06 Dec Featured Blogger: Gloria of La Pateperro

Every blogger has a unique journey and style to share with the world. It’s our hope that Blogging Abroad can be a safe place for online story-tellers to exchange ideas, hone their craft, and support each other in promoting cross-cultural understanding online. In today’s post, we’d like to introduce you to a blogger from our community who just started her Peace Corps blog five months ago. We interviewed her about her perspective on the challenges and lessons learned so far – maybe you can relate…

Blogger, Gloria (left), with another member of her Peace Corps cohort at their swearing in ceremony.

Blog URL: http://www.lapateperro.com

Hometown: AR, then NC, but now Texas is home base.

Education/Work Background: I have a Bachelor’s in Spanish, MSW (Masters in Social Work), and am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Peace Corps Placement (location and job): Youth in Development volunteer in Costa Rica.

How long have you been blogging?: I’ve blogged off and on over the years, but I have never been serious about it until now. I started this blog while in Peace Corps training.

What are the top reasons you chose to keep a blog while living abroad? I originally started this blog so my family and friends could keep up with what was going on during my service. However, after doing the Blogging Abroad course and realizing what all my community has to offer, I realized this would be a wonderful educational opportunity for others to learn about Osa, or the Zona Sur in general. This area is rich with biodiversity, indigenous culture, and beautiful souls who have made me feel at home. I want to share all that with anyone who is willing to read!

The Colegio Tecnico where Gloria volunteers in Costa Rica

Are there any challenges you’ve encountered with blogging while abroad? (If yes, have you found strategies to overcome any of them?) Finding consistent internet has been a huge issue, one that I haven’t quite figured out yet. I got a lot of good ideas from the blogging course, but sometimes I have a hard time putting things into words to adequately explain my heart about this place. I have a few ideas for some smaller posts like: what things cost, transportation, that kind of thing. It’s taking a little longer to put together than I thought it would.

What has been most rewarding about blogging? I’m much more aware of my surroundings in the sense that I’m always looking for things that would be interesting to share with others. It’s helped me start conversations with a lot more people and ask questions that I might have looked over before.

What advice would you give to new bloggers following in your footsteps? I think this experience is teaching me not to compare my blog to other blogs because each one is going to be very different. Also, be patient with yourself and your blog and give yourself time to figure out its personality. It’s likely that it will turn into something that wasn’t expected, and very likely better than was expected!