A Volunteer’s Easter

I’m a sucker for holidays, and what’s not to love?  You have a great reason to celebrate with friends and family and there’s usually good food involved.  Things can get pretty lonely out in the campo, so needless to say we volunteers can take holidays quite seriously.  I usually celebrate double- once with my community and a second time with other volunteers who have a bit better understanding of the holiday and culture behind it. 

Though Holy Week, Semana Santa, is observed here in Panama, Easter doesn’t seem to be a very big deal- especially not in the commercialized way Americans tend to treat most holidays.  While I am definitely a fan of keeping true to the true reason for celebration, I can’t help but have a soft spot for Easter egg hunts and candy.  It’s my sweet tooth and I really don’t think it can be helped.  

Part One of my Easter, the community part, was celebrated on Good Friday with a delicious lunch and Easter Egg hunt for some of the local kids.  I even made some Easter egg coloring pages that they went to town on.  

Christina, who’s a water and sanitation volunteer from a small town about 2 hours away, was already planning on spending the weekend at my house so that we could help out with Travis’ (my neighboring volunteer) water committee meeting on Saturday.  Since Easter was also this past weekend, we decided to make the best of an already fun get-together and have a little Easter brunch. 

Makeshift Easter Baskets.  

Even though we were limited by non-perishable ingredients and my little one-burner gas stove, we managed to make whole wheat rolls, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes, salad with lemon vinaigrette dressing, a watermelon filled fruit bowl, frosted cinnamon rolls, coffee AND a sparkling wine/sangria concoction.  It was seriously awesome.  

Though nothing will compare to spending holidays with your family at home, it was great to have an opportunity to share some American culture with my community and to have some more guests (and delicious food!) at my house.  Thanks to Christina and Travis for stopping by!