It's summer! Well almost. The last day of school is Tuesday but the kids and teachers have already been in the summer mindset for weeks, only showing up to school for an hour or so for "exams".
As the days get hotter and longer, the conversations get shorter with sips of terere filling the gap. A typical conversation goes something like this:
"Haku"
"Heê, haku porã"
(It's hot.
Yeah, it's really hot.)
*Repeat every few minutes just in case someone forgot.
My community seems like a ghost town during siesta and most outdoor work occurs 5-10am and 4-8pm. I was working in my garden one afternoon and when I went to take a cold shower, my neighbor told me I had to wait until I wasn't so sweaty or else I was likely to explode. And that would have been unfortunate.
Speaking of gardening, I'm getting quite good at it! There are many vegetables and fruits that grow during the intense summers here. I have planted beet, squash, sunflower, cucumber, carrot, green pepper and eggplant. I'm hoping that people will see my lindo garden and want one of their own. Since my community is located so close to the pueblo, many people just go into town and buy veggies rather than growing them. Having their own gardens would be cheaper in the long run and much more convenient. I also want to start cooking classes because most people don't know how to cook with veggies.
This summer I'm also planning a couple of summer camps for the kids. One with general health themes and another as an art camp. I am definitely not an artist but the kids here don't really have a sense of creativity. They spend all day in school copying the teacher's notes off the chalk board and get in trouble if it's not perfect. I want to help them realize that it's okay to express yourself and be creative. So we'll see how that goes.
I have my computer back so hopefully I'll be able to update more often with blogs and pictures. I love and miss you all, especially this holiday season!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Meltdown
The 8 month mark in Paraguay came and went. And I´ve discovered the past couple weeks that Peace Corps is not all baby animals and sunsets. Yes, I´ve had rough days but nothing compares to the past couple weeks.
It started when I got an infection that caused a very painful rash. After a couple of days I couple hardly walk; even the 30 meters to my neighbors`house was excruciating. I couldn´t walk therefore I couldn´t work. I stayed in my house all day and felt sorry for myself.
Then last weekend I got home from a very painful journey into town and my cat had knocked my computer off the dresser and the screen broke. So not only could I not walk, now I had lost contact with all my friends and family back home. I called a friend here in hysterics and she calmly told me that the world is not over and to text my parents so they can call me. They called a few minutes later and just hearing a familiar voice made such a huge difference.
However, I was still in a lot of pain. I had spoken with the Peace Corps doctor but the treatment she suggested wasn´t working. I finally decided it was time to go to the hospital. I told my host family what had been going on. Paraguayans are pretty ¨sin verguenza¨ (without shame) when discussing physical problems so I told them exactly what was wrong. They arranged for a ride to take me to the hospital. It was a very strange experience. The doctors in the ER were all hanging out and drinking tererè. After several minutes I went in, told them what was going on and they gave me a new treatment. This helped with the pain briefly but it was still very difficult to walk.
I had basically abandoned all work I was doing. I left the house maybe once or twice a day. My host mom came over to check on me at least 4 times a day to make sure I wasn´t in too much pain but she was still very worried. She told me everyday that I needed to go to Asunciòn and see my doctor there. I took her advice after a total of 9 days with this infection.
Now I´m back in site and doing much better. I walked over a mile yesterday and still felt alright. My computer is still broken but it´s not the end of the world. I was very lucky to have received two packages from home just before this whole ordeal started so I was able to surround myself with things that reminded me of home and with letters reminding me that I am not alone. But I think the biggest help came from talking with my host family. Once they knew that I wasn´t just hiding in my house because I hated everyone, they came to visit often and made sure that I was doing alright. I realized that when I´m having rough times, I can´t do everything on my own. And just when I start to feel that everyone at home has forgotten about me and moved on with their lives, I get a letter or something reminding me that that´s not true.
So aside from a lot of complaining in this post, I just want to thank everyone so much who reads this, sends me letters or packages, or just thinks about me throughout the day. It means a lot. Also, thank you to Mrs. Haskell and the students at St. Charles Catholic School who, even though you don´t know me or my community personally, you want to help us however you can.
It´s a hard journey that I´ve been crazy enough to go on. But you guys make it a whole lot easier.
It started when I got an infection that caused a very painful rash. After a couple of days I couple hardly walk; even the 30 meters to my neighbors`house was excruciating. I couldn´t walk therefore I couldn´t work. I stayed in my house all day and felt sorry for myself.
Then last weekend I got home from a very painful journey into town and my cat had knocked my computer off the dresser and the screen broke. So not only could I not walk, now I had lost contact with all my friends and family back home. I called a friend here in hysterics and she calmly told me that the world is not over and to text my parents so they can call me. They called a few minutes later and just hearing a familiar voice made such a huge difference.
However, I was still in a lot of pain. I had spoken with the Peace Corps doctor but the treatment she suggested wasn´t working. I finally decided it was time to go to the hospital. I told my host family what had been going on. Paraguayans are pretty ¨sin verguenza¨ (without shame) when discussing physical problems so I told them exactly what was wrong. They arranged for a ride to take me to the hospital. It was a very strange experience. The doctors in the ER were all hanging out and drinking tererè. After several minutes I went in, told them what was going on and they gave me a new treatment. This helped with the pain briefly but it was still very difficult to walk.
I had basically abandoned all work I was doing. I left the house maybe once or twice a day. My host mom came over to check on me at least 4 times a day to make sure I wasn´t in too much pain but she was still very worried. She told me everyday that I needed to go to Asunciòn and see my doctor there. I took her advice after a total of 9 days with this infection.
Now I´m back in site and doing much better. I walked over a mile yesterday and still felt alright. My computer is still broken but it´s not the end of the world. I was very lucky to have received two packages from home just before this whole ordeal started so I was able to surround myself with things that reminded me of home and with letters reminding me that I am not alone. But I think the biggest help came from talking with my host family. Once they knew that I wasn´t just hiding in my house because I hated everyone, they came to visit often and made sure that I was doing alright. I realized that when I´m having rough times, I can´t do everything on my own. And just when I start to feel that everyone at home has forgotten about me and moved on with their lives, I get a letter or something reminding me that that´s not true.
So aside from a lot of complaining in this post, I just want to thank everyone so much who reads this, sends me letters or packages, or just thinks about me throughout the day. It means a lot. Also, thank you to Mrs. Haskell and the students at St. Charles Catholic School who, even though you don´t know me or my community personally, you want to help us however you can.
It´s a hard journey that I´ve been crazy enough to go on. But you guys make it a whole lot easier.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Spring!
Today is the first day of spring here in the Southern Hemisphere, first day of fall for all you up in the North. It’s weird to think that winter just ended because it’s been ridiculously hot the past couple weeks. Paraguay does not conform to anything, not even the movement of the planets apparently.
Yesterday I went to the school to talk with the Director about starting charlas (short lessons) with the kids. I had kind of been neglecting the school for the past couple of months, I’m not sure why. When I first got here and was visiting the school regularly I always ended up sitting in a circle with the teachers while the talked about me in Guarani. It was uncomfortable but now I’m too the point where I understand more Guarani and sitting in a group of people not understanding much doesn’t really bother me anymore. So yesterday I decided to give the school another chance.
