One thing I’ve noticed while living with Paraguayan families is that they have few things. That’s not to say they don’t have anything—the families I’ve lived with have TVs (yes, plural), stereos, toys, and fashion items like purses and watches. But, they don’t have things in excess. Paraguayans use the things they have until they are completely worn out, and then they use them for something else.

Despite having little, Paraguayans share almost everything and aren’t afraid to use things just because they might get dirty or break. For example, one of my host brothers has a bike. It’s a bike that’s too big for him and has parts from different bikes, but it runs just fine. He rides that bike whenever he can. And his sister rides it, and two of his neighboring cousins ride it because they don’t have a bike, and his other siblings and cousins ride it sometimes. They all zoom around, up and down, the little dirt paths that connect our houses. Sometimes the seat has to be raised, but most of the time it is pushed down as far as it can go. No one worries that the bike is going to break—they just enjoy what they are getting out of it now.

The same goes for food. When a little kid, or adult, or anyone really, has something yummy they almost always share it if they are eating it in front of other people. I’ve passed candy bars and cookies back and forth with my eight-year-old sister.  If you don’t want to share, you don’t eat around other people.

Everything here seems to be shared. Siblings share beds, cousins share party shoes, and neighbors share garden tools. Why does everyone family need their own ladder when someone in the vicinity already has one?

When someone in the family gets something new they pass it around so everyone can look at it. Things that individuals get still add, somehow, to the enjoyment of the whole family or group.

Having only what you need and sharing everything is very different than my experience in the US. In the US we focus on being independent and being individuals, so the idea of sharing is second thought. It may not seem like a big difference, but it is.

When I was in college we talked a lot about globalization and how US culture is everywhere. I won’t argue that point, but I’ve come to understand that being everywhere and being understood everywhere are different things.

Myth 1: The US is only city.

The thought that the US is only city has a lot to do with movies. Most of the movies that make it to Paraguay about the US are set in a city. Actually, most of the movies I watched in the US are set in the city. I guess the city is more exciting. Being from the rural US myself, this myth was fun to dispel.

Myth 2: People in the US wear their clothes once and then throw them out.

The person who asked me about this heard it from someone who visited the US. I think the root of the confusion might have been that it seemed like people wore their clothes only once because people in the US tend to have more clothes than Paraguayans. In Paraguay most people I’ve known have a handful (more or less) of each clothing item. It’s common and fine to wear the same shirt (or outfit) multiple times a week as long as it’s clean. To ensure they always have clean clothes, many Paraguayans do laundry several times a week.

When I meet people in Paraguay, I expect to tell them that my state is close to New York and Canada because they’ve never heard of it. I’m excited to be the first one to talk to them about Vermont. Coming from a rural area of the United States, I think it’s fun to dispel the image movies and TV shows create of my country. Eagerness to teach aside, there are two myths many people in Paraguay have about the US that frustrate me.

Myth 1: Everyone in the US is blond and blue-eyed.

I think one of the challenges related to this is that Paraguayans don’t always realize how big the US is. They’ve heard of New York and some of our other major cities. But, it’s hard to describe to them that the US is about 24 times the size of Paraguay (Paraguay is about the size of California). We have cities that have more inhabitants than the entire population of Paraguay

Myth 2: Everyone in the US is rich. There are no poor people in the US.  

I had an interesting conversation with one woman who thought people didn’t have to work in the United States. I think she thought we get money from the government. If I wasn’t so interested in capitalizing on the teachable moment I might have laughed. When I left the US, people were still up in arms because some saw the new health care law as a government overstep.  In Paraguay, where government handouts were part of the system for the 30-odd years leading up to Paraguayan democracy, it’s hard to convey the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality that is the American dream. Many volunteers struggle against the perception that they are here to deliver money.  Even among development organizations the idea of development as a partnership of work is not as common as it should be.

It’s not for nothing that 2 of the 3 Peace Corps goals focus on cultural exchange.

If you were to look up the word “guapo” or “guapa” (the “o” ending for men and the “a” ending for women) in a Spanish dictionary you would likely find a definition like, “beautiful, cute, or physically attractive.” And, while that definition will serve you well in most places, it won’t in Paraguay.

In Paraguay, guapo or guapa means hard working.  It is a complement that is lightly tossed around, but I think it has a greater weight than the joking way it’s delivered may imply.

If people think you’re guapa you’ll go far.  Respect is given to people who work and especially those who work hard. Why? I don’t know yet, but I have some guesses.

• As you will hear many times, it is hot in Paraguay.  Have you ever tried to do anything when it’s over 100 degrees and humid? It’s like trying to do calculus after staying up all night. You deserve brownie points for just staying awake.
• Things just take longer here (generally). Many people wash their clothes by hand and hang their clothes to dry. Some communities don’t have running water or modern stoves so people have to haul water, bucket bathe, and cook with a wood-burning stove. Paved roads are in the minority and newer to the scene.
• Paraguayan culture is laid-back. One of the main free time activities is sitting and drinking terere.