After spending the past 27 months in the rural farmland of a paradise otherwise known as Costa Rica, I have returned to the U.S. of A. to be with my family. (And maybe get a job to boot!) Today marks two weeks since returning to Florida and somehow leaving unreliable electricity and water supply, cold showers, choke-on-dust roads (or waddle-in-mud, depending on the season) was a big challenge! Of course, my biggest challenge was leaving the people who welcomed me into their towns, their homes, and their hearts. Together, I know that the projects we undertook and the work we accomplished has changed the structure of the community itself and laid foundations for further development.
I struggled with the tough decision of extending service, but in the end I stayed only a few weeks after finishing with the Peace Corps. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye. I miss it terribly… and in some ways, I probably always will. I loved living in Costa Rica and being a part of the pura vida, but not even paradise is perfect.
As for the future, I am applying for a Rotary Foundation scholarship (Master’s in Int'l Relations, U. del Salvador in Argentina), but decisions are not until later this year. Meanwhile, I will take a few weeks to visit family and friends in Spain. And if you live near Atlanta, NYC, or the United States capitol, stay tuned!
I want to thank my friends and neighbors, the people of my towns - Jabillo, La Y Griega, Juan de Leon, Las Pampas, Coyote - for their food, for caring for me, for providing an outsider with home and family. I’d like to thank you all as well, those who have supported me and helped me through my challenges and trials. I leave fulfilled, taking with me the knowledge of a leader and treasuring the memories of a lifetime. I arrived a stranger and I leave as the Gringa de Jabillo.
