In this interview, you’ll hear from Scarlett Richardson, a Peace Corps Health volunteer in Paraguay. Scarlett 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.
Volunteer Experience and Motivation
1. What do you do as a Peace Corps Health volunteer in Paraguay?
As a Peace Corps Health Volunteer in Paraguay, I work as a youth health promoter alongside my local health post counterparts, primarily focusing on adolescents aged 10–19.
I support weekly activities at the health post, including a children’s health club held at a local church, where we run interactive and engaging health lessons. I also participate in “charlas” (health talks) in the waiting room with the health team at least once a week. We cover topics like diabetes prevention, oral health, mental health, nutrition, and healthy lifestyle habits. I make the sessions more dynamic by using big posters with graphs, quotes, statistics, and images that I draw myself.
In addition, I join community outreach activities organized by the health post, such as leading exercise sessions at retirement homes, supporting vaccination days by helping comfort children and giving out candy, and participating in a government program distributing powdered milk to children under 5. I also deliver interactive health education sessions in schools alongside my counterparts. During school breaks, I help run summer and winter camps at the health post to keep children engaged and active, including sports activities, art classes, cooking workshops, yoga, and other interactive learning experiences.
2. Why did you decide to join the Peace Corps and serve in Paraguay?
I had always wanted to join the Peace Corps ever since representatives visited my high school. I heard about it again in college when more Peace Corps representatives came to speak, and the idea always stayed in the back of my mind. Living in a different country, learning a new culture, and doing grassroots work has always been something that interested me. However, life got busy, and joining the Peace Corps remained just a dream I kept putting off.
After a breakup in my late twenties, I realized I didn’t want to look back on my life with regrets. I didn’t want to be on my deathbed wishing I had taken the chance to serve. I saw it as an opportunity for a new environment and a fresh start away from my hometown in Idaho.
I had studied Spanish throughout high school and college and even studied abroad in Costa Rica, so I knew I wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking country. I was actually accepted as a Community Economic Development (CED) volunteer in Colombia the year before I came to Paraguay, but I was denied medical clearance at the last minute. Still, something told me not to give up. I waited six months and reapplied. Long story short, a year later I found myself in Paraguay, and I am incredibly grateful that I didn’t give up on my dream.
Living Arrangements and Cultural Integration
3. What is your housing like in Paraguay?
I live in an urban community in the Department of Caaguazú, Paraguay. Since October 2024, I have been living in a big yellow house. I got pretty lucky because my program manager found it in a rather unexpected way, by asking a roadside herbal specialist, known as a yuyero, for recommendations after three of my housing options were denied. Before moving into my house, I lived with a host family for two months.
I usually eat a lot of chicken and rice at home. While there are plenty of places to eat out, I choose to cook most of my meals myself. One of my biggest comforts is coffee, and I splurged on a coffee machine to help me feel a little more at home. However, I have grown to love the traditional drink here, yerba mate, which has become part of my daily routine. The summers get very hot, so I usually drink the cold version, called tereré, almost every day to stay cool.
4. What moments or interactions stand out during your service?
One of the most memorable moments of my service was organizing a community-wide winter clothing donation drive. Over the course of two months, schools, churches, organizations, fellow Peace Corps Volunteers, health posts, firefighters, local businesses, families, and neighbors all came together to donate winter clothing for vulnerable communities in our district. We placed collection boxes throughout my site, regularly gathered the donations, and brought everything to my house, where volunteers sorted and organized the items by category.
In the end, we collected enough clothing to fill four truckloads, which were distributed to four different communities. I am especially grateful to Plan International for providing transportation and helping identify additional communities in need because we received far more donations than we anticipated.
What stood out most was the generosity and sense of community that the project inspired. I was initially hesitant because I had never seen a clothing drive organized in my site and wasn’t sure how it would be received. Through the process, I learned that local churches and the municipality already organized similar efforts independently each year, and this project helped bring many of those groups together while also involving my counterparts at the health clinic. It demonstrated how willing people are to help when given the opportunity, and I hope it becomes something the community continues long after my service ends.
