Summer Exchange Programs - Paraguay

Age Range:

Birth Date Range:

Travel Dates:

Application Deadline: March 15, 2012

Paraguay Summer Community Service Program

This program provides participants the unique opportunity to taste Paraguayan culture, family life, and language while experiencing what “community service” means in a needy country—all in only 6 weeks.

Program Details

The seven weeks will be split between doing community service projects, spending time with your host family, and participating in activities organized by the local AFS volunteers. About a month into your stay you will be offered the opportunity to take part in a weekend-long trip to visit a part of Paraguay outside of your host community. The site varies from year to year and is yet to be determined but will likely be either San Bernardino (a popular summer resort), Encarnacion (near the Jesuit missions in Itapua), or Ciudad del Este (near Itaipu, the biggest dam in the world, and Iguazu falls).

In addition to the orientations, some local chapters organize activities for students and host families throughout the summer. These will vary from chapter to chapter but may include parties or excursions to other cities or regions in Paraguay. Unlike the orientations, these activities are optional and are at the student’s expense.

Placement Realities

You’ll live with a host family and work with a local community organization. The projects you can choose from include working with children, being a teacher’s aide at a school, or helping a nurse with healthcare. There is the possibility of working in the Moises Bertoni Foundation’s offices helping with environmental projects, but you need to have intermediate Spanish skills.

Meals and Diet

Corn, rice, potatoes and wheat are all important staples in Paraguay, as are fruits in season. While breakfast is typically light and quick, lunch and dinner offer substantial portions of food. Mealtime is often family time and, on Sundays, your extended host family will surely pay a visit for a big family dinner.

Eligibility

To participate in this program, you must:

• Be within the age range at the start of the program (age range located above)
• Have a passing GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
• Be in good mental, physical, and emotional health in accordance with the AFS Medical Evaluation Policies
• Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
• Be in possession or have applied for a U.S. passport at the time of application.

*Program description updated 1/4/12.

Age Range:

Birth Date Range:

Travel Dates:

Application Deadline: March 15, 2012

Paraguay Summer Language Study Program

Live with a host family for six weeks, while you take Spanish language classes and experience the culture and lifestyle of Paraguay.

Program Details

You and your fellow AFSers will travel together between Miami and Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, where you will be met by staff and volunteers from AFS Paraguay. They will escort you to the arrival orientation site, a comfortable group site outside Asuncion, where you will take part in a 2-day arrival orientation. Following the arrival orientation, you will be picked up by your host family (if you are placed near Asuncion). Or, if you are hosted elsewhere, you will travel by bus or car to your host community where you will be met by your host family.

Spanish language classes will be given from Mondays to Fridays, in the morning or in the afternoon (depending on your class level) and located in the AFS Paraguay office building in Asuncion. For this reason, students will be placed in the Asuncion metropolitan area. Your Spanish-speaking ability will be evaluated via a simple email test in order to determine your appropriate class level. Beginners and those without previous Spanish-language study are welcome and will be placed appropriately. The main methodology for the language instruction is to teach a little in a classroom setting then give the you a chance to use your new skills while learning about Paraguayan history, culture, folk arts, etc.

Besides the language classes, day-to-day activities during your time abroad are largely unstructured so that your schedule is flexible and you are free to spend as much time as possible engaging with your host family and host community. Paraguayan students have a winter break during the month of July.

Placement Realities

Most summer participants are placed in the greater Asuncion metropolitan area.

Meals and Diet

Corn, rice, potatoes and wheat are all important staples in Paraguay, as are fruits in season. While breakfast is typically light and quick, lunch and dinner offer substantial portions of food. Mealtime is often family time and, on Sundays, your extended host family will surely pay a visit for a big family dinner.

Eligibility

To participate in this program, you must:

• Be within the age range at the start of the program (age range located above)
• Have a passing GPA (on a 4.0 scale)
• Be in good mental, physical, and emotional health in accordance with the AFS Medical Evaluation Policies
• Have an open mind, willingness to be flexible, and the ability to adapt to new a culture, school, and environment
• Be in possession or have applied for a U.S. passport at the time of application.

*Program description updated 1/4/12.