I thought I was planning strategically when I showed up near the end of the day so I wouldn’t get stuck talking with the teachers about my lack of a Paraguayan boyfriend for hours. But of course, nothing really ever goes as planned here. I talked to the Director for a few minutes and then he said, “by the way, you’re just in time for the meeting with the commission de padres (like a PTA). Would you like to say a few words or do you want me to talk?” I told him it didn’t matter. I did end up in a circle of women discussing my relationships, or lack thereof, but it was brief and the meeting began. A representative from PLAN (an NGO that works in many countries worldwide) talked about what they could do for our community. It was in Guarani so I zoned out. Then after about an hour the Director got up and said that I would like to say a few words. Crap. I had no idea what he wanted me to say so I just babbled on a bit about how I would be teaching their kids how to brush their teeth and that this summer I would be having a couple of summer camps for the kids. The end.
After the meeting I hung around for a bit and chatted with people. The Director was already planning on cancelling school for today because it was going to rain. And sure enough last night the storm started and it hasn’t stopped raining since! Volunteers love rain days. School is cancelled because the dirt roads have turned into muddy rivers and no one leaves their houses. It gives us a chance to rest, read a book, stare at the wall, without feeling like we are neglecting our community. I love my community but sometimes it’s nice to shut all my doors, think in English again and relax.
Work-wise, like I said before, I’ll be starting charlas in the school next week. I’m starting with dental health for 4 weeks. I’m also teaching the teachers how to make homemade detergent. I’ll also be working with the assistant director to get fluoride and parasite pills for all the kids in the school for next year and putting together a first aid kit with help from the hospital in Santani. Summer break starts in about 5 weeks, lots to do before then!
Yesterday I went to the school to talk with the Director about starting charlas (short lessons) with the kids. I had kind of been neglecting the school for the past couple of months, I’m not sure why. When I first got here and was visiting the school regularly I always ended up sitting in a circle with the teachers while the talked about me in Guarani. It was uncomfortable but now I’m too the point where I understand more Guarani and sitting in a group of people not understanding much doesn’t really bother me anymore. So yesterday I decided to give the school another chance.
I thought I was planning strategically when I showed up near the end of the day so I wouldn’t get stuck talking with the teachers about my lack of a Paraguayan boyfriend for hours. But of course, nothing really ever goes as planned here. I talked to the Director for a few minutes and then he said, “by the way, you’re just in time for the meeting with the commission de padres (like a PTA). Would you like to say a few words or do you want me to talk?” I told him it didn’t matter. I did end up in a circle of women discussing my relationships, or lack thereof, but it was brief and the meeting began. A representative from PLAN (an NGO that works in many countries worldwide) talked about what they could do for our community. It was in Guarani so I zoned out. Then after about an hour the Director got up and said that I would like to say a few words. Crap. I had no idea what he wanted me to say so I just babbled on a bit about how I would be teaching their kids how to brush their teeth and that this summer I would be having a couple of summer camps for the kids. The end.
After the meeting I hung around for a bit and chatted with people. The Director was already planning on cancelling school for today because it was going to rain. And sure enough last night the storm started and it hasn’t stopped raining since! Volunteers love rain days. School is cancelled because the dirt roads have turned into muddy rivers and no one leaves their houses. It gives us a chance to rest, read a book, stare at the wall, without feeling like we are neglecting our community. I love my community but sometimes it’s nice to shut all my doors, think in English again and relax.
Work-wise, like I said before, I’ll be starting charlas in the school next week. I’m starting with dental health for 4 weeks. I’m also teaching the teachers how to make homemade detergent. I’ll also be working with the assistant director to get fluoride and parasite pills for all the kids in the school for next year and putting together a first aid kit with help from the hospital in Santani. Summer break starts in about 5 weeks, lots to do before then!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Ups and Downs
Well August absolutely flew by. At the beginning of August, my group (G-32) had our 3-month Reconnect. We had some more language classes and boring stuff like that during they day. It was really nice to go back and stay with my host family from training. I feel like I've progressed a lot in my language since training and I was actually able to sit down and have a long conversation with them.
I also turned 22 in August. My birthday, to be completely honest, sucked. The only people who knew it was my birthday also knew that some other volunteer friends were coming to visit that weekend so they didn't make a big deal out of it. They all said "felicidades" and gave me the double-cheek kiss but that was about it. Oh, and my neighbors and I built a shelf for my house. My birthday also happened to be on the same day as a senora's birthday in the community so that night everyone went over to celebrate with her while I stayed at home alone. That was no doubt one of my lowest times here in Paraguay. But I can't really blame anyone here, I mean, they've known that women for probably most of their lives and I just showed up. Next year is bound to be better. Anyway, that weekend was great. Several of my friends came to visit and we hung out, ate delicious food (I finally opened my bbq sauce from Kansas City) and had a good time.
August was the month of burning. Farmers burning their fields before planting, people burning their trash (they always do that but it's worse in August) and wild fires from the previous two. Because of this, the moon was an eerie orange most nights, if you could see it at all through the smog. If you look up the weather online, the forecast all over Paraguay is for "smoke"; that's how bad it is. It got hot very quickly but just when I thought winter was over, September brought back the rain and cold. Luckily, the forecast says it's supposed to get up to 100 Fahrenheit by next week. Such is the weather in Paraguay.
Yesterday I got running water at my house! It's just a spout out back but it makes washing dishes and clothes so much easier. No more lugging buckets of water over from the neighbors house. I washed all my clothes by hand in under and hour today!
I am buying a piglet from my neighbors soon. They have 12 piglets that will be weaned from their mother by this next week and I'm going to claim one. A baby animal is surprisingly cheap here. The price goes up the longer you wait to buy it though, since the owner has to continue feeding it. I have no idea how to take care of a pig but a number of people have offered to help me. I'm going to raise it for food, not as a pet so don't worry mom and dad, I won't be bringing a pig home in 2 years.
This month is looking to be very busy. I'm hoping to get a community garden started up in a little barrio of Guaica. It's government housing and while many people there want a garden, they simply don't have the space. Luckily there is a huge plot of land very close to them that we're hoping to get our hands on. I also just discovered that my back yard is a lot bigger than I thought. I know, that sounds dumb but there's a face back there. I only just found out that the area behind the fence is also mine. So, I'll also be starting my own garden soon!
That's about all that's going on here. I'll be posting more pictures soon hopefully. Miss you all!
I also turned 22 in August. My birthday, to be completely honest, sucked. The only people who knew it was my birthday also knew that some other volunteer friends were coming to visit that weekend so they didn't make a big deal out of it. They all said "felicidades" and gave me the double-cheek kiss but that was about it. Oh, and my neighbors and I built a shelf for my house. My birthday also happened to be on the same day as a senora's birthday in the community so that night everyone went over to celebrate with her while I stayed at home alone. That was no doubt one of my lowest times here in Paraguay. But I can't really blame anyone here, I mean, they've known that women for probably most of their lives and I just showed up. Next year is bound to be better. Anyway, that weekend was great. Several of my friends came to visit and we hung out, ate delicious food (I finally opened my bbq sauce from Kansas City) and had a good time.
August was the month of burning. Farmers burning their fields before planting, people burning their trash (they always do that but it's worse in August) and wild fires from the previous two. Because of this, the moon was an eerie orange most nights, if you could see it at all through the smog. If you look up the weather online, the forecast all over Paraguay is for "smoke"; that's how bad it is. It got hot very quickly but just when I thought winter was over, September brought back the rain and cold. Luckily, the forecast says it's supposed to get up to 100 Fahrenheit by next week. Such is the weather in Paraguay.
Yesterday I got running water at my house! It's just a spout out back but it makes washing dishes and clothes so much easier. No more lugging buckets of water over from the neighbors house. I washed all my clothes by hand in under and hour today!
I am buying a piglet from my neighbors soon. They have 12 piglets that will be weaned from their mother by this next week and I'm going to claim one. A baby animal is surprisingly cheap here. The price goes up the longer you wait to buy it though, since the owner has to continue feeding it. I have no idea how to take care of a pig but a number of people have offered to help me. I'm going to raise it for food, not as a pet so don't worry mom and dad, I won't be bringing a pig home in 2 years.
This month is looking to be very busy. I'm hoping to get a community garden started up in a little barrio of Guaica. It's government housing and while many people there want a garden, they simply don't have the space. Luckily there is a huge plot of land very close to them that we're hoping to get our hands on. I also just discovered that my back yard is a lot bigger than I thought. I know, that sounds dumb but there's a face back there. I only just found out that the area behind the fence is also mine. So, I'll also be starting my own garden soon!
That's about all that's going on here. I'll be posting more pictures soon hopefully. Miss you all!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
On My Own
I am all moved in to my house! I'm going to try to add some pictures to this but we'll see if it works. I don't have running water or a bathroom yet so I bring buckets of water over from my neighbor's house and use their bathroom. I can usually get by on 1-2 buckets of water a day unless I do laundry, then it's an additional 1-2 buckets. I just dug a trash pit in my back yard and I'm still deciding if I want to have a garden or not.
I couldn't resist adding this one. My neighbor's sow had 12 babies!! They are adorable. They are about 2 weeks old in the picture.
My kitchen, already messy. My oven is in the center and the walls are nicely decorated with pictures that Jill sent :). The house had 2 gas ovens in it already but they don't work. They are piled over in the corner which my host mom calls "el museo" (the museum).
My trash pit; only took me an hour to dig. Also, an example of why your should put a fence around your trash pit. Animals love digging through it looking for food.
My bedroom. I made frames for the pictures I brought from home and hung them on the wall. Also, there is another bed frame over to the side so whoever comes to visit me will have a bed to sleep in!
I have a lot more pictures that I will put on Facebook eventually and hopefully soon I will have pictures to post of my bathroom!
I couldn't resist adding this one. My neighbor's sow had 12 babies!! They are adorable. They are about 2 weeks old in the picture.
My kitchen, already messy. My oven is in the center and the walls are nicely decorated with pictures that Jill sent :). The house had 2 gas ovens in it already but they don't work. They are piled over in the corner which my host mom calls "el museo" (the museum).
My trash pit; only took me an hour to dig. Also, an example of why your should put a fence around your trash pit. Animals love digging through it looking for food.
My bedroom. I made frames for the pictures I brought from home and hung them on the wall. Also, there is another bed frame over to the side so whoever comes to visit me will have a bed to sleep in!
I have a lot more pictures that I will put on Facebook eventually and hopefully soon I will have pictures to post of my bathroom!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Then and Now
Six months ago my plane left the US bound for some country that many Americans don't even know exists. Paraguay has become my home and the people here my family. I still have dreams almost every night about being back in the States with my family and friends. I still sometimes wake up not knowing where I am and having to remind myself that I'm in Paraguay. I still have cravings for good cheese, chocolate or Kansas City barbecue. I've learned a lot in the past 6 months and I'm going to share some of those things.
I'm learning to cook! Real food, not just mac & cheese (although if anyone wants to send me some, I would be very happy). I've gotten pretty good at peeling vegetables with a knife. I actually enjoy eating lots of vegetables now! I can't really make anything without a recipe, let's not get crazy now.
Sharing has become a lot easier. Not that I didn't like to share before but it's different now. We share bites of food, the straw with tereré, glasses and silverware at meals. My host family does this thing where whoever gets the chicken heart cuts it into pieces and gives everyone a piece. I always thought that was cool.
I'm not as easily offended. During training my host mom commented on how everyone seemed to be losing weight except for me, who seemed to be gaining it. Not that my losing weight would be a good thing but I had never really been told something like that before. But I got into site and the women greet each other with "Hola gordita!" and it's meant endearingly. Because after all, if you're fat, you're happy!
Everyone knows everyone else's business. Secrets don't stay secrets for long and the best thing to do on a hot afternoon or a cold night is sit around and gossip. Everyone knows what I'm doing, where I'm living and who I danced with at the last fiesta. By the way, I'm supposedly getting married to my friend Eduardo because we danced for so long at the San Juan festival.
Bugs and spiders aren't really all that scary anymore. When I see a huge spider now I want to take pictures of it to gross people out back home. That's probably a good thing since there are tons of spiders living in my walls. We ignore each other though and it's all good.
Buses will always be late and over-filled so there's no reason to get upset about it. Usually there will be breast-feeding mothers, livestock and various furniture on the bus as well. I recently drank mate with a bus driver on a chilly morning while I was basically sitting on the dashboard. You just kinda have to go with it.
Along with going with the flow, I can now sit with a group of people only understanding about 10% of what's going on and be completely comfortable. I'm used to being stared at, being asked all sorts of ridiculous questions and saying thank you when someone says they like the color of my skin, as if I had anything to do with it.
If I want or need anything, I can't just ask for it directly because that would be rude. If I would like a glass of water at a neighbors house, I could wait for one to be offered, or I could say "Would you mind, if it's not too much trouble and if you're not too busy, getting me a glass of water and by the way, your outfit today is fantastic.” I'm no longer confused when someone says "come here a little" or when I'm told to put something "here no more". It's just more polite that way.
I've learned that many Guarani words sound almost exactly alike. Mburukuja, mbarakaja, mbaraka, and mbokaja just to name a few (passion fruit, cat, guitar and coconut palm). I'm pretty sure the native Guarani tribes just did this to confuse silly foreigners trying to learn their language in the future.
Roosters do NOT only crow at dawn. They crow all night and all day. And guinea hens are even worse. I didn't even know what a guinea hen was 6 months ago and now it's my nemesis at 4am when it won't shut up.
I've learned that I'm a lot stronger than I thought. I've done crazy things like dig a latrine hole with a bowl, teach a group of women how to bake bread in Guarani, sit around while everyone critiques everything about me, take a cold shower in the dark when it's so cold outside I can see my breath. Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever and then remembering I still have 21 months left makes me miss home so much. But most times I'm happy to have 21 months left because that means I still have a lot of time to do great things here.
Thank you all so much for your continued support. I love getting mail, I love hearing about what's going on in your lives and I think about you all everyday.
Love,
Mandi
I'm learning to cook! Real food, not just mac & cheese (although if anyone wants to send me some, I would be very happy). I've gotten pretty good at peeling vegetables with a knife. I actually enjoy eating lots of vegetables now! I can't really make anything without a recipe, let's not get crazy now.
Sharing has become a lot easier. Not that I didn't like to share before but it's different now. We share bites of food, the straw with tereré, glasses and silverware at meals. My host family does this thing where whoever gets the chicken heart cuts it into pieces and gives everyone a piece. I always thought that was cool.
I'm not as easily offended. During training my host mom commented on how everyone seemed to be losing weight except for me, who seemed to be gaining it. Not that my losing weight would be a good thing but I had never really been told something like that before. But I got into site and the women greet each other with "Hola gordita!" and it's meant endearingly. Because after all, if you're fat, you're happy!
Everyone knows everyone else's business. Secrets don't stay secrets for long and the best thing to do on a hot afternoon or a cold night is sit around and gossip. Everyone knows what I'm doing, where I'm living and who I danced with at the last fiesta. By the way, I'm supposedly getting married to my friend Eduardo because we danced for so long at the San Juan festival.
Bugs and spiders aren't really all that scary anymore. When I see a huge spider now I want to take pictures of it to gross people out back home. That's probably a good thing since there are tons of spiders living in my walls. We ignore each other though and it's all good.
Buses will always be late and over-filled so there's no reason to get upset about it. Usually there will be breast-feeding mothers, livestock and various furniture on the bus as well. I recently drank mate with a bus driver on a chilly morning while I was basically sitting on the dashboard. You just kinda have to go with it.
Along with going with the flow, I can now sit with a group of people only understanding about 10% of what's going on and be completely comfortable. I'm used to being stared at, being asked all sorts of ridiculous questions and saying thank you when someone says they like the color of my skin, as if I had anything to do with it.
If I want or need anything, I can't just ask for it directly because that would be rude. If I would like a glass of water at a neighbors house, I could wait for one to be offered, or I could say "Would you mind, if it's not too much trouble and if you're not too busy, getting me a glass of water and by the way, your outfit today is fantastic.” I'm no longer confused when someone says "come here a little" or when I'm told to put something "here no more". It's just more polite that way.
I've learned that many Guarani words sound almost exactly alike. Mburukuja, mbarakaja, mbaraka, and mbokaja just to name a few (passion fruit, cat, guitar and coconut palm). I'm pretty sure the native Guarani tribes just did this to confuse silly foreigners trying to learn their language in the future.
Roosters do NOT only crow at dawn. They crow all night and all day. And guinea hens are even worse. I didn't even know what a guinea hen was 6 months ago and now it's my nemesis at 4am when it won't shut up.
I've learned that I'm a lot stronger than I thought. I've done crazy things like dig a latrine hole with a bowl, teach a group of women how to bake bread in Guarani, sit around while everyone critiques everything about me, take a cold shower in the dark when it's so cold outside I can see my breath. Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever and then remembering I still have 21 months left makes me miss home so much. But most times I'm happy to have 21 months left because that means I still have a lot of time to do great things here.
Thank you all so much for your continued support. I love getting mail, I love hearing about what's going on in your lives and I think about you all everyday.
Love,
Mandi
Friday, July 9, 2010
A Day in My Life
I realize I haven't updated this in a couple months. That's because I don't really think my life has been that interesting lately. I don't have anything though-provoking or life-changing to write about so I'll just tell you all about a typical day in my life.
7:00am
I wake up to the sound of the giant pig squealing at the kitchen door because it wants to eat. It's a horrible noise but that's what pigs do so no reason to get upset about it. I lay in bed listening to the hustle and bustle around my house. My 20 year old sister has already left for work at the Municipality in the nearest town, Santani.
7:30am
I wander into the kitchen where my mom greets me with “Mba'éichapa neko'ê” (How did the sun rise? or How did you sleep?). Because I'm still not thinking that clearly in English, much less in Guarani I just reply with “Iporã” (Well). On my better days I can make a complete sentence with “Cheko'ê porã” but that usually doesn't happen. She replies with “Gracias a Dios” (Thanks be to God) then tells me to go sit down at the table so we can drink cocido. Cocido is delicious. It's yerba and sugar simmered over coals and then added to milk or water. We drink that and eat rolls or banana bread, if I can get my hands on some bananas, or chipa. Then we sit and listen to the radio and chat. My mom also sells soy milk so people come and go all morning with their 2 liter milk jugs getting refills for 2 mil (less than 50 cents).
10:00am
We eat a little snack and drink tereré together. If it's sunny we will sit outside in the shade and chat with neighbors who walk by. If it's rainy, like today, we stay under the porch and watch tv. My mom begins preparing lunch and I do laundry or go to the school to drink tereré with the teachers or hang out with other families and, you guessed it, drink tereré.
12:00pm
We all gather around the table for dinner. My 18 year old brother goes to pick up my sister from Santani for lunch. I am very lucky to be living here because my mom has a beautiful garden that she is very proud of. Because of this, she loves serving fresh veggies from her garden. It's also lettuce season right now so we have “salad” (lettuce, salt, oil and lemon) with every meal. The rest of lunch consists of a broth with meat or pasta or rice with meat and the ever-present mandioca. It's pretty much the same everyday.
1:00pm
On nice days we sit in the yard, eat fruit and drink tereré. I usually zone out of the conversation until I realize that someone has asked me something in Spanish and everyone is staring at me. Sometimes I go to the school or to another family's house. Lately I have been working on my house too. On rainy days everyone stays inside. I get some good reading time in and there is always a telanovela (soap opera) on tv, which my sisters are obsessed with.
4:00pm
At this point in the afternoon my host mom usually announces some social event that we will be going to soon. I never really get much warning on these things and the rest of the family already seems to know exactly what's going on. We have horse races, which usually are just men sitting around drinking beer while the occasional horse trots down the track. My mom, in addition to selling soy milk, also sells beer so it's a good event for her to go to. And if she brings her American daughter she gets even more business. I have also been to many rezos since I've been here. They are basically small memorial services. They happen 9 days after a person has died, then at 6 months, then a year, then every year after that until 5 years. People gather at the person's home and someone leads prayers for the deceased. Then they pass out chipa and cookies and candy and we socialize. I am usually a popular topic of conversation. My host mom introduces me as her daughter and other women always point out that I look more like Rosalba, my mom's sister who lives in Ciudad del Este. Apparently she is pale too. I would like to meet her sometime to see if these similarities truly exist. People tell me I'm linda (pretty) and I've been asked several times if I am German, Brasilera, a Mennonite or a model. They also ask if I have a boyfriend and tell me that I am going to find my husband here. Awesome, glad that's settled.
5:00pm
It's starting to get dark so everyone disperses to gather their cattle and herd them back to the pin for the night. If it's a chilly night we drink mate dulce, which is delicious or just tereré if it's a warmer night. We sit on the porch and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes neighbors come over and chat for a while. I usually get bored pretty quickly because all of the conversations are in Guarani so I wander off to my room to read or take a shower because it gets too dark. We don't have a light in the bathroom so showering is night is interesting. It's also nice to shower before it gets too cold because we don't have hot water.
8:00pm
The news comes on and we gather around to watch the news. It's surprisingly graphic compared with news in the US. My mom fixes dinner or sends someone out the the cruce (about 2km away) to buy empanadas if she doesn't feel like cooking. We eat dinner and watch the news and talk. Dinner has slightly more variety than lunch and I usually enjoy it a lot more. Sometimes it's a roast chicken, or fried eggs with veggie, or a mandi'o dish (my favorites).
8:30pm
Time for bed! My family goes to sleep pretty early so I head to my room and read or listen to music before I hit the hay around 9 or 9:30pm. It's very quiet at night except for the occasional dog fight or rooster crowing (the don't only crow at sunrise by the way).
I've sort of gotten into a routine and I'm discovering more and more ways that I can help this community. People still have to tell me “tranquilo, Amanda” some day when I get antsy about sitting around for hours. Life is pretty slow out in the campo but it's good. It's home.
7:00am
I wake up to the sound of the giant pig squealing at the kitchen door because it wants to eat. It's a horrible noise but that's what pigs do so no reason to get upset about it. I lay in bed listening to the hustle and bustle around my house. My 20 year old sister has already left for work at the Municipality in the nearest town, Santani.
