Disclaimer: The content of this publication is generated by individual volunteers. The opinions and thoughts expressed here do not reflect any position of the United States government or the Peace Corps.
Welcome to OÍSTE, an online blog written and edited by Peace Corps volunteers. As volunteers, each contributor to this publication was selected by the United States government to serve abroad and immerse themselves in a new culture. The gist of the mission is to get very intimate with the communities we are assigned to live and work in throughout our 24 months of service. Following the global evacuation of Peace Corps volunteers because of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent return to service, we re-vamped OÍSTE to share stories and experiences of this — sometimes isolating, often exhilarating — intimacy project.
The Peace Corps’ third goal is to "promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans." With this blog, we hope to give Peace Corps volunteers ample opportunities to share their stories and experiences in Latin America with a wider audience, at home and abroad, through creative expression. This blog is multi-dimensional. We designed this space to phone home. We designed this space to hold Peace Corps staff accountable. We designed this space to be transparent about our experiences and learn from one another. We hope that this is a letter from someone you miss; an honest resource as you navigate your journey through or to the Peace Corps; an entertaining nugget of travel blogging.
Another purpose of this blog is to bridge the distance between Peace Corps volunteers serving in Latin America. Even though our editorial board and contributors are currently limited to Colombia, we hope to expand OÍSTE into a continent-wide publication with pieces written by volunteers from the Dominican Republic, Belize, Costa Rica and more.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about a post in this publication, please feel free to contact the editorial board at oistepeacecorps@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
OÍSTE Staff
OÍSTE Executive Staff: 2025-26
OÍSTE Staff Writers: 2025-26
We are so grateful to our previous executive boards and staff writers for everything they’ve contributed to OÍSTE. Click through to learn more!
