Hi everyone. Things have been rather hectic down here and I´m now living very far away from an internet connection so I apologize for the long delay. I don´t have a lot of time, but I just want to let you all know that I am still alive and well and getting ready to celebrate my first Paraguayan Christmas and New Years. I´m now living in my official site as I´m finally an official volunteer and things are........going. Lots and lots of awkward moments (pretty much every minute of every day), lots and lots of me not understanding what´s going on or what´s being said (pretty much everything) and lots and lots of thick red mud coating everything I own. Right now I´m spending most of my days studying Guarani, hanging out outside with the family listening to them talk about me but not knowing exactly what they´re saying and drinking terere with whoever stops by. It´s a slow start, but that´s to be expected, and I am enjoying myself. I make a fool of myself a lot, but I also laugh a lot. It´s the only way.
Another quick update that I´ve been meaning to write about but haven´t had the time is about this crazy walk a group of us volunteers did on the 8th. December 8th is a big holiday here, the Virgen of Caacupe day, and hundreds of thousands of people walk to the basilica in Caacupe to celebrate. We decided to do the walk, too, and left at 7:00 the night before. We walked 11 hours, getting there by about 6 in the morning. The last 16 km of the walk was a massive procession of people taking up the entire road for as far as you could see forward and backward. Crazy stuff. I´ll post pictures when I have more time.
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday week. I wish I was there celebrating with you, or you here celebrating with me. I now have a cell phone (but have pretty poor reception in site) so feel free to call me anytime (check my facebook info page for the number), or send me texts. I would love to hear from you.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Freedom of the South, my a**
It’s been a busy time since the last blog post so I have a lot to catch up on. Sorry for such a long gap with no news, but this one will be especially long to make up for it. Here goes:
Two weeks ago, I visited the place where I’ll be a real PC volunteer for the next two years, also know as my “site” in PC lingo. As I said in the previous post, it’s in the Department of Itapúa, way in the southeast corner of the country, in a place called Libertad del Sur. After being there for 5 days, I can certainly say that rich foreigners with gigantic, mechanized soy (transgenic, of course), wheat and sunflower plantations are the only ones feeling this “freedom of the south”, as its name implies.
My community is along one of these long, straight roads, spread out over at least 5 km. The daily bus to and from Encarnación (the closest big city) goes right past the house where I’ll be staying for at least the first month. At least when it’s not raining. If it’s raining, all bets are off, especially concerning transportation. The soil out there is pretty much as red and clayey as a soil can get. I’ve heard the term Laterite being thrown around, for those soil nerds out there. What this means in practical terms is that it’s impossible to drive/run/walk/bike on when it’s wet, and the red mud sticks to EVERYTHING. So being stranded is a regular occurrence given that I’m at least 40 km to the nearest paved road. However, this past trip I was stuck in just such a situation where it was raining, rain was predicted for the next 3 days, and I wanted/needed to get back to my training community to celebrate Thanksgiving with the other Nortes. Brian, another volunteer-to-be in another community just a few km away, walked to my site amidst the crazy thunder and lightning that happens in a humid climate (way different than storms in the western US……I never knew the difference until now) and relayed the message that we were essentially ordered to get out now or be stranded for days. The daily bus leaves at 4 am, so that was out of the question, and we were informed the only person in “town” with a 4x4 that would be able to drive in the current conditions was a French guy named Pierre. Lo and behold, Pierre drives by a few minutes later so we flag him down and proceed to beg for a ride to the paved road, in Spanish of course. As soon as he found out we were PC volunteers, we stopped talking about the ride and instead began to get ridiculed for being ignorant Americans who have no business being there and don’t know anything. He was your typical aging Frenchman, with lots of opinions and no shame to share them all. After standing in the rain for a good 10 minutes, listening through the car window to this crazy, animated, shirtless, old bald French guy yelling in Spanish, we finally got back around to the whole ride situation. To make a long story short (and least shorter than it could be), he gave us a ride. It was a long 40 km, trying to argue in Spanish about the benefits of having forest over soy plantations and about how I do actually know things and have some experience in life, all the while fearing for my life because his arms and hands were flailing about to emphasize conversation points instead of being on the steering wheel. We made it safely, though, and I ended up really enjoying talking to/antagonizing him. I think he really liked my argumentative nature. Of course, he is the antithesis of everything I’m working for/towards here in Paraguay, but he’s also a good ally to have, especially in emergencies.
