Feb 23-Mar 1: (Last) First Week of Classes

After a little over 2 months "off", classes in Costa Rica's public schools resumed this week. My colegio, or high school, didn't ease me in either. The first 3 days of classes this week were some of the longest days I've had as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Youth Development. From Monday and Wednesday, I, along with 3 other teachers, facilitated PE classes from 7:00 to 4:00. During these three days, we worked with every single student (1000+ total) at the colegio. Fortunately, the activities were pretty simple (tag, basketball, rock/paper/scissors, etc) but it was pretty taxing to be running around for 9 hours a day. Although I'm used to teaching PE at the elementary school, those are 40 minute sessions at most twice a week. At one point, A student in a special education class even mentioned to me that "I looked like I needed to drink some coffee", so that was pretty humbling. On Thursday, I finally was able to make it to the escuela, where I began to meet with counterparts to start planning out what the rest of the year might look regarding workshops and projects. Friday, I couldn't make it to class because I had to go to the Peace Corps office to get the Covid vaccine. Although I'm close to San Jose, the office lies on the other side of the city, so using public transport, any trip to the office quickly becomes an all-day affair.


My time outside the classrooms was a bit more constrained than usual this week with the jam-packed orientation week schedule. Much of the free time I had was dedicated to studying for the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). I will be taking the test on Tuesday in Miami after flying there tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is no testing center here in Costa Rica, so a 24-hour trip to Miami is the cheapest and closest option to take it. Another highlight this week was going on a double date today with my girlfriend, Keily, and a friend of hers and his girlfriend, at a food hall in San Jose. Overall, it was a busy introduction to the new school year, but it's a privilege to have meaningful work to do. With around 6 months left of my service, I try not to next any moment here for granted. 



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