Walter Panko

If you are living in Cuenca and want to improve your Spanish language ability, there are a number of ways to do it. One no-cost way is to visit “Spanish […]

Please don’t call me an expat. I’m an immigrant. Maybe that realization came to me because I grew up with three of four grandparents who emigrated from Europe to the […]

In 2015, U.S. expat Cara Venn, who had spent five years in India before moving to Cuenca, organized the first Cuenca Art Walk. The event was a free self-guided tour […]

I love it when serendipitous events occur, even when they are not pleasant. It reminds me that I can’t control what happens, but I can control my response. When the […]

People witnessing traumatic events from a distance, Cuenca, in the case of the recent earthquake, are susceptible to varying forms of post traumatic stress disorder and may need the help […]

One of the joys of living in Cuenca is the opportunity to enjoy the concerts by both the Cuenca Symphony Orchestra and the University of Cuenca Symphony Orchestra. Just last […]

I’m a firm believer that if I spend time in a place, it is to my benefit to learn the language that the locals speak. Now, before you add a […]

By Walter Panko I had planned to use Part 2 of my “things are different in Ecuador” series to talk about some of the things that, as a recently arrived […]

By Walter Panko There are a lot of things that happen in Ecuador that I didn’t see in the United States. Some are easy to get used to. Others take […]

By Walter Panko August 13th was scheduled to be National Strike Day in Ecuador and my wife and I didn’t know what to expect. We had arrived in Cuenca only […]