Other things that happened on the trip:
-Walked about 3 hours (one direction) to visit an NGO in the San Rafael Reserve that´s working to save some of the last remnants of the BAAPA. It´s run by an awesome Swiss couple who fed us the best food I´ve had so far in Paraguay. They also have a gorgeous lake that´s supposedly free of alligators and snakes. I took their word for it and jumped right in. Anyone who comes to visit me, we´ll definitely be headed here.
-Watched ´From Dusk till Dawn´ dubbed in Spanish with my Paraguayan host family in site while sitting in their dirt floor kitchen. That was strange....
-One of the first conversations I had with my ´contact´ (the person Peace Corps talks to in site who really wants the volunteer to work there and who agrees to kind of help the integration into the community process) was about yoga and geology. And these were subjects he brought up. That kind of progressiveness and awareness out in the campo is pretty damn rare, to say the least. I´m looking forward to talking with him a lot more, especially once I can actually speak in Guarani like an intelligent adult. But that´s going to be awhile.
-Went to meet and visit another of my contacts one day who is the 6th grade teacher in the local school. We chatted for a bit but then he had to leave to go to some work stuff. Before he left, I was invited to stay at his house with his very sweet wife and teach her how to make pizza dough, because we had been talking about how one of my ¨jobs¨ is going to be to cook with the women of the community (trust me, they need new ideas). So me and Jorgelina spent the day in her little kitchen cooking away. To make the sauce, we went out to her garden and picked fresh oregano, tomatoes, green onions and carrots. Then she taught me how to make arroz con leche. We had a great time, and she barely speaks any Spanish. Somehow we managed to communicate effectively. I´m hoping for lots more days like those.
Okay that´s enough about that. You´ll hear many more stories about this place over the next 2 years. I don´t want to bore you yet. Now on to the next subject: Thanksgiving. Half of our traninig group got together and cooked up a huge feast (see pictures below). Chicken was substituted for turkey and there was no gravy, but other than that it was just like the real thing. This was my first Thanksgiving ever away from my family, so it was a little strange and a little sad, but I´ve made some pretty good friends here over the past couple months and they were good family stand-ins. I was also able to Skype with almost all of my family back in the states--thanks everyone for making that happen! It was wonderful to talk to and see you all. I hope we can do it again soon!
I need to give some big shouts out to all you awesome people who have sent me packages. Things at the post office here sometimes take a really long time, so in the last couple of weeks I finally recieved a whole bunch of things. I now officially have plenty of notecards and folders. Thank you sooooo much for responding to my pleas! Aunt Patt--the magazines were a great suprise, and I almost cried when I saw the Alibi--it was perfect. Kenna--you kick ass. I couldn´t ask for a better cousin. Grandma and Grandpa--the folders have let me become an organizing fool. My life feels much calmer now because of it. Nina--how freakin´sweet of you. I can´t wait to read the book and I´m using the Burt´s Bees as we speak (or type). I know there are other packages out there in postal no man´s land that are trying to find me, so don´t depair if I haven´t received yours yet. I will be extremely happy and grateful when I do.
IMPORTANT: If you are planning on sending packages during the next couple of months, I have a huge request. The post office in Asuncion (where I have to go to pick up any packages that are sent to me) only keeps the packages for about a month, after which time they are returned to sender if they´re not claimed. Since I´m going to be living so far away from Asuncion, I will definitely not be making it back there on a monthly basis. So, what I´ve learned recently is that courier services, i.e. DHL, FedEx, UPS, USPS Express Mail, deliver directly to the Peace Corps office where the packages are kept indefinitely. So my request is that any packages sent during the next couple months use one of these courier services, if you want to ensure that I get it eventually. I know they´re much more expensive so I understand if my package supply decreases, but I just want to make sure that I get whatever you want to send me. There is no change for letters. Just send those the cheapest way possible.
