Camp Counseling

In my CED program framework, the objectives include: assisting with business planning and administration, teaching English for employment and bringing information and communications technology to our communities. I am going to suggest they add camp counselor/babysitter/cheerleader, since that is a more apt description of my past few weeks as a PCV.

The day I got back from Nicaragua, I had to go straight to a Scouts planning meeting for our three-day camping trip that weekend. Two days later, my good friend and the head dirigente Josè, who was in cahrge of making most of the plans, sent a text messatge that he was in the hopsital with a torn meniscus after a Tae Kwon Do accident. That left me, Luis Carlos and a new leader, Ivannia, to scramble to do all the shopping an dget al the materials together in time for our Friday afternoon departure.

Miraculously, 13 of us made it on the same bus (we were 14, but one girl got a last-minute stomachache and bailed) and got to the campsite in one piece. There, we met up with the other group we were going to be camping with and the camp organizers. The organizers were the same guys who helped me out with the camp I organized at FUDEBIOL a year ago, which is when the whole idea of forming the Scouts group started, so it was cool being back with them again and thinking of how far we`d come.

Aside from the rice and spaghetti mixed with MSG packets diet and the incessant mosquitoes, the weekend was a blast. The kids had a great time getting to know the other group and they learned how to do everything for themselves, from setting up their tents to cooking to scaling up ropes and plunging through mud baths. And I think it got everyone really motivated to be around leaders who actually knew what they were doing.

After one afternoon of rest, I got up Monday morning and started an all-week environmental workshop with 12 youths from 12-18 years old in Quebrads. Each day was about a different theme (water, soil, biodiversity and climate change), and it all culminated in a project investigating these themes in our community and presenting their findings in a digital form.

I was SUPER impressed by how motivated the kids were. First, just the fact that they continued to show up each day, but that they also put together a pretty thoughtful presentation that included pictures and interviews and graphics. The driving factor was that two representatives from the group had the chance to qualify for an all-paid Peace Corps-sponsored three-day conference in Bahìa Ballena, which they did, and I ampleased to say that they deserved it.

The cool thing is it wasn`t just about the free trip, they also want to carry out some environmental projects in Quebradas, including fixing up the butterfly garden at FUDEBIOL. So this week we went to see a real functioning butterfly garden, which was amazing, and they are really excited to get started in Quebradas. Stuff like this makes me wonder why I couldn´t have gotten this started earlier and had more time to help them develop the project, but it unfortunately took me this long to build credibility with the youth in Quebradas, and maybe now that they know I`m leaving soon they are finally taking advantage.

Last weekend we had our last regional volunteer meeting for the Zona Sur in Uvita, which is kind of like camp for volunteers. We stayed at this cool treehouse/tee-pee place called the Flutterby, which had great food and was close to the beach. There were almost 40 of us with Tico 20 and 21 now being represented. It`s kind of weird because just as we started to get to know the new people in our region, it`s time for us to go.

On Saturday we took an awesome snorkeling trip to Isla del Caño, and island about 50 km off the coast. We say humpback whales and turtles on our way out and saw manta-rays, a shark and myriad colorful fish straight out of Finding Nemo while snorkeling. I topped the day off with a run on the beach with my friend Angelo, followed by a swim in the ocean, an amazing sunset, a delicious barbeque and a shared liter of Imperial. It was one of those Peace Corps moments when you realize just how good we have it here.

Then Monday began the final camp of the season (and perhaps my career) with our annual Peace Corps Pèrez Zeledòn basketball camp. I got assigned to the 9 to 11 year olds, which was a pretty fun and manageable group. I hadn´t touched a basketball since camp last year, but luckily I still remembered enough to pretend I knew what I was doing. The highlight of the week was when I got to play with some other Peace Corps girls against the Pèrez Zeledòn Under 15 girls team, and it was actually a pretty even match! I`m happy to report I still have an eye for openings and connecting good passes. But unfortunately whatever shooting skills I once posessed are no longer with me.

Friday was the last day of camp, and everyone went home happy with a medal of participation. It was fun to hang out with volunteers who came down from all over the country for the week, and it kept my evenings busy, which was nice. Unfortunately, my computer died on me last week (okay, my spilling water on it may have had something to do with it), so now I am without my PCV friends, podcasts, dvd`s, or more camps to look forward to. I may have to take u pa new hobby...

P.S. I forgot to mention that I had a delightful visit from Lisie, my old roommate in New York, in early January. She spent a night in Quebradas and we cooked fish in my toaster oven and hiked up to FUDEBIOL the next day before she headed off to meet her friends in Manuel Antonio. It was wonderful to see her and have her see my (slightly different from NYC) life in Costa Rica!