Feb 24-Mar 2: Things picking up at site + trips into San Jose

On Monday, I started the week at my colegio. There, I planned a presentation to give to 11th grade students later in the week about servicio comunal, a community service requirement for their graduation the next year. In the afternoon, I ventured into San José to meet a couple friends for a cafecito at a cafe called “Cafeoteca”, which was recently named one of the 100 best coffee shops in the world. I also ran through downtown San José afterwards, which was great, because I get pretty tired of running the same route every day in my community.

On Tuesday, I was back at the escuela where I further developed activities related to “life skills” and my international studies club alongside my counterparts. This is a hallmark of Peace Corps service. They encourage us to co-plan and co-facilitate each activity we do alongside at least one counterpart in the community so that these projects are repeatable and sustainable long after we leave the communities.

Wednesday, I went class-to-class at the colegio where I pitched 11th graders on some ideas I had for community service projects. Many of these were well-received, and students seem to be pretty excited about them, so I’m encouraged by that. 

Thursday was one of the busiest days I’ve had at site since moving here in September. In the morning, I went to the escuela. After doing some more lesson planning amongst counterparts, I presented the findings of my “CASA” diagnostic report to the entire faculty. Later that afternoon, I went to my town’s health committee meeting with my previous host mom, who serves as president of the committee. I may have been roped into helping out with some upcoming health-related activities in the community. Immediately after that, I headed to the colegio to attend and observe parent meetings with teachers. That night, I went into San José to run with my running group, “Un Club Secreto” for a special nighttime practice at one of the most well-known cafes in the country, Franco.

Friday was much more relaxed. I went to the escuela and further fleshed out plans for my Amigos Sin Fronteras club with the school’s librarian, who will serve as my primary counterpart for the club. I was also interviewed about my service by a fellow Peace Corps volunteer for Peace Corps Costa Rica’s volunteer-led radio channel.

On Saturday, I went to a nearby track to run with a local running club. I was hoping they do a hard track workout that I could hop into, but it turns out they were just practicing some agility drills. I had to improvise a little bit and come up with my own speed workout. That afternoon, I joined a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer to watch “Anora”, one of the favorites for Best Picture, at an independent theater in San José. Although lots of things are quite expensive in Costa Rica, tickets were just $7, so I’ll definitely be taking advantage of that deal in the future.

After a pretty busy week, I was grateful to sleep in on Sunday a bit because my Sunday running club had a rare afternoon practice. This practice was super cool - the first 100 people there got a free mystery slice of pizza and a non-alcoholic drink. It’s always fun to run with other people, and it was a great way to cap off my first 50-mile week in Costa Rica. Afterwards, being the film buff I am, I raced home to watch the Oscars. Things are certainly picking up at site, and I’m excited to see how things continue to develop in the coming weeks and months.