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Trip Report for two USA adult 40-somethings and their 9 year old daughter over Thanksgiving week, 2019.
Monday: LAX -> SJO, easy flight. We took it as a red-eye and it is not long enough to get much sleep.
Tuesday: Landing in SJO, cleared customs without incident. Short wait for bags. All the ATMs in the terminal are in public with everyone staring at you. I needed to get a week's worth of money and didn't need a target on my back so we figured we'd hit one once we got the car. This was a bad move, they are hard to find. Should have used the ATM at the airport.
Easily found shuttle to Budget car rental. Got car without incident, mandatory insurance was expensive (as predicted). I got a mid-sized (small) SUV, four wheel drive (never used it), stick-shift (just to show off). The automatic was another $50 for the week and in retrospect I'd have done it - there is a LOT of stop-and-go driving and my clutching skills needed work after a 15 year break. I was surprised that all the cars in the rental car lot looked mostly the same - the small SUVs didn't look different from the large SUVs, and in fact none of the compact cars looked much different from the SUVs. I didn't know what kind of driving to expect but in retrospect if you were trying to save $100 I think one of the tiny compact cars would have been fine.
Headed for Arenal / La Fortuna. Stopped at an exit to get some snacks. Finally found a small supermarket but they had no ATM. Asked for directions to the nearest ATM, after significant discussion I was given turn by turn directions to go approximately 100 miles, so we decided we'd wait. Eventually found (via gps) an ATM that was 10 or so minutes off our route.
Stopped for lunch at La Casona del Maiz nearby. Delicious - we were starved.
The GPS says we took 5 hours to go 45 miles to Arenal, but I don't remember it taking that long. We certainly did meander and get out and look several times. It's beautiful country and the drives are pleasant.
Montana De Fuego Resort & Spa. We had a Superior Bungalow which are easily the nicest rooms there. (There are more expensive rooms that are just not as nice.) This resort caters to Americans and Europeans. They have a small hot springs pool (warm), restaurant on site, very nice and clean. There is a trail in the hotel grounds called "Sloth Trail" (or something) we saw our first sloth about 50 steps down the trail.
Drove back into Fortuna for dinner (we don't do hotel food), ate at Pollo Fortueno. Delish, and great service. Really great service.
Wednesday: we'd booked a horseback ride through the hotel. Hotel contracts it to the place across the street (directly across the street), I'm sure you could save a few bucks to book direct with that place. Just the three of us and a guide - we'd booked a horseback ride up Arenal, but on arrival the guy said the ride up Arenal was mostly on a road, and you get there and... that's that. If you take a ride down by the river, you see wildlife and lots of scenery. The three of us really wanted to ride Fortuna, but we gave in to this guy's recommendation, and he was 100% right. The ride was amazing. He pointed out all kinds of animals and flora and local history. This horseback ride was the highlight of the trip.
After we ate lunch at El Novillos Del Arenal, it was ok, I wouldn't return.
Drove to Arenal Park, paid the small admission fee and hiked up the hill. Good hike, great view. (Tired 9 year old.) Arenal park closes promptly at 4. I know this for a fact because when we went to leave at 4:45, we were locked in and everyone was gone. We managed to flag down a passerby who called someone, and 5 minutes later we were rescued.
Wife wanted pizza for dinner, we returned to town and ate at Restaurante Cafe Mediterraneo. Great pizza and great ambiance.
Got a scoop of ice cream after at Chocolate Fusion. Also had really good service here.
Walked around town. Nice little tourist center here.
Thursday: put on our swimsuits and swam at the locals hot springs: https://goo.gl/maps/Q3CPV6D3DcWkJJHQA. Spent an hour here and seriously could have spent all day. Wished we'd have blocked out more time for this. Another highlight of the trip.
This was a travel day to Monteverde. Great drive, beautiful views. Stopped at "Cafe & Macadamia" on the way for lunch. Seriously the best lunch stop possible. Delicious food, reasonable cost, right at the halfway point.
Stayed at Pension Santa Elena, a hostel in the center of town. Stayed two nights, got to know basically everyone staying at the hostel in a period of two days.
Took a night hike with Wildlife Refuge Monteverde. This was my wife's one wish and she loved it. My daughter and I were miserable and cold in the rain for two hours. But my wife loved every minute. We did see some cool stuff. Bring a flashlight, the ones they hand out are cheap and not bright.
Friday: Hostel offers breakfast and it's delish. The hostel folks had helped us book a semi-private guide at Monteverde Nat'l Park and the tour was good. We didn't see quite as much wildlife as we'd hoped, but the guide was very knowledgable and the price was reasonable. About a mile before Monteverde Nat'l Park there is a parking lot with the world's largest sign, "OFFICIAL PARKING, MONTEVERDE NAT'L PARK". You will be stunned to learn this is not the official parking for Monteverde National Park. Drive another mile or so, park on the side of the road for free, walk to the entrance.
Friday afternoon we booked a zipline at Salvatura adventure park. Before we booked it there was a lot of debate about which company to use, they all boast different features. After having done it I'll suggest that they are all mostly the same and it doesn't matter that much. Salvatura was great and we really enjoyed it. After the zipline, Salvatura offers a 7-bridge walk and we took a very long walk across 7 hanging bridges.
The town of Monteverde is very small and very touristy, the food is overpriced and mediocre. I wish I'd have cooked at the hostel, but we had some forgettable tourist food this night.
Saturday: Drove our newfound hostel friends to the ferry terminal in Puntarenas. Continued towards Manuel Antonio. Stopped at Crocodile Bridge. Stopped a bit later for our absolute best soda experience, Soda La Katolika.
Stayed two nights at Jungle Creek Villas, a vacation rental run by an overbearing Canadian ex-pat. Monkeys come right up to the house in the trees and plenty of Macaws.
Watched the sunset from the beach outside the national park. The locals will help you park at the beach. When you get out of the car they will ask for for a thousand (or a few thousand) colones, and if you pay them, they will watch your car so nobody breaks in it. If you don't, they will break into your car while you're gone. It's a really clever system, so I paid the guy, and he didn't break into my car.
