Blog

(July 18, 2024) We are excited to introduce a new initiative that brings together our passionate and diverse community in a unique and enriching way – the PiLA Book Club! This book club aims to foster a deeper understanding of the cultural, social, and historical contexts of the regions we serve, while also providing a platform for meaningful discussion and connection among our members.

(April 15, 2024) Princeton in Latin America is pleased to announce our 2024/25 cohort of fellows, the first since operations were suspended during the Covid pandemic.  This year’s cohort will include 14 fellows who will be working with 6 host organizations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Mexico.

It's hard to believe our remote 2020-2021 Fellows have all finished their placements and that we're moving on to a brand new cycle of remote PiLA experiences! We're excited to be working again with partner organizations Endeavor Mexico, EARTH University, and Partners for Andean Community Health (PACH); all of whom hosted remote PiLA Fellows last year.

We're excited to present PiLA's first virtual Speaker Series!

Please join us for Conversations with PiLA Partners, Fellows, and Friends.

Although I'm less than halfway through my PiLA fellowship -- five months and one day to be exact -- I feel like I've become a member of both the community of Patzún, Guatemala and my host organization, the Women's Justice Initiative (WJI). To my surprise, it took only a few weeks for me to feel welcomed and settled as a member of the team, despite all the barriers I had created in my mind.

When I received news a year and a half ago that I had been accepted as the PiLA fellow at the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, I felt a massive rush of conflicting emotions. I was ecstatic about the new opportunity, hopeful that I would learn and grow, but at the same time very scared to be doing this alone, as the only Princeton fellow in San José, Costa Rica.

I realized I was in love with the Dominican Republic while I was waiting on the side of a street making googly eyes at a baby and the parents, amused and unafraid, offered me the child to hold and a chair to sit on. The love took a while to hit. From the start, living in the DR and working at the education and community development organization The DREAM Project inspired and pushed me.

According to legend, the Aztecs determined where to permanently settle based on a sign from the gods: an eagle, eating a snake, perched on a cactus.  As they navigated the land that is today Mexico City, the eagle, eating a snake, on a cactus, sat on a tiny island surrounded by a massive lake. Recognizing the sign from the gods, the Aztecs expanded the island to make it habitable, filling the water with soil and sand.

Whatever language we use to describe them, relationships are central to a sense of community and personal well-being. Reflecting on our first months at Pueblo a Pueblo, we find that friendships and partnerships are also important to our work here in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala.