When you have the slumps you’ll do anything to get your spirits up. Everyone has had days, or weeks, or months that are gloomy, but in the Peace Corps that gloom can seem magnified.

So, being a volunteer I have a long list of things I can do to keep my spirits up. Some of my most common techniques include:

• Make a victory wall. It’s exactly like what it sounds: a wall with a label saying “victories” and with post it notes or small papers stuck to it. Each note describes a victory.
• Do exercise. Is the body a reflection of the mind or the mind a reflection of the body?
• Write in a journal. The lovely thing about a journal is you can write all those things you can’t say. We all have things we can’t say either because we know that in a little while we won’t feel that way anymore (so it’s not worth playing with matches on the bridge) or because we need to keep up appearances (a buzzword among Paraguayans is “respect”). Journals are also a good way to keep track of what you are doing, so you can look back and realize how much you’ve actually done.
• Listen to music, read, or watch movies. Something in your native tongue can be amazingly calming.
• Talk to friends from the States. Maybe family, friends back home, or other volunteers.
• Get out the door. Getting out of your house to do anything. Sometimes the fog will lift as soon as you take that first step.
• Visit favorite families. Paraguayans are really friendly and welcoming. I know that when I visit the families I like most I’ll be told I’m guapa, given a snack, and probably have a nice conversation about what’s happening in the community.

As volunteers we joke about the fact that we can’t speak any of the 3 languages we know as part of our service—English, Spanish, and Guaraní. When we get together we speak a confusing mix of the 3 that no one but another Peace Corps Paraguay volunteer will understand easily.

Sample Conversation:

[Location Peace Corps office in Asunción]

Volunteer 1: “Hola! ¿Qué tal?”

Volunteer 2: “Fine. What have you been up to?”

Volunteer 1: “Not much. Everything is tranquilopa, but I’ve been trabajando un poco in the high school. You?“

Volunteer 2: “¡Que guapa! I don’t know. Che kui’gue.”

Volunteer 1: “Qué piko”

Volunteer 2: “I’ve just been visiting families, mostly.”

Volunteer 1: “Japu. Aren’t you working with una comisión de mujeres?”

Volunteer 2: “Más o menos. I presented a couple of ideas to them, but we haven’t started anything. Tranquilo, nomás. I mostly work with the niños in the escuela. Tengo a PE class.”

Volunteer 1: “!Que guapa, entonces! Where do you want to go for almuerzo?”

Volunteer 2: “Ndaikuaai, depende en vos nomás”

Volunteer 1: “I was thinking pasta, but I don’t need the carbs.”

Volunteer 2: “Igual nomás. The pasta place at the mall?”

Volunteer 1: “Yeah, he’tereri”

Volunteer 2: “Do you want to come back to the office after lunch?”

Volunteer 1: “Puede ser. I should call mi madre.”

Volunteer 2: “Jahama, entonces.”

Have you ever wondered how many gallons of water you use when you shower? I’ve been wondering; I put it at over 5 gallons.

Well, I only need about 2 gallons to bucket bathe. My apartment doesn’t have hot water—most people in Paraguay get hot water by using an electric showerhead that heats the water as it comes out—so on these cold days there is no way I’m showering. Instead, I’ve been heating up water to take bucket baths. I heat up almost 2 liters of water using my electric water boiler and add maybe 6 liters of cold water and mix them in a basin I also use to wash clothes.

Bucket bath technique:

• Once water is mixed, use a pitcher or cup to wet your hair over the basin (to conserve water) and to pour water on you so you are dripping.

• Wet your washcloth and make sure it has a good lathering of soap.

• Put shampoo in your hair, scrub down with the washcloth, and shave if needed. All this is done without using more water. If you are shaving your legs, you might have to rinse your razor a couple of times.

• When all the scrubbing is done, use the pitcher or cup to scoop water out of your basin to rinse. Start with rinsing your hair, in a standing position, so you also start to rinse off the soap on your body. Use the rest of the water to rinse off all soap.

The bucket bath technique is surprisingly efficient, both time wise and resource wise. It’s not particularly relaxing; my house is rather cold because it isn’t heated, but it is nice to know you are conserving water resources.

¡Que guapa! – This is a compliment and means that someone is hard working. It is a good conversation starter and al ways makes people smile. It’s an acknowledgement that someone is working or that you are listening to whatever she is telling you about someone in her family.

Vamos a ver – Literally means, “We’ll see.” It’s a great way to deflect or be noncommittal without saying “no.” It leaves the possibility open, without making you a liar if you don’t do it. It’s also a good way to show that you don’t necessarily like whatever is being suggested.

Tranquilopa – Means happy, calm, and great. People always ask how you are doing and you can never say that you aren’t doing well. Saying “tranquilopa” instead of “well” always puts a smile on people’s faces.

Igual, no más – The literal translation is “equal, no more.” Paraguayans use the “no más” part with everything. It’s used to deescalate a situation, to tell someone to relax, to deemphasize something, to fill space…I think of it as an equivalent to the smiley face in chat, texting, and email. It can follow a positive statement or soften a negative statement.

Mba’e piko – Guaraní for “What?” You can also use a mixture of Guaraní and Spanish and say “Qué piko.” You can use it to literally ask a question or express surprise.

Hi’kue – An expression of surprise. It is especially helpful when someone is telling you something really sad or difficult and you don’t know what to say. It’s also a good way to express that something is expensive. I also use it to deflect questions and comments I don’t like.

In my Paraguayan community I greet everyone. As I walk by people’s houses I wave and smile or call out a casual “adios.” As I pass people in the street I say “adios” and when I go to someone’s house I shake everyone’s hand or do a two-cheek air kiss.  If you don’t greet everyone, you’re liable to appear standoffish, and that’s not helpful at all.

As someone who lived in a bigger US city before coming to Paraguay, adjusting to saying “hi” to everyone took some time. I’m used to it now, but there are times when it’s still awkward; like when I’m walking past a group of guys who are staring at me the entire time I walk. Staring here is culturally acceptable, common, and unavoidable when a woman walks past any man.

Greetings here are social cues. For example, my host sister will say a guy likes a girl if he walks by her without greeting her. Or, when someone stops greeting another person it can be a sign that she is angry with him. Paraguayans avoid confrontation and are very indirect, so they’ll rarely tell a person if something that person did bothered them.

I hated having to remember to greet everyone when I first got to my site. But, now that I’m used to it, I kind of like it. It’s nice to acknowledge people, and it’s nice to be acknowledged.  It’s also easier to just put the greeting on autopilot—just always keep your eyes up, and say “hello” to everyone. Trying to decide who to greet and who not to greet is just too complicated.