Sidebar #34 - One Year in Costa Rica

One year ago yesterday, my cohort landed in Costa Rica. A lot has happened in the 12 months since, and although I’ve tried to keep everyone updated with my weekly blogs, I figure this one year mark may be a good time to reflect on and recap my service thus far.

“How is Costa Rica?” and “How are you doing?” are natural questions which accompany my service. And my answer? “Pura Vida”. In all seriousness, things are going well thus far. I feel physically and mentally healthy and I’m proud of the projects I’ve helped get off the ground at my site. Additionally, I’m happy with the way I’ve traveled the entire country on a shoestring budget, without taking away from my work in my community. Finally, given my comfort living here, a polarizing political climate back home, and the dearth of jobs in the international relations and international development sectors, I am in no hurry to leave Costa Rica after a year.

I’ll give a quick recap of the timeline for this past year. Last July, my cohort of 34 volunteers traveled from a staging event in Philadelphia, to Costa Rica. After a week of orientation in a hotel near the airport, we spent the next three months in Escazú, a suburb of San Jose. Those three months consisted of intense language and sector training. The days were LONG, but I think that we all learned a lot. After our time in Escazú, we were matched to communities across Costa Rica which were determined by Peace Corps staff. In these communities, we will serve out the remainder of our two-year terms.

In my time at site, I spend every weekday at the centros educativos. Some of my projects are basic in nature, but I believe that it isn’t always necessary to reinvent the wheel to make an impact. Our first three months in our communities were completely dedicated to learning about its strengths, weaknesses, resources, and what they desired in a Peace Corps Volunteer. Upon finishing this diagnostic assessment, we could then begin facilitating projects. In this diagnostic, I determined that although students in my urban community receive a great education, they often lack extracurricular and recreational spaces outside of class. Because of that, I’ve initiated simple projects like PE classes and a community running club, both of which have been well-received. I also frequently work on life skills workshops (teamwork, empathy, etc) and promote service-based learning, both of which are targeted areas in the collaboration between Peace Corps and MEP, Costa Rica’s public education ministry.

It hasn’t been all sunshines and rainbows. Literally my first night upon moving to my new community, I came down with a weird sickness which turned out to be a case of E. Coli. That was a pretty big wakeup call to the life of a Peace Corps volunteer. Additionally, I had to switch host families a few months into my time at site. I’m someone who really values routines and consistency, so living with 3 different host families in Costa Rica over a one year period has tested my adaptability. I’ve also had minor frustrations with my inconsistent diet and injury setbacks while running here. 

However, the lows haven’t outweighed the highs. Prior to landing in Central America, my last few years have taken me from Missouri to Tennessee to Washington DC and to Jordan, so it's been a joy spending some extended time in one place. My Spanish is far from perfect, but it’s been fun incorporating uniquely Tico words, phrases, and expressions in my day-to-day life. I wasn’t a teacher prior to arriving in Costa Rica, so I feel like I've developed a new set of skills in that realm, and I certainly have a renewed respect for educators. Finally, more than anything, I think I’ve learned to live on an extreme budget, which has been incredibly valuable.

I’m looking forward to my remaining year of service. But, one year in, I feel like it’s also important to step back and take a bit of stock about where I’m at. Particularly when there was rampant speculation DOGE would eliminate the agency, but still now, I’ve tried to appreciate my time here as if there’s no tomorrow. Things around the world are crazy right now, especially in the international relations sphere, so there’s nowhere I’d rather be than as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica for the time being. I’m not really sure what the future holds over a year from now - I don’t have the slightest idea what I’ll be doing for work or where I’ll be living - but I couldn’t be happier with my decision to join the Peace Corps at this point in my life.