Chepe Chronicles

My week started off still in the suburb of Escazu, where I checked out of the Peace Corps hotel and said goodbye to my friends. The rest of the day was a busy one, with 3 different stops scattered across San Jose: a physical at the Peace Corps office, a trip to the hospital to get some lab work done, and a visit to the dentist's office. Fortunately, I could get all of my appointments taken care of, had nothing come up on my medical tests, and I was able to arrive back at my house fairly early in the evening, whereas many other volunteers had to trek across the country to return to their communties.  On Tuesday morning, it was back to reality. I had six PE classes that day, which was the perfect way to be thrown back into the fire. The rest of the week, I tackled a fairly normal work schedule at my institutions. I continued with community service projects at the colegio and focused on my PE classes and clubs at the escuela. Unfortunately, I had to cancel the reading club and interna...

Unlike most positions, Peace Corps is a little bit unique in that there is a ticking clock - it's not a career for most volunteers. Service is a 27-month stint, meaning that upon finishing service, it is important for volunteers to have an idea for what's next. For a lot of volunteers, grad school is an extremely viable option. In fact, many grad schools offer what's known as a "Coverdell Fellowship" which gives certain financial benefits to students who are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). Other volunteers pursue the job market. Since I've already completed my graduate degree, I fall into this bucket. Although the job search has been a little bit difficult to navigate from Costa Rica, I'm hoping to announce my next steps soon. Finally, some other volunteers may look into Peace Corps response positions or may use their readjustment allowance to travel before reintegrating to life in the US once again. There isn't one single path that volunteers...