Today, LearnServe Abroad Paraguay had a wonderful experience working together with Santa Rosalia’s students — to better the school surroundings, and supply them with materials needed to improve the education within the classrooms. Our day started off as usual, by having breakfast with our amazing host families. The very first activity we had when we arrived at Santa Rosalia school was an ice breaker, and we played the game Ninja. For many of the Tobati students, it was a new experience since they’ve never played Ninja before. It made me happy that we could introduce a new and memorable experience through a simple game. I believe by seeing their facial expressions that at first they felt very nervous and uncomfortable trying it out (and making a silly ninja sound didn’t make it any better) but later they seemed more comfortable as it went through. Many of them seemed to really like the game and it also turned into a competition! The Tobati students were even going hard on us — no joke.
The second activity of the day was the reflection for both LearnServe students and Tobati students. Just like us, Tobati students also got to share their experiences within their group and talk about the problems they faced when we first arrived. I believe that it was different for both U.S. students and Tobati students. As American students, we were nervous about food, beds, showers and bathrooms. But when I put myself in the shoes of the Tobati students, I see a whole different side of the same story. Opening their doors to a complete stranger can be a very uncomfortable, but wonderful experience at the same time.
As our day went on, we started working on our projects in Santa Rosalia. The previous day, the Tobati students had talked about the different issues they faced within their school and that helped us to come up with a plan to help improve the community. We worked together with them to solve their different issues. LearnServe students focused on painting classroom doors, finishing up town signs that weren’t fully finished the year before, providing cleaning supplies, planting flowers, and installing 35 missing lightbulbs in the classrooms. We divided into 4-5 different groups and delegated tasks. Some of the groups switched, but in the end it worked out perfectly.
It was honestly an amazing and memorable experience for me. I felt great putting my input into their community and working with them to solve their different problems. I believe that this project is not just about helping the students, but it’s also a self growing and team bonding experience. Yes, traveling is an amazing experience, but traveling with a team full of people passionate about helping others is even more than amazing. Today, I realized that the Paraguay team is full of passionate students. They are willing to work hard in every situation, even when it is more uncomfortable than what other students have to deal with.
Today, I realized that not only I helped the community, but the community also helped me. They gave back to me in a meaningful way. Their experiences helped me step out of my comfort zone and see myself differently. I now see myself as a leader in many occasions. I also learned when to step in and when to step out of leadership roles, depending on the situation. Today was an extraordinary experience and what I experienced today in Tobati, I hope to also experience in the future by helping other communities.
Tobati made me realize that sometimes I do not appreciate what I have and take things for granted, but these students and families living in this community appreciate everything they have and they do not take things for granted. Indeed, they are very thankful people and they also taught me how to stay humble. The whole Santa Rosalia community helped me see different perspectives and truly impacted me in ways I could never imagine, and in many different aspects of life: my passion and commitment for helping others, communication skills, decision-making capabilities, and holding myself accountable at all times. I also want to thank the whole Tobati community for opening their doors to strangers (us) and for taking us in as their own family. For sharing their culture and their traditions and within their culture, their delicious food and drinks. I loved Mate, Tereré and Cocido — absolutely my favorite drinks here in Paraguay.
Lastly, I want to thank our amazing trip leaders, Lauren and Flo for guiding me through this process of community service abroad, human centered design activities, and their guidance throughout the trip as a whole. There’s just one more thing I want to say, empowered women, empower women. Flo and Lauren, thank you for your guidance.
Ashley M., Rockville High School