7:30am
I wander into the kitchen where my mom greets me with “Mba'éichapa neko'ê” (How did the sun rise? or How did you sleep?). Because I'm still not thinking that clearly in English, much less in Guarani I just reply with “Iporã” (Well). On my better days I can make a complete sentence with “Cheko'ê porã” but that usually doesn't happen. She replies with “Gracias a Dios” (Thanks be to God) then tells me to go sit down at the table so we can drink cocido. Cocido is delicious. It's yerba and sugar simmered over coals and then added to milk or water. We drink that and eat rolls or banana bread, if I can get my hands on some bananas, or chipa. Then we sit and listen to the radio and chat. My mom also sells soy milk so people come and go all morning with their 2 liter milk jugs getting refills for 2 mil (less than 50 cents).
10:00am
We eat a little snack and drink tereré together. If it's sunny we will sit outside in the shade and chat with neighbors who walk by. If it's rainy, like today, we stay under the porch and watch tv. My mom begins preparing lunch and I do laundry or go to the school to drink tereré with the teachers or hang out with other families and, you guessed it, drink tereré.
12:00pm
We all gather around the table for dinner. My 18 year old brother goes to pick up my sister from Santani for lunch. I am very lucky to be living here because my mom has a beautiful garden that she is very proud of. Because of this, she loves serving fresh veggies from her garden. It's also lettuce season right now so we have “salad” (lettuce, salt, oil and lemon) with every meal. The rest of lunch consists of a broth with meat or pasta or rice with meat and the ever-present mandioca. It's pretty much the same everyday.
1:00pm
On nice days we sit in the yard, eat fruit and drink tereré. I usually zone out of the conversation until I realize that someone has asked me something in Spanish and everyone is staring at me. Sometimes I go to the school or to another family's house. Lately I have been working on my house too. On rainy days everyone stays inside. I get some good reading time in and there is always a telanovela (soap opera) on tv, which my sisters are obsessed with.
4:00pm
At this point in the afternoon my host mom usually announces some social event that we will be going to soon. I never really get much warning on these things and the rest of the family already seems to know exactly what's going on. We have horse races, which usually are just men sitting around drinking beer while the occasional horse trots down the track. My mom, in addition to selling soy milk, also sells beer so it's a good event for her to go to. And if she brings her American daughter she gets even more business. I have also been to many rezos since I've been here. They are basically small memorial services. They happen 9 days after a person has died, then at 6 months, then a year, then every year after that until 5 years. People gather at the person's home and someone leads prayers for the deceased. Then they pass out chipa and cookies and candy and we socialize. I am usually a popular topic of conversation. My host mom introduces me as her daughter and other women always point out that I look more like Rosalba, my mom's sister who lives in Ciudad del Este. Apparently she is pale too. I would like to meet her sometime to see if these similarities truly exist. People tell me I'm linda (pretty) and I've been asked several times if I am German, Brasilera, a Mennonite or a model. They also ask if I have a boyfriend and tell me that I am going to find my husband here. Awesome, glad that's settled.
5:00pm
It's starting to get dark so everyone disperses to gather their cattle and herd them back to the pin for the night. If it's a chilly night we drink mate dulce, which is delicious or just tereré if it's a warmer night. We sit on the porch and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes neighbors come over and chat for a while. I usually get bored pretty quickly because all of the conversations are in Guarani so I wander off to my room to read or take a shower because it gets too dark. We don't have a light in the bathroom so showering is night is interesting. It's also nice to shower before it gets too cold because we don't have hot water.
8:00pm
The news comes on and we gather around to watch the news. It's surprisingly graphic compared with news in the US. My mom fixes dinner or sends someone out the the cruce (about 2km away) to buy empanadas if she doesn't feel like cooking. We eat dinner and watch the news and talk. Dinner has slightly more variety than lunch and I usually enjoy it a lot more. Sometimes it's a roast chicken, or fried eggs with veggie, or a mandi'o dish (my favorites).
8:30pm
Time for bed! My family goes to sleep pretty early so I head to my room and read or listen to music before I hit the hay around 9 or 9:30pm. It's very quiet at night except for the occasional dog fight or rooster crowing (the don't only crow at sunrise by the way).
I've sort of gotten into a routine and I'm discovering more and more ways that I can help this community. People still have to tell me “tranquilo, Amanda” some day when I get antsy about sitting around for hours. Life is pretty slow out in the campo but it's good. It's home.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Text me!
you can text me on my cell phone for FREE from this website:
http://tigo.com.py/seccion/mundo-tigo
in the box that says 'envio de mensajes' click on the box that says PARA and select my area code: 0984 then type in the rest of my phone number: 610026
texto: type in your message
leave the 'pin' box blank
firma: put your name
codigo: type in the code on the left
click 'enviar' to send
It's super easy and I would love to hear from you! I'll try to get back to you asap. Things are going swimmingly, I love and miss you all!
http://tigo.com.py/seccion/mundo-tigo
in the box that says 'envio de mensajes' click on the box that says PARA and select my area code: 0984 then type in the rest of my phone number: 610026
texto: type in your message
leave the 'pin' box blank
firma: put your name
codigo: type in the code on the left
click 'enviar' to send
It's super easy and I would love to hear from you! I'll try to get back to you asap. Things are going swimmingly, I love and miss you all!
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Rio Paraguay now flows through my room
I knew it was going to storm last night. I knew the rain would probably wake me up, but not like this. I was having a lovely dream last night when I was awoken by water gushing into my room. In the minute that it took me to realize I was actually awake and to get up out of bed, the water was already past my ankles. I looked around and realized where it was coming from: the gutter that ran along my family's house and through my room was falling apart. I stood there like an idiot not knowing what to do then started moving things away from the water, only to have them soaked again in minutes. Victorino was terrified and somehow ended up clinging to the wall. He kept jumping away every time I tried to pick him up but eventually I grabbed him by the nape and tossed him on my bed. I'm sure he was grateful.
At this point, my host mom had heard the ruckus and come in. She just stood there like me and said, “Ay! Hay agua!”. Yes host mom, hay agua. We grabbed some boards that were in the other room and used them to push the gutter back in place. We stood there for probably 10 minutes holding the gutter up and occasionally laughing at the craziness of the situation. Finally she had me hold both boards while she got a chair and more wood, which she shimmied between the gutter and the roof to hold it up. By this time a part of the gutter in my other room fell too and that room was beginning to flood. So I took my board, ran in there and held it up. My mom found a large piece of wood and propped it up with a chair and a bucket.
Once the water had stopped coming in, my oh-so-guapa host mom immediately got a squeegee and started clearing the water out of my room. The only problem was it was still storming like crazy outside and the water outside was just as high as the water in my room. So as she pushed water out, it just came right back in. But that woman worked like crazy and finally got a good amount of the water out. She was making jokes the whole time about how clean my floor was going to be and how I got to see the Rio Paraguay and how I probably had wanted to shower anyway.
Oh, and we did all this in the dark because the power was out. Este es mi vida!
At this point, my host mom had heard the ruckus and come in. She just stood there like me and said, “Ay! Hay agua!”. Yes host mom, hay agua. We grabbed some boards that were in the other room and used them to push the gutter back in place. We stood there for probably 10 minutes holding the gutter up and occasionally laughing at the craziness of the situation. Finally she had me hold both boards while she got a chair and more wood, which she shimmied between the gutter and the roof to hold it up. By this time a part of the gutter in my other room fell too and that room was beginning to flood. So I took my board, ran in there and held it up. My mom found a large piece of wood and propped it up with a chair and a bucket.
