What inspired you to travel abroad?
My mother went abroad with AFS when she was my age, and I grew up hearing stories and listening to her read me some children's books in Danish. I've always had a spark of wanderlust and an interest in language learning, so it was almost a given that I would follow in my mother's footsteps and do my own gap year abroad.
Why did you choose AFS-USA?
My family has had ties to AFS for decades, and it was a trusted program that me and my family felt comfortable with. We agreed with the organization's values and commitments and felt confident that the staff could handle my dietary needs (I have a severe allergy) to the level needed for me to participate comfortably in the program.
Me on my 19th birthday, celebrating with my host family.
What was your favorite part about Paraguay?
I loved the food and the people! Lots of the meals I ate were homemade, and everyone I met was warm, and inviting, and never let me feel left out.
I had lots of classmates who were eager to share Paraguayan traditions and culture with me, which helped me immerse. My city had good transportation links to the capital, and it was easy to get around on my own.
What made your experience abroad extraordinary?
My host sister! She is similar in age to me, and we have a lot of shared interests such as language learning and reading. We spent lots of time together, she helped me a lot with questions about the Spanish language, and in turn, I helped her with her questions about the English language and grammar. She was a friend from day one!
How did the local program staff support you throughout your program?
Whenever I had questions, I knew I could always text or call my consejera, and she would help answer my questions and provide me with resources if needed. I had a difficult familial situation happen back home while on program, and support staff were in contact with me to share options if I needed to travel back.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?
I wish I had traveled in the country more. I did some traveling outside of Paraguay, and I definitely did travel within the country, but I wish I had explored more of the northern part of the country. It was a bit difficult to travel due to my program's rules, but I wish I had tried harder to find a way to do so.
The day I met my Paraguayan host family!
Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.
- I would wake up around 7 am, and eat a bit of breakfast.
- Head to school by 8 am.
- I had classes most days until 12:30 pm, and then I would walk back home.
- I would eat lunch, then have a siesta for an hour or two (which is traditional in my host country).
- After the siesta, I would read, do homework, or help with chores/meals, depending on the day.
- If my host sister didn't have too much of her own classwork to do, we'd watch a movie together sometimes.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?
I enjoyed hanging out with friends! I liked exploring the capital city and walking around to find interesting shops and sights, which gave me lots of opportunities to try new foods and buy souvenirs for myself and my family back home. I also hung out in some of the city's malls a lot, since they had lots of things to do, such as watching movies.
What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?
I lived with a host family, consisting of a mother and daughter; my favorite part of it was my host sister, who was my age and was in the same class as me for the first half of my program. She was a huge help to me while I was getting established in the country, including, including me in her friend group and introducing me to new people.
What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?
The country is more conservative in terms of dress sense, but it's not uncommon to wear tank tops and shorts in the home to help combat the heat! I was worried I wouldn't be able to wear some of my clothing, but I was able to dress comfortably.
They should also know that Paraguay is bilingual and the indigenous language, Guaraní, is very common to hear across the country, especially used as slang.
Egypt during a work trip for AFS.
Would you recommend AFS-USA to others? Why?
Yes! AFS had lots of resources available to me and my sending contact was always happy to answer questions or get me in contact with returnees of my program if I wanted.
I felt supported while on the program and knew who my contacts were if I ever had issues. My local consejera checked in with me frequently and also answered questions via text as needed.
What do you feel the biggest benefit of traveling abroad is?
Meeting new people and expanding your worldview. Meeting people from abroad showed me that there are so many cool traditions and cultures out there, and people love to share their lives with others! I loved making connections to countries that I haven't visited through stories of the people who have lived there.
Our world is only growing more interconnected, and especially now, it's more important than ever to take yourself outside of your comfort zone a bit to make these connections and memories.
Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?
I ended up going to college abroad for my entire degree, which I also loved as a completely different experience to my exchange. I've been able to travel and meet up with friends that I met during my exchange, and have learned more about their home countries because of it. It has given me a love for travel and intercultural communication that I want to continue with for the rest of my life and help expose others to the same.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
To me, it means stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something that you wouldn't think of doing back home. It's acknowledging that there are differences between cultures, but keeping in mind that differences do not mean good or bad. It's making connections to the place you travel, whether that's through people, food, or experiences, and keeping that experience close to heart as a learning moment to take forward.