Sunday, did the Manuel Antonio National Park. Didn't hire a guide, did it DIY. Before arriving in Costa Rica I read that if you hire a guide in one national park, you will get the idea as to whether you like it or not. We'd done it a few times and decided to go without this time. It was a good move. Once you know how to find monkeys and sloths, you will find them. The guide book mentioned how specific areas of the national park had less populous beaches, but I found most of the beaches pretty deserted, none moreso than others. We set up camp and played in the beach most of the day. Pro-tip, park on the main road, not the skinny road on the way to the national park.
Had a forgettable expensive dinner at El Lagarto. If you go, make a reservation.
Monday: drove back to San Jose. Hotel for the night was Trapp Family Country Inn. The most delightful thing about this place is their address: "400m west of soccer field, Costa Rica, Alajuela". Through some oversight, I booked a room at this place for two people instead of three. Upon learning we had a 9 year old, they wanted $35 for her to stay - half again the cost of the room. I protested, but when they have you by the balls, they have you by the balls. I paid the add'l.
Wanted to check out San Jose and heard horror stories about driving and parking. Took an uber (or lyft?) to downtown San Jose for $20. Great move, highly recommended. Went to the Central Market and ate a ton of food and bought souvenirs. Walked all around town and saw the city. Ubered back and went to bed.
Tuesday: Returned the rental car and took an early flight out of SJO. Priority Pass lounge at SJO was totally serviceable - not a heavy breakfast but enough to not leave us hungry.
Things I'm glad I packed: raincoats, umbrellas. Water hiking shoes were absolutely crucial - if you can bring only one pair of shoes, bring water hiking shoes.
Things I packed and didn't need: bug spray, other bug-related things. We didn't really encounter any buggy flying biting things.
Things I wish I'd have brought: a poncho for when the real rain comes. A flashlight.
Some years ago after a trip through various third-world countries, we ended up in Barcelona. When describing our arrival in Barcelona, she later said "it's the kind of place where, when you flush the toilet... you know what's going to happen".
Costa Rica had this same sort of appeal. It's rugged and green and underdeveloped, it's bio-touristy and the people are "pura vida" and low-key. But if you want a drink of water, you just turn on the faucet. When you poop, you flush it away. The roads are paved and food is readily available. Highly recommended for anyone. Easily doable and totally worth it.

What a strange, strange match this was. Seeing Magee's shot tipped off of the crossbar must have given RSL Nam-like flashbacks to Saborio's shot off the post against Vancouver last weekend, but it may also have provided them with enough hope to continue pushing numbers forward in search of that elusive tying goal.
All three points were in the Fire's grasp and Frank Yallop's crew squandered it all away. Yes, RSL showed incredible toughness and skill in mounting such an unbelievable comeback, but the loss squarely belongs on the shoulders of the eleven Fire players on the field and on those of the man who leads theme. Their lack of mental sharpness led to late defensive lapses that cost them the game.
Yet for seventy glorious minutes, the Fire looked like a competent side that finally had turned the corner on an ugly start to its 2014 season. The defense held its line. The fullbacks got forward and put cross after cross into the box. Anangono scored! Magee scored! They had the reigning Western Conference champions on their heels! But then RSL did RSL things and the Fire did Fire things and when the ref blew his final whistle, the Fire players looked around Toyota Park in a daze, perhaps making sure that what they were now experiencing was real.
Attacking the Diamond
“The only way you can get your space against Salt Lake is out wide.” - Frank Yallop
From the opening whistle, the Fire had one clear strategy. The team was going to exploit the gaps left on the wings by RSL's diamond midfield, and it was going to get passes into the area for Anangono and Magee to finish. Remarkably, the strategy worked – in large part due to the tireless overlapping play of fullbacks Lovel Palmer and Greg Cochrane (it certainly wasn't because of Patrick Nyarko).
You can see this strategy pay dividends as early as the eighth minute of the match. On this play, Anangono manages to shield Chris Schuler off of the ball and gets the ball out to Harry Shipp, who immediately turns and plays the ball into vacant space with the outside of his right foot. Shipp saw Greg Cochrane's overlapping run from deep and the ball he plays allows space for Cochrane to get a touch forward on the ball and time for Cochrane to make a better cross. The only problem is that only Anangono and Magee have made runs into the box; Cochrane's cross doesn't connect with anyone in the area.
The passes from Cochrane proved a consistent theme, not just in the Fire's relentless first half pressure, but throughout the match. Here, Harry Shipp once again has pinched inside to receive the ball and then gets it wide to Cochrane in space. This time, Cochrane's pass finds its target, but Anangono puts a little too much on his header and it sails over its intended target, Mike Magee. Later in the match, it's Shipp to Cochrane again, but this time Cochrane tries to pick out Magee with a pass on the ground, as only Anangono has made a helping run into the box. Then there was this lovely give-and-go between Shipp, Magee, and Cochrane, in which Cochrane's final cross came in just off target.
By getting its fullbacks out wide on the wings, the Fire managed to stretch RSL defensively, dragging players away from the center of the field. Take a look at Mike Magee's goal (pictures here). The Fire catch RSL in transition and when Shipp switches out wide to Palmer, there are hardly any RSL defenders in sight (Ned Grabavoy is caught on the wrong side of the field). Palmer's run freezes Wingert, whose moment of hesitation allows just enough time for the Fire attackers to move into better positions. Palmer lays the ball off to Nyarko along the near sideline, forcing Mulholland and Wingert to adjust. This leaves Joya free and he receives Nyarko's pass with Schuler closing, only it's too late. Shipp has already made his run to the edge of the area and it's his shot from the top of the eighteen that forces the Rimando save and the Magee finish.