The spread
My Thanksgiving plate
After meal fun
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Big News
So the decisions have been made and we have finally been informed of our sites for the next two years. Yours truly is headed down to Libertad del Sur. It´s in one of the poorest parts of the country, in the department of Itapua in the far southeast of Paraguay. Apparently there´s been a lot of deforestation going on over the past 20 years to make room for large foreign-owned soy and wheat plantations. What forest remains is the last bit of the BAAPA (I´m not sure what that stands for, but it´s something about the Atlantic Forest--google it). The BAAPA used to cover about 70% of the country, but now only 3% of it is left. Sounds like I have lots of work and challenges ahead of me, but I´m excited about it all. Right now I´m in the city of Encarnacion waiting for the bus to Libertad del Sur. The next 5 days are our formal ¨site visit¨, where we stay with a ´contact´ who is supposed to start showing us around the place. My contact speaks very little Spanish, just like the rest of the community, so there´s going to be a lot of sitting around staring at each other while they talk about me in Guarani and I have no idea what´s going on. Good times..... I´m the first volunteer in this site so no one is going to have any idea why this crazy Norte is hanging around talking about trees and soil. Fortunately, there´s another volunteer just a few kilometers away from me so that´s going to make life very nice when I desperately need to speak English.
For those of you interested in knowing a little bit more about this place, you can google Procosara, which is an NGO working in the area to spread environmental awareness and help save what´s left of the forest. I´m sure I´ll be working with them at some point. In addition, the US Forest Service is actually involved in work in this part of Paraguay and I´m going to be meeting up with them the second week of December. Apparently there´s also a huge garden at the local school and the school also has a worm composting project which they make a lot of money off of by selling the castings to a local cooperative of some sort. I´m very excited about it all right now. My attitude may change after spending the next 5 days there, but I hope not.
I´ll be back in Guarambare next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. A lot of us Peace Corps trainees are getting together to make a huge meal and celebrate in style. To all of my relatives reading this right now: I would absolutely love to talk to the fam on Thanksgiving. I´m thinking the easiest and cheapest way for me to do this will be on Skype. I´ll be able to get to a computer and log onto my Skype account around 5:00 or 6:00 pm my time, which is 4 or 5 hours ahead of you (I´m not sure which one). So, wherever everyone is, i.e. Rob and Carole´s house, Hal and Patt´s house or wherever, make sure there is someone with a Skype account. You can easily make one if you don´t already have one. My Skype username is leahguay, so look me up on Skype and add me to your contact list. Also, email me your Skype username so I can add you to my contact list and call you as soon as I get on the internet on Thursday. My email is: leahmro@gmail.com. And keep your computers on and logged onto Skype that day.
Wish me luck this week!!!!!!!!
For those of you interested in knowing a little bit more about this place, you can google Procosara, which is an NGO working in the area to spread environmental awareness and help save what´s left of the forest. I´m sure I´ll be working with them at some point. In addition, the US Forest Service is actually involved in work in this part of Paraguay and I´m going to be meeting up with them the second week of December. Apparently there´s also a huge garden at the local school and the school also has a worm composting project which they make a lot of money off of by selling the castings to a local cooperative of some sort. I´m very excited about it all right now. My attitude may change after spending the next 5 days there, but I hope not.
I´ll be back in Guarambare next Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. A lot of us Peace Corps trainees are getting together to make a huge meal and celebrate in style. To all of my relatives reading this right now: I would absolutely love to talk to the fam on Thanksgiving. I´m thinking the easiest and cheapest way for me to do this will be on Skype. I´ll be able to get to a computer and log onto my Skype account around 5:00 or 6:00 pm my time, which is 4 or 5 hours ahead of you (I´m not sure which one). So, wherever everyone is, i.e. Rob and Carole´s house, Hal and Patt´s house or wherever, make sure there is someone with a Skype account. You can easily make one if you don´t already have one. My Skype username is leahguay, so look me up on Skype and add me to your contact list. Also, email me your Skype username so I can add you to my contact list and call you as soon as I get on the internet on Thursday. My email is: leahmro@gmail.com. And keep your computers on and logged onto Skype that day.
