Oct 13-26: MST, El Clásico, and More

Apologies for not uploading a blog during the last couple weeks. Between Peace Corps training, sickness, and a lot of social events, I simply did not have the time or energy to get blogs together and that’s on me. But, hopefully a more thorough 2-week recap will be sufficient. 

The week prior was a fun, involved week at site before heading to a Peace Corps training this last week. At my schools, I continued with many of the same projects. The November deadline for my students’ community service projects is rapidly approaching, so they were even more highly motivated than usual to work on their activities. Because of that, I hosted 2 separate community run clubs on Thursday and Saturday to try and help them close out their required hours. I also continued with my other workshops at the escuela and the colegio.


Then, last Sunday, I traveled to the suburb of Escazú for what the Peace Corps calls “MST”, or Mid-Service Training. This training is designed to give volunteers a time for reset and reflection, particularly in regards to sector-projects and sustainability efforts, but we also received treatments like medical and dental check-ups too. That Sunday night, I joined a few fellow volunteers at Costa Rica’s “El Clásico” soccer game between the 2 largest clubs in the country, Alajuelense and Saprissa. It was my second time going to this match, and this rivalry provides the best atmosphere in Costa Rican soccer that I’ve seen.



Although we arrived on Sunday, MST formally started on Monday. Volunteers traveled around the San José area attending to various appointments including physicals, dental, language exams, and interviews with Peace Corps staff. Starting on Tuesday, we had more formal sector training, so for me, that focused on “Youth Development” topics ranging from how to work with parents to girls’ empowerment and boys’ education. These days were LONG (8:00 to 5:00 in the classroom) but Peace Corps’ training is always incredibly robust and valuable. Throughout the week, volunteers took the time to reflect on service while enjoying each other’s company. We had meals together, played games, and even had a s’mores party at the hotel one night.



Unfortunately, MST took a bit of a turn for me later in the week, as I came down with illness on Thursday night. Fortunately, with Peace Corps’ great medical care, I was able to get seen quickly at the hospital, where I found out I had both E. Coli and Norovirus. Ironically, this is the second time during a Peace Corps training that I’ve contracted E. Coli. Sadly, this meant that I missed the last couple days of training sessions; however, due to my community being located near San José, I was able to make it home easily where I’m recovering now. At the time of writing this post, I feel much better than I did earlier in the week. I should be able to hop back into my normal duties at site ahorita after a week away.

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