In this interview, we hear from Alexa Spinosa. Alexa is working as a Peace Corps Youth Development volunteer in Panama. What Alexa shares gives us a better understanding of the work volunteers do. We learn about the challenges, rewards, and personal growth that happens from volunteering in a new place. Alexa talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Alexa’s journey and see how volunteering with Peace Corps can change lives.
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 during Service
- Impact of Media
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Tell us more about serving as a Youth Development volunteer in Panama
The main objective of the youth development program is to teach life skills (i.e. self-esteem, digital literacy, employability, etc.) and work with Youth Service Providers to strengthen their capacities as well.
The program is pretty general, which leaves a lot of room for volunteers to incorporate activities that interest them, like art, sports, environment, or whatever else you want. I’ve done a couple of sports-related projects, but the bulk of my activities have been more related to the environment – it helps that my school has a huge agriculture program, so there is already interest and drive from students and faculty to participate in such activities. I have also been tutoring in English and math because students, parents, and teachers all expressed great interest.
Unfortunately, not a lot of youth really live in my community – they take a bus in for school and leave when classes are over. This can make it difficult to work with youth outside of school hours, so I spend a lot of time at the school and working directly with the teachers.
Outside of school/work, I like to spend time in my community chit-chatting with locals (which usually comes with being gifted plantains, eggs, or yuca), going to the river, or just relaxing in my hammock (given that it’s basically always 95F, this is usually what everyone is doing, locals included).
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Panama?
Admittedly, I did not do a lot of research before applying. I had this drive to do something meaningful with my life, and I somehow learned about the Peace Corps and it just felt right in my bones. I wish there was more, but it was truly just a gut feeling, and maybe a sprinkle of impulsivity, that led me here. This is your sign to trust your intuition, though, because if I could go back in time I would do it all again!
I didn’t apply to Panama specifically. I actually applied for Community Economic Development in Costa Rica – since I studied business in college – but I checked the box that said I would like to be considered for other positions if I don’t get this one, and they ended up offering me Youth Development in Panama. The rest is history!
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation:
During Pre-Service Training (the first ~6 weeks living in Panama, not in our permanent sites), my cohort lived in one of two communities that were next to each other, each trainee with their own host family.
At the end of training, we got assigned our sites and learned about our living situations. To my understanding, volunteers only got a host family if our bosses couldn’t find an available rental option at the time. I, along with one other volunteer, got placed with a host family. This is a temporary (~3 months) arrangement to give the volunteer time to look for a rental option and have the Safety and Security team go through the approval process.
I had a lovely host Mom! It was just her and me, and her daughter would come visit on the weekends. I moved out before Christmas, but they brought me to Panama City with them to spend the holiday with their family, it was so nice.
My community is considered semi-urban, which basically just means we have paved roads and grocery stores! My house is very nice, but it’s funny explaining it to non-Peace Corps people because there are certain aspects I’m eternally grateful for that I just never thought about when I lived in the States.
It’s only about 20 square feet (and I share it with my cat) and the bathroom is in the same room as the bedroom (like literally just a curtain separating the two), but I have a fully sealed roof (so bats can’t get in!), potable running water, plumbing, and quite a large kitchen with stone walls instead of the classic painted concrete. For Peace Corps standards, I’m living in luxury!
During the dry season, it’s pretty common for the water to go out, so it’s important to have plenty of bottles of stored water to use for drinking, washing dishes, and maybe even bathing if you forget to fill your shower bucket.
Surprises and Challenges
4. What has surprised you most about challenges in Panama?
I was mostly surprised that no one really knew why I was there. I had assumed that school faculty were briefed about the program and my role as a volunteer, (and maybe they were but just forgot?) but nobody really knew what I was there for, so explaining that over and over again definitely took some time. I was also pleasantly surprised that, regardless of understanding my role, school faculty and community members alike were so incredibly welcoming and excited to work with me, even if they didn’t know what I was there to do.
5. What challenges did you face while working on Youth Development projects?
Disclaimer: This challenge is very site specific and by no means is it common among the other Youth Development volunteers in my cohort.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced is that there are not a lot of youth that live in my community. Most students live out of town, so when the school day is over or it’s summer, there’s not really anyone around to be able to do projects/activities. The only time available is during school hours, and even that can be challenging because the students are in class, so it can be very challenging to find time to meet with them to have a club or plan an activity. The same thing goes for the teachers – most teachers live outside of the community and all go home once the school day is over. However, the teachers’ schedules during the school day tend to be a bit more open and it’s easier to find availability with them.
My solution? I work a lot with the teachers specifically and plan activities or projects for the students with the teachers so they’re implemented in the classroom and we’re able to use class time to do certain activities. During the summer months when there is no school (or students, or teachers!), I might visit some friends at their sites or spend time with my community members to continue building those relationships.
6. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
Currently, I am implementing a peer tutoring program at the school, with tutoring counting toward the students’ mandatory service hours. Peer tutoring, while popular in the US, is not something that exists here, so this is one of the projects I’m most excited about! I have also assisted in hosting a summer camp and organizing a soccer tournament.
The summer camp was a week-long youth-centered event that involved tutoring English and math, teaching chess, and reinforcing soccer skills. The soccer tournament, which took place during the same summer, involved the 12 neighborhoods in my district and spanned 9 days. During the tournament, families from each of the neighborhoods came out to support their team and sell fresh food and cold drinks.
Advice and Support
7. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as a Youth Development volunteer in Panama?
