Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The PCT update

Excerpt from a letter that gives a decent snap shot of life in the CR
"Thus far Costa Rica is Amazing!! I couldn't be happier with the group of volunteers that I have landed with, all of whom come from a cornucopia of backgrounds and experiences. Its even more exciting because everyone is fully deserving to be a volunteer in this role. Training has also been very rewarding, although everyday is a struggle. If Peace Corps loves to do one thing in particular, it's push us out of our comfort zone. Three days a week we have spanish classes (which are unlike anything I have ever done before). The methodology includes lots and lots of interviews with the community and often times with complete strangers that we pass on the streets. There are 45 volunteers in total, but we are divided into groups of 4 and spread around the villages to the south of San Jose, so we very much working on our own. Twice a week we all conveen in my town of Tarbaca and have all day technical training seasons that are specific to our programs. Mine happens to be Community Economic Development, where the main focus is on helping communities discover their own internal resources and building up from there. It has actually been a fascinating experience learning just what exactly we are going to be doing, when in reality that are training us to be like a "tool box" for the community to help itself. I am rather impressed with this idea because its a much more sustainable way of doing things as opposed to just waltzing in giving a ton of money to some random poor village.
I am currently living with a host family in Tarbaca that has fully integrated me as a son of theirs. Even though I won't ever have to worry about starving to death because of mountain of rice and beans (which I have to say is my newest FAVORITE FOOD EVER, no joke!!) they serve me every day, I also have to hike up (and down) a ravine to get to class and tech training. Life is great in the house with two children, a boy of 12 years and a girl of 10 years. There is a mother that does... well... everything... and a father that does... nothing when it comes to house chores. I am trying to set a good example by at the least offering to clean the dishes and help out with taking care of the farm animals. Ohh yeah, I wake up in the morning to rosters and goats! This exotic life is AWESOME! I am going to through away my MBA in Favor of a coffee farm. Ohhh yeah again, they drink coffee 5 times a day! Uhh! Be-still my heart! We are about to complete a full month in Costa Rica this Friday and going to celebrate at our directors house in San Jose as well as get to meet some of the current volunteers. If anything that I have said above sounds over the top, just wait till I give you a report from the field. Everyone of the volunteers that I have meet so far are absolute tigers. Over the course of 6 months to a year, some of them have totally revamped the economies and business of their pueblos, given womens groups a way of making a living, rebuilt schools, openned mobile computer labs, done HIV clinics, taken the death toll by dengue fever from several people a month to zero, mean while teaching english to local school kids and reducing the highschool dropout rate. I am appauled by them and can't to see what happens within another 2 months of training. The rubber hits the road on December 17th for me when I am officially sworn in as a volunteer and given a site assignment. "

For those who find it in their heart to write me!

John Foss PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 1266-1000
San Jose,
Costa Rica

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