The Fire, predictably, went wide again in the build up to its second goal (pictures here), but this time on the opposite end of the field. And surprise, surprise, it's Greg Cochrane making the run to receive Joya's pass and playing the final ball onto Anangono's head. You can see that the cluster of Fire players along the far sideline has drawn Kyle Beckerman out from center midfield and has forced him to recover defensively inside the box. Also, watch Anagono's clever run. He starts at the top of the box and then cuts horizontally inside, before darting directly towards the six, where he meets Cochrane's cross completely unmarked. It's a brilliant goal.
A High Line: Playing With Fi-
On Saturday, a trend started emerging on Twitter: RSL was coasting. It was as if folks looked at the scoreline, saw the Fire beating RSL, and concluded that RSL must have been slacking off if it was losing so badly. But that perception didn't exactly correspond with reality. In fact, the Fire was extremely lucky to go into half-time with the shutout.
The Fire's defensive strategy was to maintain a very high line to help keep Saborio and Plata in check and put pressure on RSL's attacking midfield players (Yallop likely wanted to prevent the kind of defensive mistakes that doomed Portland). The strategy worked at limiting the amount of time and space the RSL attackers had with the ball, but it failed to contain Saborio and Plata; instead, it offered more opportunities for the two strikers to sneak in behind the defense.
RSL recognized the high line and immediately tried to break it down. In this sequence, Tony Beltran manages to get RSL in behind the channels with a single pass. Grabavoy suddenly has space to move in and two potential targets, Saborio on his right and Plata to his left. Lovel Palmer does an excellent job of forcing Plata out wide, but already Salt Lake has managed to get men in behind the defense.
This wasn't an isolated incident. In the eleventh minute, Saborio times his run perfectly, and latches onto this beautiful long pass from Javier Morales. Cochrane does well to stick with Saborio on this play. Later, it's Wingert who again springs Saborio with this pretty pass. Saborio makes a near perfect run to get himself in behind the defense. Only this time, goalkeeper Sean Johnson bails out his back line with a massive save.
Remarkably, the line held. But only just.
How did RSL come back?
The widely held assumption at the end of this match was that RSL somehow flipped a switch and went into another gear. As I already wrote above, RSL pressed its best advantage most of the match, getting in behind the Fire's high line and sending numbers forward into the area. But by the seventieth minute, Cassar was beginning to lose his patience. He subbed out the very effective Chris Wingert and Luke Mulholland in order to get more attacking players on the field. Cassar, as he has shown time and again this season, has a knack for making the right substitutions at the right times.
Just two minutes later, in the 72nd minute, substitute Kenny Mansally freezes Palmer in his tracks (some say that Palmer is perpetually trapped in this position, a Promethean punishment from the soccer gods for his missed penalty in last year's MLS Cup final). The move, weird as it may be, distracts enough attention from the defenders for Plata to move into an open position in the box. Mansally plays a short ball to Morales, who makes a lovely pass on the ground to Plata, who turns, shoots, and scores. All too easy.
It's at this point that the Fire begin to completely collapse defensively. On Salt Lake's tying goal, Bakary Soumare and Cochrane are both caught ball-watching, as Saborio manages to chest the ball down past both defenders and finish his shot into the upper ninety. And it's Cochrane, the man who played such a crucial role generating the Fire's offense, who fails to track Plata in the box on RSL's game-winner. Four Fire defenders in the box and yet, somehow, Plata finds enough space to cooly (and easily) finish Saborio's pass.
Is this the result of a failure to communicate? Or is this the more worrisome consequence of mental or physical fatigue? Whatever it is, Yallop and his assistants will need to sort it out quickly – his Fire was less than ten minutes away from a critical three points.
On the bright side, the Fire has a core of very talented youngsters like Benji Joya and Harry Shipp, both of whom should serve as an integral part of the Fire's attack (after watching this match, however, I'm not sure that Joya is the answer alongside Larentowicz in central midfield). They also have one of the best poachers in MLS and a future goalkeeping star in Sean Johnson. There's no reason why the Fire should be underperforming this badly – it ultimately comes down to Yallop. Can he make the right adjustments and help solidify his team's defense? If so, the Fire may yet be in the playoff conversation come October.

• For Girls Only, Probably... Being thin. Probably not a subject that you ever expected to read about on this website, but my recent trip to London got me thinking... It started in the car on the way to Leavesden film studios. I whiled away part of the journey reading a magazine that featured several glossy photographs of a very young woman who is either seriously ill or suffering from an eating disorder (which is, of course, the same thing); anyway, there is no other explanation for the shape of her body. She can talk about eating absolutely loads, being terribly busy and having the world's fastest metabolism until her tongue drops off (hooray! Another couple of ounces gone!), but her concave stomach, protruding ribs and stick-like arms tell a different story. This girl needs help, but, the world being what it is, they're sticking her on magazine covers instead. All this passed through my mind as I read the interview, then I threw the horrible thing aside. But blow me down if the subject of girls and thinness didn't crop up shortly after I got out of the car. I was talking to one of the actors and, somehow or other, we got onto the subject of a girl he knows (not any of the Potter actresses – somebody from his life beyond the films) who had been dubbed 'fat' by certain charming classmates. (Could they possibly be jealous that she knows the boy in question? Surely not!) 'But,' said the actor, in honest perplexity, 'she is really not fat.' '"Fat" is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her,' I said; I could remember it happening when I was at school, and witnessing it among the teenagers I used to teach. Nevertheless, I could see that to him, a well-adjusted male, it was utterly bizarre behaviour, like yelling 'thicko!' at Stephen Hawking. His bemusement at this everyday feature of female existence reminded me how strange and sick the 'fat' insult is. I mean, is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be? Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I'm not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain... I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn't seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? 'You've lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!' 'Well,' I said, slightly nonplussed, 'the last time you saw me I'd just had a baby.' What I felt like saying was, 'I've produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren't either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?' But no – my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate! So the issue of size and women was (ha, ha) weighing on my mind as I flew home to Edinburgh the next day. Once up in the air, I opened a newspaper and my eyes fell, immediately, on an article about the pop star Pink. Her latest single, 'Stupid Girls', is the antidote-anthem for everything I had been thinking about women and thinness. 'Stupid Girls' satirises the talking toothpicks held up to girls as role models: those celebrities whose greatest achievement is un-chipped nail polish, whose only aspiration seems to be getting photographed in a different outfit nine times a day, whose only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs. Maybe all this seems funny, or trivial, but it's really not. It's about what girls want to be, what they're told they should be, and how they feel about who they are. I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls. Rant over.
