Question: How did you feel when you first went to school in Costa Rica?
William: I felt weird because I had never gone to that school before. I would have felt a little weird at a new school in the United States, too, but it was extra strange knowing that the kids all spoke a different language than I did. I wasn't really scared but I was really nervous.
Martin: I felt funny in my stomach. I wished I didn't have to go. I was glad William and Leonard were both at school, even though they weren't in my class.
Question: What did you like best about school?
William: I liked recess the best because we could play soccer and buy candy from the little lunchroom building near the playground. The rules for soccer in Costa Rica are the same as the rules in the U.S. The Costa Rican kids are better soccer players than most U.S. kids. Most of the kids were better than me, even when they were younger than me. My friend Daniel (pronounced with a heavy emphasis on the second syllable) is seven and in the second grade and he has lots of soccer moves that I was trying to learn. He could get the ball past me most of the time except for when I charged him and tried to steal the ball.
Martin: I liked recess best, too. We had four recesses in Costa Rica and we could get candy! On the first day I bought two pieces of candy and on the second day I bought three. I gave one to William and one to Leonard. We didn't take any money, but the lunch lady gave us what we wanted and Mommy paid for it later. The lunch lady could speak English and Spanish both and she was very nice. She was a good cook, too. On the first day we had pasta and I loved it. It was better than Mommy's and almost better than Other's!
Question: What did you like least about school?
Martin: My first day is what I liked least. The day got better but I hated it when Mommy and Daddy left me with a new teacher and kids I didn't know at all. All the kids had beautiful brown skin and dark hair and dark eyes. I also made a friend at school. When I didn't understand the teacher, my friend helped me. My teacher spoke only Spanish on the first day and I couldn't understand her so my friend helped me because she spoke English and Spanish. I can't remember my friend's name. It was a Spanish name.
William: I also liked my first day the least. The work was the worst of all because everybody was asking questions to the teacher so it was hard to work. They spoke in English and Spanish.
Question: Do you think school is harder or easier in Costa Rica?
William: I think it is harder because most of the time it was taught in Spanish and I couldn't understand very much.
Martin: I think it is harder because it seemed like it was a longer day than at home.
Question: Were any children naughty at school? How could you tell?
William: Two kids were naughty. The teacher put their names up on the board. They spoke out of turn. After that, they weren't naughty again except for one of them.
Martin: No one was naughty in my class but there was a lot of shouting and the teacher didn't mind.
Question: What Spanish words did you understand and/or speak at school?
William: I said "Hola" to people and the teacher said "Como esta?" to me and I understand that and said "Bien" to her. Our teacher also said "Como se llama?" to me and I understood that and I said "William."
Martin: I spoke "Hola" both days and my classmates could speak English so that's all I said.
