So far this trip has been a complete eye opener. Everything from the language to the food to the traditions are so different. When I first arrived in Carapegua, I was nervous because I have been made very aware that my Spanish is “no bueno”. But after meeting my host family, my anxieties have subsided. As soon as I arrived, the younger sister wanted to help me. She even made me a bracelet—at this point I had only just been introduced to her ten minutes before. The mother and father of the family came in and made sure everything was okay, and that their daughters had done their homework. Then we all watched TV. At that moment I realized maybe we aren’t so different. In fact, besides a few cultural differences, we are more similar than different.
Then today when we started our first project at the school, I realized that this experience is extremely important to the people of Paraguay. As we painted the mural along the school’s outside wall, little kids, bigger kids, and teachers crowded around us and complimented the work we were doing. Everyone was so grateful for our help and everyone was so curious about The United States. Throughout the past six days I have realized that this trip is not only a huge eye opener for me but it is also extremely important for the people of Paraguay.