Laara's Paraguay Adventure

The Iguazu Falls Adventure

2010-03-24T14:14:00.010-03:00

I had wanted to go the falls since arriving in Paraguay. Many of my fellow volunteers saved the falls to share with friends and family who visited them. I knew my aunt in Uruguay had already seen them, albeit 25 years ago. My other aunt, the one who would be visiting her and my uncle hadn’t seen them. That said one thing to me: opportunity. I wondered if we couldn’t coordinate a trip so that they could travel from Montevideo and I from Asuncion to meet up in Puerto Iguazu. The date was decided upon and hotel and hostel reservations made. They would fly and I would travel with at least one other volunteer by bus from Asuncion to Ciudad del Este where I would cross into Argentina either via barge or bus.

I hadn’t been feeling to well in the days leading up to the trip. I had bouts of nausea and dizziness and wasn’t sure I’d be well enough to even make the trip – though I was determined to try. The morning I left I first stopped by the Peace Corps Medical Office to check in with the doctor there. Given the all-clear to travel, I rushed off to the bus terminal where I met my friend and in a run, we caught our bus, which had already left the terminal without us. The ticket agent ran out and stopped the bus in the street so that we could get on. That should have told me everything I needed to know about this trip!

The comfortable air-conditioned bus made great time and we got to Ciudad del Este much sooner than I had planned. I had decided that we should try to cross by barge because I’d heard it was easier. No traffic, no fuss, no muss, and no lines at the immigration office in Argentina. It was just as we were about to catch a taxi to the port that I realized I had left my home without packing my Peace Corps passport. Ughh…my heart plummeted to my feet. How could I have done that? I don’t do those kinds of things! I’m a planner and an organizer and I am very careful when I travel…but still, I had done it. Now, I had to focus on salvaging my trip.

My immediate thought was, well, if I can’t travel on my Peace Corps passport (as I’m supposed to), I can travel on my personal passport which was conveniently located in Asuncion. The Peace Corps staff was understanding and amazing and helped me get my passport into the hands of one of my most trusted friends – a Paraguayan who lives and works in Asuncion. He in turn was able to send me my passport using one of the messenger services that frequents the Asuncion-Ciudad del Este route. It took 12 hours, but I had only lost one night and the next morning my trip continued as planned. I never imagined that I would’ve overlooked something so HUGE as my packing my passport, but I also would never have imagined that the problem could be solved quite so easily.

The next morning, my friend and I set out for the port. We took a taxi but were disappointed to find that the barge was on the Argentinean side. It would take 45 minutes or so to finish loading up on that side before setting out for Paraguay – a mere 20 minute crossing. In fact, from our vantage point at the port there in Paraguay, we could see both Foz de Iguazu, a town in Brazil, and Puerto Iguazu – the town we were headed to in Argentina. Our taxi driver was really helpful and negotiated our passage with a private boat owner. It cost us a little more, but the driver was ready to go right away. His little wooden boat seemed sea-worthy enough and once the immigration officer – a man with a tattoo on his forehead and ripped t-shirt and shorts, jotted down our names and passport numbers, we were all set to go. Getting there was pretty uneventful. We tied the boat up to a rock, our captain delivered a copy of our passport information to the immigration office in Argentina who then signed and stamped us in, and we were ready to hit the town. We found our hostel – it was as cute as the pictures had suggested and after settling in, were ready to get to the falls.

My aunt, aunt, and uncle had signed up for a tour that would take them first to the Brazilian side. Brazilian visas are complicated and expensive for Americans to get, so I decided to skip seeing the falls from that side and just enjoy the view from Argentina. The Iguazu Falls National Park in Argentina is massive and has hikes, walking trails, boat tours, a jungle safari tour, and a train to keep people busy. To see the falls themselves, one must choose from three trails, a lower, upper and the “devil’s throat.” All have amazing views, just from different perspectives. My friend and I decided to start with the lower. It’s the longest of the three trails and because we got a late-morning start, it was hot and we were exhausted by the time it was over. We had seen pictures of the falls before, but nothing prepared us for how they looked close up. We took a quick 20-minute boat tour also. The tour really just takes you into the falls – yes into the falls. We close – very close and the end result is that you will walk away soaked to the bone. But on a hot day – it feels great. Too bad that along with my passport I had forgotten to pack my swimsuit. Most people got onto the boat wearing just that (the tour operators provide guests with a dry-bag that keeps purses, clothes, etc from also getting wet). Though most of us had cameras in hand, the captain and his assistants gave us fair warning when we were going to get wet so that the cameras could be stowed away as well. It was amazing though for the next while we walked around the park literally dripping wet!

