Amigos, Panama: Coclé

If you told me that by the end of a single month spent in panama, I would have fully integrated myself into another language and culture, I would have never believed you. On this program I learned much more than just a language. I became part of a family, in a foreign country, all the while speaking a language that wasn't my mother tongue. The first week consisted of a breifing on all the details of the project: customs within the community, language classes, learning the rules of the volunteer handbook, how to run an "ECA", aswell as intermingling with the other volunteers. Our three days at briefing in Santa Clara ended with a Bonfire and the next day we boarded mini-buses along with our supervisor aswell as the other kids along our route. Each volunteer will be assigned a community along with one or two other volunteers. For 3 weeks, they will live alongside their host family and integrate themselves into the community. In doing so, they will form bonds that will last a lifetime. For example, I still talk to my host mother once or twice a week, and I'm able to visit my partner in community once a year even though we live on different coasts. This experience has completely changed the way that I see the world, learning to live in a completely different way, speak a new language, and just all in all, learning to slow down. Over the course of this program, my wellbeing aswell as self confidence improved substantially. Amigos trips are not a once in a lifetime opportunity. It is a summer program that is available to all no matter race, sex, spanish level, or financial status. It is a must for service leadership, and a builds worldly humans at such a young age.