Hello my friends. I realize the blog has been quiet for the last couple weeks, however a lot has happened.
The third weekend in August about 8 of us volunteers from the Central Valley region got together and did a day trip on the Pacuare River, a river very famous for its beauty. It was a really exciting day, with a lot of class 3 and 4 rapids. Unfortunately, no pics available right now as I´m still trying to get copies.
The last weekend in August all the volunteers in my program (Community Economic Development...about 15 of us) got together for our first In-Service-Training, or IST. The training last 4 full days and after being out in the sticks for 3 months, it was a real treat!
Peace Corps put us up at a very decent little hotel just outside of downtown San José. Each of the rooms had a little kitchenette, beds with thick, soft mattresses, and last but not least...all the hot water we could ask for.
I honestly have not laughed so much in a 5 day period. It was great to get together with other volunteers to catch up and share experiences from the last few months. Thankfully, everyone seemed to be in good shape mentally and physically.
The training was also much more stimulating from a content standpoint, as we focused more on trainings needed to implement projects in our communities - for example rural tourism, Junior Achievement classes, English teaching, working with women´s groups, establishing micro-finance banks, small business coaching - instead of the more general language, culture, safety, and security training that made up about 85% of our Pre-service training.
Following the 5 nights in San José, a few of us jumped off for a couple of nights to the small seaside town of Uvita, on the Southern-Central Pacific Coast. It was great to have a little bit of free time away from the long day sessions of the IST. We were also able to contact a local volunteer who was able to plug us into a whale watching tour for very cheap. So...we went one more and luckily were able to see a few humpback whales! ...something I had never seen before.
At this point you are thinking....really Blake...whitewater rafting, hotels in San José, whale-watching...what exactly are you doing down there? :)
You all will just have to trust me that the last 3 months in my site has been an extremely productive time of community integration. One in which I have started to form great relationships with numerous community leaders, gained the trust and begun working with small business owners, completed an informal English course with 30 students, begun the formation of a local Guías y Scouts troop (the Costa Rican form of the Boy Scouts), made great strides in my Spanish-speaking abilities, and finished a draft of the longest paper I´ve ever written in my life (the Community Analysis Tool)...and all en español.
In short...I´m thrilled with the strides that have been made during the last 3 months! Thanks to all of you out there who have been following along and pitched in encouragement with comments on the blog / emails / g-chats. It means a lot.
Also, thanks to a friend of my Mom´s, Candy, for sending down a great care package. Both my fellow volunteers and my host family appreciated it. Not-so-suble-message: you too can be given a shout out...send goodies! Just kidding...kind of.
What now? Mostly it is back to work for me. And thankfully now after setting a solid base for myself in my community over the past few months...I can start to partner with people to undertake some more long-term projects. More on that to come.
I´d like to leave you all with something written by a past Costa Rica PCV. This was read to us at the close of IST as inspiration...and for me it really struck home. What a blessing it is to be an American and a PCV. Hope you enjoy.
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Words of Wisdom from the veteran volunteer.
One thing that I have come to realize after being involved in the Peace Corps Costa Rica for nearly three years now is the incredible privilege and opportunity it is to be able to simply be a Peace Corps Volunteer. I know very well that being a volunteer is not easy, an experience filled with ups and downs, hardships and challenges but at the end of the day, we as volunteers should feel fortunate to have this opportunity.
Very few countries in this world have the vision and most importantly, the luxury, of being able to financially and theoretically support a program such as Peace Corps that sends professionals oversees for two years and three months to learn a new language, learn from a new culture, obtain valuable new skills and work with communities to better the lives of those around you. How many times have I been asked by Ticos, “Is there a Peace Corps for Costa Ricans to do what you are doing here, in your country?” The unfortunate answer is no. The only way a Tico would be able to go to the states to learn English, learn from another culture and do development work with Americans is to do it all on their own; win the Visa lottery, come up with enough money to support his or herself and find an organization that would be willing to take and train someone who hardly speaks the language. O sea, not likely. We, as volunteers, don’t make any money but we don’t spend a dime either, Peace Corps foots the bill for us to live this life-changing experience, and what a luxury that is. We are fortunate enough to come from a country where we can afford to take a two-year hiatus from making money, confident that we will go back to our country and be able to find jobs and make enough money to buy a car, a house and start our families. Citizens in so many parts of the world aren’t afforded such a luxury struggling to barely make ends meet. The average citizen in the third world and developing countries isn’t thinking about leaving their country when they struggle to establish themselves in economically unstable, sometimes war-torn places.
It is important that we, as volunteers, never forget the gift that we have been given. As recently as our grandparents’ generation, Americans were fighting wars without the luxury of joining a Peacekeeping mission such is ours. Even our parents generation didn’t have it so easy, many of them being drafted into war. And there is no guarantee that our children or grandchildren will have such an opportunity. I hope it never happens but some day, American legislators – forced by budget constraints or God forbid, security issues -- might decide we no longer have the resources to spend ___ a year to send ___ Americans oversees to help others.
I would give this speech to volunteers in any country but I think it rings even more true here in Costa Rica, a country rich with human warmth, natural beauty and an intrinsic tropical energy that warms and brings a smile to the face of even the most hardened, capitalistic Gringo. It is hard to not end up feeling a little bit Tico by the time you’re done here; hard to not crave Gallo Pinto in the mornings, hard to not cheer for La Sele, get addicted to the visits to the beaches, to the cafecitos, to not feel a brotherhood with the warm and hearty Ticos. In the end – despite all the worlds problems – it all is Pura Vida!
I encourage you all to view your experience for what it is: a privilege, an opportunity, a gift. You will have lonely days, feel beaten down and maybe even wonder why you chose this program but I urge you all, instead of feeling sorry for yourself or like a martyr, to take advantage this gift you’ve been given and remember how lucky you truly are. Good luck to you all!
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The blog entry goes out to my grandfather, who very recently had surgery to replace a hip. Gran - I´m thinking about you, buddy. I know you only have one speed normally, and that is 100% all out, but try to take it easy and get healthy. Wishing you the best. -Blake
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