In this interview, you’ll hear from Taylor Lewis, a Peace Corps CED (Community Economic Development) volunteer in Paraguay. Taylor shares what daily life looks like, the work being done, and how service has shaped their personal and professional growth. You’ll learn about housing, cultural differences, project work, language learning, and what it’s like to live and work in a new country. This interview offers a real look into Peace Corps service and what future volunteers can expect.
Table of Contents
- Volunteer Experience and Motivation
- Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
- Surprises and Challenges
- Advice and Support
- Practical Tips and Language Learning
- Social Identity
- Impact of Media and Final Thoughts
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. What do you do as a Peace Corps CED volunteer in Paraguay?
As a CED volunteer in Paraguay, my work is focused on youth entrepreneurship, financial education, and supporting local business owners.
A lot of my projects have been based in a local high school, where I co-teach entrepreneurship classes to accounting students. In small groups, they develop business ideas, conduct basic market research, think through costs and pricing, and eventually present a business proposal. I also facilitate youth savings clubs, in which students contribute small amounts each week, keep records, elect officers, and practice basic financial planning.
Outside the classroom, CED work can look very different depending on the community. Some days are structured, like giving a workshop or meeting with a local institution. Other days are spent investing in the relationships that make future projects possible. This might mean drinking tereré with a neighbor or sharing lunch with fellow teachers.
2. Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and serve in Paraguay?
I’ve always known about the Peace Corps. My parents served together as volunteers, and soon after I was born, they began working as employees for the organization. I spent my childhood overseas, raised around the idea that service, cultural exchange, and living abroad could be a normal and meaningful part of life.
You might think that would have made me eager to be a Peace Corps volunteer one day, but for a long time I resisted the idea. A part of me wanted to forge my own path, but I had also grown up close enough to the experience to see through some of the more romantic expectations that people sometimes have before applying.
Studying economic development in college added to my hesitancy. I became wary of development initiatives that began with good intentions but lacked clear ways to measure impact or respond to what communities actually needed. After graduating, I started working at an economic consulting firm. It was a fast-paced private-sector environment, and I learned a lot about data analysis, markets, and team management. But over time, I felt disconnected from the global perspective I had grown up with, and I wanted to work closer to everyday economic decision-making.
Ultimately, I joined the Peace Corps because I knew I still had a lot to learn about the world, and that learning would not come only from Excel formulas or more time in the classroom. Although I had originally applied for a CED position in Moldova, I mentioned in my application that I was open to other posts. Peace Corps offered me Paraguay, and I was excited by the reassignment. The country has a deep culture, strong community ties, and a complicated economic reality where informal entrepreneurship plays a major role. Given my love for languages, the opportunity to study Guaraní also drew me to the post.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. What is your housing like in Paraguay?
During service, I experienced living both with a host family and independently. My time with my host family was one of the most important parts of integration. It helped me understand daily routines, food, humor, family dynamics, and the pace of life in a way I never could have learned from training alone.
After a few months with my host family, I had the option to find my own place. Because my site is urban, there were several centrally located apartments available. Instead, I chose to rent a small house a bit further away from my school. I wanted neighbors, a patio, and to be more connected to one of Paraguay’s national pastimes: sitting outside your front door. Whether gossiping with the neighbors, sharing tereré with friends, or just greeting people as they pass, living in a house has made it easier to feel like I am part of the neighborhood. Living alone means integration must happen much more intentionally.
4. What moments or interactions stand out during your service?
When I think back on my service, I remember the small moments more than anything else. Throwing firecrackers on New Year’s Eve with children in the neighborhood, wading through packed crowds with my host family during my city’s annual patron saint celebrations, making chipa with my students during Holy Week. None of those moments were formal projects, but they are the memories that most define my time in Paraguay. The common thread is that they all center around the relationships I’ve built here.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about living or working in Paraguay?
I was surprised by how relational everything is. In the U.S., we often think of work as something that happens through schedules, emails, meetings, and deadlines. Those things exist in Paraguay, of course, but relationships often come first. I think about it like this: if you are on your way to a meeting and see someone you haven’t seen in a while, it would probably be more polite to stop and catch up for a few minutes than to arrive exactly on time. Even when you do arrive at that meeting, the first half might be small talk. People want to know who you are before they commit to working with you.
