After a month and a half or so of silence, I’m backkkk (and currently in Costa Rica). I spent the month of May exploring more of the US (see ragtag roadies) especially reveling in national parks out west, hiking, biking, drinking great beer, and being with my person. Reality hit when I was dropped off back in Upstate NY and had to say so-long to Fou/Arthur again (this time for 4-5 months). It was great to see my parents and spend time with my brother but I was in a serious funk. While home I learned if we can go back to Nicaragua it probably won’t be until August and the options available for trainees if the program closes (even though we were only 3 weeks away from being volunteers) really only consists of applying to new programs and starting over. I have no interest in this mainly because the options available for Spanish speaking countries working in the health sector don’t leave until March 2019. Also, none of them are as specific in the field of sexual and reproductive health as I would like to be (i.e. what Nicaragua was).
So…I’m winging it. I packed a bag that will sustain me for at least 2 years and bought a one-way flight to Costa Rica (technically two-way but I returned the other ticket due to laws in Costa Rica requiring proof you will be leaving the country when you go through customs). Why Costa Rica you may ask? If things in Nicaragua calm down (and please if you do not know about the situation, do read up on it- people are suffering there) it is a cheap and easy bus ride over the border to Nicaragua. It has also always been a dream of mine to live in another country and learn a new language. So, as I await news about Nicaragua I will be preparing for Plan B, devoting my time to improving my Spanish and start doing some job searching. Right now, all I know is I will be enjoying some time in a surfer beach town for a few weeks and then heading into the mountains to work at a hostel for a month in a small town where there is little tourism and even less English (and I will hopefully be volunteering at a home for pregnant indigenous women there as well).
After? I have no idea. If I cannot return to Nicaragua, my plan after Costa Rica is to start moving south and settle in a country in South America hopefully working for a nonprofit focusing on sexual and reproductive health. If anyone knows people in the field and can put me in touch- please reach out! Regardless, I will be updating this blog semi-regularly so if it comes to it- those of you who were planning on visiting will know where to book your flights.
That's all,
Over and out- Mal