In this interview, we hear from Audrey Jakubowski. Audrey is working as a Environment Peace Corps volunteer in Panama. What Audrey 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. Audrey talks about living in a different country, working with local people, and dealing with surprise situations. Join us as we learn about Audrey’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
- Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. Tell us more about serving as an Environment volunteer in Panama
My role here in Panama is with the Community Environmental Conservation (CEC) program – ‘community’ is aptly included in the title since it is a central aspect of all my work. My cohort of CEC volunteers and I were taught to enter our communities with an open mind, leaving behind any notion of what projects we “should” work on, because that is for the community to decide. An essential duty of a CEC volunteer is integration, particularly during the first three months, which are dedicated to developing relationships before starting any conservation project. The intention is that CEC volunteers first get to know community members and learn from their insights about strengths and challenges in the local environment.
After the first three months, we work with counterparts to co-facilitate a community meeting in which the identified challenges are discussed and voted on which should be given priority. In those first three months, my life was fairly fast-paced, filled with social events and walking from house to house introducing myself, to get to know as many people as possible. Since then, every day has looked a little different for me, depending on the school calendar, local events, and other projects in which I’m involved.
My counterparts and I started an eco club, which is one of the main ways we have been able to promote environmental conservation outside of the school. We typically meet in the evening time or early mornings during the weekend, as to avoid the heat. Generally speaking, the pace has calmed down since my arrival, and I’ve been able to enjoy aspects of a slower lifestyle, such as reading, cooking, and spending time with my neighbors.
2. What motivated you to join the Peace Corps and choose Panama?
Growing up, a close family friend who had been a Peace Corps volunteer shared the positive impact the experience had on his life, both for his personal development and his career growth. The opportunity to learn a new culture and language, learn more about myself, and work alongside communities to improve the environment inspired me to apply for the Peace Corps. I chose Panama because I wanted to improve the little Spanish I knew, and the CEC program was a good fit for my interests and background.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. Tell us more about your home situation
My community can be described as a quaint town located on a route connecting larger municipalities. Sometimes my neighbors jokingly call our town a city, because, despite the rural surroundings, its central location has a consistent flow of traffic that allows local businesses to thrive.
For the first three months in my community, I lived with a lovely host family who welcomed me into their home and social scene. Their house is a popular gathering space, so while I was living with them, I was able to meet many people from the community and neighboring towns. Those early months were a learning curve for my Spanish-speaking skills; my head would be buzzing from thinking and speaking in Spanish.
Now I live on my own, but I still see my host family often for birthday parties and bingo games. It’s great getting to cook for myself since I enjoy taking my time to learn new recipes, and living alone has given me an appreciation for all the work that goes into maintaining a home. The street I live on is a little quieter, but we have our own social gatherings – typically evenings spent on a neighbor’s front patio telling stories. These evenings help me tremendously with my Spanish!
4. Any memorable experiences or interactions you’ve had?
There have been many small, joy-filled moments that I feel grateful for, one of which even served as a relief to homesickness that I had not yet realized. My counterpart has always been really great about inviting me to events with her, but for the first few weeks of getting to know her, I felt the need to act professionally around her at all times.
One car ride back from an event, she connected her phone to the speaker and began playing hit songs in English. At first, I thought she was playing songs in English for my benefit, but I soon realized she knew every word. We spent the rest of the car ride singing along to songs by Coldplay and Linkin Park, and I felt like I could drop my guard of ‘professionalism’ for the first time.
After the car ride, I realized how relieved I felt to have done something as familiar as blasting music in a car with a friend, something that I did not foresee missing as much as I did. Amidst the newness of living in a different culture, speaking a different language, and being far from family, it was a beautiful moment to feel familiarity with a new friend.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about challenges in Panama?
One challenge that surprised me was the variability in climate throughout Panama. Before arriving here, I heard Panama has two seasons: rainy and less rainy. For someone who loves the rain, I thought I would enjoy this climate, even though I knew that it would be hotter than what is familiar to me.
In my region of Panama, however, it is known for being hot and dry, and it took me a while to get adjusted to this combination. During summer, the heat can be brutal and water scarcity makes it extra challenging. I usually deal with the heat by spending peak sun hours indoors or in the shade… and by eating many duros – a delicious and frozen Panamanian treat.
We still have a rainy season, but it was only about 3 months out of last year. Not having a long rainy season has proven to have advantages, such as easier scheduling for outdoor activities, but I thoroughly enjoy the vivid greenery that returns to our community with heavy rain.
