Amigos de las Americas - Paraguay

My time spent in Paraguay last Summer was something I will keep with me for the rest of my life. I miss it every day and wish I could go back more than anything. What I miss most about it all is the people I met and the relationships I formed. I made great friends with my host family, the people in my community, and other volunteers on the trip. Of course, it was not always easy. I found days (especially when it rained) where I faced extreme boredom, or when I felt like nothing was going to plan. But that's the beauty of it, you NEVER know what to expect. No two people's experiences will ever be the same. I would reccomend amigos de las americas in a heart beat, it was something that changed my life and I can't thank the organization enough for that.

I went to Paraguari, Paraguay for 8 weeks summer of 2011. I had a great time! I worked in a community of about 230 people and my friend and I built latrines, planted trees, ran well over 100 hours of kids educational camps, encouraged participation in a photography project and made efforts to encourage community members to keep their community clean by organizing clean up days and buying trash cans. I had the opportunity to make new friends both in the U.S.A and in Paraguay, improve my Spanish, learn some Guarani, improve my leadership skills and discover the new culture. I am definately excited to volunteer with AMIGOS in the future!

I lived in a community of 250 people outside of Paraguari with two other volunteers from the United States. We worked with the kids and community members every day: building latrines, planning fundraisers, and holding camps for the kids. My host family was the best, and I still keep in touch with them. Everyone always says that AMIGOS changed their life, and that holds true for me as well. This experience was so rewarding and wonderful. Working with youth leaders in Latin American communities shows you how similar we all are, no matter where we come from. I have continued to volunteer with AMIGOS ever since my first summer in Paraguay because it is where I feel the most at home, and where I feel that I can have an important impact on another person's life.

I participated in Amigos in 2010 and was apart of the Paraguai project. While in community we were able to raise money and put electricity in the school and plant 100 trees. I think the thing I enjoyed most was the amazing relationships that I established with my host family and the kids that I spent time with at school. I loved waking up in the morning to take the cows out to the field with my host dad and learning how to cook gizo de arroz and cocido with my host mom.

It was the best opportunity I have ever had to expand my leadership skills and experience true Spanish immersion.
Everybody should participate in this program!!

While in San Pedro, I taught children about the environment and did fun activities with them. Also, my partner and I built 6 fuel efficient stoves and planted 100 baby trees. It was great being in a small community with only 1 other American. Our supervisor would come visit and check on us once a week, but otherwise we were in charge of our own project. It was awesome to have that much responsibility at such a young age(17). Working with the community on sustainable community development was really fun, and making connections with community members was unbelievable.
After coming back from my summer, I definitely saw myself as a more independent and confident person, and that was really cool to see. I would recommend and AMIGOS experience for anyone.

On a day to day basis, I would teach in the school, build part of a fagone, eat lunch at a random families home, play with the kids and hang out at home. At night my family always sat around the fire and talked until bed and ate dinner. It was definitly an amazing experience. We got to do some really cool things that the people of Paraguay do such as make chipa, work in the fields, peal oranges a cool way, cook and play. I wish I could do it again.

The translucent curtain of rain draped across the sky until it dropped onto the earth like a spilled box of pins and needles. Sloshing through pools of red mud and water, my tennis shoes unlaced, and I fell socks-first into a puddle. I hastily gathered the muddied shoes into my arms and sprinted down the moonlit streets, the villagers and I seeking shelter as dogs howled behind us.
We tumbled our way into the bedroom and crowded against each other on the creaking beds. “¡Encienda la tv!” Marciano called, as someone switched on the tiny black box so we could watch Paraguay play Uruguay in the semi-finals of Copa de Latin America. I looked around the room at the people: an old man chattering his teeth in his Paraguay jersey and flip flops, a little boy holding a tin pot over his head pit-pattering with droplets, and a woman breast-feeding her newborn baby. A group of people I had never met were now sharing a cup of tea with me and keeping each other warm from the rain.
Suddenly, everything shut off: the TV and all the lights in the entire house, the entire town. We sat in the silence of the pitch-black room, the only sound, the crisp inhales and moist exhales of our bodies. Thirty seconds later all the lights turned back on, illuminating Jackie, the puppy, taking a gigantic poop right in the middle of the floor.
In that instant I thought back to my family in America. I imagined my black Labrador, defecating on our brand new carpet while we had guests over. I cringed thinking about the chaos that would result from such an act, my mom angry and embarrassed, my siblings and I blaming whoever let the dog in, and my dad rushing to clean up the turd. I sat there on the bed with all those people, anticipating a situation all too awkward yet familiar.
Something else happened instead and is the reason why Jackie’s dump keeps resurfacing in my mind long after I have returned home. Instead of bedlam, I saw my host mother and host sister look at each other briefly, their eyes squint, knees buckle, and grab hold of each other as their bodies smacked against the wall piercing the silence with laughter. It was laughter so deafening, animated, and joyful it was beautiful, so infectious that rest of the room burst into tears howling.
Back home I have encountered many more “crappy” situations, ones that previously would have induced stress or anxiety or anger. However, the memory of Jackie and the laughter of the Paraguayan people allow me to evaluate situations for what they really are and choose to react positively. Their reaction to Jackie’s simple inconvenience and their forgiving attitudes have inspired me to be forgiving as well. Who would have known that a puppie poo could have showed me that an opportunity for something good presents itself in every situation.

Project staff was amazing. I honestly don't think my summer would have been as great without them. And with Suhaly being the Senior PD, you are in the best hands possible. Just remember trankilopa and getting stuff done will clash these 8 weeks, but make every moment count and meet everyone you can.