That evening I finally met up with my family at their hotel. We made dinner plans and then went our separate ways to freshen up. We compared notes on our views of the falls and made our plans for the following day. My friend decided she just wanted to see the parts of the park we had missed the day before, while I decided to see everything (even the parts I’d already seen) from top to bottom with my family. We started with the “Devil’s Throat” which is an amazing view from the top part of the falls and then did the lower trail. We grabbed a bite to eat and then continued with the upper trail. My family had a free ride into and out of the park while I had to take a city bus. I wanted to get a few souvenirs, so we said our goodbye’s after finishing the upper trail and made plans to meet up at their hotel later that evening.

That evening I found my family lounging by the pool at their hotel. We ordered some fresh fruit smoothies and snacks followed by some good white wine and dinner – all by the pool. Not a bad way to spend an evening. We talked about family stuff, politics, and my plans for my last 5 months in Peace Corps. It was a great evening. Saying goodbye was more emotional than I thought it would be but at least we’d enjoyed good food and an amazing display thanks to Mother Nature.

The following day my friend and I set out with another volunteer’s cousins who we happened to meet up with at our hostel. They were headed to Paraguay and we all decided to go back together. We walked down to the port and whoops – quickly realized that immigration services aren’t opened there on the weekends. That left two options (or so we thought): bus and taxi. Well, I was prepared to do just about anything to avoid getting on a bus to go back to Paraguay – especially since the ride from Ciudad del Este would already be 6 hours on a bus. So we called a taxi and explained to the driver that none of us had visas for Brazil (we would have to transit through Brazil to get to Paraguay) but could he ask immigration if we stayed in the taxi and simply transited through … if we could pass? He drove us through the immigration checkpoint for Argentina and a mile up the road from that is the Brazilian immigration checkpoint. The line was long and eventually we got close enough so that our driver could pull over and run up to the officials and ask about our transit through Brazil. Unfortunately, they turned us down flat. Our driver drove us back to just beyond the Argentinean checkpoint – which meant that we were technically in no country at that moment. We were told that a bus that would drive us to Paraguay (and was allowed to transit through Brazil) would come along. Two hours in no man’s land and we had our doubts about the bus…but eventually it did turn up. We got on and as promised were allowed to transit through Brazil. We weren’t sure what to do once getting to Paraguay and were hoping it would be self-explanatory. Unfortunately, that was not the case…

We got to the border crossing and the bus just kept on going. Some of the other people on the bus told us to get off and go through immigration so we got off the bus and tried to figure out where immigration was. The border was nuts (that’s an industry term)! There were buses, taxis, motorcycles, and people EVERYWHERE. It took us some time to figure out where to go. As it turns out there is no “passport control” as such. It’s just a building off to one side where you have to present yourself to enter Paraguay! Oh well…once that business was concluded we all shared a taxi to the bus terminal. The bus I was hoping to take was full so we got on the next one headed out. It looked nice…big and comfy with air conditioning. This wouldn’t be so bad…however, the bus kept stopping and stopping and stopping. And people just kept piling on and piling on. Soon, the people standing in the aisle were crushed together in a mass of tangled bodies. And this continued very nearly until the end when we reached Asuncion (6 ½ hours later). Whew … stuck in no man’s land for two hours, lost at the Paraguayan border and then stuck like a sardine on a bus for six and a half hours …it was a long day!!!

So that my friends, is the tale of my trip to Iguazu Falls. I would recommend everyone go there to see the amazing beauty for themselves. I recommend not forgetting your passport and if you can fly in that’s the way to do it…leave the sketchy buses and boats to the Peace Corps volunteers!