I’ve also been surprised by how quickly things seem to be changing, and how uneven that change appears. Paraguay sometimes feels caught between different stages of development at once. At the local market, cash still dominates almost every transaction. But just a few blocks away, near the popular lagoon at the city’s center, gyms, supermarkets, and coffee shops accept QR codes and phone payments. My students are using AI for assignments, even though many of them do not have regular access to computers. There is an unexpected, often jarring juxtaposition between the old and the new.
6. What challenges have you faced in your CED work, and how did you respond?
One challenge in CED is that the work can be abstract. If you’re building a latrine or painting a classroom, people can immediately see the result. But entrepreneurship and financial education can feel less concrete. You have to make workshops enjoyable and relevant quickly. I try to anchor projects in activities with tangible outcomes, such as students saving money for actual goals or creating a real product to sell.
One idea I had was to organize an inter-high school business competition. Students would survey community needs and create a business proposal that they would pitch to a panel of judges. Winners would receive seed money to launch their idea. I secured funding from a local cooperative (a bit like a local bank or credit union) and got approval from school administrators. But, as we were going to launch the event, the students told me they had too much on their plates. We had to call it off.
Students, teachers, and community members all have many demands on their time. A project that seems important to me may not be their top priority. I had to learn not to take that personally. Instead, I tried to listen more carefully, adapt projects, and build around the energy that was already there.
Not every good idea becomes a good project. Sometimes the timing is wrong. Sometimes your counterpart is too busy. Sometimes the project matters more to you than to the community. Learning when to push and when to let go is a big part of service.
7. What secondary projects have you worked on during your service?
My longest-running secondary project has been an English conversation club at a local community cultural center. The club created a space for people to practice English in a relaxed, low-pressure environment through games, discussions, activities, and conversation. It was also a great way to connect with people outside my CED work.
I also helped start a chess club at my high school. We meet during lunch and give students an opportunity to practice and share strategies. I’ve gotten really into the game myself in my free time, so it works great because I enjoy myself just as much as the students!
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to future CED volunteers in Paraguay?
Be patient with the ambiguity. In the beginning, you may feel like you are not doing enough. That is normal. Spend time with people. Show up consistently. Learn names. Ask questions. Paraguay rewards presence.
Also, make your projects simple enough that they can survive without you. A beautiful project that depends entirely on the volunteer is not sustainable. A smaller project that a teacher, student group, or local partner can continue is usually more valuable.
9. How did Peace Corps training prepare you for service?
Pre-Service Training (PST) gave me a great foundation in language, safety, health, culture, and the basic expectations of Peace Corps life. The language training was especially important and interesting, not just for Spanish but for understanding Guaraní and Jopara, which are essential to daily life in Paraguay.
My advice for PST is to take language learning seriously, but also to focus on your relationships outside of training. Practice with your host family. Make mistakes often. Ask about food, jokes, customs, and local expressions. Don’t stress if you can’t understand everything right away. A lot of service only starts making sense once you are actually at site.
I would also tell future volunteers to invest in relationships with their cohort. Your fellow volunteers may become some of your strongest anchors during service. They are the people who understand the strange mix of joy, frustration, loneliness, humor, and growth that comes with being a volunteer. It is important to integrate deeply into your site, but it is also okay to need people who can relate to what you’re going through.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. What would you tell future volunteers to pack—or leave behind?
Pack good closed-toed shoes that can work in both professional and everyday settings. Paraguay can be very hot, so breathable clothing matters. However, it can also get surprisingly cold in the winter. I didn’t bring enough warm, comfortable clothes when I first arrived. Bring sweats, layers, and things that make you feel cozy when the temperature drops.
I would also bring lightweight professional clothes (for men, think polos), a rain jacket, a laptop you trust, a portable charger, a Kindle or e-reader, and small things that make you feel at home. A few meaningful photos or small gifts can be useful for host family conversations and integration.
Leave behind the idea that you need to pack for every possible situation. You can buy most things in Paraguay. I wouldn’t bring a lot of books, super formal clothing, or bulky items that will just sit in your room.
