Mar 2-Mar 8: FSOT in Miami, Second Week of Class, and Parents in Town

This week was a multi-country whirlwind. I started and ended the week in my Peace Corps community outside of San José, but there was a lot of action in between.

On Monday, I woke up early and headed to the airport to take a flight to Miami. One of my dreams is to someday become a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department, and to do so, one must pass the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT). Oftentimes, the exam is offered at various embassies and consulates around the world; however, it was not offered in Costa Rica. The closest and most cost-effective option was for me to take it in Miami, so that’s where I headed. After landing stateside, I took the metro to downtown Miami, where I ate a delicious Cubano sandwich and explored Bayfront Park, Bayside Market, and the Kaseya Center. Unfortunately, due to the nature of my trip, that’s as much sightseeing as I had time for. I spent the rest of the night studying, before waking up early the next morning to take the test and immediately heading to the airport afterwards to fly home to San José via El Salvador.

Although my trip was only 24 hours, I sacrificed 2 days of school to make it happen. Since I’d spent the majority of the week prior helping at the high school, I decided to prioritize working at the elementary school and went there on both Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, I planned my workshops and schedules for my remaining 6 months at the institution, and on Thursday, I was recruited by the librarian to help reorganize the library. 

On Friday, I spent only school day out of the classroom to attend to some Peace Corps business. I was invited, along with a trio of other volunteers, to participate in a focus group to provide feedback on the Youth Development training and program. It was really great to catch up with staff and to have a dialogue about how we can work together to strengthen the sector here in Costa Rica. That night, I had a really nice dinner with my parents (who took a brief visit to San José) and my girlfriend, Keily, at an Argentinian restaurant in downtown San Jose. It was great to finally introduce her to them for the first time after around 6 months of dating.


On Saturday, the four of us took a tour to the Poás area outside of San José, somewhere I’d never been. We started the day with a short tour at a coffee farm before heading up to Poás National Park, which is the second-most visited National Park in Costa Rica. It’s known for its views of Poás Volcano; however, it was so cloudy and rainy that we couldn’t see anything. Afterwards, the tour took us to La Paz Waterfall Gardens where we viewed wildlife in a rescue center and walked a waterfall trail. It was a long 12-hour day, but we had a lot of fun together. On Sunday, I slept in a little before grabbing lunch with my parents and bidding them farewell.




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