Wish me luck this week!!!!!!!!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Campo livin´
One more week of campo livin´ can now be checked off my list. We just returned from what Peace Corps calls ¨Long Field Practice¨, and I am glad to be back with my host family where there are no bugs that leave me looking like I have chicken pox. That´s right, my body is covered in red, itchy spots---and I mean covered and they´re not from mosquitos. This is my first experience with bedbugs or mbymby or whatever these little biting critters may be and it is not fun. I really hope that wherever I end up for the next 2 years does not have the same thing. But enough about my bodily problems......... The rest of the trip was pretty fun and eye-opening and a good prep for our lives as volunteers. We traveled about 5 hours away, some of the trip on horrendous dirt roads, and reached the site of a current volunteer who was our host for the week. He put us up with host families and introduced us to all of the projects he has been working on for the past 2 years. My host family, a young couple with two little boys, was very sweet and, thank god, spoke a little bit of Spanish. The only bad part about staying with them was the horrible bug bits that I must have acquired at their house. It rained A LOT while we were there, to the point that we thought we may be stuck out there for quite a while. But the last day the clouds cleared, the sun came out and the roads dried enough for us to leave. The coolest thing we did was begin the process of building a stove/oven for a family out of sand and clay. It´s called a Lorena stove, for those who are interested, and it starts with a sand/clay block that you let dry and then carve out holes for the the pots on top and a hole in the side for the fire and then tunnels connecting them all. It´s pretty cool and supposed to be much more efficient than cooking over open fires. I hope that I can make more of them once I start doing real projects in my site.
Speaking of, I find out this Wednesday where my site for the next 2 years is going to be. Exciting and nerve-racking, all at the same time. This also means that training is getting closer to being over--yay!!! Until I have more news, here are some pictures..........
The storm rolling in...........
The volunteer´s house at his site. This is the typical style of a volunteer´s house when they build them themselves. We were hangin´out on the porch watching the storm get closer.
A nest of spiders living on the porch of the volunteer´s house......freaky
The two little boys at the house where I stayed. They were very cute and sweet and liked to climb all over me. That´s there dad´s moto in the back, which is the main form of transportation in the campo
Me and Jake mixing up the sand and clay for the Lorena Stove
A nice view of the Paraguayan countryside
Walking back a little late after building the stove all afternoon
A beautiful sunset I managed to capture
Speaking of, I find out this Wednesday where my site for the next 2 years is going to be. Exciting and nerve-racking, all at the same time. This also means that training is getting closer to being over--yay!!! Until I have more news, here are some pictures..........
The storm rolling in...........
The volunteer´s house at his site. This is the typical style of a volunteer´s house when they build them themselves. We were hangin´out on the porch watching the storm get closer.
A nest of spiders living on the porch of the volunteer´s house......freaky
The two little boys at the house where I stayed. They were very cute and sweet and liked to climb all over me. That´s there dad´s moto in the back, which is the main form of transportation in the campo
Me and Jake mixing up the sand and clay for the Lorena Stove
A nice view of the Paraguayan countryside
Walking back a little late after building the stove all afternoon
A beautiful sunset I managed to capture
Saturday, November 7, 2009
I´ve never loved the rain so much in my life
It rained today!!!!!!!!!! I´ve been waiting for this for a good 2 weeks. It rained all last night and all this morning and now the temperature has dropped to at least 30 C. I´m loving life again.
This will be a short post because not much has happened since the last one, but since I made it to the internet cafe today, I couldn´t neglect the blog. Something a little crazy did happen last night that I may as well talk about. Right before it started raining, I was sitting in my room, reading Collapse by Jarod Diamond (which i am really getting into right now and highly recommend), when my host sister, Marianna, opens my door hysterical and crying and saying her mom (my host mom) is not feeling well. I rush outside to where they are and find my host mom slumped in a chair and Marianna screaming at her to wake up. I helped Marianna get her out of the chair and onto the ground, where my host mom then goes unconcious. Keep in mind, I have no idea what the hell is going on and definitely do not have the language skills to ask such questions in a time of crisis. The grandmother from across the yard comes over and is also trying to wake her up and putting cold things on her head. I totally thought she was either dying or dead. I kept feeling for a pulse, but couldn´t find one. I was getting so worked up about it at this point that I almost passed out, too. Marianna kept screaming and calling people on her cell phone, while the grandmother keeps saying her name over and over and massaging her limbs. My host mom is diabetic so I assumed she was in some sort of insulin shock. I also thought for sure that they were calling people with a vehicle to come and get her and take her to a hospital. But no. Some neighbors come by, my host dad finally gets home from who knows where, and truck comes, but no one really does anything different. They just keep putting cool things on her head and saying her name and massaging her limbs. I thought they were crazy and wanted to yell and scream and tell them to get her to a doctor, but I don´t know how to say the in Guarani yet. Or Spanish, for that matter. Eventually, after at least 30 minutes of her being unconcious, she starts to come to and they´re able to move her to a chair and one of the first things she asks is if I still need my tea (I had not been feeling well that day). I assured her that I was fine, relatively, and that no, of course I don´t need any tea right now! The whole situation was absolutely crazy and I had a very difficult time sleeping last night. When my language teachers came for our language class this morning, I asked them to talk to my family so they could explain to me what the hell happened. Apparently, she had just worked herself up into a frenzy and passed out, maybe a panic attack, unhealthy conditions, she had been at the funeral of her uncle the day before, her son was being confirmed the next day, etc., etc., etc. I still don´t really buy it, but I guess that´s what happened. Hopefully it does not happen again. It really opened my eyes to some of the health problems I may be witness to once I´m out in the campo, where a trip to the doctor is not an option. (Except for me, of course. Dont´worry. I can always call the PC medical people and they´ll come pick me up immediately). I hope I can help if the need arises, at least more than I did last night.