11. How has language learning been for you in Paraguay?
Language learning in Paraguay is unique. Spanish is essential, but Guaraní and Jopara shape daily life. I loved Guaraní when I arrived, and I still do. It can open up doors to understanding Paraguay’s culture and people in ways you wouldn’t expect.
That said, as a CED volunteer in a fairly urban site, I found that investing heavily in my Spanish early in service was actually the most useful choice. I was often in formal settings (meetings with school directors, teachers, municipal staff, and community partners) where Spanish was the main language. Strong Spanish helped me build credibility, explain projects clearly, and participate more fully in professional spaces.
At the same time, learning basic Guaraní and Jopara mattered a lot for integration. Even simple greetings, jokes, and expressions can change how people respond to you. You do not need to become perfect, but you do need to try. Paraguayans will give you a lot of grace if they see that you’re making an effort.
Social Identity
12. How has your personal identity shaped your service experience?
I am often seen in a way that matches many Paraguayans’ image of what an American looks and sounds like. That can make my role easier in some moments, but it also means I often have to push back against narrow ideas of what being from the U.S. means. I remind people that the U.S. is incredibly diverse, and that there is no single way to look, speak, or be American.
Being a young male volunteer has also shaped my experience. In some settings, it has helped me connect through sports, humor, or casual conversation. In other moments, it has made me more aware of gender expectations in Paraguay, which can be more rigid than what I was used to.
13. Did your identity lead to specific challenges or situations?
At gatherings, there can be an expectation to drink beer or to play soccer, even if that is not always what I want to do. Gender roles can also show up in everyday ways: who cooks, who cleans up, who is expected to speak, who is expected to help, or what kinds of activities are seen as masculine or feminine.
I handled those situations by trying to be respectful without pretending to be someone I am not. Sometimes that meant joining in. Sometimes it meant laughing, politely saying no, or finding another way to participate. A lot of integration is learning when to adapt and when to hold your own boundaries.
14. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
Be aware of how you are perceived, not just how you intend to act. Your ethnicity, gender, age, language ability, and education will all affect how people respond to you. But do not let attention become a false sense of importance. As a foreigner, you may sometimes feel like a minor celebrity in your community. However, people have their own lives, worries, families, jobs, and problems. You are not the center of the story. You are, in many ways, just a “bicho raro” people are curious about.
Humility, humor, and consistency go a long way. Laugh at yourself often. Paraguayans, like most people, appreciate someone who can take a joke, especially because small jabs are often part of the humor.
Impact of Media and Final Thoughts
15. If you share content online, how has that shaped your service?
I haven’t shared my service through a blog, social media, or other public platform. In some ways, I am grateful for that. It has allowed me to be more present and to avoid turning my experiences into content.
That said, I do think storytelling matters. Peace Corps service is often misunderstood. It is not a two-year adventure, and it is not a simple story of helping others. It is slower, more relational, more frustrating, and more meaningful than that. If volunteers do share online, I think it is important to do so with care.
16. What final advice would you share with future volunteers?
Try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Most people mean well, and many moments of offense or confusion come from cultural or linguistic misunderstandings. That does not mean you should ignore discomfort, but it does mean to practice patience.
When you are short on language, your actions will speak louder than your words. Show up to things. Ask about people’s families. Make sure people know you care.
Trust community knowledge. If the señora next door tells you it is going to rain, she’s probably right. Don’t do more laundry just because your weather app says otherwise. I learned that one the hard way.
Be kind to yourself. You are doing something really hard. Every volunteer has a radically different site and situation, so comparisons are mostly futile. You will probably make them anyway.
Invest in relationships. Sit on the patio. Drink tereré. Laugh at yourself. Let people tease you a little. Ask questions. Remember that many of the most important parts of service will never fit neatly into a project report on VRG (the system we use to record our activities).
Peace Corps is not easy, and it is not always romantic. But if you let it, it can make you more humble, more patient, and more serious about what it means to work with people rather than simply for them.
Are you thinking about joining the Peace Corps? If you’re curious about service and ready for something new, apply today. Like Taylor, you can live abroad, work with communities, and grow in ways you didn’t expect. Apply to the Peace Corps and take the next step.
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or Paraguay Government.
