Man…when I created this thing I thought it would be something I could stay on top of and keep updated, but it just hasn’t happened so far. Oh well, I hope it suffices as a short update to say that I am now done with training and am living in my work site – San Cristóbal Norte – a small town about 1 hour south of San Jose just off the Interamericana Sur Highway. The will be my home for the next two years.
Last week we had our Swearing-In at the Ambassador’s residence, which was pretty cool. We are in between Ambassadors right now but the folks at the embassy were nice enough to let us use the house. It was a lot of fun, we were all presented with certificates by our country director and a representative from the embassy. It’s nice to not be a trainee anymore!
Last week we had our Swearing-In at the Ambassador’s residence, which was pretty cool. We are in between Ambassadors right now but the folks at the embassy were nice enough to let us use the house. It was a lot of fun, we were all presented with certificates by our country director and a representative from the embassy. It’s nice to not be a trainee anymore!
After a night of partying in San Jose, we (the volunteers) all parted ways with each other as well as our training host families, and headed to our sites. From here, life is slowing down a lot.
San Cristóbal Norte is a small agricultural community of about 900 people located roughly 1800 meters up in the mountains of the Cordillera Central south of Cartago. Coffee country. It’s absolutely beautiful. I’ll try to get some picks up soon so you all can get an idea once I can find a better connection.
For the next 3-6 months my life will basically consist of living like a Tico, and talking to the locals and associations in my town. All of this is in order to develop a 30-something page report called a Community Analysis Tool (CAT).
Each volunteer has a counterpart organization within the community that is supposed to serve as their sponsor and home base within the community. My counterpart is the San Cristóbal Norte communal micro-lending bank, or ECC SACRIN for short. The bank began about 12 years ago with about $200 dollars in capital and 20 associates. Over time and through steady invest by community members, today the bank has roughly $120,000 in lending capital and 60 associates. All of this done with capital raised from within the community. I’m not sure how it all works yet, but it seems to be running pretty smoothly for them.
So where do I fit into all of this? The idea is the bank will serve as my base from within the community, and from there I can reach out to provide assistance as necessary to the various micro-entrepeneurs connected with the bank.
As with most things Peace Corps, the situation is very loosy-goosy, and will most likely depend on what I and the bank make of it. Either way, it seems like a pretty cool way to start off, and I will get to learn more about the micro-lending environment from one of the leading organizations in the country.
Other projects I will probably be getting into, aside from micro-enterprise collaboration, are things like teaching English, rural tourism, teaching Junior Achievement, and IT courses.
As for the living situation, my new home is in the house of Doña Albertina. She is a 70 year lady whose husband died a couple of years ago. Although she lives alone, the entire extended family lives in 4 of the neighboring houses in what makes up a little family compound. She is very nice, has a good sense of humor, and is a good cook (that’s important). I think we are going to get along just fine.
That is about all I can think to say right now. I hope that gives you some insight into my world. I really want to get some pictures posted soon so you all can get a better idea of what the town looks like.
This blog entry goes out to my friends and co-workers at the VA. Some of them, but not all, are pictured here. And no, this is not a police line up. I really appreciated there support when I decided to commit to Peace Corps, so this one goes out to them.
(If anyone shown here has a problem with there pictures being slapped on a website for the whole world to see, please let know and I will remove this from the site…maybe. No seriously, just let me know)
San Cristóbal Norte is a small agricultural community of about 900 people located roughly 1800 meters up in the mountains of the Cordillera Central south of Cartago. Coffee country. It’s absolutely beautiful. I’ll try to get some picks up soon so you all can get an idea once I can find a better connection.
For the next 3-6 months my life will basically consist of living like a Tico, and talking to the locals and associations in my town. All of this is in order to develop a 30-something page report called a Community Analysis Tool (CAT).
Each volunteer has a counterpart organization within the community that is supposed to serve as their sponsor and home base within the community. My counterpart is the San Cristóbal Norte communal micro-lending bank, or ECC SACRIN for short. The bank began about 12 years ago with about $200 dollars in capital and 20 associates. Over time and through steady invest by community members, today the bank has roughly $120,000 in lending capital and 60 associates. All of this done with capital raised from within the community. I’m not sure how it all works yet, but it seems to be running pretty smoothly for them.
So where do I fit into all of this? The idea is the bank will serve as my base from within the community, and from there I can reach out to provide assistance as necessary to the various micro-entrepeneurs connected with the bank.
As with most things Peace Corps, the situation is very loosy-goosy, and will most likely depend on what I and the bank make of it. Either way, it seems like a pretty cool way to start off, and I will get to learn more about the micro-lending environment from one of the leading organizations in the country.
Other projects I will probably be getting into, aside from micro-enterprise collaboration, are things like teaching English, rural tourism, teaching Junior Achievement, and IT courses.
As for the living situation, my new home is in the house of Doña Albertina. She is a 70 year lady whose husband died a couple of years ago. Although she lives alone, the entire extended family lives in 4 of the neighboring houses in what makes up a little family compound. She is very nice, has a good sense of humor, and is a good cook (that’s important). I think we are going to get along just fine.
That is about all I can think to say right now. I hope that gives you some insight into my world. I really want to get some pictures posted soon so you all can get a better idea of what the town looks like.
This blog entry goes out to my friends and co-workers at the VA. Some of them, but not all, are pictured here. And no, this is not a police line up. I really appreciated there support when I decided to commit to Peace Corps, so this one goes out to them.
(If anyone shown here has a problem with there pictures being slapped on a website for the whole world to see, please let know and I will remove this from the site…maybe. No seriously, just let me know)
1 comment:
Way to go, Blake! The DC Dawgs have rallied in your absence, and have our first-ever winning record. Anyway, keep up the good work!
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