Surprises and Challenges
5. What has surprised you most about living or working in Paraguay?
A lot of things surprised me, but I’ll pick one. Before coming to Paraguay, I did some research, but I had no idea how central yerba mate is to daily life. I thought it was something people drank on special occasions. It’s an everyday thing – morning, afternoon, and night. I see people drinking it on motorcycles, in cars, and walking around with big carafes of water and thermoses. At first I didn’t understand it. The design isn’t great for keeping the herbs from falling out, but people handle it with such dexterity that I’m impressed every time.
Now, two years in, I have my own guampa (the cup you drink from) and bombilla (the filtered metal straw so you don’t suck up the herbs). I even learned how to decorate them in my women’s group, and they taught me how to crochet and make thermos bags out of recycled materials. I’ve fully delved into the world of yerba mate, and I won’t look back. In the cold it’s mate, and when it’s blazing hot it’s tereré. I live near yuyeros, herbalists who sell remedios. You use fresh herbs for tereré and dried ones for mate. They’ve taught me which ones help with stomach problems, energy, etc. Now I have a whole corner in my house for dried herbs, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, spices, and honey. I buy local honey straight from a farm.
What surprised me most is how it changed me. I love drinking more natural things and buying local. I want to be more intentional about that when I go back to the States because it really helps people. Drinking mate is also a social thing. In the US, everything is so individual – we don’t even share drinks. Here, if you’re with someone, you always offer mate. It’s a ritual I’ve come to love, and I want to introduce it to my family and friends back home.
6. What challenges have you faced in your Health work, and how did you respond?
One of the biggest challenges I faced was realizing that not everyone would be as enthusiastic about my ideas as I was. I learned to focus on the people who wanted to work with me and build strong partnerships instead of trying to convince everyone.
Language and cultural differences also led to misunderstandings. I found that clear communication, patience, and a positive attitude were the best ways to overcome them. I learned to explain my ideas thoroughly and not assume others understood my vision.
Limited resources at the health post were another challenge. Since my counterparts were already paying for basic expenses to keep the clinic running, I focused on community fundraising and partnerships rather than asking them to contribute financially.
Finally, I had to accept that I could not cover every health topic I wanted. Instead, I prioritized a few key topics and repeated those messages through different activities to create a greater impact.
7. What secondary projects have you worked on during your service?
Beyond my primary health work at the USF, I stayed busy with secondary projects that helped me connect with different parts of the community.
- I facilitate year-round English courses at the USF and local church for youth and adults, and during school breaks I run them consistently. I also co-teach English at the high school with the English teacher to support both students and the teacher.
- From March–July 2026, I had a basic computer course – I taught typing, Google Docs, email, résumé development, Excel, and budgeting at the high school.
- I collaborate with other health PCVs to create health education books for local USFs with resources, facts vs. myths, and national hotlines. The lovely PC staff printed them, and there are online versions as well.
- I created a “Get to Know Your Health Team” wall at the USF with staff photos, names, and credentials to help the community connect with USF personnel.
- I set up sustainable condom dispensers at the medication window and USF bathroom, and staff now regularly refill them.
- In March 2026, with the help of another PCV, I organized a Blood Donation Drive at the Municipality with the District Hospital, Rotary Club, and Plan International. Despite rain, 20 people donated and potentially helped save up to 60 lives.
- From April-June 2026, I collaborated with surrounding PCVs, schools, health posts, and businesses on a Winter Clothing Donation Drive. Together we collected 4 truckloads of donations for 4 vulnerable communities.
- I support fundraising efforts with the USF Commission and help connect local businesses to the USF to strengthen financial support and Commission engagement.
- I also work with fellow PCVs on cross-sector projects like a Business Series at the local church to strengthen professional and entrepreneurial skills. Overall, these projects let me work outside the USF walls and build relationships across schools, the municipality, businesses, and other organizations.
