Sentor Visit

I actually wrote this post a few months ago but hadn`t finished it until a few days ago, so here it is!

This past Saturday morning, I found myself in one of the nicest hotels in San Jose having breakfast with the senator of Connecticut, Chris Dodd. Talk about a cool opportunity! Earlier this earlier week, I received an email that Senator Dodd, along with Senator Corker from Tennessee, would be in Costa Rica as part of a tour of Central America and were interested in meeting Peace Corps Volunteers in the country. And so, with my fellow Connecticut PCV friend from West Hartford, Victoria, as well as a few other volunteers and PC/CR US citizen staff members, we enjoyed a delightful brunch with the senators. We learned that Senator Dodd served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic in the 60’s, so we were swapping stories. It was fascinating to hear about his Peace Corps experience from “back in the day” when one was not permitted to visit home during the 2 years nor had the luxury of keeping in touch with fellow volunteers via cell phones. Times have certainly changed! But I would like to write about something that really struck me from our conversation. Something that I think can be considered a universal Peace Corps ‘truth.’

We were telling the senator that when considering one’s lasting impact achieved throughout service, while infrastructure projects serve as physical testaments to our service abroad, that has not been the “take away” from our experiences here. The take away comes from something completely intangible but, perhaps for that very reason, all the more powerful: the relationships formed with members of our communities. The senator told us he was delighted to hear us say this, as that has been the case in his experience; all these years later, he has kept in touch with several members from his village, including one who ended up living in the US. Out in the field, one sometimes feels like she can be doing more, instead of celebrating all that has been accomplished, specifically in terms of personal relationships. However I think this realization becomes more clear towards the end of service, which is a time of reflection and answering the questions, “what have I been doing all this time?” and, “was it worth it?”

It is hard sometimes, being in the thick of it, to step back and think about this in a big picture comprehensive manner, but in doing so, I have come to realize that the relationships I have made during this time will be one of my lasting ‘legacies’ as well as what will stay with me long after I leave Costa Rica. In answer to those questions: What have I been doing all this time? At the most basic level: living and working side by side with people who have a different culture, language, and religion, than myself and becoming a part of this community. Has it been worth it? As I constantly have said, this time is best described as a roller-coaster… but isn’t that life in general? There have been low times when I have wondered what I was doing here away from everyone I love for 2 years, but overall it has been an amazing learning experience in so many ways. In the end, more than any project I have been involved with during the past 2 years, I am confident that pretty much every member of my town will remember me fondly as ‘la gringa’ who, among other things, was always out running, loved working with kids, didn’t like ‘typical’ American fast food and always drank water instead of the sugary drinks they have here, and looked more tica than some of the ticas in town. Likewise, I will think back on my time here and remember the kindness and generosity that so many families showed me, this gringa who came out of nowhere to work on ‘community development’ in their little town and became another member of it. That is the beauty of Peace Corps: for the stranger to become a friend--- someone to laugh with, cook with, dance with, run with, chat with, work with, and all the other 1,001 things we do in our day-to-day life. So yes, it has been worth it.