April 7-13: Classes, Cloud Forest, and Campo

In the colegio this week, I continued to focus my work for the time being around Servicio Comunal Estudiantil. I touched base with each of my project teams and continue to be on standby for any help students may need. Additionally, as I hope to branch out and work with more levels outside of just the 11th graders, I started to brainstorm with a counterpart what it might look like to initiate some English conversation projects or clubs in the near future. I met with a trio of English teachers on Monday in order to help co-plan an English festival that will take place in June. Hopefully, prior to that festival, I can get an English conversation club off the ground so that students have the chance to practice informally before participating in language competitions.

My week at the escuela, as has been the norm, was much busier than at the colegio. For the first time, alongside my primary counterpart who is a special education teacher, we initiated “life skills” workshops. These are “soft skills” workshops for topics like leadership, empathy, public speaking, etc, and are at the heart of the Youth Development sector that I work in. Our first workshop this week centered around teamwork. Students paired up to work together to finish a half-written story and subsequently had to build and cross a bridge. I also continued my PE classes this week, doing the same activities as last week but this time with fifth graders. 


When I wasn’t in class, I did a tiny bit of traveling outside of my community. On Monday afternoon, I headed back into San José. One of my really close friends and running buddies from my cohort sadly was medically evacuated from her service, so I spent some time with her debriefing everything about the Peace Corps and talking about her future plans before her flight the next morning. It was definitely a gut punch to lose a good friend on the ground here, but she had a great service and I know she’ll land on her feet. Her departure was certainly a reminder to not take any day I get to serve in Costa Rica for granted. 


Over the weekend, I traveled to the campo, or rural Costa Rica. I went to the cantón of Turrialba to a small community of about 200 people in the cloud forest where another one of my Peace Corps friends serves. It was his birthday this weekend, so host family opened up their house to celebrate him. Visiting his site was a breath of fresh air. Whereas my town has a large population and is fairly urban, his was serene and tranquil. (It was also cold enough to wear a hoodie at times which was a welcome change). Highlights from the visit included hiking to a mirador, visiting a trapiche (sugar cane mill), dance night at the local cantina, and a birthday party put on by his host family. This isn’t a side of Costa Rica that most visitors get to see, so it felt really cool to get to spend a couple of nights in the community while celebrating my friend.






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