Jan 22-Feb 1: Post-Panama and Election Week in Costa Rica

The Panama trip was fantastic, and because Costa Rican students and teachers are still on school break for another month or so, I didn’t immediately have to rush back into work the following week. Although it would be nice to just kick my legs up and relax during this time, (I’m doing a little bit of that too) I’m trying to take advantage of this free time as much as possible knowing that it’s the last extended break I’ll have while I’m still in Peace Corps service. What does that look like? I spent my week, and will likely spend lots of time going forward, preparing for the upcoming year as well as my post-Peace Corps service life. I planned some activities for an upcoming PE camp I’m doing in a couple weeks, studied for the Foreign Service Exam, and started the process of flagging potential job opportunities that I can apply to over the next several months. 

When I’m not focusing on my professional future, I’ve appreciated having the extra time to hang out with my girlfriend, Keily, who lives a few towns over. This past Saturday, we went to San Jose’s Teatro Nacional. The Theater is one of her favorite places in the city, so she suggested going on a guided tour of the theater and then grabbing lunch at the cafe in the building. However, when we got there for the tour according to the hour listed on the website, they told us that there weren’t any tours due to a free concert that was happening. So, serendipitously, we decided to grab lunch first, and then we attended the free concert. The concert happened to be a trinational orchestra featuring artists and pieces from Costa Rica, Panama, and Mexico. We had a great time - the serendipity of it all felt very Pura Vida. 





I posted a sidebar on Friday about Costa Rica’s upcoming election, and the big day arrived on Sunday. I went over to Keily’s house to watch the election results. My commute there took quite a bit longer than usual as millions of Ticos went to the ballot box. There’s no early voting in Costa Rica, so everyone left home on Sunday to cast their vote. The streets were flooded with cars honking and colorful party flags flying in what the news called a “Party for Democracy”.  Election Day feels much more somber in the US, so it was really cool to see a population so excited to participate in the democratic process. Later that night, at around 9:00, the results started to come in. As referenced in my blog, the favorite in the polls, Laura Fernandez, did come in first place and received around 48 percent of the vote. Since she cleared the 40 percent barrier, there will be no April run-off; she will be Costa Rica’s next president. She is the second female president in Costa Rica’s history.



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