Before coming to Paraguay, I had my impressions of what it would be like. I thought the people would be cold and unfriendly, they wouldn’t have adequate housing, and they just wouldn’t be happy because of the conditions they lived in. I was wrong.
In fact, my impressions were the polar opposite of the people there. Many people, even those we didn’t know, would always say “Hola,” and the people I met for the first time welcomed me as kin. In the US, many people had joked, saying that in San Juan we would live in huts… well I guess I lived in one of the best huts ever because the house I stayed in was elegant, yet simple. There was hot water and the family even gave me my own room. No one could enter without my permission, which left me awestruck. The most important thing that I learned is that in Paraguay many people do not have great technological advances as we do in the US, but the love that they show for one another would put our iPods and computers to shame. What I learned about this experience is that you shouldn’t make assumptions about people you haven’t met until you walked in their shoes. I was fortunate enough to spend three exciting days with my family in San Juan, Misiones, but I wish that I could do so much more for the people of Paraguay.
I also found the reward of helping people, which makes me feel proud to do this program. At first, I didn’t want to do any form of community service unless it was paid, but afterwards my perspective flipped when I helped the second town we went to in Paraguay, which was Carapegua.
To help the students, we painted a mural on the side of the school. This was to cover up the derogatory word that was scribbled on the wall by a rival school and to allow unity among the students. First, we went to a store with the students of the school and slowly, but surely, started buying supplies to go painting with them. Then we planned an idea of what the school would like as a mural. We then had our idea, which was to draw a globe with North and South America and show how they were in unity among one another. In addition, we dipped our hands in different pastels and paints and put handprints all around the globe, which symbolized unity. A final touch was when we wrote the word “Cuidémoslo”, which means “Let’s take care of it” A few colors and a globe changed the lives of the students for the better. Although we didn’t make any money, the reward of helping people was priceless.
