Happy 2026! I’m very excited and hopeful for this year. I was able to go home for Christmas and New Years. It was really nice to see family and recharge my battery. Since returning to Panamá, I have been going on small adventures. I visited a beautiful mountain town in Valle de Antón where I ran my first trail half marathon. It was a fun and long day outside. I also climbed the highest mountain in Panamá, Volcan Barú which is an inactive volcano.
Today, I attended the seniors’ high school graduation. It made me reflect on my time since high school and realize how much has happened. In the school, I usually work with the special education teacher and natural science teacher. During the strike between April and July, I was helping out with English and got to know more of the upperclass students. I see how big of an accomplishment it is for these students to graduate high school. Some were held back a year and continued to study and overcame their challenges.
We are in the thick of Panamanian celebrations; the 3rd, 4th, 5th of November are national holidays that celebrate the independence from Colombia, national symbols (el escudo, el himno nacional, y la bandera), and the separation day from Colombia in the province of Colón. This coming Monday, the 10th, is also a celebration of the first cry of independence in Los Santos and then the 28th of November celebrates the independence day from Spain.
Last year, the festivities in early November were cancelled due to
I just got back from two weeks away from my community. And, boy were those two weeks transformative in the most healing and grounding ways. I went into the mountains of Santa Fe, Veraguas for a retreat with other Peace Corps volunteers. We had incredibly deep and insightful conversations that have changed my perspectives on life. It’s not easy living here, especially under the circumstances of integrating into a different culture, language, and people. But, talking to other volunteers who just get it makes me feel less alone and a lot more supported.
I’ve been hitting some lows the past few weeks. I definitely have felt the mid-service slump and I’m not sure if I’ve gotten out of it.
While I’ve learned and grown so much here the past year, I think of another year as another big mountain to climb. Yes, there are moments where I feel confident with the relationships I’ve formed and the work I’m doing. But, there are also a lot of days where I feel uncomfortable in the culture and very misunderstood.
Wow, the past posts I’ve started with “a lot has happened” which is a good sign even when I feel like things aren’t going my way. I’ve been in Panama for almost a year to date (June 26th) and things are slowly moving along. A month ago, a woman came up to me and told me her idea of creating a youth group to involve kids in community service and activities. I was so shocked and excited that she came to me for this because it’s my exact job description and something I’ve been wanting to do but needed a counterpart, someone to work well with. So far, we’ve done a limpieza (a town cleanup)
A lot has happened in the past month for the good and the bad. The best was being able to visit home in Colorado. I got to hike, bike, practice yoga, be outside, and enjoy time with loved ones. I was able to visit my aunt and uncle in Evergreen; their house is so relaxing that we always end up taking naps because it’s so peaceful. I got to eat really good food; bagels, sushi, and Sherpa’s were my biggest cravings.
Wow, a lot has happened in the past month. School started which has been helping me create structure in my days! I was initially very nervous for school; it’s hard to describe because most people, students and teachers don’t know what I can help with. I don’t have a strict schedule for when I go to school or what I do. The whole goal of the Peace Corps is to learn from the community and the school what help they want. Their ideas propel projects, but that’s been very abstract for people. I think they’re skeptical of me, especially seeing a foreigner provide free services without anything in exchange.
I can’t really describe how I’m feeling because my mood changes every day. I never know how I’m going to wake up feeling. This has been a really hard challenge for me. In the beginning of February, I was watching the news too much and it was affecting me negatively. I still miss my family greatly; luckily, we talk almost every day.
On a very positive note, I was able to plan and teach technology and English classes. This was a big learning curve for me. I’ve never taught English nor tech classes so I was learning as I went.
The new year is upon us and 2024 was quite the year. I completed five years of college, moved to Panama, and have slowly integrated into a small town here. Lots of changes and new challenges to say the least.
Earlier this month, we had a holiday party for volunteers. This was a nice get together to meet new faces and learn about the different projects volunteers are working on. A group of us went on a cloud forest hike and crossed a river a few times. We also enjoyed playing
The past two weeks, the rain has been brutal; school has been canceled and parts of the Interamericana highway have fallen off due to landslides. I was really bummed that the Días de Patrias were canceled; I was really looking forward to seeing the students march through the town to honor Panama’s Independence Day. I’ve been feeling pretty isolated which is never fun. To “stay busy,” I’ve been helping out in a pre-school. The kids are super cute yet super exhausting. The pre-school is only two hours in the morning and it just wipes me out. I don’t know what they’re saying and they don’t
The homesickness is starting to sick in. The past week, I’ve cried every time I talked to my family. I’ve been struggling with finding my place here.
Luckily, I’ve been in the school more to help out with a robotics program and building a school website on Google Sites. I’ve been talking with a physics teacher and she is very motivated to learn more about digital literacy. Many people don’t know how to type, upload or download files, and simple tasks on the computer.
I’ve been hesitant to write about this, just don’t know how it’ll come out or if it’s the right timing. I think, for a lot of things here, timing is important but also life goes on. So, I might as well document how I’m doing now.
My identity is an on-going journey. My values, for the most part, have remained steady since I was a kid. My family taught me to respect others, be open to learning new perspectives, and a big one was always “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at
Where do I pick up?
That seems to be a common theme here on my blog. I’m someone who enjoys reflecting and a big part, for me, is to write out my feelings in a cohesive way. It’s cathartic for me to look back and articulate my experiences into a story.
First off, I’m officially a Peace Corps volunteer! After 9.5 weeks of non-stop training, we had our volunteer swear-in ceremony where
