May 12, 2015

Another late blog update!...sorry!  But lots to update on this previous week!

First and foremost...I GOT MY SITE ASSIGNMENT!!

I will be spending the next two years of my life in a small town called Linea Vieja, in the Canton (county) of Pococi, in the Province (state more or less) of Limon.  The town is accessible by a bus that comes three times a week and then a 3km walk to the actual town.  There are 600-700 people currently living in Linea Vieja and much of the commerce of the town in built around the cultivation of plantains and yucca and then making them into artisanal chips.  Much of my work will be focused on this product and helping them market, brand and find new markets for their product within Costa Rica as well as abroad (so if you know anyone...).  Another big plus about the town is that there is a primary school with about 60 kids as well as a high school with around 70 students, both big enough to implement a program called Junior Achievement which works with youth to improve their employability skills focusing on business knowledge.  The one downside I am worried about (more nervous I guess) is the isolation factor.  While I fully expected to be isolated, I expected to be somewhat close to other volunteers like the majority of the others in my training group, which for me isn't the case.  On the map of communities we received, a large majority of the volunteers in Limon province are clustered in the south near the boarder of Panama or in the North but closer to the Central Valley.  Meanwhile, I seem to be the one outlier on the map, in the middle of a jungle with no road leading to the town (will try to upload a photo below to demonstrate what I am trying to say here).  Don't think I will have internet access but will have running and potable water so in that sense it's better than other communities.  Unfortunately, that is about all I really know about the town so far.  We have been receiving information about Limon and about my Canton but its very general information and little to do about the actual site.  However, we all get the chance next Wednesday to travel to our communities with our counterparts we will be working with and stay for 3-4 days in the community.  So expect another post after that.

That was the biggest news from the last 2 weeks but on top of that news Friday, all the volunteers in country got together at a hostel in San Jose and had a huge party celebrating the news and had the opportunity to ask current volunteers about their experience, their sites and if they heard anything about our sites (no one knows about my site...:( ).  A lot of fun and an amazing experience.

Then on Sunday, Katy, my family, the volunteer from before me (Sara) and I went to a place called "Ojo del Aqua" (eye of the water) which is an amazing park with five huge pools filled with natural spring water (freezing water), tennis courts, basketball courts, a soccer field, and a huge pond.  Absolutely amazing and beautiful day with the family and another opportunity to ask a volunteer about her transition to site and her projects.

That is about the biggest events from the past 2 weeks but the wait for site assignment is finally over!  Some incredible sites and I will definitely have some visits coming up in the next two years to sites all over Costa Rica.

3 WEEKS OF TRAINING LEFT!!!!!