Until next time…

The Jesuit Ruins

2010-02-10T12:15:00.008-03:00

Sounds like the title for a bad “B” horror movie doesn’t it? I suppose, some might actually consider Paraguay’s Jesuit ruins a bit of a horror considering what they meant to Paraguay’s indigenous population. A bit of the history first (from Wikipedia):

The Jesús and Trinidad Jesuit Ruins are located in Itapúa Department, Paraguay, and are religious mission that are sill preserved and that were founded by the Jesuit missioners during the colonization of South America in the XVII century. These religious missions were created in 1609 and developed for 150 years. Both Jesuit missions were declared Historical Patrimony of Humankind by the UNESCO in 1993.

The Jesuit Missions of Paraguay are considered some of the most impressive creations of the religious work of the Jesuit, and are testimony of the historical richness of the country.

Well, the ruins are located not very far from the hotel where some Peace Corps volunteers routinely celebrate their Thanksgiving holidays. I love Thanksgiving, but the two Thanksgivings I’ve spent in Paraguay, I’ve made alternate plans and have thus not found myself in close proximity to the ruins. Of course, they are on my list of “things to see before I leave Paraguay.” With about six months left of my service here, and keeping in mind that I’m not allowed to travel during my last two months of service, I’m feeling a bit of a “now or never” feeling when it comes to what I have yet to do here.

I hadn’t planned to visit the ruins this month, not even a fleeting thought. Then I had a visitor come to stay with me and she hadn’t seen the ruins either. Well, that settled that…we set out on our adventure to discover Paraguay’s infamous Jesuit ruins. We left early on Wednesday morning. We had pre-purchased our bus tickets the day before. It normally costs between 50,000 – 65,000 Guaranies to travel from Asuncion to Encarnación. We only paid 40,000 Gs because our bus would have no air conditioning. No worries, we were pretty sure we could handle it. What it turned out we couldn’t handle (well, we did handle it, but not that well) was the roach infestation that our particular bus was suffering from.

Ick Ick Ick, now if you know anything about me, you know that despite having lived in a mud house in Burkina Faso (West Africa) for a time, I am scared of bugs. Okay, now yes, I agree with you that a person that is afraid of bugs should probably not continue to choose to live in countries in which she will be forced to live in and among high bug populations. The thing is that my commitment to my work is bigger than my fear; still, I loathe bugs of all kind. Let me just add that having worked for two conservation organizations and considering myself to be an environmentalist, I understand the cycle of life and that all life is important and they play an important part in all our lives. I just wish they could play their parts far far far far away from me (or me them). But I digress….

The bus was gross and hot and the ride seemed to take forever….but of course we finally arrived. We made it to our hotel and found that..ugh…all the rooms with air conditioning were booked so we would only have a teeny tiny room with a ceiling fan. It also had no bathroom…we’d have to share that with the rest of the people sharing our common hallway. We met Jessie, the Peace Corps volunteer in Encarn and she was thoughtful enough to show us “her” town. Although she’d only been there a few months, she was already really well oriented. So our trip was starting to improve. A coffee and quick snack at a first-class coffee shop helped keep things on the right track and then an awesome dinner at a local Japanese restaurant capped off the evening. I thought our luck was changing for the better until…ugh the electricity went out in the middle of the night and the room went from a brisk 80+ degrees to balmy 90+ degrees. Just as I thought I would pass out from heat exhaustion, the electricity came back on and the fan started to cool us down again but not for long since the electricity cut off yet again and the cycle repeated itself….

The morning came and after a cool shower, we set out to meet Jessie who had decided to join us on our trek to see the Ruins. We were lucky enough to find a bus that was leaving almost immediately and within 30 minutes, we had made it to the first of the two Jesuit ruins sites left in the area. The first site was much bigger and much more intact than we had imagined. The park staff were well versed in its history and helped us to orient ourselves to what the remnants of the buildings used to be.

We saw all we could at the first site and then we moved onto the second. It was smaller than the first but equally impressive in its remaining grandeur. Before we knew it, our time was up and we headed back to Encarn. After a great vegetarian lunch at an Asian buffet restaurant, we got on a more expensive, air-conditioned and thankfully bug-free bus. The ride back was not nearly as long as our bus ride the day before but we got in later than we had planned. My only thought on arriving home was a cool shower and the comfort of my own bed. Of course, things don’t always go as planned and so we got back to discover that the water was out, that is to say I had no running water! My guest washed up as best as she could with the trickle coming out, but I decided to wait.