• Harry Potters There are quite a few real Harry Potters out there. So far I have heard of a newborn baby who actually has Harry's full name (Harry James Potter), a barrister in London, a grandfather who was very pleased that he had become cool in his grandchildren's eyes, a soldier who died in the second world war (I was sent a picture of his tombstone) and a clockmaker who worked in London in the last century.
• Meeting Melissa and Emerson The plans for publication of Half-Blood Prince were underway and I was trying to think of a way to solve a recurring problem: the frustration often felt by dedicated (older) Potter fans at the fact that I am rarely posed the questions they most want asked. The solution, I decided, would be a face-to-face interview with one or two true emissaries of the diehard fans, capable of hitting me with the tough, book-seven-exploring, backstory-probing, inconsistency-highlighting, character-analysing questions that I hardly ever get round to answering, and certainly not at book launch time. My feeling was that even if I said I couldn't answer – because I didn't want to ruin theories or give too much away (or because I didn't know the answer!) - you would at least have the satisfaction of knowing that I had been put on the spot by people who knew where the spot was. So how was I going to find the inquisitors? Well, I could pretend it was difficult, but I wouldn't be fooling anyone; the answer was right under my nose; in fact, if it had been any closer I would have snorted it up as surely as I snorted a well-known fizzy drink during the resultant interview. Yes, step forwards Melissa Anelli, founder of The Leaky Cauldron fansite, and Emerson Spartz, founder of Mugglenet. (Links to both can be found in the 'fansite' section of this website). Why Melissa and Emerson? Because I knew, from having trawled their sites, that they know their Harry Potter back to front, that they care, not only about the books, but about the community of fans on the net, and that they were clever and funny and that I was going to enjoy meeting them at least as much as they would enjoy meeting me. So I called them. Melissa had been tipped off to expect a call, but the ear-piercing shriek that met my words of introduction told me that she hadn't guessed what it was all about. She was available and happy to come – one down. I was worried that Emerson, who was not expecting anything at all, might simply hang up on me; as I heard his Dad walking away from the telephone to fetch him I was trying to think of way to prove it was really me and not some angry Harry/Hermione shipper trying to lure him down a dark alleyway. However, I didn't need to offer an impromptu quiz on the sub-plots of books one to five; he believed me, he could make it: we were set! I must say that I was impressed and moved by how many fellow fans posted congratulations to them when they announced on their sites that they would be interviewing me. The thrust of most comments was that they deserved the interview as a reward for all their hard work; it was uplifting to see so many people express generous and fair-minded good wishes! I knew they were somewhere around on launch night, but didn't see them. Not until Saturday afternoon did I finally come face-to-face with them, in the office beside my house where my long-suffering PA deals with mountains of post. I was so excited as I went through the door… for one thing, I had not yet spoken to a single fan who had finished the book… And there they were, waiting for me. I had met Melissa twice before, though each time for no longer than it took to squeak excitedly at each other; she is (for those of you who don't know) a good-looking redhead who shares my taste in both coffee and shoes (she presented me with some truly ambrosial coffee, available only in the States, and I openly coveted her faux-snakeskin heels). Emerson is about seven feet tall (or that's how he looked from my 5' 5") and has extraordinarily long, very blue eyes; he, too, had brought presents, including a key representing the freedom of LaPorte, Indiana, accompanied by a proclamation signed by the Mayor. No, not kidding. 'Well, it's hard trying to think of stuff you can't buy for yourself,' he said as I gazed at these items, dumbstruck. We laughed at the strangeness of the situation – it was a little like a three-cornered blind date – and then settled down to talk properly. They were both, as I had known they would be, wonderful. Funny, bright, completely committed to getting some proper answers out of me. We were supposed to be together an hour: two had passed before any of us noticed and if I hadn't had a baby to feed, I think we could have gone on most of the night. The transcript of the interview, plus their own individual reports on their time in Edinburgh, can be read on the-leaky-cauldron.org and on mugglenet.com. I will only say that I hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as I enjoyed giving it. In the meantime, I am making enquiries as to what I am allowed to do in LaPorte now that I have the key.
• Minesweeper In the bad old days, when I wanted a few minutes' break while writing, I used to light up a cigarette. I gave up smoking in the year 2000 and now chew a lot of gum instead (hence the state of my desk). However, chewing a bit of gum does not give you an excuse for a nice little brain-resting break, so instead I like to escape the complexities of the latest plot by playing a quick game of Minesweeper. Since giving up smoking I must boastfully inform you that I have become rather good and that my current best time for expert level is 101 seconds.
• Minesweeper Update Just thought you might like to know that my personal best for Expert Level Minesweeper is now ninety nine seconds. This goes to show how much time I have been spending at this computer, typing 'The Half-Blood Prince'. To those who suggest that I might get on even faster if I stopped taking Minesweeper breaks, I shall turn a deaf ear. It's either Minesweeper or smoking, I can't write if I have to give up both.
• NAQ ... which means, 'never asked question'. Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak? Prior to posting this I had a quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn't what we in the know call 'a Mark Evans situation.'* There IS a significant - even crucial - answer.
• Note to newcomers: my attempt to put to rest certain wild theories about the unimportant character of 'Mark Evans' backfired when I inadvertently built up even more excitement by promising to explain his significance.
