news-record.com

BURLINGTON (MCT) — A Burlington woman was killed Sunday in a wreck while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay.

Emily Balog, who had been serving in the Peace Corps since June 2010, was 26. She is the daughter of the retired Superior Court Judge Steve Balog and Susan Balog.

"Emily was a beloved volunteer who used her passion for people and art to work with a local women's cooperative and youth in her community," said Aaron S. Williams, Peace Corps director. "The entire Peace Corps community mourns the loss of such an incredible volunteer. Our thoughts are with Emily's family, host family, friends and community."

Balog is a 2003 graduate of Williams High School. In 2007, she graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Balog was a community development volunteer in Paraguay. She worked with a women's cooperative to improve business practices and sales and to market local goods, according to a Peace Corps news release.

She kept a blog titled "Oh By the 'Guay" where she wrote about "Emily's intrepid adventure in Peace Corps Paraguay" and posted photos documenting her two-year service in the Peace Corps. She was expected to finish her service in August.

In her last blog post on Sept. 29, she wrote about the process of making glycerin soap and packaging it for sale. As a secondary project, Balog was working with the Paraguayan community to incorporate art, photography and painting into their daily life.

In her Sept. 29 blog post, Balog wrote that she had recently started teaching in three schools. She spent every Monday teaching 10- to 12-year-old children activities in leadership, citizenship, volunteerism and self-esteem. Every Wednesday, she taught teachers basic computer skills and every Thursday, she went to the outskirts of Valenzuela, where she played games and taught geography and cultural diversity to children.

She had plans of helping them paint a world map on a wall at the school.

"I went out there the other day to present projects to the kids (ages 10 to 12)," she wrote. "The professors and my principal host mom are all on board, so enthusiastic and excited to have me there. It's nice to feel so appreciated."

Balog immersed herself in the Paraguayan lifestyle but shared her personality with the people she encountered. On her blog, she posted a photo of her neighbor's new baby cow.

"They think it's so funny that I ask to pet the baby cow," she wrote. "But they always humor me, even if it requires chasing the cow around her fenced-in area until they can reach her leash."

On June 24, Balog wrote about her trip home to Burlington for her brother Alan's wedding.

"It was a true joy and a reminder that I am loved and adored, even though I am far away but especially when I am home," she wrote. "It was also a reminder that I love my home country."

When she returned to Paraguay in June after that visit, she noted how different she felt and how far she had come from when she had arrived there for the first time in June 2010.

"... Paraguay has become my world for now," she wrote. "It's not just a trip or an adventure. It's work and life. And I've got my routine and my people and my expectations here, even headaches and frustrations."

Upon her return, her bus driver recognized her. Her community members welcomed her back, and she could finally understand people and converse with them.

"Did I miss North Carolina? Oh yeah," she wrote. "But did I feel at home here, too? Yes."

There are 252 Americans serving in Paraguay. More than 3,400 Americans have served in Paraguay since the program was established in 1967.