Mar 10-16: Servicio Comunal, Surprise Visit, & St. Patty's

My time at the colegio this week was dedicated to Servicio Comunal Estudiantil, the service-based learning project required for graduation that I’ve mentioned in previous blogs. On Monday, my counterpart and I led the induction process for the program. This meant I went class-to-class to pitch some ideas for projects, and then students signed up for specific ones. Some students already had other faculty tutors and/or projects in mind, while others joined mine, which was exciting. I have groups interested in implementing things ranging from a community running club to creating a school mascot, and I’m looking forward to seeing how these projects develop.

At the escuela, most of my primary counterparts were busy with capacitaciones, or trainings during the week, so I mostly developed some of my project ideas individually. Very soon, my counterparts and I will begin “life skills” workshops related to topics like teamwork, conflict resolution, and more. Concurrently, I’ll start leading PE classes on a regular basis. We’re targeting April for these start dates.


Outside of class, this wasn’t the busiest of weeks. Being the sports junkie I am, I spent a lot of my free time watching college basketball as March Madness has begun to ramp up. (Fortunately Arkansas snuck into the NCAA Tournament. On Wednesday, I had a surprise visit from one of my Peace Corps supervisors who happened to be near my site visiting another volunteer. It was great to touch base with her and to pick her brain about projects and other developments in my service. Saturday, I went into San José to meet up with some Peace Corps friends who were in town. We went to an art fair first before swinging by the only Irish pub in the city for some St. Patty’s Day celebrations (featuring green beer). On Sunday, I was particularly lazy and took a day off from going into the city for my running club and stayed home to follow all of the Selection Sunday madness.

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