In this interview, you’ll hear from Megumi Thurston, a Peace Corps (Community Economic Development) CED volunteer in Costa Rica. Megumi shares what daily life looks like, the work being done, and how service has shaped their personal and professional growth. You’ll learn about housing, cultural differences, project work, language learning, and what it’s like to live and work in a new country. This interview offers a real look into Peace Corps service and what future volunteers can expect.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. What do you do as a Peace Corps CED volunteer in Costa Rica?
Because my work was not tied to a school schedule, each day in my community of Río Jesús looked different. My primary projects involved working with the internal development organization and the women’s group.
internal development organization
With the internal development organization, our goal was to transform the existing composting initiative- originally created to reduce contamination in the community’s river into a sustainable, income-generating business. We did this through meeting with a supply chain engineer to determine pricing for five and ten-pound compost bags, developing branding by creating a logo and product labels, expanding our social media presence, and selling our compost at municipal markets to build public awareness. This project benefited the community in two main ways.
First, given the prevalence of meat farms in the area, we incorporated animal waste into the composting process to help farmers with waste management. Second, the revenue from compost sales was reinvested directly into the community through projects such as repairing potholes, repainting community structures, and maintaining shared spaces, including the community gathering area and soccer field.
Women’s Group
My work with the women’s group was more focused on getting them reactivated (they hadn’t met for the past 1.5 years) and focused on a shared project. As a group, we decided that our goal was to create economic opportunities for members while also strengthening the community and bringing families together. We organized a series of community markets, or ferias, where women sold homemade food, fresh vegetables from their backyard, and handmade crafts.
In addition to an economic opportunity for members of the women’s group, these events were also designed to bring the community together. To encourage participation, we organized engaging events to draw community members to our events. One market featured a horse show, while another included a youth soccer tournament in the morning, followed by a demonstration by the municipality’s professional arm-wrestling team in the afternoon.
With the women’s group, we also organized other community events, such as bingo and trash pickup days.
2. Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and serve in Costa Rica?
When I was 18, I learned that one of my high school teachers served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho. Listening to her stories about the projects she worked on, the people she met, the lessons she learned, and the challenges she faced, I felt really inspired. Even though I never thought I would be brave enough to do something like that, the idea was always in the back of my mind.
A few months into my first job after college, two of my close friends’ parents received devastating health diagnoses. This made me realize that life is short and that if there is something I have always thought about doing, I shouldn’t wait to do it. This led me to apply to the Peace Corps in February of 2023, and I left for Staging in July 2023.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. What is your housing like in Costa Rica?
I lived with a host family for the first three months of training near San Jose and then a different host family in my community for the rest of my service! In my community, I lived with a host brother, Moises, my host mother, Doña Grey, and our dog, Sachi. One of my other host brothers lived down the street, so he would usually come with his wife and son Fabian, who was two at the time, for breakfast. Moises is very popular within the community, so his friends would always hang out in our living room, and I would frequently play or watch soccer games with them.
Río Jesús is a rural community with 450 people. It has an elementary school, church, soccer field, community gathering space, and cemetery. I lived in the mountains, and I absolutely loved it; it was definitely the prettiest place I have ever lived so far. I can’t wait to visit soon.
4. What moments or interactions stand out during your service?
There were so many special moments during my service, and I feel very lucky. On the community involvement/ host family side, I was a bridesmaid in two of my host siblings’ weddings, I became a Tía (aunt) for the first time to Fabiana (my host brother’s daughter) and Fabian (my host brother’s son), and my neighbor named her puppy after me. Those were some really special moments.
On the professional side, some of my proudest moments came when I learned that our grants to renovate the community kitchen and to build the first park in the community had been approved. Seeing those projects move from ideas to funded initiatives was really rewarding.
Another moment that stands out was in March 2025, when we were able to sponsor an all-expenses-paid educational field trip for twelve members of the women’s group. During the trip, participants learned from female entrepreneurs who built a successful clothing customization business, as well as from a family-run business that offered coffee and chocolate tours. Seeing how excited and curious the women were throughout the experience was really special.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about living or working in Costa Rica?
I was surprised by the food; I was expecting more fruits and vegetables in the diet. I was also struck by how long it takes to travel around the country by bus. On a positive note, I was also pleasantly surprised by how welcoming Tico’s are. During my first visit to my friend Estef’s home, I was also invited to her grandparents’ for lunch, where I met her aunts and cousins.
6. What challenges have you faced in your CED work, and how did you respond?
Getting members of the women’s group to attend meetings and stay engaged was always a bit tricky, but midway through my service, I realized that for them, a key part of these meetings was socializing. With this in mind, I restructured our meetings to begin with 15 minutes of conversation and snacks before transitioning to the agenda. This change allowed the women to feel more connected to each other while also improving focus and productivity during the remainder of the meeting.
7. What secondary projects have you worked on during your service?
Aside from working with the women’s group and the internal development organization, I also co-taught three six-week English courses with my neighbor Maria.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to future CED volunteers in Costa Rica?
I would advise future CED volunteers to prioritize building relationships and integrating into the community during their first couple of months of service before focusing heavily on projects. Without those connections, it might be hard to know what is happening in the community or get invited to things.
9. How did Peace Corps training prepare you for service?
Pre-Service Training (PST) was helpful because we learned about projects that previous CED volunteers had done and were provided a clearer picture of the day-to-day work we would be doing in our communities.
Mid-Service Training (MST) was also very helpful because each volunteer did a presentation on the projects they had been working on thus far. Seeing how different our projects were, even within the same sector, was inspiring and encouraged me to incorporate other things into my projects that I had previously not considered.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. What would you tell future volunteers to pack—or leave behind?
Pack: Pictures of loved ones, books, a journal, a scrapbook, breathable clothes, and little pick me ups (mine were hi-chew candy, hair oil, and nice smelling body lotion)
Leave behind: white clothing (they will probably get stained or moldy) and medical supplies other than prescriptions (Peace Corps will provide you a giant box of basic necessities)
11. How has language learning been for you in Costa Rica?
I have been learning Spanish since I was young, which really helped me, but the slang and sayings used in Costa Rica were quite different from the Spanish I was used to. PST and my host family helped me the most with this.
Social Identity
12. How has your personal identity shaped your service experience?
Being a woman helped me connect more easily to the members of the women’s group. Many Ticos like anime, so when I shared that I was half Japanese, it sparked positive reactions and conversations about aspects of Japanese culture they enjoyed. This was an easy way to break the ice. Being Catholic also helped my integration because I often saw a lot of community members at church.
13. Did your identity lead to specific challenges or situations?
Being in a Latin American country, many people noticed my eyes and would call me “Chinese” or “chinita”. At first, this annoyed me, but over time, I began to see it as an opportunity to educate community members about the differences between Asian countries.
14. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
Own it. For those who are genuinely interested or curious, take the opportunity to explain it. For those who are not, be proud of who you are and keep moving.
Final Thoughts
15. What final advice would you share with future volunteers?
Embrace the full Peace Corps experience- the amazing and exciting, but also difficult and lonely. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that few people ever get to experience!
Are you thinking about joining the Peace Corps? If you’re curious about service and ready for something new, apply today. Like Megumi, you can live abroad, work with communities, and grow in ways you didn’t expect. Apply to the Peace Corps and take the next step.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Costa Rica Government.