6. What challenges did you face while working on Environment projects?
One challenge my counterpart and I had was getting consistent engagement at our eco-club events. Our community is very active with sports, religious worship, and local business endeavors; there is a “go-getter” mentality in town that I respect and appreciate. It also means that there are a lot of events vying for people’s time, so with the creation of our eco-club, we had an immediate engagement that dropped off shortly after as folks returned to their other commitments.
To encourage members of the eco-club to participate more often, my counterpart had the idea to create a schedule for two months full of events such as trash clean-ups, talks about environmental issues, movie nights, and fundraising events. The members with the highest attendance during those two months won a free day trip to a beach that was paid for using funds from the eco club.
This method of encouragement was a huge success! Not only did we boost participation during those two months, but the eco-club members were able to bond and enjoy the events, which led to consistent involvement that remains now – over six months later.
7. Could you share some of the secondary projects you have been involved?
Since arriving in my community, many people have opened up to me about their desire to learn English. Teaching English became a secondary project I knew I wanted to do during my service, almost as a way of thanking my community for all of their help and patience in teaching me Spanish. Although I had never taught English, my mother works as an ESL teacher back home, so I was able to reach out to her for resources and advice. Previous volunteers in Panama had also put together an incredibly helpful guide on teaching a basic English course.
I found summer to be the perfect time to start classes since school was out of session and I had more free time on my hands. Since children and adults alike had expressed interest in learning English, I led classes for kids in the day and adults in the evening, after they got home from work. The classes had a great turnout, and I found it rewarding work to watch each age group make advances; “poco a poco” or “little by little” I told them, just as they had encouraged me.
We’re planning another course for the kids when summer starts again, and an evening course for adults before then. Now I understand why my mother loves her job so much, and sharing stories with her was another layer that made this secondary project special.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to someone considering serving as an Environment volunteer in Panama?
If you’re thinking about becoming an environmental volunteer in Panama, I would recommend browsing around the Peace Corps’ website specific to Panama. One sentiment I heard a lot while going through the application process was ‘Every experience in the Peace Corps is unique, even in the same country, even in the same sector.’
A little over one year into my service I can confirm the truth in that sentiment. My fellow environmental volunteers have experiences completely unique to my own, even if they are living only a few miles away. On the website, there are other personal stories about life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama, as well as information on typical living conditions, and which programs are offered. If you’re most passionate about sustainable agriculture, for example, there is currently a specific program for that in Panama.
9. How has the Peace Corps training helped you during your service?
During Pre-Service Training (PST), a lot of the focus was on language acquisition, which I loved – considering that was one of the reasons I wanted to join the Peace Corps. I was impressed with the quality of language training we received in such a short period of time, and I appreciated that all of the Language and Culture Facilitators were from Panama, so not only were we able to learn Panamanian Spanish, but we also learned some personal anecdotes about Panamanian culture.
PST also focused a good deal on how to best integrate into our communities and the importance of developing relationships prior to starting projects. In-Service Training (IST) focused more on technical conservation skills, expanding on foundational knowledge that we only began to cover in PST. Prior to IST, the CEC staff sent out a survey inquiring about the environmental topics our communities were most interested in, which allowed the staff to tailor the training.
![[ L ] a group of women standing by a table full of food [ R ] group of people selling 2nd hand clothes](https://i0.wp.com/wanderingtheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/collage-1.jpg?resize=735%2C368&ssl=1)
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. Anything that you packed or didn’t pack that you’d like to tell future Panama volunteers?
I highly recommend bringing lightweight clothes to wear while hanging around the house! As previously mentioned, my experience with Panama’s climate has been hot, and I wish I had brought more lightweight, breathable clothes. When I work in the school, the attire is more professional, but shorts and tank tops are my go-to the second I get home.
11. How has learning the language been?
Before coming to Panama, I enrolled in a local conversation class to brush up on the Spanish I learned in high school. While it was nice to be able to hold a basic conversation upon arrival, I would not say it is necessary to learn more than what you know now before staging. The language training we received for the first 10 weeks in the country was excellent, and there were classes for people at every level. The biggest advice I have would be to keep learning once you get to your community, both informally by speaking with neighbors, and also by sitting down with a Spanish dictionary from time to time.
Final Thoughts
12. Any last comments or observations you’d like to pass on to future Panama volunteers?
You might never feel 100% ready, but if you do your research and feel like the Peace Corps aligns with your interests and values, taking the leap of faith to become a volunteer might be just what you need. In my experience, it has been everything I needed and so much more.
What are you waiting for? Opportunities like this don’t come often. If you have a passion for service and an adventurous spirit like Audrey’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.