Once the water had stopped coming in, my oh-so-guapa host mom immediately got a squeegee and started clearing the water out of my room. The only problem was it was still storming like crazy outside and the water outside was just as high as the water in my room. So as she pushed water out, it just came right back in. But that woman worked like crazy and finally got a good amount of the water out. She was making jokes the whole time about how clean my floor was going to be and how I got to see the Rio Paraguay and how I probably had wanted to shower anyway.
Oh, and we did all this in the dark because the power was out. Este es mi vida!
Friday, May 21, 2010
New Address
I got a new address. This one is much closer to me at the local post office in Santani. When I get mail, the guy that works there will call me (convenient!). He even takes packages so send whatever you want. Also, I added to wish list to the side of this page. Just some things I'd like to have, if you want to send me a package but don't know what to send :)
Amanda Firestone, PCV
Correo San Estanislao
Avenida Independencia Nacional, 727
Codigo Postal, 8210
Paraguay
Sud America
Amanda Firestone, PCV
Correo San Estanislao
Avenida Independencia Nacional, 727
Codigo Postal, 8210
Paraguay
Sud America
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
What am I doing here?
So, I've had several people (including myself) wondering what the heck I'm doing here. You see pictures of fiestas, dinners, birthdays, fútbol tournaments and really not much else. So you might be thinking: she left for 2 years to eat and watch soccer with a bunch of strangers?!
I just arrived in my site last week. Nobody here knows me and there are still many people here who don't know what Peace Corps is and who have only seen one or two other people from the United States before. Right now I am here to build relationships and to build trust. I still don't know the language here very well. Many people here only speak Guarani or choose not to speak Spanish. So in order to get to know people I hang out, drink tereré, go to social events. That's the only way you learn.
Peace Corps teaches sustainable development. We don't just show up for a month or two, build some wells, then leave. We teach people things that will change they way that they live for the better so that when we leave they can continue what we have taught them. That doesn't happen overnight. I can't just show up in a school, tell kids to brush their teeth and wear their shoes and then hope everyone does it. I have to get to know families, get the know the kids, talk about parasites and teeth brushing multiple times.
So what am I doing here? I'm hanging out, drinking tereré. I'm building relationships. It may not seem like “work” by what we as Americans are used to but it's necessary to make a difference over the next 2 years.
I just arrived in my site last week. Nobody here knows me and there are still many people here who don't know what Peace Corps is and who have only seen one or two other people from the United States before. Right now I am here to build relationships and to build trust. I still don't know the language here very well. Many people here only speak Guarani or choose not to speak Spanish. So in order to get to know people I hang out, drink tereré, go to social events. That's the only way you learn.
Peace Corps teaches sustainable development. We don't just show up for a month or two, build some wells, then leave. We teach people things that will change they way that they live for the better so that when we leave they can continue what we have taught them. That doesn't happen overnight. I can't just show up in a school, tell kids to brush their teeth and wear their shoes and then hope everyone does it. I have to get to know families, get the know the kids, talk about parasites and teeth brushing multiple times.
So what am I doing here? I'm hanging out, drinking tereré. I'm building relationships. It may not seem like “work” by what we as Americans are used to but it's necessary to make a difference over the next 2 years.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
I'm a big kid now
So as you probably know, I finally swore in last week. Yay! It was a nice, short ceremony. The Peace Corps country director and the US ambassador both said a few words. Then we all stood up, raised our right hands and took the oath that almost every US government official or worker takes to defend the Constitution and whatnot. Then we ate cake. I got to talk to the ambassador briefly and she told me about this Paraguay-Kansas Committee. Apparently Paraguay sends a lot of kids to school in Kansas and they live with families there. I'm not sure what school but I found the committee building later and took a picture. (I'll post pictures later—probably much later so hold your horses.)
Swearing-in weekend was awesome. Lots of volunteers were in Asuncion for various events. There was one called Ahendu where a bunch of people played/sang/performed. It was good. Basically it was a great way to spend our last weekend together as a “G” before going out to all different parts of the country. My last night there, a bunch of us went up to the roof of our hotel and hung out. I realized then how much I was going to miss everyone. These people who I only met 3 months ago have quickly become like family. We'll see each other every few months and now we have cell phones (YAY!!) but it's still sad to leave everyone.
On that note, I arrived in site today carrying a suitcase, a hiking backpack, a normal backpack, another bag and a cat in a birdcage. Only in Paraguay. I was nervous about arriving but once I got here I quickly remembered how much I love it here. My family welcomed me warmly and I got started settling in. I let my cat out of his birdcage and he immediately started peeing all over my stuff (thank you Vic Torino). Aside from that, he is the sweetest kitten. He was obviously not loved on very much the first few months of his life and now that I own him he follows me around everywhere and wants to cuddle all the time. I'm alright with that :).
So I finally made it! Don Pedro, the health coordinator, is coming with the rest of my stuff and hopefully my bike in 3 weeks to do my site presentation so until then I'll just meet families, drink tereré, learn some Guaraní and probably explain that I'm not a nurse about 8000 times. Woo!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Che avy´a che familia ndi Guaicápe
I just got back from my visit to what will be my home for the next 2 years and I loved it! I didn't want to leave and come back to training but alas, we have 3 more weeks before we are official Peace Corps volunteers. My town is smaller than I imagined and extremely tranquilo. I spent pretty much every day sitting in the shade, drinking tereré, talking with different people and just enjoying the day and enjoying being with other people. Everyone spoke Guarani so I just zoned out, fully aware that I was the topic of discussion quite often. I would catch a word or two here and there and then suddenly someone would direct a question at me in Spanish and I'd have to start paying attention again.
Guaicá supposedly has 150 houses but I didn't see nearly that many. That may include the surrounding barrios too. Everyone there has electricity and running water most of the time. There is a barrio I visited not too far away (about a 40 minute walk) that doesn't have running water. My site also has a nice looking church (bright green!) and a school. I met the director and some of the profes at that school and the one in the other community. I would like to work in both schools but will probably focus on the one in Guaicá.
The site is a lot more developed than I thought it would be. So right now I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing. There really isn't a need for a modern bathroom or fogón project. But during the first 3 months we have to complete a census of our community to discovery the needs of the people and the resources available so that will definitely be helpful.
This visit really made it real that I am actually in Peace Corps. I mean, I've been here for almost 3 months but it's all been very structured and with other Americans. This past week I spent time in a community where most people had only seen one other American in their lives (the education volunteer that I'm following-up). I had to explain multiple times that although I'm a Health volunteer, I am not a nurse. I also tried to get the point across that even though the most complicated thing I can say in Guarani is “my house is near the church” I do, in fact, have a college degree. That one was a little more frustrating but it'll come with time. I did make some friends my own age already, which is awesome.
Overall it was a great visit and I can't wait to get back and start working. It's going to be a great 2 years!
Guaicá supposedly has 150 houses but I didn't see nearly that many. That may include the surrounding barrios too. Everyone there has electricity and running water most of the time. There is a barrio I visited not too far away (about a 40 minute walk) that doesn't have running water. My site also has a nice looking church (bright green!) and a school. I met the director and some of the profes at that school and the one in the other community. I would like to work in both schools but will probably focus on the one in Guaicá.
The site is a lot more developed than I thought it would be. So right now I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing. There really isn't a need for a modern bathroom or fogón project. But during the first 3 months we have to complete a census of our community to discovery the needs of the people and the resources available so that will definitely be helpful.