Advice and Support
8. What advice would you give to future Health volunteers in Paraguay?
My advice would be to stay resilient and keep a positive attitude. There are twists and turns during service, and it’s impossible to learn everything in just a few months. It takes time to get to know people and understand the needs of your community, so go in being flexible and enjoy the ride – because your service will probably go a totally different way than you think.
One advantage of being in the health sector versus something like CED (Community Economic Development) is that we don’t have a super structured curriculum. The opportunities are basically limitless. There are so many health topics I didn’t even get to because there isn’t enough time. I chose to focus on the ones I’m most passionate about: oral health, mental health, and handwashing habits. I touched on other topics too, but I kept coming back to those three because repetition is key. I had kids come to the same camps and clubs over and over. After a while, when I would teach those topics again, it was second nature to them. They knew exactly what to do and how to do it. That was the goal for me – to build habits that actually stick.
9. How did Peace Corps training prepare you for service?
Peace Corps set me up with a strong foundation for living in Paraguay, starting with PST (Pre-Service Training). In PST, I had language classes in Guarani where I learned how to introduce myself, say my age, and explain what I am doing in Paraguay. We also had history classes on Paraguay, sessions on traditional foods and yerba mate, safety and security trainings on how to stay safe, and health sessions on common diseases and prevention methods.
For sector-specific training, I learned about the health disparities in Paraguay and how the health system works. We also got practical tools for service – fun icebreakers, health lessons, and games I could use in my community.
During IST (In-Service Training), MST (Mid-Service Training), and a retreat called Reconnect about 2 months after arriving at site, we came together with other volunteers to check in with program managers. Those trainings were great for learning new methods, new health lessons, and meeting new organizations in Paraguay to better understand the systems here.
For the health sector specifically, we had 2 ISTs, and we got to bring our counterparts. That was huge. It helped them understand the volunteer’s role and gave us a chance to keep each other accountable, stay inspired, brainstorm new ideas, and learn how to work together coming from different backgrounds, cultures, and languages.
Practical Tips and Language Learning
10. What would you tell future volunteers to pack—or leave behind?
Leave behind:
- You don’t need a million pairs of shoes. You can buy shoes here, and I’d wait to see what types you’ll actually use day to day. I mainly wear tennis shoes outside and sandals in my house.
- The majority of things you need you can buy here. Peace Corps provides a medical kit with basics, and they can restock it – including sunscreen and mosquito repellent.
- For spices: salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, cinnamon, dried parsley, red pepper flakes, and honey are all available here. They do have American brand hot sauce, but Tabasco is really expensive. Most hot sauces are Paraguayan brands.
Pack:
- Spices you can’t easily find – lemon pepper, cardamom, nutritional yeast, everything bagel seasoning, coriander, dill, jerk seasoning, taco seasoning, and Badia everything spice.
- Extra underwear.
- A jacket or two – winters are super cold, and houses aren’t designed to keep heat in.
- Rain gear – it rains here a lot.
- It depends on your likes, but they don’t have mac-n-cheese, good coffee grounds (it’s all imported), so comfort food that is exclusive to the USA.
11. How has language learning been for you in Paraguay?
Paraguay has two official languages: Spanish and Guaraní, an Indigenous language. I came into service with a strong Spanish foundation from studying Spanish throughout high school and college, studying abroad in Costa Rica, and working in a Mexican restaurant. However, after returning to Idaho, I became rusty because I had fewer opportunities to practice.
During PST, I was placed in Guaraní classes for two and a half months because my Spanish level was strong enough to begin learning another language. While I appreciate the importance of Guaraní, my main focus during service was strengthening my Spanish, since it was the language I used most in my work. By the end of service, I improved from Intermediate High to Advanced Low on the language proficiency test.