We´re all leaving for what they call Long Field Practice next week for the whole week. We´re going to another volunteer´s site to get more of a taste of what it´s like to be a volunteer and practice some of the things that we may be doing as volunteers. The host family I stay with will probably only speak Guarani, so it should be interesting, to say the least. The week will be full of awkward sitations. But that´s what the Peace Corps is all about.
Until next time----
This will be a short post because not much has happened since the last one, but since I made it to the internet cafe today, I couldn´t neglect the blog. Something a little crazy did happen last night that I may as well talk about. Right before it started raining, I was sitting in my room, reading Collapse by Jarod Diamond (which i am really getting into right now and highly recommend), when my host sister, Marianna, opens my door hysterical and crying and saying her mom (my host mom) is not feeling well. I rush outside to where they are and find my host mom slumped in a chair and Marianna screaming at her to wake up. I helped Marianna get her out of the chair and onto the ground, where my host mom then goes unconcious. Keep in mind, I have no idea what the hell is going on and definitely do not have the language skills to ask such questions in a time of crisis. The grandmother from across the yard comes over and is also trying to wake her up and putting cold things on her head. I totally thought she was either dying or dead. I kept feeling for a pulse, but couldn´t find one. I was getting so worked up about it at this point that I almost passed out, too. Marianna kept screaming and calling people on her cell phone, while the grandmother keeps saying her name over and over and massaging her limbs. My host mom is diabetic so I assumed she was in some sort of insulin shock. I also thought for sure that they were calling people with a vehicle to come and get her and take her to a hospital. But no. Some neighbors come by, my host dad finally gets home from who knows where, and truck comes, but no one really does anything different. They just keep putting cool things on her head and saying her name and massaging her limbs. I thought they were crazy and wanted to yell and scream and tell them to get her to a doctor, but I don´t know how to say the in Guarani yet. Or Spanish, for that matter. Eventually, after at least 30 minutes of her being unconcious, she starts to come to and they´re able to move her to a chair and one of the first things she asks is if I still need my tea (I had not been feeling well that day). I assured her that I was fine, relatively, and that no, of course I don´t need any tea right now! The whole situation was absolutely crazy and I had a very difficult time sleeping last night. When my language teachers came for our language class this morning, I asked them to talk to my family so they could explain to me what the hell happened. Apparently, she had just worked herself up into a frenzy and passed out, maybe a panic attack, unhealthy conditions, she had been at the funeral of her uncle the day before, her son was being confirmed the next day, etc., etc., etc. I still don´t really buy it, but I guess that´s what happened. Hopefully it does not happen again. It really opened my eyes to some of the health problems I may be witness to once I´m out in the campo, where a trip to the doctor is not an option. (Except for me, of course. Dont´worry. I can always call the PC medical people and they´ll come pick me up immediately). I hope I can help if the need arises, at least more than I did last night.
We´re all leaving for what they call Long Field Practice next week for the whole week. We´re going to another volunteer´s site to get more of a taste of what it´s like to be a volunteer and practice some of the things that we may be doing as volunteers. The host family I stay with will probably only speak Guarani, so it should be interesting, to say the least. The week will be full of awkward sitations. But that´s what the Peace Corps is all about.
Until next time----
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hakueterei
It is HOT down here. The title of this post, “hakueterei”, means “it’s really hot” in Guaraní. And that’s pretty much what everyone says at least once an hour, if not more. For the last week or so it’s been hovering right around 40°C (~105°F) with no rain and it doesn’t cool off much at night. What’s really bad is that it’s only Spring right now so I can’t imagine how I’m going to survive the Summer. Wish me luck.