As I waited, I considered the ruins a bit…

I think the thing that surprised me most the intricacy of the carvings on doorways and pulpits. These were not just plain-jane (apologies to readers named Jane) brick buildings. The artistry in their layout and design were amazing. So too, was how grandiose they must have been in their day.

I tried to imagine what it must have been like back then both for the Jesuit priest and the indigenous people that were carving their lives out on these grounds. I wondered how the Jesuit priests would describe their work or their calling to me. I’ve often thought about my own work as more of a calling. I wondered how much we would find that we had in common and this really disturbed me. Surely, I wasn’t here trying to convert people, trying to convince them to adopt my own belief system or way of life…or is that the trap that I have fallen into? I like to think I always approach my “work” here as collaboration with me learning as much from my Paraguayan friends and neighbors as they are learning from me. That’s the way I’ve meant it to be but really analyzing if that’s the way it is, is very difficult.

I think one of the amazing things about living and working in a new culture and to some extent doing so with Peace Corps is that you can remove a lot of the labels that you have attached to yourself or perhaps that others have stuck you with. You are not necessarily the “responsible one” or the “little sister” or whatever else you’ve always thought of yourself as…well not as long as you don’t box yourself into that. It’s a unique opportunity to reinvent yourself…of course then you have to figure out who you really are and doing so in the context of a culture that you don’t belong to presents its own challenges. Ha ha, if you’re next question is who am I really and what have I discovered about myself here, well let me just cut you off. I’m still on this journey and my discoveries about myself while living here are far from over. What I can tell you is that maybe sometimes labels get stuck on us because they fit. I’m pretty sure I am the “responsible one,” and most people aren’t surprised that I live a fairly organized planned out life – even here, to the extent that it’s possible. Oh well, discovering who we are doesn’t mean throwing out all that is true about ourselves. I accept who I am…for the most part…do you? Food for thought people….food for thought….

If anyone out there has any food thoughts and wants to send a care package…bagels, sour-punch straws and a box of macaroni and cheese should be on your list :)

Until next time………

The Summer Camp

2010-02-06T17:02:00.015-03:00

The idea came from my good friend Joan Ngo about a year ago. Our group (G-27) was all together for an IST – in-service training about four or five months after we had been sworn in as volunteers. She thought putting together a summer camp that would focus on civic education and leadership would be a great way to focus on one of the themes from our project plan and a way to develop the young people from our various communities. I told her immediately that I was interested in being part of the planning. After all, planning and organizing are my forte.

We started fundraising early and did pretty well for ourselves thanks to the support of our fellow volunteers and the very kind friends and family back home that sent us cash and gifts-in-kind. We also benefitted from a small projects assistance grant (SPA) from USAID and a generous donation from the Misiones government (a department/state in Paraguay).I handled the money, Joan handled the curriculum / activities and coordinating and soliciting facilitators and Jesus handled the venue and working with his department/state of Misiones to solicit a donation. The week leading up the camp saw Joan and I spending more time together than we had during our entire service-to-date. She bunked at my place while we made phone calls, met with people, gathered our resources, went shopping, and discussed how to handle what was coming our way.

We got to the campgrounds early (but not as early as we had planned) and were relieved when things started working just as we had imagined. The campground staff was helpful and kind. The participants showed up on time and the registration process (which I was handling) went going smoothly. Our youth participants starting warming to each other right away and I noticed that many introduced themselves to those that arrived before them. Before I knew it, it was time to begin….

The first day went extremely well. The participants listened with respect to our first presenters and asked great questions. One of the campground rules is that guests wash their plates after each meal. The staff carefully explained the process and I was amazed to see it in action. All of the participants pitched in, the plates, cups, silverware got done in no time, and I was thrilled to see everyone working together so well.

The days seemed so long and there were so many details to attend to. I found myself talking to the campground director several times a day asking my questions and answering his. I was checking on details like toilet paper in the bathrooms and cold water in our main gazebo. I was ensuring that our projector was set up at the right time and that presenters could get their presentations up and running on my laptop. It seems difficult now to think of all the little things that I was dealing with them and which seemed to keep me busy all day and most of the night. A few days after the camp, Joan and I bemoaned the fact that in being responsible for all the “little things” kept us from being in the moment and kept us from having a lot of one-on-one contact with many of our young leaders.

