Let’s bring everyone up to speed since I haven’t been the most active social media contributor since arriving at site. I live in the mountains of southern Costa Rica, working as a Community Economic Development (CED) Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). The community where I am living for my two years of service sits between the International Park of Friendship (cute, I know) and the National Park of Chirripó. That is to say, I am either walking up or down at any given point and am constantly surrounded by beautiful mountain views. My calves have reaped some benefits, I must add. The ~ 500 people of the community have opened their homes and hearts, and I feel very thankful to be where I am.
To give more context, we are the last stop of what is an hour and a half bus ride outside the hub town, where one goes for groceries, the doctor, the bank, the vet (foreshadowing), and most other resources. The bus runs twice daily out (5:30am, 1:15pm) and twice daily in (11:30am, 4pm). The main economic drivers include agriculture (mostly coffee and citruses) and rural tourism (access to hike the tallest mountain in Costa Rica, Chirripó, from the community as well as its beautiful sister mountain, Ena, coffee tours, waterfall tour, camping spots, more hiking options, etc.).
One might wonder, what does a PCV do on a given day? Well, like most things in life, it depends. No two volunteers, especially within the sector I work in, engage in the same tasks or projects daily. Sure, we share our end goals of strengthening community organizations’ project design and management practices, developing individuals’ (especially women and youths’) capacity for entrepreneurship, and increasing individuals’ (especially women and youths’) preparedness for available jobs, but our paths to reach those results vary quite a bit depending on the specific needs of each community and the skillset of a given volunteer. Just as no two volunteers share the same schedule, no two days look entirely the same for me here either. New challenges and opportunities arise, both internally and externally.
As a CED Volunteer, I determine what my schedule looks like for the most part. There are certain meetings that occur weekly or biweekly, but the majority of my time must be scheduled by my own efforts. While that may sound like the dream for the 9-5’er reading along, it has its own difficulties. Some weeks, I run from place to place, attending meetings, holding meetings, giving trainings (digital marketing, entrepreneurship), writing up grants, doing research, assisting with business or marketing plans, and/or creating promotional content, while other weeks, I am sweeping between the wooden slats of my house for longer than necessary, playing with my pets (Milo and Arlie), making “art” i.e. messing around with some watercolors, writing, cooking up new concoctions, planting seeds and cuttings, missing friends and family, and/or feeling doubtful and confused. It’s just the way it goes.
In the process, I reflect on what I am and am not doing to get more clarity on how to best move forward. My approach to service has been to listen first and act as a backseat driver. I don’t know why backseat drivers get such a bad rap, to be honest. I will do the research, get the information, pull up Google Maps, use my battery, figure out how to get from point A to point B, BUT I will not be at the wheel taking the turns. I share that responsibility with community members so that projects can be sustainable for times to come. If I take the reins and assert myself as the driver, what can I expect when my time inevitably runs up? The car, or project, could lose control, veer off the road, and potentially get totaled. Not ideal. So, in my work, I prioritize sharing information and responsibility to eventually “work myself out of a job” so they say in development.
So, thanks for taking the time and having the interest in hearing the overview of what I’m up to. I’d be happy to elaborate more on what kind of projects we’ve been working on in the future, but, for now, pura vida. Talk soon!
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