I learned that language learning requires patience, consistency, and being comfortable making mistakes. Even though I am not fluent in Guaraní, learning common phrases helped me connect with people and better understand Paraguayan culture. There is a common joke that the story will be told in Spanish, but the punchline will be in Guaraní. There is often a deeper meaning, humor, or emotion that comes through when you understand the language. While I may not be fluent, learning even the basics has helped me better appreciate the culture around me. Language is not just vocabulary and grammar; it is also about understanding the people, humor, and cultural context behind it.
Social Identity
12. How has your personal identity shaped your service experience?
As a straight woman in my thirties who is not religious, I can only speak from my own experience. One thing I have noticed from conversations with some of the male PCVs is that being a woman made it easier for me to integrate into certain parts of my community. I was welcomed into women’s groups and other communal spaces that are often less accessible to men, which helped me build relationships and become part of the community.
Living independently as a woman also became an unexpected conversation starter. My counterparts, who are women in their early twenties, were very curious about what it was like to live alone because it is not as common here. We had many conversations about independence, careers, and the different paths women can take in life. A year later, one of my counterparts moved into her own apartment. I cannot say whether I had any influence on that decision, but I was surprised and happy to see it, especially after our conversations about what it means to live independently as a woman.
I have been asked a handful of times if I believe in God, and I answer honestly that I do not. Often, this leads to follow-up questions about why, and there are times when I hesitate because I am aware that my answer may be different from what people expect or believe (the majority being Catholic). It is something I navigate on a case-by-case basis depending on the person and the situation. However, I have found that being honest while also being respectful of others’ beliefs has allowed for meaningful conversations and mutual understanding. Overall, I think my identity shaped my service experience through the relationships I built and the conversations that came from our differences.
13. Did your identity lead to specific challenges or situations?
Being a woman has shaped how I navigate personal safety and professional relationships during service. I do receive attention from men, which has made me more conscious of how I present myself in public and how I’m perceived in my community. Since a large part of my work involves networking and building relationships, I’ve had to be intentional about setting professional boundaries. When I share my phone number, I make it clear it’s strictly for professional purposes. If someone crosses that boundary, I address it right away so there’s no misunderstanding, and if that means blocking someone, then so be it.
I also feel more vulnerable as a woman living in a country that isn’t my own, so I’m more cautious in certain situations, like being out alone at night. Another challenge has been being taken seriously by some men, especially at the start of a working relationship. Over time, I’ve found that consistency, professionalism, and following through have helped me build credibility and respect. There have been moments where I had to prove myself, but I’ve seen that my actions and commitment speak louder.
Lots of questions
Being a woman in my 30s with no children also brings a lot of questions, like “who will take care of you when you’re older?” I welcome those questions. I never get tired of them. Appearance is another piece of it. I’m a woman who has some meat on me – I’m not a skinny person -and this is a very appearance-focused culture. I’ve been asked directly by both men and women how much I weigh, and if I’ve gained or lost weight. Even though the culture can be very passive in some ways, people don’t hold back when it comes to commenting on my body. Sometimes it makes me feel insecure because I know I’m more than my outer appearance. I handle it by reminding myself of that, and by redirecting the conversation when I can.
Religion is another part of my experience here. Paraguay is a very religious country. Even if someone doesn’t go to church, Catholicism is embedded in the culture – people often have images of the Virgin Mary or Jesus in their homes. I don’t outwardly say I’m not religious, but I’m honest if someone asks. Some people try to convert me, but I just smile and listen with open ears. I participate in a lot of activities at the church because I value the relationships above anything else. ]
14. What advice do you have for volunteers who share your identity?
Walk with confidence and treat everyone with dignity and respect, but always be aware of your surroundings. As a volunteer in another country, you will stand out, and that’s okay. People will be curious and ask questions, so think ahead about how you want to respond. As a woman, be mindful of how your interactions may be perceived within the local community. Intentions matter, but so does how your actions are interpreted.
Language and cultural differences can make communication more complicated, so it helps to be aware of local norms and adjust your behavior when appropriate. At the same time, being a woman can also open doors – you may be able to connect with community members or access spaces that are more difficult for male volunteers. If you are not religious, decide in advance how you want to approach conversations about faith.
