.  They have strong math and (hand)writing skills.  A large number also have a fair command of the English language.  Although I requested to work with teenagers, I figured since I had already changed sites once, I'd just stay at Casa de los ninos.  If tested against a class of public school children of similar ages, I would be that the Costa Rican children have a better education that public school educated children in the United States (especially Los Angeles).

The youngsters who came to learn English, had a passion for learning.  I was warned that I should only make the lessons 15 minutes in length for each hour we were together.  Because I don't like to wait until the last minute to do things...the first day, I put together what I thought would be 3 days of lessons.  It turned out to be just short of 1 day. These students reminded me of the Eveready Bunny..they kept going and going....

They never tire of learning...even during their time out of school .

Most of the children come for the entire day, yet some come only for lunch and to play outside.  Because their is a dearth of toys, some of the volunteers and I got together and purchased some soccer balls for the kids to play with.  Because of the dangers of playing in the area between houses, Don Jose (the overseer of the orphanage) made a place for the children to play on the other side of he kitchen.

 The pantry at Casa de los Ninos

It was truly a pleasure to work with these children.  Although I won't be able to keep in contact with my students, I will certainly keep them in my prayers and remember them in my heart.   

This is the park where I catch the bus to go back to the hotel after leaving Maximo Nivel.

When I left Maximo for the last time, I met a mother and daughter on the bus.  This was the first time that I engaged in "real conversation" with follow bus riders.  I was sitting on the second row of seats behind the driver to the right.  The mother boarded the bus first, looked at me and greeted me.  I returned her greeting.  The mother took the seat directly behind me...and began chatting in Spanish. I turned around and said, por favor - hablar mas lento (please speak slower).  She introduced herself and her daughter.  I introduced myself.  She asked how long I had been in Costa Rica.  I told her that I was here to volunteers.  She looked at me and asked, "es ested de Maximo Nivel?"  "Si", I replied.

The mother then told her daughter that I was from Maximo.  It turned out that the older woman rents rooms to Maximo students.  She told me a bit about her home...and suggested that if I decided to come back for more lessons and live in a home, I should ask for her.