This visit really made it real that I am actually in Peace Corps. I mean, I've been here for almost 3 months but it's all been very structured and with other Americans. This past week I spent time in a community where most people had only seen one other American in their lives (the education volunteer that I'm following-up). I had to explain multiple times that although I'm a Health volunteer, I am not a nurse. I also tried to get the point across that even though the most complicated thing I can say in Guarani is “my house is near the church” I do, in fact, have a college degree. That one was a little more frustrating but it'll come with time. I did make some friends my own age already, which is awesome.
Overall it was a great visit and I can't wait to get back and start working. It's going to be a great 2 years!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Semana Santa and Site!!
Happy Easter everyone!
I had a nice tranquilo week here in Paraguay this past week. Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a much bigger deal here than it is in the US. We had a half day of stuff going on in Guarambaré on Wednesday afternoon through Sunday off, which was very nice. On Wednesday I made chipa with my family. It looks kind of like a bagel and I really like it but a lot of people don't. After a day it's really hard and dry and kind of hard to eat but I still like it. Everyone makes a lot of it on Wednesday and Thursday because no one is supposed to eat meat on Friday, just chipa and sopa. On Thursday we had a huge lunch of chicken and sopa. It was delicious. Sopa paraguaya is pig fat, corn meal, cheese, milk and other stuff. It reminds me a lot of corn bread. Anyway, I was stuffed and of course got another huge chicken thigh for dinner.
Friday there was no music playing, which was really weird. I don't think Santo Domingo is ever that quiet. I had gone to church with my family Thursday night where they did a short service with 15 candlelit “stations” around the lawn of the chapel and they read a part of the Easter story at each one then sang. Then they did some other stuff that I didn't really understand.
Sunday we went to a fútbol game, that was fun. 8 de Diciembre, our team, won all their games. Yay! It was a pretty intense game. Overall, Semana Santa was really good. I spent a lot of time hanging out at home, which was nice. It was a good taste of what it will be like for the first few months in site when we are just hanging out getting to know people.
And speaking of my site...I will be going to the department of San Pedro, near San Estanislao. It seems really nice, I am going to visit in the next few days. Yay!! Just over 3 weeks until I am a real volunteer!!
I had a nice tranquilo week here in Paraguay this past week. Semana Santa (Holy Week) is a much bigger deal here than it is in the US. We had a half day of stuff going on in Guarambaré on Wednesday afternoon through Sunday off, which was very nice. On Wednesday I made chipa with my family. It looks kind of like a bagel and I really like it but a lot of people don't. After a day it's really hard and dry and kind of hard to eat but I still like it. Everyone makes a lot of it on Wednesday and Thursday because no one is supposed to eat meat on Friday, just chipa and sopa. On Thursday we had a huge lunch of chicken and sopa. It was delicious. Sopa paraguaya is pig fat, corn meal, cheese, milk and other stuff. It reminds me a lot of corn bread. Anyway, I was stuffed and of course got another huge chicken thigh for dinner.
Friday there was no music playing, which was really weird. I don't think Santo Domingo is ever that quiet. I had gone to church with my family Thursday night where they did a short service with 15 candlelit “stations” around the lawn of the chapel and they read a part of the Easter story at each one then sang. Then they did some other stuff that I didn't really understand.
Sunday we went to a fútbol game, that was fun. 8 de Diciembre, our team, won all their games. Yay! It was a pretty intense game. Overall, Semana Santa was really good. I spent a lot of time hanging out at home, which was nice. It was a good taste of what it will be like for the first few months in site when we are just hanging out getting to know people.
And speaking of my site...I will be going to the department of San Pedro, near San Estanislao. It seems really nice, I am going to visit in the next few days. Yay!! Just over 3 weeks until I am a real volunteer!!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
It depends...
I got back from Practica Larga today and I must say, I missed Santo Domingo a LOT. I never thought I would feel so at home with a family that was not my own and that spoke another language but I really do love it here and I was so happy to be back. I really missed the other volunteers too.
Long Field was really good. I was near the town of Caraguatay in Cordillera. Our group was super guapo (“guapo” meaning hard-working in this country, not handsome. Although we were pretty good-looking too). We built a fogón, a trash pit (supposed to be a latrine but the guy changed his mind about where he wanted the hole), a latrine, visited a school, and did a couple charlas. My group did our nutrition charla in Guaraní while we cooked with a women's commission. Our plans changed a lot throughout the week due to rain and mishaps with the fogón but it all worked out. We were supposed to do a radio show but it rained all day Tuesday.
The town was very interesting. The family I stayed with had a very chuchi house—tile floors, real living room, electric shower (I got a warm shower one night for the first time in 7 weeks!), maltise poodles, and a computer with internet. But then we walked 3km to build the fogón, which was veeeery far away according to my family, and it was completely different. Five people were living in one room, they cooked on the ground outside and had a latrine. And kids from both of these barrios went to the same school. It was interesting, and sad, to see the dichotomy there.
I named this blog what I did because I was thinking about daylight savings time. You all in the States have already changed your clocks but we have yet to do so. When I asked my tech trainer when daylight savings time is here, he said that we actually might not do it this year. Huh?! So I guess it's usually in April but who knows. It might not happen this year. Which gets me to my point. Peace Corps so far has been a lot of “Oh it depends...” and “We'll see” and “Maybe”. Not to mention that when you ask a Paraguayan a question, they will give you an answer even if it's not the right one. So you should probably ask 3 or 4 people and accept the answer you get the most.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Pictures (Hopefully)
The road to Nati´s site two days after it rained. Still very muddy.
The store near her house had a baby toucan! It doesn´t matter that they´re endangered...
Yes, we are the world´s finest volunteers!
That is an ant-hill by my house. They are everywhere!
This was at Carnaval. Feathery lady covered in foam.
On Carden´s birthday, my sister made her a cake. Carden (center), my host mom (orange shirt, standing), my niece (cute baby in pink dress), Franko (next to me, another volunteer). The others are various family members.
Muchos sapos! After it rains, there are toads everywhere. I got 5 in this picture. They eat the bugs so it´s all good. Some families are scared of them.
Paraguay has AMAZING sunsets!Chicharrones in the Campo
(As a quick side note, you should be able to comment now on posts)
A lot has happened since I last wrote so if this gets incredibly long, I apologize. I just got back from a 4-day PCV visit where we all went to visit a real volunteer. I'll write more about that later but after swapping stories with several people it was decided that I had the most interesting trip so far.
The weekend before last, some of us went to Carnaval in Villeta. I'm not really sure what the point of Carnaval is but there was a street parade and everyone was spraying each other foam, which was fun and there were women dressed in big feathery costumes. It was cool. Then we went to a club and danced for hours. It was really hot and I have never sweat so much in my entire life but it was really fun. I wasn't planning on going but I'm really glad I did. We got home around
During the week, not much happens. We have language class 7:45-11:45ish (time is very flexible here) and then we go home for lunch and go back to school 1-5pm for technical training. We have been building losas, or the concrete floors for latrines. We also have learned how to lay bricks for fogons (brick ovens) and how to dig trash pits. A couple times a week we have trainee facilitated sessions where we give the charla (charlar literally means “to chat”. A charla is a short lesson on a topic). I did mine last week on health issues such as high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, dengue and yellow fever. It was a pretty boring topic but it still went well.
