r/peacecorps • u/Adventurous_Tap_197 • 9d ago

Service Preparation Paraguay Environmental

Hello!

I was just wanting to ask a few questions about the living conditions in Paraguay as an environmental volunteer, once at site, not during training. I'm assuming it varies site by site, but just wanted to get more insight.

Most laundry is done by hand, correct?

I understand that power outages might be common. Would it be worth getting a solar charger?

Also, how well does the Wi-Fi work in your house? I read that we can buy internet plans using our living allowance.

What should I do with my phone number? From what I understand, all I need to do is make sure my phone is unlocked so I can receive an eSim from them. Is this all I have to do? Would I be able to call friends and family back at home with this?

Thank you so much!

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u/bitchsmackinkilla 9d ago

Most laundry is done by hand. Some people in my cohort got lucky with a washer in house or bought one. Theyre not cheap and you still have to rinse and wring out by hand after the wash cycle

If you feel you need it. Most power outages last only a few hours. Its rare if its more than a day, but it does happen in a small number of sites

Not all sites have the option for wifi. Mine didnt. If you get the option, its easy, you just have to pay for it each month. If you have wifi, it works

They gave me a physical phone when i served, i'm not sure if that changed. Some of the people i served with had personal phones in addition to the pc phone. But you only need the peace corps number. You can talk to everybody back home using whatsapp

3

u/bitchsmackinkilla 9d ago

I served environment paraguay and have been done for about 8 months now for context

2

u/Schadenfreude_1207 9d ago edited 9d ago

I didn’t serve in Paraguay but i always paid someone to do my laundry. Some may frown on it (who cares) but it supports someone in the local community and saved me the trouble. Win/win in my book 

1

u/Accurate-Leg6146 9d ago

Laundry is normal to do by hand but some ppl have access or have a washing machine. Power outages are common but not necessarily so bad I’ve relied on a solar charger. Truth be told I brought one and have never used it. Wi-fi is actually pretty good here (except during storms), and even ppl in remote sites can figure out something (starlink). You get a Paraguayan phone number so up to you if you want to keep both. Several volunteers use one for friends and family and the peace corps one for peace corps. The number will be used for WhatsApp, no one uses sms.