Oct 27-Nov 3: Dia de las Mascaradas, El Clasico Nacional y Club de Correr

Probably my most formative experience working with youth prior to arriving in Costa Rica was in college when I was a part of a service organization called Little Lynx Running Team. Through Little Lynx, members of my college cross country team coached youth in the Memphis metro area in running. Whether on the track or in the classroom, neurodivergent students often don’t have the same opportunities as their neurotypical peers, and it isn’t for a lack of interest. So, on Monday, I was thrilled to finally have the opportunity to sit in on a special education class at my high school. Their lesson that day was very much related to the “Life Skills” workshops that Peace Corps would like me to promote. So, I see a lot of potential to collaborate with those classes in the future. Their teacher was also a really welcoming presence and was receptive to working together down the road.

Tuesday was a particularly busy day for me. I attended an all-faculty meeting at the high school. Since the high school is so large (1000+ students) it’s been hard to meet students and teachers. Because of this, the staff was accommodating and gave me time during the meeting to give a brief presentation on myself and the Peace Corps. A conference between administrators from all of the technical high schools in the region also took place at my colegio that day. A few fellow Peace Corps volunteers in the area made the trek to my high school for the meetings as well. It was interesting to hear ideas from several regional institutions. Finally, that evening, I attended a local city council meeting to observe and to meet with community leaders.

On Wednesday, I returned to my elementary school. Coincidentally, they also had an all-day faculty meeting and students were out of school. I didn’t do much other than observe and take notes about rules and regulations for faculty, but it was a great opportunity to spend the day with just the staff. On Thursday, students were back in class, and they put on an assembly celebrating Costa Rica’s Dia de las Mascaradas. Students wore giant costumes with masks from animated movies, such as Coco and Snow White. It is probably the closest thing Costa Rica has to Halloween. The rest of the day, I prepared a bulletin board in the school with some information about me and the Peace Corps and attended another special education class.

Friday was pretty relaxed as I returned to the high school, met with the academic coordinator to learn more about community service projects required for graduation, and observed a physical science class.

I’m racing a half marathon next month, and admittedly I’ve been a tad lazy in my training, so Saturday I got up early and did a legit long run in my community. I was probably a bit ambitious on the mileage considering the heat here, but it was nice to get some solid training in. Later that day, I staffed a community event for senior citizens that my host mom helped lead. That night, I tuned into “El Clásico Nacional”, a huge rivalry game between Costa Rica’s 2 most popular club soccer teams, Saprissa and Alajuelense. As a Liguista (Alajuelense fan), I’m sad to report Saprissa has bragging rights following a 3-0 victory in San José.

Sunday morning, I once again had an early wakeup call for a run. This time, I ubered into San José to run with a running club called “Un Club Secreto”. (It’s not actually a secret.) This is a nice social running club, and there were easily over 100 runners in attendance Sunday morning. I have been a bit lonely training by myself in my community, so it was a welcome treat to run with other people again. The pace groups weren’t quite as fast as I’m accustomed to, but I gladly traded some speed for the company and the change of scenery. I spent the rest of Sunday recovering, planning travel, and prepping for a Peace Corps staff visit to my site next week.