- Paraguay
About Program
Spend your summer in Paraguay’s capital city practicing Spanish as it’s spoken by locals. On this 7-week program, you’ll get the full immersion experience by taking language lessons and living with a local host family in or near Asunción. Your language teachers will focus on interactive learning and complement their lessons with cultural exploration. On Saturdays, you’ll visit nearby markets that specialize in ethnic handicrafts, giving you the opportunity to put your language skills to the test.
About a month into your stay, you’ll have the opportunity to go on a weekend-long trip outside of your host community. Past trips have been to places like San Bernardino (a popular summer resort), Encarnacion (near the Jesuit missions in Itapua), and Ciudad del Este (near Itaipu, the biggest dam in the world), and Iguazu Falls. This is your chance to accelerate your Spanish while traveling the world and becoming part of an international community!
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Diversity & Inclusion 💙
BIPOC Support
LGBTQIA+ Support
Accessibility Support
Summer soccer:
This six-week program is an ideal mix of intercultural experience and intensive soccer training in a culture that puts soccer at the top of their priority list. You will have 2-hour trainings, gym workouts and scrimmages twice a day, five days per week, offered by the Soccer School of the well-known football club: Club Cerro Porteño, one of the oldest and most popular Paraguayan teams. Training instruction will be given primarily in Spanish but English terminology will be used as well.
You do not need to speak Spanish in order to participate. During evenings and weekends, you will be free to spend time with your host family and to get to know the local community. Additional information, including a daily schedule, will be provided prior to departure. Be sure to bring your boots, shin guards, socks, and any other gear you need in order to play (no need to bring a ball).
Summer community service:
This six-week summer program will give you an unforgettable experience through engaging in community service, living with a Paraguayan host family, and making friends from around the world. Projects range widely and appeal to a number of different passions and skills; past opportunities have included volunteering at a community center or special needs school or working at an environmental foundation. Host families in Paraguay, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid.
They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives. The projects you can choose from include working with children, being a teacher's aide at a school, or helping a nurse with healthcare. There is also the possibility of working in the Moises Bertoni Foundation's offices helping with environmental projects, but you need to have intermediate Spanish skills. No prior language experience is required for the other projects.
Program Highlights
- Immerse yourself in Spanish – the best way to become fluent.
- Make connections and memories you'll never forget with other AFS exchange students from all over the world.
- Live with a host family to deepen your immersion and connection to Paraguayan culture. If you’re like most AFSers, you won’t want to leave this second family and home.
- Sample delicious Paraguayan cuisine, including mandioca (cassava), sopa Paraguaya (cornbread baked with cheese, onions, and sometimes meat), and empanadas (deep-fried meat or vegetable turnovers).
- Become a global citizen. Gain intercultural communication skills. Build your college and career resume. Help create a more peaceful, understanding world.
