Last Wednesday, we Tico 21ers celebrated our one-year mark of living in Costa Rica. Megon and I didn’t celebrate much other than a good morning high five for making it this far into our 27-month commitment. On October 5, 2010, 45 eager and innocent TEFL and CED (Community Economic Development) Volunteers flew into San José on little to no sleep as we recovered from a previous day of orientation and out-on-the-town fun in Washington D.C.
Reporting these projects are always good news for Peace Corps folks in Washington D.C., who require us to crunch our participation numbers and write our success stories three times a year so they can report those numbers to Congress, which can then justify the continuation of funding Peace Corps Costa Rica with tax-payer money. But the things that often go unreported are the ordinary moments that truly define what it’s like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.
The class not only gives them an opportunity to improve their lives educationally and emotionally speaking, but our lives as well. Planning and teaching this class – on top of working with English teachers in the public schools and students who are preparing for the English graduation exam – is a full-time job. But rather than money, our paychecks are personal rewards such as forming friendships, witnessing progress in students and teachers, and enjoying this unique stage of our marriage.
Though some Volunteers are no longer with us, opting for an early termination of service, those who are still here seem to be getting in the groove of things. As the beginning of September, the 25 TEFL Volunteers reported working on a combined 149 projects and activities since our last reporting period in June. Projects are pretty diverse: community English classes, Tae Kwon Do classes, dance classes; working in the public schools; putting on camps or festivals; starting after-school groups like choir, book club, sports club, science club, homework club; creating or working with community learning centers, cultural centers, gardens and libraries.
A few weeks ago Megon and I were teaching about landforms to our community English students. We had already taught them Costa Rican landforms and wanted to expand the topic to Alaska. We showed them a movie called Over Alaska, which we borrowed from a Costa Rican friend whose collection of documentaries on the U.S. is impressive. The movie was so beautifully done it not only made Megon tear up, but also one of our students. We asked our student why she was crying and she said (in Spanish): “Seeing your beautiful home made me realize that eventually you’re going to go back there. I’m going to be very sad when I don’t have you two here anymore.”
Our student had every right to cry. Our time here is limited, and it’s sad to think that our community class will eventually end. It has become an important part of the weekly routine and a family-like gathering for many of our students every Tuesday and Friday night. One of our high school students told her mother, who later commented it to us, that prior to our English class she had “never cared about so many people before.”
So with one year down, Megon and I feel like we have reached the summit of our Peace Corps expedition. While we look around to enjoy the view, the thought of living without family and friends for another year leaves us feeling empty and missing home. On the other hand, looking ahead to one more year of teaching in here fills us with excitement and motivation to do the descent with gusto, knowing that we live in a community that cares about us, and that we have people back home who support us.
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