Today is a rainy and cold day in Paraguay and like most rainy days, life has virtually stopped. Most of the students have not come to school today, so my classes have been canceled. I am in the practicum phase of my SLM degree and am working as a Municipal Services Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay through the Master’s International program. One year ago today, I was on a plane on my way here. About 13 months ago, I was still finishing my papers and was appreciating the end of a long winter in Vermont.
I already had an inkling of what Peace Corps life might be like, having served already as a volunteer in Burkina Faso. This time though, I would have the added responsibility of completing the work for my capstone – and I realized that in my 30’s, the experience would be much different from what it had been in my 20’s. I had a tremendous advantage this time however – the education I received at SIT.
Like so many of my classmates, my background prior to coming to SIT was diverse. I had traveled the world and had worked professionally for a few NGOs. The classes, professors, and students at SIT helped reshape my worldview and gave me a new perspective with which I could view my past travels and experiences and certainly provide the same for my future ones as well.
Student Laara Manler on her RPP in Paraguay
My primary work is with the local government in my small town. Together with the mayor and the local health committee, who administer our health clinic, I am working on developing a recycling program – a first step (we hope) in trash management. Not sexy – but necessary. I also teach life skills program to all of the 7th – 12th graders in my town. The high school, because it is the only high school in town, (there are three rural elementary/middle schools here) is a mix of students. Some of the kids live in the very rural parts of town, and have to walk 1-2 hours to get here. They live far from resources like the municipality and health clinic, unlike those that live in the center of town and have access to virtually everything. I try to divide my time between the schools in the center of town and those located in the rural areas. Like the children, I walk to reach the schools, some as far away as 8 or 9 kilometers.
It is during those walks that I do most of my reflection on what I have learned and how I am applying it. All of the classes I took at SIT have been useful to me during this past year. When my Paraguayan friends hear my Spanish they ask how I learned to speak so well. They are in disbelief when I tell them my mother is Colombian; “But you don’t look Colombian,” they all tell me. That takes me back to my Social Identity class and to the many interesting class discussions under the discerning eye of Ken Williams. My reply is often to ask them what they think a Colombian is supposed to look like. That leads us into interesting discussions on what a Paraguayan looks like. There are two prominent groups seeking support and assistance from the Paraguayan government. They are those “without land” and those “without homes.” Many of the conversations I have with my friends and neighbors touch on important social justice issues similar to those that were frequently discussed in my classes with Professor Janaki Natarajan.
My work with Peace Corps Paraguay will last another fourteen months but like my time with SIT, what I’m learning here will last a lifetime.
Laara is a PIM 67 and maintains a blog on her work in Paraguay, called Laara’s Paraguay Adventure.
Tags: Janaki Natarajan, Ken Williams, Laara Manler, PIM 67