The days lasted forever – or so it felt at the time yet the camp was over in the blink of an eye. The youth participants bonded and we volunteers got to know each other better. We all learned a lot from the camp whether it was the process of working with Paraguayans in organizing an event of this size (61 people total) or how to work as a team or how to work with Paraguayan youth (aged 15-25) or what kind of activities work with this age group in the context of the Paraguayan culture. The evaluations we gave the youth were telling and we started thinking of what we would if we had it to do all again. It is our hope that a few volunteers will take this on as a project next year. The population of Paraguay is young and it is this new, young generation that will move this country forward as it struggles with the challenges of a new and growing democracy. The camp gave us all hope – for the volunteers it meant that we could do something to make a difference and for the young Paraguayans that they could do something to make a difference. I have about six months left of my service and I can’t wait to see what happens in these last six months, though I suspect that this leadership camp will be one of the things for which I am most proud.

Next up: GAD (Gender and Development) camp with four youth from my town, continued work on my thesis and an intercultural training I’m designing and hoping to implement with AFS (American Field Service) Paraguay.

Whew….whoever said that things slow down in the summer (it’s summer down here) had it wrong (for the record, I believe I’m the one that said that). I can’t remember ever being this busy and the heat (90+ degrees most days) certainly doesn’t help. But hey, it’s the toughest job I’ll ever love…right? I’m still here people…keepin’ it real!

Take care of yourselves and each other….

I said I wouldn’t do it…but I did

2009-12-15T12:12:00.008-03:00

Last year I along with my PCV neighbor and friend Julie walked with several of our Paraguayan friends from Julie’s site of Altos to the capital city of Cordillera, Caacupe. This walk is a pilgrimage that many Paraguayans do in order to satisfy a promise made to the Virgin Mary. Last year I vowed that once was enough and that, I would not repeat the experience. My friend Joan, though, wanted to walk and told me about a group of volunteers that were getting together to do the walk and perhaps we could join them. I figured, what the h-e-double hockey sticks, it will be my last opportunity to do so – at least for the next few years.

I went to the Peace Corps Office to meet up with Joan and with a few other people that had to transit through Asuncion. We left the office around 4 PM in order to meet up with the rest of our walking team at the tollbooth in the city of Ypacarai. From that point, we would walk about 18km or 11.19 miles. We met up with our friends and began to walk around 6:30 PM. We got to a favorite PCV food-joint around 8:30PM – not great timing given the relative closeness of the restaurant to our starting point, though given the thousands of people walking right along with us, it was just about the best we could do. We all had a nice dinner and then set off en serio for the rest of our walk.

Our big group separated into two smaller groups, one taking its time (this was my group) and another one who walked at a fast clip in order to make it to the Basilica in Caacupe in time for midnight mass. My group consisted of my good friends Joan, Courtney, and Brad. We walked along, telling funny stories, people watching and just trying to be in the moment. We took some pictures and stopped along the way to buy fruit juice, chipa, and water.

We arrived in Caacupe with time to spare before the midnight mass (a total of about 5 hours walking), but decided to stop by my friend Celeste’s house to freshen up, take a potty break and rest up a bit. We picked ourselves up off the floor and attempted to find our friends who were already gathered in the basilica courtyard watching the mass. Tried as we might, we could not find our friends. Resigned to stay the night at Celeste’s house, we decided to go back and rest and try again for the 6 AM mass. We crashed, literally, on the floor of Celeste’s roomy house while she and her cousin’s sold Paraguayan style burgers, soda, and beer outside her home. The other part of our original group had satisfied their “Virgin of Caacupe” promise and left shortly after the mass. Within an hour or two of arriving back at Celeste’s home, two separate distinct groups of volunteers joined us. They had also spent the last few hours walking and were equally exhausted. While Celeste and her family provided food and drink to the horde of people in town, we compared stories and adventures from our evening and then eventually fell into deep sleep.

