Challenges of PST

Part of why I wanted to write this blog is to be as transparent as possible for anyone who’s ever had interest in Peace Corps, so I feel that it’s only fair to outline some of the challenges or frustrations I’ve had in the process, while also recognizing that these are simply my individual thoughts, not anyone else’s in the organization. 


I mentioned that this experience feels a bit like a restrained study abroad experience, and I stand by that description. We are here learning a bunch of interesting things, but we do not have unlimited liberty to travel around the country or do whatever we want. This is reasonable - we are here to do a job and integrate into our communities. However, I still believe it’s important to present the reality of our living situation. For example, during PST, we had various restrictions related to travel, safety, and security. We could not leave our town for the first five weeks in Escazu but were permitted one overnight trip during the remainder of training. Curfew was 10pm on weeknights and 11pm on weekends. Finally, we were only allowed to drink on Fridays and Saturdays. Once again, these were important guardrails to ensure that we were being respectful members of our community but were still significant things to adjust to. 


PST was also a grind. I personally love structure, but it was an overwhelming amount of information at times. I hadn’t had school days that long since high school, and certainly not in another country. However, being in a really impressive and fun cohort made the days a lot better.


Running is a huge part of my identity, and it’s been tough sledding so far in Costa Rica. Escazu is incredibly hilly, sidewalks are sketchy at best, and traffic is pretty consistent. A combination of the hills, sitting in class all day, and some bad sleeping habits led to some Piriformis Syndrome which sidelined me for a couple of weeks. However, I’m healthy again and braving the hills at my new site. I’m hoping to run a race here in Costa Rica at some point in my service.




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