 While my bio might be here on the PSG website, I am physically far, far away in Costa Rica on a year-long family sabbatical that began September 1, 2007.
My wife Nancy (who is a family practice doctor) and I are volunteering for a non-profit organization called the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC). In 2005, they established a clinic that serves very poor Nicaraguan refugees in Alajuelita, Costa Rica - which is just south of San Jose, the capital. If you look at a map, you will see that it is right in the middle of the country—so no, we are NOT lounging at a beachside villa every day while my PSG colleagues are taking on reinvention efforts across the country, as I did for the past 15 years.
Nancy and I will also be helping set up a second clinic to expand services to another under-served area of San Jose. While Nancy will be providing her usual high-quality medical care, I will be volunteering in various non-medical capacities (community research, grant writing, volunteer coordination, administrative paperwork, and probably some manual labor thrown in, too). You can find out more about the organization and the project: http://www.FIMRC.org/about_project_alajuelita.php .
Our plans also include taking Spanish language classes as we try to catch up linguistically with our sons Kyle and Sam (ages 9 & 7) – who have both been attending a Spanish language immersion elementary school in St Paul since they were 5 years old. Despite their wishes for a year-long vacation, they will indeed be attending school, a bilingual one serving mostly Costa Rican children.
Many people have come up with a variety of questions about our adventure, so here is an attempt to answer a few of the common ones we have been hearing:
We are doing this because we want to experience another culture in a deep and meaningful way, make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us, give the boys an opportunity to really improve their Spanish, and strengthen our bonds as a family as we take a bit of a break from our hectic lives.
We chose Costa Rica because while it obviously has the Latino culture and language we are seeking, there is also a growing expat population there – so that brings a certain comfort level. And, of course, it has the beauty of its rain forests, mountains, and beaches – we are already planning several excursions to the far reaches of the country.
If you are interested in seeing what we are doing, you can check out our website/blog on which we are posting updates and photos of our adventure. You can find it at www.mytb.org/Struthers-Family <http://www.mytb.org/Struthers-Family>
In the meantime, my best wishes to you as you move forward on your efforts to make government more results-driven and customer-focused. I look forward to our paths crossing when I return.
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