Promises are such a scary concept! Now that IST is over, I realized how careful I was not to make promises in my first three months. I did a lot of, ''Let me know what I can do to help and I'll do what I can,'' but not actually any real promises. Definitely the best decision ever.
Today I wrote my work plan for the next two years, the confidence in my abilities as a volunteer spilling over from IST and into my ''real life''. It's ambitious. I want to give a project design workshop to all the organized groups in town and also form a new committee to watch out for the rights of children in our town. I want to teach little kids English, provide particular organizational and leadership training to the folk dance group and make extensive repairs to our current school or – si Dios quiere – build a new one and make the current one into a library and cultural center. Finally, I want to form a youth group in my town that is oriented towards environmental education through volunteerism.
Bam. Anyone who thinks that Peace Corps volunteers in Costa Rica take it easy...well...ok, I have running potable water and pretty much my own house and a very beautiful natural environment. My grass is pretty green on this side of the fence. But I also have big things I want to accomplish. I'd argue that there's more responsibility and expectation to succeed with projects in a country where so many resources are available. So yeah. Bam.
I'm thinking I still shouldn't make promises, you know? But as I was writing my work plan I was like, ''Wow, glad I'm not tied down to anything from before.'' I felt like I came back from IST with some great ideas that meet needs that there are in the community, but perhaps no one in my community had thought of. So I wrote my work plan, I'll present it to my two main organizations within the community that I hope to work with and see if they like it before I solidify it by putting it in my community diagnostic.
Holy Cheese-Us! I presented my work plan today to the two groups I want to work with – the local development organization in my town and the parent-teacher's association and guess what...I'm kind of an awesome volunteer today. I gave a concise, informative presentation about the work I want to pursue, answered questions, cleared up doubts and I believe I may have been more than a tad bit inspirational.
If I'm interpreting their reaction correctly, this will be the first time in my LIFE that I said something idealistic and people were really pumped about it instead of just dismissing it as the word of an inexperienced, yet-to-be-jaded young person. I was duly cautious about the results that we can see in two years, but also firm about staying positive. The ''feeling positive'' part is key because it really is lacking in our community, a place where family conflict reigns supreme. Family conflict has reached a point where it has stunted not just personal growth, but also that of the community as a whole. For example, due to psychological warfare and some character assassinating that was going down, there was a real possibility this past month that the national water regulatory agency from the regional level would have to intervene and take control of our water supply. This would have been a huge step backwards for my town, and gracias a Dios (thank goodness), the heat was turned down long enough that a new, local directive board for the water committee was elected by the people and we could keep control of our water.
In other words, the time is right and people are ready to receive the message of faction-less teamwork, conditions for positive change for which I cannot take the credit. However, I really liked feeling like I could rally people around a cause. After I finished speaking today, there was at least ten minutes of talking about working together for the common good. And if nothing else happens in these two years at least I got these two organizations to further imagine a community where people don't have to act like they're living in fair Verona. At least I can say that my presence is not being divisive in any way, a direction I feared my service was leaning before my presentation today.
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