To start, don’t have any expectations – mainly because nothing will go as expected. You don’t have much control over where you live, what amenities your house will come with, what your community will ask of you, or anything else. You only have control over how you react to what you are given and what you decide to do with it. Take one day at a time.
There will be challenges, failures, and days you feel like you’re not doing enough. Believe me when I say every volunteer feels that at some point, or multiple points. Breathe, take it one day at a time, and believe that in the grand scheme of service, you’re completely fine.
8. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
I need to be honest, Pre-Service Training is so difficult to get through. Not only are you not yet acclimated to the 95F, 70% humidity weather, but most of what you’re taught doesn’t have a ton of context. For example, we had a lot of lessons about camps and clubs and how to hypothetically do that from scratch in our communities, but none of us had any idea what our community would look like or what kinds of clubs would be of interest to students. All of the information was great, but it didn’t seem important or interesting because we didn’t have any background information.
In-Service Training and Mid-Service Training were a lot better. At this point, I had experienced being a volunteer and being at my site for a while, so everything we went over made a lot more sense and felt a lot more useful. It was also so nice to see the people from my cohort again! During Pre-Service Training, you spend 6 weeks together every day and form such close friendships, and then all go your separate ways when you get your site placement. So, it’s great to see everybody again during these training events.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
9. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Panama volunteers?
Since my program is youth development, I work a lot in the school and I was under the impression that I should pack a lot of business casual clothing to wear to the school and for training events. So that was the bulk of what I packed.
I do wear business casual if I’m in the school or going to a Peace Corps training event, but once you get to your site and you kind of figure out your schedule, you might continue to go to the school every day but you also might not. I go to school about three days a week, so I really have no business having all this professional attire with me. I wish I brought more comfortable/casual clothing, like more denim shorts, gym shorts, t-shirts, etc.
That being said, I would also strongly recommend not bringing anything that is near and dear to your heart, as tempting as that is. I know you might want that reminder of home while you’re away for so long, but (at least in Panama) it is so humid all the time and I’ve had things ruined completely because of the constant mold. So, if you’re going to a humid climate I would definitely be aware of that – or you can bring a dry bag to keep that stuff safe. I don’t have one personally, but a friend of mine does and it seems to come in handy quite a bit, especially for your passport or other important documents/things you would want to keep mold-free.
10. How has learning the language been?
I, personally, have been learning Spanish since the first grade because my school had a Spanish immersion program. This means that from first to sixth grade everything was taught in Spanish. I continued taking Spanish classes throughout Middle and High School and then I also majored in Spanish in college.
Before getting to Panama, we all had a verbal test to determine our level of fluency. During Pre-Service Training, all trainees had Spanish classes that were divided between low, intermediate, and advanced levels so that we could all continue to learn and improve during training.
At the end of training, you’re tested again to measure your progress and I’m pretty sure everyone in my cohort placed higher at the end because not only are you learning with a teacher, but you’re also completely immersing yourself by living in Panama and living with the host family.
I really don’t want people who are interested in serving who don’t speak the language to feel discouraged – there were people in my cohort who came in without knowing any Spanish at all, and do you know where they are now? A year and half in, and doing great work!
You learn so much simply through language immersion and asking questions!
Social Identity during Service
11. Service Experience as a Woman
Unfortunately, being a woman in this heavy “machismo” culture can be rough. There is a lot of cat-calling, harassment, etc from male community members, which deters me from going to certain places or events (especially alone) due to safety concerns.
12. Challenges and Triumphs as a Female Volunteer
I have had a couple of safety incidents, one that forced me to move houses, because being the new woman in town can, unfortunately, make you a target. I am truly thankful to the Safety Officers and the other members of our team for how they handled it and the support they offered.
Although the incidents themselves weren’t great to experience, my community was there for me and it ended up strengthening our bond.
13. Advice for Aspiring Female Volunteers
Be strong and be assertive. A lot of the time, certain harassment goes away with time because community members will get to know you and you’ll no longer be the new “gringa” in town. If it doesn’t stop, don’t feel compelled to be nice in order to keep up appearances. I’m not assertive by nature and I tend to smile when I’m nervous – I’m sure you can see how smiling and being nice wouldn’t help these particular situations. I had to suck it up and start standing my ground. Being direct is the only way to handle it.
Impact of Media
14. How do you think your Facebook account contributes to your overall mission as a Peace Corps volunteer?
I don’t really have a blog, specifically, but I made a Facebook account to post about my experiences to keep my friends and family updated.
I do think having a blog, YouTube channel, or whatever it may be, where you’re sharing your experience definitely helps with Peace Corps’ third goal of giving Americans a better understanding of host country nationals and the host country – so in this case Panamanians and Panama.
I also feel like a lot of people don’t really know what Peace Corps is about or what we do, so it’s a really good tool for teaching your friends and family about the experience. And, who knows? It might encourage others to apply!
Alexa’s story gives us a real look at the everyday life of a Youth Development volunteer in Panama. Her honesty, humor, and flexibility show what it means to serve with purpose and patience. From building peer tutoring programs to finding ways to connect with students and teachers, she reminds us that impact often comes from simple, steady effort. For anyone thinking about joining the Peace Corps—or just curious about what it’s like to be a volunteer in Panama—Alexa’s experience offers insight, encouragement, and a good dose of reality.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Alexa‘s, apply to the Peace Corps today. Expand your horizons, push your limits, and create positive impact as a volunteer. You never know how serving as a Peace Corps volunteer could change your life.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Panama Government.
