Posts

Month 17: Summer! South America version

Image
 Hello hellooooo!! So sorry about my extended absence. These past 2 months have been such a whirlwind. There's so much to catch you up on! February was a month that felt like it sped by in the blink of an eye. This was due to one main thing....I went on vacation for half of it. Yes, due to my first full month of summer without obligations, I decided to skip town for a bit and cross the border to the beautiful country of Brazil. This trip was for two main reasons...the cultural festival of Carnival....and seeing one of my favorite artists live in concert. We'll get to that in a second though. Before I embarked on this journey, I took a trip down South to visit my friends Sam and Rhayne. Not only was this due to the fact that I didn't want to watch the Super Bowl alone, it was also due to the fact that Sam and Rhayne have something very special in their site - the Jesuit Ruins. In 1588, the Jesuits arrived in Paraguay with  the permission of King Felipe II of Spain to impleme...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 18: Green Thumbs & Family Reunions

Image
 WOOOOOOO!!! Back at you with this double feature. Welcome back teehee. When we left off, I had just started back up at the school. This school year, I was determined to do things a bit differently. Last year, I did some lectures about trash management and recycling practices, but I mostly taught English. This was great for integrating and getting all the kids used to me, but I really wanted to do more. Hence, this year I gave myself 3 main projects: 1) A school garden in my school 2) Working with a NEW school on trash management and recycling 3) Establishing trash collection in my community Now, these are big goals, especially the last one. Going from everyone burning trash to getting a regular collection service is no small task. So I began setting up meetings with the local municipality to see what could be done, and if we could organize a trash truck being sent to my community, even if it was just once a month. The reality is I don't have much to update on for this initiative. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 16: Every Mountain Has a Valley

Image
 HI!!! Welcome back. Happy 2026. Let's recap! While I try my best to focus on the positives of my Peace Corps experience, the reality is that this past month (really more like month and a half), has been one of my lowest points of service. 2025 ended with what was supposed to be a lovely girls trip to Buenos Aires and then to Punta del Este, Uruguay for New Year's Eve. Due to some rather scary events, we spent a good chunk of this trip in the hospital due to a medical emergency. It's no one's ideal vacation to be frantically speaking to doctors in your second language in a foreign country, but we made it through. What's most important is that everyone is safe, happy, and healthy now. But it's definitely not how I pictured starting my 2026. On the bright side, I got to touch the ocean for the first time in over a year! The Rhody girl in me was very very happy, and just look at these views! The day I got back to site after this trip, I faced another challenge. Whi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 15: Deja Vu?

Image
HI EVERYONE I'M BACK!! For reasons I probably won't get into until next month, I've had a very chaotic few weeks...so my apologies that this month's post is once again a little late.  Will I be better next month?  Honestly, probably not.  If there's one part of the culture I've fully adopted, it's "Hora Paraguaya", which means absolutely nothing happens at the time it's scheduled to occur. Teehee. Love y'all. Let's get into it! The title of this month is Deja Vu, and for good reason. This month marked not only 15 months in the country of Paraguay, but officially a year of living in my site! Due to this, I started to relive some of my very first experiences from last December. Forgive me, but this post definitely will not be in chronological order due to many different things happen in a very short amount of time. First and foremost, we welcomed a new cohort to the country! C10, a new environment cohort. They're about 33 people, anot...
1 comment
Read more