What a lousy piece of news to receive at the beginning of my last week.
The Costa Rican Institute of Tourism opted not to renew its contract to place a CREST teacher in Puerto Jimenez for the next term. I know these things happen. The tourist season was slow this year, with the recession. I’m sure the ICT budget is tight.
What my classroom in Puerto Jimenez will look like for the forseeable future...
A native speaker could still be here. The local chamber of tourism on its own could bring a in teacher. Someone from the large new group of Peace Corps volunteers could land here. CREST could get another contract in the future.
But it still feels like something got pulled out from under me.
What is the point of a development program if it is stopped when things get difficult? Anyone who’s ever tried to do something to change knows how much easier it is with some outside motivation: a class, a workout buddy, a book club. Without that, things get so hard.
When you multiply life improvement on a scale of tens or hundreds of people, the importance of an outside assisting influence is multiplied as well. I’m reminded of a recent This American Life piece on Haiti. The impoverished island nation has been receiving millions of dollars in aid for years, with little signs of progress. One reason the program suggested for that was because development groups are constantly losing project funding or seeing money diverted to different projects. There’s a lack of consistent commitment and direction, and (admittedly not having been in on whatever discussions took place), that’s what it feels like in Puerto Jimenez.
I feel a sense of ownership about the community. Since I heard the news, I’ve been slightly tempted to figure out a way to stay and keep doing it. Were this a place where I thought I could thrive long-term, I actually might. I hope I can at least help the chamber find someone.
The one thing I stressed over and over to my students was that no matter what we do in class, how well they do in English hinges on how much they practice and work at it in their lives. If they learned anything from me, I hope they learned that. Because, for the moment, it’s truly the case.
Kent Green is currently teaching English in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica through Costa Rican English for Sustainable Tourism, a project of ALIARSE. For more on his experiences, check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.
Latest posts by kentgreen
- The Centries: Handing Out Awards to Central America - August 9th, 2010
- Sub-juncting Myself to a Test of Generosity - August 4th, 2010
- Nobody (At Least Not Me) Knows the Trouble Guatemala's Seen - August 2nd, 2010
- Oh No, Ojos! (or, Why Gringos Don't Make Eye Contact) - July 28th, 2010
- We Dance If We Want To (so why don't we?) - July 26th, 2010
- Getting Schooled in Spanish Schools - July 21st, 2010
- Guatemala's REAL Danger: Not Wanting to Leave - July 19th, 2010
- Living the High Life (and not even knowing it) - July 14th, 2010
- The Devils of Panama City - July 7th, 2010
- Paging Maintenance, We Have a Crisis in Aisle 4 - July 5th, 2010
An e-mail I received made me worried about this post generating confusion. So, to clear things up: My program was not canceled.
Costa Rican English for Sustainable Tourism teams with Costa Rica’s tourism agency (ICT) to place volunteers in rural spots across the country. ICT, for the moment, has decided not to renew the contract in Puerto Jimenez only.
There will still be CREST slots in several other towns, and I know three new placements were opened up in March and new volunteers are arriving next week. So please, check out the program if you’re interested!
That truly is a rough piece of news to receive this week. Just know that you were there giving your all for the time that you were there. Hopefully some of your students will meet and chat in English and do what Senor Verde suggested and “practice.”