A few of us from my agroforestry group decided that we needed to spend last Saturday afternoon drinking some beer to help battle the heat and to celebrate Halloween. It’s a good hour walk into the nearest town where this can occur, and we have class on Saturday mornings, so of course we didn’t start walking until 3:00 pm. Did I mention how hot it is? Especially in the middle of the afternoon? Anyway, we managed to complete the trek all nice and dehydrated and ready to drink some liters of really light, weak Brahma beer. The local favorite. And the only option, I might add. We had a great time, spoke lots of English and in general recuperated from the past week of language and technical classes. Before we knew it, it was too late to walk home (not supposed to walk in the dark) so we decided to stay in town for the Paraguayan Halloween fiesta that was going on and take a taxi home later. Fiestas like these don’t really start hoppin’ until pretty late at night, like 11:00 or 12:00, but by 9:00 pm we had nothing else to do but help start the party early. The bumpin’ music led the way to the big, open field where we paid the admission and started dancing to the odd mix of reggaeton and polka. Keep in mind, however, that there weren’t many Paraguayans there yet at this hour and the ones that were there were sitting in chairs surrounding the obvious dancing area in front of a huge stage. If not for the stage and the music, you would not have been able to tell that this was a big outdoor fiesta. But that did not stop us Nortes from dancin’ and dancin’ and dancin’, with all Paraguayan eyes on us because there was no one else on the dance floor for a good hour or two. I can’t imagine what they were thinking, nor do I want to. Eventually the party really started going and we were joined by others, but that did not help hide the obvious American-ness of us. At their dancing max, Paraguayans tend to move around about as much as my grandma (no offense, grandma) which is encouraged by their regular dancing formation of two long lines facing each other. Needless to say, us Nortes did not join the lines and my flailing hippie dance must have shocked and appalled the onlookers. But it was by far the most fun I’ve had so far. We danced and laughed so much for so long that my whole body was sore the next day. Even without costumes, that will be a memorable Halloween.
To top off a great weekend, I went to my first real fútbol game on Sunday. Olympia vs. 12 de Octubre (lots of things are named after dates around here, like towns and streets and fútbol clubs). Our group consisted of a few Americans and a few Paraguayans, so it was quite the cultural experience. We had to take a couple buses and walk a lot to get to the stadium where we sat for at least an hour, in direct sun, before the game started. It was so freakin’ hot I thought I was melting (I told you, we talk about how hot it is constantly). But I didn’t melt and the game began and the crowd in our section was on their feet the whole time. They also sang. The entire time. Complete with drums and waving flags and banners. Seriously, the energy never let up, even though “our” team lost. It was a very cool experience. I especially enjoyed watching a player from the other team trying to make a corner kick while at the same time dodging flying bottles being thrown over the fence from the heckling crowd. And then watching the police riot squad escorting the referees out of the stadium after the game. I love Latin America.
One last note: If anyone is dying to send me anything, I could REALLY use notecards and folders. Normal, school folders with the pockets on the inside do not exist here in Paraguay and I have so many loose pieces of paper from training that I´m about to go crazy. The notecards are for flashcards, also made of a material that does not exist here. Thanks, in advance, if anyone pulls through....
A few of us from my agroforestry group decided that we needed to spend last Saturday afternoon drinking some beer to help battle the heat and to celebrate Halloween. It’s a good hour walk into the nearest town where this can occur, and we have class on Saturday mornings, so of course we didn’t start walking until 3:00 pm. Did I mention how hot it is? Especially in the middle of the afternoon? Anyway, we managed to complete the trek all nice and dehydrated and ready to drink some liters of really light, weak Brahma beer. The local favorite. And the only option, I might add. We had a great time, spoke lots of English and in general recuperated from the past week of language and technical classes. Before we knew it, it was too late to walk home (not supposed to walk in the dark) so we decided to stay in town for the Paraguayan Halloween fiesta that was going on and take a taxi home later. Fiestas like these don’t really start hoppin’ until pretty late at night, like 11:00 or 12:00, but by 9:00 pm we had nothing else to do but help start the party early. The bumpin’ music led the way to the big, open field where we paid the admission and started dancing to the odd mix of reggaeton and polka. Keep in mind, however, that there weren’t many Paraguayans there yet at this hour and the ones that were there were sitting in chairs surrounding the obvious dancing area in front of a huge stage. If not for the stage and the music, you would not have been able to tell that this was a big outdoor fiesta. But that did not stop us Nortes from dancin’ and dancin’ and dancin’, with all Paraguayan eyes on us because there was no one else on the dance floor for a good hour or two. I can’t imagine what they were thinking, nor do I want to. Eventually the party really started going and we were joined by others, but that did not help hide the obvious American-ness of us. At their dancing max, Paraguayans tend to move around about as much as my grandma (no offense, grandma) which is encouraged by their regular dancing formation of two long lines facing each other. Needless to say, us Nortes did not join the lines and my flailing hippie dance must have shocked and appalled the onlookers. But it was by far the most fun I’ve had so far. We danced and laughed so much for so long that my whole body was sore the next day. Even without costumes, that will be a memorable Halloween.