• Owls Owls feature in many superstitions across the world. To the Greeks, the owl was emblematic of Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, and if an owl was sighted flying over the Greek army prior to battle it was considered an omen of victory. To the Romans, on the other hand, the owl was an unlucky creature that predicted death and disaster. In Britain there is a superstition that it is unlucky to see an owl by daylight, a superstition I had fun with in the first chapter of ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ where, of course, the sudden explosion of owls flying by daylight represented something very lucky indeed, though the Muggles did not know it. My wizards' owls reflect their personality to a certain extent. Poor Ron gets Pigwidgeon, who is a Scops (these are very small owls with ears – cute, but distinctly unshowy). Poor exhausted Errol is a Great Gray, which in my opinion is the most comical-looking owl in the world – just Google the Great Gray to see what I mean. Naturally I gave my hero what I consider to be the most beautiful owl of the lot: the Snowy Owl, which also goes by the name of Ghost Owl. These are not native to Britain, so I felt that she would give Harry kudos at Hogwarts (there is no other snowy owl there, as I trust you have noticed). However, any owl expert would tell you that Hedwig is strangely atypical of her breed. Only after Philosopher’s Stone had been accepted for publication did I realise that Snowy Owls are diurnal. I think it was during the writing of ‘Chamber of Secrets’ that I discovered that Snowy Owls are also virtually silent, the females being even quieter than the males. So all of Hedwig's night-time jaunts and her many reproving hoots may be taken as signs of her great magical ability or my pitiful lack of research, whichever you prefer. (Incidentally: there has been a spate of stories in the press recently concerning the upswing in popularity of keeping owls as pets, allegedly as a result of the Harry Potter books. If it is true that anybody has been influenced by my books to think that an owl would be happiest shut in a small cage and kept in a house, I would like to take this opportunity to say as forcefully as I can: please don’t.)
• Places to Write It is no secret that the best place to write, in my opinion, is a cafe; you don't have to make your own coffee, you don't feel that you are in solitary confinement while you work and when inspiration fails, you can take a walk to the next cafe while your batteries re-charge. In my opinion, the best writing cafe is just crowded enough so that you blend in, but not so crowded that you end up sharing a table with somebody who tries to read chapter twenty upside down, has staff who don't glower at you if you sit there too long (though these days I can afford to keep ordering coffees even if I don't drink them, so that's less of a problem) and doesn't play very loud music, which is the only noise that disturbs me when I'm writing.
• Spell Definitions Every now and then somebody asks me for the difference between a spell, a charm and a hex. Within the Potter world, the boundaries are flexible, and I imagine that wizards may have their own ideas. Hermione-ish, however, I've always had a working theory: Spell: The generic term for a piece of magic. Charm: Does not fundamentally alter the properties of the subject of the spell, but adds, or changes, properties. Turning a teacup into a rat would be a spell, whereas making a teacup dance would be a charm. The grey area comes with things like 'Stunning Spells', which on balance I think are Charms, but which I call spells for alliterative effect. Hexes: Has a connotation of dark magic, as do jinxes, but of a minor sort. I see 'hex' as slightly worse. I usually use 'jinx' for spells whose effects are irritating but amusing. Curses: Reserved for the worst kinds of dark magic.
• SQUIBS I have been asked all sorts of questions about Squibs since I first introduced the concept in ‘Chamber of Secrets’. A Squib is almost the opposite of a Muggle-born wizard: he or she is a non-magical person born to at least one magical parent. Squibs are rare; magic is a dominant and resilient gene. Squibs would not be able to attend Hogwarts as students. They are often doomed to a rather sad kind of half-life (yes, you should be feeling sorry for Filch), as their parentage often means that they will be exposed to, if not immersed in, the wizarding community, but can never truly join it. Sometimes they find a way to fit in; Filch has carved himself a niche at Hogwarts and Arabella Figg operates as Dumbledore’s liaison between the magical and Muggle worlds. Neither of these characters can perform magic (Filch’s Kwikspell course never worked), but they still function within the wizarding world because they have access to certain magical objects and creatures that can help them (Arabella Figg does a roaring trade in cross-bred cats and Kneazles, and if you don‘t know what a Kneazle is yet, shame on you). Incidentally, Arabella Figg never saw the Dementors that attacked Harry and Dudley, but she had enough magical knowledge to identify correctly the sensations they created in the alleyway.
• The Elder Wand I decided that the core of the Elder Wand is the tail hair of a Thestral; a powerful and tricky substance that can be mastered only by a witch or wizard capable of facing death.
• The Irish Quidditch team and West Ham Football Club The Irish Quidditch team players are all named after people I have known. 'Moran', 'Troy' and 'Quigley,' are good friends. 'Troy' is one of my very oldest friends and she also happens to be a passionate supporter of West Ham Football Club. It is in her honour that the only soccer team ever mentioned in the books is West Ham.
