HolA! Since I have been writing mainly about my travels and adventures, I decided to switch it up a bit and give you guys more of an insight about my volunteer work at the school and what I’m doing here on the other side of the world. Well, in this post I am introducing you to my colleague Isaac. We did the interview in german, but since my entire blog is in english and I wish that more people are able to read it, I translated the whole thing. I hope you guys enjoy.

The Interview

Isaac: “Hi! My name is Isaac Murillo and I am 23 years old. I’m born in Costa Rica and I have lived my whole life here in Poás. Actually I am a music teacher, that is what I have studied, but I am currently working as a german teacher since last year.”

Olivia: “Why?”

Isaac: “I don’t know haha.. it was an opportunity.. here in Costa Rica there is no possibility of studying German at university.. so there was a free position at the school, they needed a German teacher and I already could speak a little german and I had been studying for being a teacher as well, and that’s why I am working as a German teacher right now.”

Olivia: “So you started teaching last year?”

Isaac: “Yes in March 2017.”

Olivia: “Before you started teaching, did you have to do a German language course?”

Isaac: “No, I had already learned german in high school in Marco’s class (he is also a German teacher at the school). There were 3 scholarships and I won one of them.”

Olivia: “Really? A scholarship for music or..?”

Isaac: “No, a scholarship for German through PASCH (german partner schools supported by the Goethe-Institute – Liceo de Poás is one of them). In July 2011 I flew to Germany for 3 weeks, I was 16 years old.”

Olivia: “Wow I didn’t even know. Where in Germany were you staying?”

Isaac: “In Sankt Peter Ording in the North Sea. I got my A1 certificate there.”

Olivia: “Nice.. what is your favorite German word and what is your favorite German food?”

Isaac: “I think my favorite german word is ‘Entschuldigung’ (Excuse me/ I’m sorry). And my favorite food.. well I don’t know if it’s actually german but it’s ‘Döner’ (kebap). “

Olivia: “What do you think about the Goethe-Institute and the PASCH program?”

Isaac: “The PASCH program is very important for us.. I always tell my students that. It is a great opportunity to learn German for free at the school and usually if you want to learn German in Costa Rica you have to go to San José and it can take up to 3 hours to get there and back.. it doesn’t cost too much but you have to invest a lot of time into it. And here at Liceo de Poás you can learn for free, it’s close and we have a lot of material to work with. Also because of PASCH only, I was able to travel to Mexico twice to do some workshops which was an awesome experience. The students here have many options, recently we did a play in German for one of the international contests that PASCH offer.”

Olivia: “If you could change anything in the program, what would it be? Or what do you wish and hope for the future of this program?”

Isaac: “Hopefully more scholarships for students and teachers, and with the help of the Ministry of Education we can improve many things in the future.”

Olivia: “If you could travel to one country you have never been to, where would you want to go and why?”

Isaac: “Hmm…maybe Spain because we have a huge spanish influence here, the language, culture etc. due to Colonialism.”

Olivia: “Okay last question.. where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

Isaac: “Ohh hmm.. well I atleast want to have a B2 or C1 level in German and complete my Masters degree. And maybe work at Liceo de Poás, or at a different school or even at the Goethe-Insititute. Also I am a musician so it would be cool to play in a band.”

Olivia: “But you want to stay in Costa Rica?”

Isaac: “Jein (Yes and no). I would like to live somwhere else for maybe a year or so.. maybe in Germany.”

Olivia: “Alright, thank you for the interview!”

//Olivia