To top off a great weekend, I went to my first real fútbol game on Sunday. Olympia vs. 12 de Octubre (lots of things are named after dates around here, like towns and streets and fútbol clubs). Our group consisted of a few Americans and a few Paraguayans, so it was quite the cultural experience. We had to take a couple buses and walk a lot to get to the stadium where we sat for at least an hour, in direct sun, before the game started. It was so freakin’ hot I thought I was melting (I told you, we talk about how hot it is constantly). But I didn’t melt and the game began and the crowd in our section was on their feet the whole time. They also sang. The entire time. Complete with drums and waving flags and banners. Seriously, the energy never let up, even though “our” team lost. It was a very cool experience. I especially enjoyed watching a player from the other team trying to make a corner kick while at the same time dodging flying bottles being thrown over the fence from the heckling crowd. And then watching the police riot squad escorting the referees out of the stadium after the game. I love Latin America.
One last note: If anyone is dying to send me anything, I could REALLY use notecards and folders. Normal, school folders with the pockets on the inside do not exist here in Paraguay and I have so many loose pieces of paper from training that I´m about to go crazy. The notecards are for flashcards, also made of a material that does not exist here. Thanks, in advance, if anyone pulls through....
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
All´s well
Not much to write about today, but I´m catching you all up with some pictures that I´ve been meaning to post for a while. My health is back up to par, no need to worry. I´m taking Ciproflaxin, so anything living in my stomach or intestines is bound to be dead by now. Our agroforestry group spent the weekend at a sweet agroforestry demonstration farm so now we´re all pumped as to the possiblities when we finally get to our sites. Anyway, here are the photos:
My hose mom (left) and aunt (right) in the kitchen with some of the dead, or soon to be dead, chickens
One of our many dogs, Monito, chewing on a chicken foot. Priceless.
Part of the mess of the chicken harvest. In an obviously very sterile environment....
This is me milking my first cow. I was pretty bad at it (it´s much harder than it looks for you cityfolk out there) but I´ve since done it a couple more times and have definitely picked up the skill
This is a wall in one of the houses at the volunteer´s site whom I visited a couple of weeks ago. Those are armadillo shells hanging on the wall, some painted green, because that´s what they hunt around there for fun. I think it´s just funny.
This is what that volunteer´s site looks like. It´s in one of the prettiest areas of Paraguay, so I hear.
Part of the agroforestry gang, drinking beers at the local bar, Papu´s.
A sweet picture of a butterfly I took today when visiting a tree nursery at a University near Asuncion
While at the university, we also went to the taxidermy museum. So this is me with some weird stuffed animals.
My hose mom (left) and aunt (right) in the kitchen with some of the dead, or soon to be dead, chickens
One of our many dogs, Monito, chewing on a chicken foot. Priceless.
Part of the mess of the chicken harvest. In an obviously very sterile environment....
This is me milking my first cow. I was pretty bad at it (it´s much harder than it looks for you cityfolk out there) but I´ve since done it a couple more times and have definitely picked up the skill
This is a wall in one of the houses at the volunteer´s site whom I visited a couple of weeks ago. Those are armadillo shells hanging on the wall, some painted green, because that´s what they hunt around there for fun. I think it´s just funny.
This is what that volunteer´s site looks like. It´s in one of the prettiest areas of Paraguay, so I hear.
Part of the agroforestry gang, drinking beers at the local bar, Papu´s.
A sweet picture of a butterfly I took today when visiting a tree nursery at a University near Asuncion
While at the university, we also went to the taxidermy museum. So this is me with some weird stuffed animals.
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