Nov 18-24: La Fortuna and Return to Classes

Due to extreme weather across the country, once again we were out of class on Monday and Tuesday, so I was gifted some more time to work on the diagnostic report about my community.

Finally, on Wednesday, MEP (Costa Rica’s ministry of education) opened schools again in my region. I spent the day at the elementary school. My primary counterpart there works with students with behavioral and/or developmental deficiencies, and I helped her with a lesson related to the topic of being a good friend.

On Thursday, I went back to the high school. I met with the coordinator of a personal finance program the school has for students and staff. She’s also the PE teacher, so she wears many different hats. In each of these subjects, I think there are ample avenues for cooperation between both my goals as a Youth Development volunteer and the school’s needs. That day, I was also able to successfully distribute a survey to students at the school to help inform my report. In the evening, I attended a meeting with community leaders who represent my town at the municipality level. 

Friday morning, my school celebrated “El dia del docente”. A docente typically refers to a teacher or faculty member at an academic institution. This was pretty much the equivalent to Teacher Appreciation Day in the States. The school provided breakfast and a mini gift, or regalito, for each docente as a token of gratitude. 

After breakfast, I left town to use my 2 allotted “Out of Community” days that I get each month. I traveled up to La Fortuna in Alajuela province with several other volunteers. La Fortuna is primarily known for being close to Arenal volcano and is one of Costa Rica’s most touristy (and most expensive) areas. It’s a 3- or 4-hour trip to La Fortuna from San Jose via car or bus but feels like a world away. This was definitely the area in which I’ve seen the most Americans since arriving in Costa Rica. 

La Fortuna is a hot bed for ecotourism, which is something I’ve been really excited to partake in while living in Costa Rica. On Saturday, we leaned into this ecotourism and went on a ziplining and thermal baths tour. It rains a bunch in La Fortuna, but we were gifted with a beautiful, clear day and were actually able to see the volcano’s cone on several occasions. In the evening, we celebrated a fellow volunteer's birthday at a live music lounge before wandering to a local discoteca.

On Sunday, we all grabbed brunch together in La Fortuna before heading separate ways back to our communities. Members of Peace Corps staff visit my site tomorrow for a routine check-in, so I needed to get back to my community in time to prepare adequately for that. There’s no doubt that La Fortuna is crawling with gringos, but it was the perfect weekend retreat with friends.




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