“What am I doing in Paraguay?” by Troy Schneider

Peace Corps Volunteer Recipe:

• 2 cups of wanting to help people and make myself feel good (by the way, I’ve decided I’m going to be very honest in this blog)
• 1 cup of adventurous desire to see the world
• 1/2 cup of ability to be uncomfortable (add more later)
• 1 tbsp of restless spirit syndrome
• 1 tbsp of wanting to experience new cultures and ways of existing
• 1/2 tsp of language skills
• 3 cups of not wanting to get a 9-5 job after college

Troy

Yeah, that’s about it. So here I am in Paraguay! This blog is going to be a lot of my day-to-day life as a volunteer, and that may include journal entries, photos, videos, poems, everything! It also happens that I’ve been here for over three months now, so I have some backlogged content to upload as well.

I am going to try and make this blog my tool for cultural exchange, which is one of the goals of the Peace Corps. I think it’s important to spread information not just about the Peace Corps, but also about Paraguay, because it is an absolutely beautiful country filled with unbelievably wonderful people. More people need to know their history and their culture because in spite of all the hardships they face/have faced, they are some of the kindest, friendliest people I have ever met. I’ll be doing the best I can not just to tell my story, but the story of the people I meet as well. Because at the end of the day, and I mean this truly, I’m not here for myself.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned! Here’s a picture of my cohort.