Hello everyone,

Here is my first year in review of my Peace Corps service in Costa Rica.

My work

Over the course of year one, I tried a lot of things. Here is a list of everything that comes to mind:

• Helped in a local community-run restaurant to raise funds for the neighborhood park
• Helped work a bar for a local community party fundraiser
• Created and led an English club in a local classroom
• Visited people’s homes to teach some English
• Worked with a few entrepreneurs on basic computing skills and ideation
• Worked to update a local computer lab
• Started two sections of an Excel course and advertised the course in the community
• Attended many meetings with a group representing the needs of the older folks in the community
• Danced, socialized, and announced bingo numbers with the older folks at their twice-monthly gathering
• Sold snow cones at a fishing tournament to raise money for the older folks group
• Improved my Spanish by speaking every day
• Started to help my new host amigo on a project to organize the newly developing local tourism projects

Local Connections

I have been welcomed to the community by many local groups and have built connections with many of my students. My community has been receiving volunteers for the past 60 years, so most of the older people in the community have met a Peace Corps volunteer. This is fun and always gives the conversation a starting point as they will have a story to tell me about the tall volunteer who lived in the center 30 years ago, or a girl they always saw biking to help out at the school.

I have found the local people to be incredibly welcoming. Also, I think that my dark hair and beard help me to blend in a lot, up until the point where I open my mouth. Some people have even assumed I have some Tico blood.

Natural Beauty

Costa Rica is precious. I can’t put it into words, so I will outline the places I’ve been and include some photos below:

Limón – The Caribbean side

• Puerto Viejo – an absolute paradise for young backpackers. I stayed for a while and visited around 7 beaches; Manzanillo is potentially the nicest beach I have ever been to.
• Cahuita – first sloth I’ve seen in the wild

Guanacaste – Northern Pacific

• Playa Hermosa
• Filadelfia
• Tamarindo
• Playa Conchal
• Playa Panama

Tons of great beaches

Puntarenas – Southern Pacific Side

• Manuel Antonio – Absolutely beautiful nature, filled to the brim with monkeys, a great place where my parents and I started our Costa Rica Tour
• Jaco Beach – It was fun, but I won’t go back haha
• Puntarenas City – Tons of seafood for sale

Alajuela (The province I live in)

• Ciudad Quesada – Largest city in my province, and it has a Walmart
• La Fortuna – I will always visit the La Fortuna Waterfall if I am with a friend who hasn’t gone. I think I’ve been 4 times now
• There is beautiful biodiversity here and with the help of local friends, I have seen tons of awesome places off the beaten path.

San José (The Capital)

• I am usually in the City for a work training, I always stop by my original host family in Escazú, and I look forward to the nightlife when I am in the City

Cartago

• Went on a Pilgrimage to the church in Cartago, it’s a large city with a colder climate. I’d like to visit again and explore the mountains near there

Heredia

• I have only passed through Heredia by bus. I’d like to sightsee in Heredia City

Costa Rica Travel Bucket List

• Climb Cerro Chirripó, Highest point in CR
• Visit Corcovado National Park
• Go back to Puerto Viejo
• Visit Nicoya Peninsula

My Spanish

My Spanish is pretty good, and now that I am living with a host family again, I am learning a lot of the local slang. I can tell stories now as long as the audience is willing to stick with me through a couple of messed-up verb conjugations.

There are a handful of locals who speak English. This is a big advantage for them because they can work remotely for international companies and make far above the average local wage.

I have found that certain things are difficult to explain, but I don’t think it all has to do with my Spanish skills. For example, teaching Excel is not easy in English or Spanish because it’s a lot of “don’t click there, click on the edge”.

After one more year of living here, I will feel very comfortable in expressing myself, and I will know tons of slang local to my region and local to Costa Rica. I used to think it’s annoying that the slang and language changes a lot between Latin American countries, but now I am realizing that once you know the slang in one country, all you have to do is replace the words and you can fit them into the same phrases.

My Future

I have around a year left in Costa Rica and I am starting to plan for my life when it ends. I am learning about the world of diplomats and want to become an economic foreign service officer after Peace Corps. There are lots of scholarship opportunities, so I spend a few hours a week doing those. So I’m looking to become a diplomat or go to graduate school, or both.

Living abroad is something I really enjoy. I am caught by surprise at least once a month by an unexpectedly beautiful experience. And I am learning new words and cultural insights daily.

Support

Without modern technology, I would feel much more disconnected from my life back home. Having a great network of friends and family checking in on me makes me feel like I could return home and fall right back into the balance of life in the US. This feeling is comforting and helps me to continue to put myself out in my community because I know I can call someone if I’m ever feeling overwhelmed.

I hope to see all of you when I come home for a couple of weeks during Christmas time. For now, I am continuing to do more of what I mentioned above and am studying for tests and applying to scholarships and grad school.

Saludos,

Benja

Pura Vida, Tuanis, Acachete