Four new Darien volunteers and me after their official swear-in ceremony.

All Peace Corps volunteers commit to 26-27 months abroad- 2-3 months of training and then two years of service in their host community. Though the experience is truly wonderful and life-changing, most volunteers are more than ready to head home at the end of those long 26 months. There are some volunteers, however, that just aren't quite ready to leave yet. 

As you may have noticed from my previous blogs, I accepted a third-year extension with the United States Peace Corps in Panama, extending my original leave date from August 2015 to September 2016. Here in Panama, volunteers have the option to extend in their host community, as a technical adviser, or as a regional coordinator. Having already served as the national agribusiness coordinator (you can read more about that here and here) and looking for further leadership roles to strengthen a future MBA application, I decided to apply for the position as regional coordinator (also known as a regional leader). 

After saying goodbye to my sweet community members in July, my dog and I moved across the country- frontera to frontera, so that I could begin my term as regional leader of the Darien province. As regional leader, my job encompasses lots of different aspects, but it (almost) all boils down to one thing: volunteer support. Currently there are almost 20 volunteers working across my region, and we're preparing to receive 12 more in July. My job is to do everything I can to make sure each of those volunteers is having a happy and productive service. So how do I support volunteers when some live 6+ hours away, don't have phone signal, and others still haven't even arrived in Panama yet? 

Hiking into a new Peace Corps site

Site Preparation. Peace Corps fosters relationships between people and cultures. Obviously, we could never do that successfully if we just showed up and demanded to be accepted as a local, so a lot of work and effort is put into building relationships with communities before volunteers even arrive ib Panama! Peace Corps only works in countries where we have been invited by the local government, and we follow that all the way down to the community level. I have the really fun job of visiting potential communities to share the mission and work of Peace Corps. Generally, I spend a day or two just visiting people, sharing stories and genuinely getting to know them. If after getting to know me, and through me the work of Peace Corps, the community as a whole decides that they would like their own volunteer, than I help them through the application process of applying to receive a Peace Corps volunteer. Seeing their anticipation and calming their worries has been one of the sweetest and most eye-opening experiences thus far.

Agency Visits. Peace Corps volunteers come into their communities with little to no money for projects, with the goal of obtaining locally sustainable projects and funding. Oftentimes we work as the link between our rural communities and Panamanian and/or international development agencies. When campaigning for your cause, it always helps to have an in with the people who make decisions about what communities receive projects, so another big part of my job is building relationships between Peace Corps and these gatekeepers and decision-makers.  I've had to completely re-learn how to network, since many of the things that would be a definite "No" in the United States are very common here. For example, it is very common to text about business, use personal email addresses and phone numbers and it's absolutely normal to start a meeting by asking all about the other person's family, children, birthday party that happened last week, etc.  Personally, I love this custom!  I really enjoy getting to know the people I work with, and I feel like putting up a wall between your personal and professional life really limits that.

Volunteer Visits.  Volunteer support is a big part of my new role as regional leader, so I make a point to visit volunteers in their sites and listen to what’s going on - the good, the bad, and the ugly (Peace Corps volunteers can have some of  the grossest issues imaginable.)  I also like to meet a few community members while I'm there, since seeing their love and respect for their volunteer is one of the sweetest things to brighten up my day. 

Hosting volunteers. Since I live in the regional hub, many volunteers stay at my house on the way into or out of their sites.  It can  be really challenging and stressful to serve as a volunteer in remote access sites, so I love to surprise visitors with homemade dinners or a package of cookies to go.  My dog, Massy, took to his role as house dog quite well and also liked to support volunteers with ample snuggles and excited tail waggles. 

Me in front of my house in Darien

Volunteer sleepover at my house!

Planning regional events.  In addition to quarterly meetings for all regional volunteers and office representatives, I also plan agency visits and fun volunteer activities.  Peace Corps Panama volunteers generally get together after each regional meeting to do something fun and spend time together.  Regions like Bocas del Toro and Cocle (and essentially every province except for Darien) have beautiful beaches, but out here on the East side we have to be slightly more creative.  So, every few months we host a big goat roast.  It's a fun day filled with cooking, friends and so much food, and it's my job to plan.  I love cooking and eating delicious food, so our quarterly goat roasts are my favorite events to plan.

Volunteers after a regional meeting

Overall, my third year as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama is shaping up to be very different from the first two. Living conditions aside (I have electricity! And phone signal!), my job has taken me across the eastern side of Panama and taught me quite a bit, even in the short time that I've been working here. I've been able to practice my formal Spanish, network with local and international development agencies, serve as the liaison between our central office and the 20 volunteers in Darien, support volunteers both personally and professionally, and build lasting relationships with wonderful communities and the people who live there. In six short months, I'll complete my Peace Corps service and return to the United States.  Until then, I look forward to sharing my thoughts and work with you!