Last Wednesday we had our Tapeapóvo. We were paired up and given a mission to visit two places either in Asunción or close to it. My partner and I went to a Ferreteria (a hardware store, not a ferret store) and SENESA, the agency responsible to developing water, trash and waste service all over the country. Volunteers often work closely with SENESA when they want to do anything in those areas. We then met up with everyone at the Peace Corps office in Asunción and did a bunch of stuff there. On the way home, we convinced our tech trainer Ricardo to stop for ice cream!! About 10 of us gobbled down 2 kilos of ice cream in a matter of minutes. It was sooo good.
And finally back to these past few days. I went to see a volunteer named Nati who lives in a barrio near Mallorquin in the department of Alto Paraná. Departments are basically like States here. So, I got totally lost trying to find her site and didn't get off at the right stop (we figured out later it was because I was missing an entire page of directions!). I ended up somewhere I was NOT supposed to be. I got back on the bus and eventually made it to the right terminal after riding for about 8 hours and having motion sickness the entire time. I also crossed the entire horizontal expanse of the country from west to east that day. On accident. So I got there and it was raining and we have to walk 10km to get to her house (1km = about
I met several nice families. One of them asked if I liked chicharrón and since I didn't know what it was I said I would like to try it. Fried pig fat. The first one was really hard to get down but not wanting to offend them I said it liked it. So naturally they gave me an entire plate of it with mandioca, which I am also not a fan of. I ate what I could while trying not to think about what I was eating. Meanwhile these adorable little piglets were snuggling on my leg and I asked if I was eating their mom and they laughed and said “Yeah you are!”. Ugh...
So I'm back in Santo Domingo and I'm so glad to be home. It's weird to say “home” but it is my home at least for the next 9 weeks. I also really missed my host family and the other trainees. We all had fun stories to share. My host mom said that my niece kept looking at my closed door and asking when I would be home. It was really good to do these visits though because now I know what to bring up in my placement interview and what a real site is like. I thought Santo Domingo was the campo but it's not by any means. It's almost urban compared with the site I visited. It was also nice to be with a volunteer who was very honest about anything I asked her and who had been though everything already.
Friday, February 12, 2010
February 10, 2010: Tia Alala
For all who are wondering about my well-being, I made it to Paraguay safe and sound. I am loving it here so far, it has been so wonderful already. It's hard to believe that only two days ago I was still in Kansas City.
We finally landed in Asunción earlier today after four flights in two days. Very exhausting. I could hardly speak in English, I didn't know how I was going to talk to my host family in Spanish. As the plane was nearing the landing strip in Asunción, it suddenly started going back up, much to everyone's dismay. Turns out there was a “communication error”. I still think it was the pilot's first day and he just biffed it. But we made it; forty-nine volunteers, the largest group ever. I have quickly become friends with many of these people; we're all going through the same thing and we can relate to each other so easily.
Anyway, we were driven to Guarambaré and met the Peace Corps staff and did a bunch of activities despite being on the verge of lapsing into a coma. Over 24 hours without sleep is not fun. Also, if this entry sounds weird and disjointed, it's because I still haven't slept yet. We had a brief interview to place us with a family (vegetarian, do we like kids, animals, large or small family, etc), received our money for the week and some more papers, and went to meet our families that we will be living with for the next 11 weeks. I have never been so nervous in my life.
Since there are so many Rural Health and Sanitation workers, we are split into two groups. I am living in Santo Domingo with the Arrúa-Gómez family. My host father is Don Marcelino, my host mother is Ña María Cristina. I also have a sister Lidia, who is 24. She has a husband (Aldo, I haven't met him yet) and a 2-year old daughter Nataly. Nataly can't say my name so whenever they ask her who her aunt is, she says “Tia Alala!” She talks and talks all the time and is the cutest thing.
My house is gorgeous. I will post pictures of my room and my family later. They had my room all set up when I got here with a bed, a desk, a fan (yay!) and a huge armoir to store all my clothes. Don Marcelino is a farmer and as we walked around Lidia pointed out their 9 cows, 5 dogs and numerous chickens to me. She said they also had 9 pigs but I haven't seen them yet. They also have a cat. And they all have names. The house has electricity and running water. I had a warm shower earlier and it was wonderful. Ña Maria made pizza for dinner. She said it was her first time making it and she really enjoying both making and eating it. See, I'm already having and impact here! :)
That is about all for now and I am very tired. We start intense training tomorrow. I'm nervous, my Spanish is pretty bad. We have language interviews to see just how bad it is. And we get our first round of shots. Good day!
We finally landed in Asunción earlier today after four flights in two days. Very exhausting. I could hardly speak in English, I didn't know how I was going to talk to my host family in Spanish. As the plane was nearing the landing strip in Asunción, it suddenly started going back up, much to everyone's dismay. Turns out there was a “communication error”. I still think it was the pilot's first day and he just biffed it. But we made it; forty-nine volunteers, the largest group ever. I have quickly become friends with many of these people; we're all going through the same thing and we can relate to each other so easily.
Anyway, we were driven to Guarambaré and met the Peace Corps staff and did a bunch of activities despite being on the verge of lapsing into a coma. Over 24 hours without sleep is not fun. Also, if this entry sounds weird and disjointed, it's because I still haven't slept yet. We had a brief interview to place us with a family (vegetarian, do we like kids, animals, large or small family, etc), received our money for the week and some more papers, and went to meet our families that we will be living with for the next 11 weeks. I have never been so nervous in my life.
Since there are so many Rural Health and Sanitation workers, we are split into two groups. I am living in Santo Domingo with the Arrúa-Gómez family. My host father is Don Marcelino, my host mother is Ña María Cristina. I also have a sister Lidia, who is 24. She has a husband (Aldo, I haven't met him yet) and a 2-year old daughter Nataly. Nataly can't say my name so whenever they ask her who her aunt is, she says “Tia Alala!” She talks and talks all the time and is the cutest thing.
My house is gorgeous. I will post pictures of my room and my family later. They had my room all set up when I got here with a bed, a desk, a fan (yay!) and a huge armoir to store all my clothes. Don Marcelino is a farmer and as we walked around Lidia pointed out their 9 cows, 5 dogs and numerous chickens to me. She said they also had 9 pigs but I haven't seen them yet. They also have a cat. And they all have names. The house has electricity and running water. I had a warm shower earlier and it was wonderful. Ña Maria made pizza for dinner. She said it was her first time making it and she really enjoying both making and eating it. See, I'm already having and impact here! :)
That is about all for now and I am very tired. We start intense training tomorrow. I'm nervous, my Spanish is pretty bad. We have language interviews to see just how bad it is. And we get our first round of shots. Good day!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Tres Días Hasta Miami!
So it's probably about time I share my address with everyone since I will be leaving in 3 days. Here goes:
Amanda Firestone, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. López
Asunción 1580, Paraguay
South America
That will be my address in training for the first 11-weeks or so, until I get sworn in on April 30. Then I will be an official Peace Corps Volunteer (that's right, I'm STILL not official). Airmail takes 2-3 weeks but don't let that stop you; keep the letters coming!
Just a recap: I fly out Monday morning from KCI to Miami where I fill out forms, get immunized some more (yay) and meet the rest of the group. Then we all fly to Paraguay through Brazil getting there on Wednesday morning. I'll try to update this thing as much as I can, although I'm not sure what that means yet. Your e-mails and letters are very much desired and appreciated!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Is it February 8th yet?
I said I wasn't going to read other people blogs so that I wouldn't have all these preconceived ideas when I got to Paraguay but I've spent the whole afternoon reading stories from current and returned PCVs in Paraguay. I know this last month is going to fly by and I still have tons to do but I am so excited to jump on the plane!
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