• WANDS I gave Harry a wand made of holly wood back in 1990, when I first drafted chapter six of ‘Philosopher’s Stone’. It was not an arbitrary decision: holly has certain connotations that were perfect for Harry, particularly when contrasted with the traditional associations of yew, from which Voldemort’s wand is made. European tradition has it that the holly tree (the name comes from ‘holy’) repels evil, while yew, which can achieve astonishing longevity (there are British yew trees over two thousand years old), can symbolise both death and resurrection; the sap is also poisonous. Some time after I had given Harry his holly-and-phoenix wand I came across a description of how the Celts had assigned trees to different parts of the year and discovered that, entirely by coincidence, I had assigned Harry the ‘correct’ wood for his day of birth. I therefore decided to give Ron and Hermione Celtic wand woods, too. Ron, who was born in the February 18 - March 17 period, was given an ash wand (I think I had originally marked him down for beech), and Hermione, who was born between September 2 and September 29, received a vine wood wand (I can’t remember what I originally stipulated for Hermione; possibly I had not specified a wood for her at that stage). I have only used the Celtic assignations for Ron and Hermione. Hagrid, for instance, has an oak wand though by this Celtic system he should have a wand made of elder; in Britain, the oak is ‘King of the Forest’ and symbolises strength, protection and fecundity; what other wood could ‘choose’ Hagrid? In any case, I liked having a hidden connection between Harry, Ron and Hermione’s wands that only I knew about (until now, anyway). For those who are interested in the trees assigned to the different parts of the Celtic year, below is the chart that I used. I apologise to any Celtic tree experts out there for any inaccuracies I may have reproduced (I have found slight variations between sources since I first came across this information.) December 24 - January 20 = Birch (Beth) January 21 - February 17 = Rowan (Luis) February 18 - March 17 = Ash (Nion) March 18 - April 14 = Alder (Fearn) April 15 - May 12 = Willow (Saille) May 13 - June 9 = Hawthorn (Huath) June 10 - July 7 = Oak (Duir) July 8 - August 4 = Holly (Tinne) August 5 - September 1 = Hazel (Coll) September 2 - September 29 = Vine (Muin) September 30 - October 27 = Ivy (Gort) October 28 - November 24 = Reed (Ngetal) November 25 - December 23 = Elder (Ruis) Source Additional And Unused Material Menu Maine Menu

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Date: 2012-11-16
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Questions	Answers
What do you actually do for most of the day?	I am in hallways between classes -- my presence affects the building climate and behavior; I observe and provide feedback of instruction daily; I address discipline referrals; I track down every single unexcused student absence and multiple tardiness; I approve purchase requests; I supervise and evaluate over 60 teachers, 6 custodians, 3 administrative assistants, 10 educational assistants, several psychs, counselors, etc.; I respond to parent emails and phone calls; I intervene many times all day long with student "drama" and crises of all sorts. These are "daily" tasks that don't address the budget, course guide, curricula, departmental classes and course offerings, IEP meetings, school board meetings, building goals, administrative team meetings, RtI implementation, student intervention team meetings, community ATODA task force initiative, scholarship review, etc. The list is seemingly never-ending. And kind of depressing at times.
Are you as serious about student absentees as Mr. Rooney?	Actually, yes. I know right.
I see you put "drama" in quotations. What do you really think about the drama?	It's everywhere, every day. I should have an honorary PhD in dealing with 16-year old kid drama.
Did you block reddit on the computers?	Yup. Our district tech director and I figured that /gonewild may interfere with student learning.
Should have blocked imgur instead to really screw with them.	I did. That's the backbone of /gonewild anyway. Or so I've been told...
All of Reddit for just nsfw subreddits? Reddit can be a valuable resource at times. Also, the students are probably trickier than your "tech director" and some have gotten around it.	I'm sure kids are taking advantage of my naiveity and getting away with shit every day.
Can't you just block anything along the lines of https...gonewild and other nsfw areas, but allow the "nice" areas? Or at least allow certain subreddits like askscience?	It wouldn't be worth it. I'll be honest: I want students at school learning our curricula. Reddit -- and many other sites -- would be a huge distraction.
I like how you link to it everytime.	Errr. Oops. Heh.
Craziest situation that has occurred in your years as an educator? It could be anything...	Wow, not even sure where to start on this one. I once had a senior near graduation discreetly release a flock of pigeons in the upstairs hallway. We once had a HUGE pile of manure dumped on one of the entire building entrances. I've experienced deer carcasses in the building, strung out incoherently intoxicated students, among other wacky incidents.
Would love to know more about the pigeon incident...I'm long past high school but somewhat impressed with the creativity of that one, and curious as to how you got rid of the pigeons...	I rounded up all the science and Ag teachers and told them to get busy!
Haha thanks, didn't expect an answer to this! Was there poop everywhere? Did anyone get in real trouble?	It was part of several senior pranks on the last day and we never could prove which kid did it. Yes, some pigeon shit was dealt with on that infamous day!
What's the worst thing someone has said to you while working as a principal?	I think "fuck you you old ass fucking prick!". I was 33. Is 33 really "old ass" category? That one still hurts a little.
Maybe they were just calling you old and "ass fucking" was the combination. A blow at your age and sexuality?	Ouch. Never thought about it like that. :)
Thanks for doing this AMA! Always cool to see teachers using reddit. How do you feel about teachers' unions? Do you think that they are helpful or harmful towards education? That said, how do you feel about giving high school teachers tenure? Do you wish you could fire some and keep the good ones?	I have some mixed feelings about teachers unions. Full disclosure: my wife is a teacher and belongs to a union. I believe that teachers and other educational staff should have the right to unionize. Truthfully, I believe that weak administrators are a bigger barrier to removing poor teachers than are the unions themselves. The union in the district I work is excellent -- they have great leadership, they work collaboratively with the school board and administration, and they have yet to get in my way when it comes to dealing with staff that need to go. In regards to tenure: I just don't think it's necessary. Good instructors have very little to worry about anyway, in my experience.
What's your favorite teen movie ever? And do you have a favorite principal/dean antagonist?	Edward Rooney in Ferris Bueller's Day Off is classic, largely because that movie itself is a classic.
Have you ever had to enforce a rule but didn't want to or felt guilty about it?	For sure. I can think of an incident where one kid student punched another student who happened to be a student with a history of bullying/harassment type issues. The kid pretty much deserved it, but the kid who threw the punch was disciplined both via school consequences and police consequences.
I think you may be talking about my situation( was the excact same thing) was the kid who deserved it named alex fortin.	Maybe.
As a current procrastinating high school student who uses Reddit to cope with school life, how do you do it?	Find a balance. I'm a principal who also uses reddit, plays Xbox, WoW, etc. Do what you need to do first, and reward yourself with what you like to do afterwards. Google "Premack Principle." Now live it.
This begs the question: Do you raid? Do you overhear students talking about it and think "Hah! Demonology is sooo 4 years ago. Affliction's where it's at these days." I want to believe, I really do.	I used to be a WoW raider, and before that (which really makes me old) a big time Everquest raider. I just simply don't have as much time although I am fortunate to not need more than 5 hours of sleep each night. That helps. I almost finished Assassin's Creed 3 last night and probably would have had I not been answering AMA questions!
Out of curiosity, if a student found out somehow and asked you to raid with them would? If not because of conflict of interest would you after they get out of your school?	Nah. We have an acceptual usage policy that actually prohibits us from online gaming with students, or Facebook friending students, etc.