In many communities, religion is an important part of daily life, and some people may be surprised if your beliefs differ from theirs. You are not obligated to explain or debate your personal beliefs. It is perfectly acceptable to politely redirect the conversation, acknowledge their perspective, or simply say you’d rather not discuss it. Having a respectful response prepared can help you avoid uncomfortable discussions while still maintaining positive relationships.
When it comes to comments about appearance, recognize that it’s part of the culture and it won’t change overnight. If you’re comfortable with the language, you can change the subject. You can also say something like, “That’s not something I’d like to talk about,” or even, “I don’t understand.” The goal is to protect your boundaries while staying respectful.
Dating in Peace Corps Paraguay
I have a Paraguayan boyfriend, and we’ve been together for almost 2 years now. In training, the Peace Corps told us that dating is a personal choice and to just be mindful of cultural norms and expectations. I definitely didn’t come to Paraguay looking for a relationship, but life happens. I live in a big city, and my boyfriend lives in another town, so most people in my community don’t even know him. It’s been a really private part of my service in a good way.
One thing I love is how common it actually is for Volunteers to meet someone here. Our Master Trainer at the training center met his wife during his service in Paraguay back in the 90s, and I have a few people in my cohort who are still together too. Dating in Peace Corps does happen, and I think that’s okay. Like any relationship, it’s about balance. If it starts to take away from your service or your experience abroad, then it’s probably not the right time. For me, though, it’s helped me feel even more connected to Paraguay, the language, and the culture.
Impact of Media and Final Thoughts
15. If you share content online, how has that shaped your service?
I regularly share my service on Facebook and Instagram for friends and family, and sometimes on LinkedIn to highlight projects with the broader Peace Corps community and professionals. Online sharing has shaped my service by making me more intentional about documenting, reflecting, and telling the story of what we do here. It’s helped people back home see what Peace Corps service and life in Paraguay are really like, and sparks conversations about culture like tereré, traditional food, daily life, and helps educate others about a country many don’t know much about.
In Paraguay, I mainly use WhatsApp status because it’s how most people communicate here. Posting about community events helps get the word out, recognize participants, and increase turnout. It’s made my work more visible in the community and helped build trust.
I also help run the social media for the Peace Corps Paraguay inclusivity group called Jopará, named after the language blend of Spanish and Guaraní spoken here, which felt fitting. We post about get-togethers, talent shows, and info about national holidays, Pride Month, Non-Binary Day, Semana Santa (holy week), etc. I also coordinate “PCV of the Month,” interviewing volunteers and showcasing work across sectors.
The group previously had staff support and was included in PST. After DOGE/DEI cuts, it’s now fully PCV-led, so we’ve had to carve out space for it outside of staff hours. My role is managing social media. It’s a lot of work, almost like a part-time job, but it’s shaped my service by keeping me engaged, connected, and learning. I’ve had to research holidays, practice interviewing, and think about representation. I see it as a way to represent both my U.S. community and Paraguay, and to promote inclusivity in the Peace Corps Paraguay community.
16. What final advice or thoughts would you share with future volunteers?
My biggest advice is: you don’t need to please everyone in order to integrate. There’s a difference between fitting in and integration. If something is compromising your morals or your integrity feels threatened, listen to your inner voice.
- For younger volunteers: Just know that you’re living under a microscope in a foreign country, so don’t ignore that inner voice. Trust it to protect yourself. This might be your first time living on your own and figuring out who you are and what your limits are.
- For mid-career volunteers: Your life experience will take you places and give you an advantage. I know many in this age group still have kids or other responsibilities back home. Just know that 2 years may seem like a long time, but it goes by really fast.
- For retired volunteers: Other countries respect you – lean into that. Don’t feel like you don’t belong just because you’re outnumbered by younger PCVs. You do belong, and you will connect with someone, no matter what.
Are you thinking about joining the Peace Corps? If you’re curious about service and ready for something new, apply today. Like Scarlett, 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.
