The stories and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly my own and do not necessarily reflect those held by the Peace Corps, United States government or the Ethiopian government. There are many reasons why. I know where your hands have been.

I moved my blog to the more grown-up url of jessicarudder. I have finally overcome that silly preference for privacy and internet anonymity. Internet- come find me! Unfortunately, this means that you have to sign up again to receive email updates sorry about that! It took me months to figure out how to transfer everything so just humor me and re-subscribe! Most muchac.

Portraits are about you, for you, and no one else. Portraits preserve those special moments. So you can look back and remember when . Portraits to hand down from generation to generation. Special projects with more pictures. Or maybe even send us good old-fashion email.

Há coisas que habitam dentro de mim. Outras que me cercam ou estacionam perto de mim. Há suspiros quase mudos,há suspiros que gritam, há fluídos que vazam. Vertigens,paixões,memórias,fantasias e medo. Dores, amores e ardores. Tudo isso vaza,tudo isso escorre. Quinta-feira, maio 30, 2013. As vezes ouço passar o vento;. Terça-feira, abril 30, 2013. Deixei uma ave me amanhecer. Meus olhos, é assim.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012. Reflecting on two years is difficult -impossible to deconstruct in a short blog post- but some immediate thoughts have been swirling around my mind. Could I have done more? Am I glad I joined the Peace Corps? But Panama has also changed us in ways that we may.