How do you feel about the No Child Left Behind act?	It didn't work, which was predicted from day 1. Unrealistic expectation.
What is your approach to teacher performance evaluation? How do you measure student outcomes, and how much pressure do you get to achieve certain test scores, etc.?	I'm a believer than school is about LEARNING. Not homework or busy work completion. Not chasing an arbitrary percentage grade that is then transformed into an oftentimes more arbitrary letter grade, which may or may not be a valid reflection of actual learning. There is still so much bullshit in education that needs to evolve and overcome years of antiquated bad 'factory model' practice from traditional high school service delivery. If teachers are on board with my philosophy about learning and subsequently demonstrate it via classroom practice, performance evaluation is then an easy rubber stamp.
I once threw a bottle at my headteachers head, I didn't mean it to hit him, but he stood in front of it. He then took me into his office and we proceeded to laugh at it.. has anybody ever threw a bottle at your head?	The kid who would throw a bottle at my head probably wouldn't have a very good day after that. But nope, hasn't happened...yet.
Are there drug problems you're aware of at school, and if so, any interesting stories?	I think schools are microcosms of the towns/communities of which they exist. The better question is probably related to drug problems in our greate community. The answer: definitely. Even pot is a major issue if it interferes with learning (which it oftentimes does in habitual users).
How do you feel about charter public schools?	I've never worked in one and don't have any firsthand experience; however, contrary to some legislative/political belief, charter schools are not the magical answer to large, failing urban high schools.
What drove you to select becoming a principal? Are you proud of how your school functions? How do the recent budget cuts affect your school? I ask this because I am sure some schools handle it better than others. Favorite school subject?	When I started in my first year of my career as an educator 13 years ago, I had a principal who could not connect with kids or with staff, was weak with student management, and was overall just plain ineffective. I realized that year that my greatest means to make a large difference in kids could/would be as a principal...but one who would do many things differently than this guy was doing. I worked with him another four years before I left that district for another district.
I've been wondering this forever. Principals are always so busy -- I have to make an appointment a few days in advance if I need to talk to my school's -- but what do they do?!	I try to accommodate parents' meeting request that day. It's kind of a dick move to pretend I'm so busy and be so aloof as not to be able to find a time to meet with you and address your concerns until next Wednesday.
I am in a precal class, and our entire class recently failed a test. i mean big time. like not one person got above a 65%. the average was about a 30 percent. We all think our teacher is terrible and this is proof. however he even told us that if we tried to go to our principal he would say his other precal class did fine and its (and i quote) just this stupid class. they averaged a 75 by cheating. they freely admit this to us. what should we do?	Tell your teacher, respectfully of course, that his responsibility for yours and your classmates' learning is not absolved just because the test is over. Furthermore, the class performance should suggest that there's a huge disconnect between his intended curriculum that he taught and the curriculum that was received by you all. if I were you, I would request a meeting with the teacher and principal if you felt like you were getting nowhere with what I first suggested.
Do you think that it's possible that when you are evaluating teachers, they 'fake' being good until you leave? One of my past teachers said that if we don't 'act' like we are learning while the principal in in the room, he would assign a crap load of homework.	If I were only in classrooms once every two months on a scheduled basis, sure. But I pop in unannounced all the time. It's hard to fake that.
In highschool I never really did anything, but when the Principal was in I pretended to make my teachers look good.	Good guy slacker student. I'm sure there's a meme for that!
I think Reddit calls it "lazy college senior" but it could go both ways. Also, what's the mascot of the school you work at?	I'm leaving for work in two minutes and I'm already nervous that students of mine have read this and might suspect this is me. I'm definitely not mentioning our mascot!
How do you feel about schools that restrict hugging?	Eesh, Do those high schools also prohibit dances and shorts/skirts on girls? It's 2012, not 1962...
How do you encourage an "esprit de corps" in your school? My daughter goes to a private school and there are currently a significant student unrest and at least 25% of the students in her year are looking for alternate schools to transfer to...	I have a rule that all incoming 9th graders must join at least one co-curricular activity, sport, or club. Whether you play soccer, participate in the Xbox Gaming Club, or are part of the FFA, I could care less. I just want kids to be connected to the school in more ways than just the 7 hours of daily class work. This way, kids feel connected and want to be there, which is hugely important obviously.
What about the "recreational psychoactive chemistry club"?	Nice try.
Worst thing you've ever had to punish a student for? Doesn't matter what kind of punishment.	Probably two kids who were caught with their pants down on a bus, under a blanket, on an interstate band trip. That was the worst in a couple ways because on one hand, it was a totally ballsy move that the former 17-year old in me wanted to high five the boy for, but at the same time, it was totally inappropriate and probably traumatizing for a couple other kids on the bus. But that was far from the most severe punishable behavior I've dealt with.
What's the MOST SEVERE behavior?	I've seen a couple pretty nasty fights. Fist full of hair, roots and all, from one chick fight -- that visual will haunt me forever.
If you had a teacher whom honestly was the most talented teacher on staff, connected with kids, helped increase funding for a program, etc etc, but you knew he participated it activities typically not condone for teachers, would you look the other way? (i.e. alcoholism/weed/extremist activism/etc)	Probably. As long as their behavior didn't become public and wasn't harmful to anyone. Teachers are held to a different, higher ethical standard than the average citizen -- and given their exposure and impact on teenagers, they should be. But I ask myself "if my own son's teacher was absolutely phenomenal...but she was a big time drinker and pot-smoker outside of school, would I care.". Nope, don't care -- just continue ensuring my son learns like a mofo!
Wow, that's an incredibly small high school. Mine had 2700. Are all schools where you live that small?	I live and work in a fairly small town. I think 600 kids is the absolutely perfect size of a high school. It's not so small that kids are stuck for life in cohorts of 30 kids, and it's not so big (e.g., 2700) that kids fall through the cracks. My school is a school that most people would want their own kids to attend -- that's definitely saying something, in my opinion.
