So as you can infer from the title...this is going to be a long update.  It has been a while since I have written an update so I am once again stuck trying to fit everything from 3-4 weeks into one update.  Honestly, before leaving for Panama with my brother Ryan, not a whole lot was happening; the grant was still in talks, the soccer field was getting overgrown again, classes were still really only just beginning.  However, since that point, everything has changed.  Ligia has now taken charge of the soccer field (and apparently is getting paid to do so), the grant has been approved, the materials have been purchased and arrived yesterday, both the high school and escuela directors are searching me out so they can begin a conversation about projects for the coming year and suddenly, I am no longer in such a rush to leave and instead of counting down the days, each day that passes is one less day I have to get all the work done.

Panama

Ryan arrived into San Jose the 21st and we hit the road down to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean side of the country.  After a short night there, we got on a shuttle to the border, crossed over in Panama and made our way to Bocas del Toro.  Having been there once already, I had an idea of some activities and where to go but there was a lot more people there than the last time and instead of tour operators really itching for clients, the demand was much greater.  We got to see some amazing beaches, went snorkeling, spent the afternoon on a private island national park and swimming in the clearest water I have ever seen in my life.  Last time I went to Bocas del Toro, it was in October which was supposedly when the weather was best but the weather we had during our late February trip was a hundred times better.  While the crowd sometimes was a little much, it was a very different atmosphere and interesting to compare the two seasons.  

After three days in Bocas, we hopped on a bus to Panama City.  10 HOURS LATER we arrived and headed to the hotel.  Another PCV happened to be coming back from Colombia and we met up for dinner in the old city.  The next day we spent the morning checking out the Panama Canal and the afternoon in the Old City (Casco Viejo) which was incredible and somewhere I wish I had more time to explore.

The next stop was another 9 hour bus ride up the Pacific coast to a place called Playa Las Lajas, a small little beach town a couple kilometers from the main highway but some place that seems a little forgotten by development.  While there were hundreds of Panamanians there for the weekend and the "Carnival" celebrations, the town itself maybe only had a couple hundred people and a handful of restaurants and B&B's.

The next morning, we headed back to the main highway, caught a small bus into the larger city of David then hopped on another small shuttle to the border on the Pacific side, passed through "customs and immigration" (barely existent) and caught a bus to the Costa Rican town of Puerto Jimenez.  After another 7 or so hours of traveling, we pulled into the hotel and hit the beach for sunset.

The final trip was another 9-hour bus ride back to the capital where we arrived sweaty and cold, dirty and longing for some time away from a bus.  It was an amazing trip across the majority of two countries (although a lot was seen from a bus) and I have to thank Ryan for bankrolling the entire trip..seriously...for the both of us.

COS Conference

The next event was the final training session I will have here in Peace Corps Costa Rica.  Almost immediately following the trip to Panama, the COS (Close of Service) conference for Tico 29 began.  After recently losing another volunteer, we are officially down to 29 volunteers in Tico 29, down from the original 41...almost a 30% drop out rate!  The week was a mix of emotional memories, professional support for resumes, job searches and reintegration to US culture (I'm a little worried) and a lot of tears.  It will also be the last time all of us will be together as a group in Costa Rica and although I will see the majority of volunteers when we COS on May 4th, as I was saying my "hasta luegos" to volunteers, one volunteer said "I won't see you again..." and it hit me that this was really it...

Grant Update

I have been writing about this since September of last year and have come close so many times to giving up and leaving it for the next volunteer.  However, the day Ryan flew in, I got final approval from the office and the money arrived this past Monday, the materials were purchased Tuesday and arrived yesterday.  Construction will hopefully commence this Friday or Saturday and the fence could hopefully be up by the end of this month.  I know I have been optimistic about other projects (i.e. the court) and let down but this feels different especially because I have made it clear that if the project is not finished by late April, the materials get returned, I close the grant, return the money and that's that...

We have also finalized the contract with someone who knows what they're doing and they are able to commit to working throughout the week and some weekends which should mean that as long as we can get some community labor (always the hardest part), we should be set by the end of this month or at the latest mid April.

Country Director Visit

The country director of PCCR has been making a point to make visits to PCV sites, get to know their reality, their work and how they are perceived in the community and after a trip down to the south of Limon, Anne (the country director) and Javier (Safety and Security boss) made the trek into Linea Vieja for a quick, 2 hour tour of the community, meeting the esceula director, the president of the medical clinic committee, seeing the clinic, recycling center, meeting the couple from the pulperia (who teared up talking about having to see me leave) and then finally, meeting Ligia and the house.  It was pretty great having the country director be able to see all the progress I have made here and see how much I am loved here among the school, the streets and all sorts of people.  But it also made me realize how difficult it is going to be leaving here in 50 short days.

I have always felt accomplished as a volunteer, maybe not a Community Economic Development volunteer but I have been able to accomplish some medium to large projects and will leave a tangible memory in this community.  However, even more important and I think longer lasting are the relationships I have created and ,hopefully, positive influence I have had in younger kids or just generally opening their minds up to what else is out there in the world, where else you can go and where education and learning can help achieve.  As I have said before, there were times I couldn't wait to get out of here and back to the States but as that dates comes closer and closer, I am dreading the goodbyes.