Joan and I awoke around 5:30 AM to find Courtney and Brad gone. We assumed they had gotten up to attend the 6 AM mass. Joan and I had lost our enthusiasm for the event and decided to head for home. December the 8th is the official day to honor the Virgin of Caacupe and we thought the sooner we got out of town the better. If the night before had seen thousands upon thousands of people walking, surely the “official” walking day would be worse. Tired and sore, we set out to find buses that would take us home. It took about an hour’s walk before we saw the first buses. To say they were full is an understatement. People were stuffed into buses so that there were people literally smashed against the windows. Some were even crammed between the windshield and dashboard. Men were hanging out of the bus doors – many remaining open to accommodate the “stair standers.” Every bus that passed our way looked the same. Another hour of walking and we saw the buses dwindle until we got to the bus terminal to find thousands of people waiting for empty buses.

Joan, now limping and fading quickly was at her limit as was I. We decided to head back to Celeste’s, rest up and figure out a new way out of town. We got back to find our friends had returned and were attempting to catch up on their sleep. Joan and I soon joined them. Beyond exhausted, I just couldn’t sleep so I went to chat to Celeste about possible alternatives for getting out of town. She made a phone call and voila, her uncle was on his way to rescue us. While we waited for her uncle to come and pick us up in his truck, we sang a few rounds of Karaoke ate some brunch and celebrated our triumphant walk to honor the Virgin of Caacupe. When Celeste’s uncle turned up, we were more than ready to get the heck out of Dodge. We found ourselves – despite the exhaustion, happily singing old sitcom songs like the tune from Gilligan’s Island and the Brady Bunch. When dropped at our desired location, we all agreed, the walk had been a success. So…the lessons learned are as follows: never say never and never judge all experiences by one bad one.

I hope you enjoyed these photos. Take care and in this season of thanks, I thank you for your support!

The latest

2009-10-04T11:31:00.003-04:00

Hi friends,

Sorry about the extended absence from this blog, but the last few months have been busy and bizarre. First of all, it was not as easy as I had hoped coming back after vacation. I was on such a “high” when I left and was so motivated and excited about my projects and it was hard to find the “thread” to continue that upon my return.

The month of August, particularly was a significant month for me for various reasons. I celebrated my birthday on the 3rd, participated in my group’s one-year IST (in-service training) and celebrated milestones with my two sister groups. Sister groups are those that work in the same sector-area but are either a year ahead or a year behind you in service. My older sister group finished their 2 year service and swore-out just as my younger sister group finished their PST (pre-service training) and swore-in as volunteers. The actual day of the swear-in and swear-out we all celebrated together at a nice Spanish restaurant. Three groups all in different places of their Peace Corps service – needless to say, it was a special evening.

In September, I participated in a parade in my town of Loma Grande as they commemorated the life of an important Paraguayan man who died in a plane crash in the 1940s. I also traveled to the South and helped a friend facilitate a civic education workshop for teachers. The friend in question – Rebecca, lives in the town of Carapegua and I had such a good time that my day and a half trip turned into a 4-day trip! Upon my return, I said goodbye to a dear friend who completed her service a bit early. It was not an entirely happy event though it did make me appreciate the lifelong friendships I’ve made in the short time I’ve been here. The month was rounded out by three events: an interesting workshop focused on preventing the bird flu from taking root here in Paraguay, a very useful meeting with the Peace Corps Paraguay Director, Don Clark and the three other Master’s International volunteers that are currently serving and a fundraiser international sports day. The sports day had been done once before but we did it this time as a way to raise funds for a few projects. We invited the Japanese volunteers (JICA), the Korean volunteers (KOICA) and the Taiwanese volunteers (ICDF) all serving here in Paraguay to kickball and volleyball games against Peace Corps volunteers. It was a lot of work to put together (and I had a lot of help) but was well worth the efforts. Everyone had fun and we made some money for two PC projects.

Now October is here and nearly half the month will be gone in travel and activities again. I’ll be heading further down south to the town of General Delgado to visit my friend Tessa and help her with some civic education work. From there I will head over to Pilar where my friend Joan lives. While getting to know her town, I hope to investigate the opportunities to work with AFS (an international exchange organization). I’m hoping to use the experience of working with them to write the main part of my thesis. Upon my return, I’ll have two important meetings, one in the capital of my department (Caacupe) to continue the bird flu prevention work and the other in Asuncion to work with young women who have been awarded a scholarship in a partnership between Peace Corps and the Paraguayan government. This month will be rounded out by an awesome 80s themed birthday/Halloween party in my friend Jesus’s town of Villa Florida. Not sure what I’ll wear, but I’m thinking either an 80s era Dolly Parton, Joan Jett or possibly a Risky Business-esque Tom Cruise (that one’s the easiest if I can figure out what to do with my hair)! My friend Joan and I are hoping to make this party a fundraiser as well.