I want to be a high school History Teacher, and will be going to college at K-State next year to achieve that goal. Any tips to give?	Yes -- double major and get a dual certification in Special Education. HS Social Studies teachers are a dime a dozen. Set yourself apart from your competition, and at the same time, learn skills and theory related to differentiation, scaffolding lessons to meet all students' needs, etc.
1.) Do principals have direct influence over which teachers they hire? 3.) What do you think of programs like AmeriCorps and Teach for America?	I don't have a lo of experience with those programs, but they seem to have a reputation for sticking brand new, 22 year old white teachers into the toughest urban teaching assignments imaginable. Maybe that's just a bad stereotypical reputation -- I truthfully don't know.
2.) What are the credentials for your teachers to be hired to teach a certain subject. Say would they hire an engineer, who only had a BS, to teach a calculus course?	Credentials are determined by the state. If said engineer was also a certified teacher, then sure.
On this have you ever thought of adding a senior student on to the hiring panel?	Not really...but I do use students to give applicants building tours, then ask them their impressions.
What is the craziest scenario you have had to deal with during your time as a principal?	One student screaming while running out of a bathroom because (after investigation) another student in the bathroom (with a disability) was throwing/wiping poop on him.
What percentage of your students use drugs?	Including marijuana? I'd guess up to 35 percent recreationally. Maybe 5 to 10 percent daily. But maybe I'm naive and it's more.
On a given day how many do you think are high/drunk?	Very few high. Drunk? Probably never since kids aren't typically that stupid. Alcohol is so easily detectable whereas Rx pills, pot, etc, is not as easy.
ZERO tolerance policies, what's your opinion and have you had to enforce them?	Zero tolerance usually doesn't leave much room for common sense.
Do you do that cheesy "I put the 'pal' in principal," line to incoming freshmen? Also, 600 students seems really small. That was the size of my graduating class.	Nope, heh. I think 600 is an awesome school size.
I have a question about suspensions. How do you feel they help a student realise the thing they did wrong and how do you see it as a punishment? The suspensions here work as basically the student gets time at home, no homework no nothing. Is this really the most effective way of doing things? I personally know that students that have been suspended, do it intentionally to get time off school. They don't learn anything in this time, and teachers don't have time to catch them up on what they missed. We also, rarely, had in school suspensions, which i see to be more effective. Shut off from friends, had to bring lunch to that room and was forced to be in a room all day with the days work brought to them. And all they could do was be in that room. This seems to be a much more effective way. So in short. How do you feel about suspensions?	I really don't have a wide range of options for major behavioral issues, but I definitely try to in-school versus OSS. Effective? Sometimes, but oftentimes it's more punitive than it is restorative or educational. But at times it's important to send the message to other students, and staff, that certain types of behavior are simply not tolerated. I also have no problem including the local police foe issues of fighting, harassment/bullying, major profanity toward other adults, things like that.
Do you try the food the school serves the students?	Most of it's shit. I like the fresh fruit/vegetables at least.
How often, if ever, do you give in to a parent's demands? My wife is a high school teacher and her principal will throw the teachers under the bus for asinine complaints just to make parents happy.	I don't operate like that. I have no problem whatsoever saying "no" to parents. I certainly hope that if my teachers were anonymously surveyed they would indicate that I am supportive and have their backs. That's very important to me. I will always defend teachers publicly but there have been times that I have had an immediate follow-up closed door conversation if that said/did something stupid.
Im planning on becoming a high school math teacher. I love learning and teaching math but I have no desire to take part in student life types of activities; sports, non academic clubs, dances etc. i see the value in those things but i just dont see myself as that sort of teacher. if you were interviewing, me how would you respond to this?	Don't admit any of that in an interview. :)
Have you ever had to side with a teacher over a student merely to preserve the natural order of things? Or have you ever had to punish a pupil for acting out or talking back in a situation that made you think, "Hey, this kid's got a point." or, "you know, that may have been inappropriate for a classroom, but it was pretty darn clever."?? Or something like that.	I've agreed with students over teachers, but not publicly.
This probably isn't a great question, but I'm curious. I went to a pretty low-grade high school and, not to toot my own horn, but the curriculum was just far too simple for me. I was "left behind" because the teachers didn't have time for a bored straight "A" student. As a result, I spent most of my time being a general thorn in everyone's side - doing whatever I could to push the limits all the way to the principal's office. Do you encounter students like me and how do you deal with them? Or not, as was my case.	Yes, we have kids like you. I work with a brilliant G/T teacher who is good at collaborating with teachers and parents to ensure your kind is challenged every day. It's pretty effective but not perfect.
4)Have you ever had a kids that you just knew was a lost cause? (please elaborate)	Lost cause? A few, yes. They were evil. I can think of three very specific examples and I truly believe the world would be better off without those three individuals. Two of them are now in jail. One is a serious crime waiting to happen. It's sad but it's reality.
My principal is actually very chill, just today we were discussing thanksgiving break plans, and we even exchanged PSN I.Ds do you try to develop friendly relationships with your students?	Establishing connections with kids is crucial. I am friendly but am not friends, if that makes sense.
What is the biggest drug bust you have encountered on school property?	A trunk of a car that contained a full blown drug dealing operation including baggies, scales, and thousands of dollars worth of pot.
If you're married or in a relationship does being a principal get in the way of it? Or affect it in any way? Working with teenagers does it sometimes make you wonder if you have children, will they come out being like them?	Being a principal has taken a toll on my marriage largely due to the number of hours I work and the many evenings my wife takes care of our kids by herself. It sucks sometimes but she knew what I was getting into.
Do you believe that marks and scores are fair ways to judge a student's skills?	Yes, if done right.
I'm really bad at high school math and I'm starting to think it's just the way it's taught (Teachers clicking through slides on a smartboard and drawing sample problems that they solve themselves) is this seen as an effective teaching method by the teaching community and am I just bad or is this really just a shitty method?	If you're not learning, something instructional is likely not working.

Last updated: 2012-11-20 07:29 UTC
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