I have been a Peace Corps Volunteer for over a month now!!! Wow! It was an incredibly long month, but it was filled with holidays, birthdays, trips, and firsts in site.
Has It Been A Month or A Year?
Thanks 2019 (+ 2020 Goals)!
2019 was a life-changing year for me. I visited new cities, graduated university, became more independent, and moved abroad to Paraguay. The year was filled with high highs and low lows, but so many good memories were made!
The Next Steps
I did it! I am now an official Peace Corps Volunteer! I swore in a week and a half ago and it has been filled with laughter, boredom, excitement, and anxiety.
New Orleans | Photo Diary + Travel Guide
I went to New Orleans before I left for the Peace Corps…life has been rolling by so fast I just haven’t had time to go through the photos. More than four months later, I finally reflected on my time in the “Big Easy”.
I have wanted to visit New Orleans for a while now. The city’s lively music scene and rich culture keeps drawing me in!
This trip was spontaneous for me–I usually spend months researching but I had some flight vouchers that will expire while I was in the Peace Corps so I decided to take one last trip. I found some cheap flights to New Orleans and booked it. It was originally going to be a solo trip since my boyfriend couldn’t get time off work, but he ended up being able to and we spent a whole weekend in New Orleans!
Home in Paraguay
How did I finished Peace Corps Training and became a Peace Corps Volunteer? Somehow, I blinked, and 11 weeks passed by and here I am sitting in my site. It was a lifetime ago when I arrived in Paraguay at 3 in the morning, incredibly homesick and anxious.
Peace Corps Training has been great! I am very grateful to have these past weeks to land on my feet—to be able to breathe and learn more about Paraguay and my work here. I am also very grateful for the friendships I have created in training. My cohort is filled with amazing people and I can’t wait to see the work they’ll do in their sites!
To Long Field and Back
I am the worst at updating my blog. I can’t believe it has been over a month since I updated you on my adventures in Peace Corps Paraguay.
This last week, I had Long Field Practice near Caraguatay. Long Field Practice is when PC trainees visit a Volunteer, for a few days, in their site to see what service is like.
I planted trees, gave a charla, visited some historical sites, swam in the river, celebrated my first holiday in country (Halloween), sweated all day, and laughed all week. It was truly a great time and I came back feeling very motivated and excited about my future service!
The Ups, the Downs, and the Victories
I made it to Paraguay!!! I have been here in country for about a week and a half now and it still hasn’t really hit me that I am in Paraguay with the Peace Corps. It has been a huge roller coaster of high highs and low lows, but I couldn’t be more content.
31 Days
While I am writing this post, I have just 31 days left at home!!! It’s crazy that in a short month I will be boarding a plane and starting this new adventure that I have been dreaming about for so long.
Disneyland + Los Angeles: Birthday/Christmas/Graduation/Anniversary Trip 2019
In early May (before the new Star Wars land opened), my boyfriend and I visited Los Angeles and Disneyland. The trip was originally his birthday present…but then it grew to being his Christmas present, my graduation celebration, and our three-year anniversary celebration. We were really celebrating a lot on this trip!
I wasn’t sure how I wanted this blog post to be layout because I didn’t take many photos on this trip (partly because I was sick). The photos I did take were taken on my old Samsung phone, which doesn’t have the best camera. Still, I wanted to do a little post about the trip for our memories.
A Day Trip to Seattle, WA (from Portland, OR)
One of my favorite drives from the Portland, OR area is to Seattle, WA. Seattle is a cool city with a completely different vibe than Portland. Every time I am in the city, I wish I had the opportunity to visit more.
This Memorial Day, my boyfriend and I decided to drive up to Seattle. It had been 10 months since the last time we were up in this area so the trip was long overdue! I was really excited for a road trip and to be back in Seattle. I think one of my favorite part of the trip is the drive. The drive isn’t too long (around three hours from Portland, OR)–I always find it relaxing and a great way for my boyfriend and me to bond and enjoy each others’ company. On our trips to Seattle, we usually visit different attractions. This time, we kept it simple and only visited a few places.
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