So…on to November? Not yet! Sure, September was busy and October promises to be as well. But in the midst of all this busyness, I’m also working on my thesis portfolio. So while the time does seem to be flying by, I need it to slow down a bit too…at least to give me a chance to finish my thesis work. So, am I afraid the time will go by too fast? No way people, no way. As Dorothy Thompson once said, “Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.” And friends…I’m living! Until next time friends…..

Going home…from home and back home….huh?

2009-07-31T10:08:00.004-04:00

I have now been back in Paraguay for about one week. I took a two-week vacation to go back to the US to visit my family. I spent 16 days there and my visit spanned three states, more family than I can count, and a lot of fast food and home cooked food that I had been desperately missing.

My first night back in Paraguay, I stayed in a hotel in Asuncion and ran into a few volunteers who were also in town. They had many questions for me about my trip home – what had I eaten first (a favorite question among volunteers) and where had I gone…where was home? That has always been a difficult question for me. I mean, I spent 19 years in Florida and it’s the place I called home for the longest amount of time – even to date and yet I’ve never thought of Florida as home. After having left in 2000, it became simply the place my parents lived – that made it home-y but somehow, it just wasn’t home. For the next few years, I called many places home. I called a village in Burkina Faso, West Africa “home,” and then three years in Washington DC, two years in Rolle, Switzerland, and nine months in Vermont and now I’m working on my second year in Loma Grande, Paraguay. I’ve considered all of these places home but do I really still have a home in the US? Can an entire country just in some general way be, “home?”

My parents now live with my sister in Virginia and this was my “home-base” for my recent vacation. So, in “going home” I was really just going into a more or less “known” culture. I was with family and friends and Wendy’s Frosty and Chipotle and salt and vinegar chips. The main point is that I dislike answering the question, “where is home for you?” I noticed too, that I didn’t like answering that question from people in the US. When people asked me where I lived, I noticed that I didn’t really like telling them that I was living in Paraguay. For some reason, this is not necessarily, how I like to begin conversations with people. It’s not that I’m not proud of being a volunteer or about Peace Corps or even Paraguay for that matter. I’ve found that this often focuses the conversation around my life and work, which in all honestly I love. I love talking about my life and work. But in most instances, the attention is focused entirely on me and I often feel that that it somehow misguided. I guess it’s the “exotic-ness” of it that bothers me. It’s not exotic to me; it’s just life…a different kind of life sure, but just life all the same. But many see it as this very lofty thing, to choose to live a more humble life to help others. I think it says something about me and about my life that is easily misinterpreted and yet it’s not something I want to justify or explain to people either…especially not people I’ve only just met.

But back to the idea of home. I went home from home and now I’m back home but I’m also already missing home. Are you with me? Did you get that? Home for me has so many meanings. It’s more of a feeling than a place. Right now, the city of Loma Grande is my home but at the same time, the US in a general sense since I no longer have an actual home there, is my home. When I think of home (US) I think of the foods that I grew up with and that I love to eat, familiar voices on local radio stations and basically things that are familiar to me. Whenever I’m in Paraguay but not in Loma Grande – I get the same feeling. Going “home” to my own bed, my own food, and books. I love the home I’ve created for myself in Loma Grande and I appreciate the friends that I’ve made that have supported me and continue to do so. So, now I’m back home, from home and though I miss home, I’m glad to be home…

Got that? Keep a good thought friends….

Paraguay: Year One

2009-06-03T12:03:00.001-04:00

It seems sometimes, as if there are only two climates here in Paraguay – hot and cold. We are currently in the season of fall or autumn yet it feels more like winter. The last few days have seen us get an unusually large dumping of rain, and like many Paraguayans, I didn’t leave my house much during the worst of the weather. In fact, I missed my group’s one-year anniversary party in the southern town of Villa Florida. It’s hard to believe that one year ago (we left as a group on the 29th and arrived on the30th) this past week, we didn’t know each other and knew virtually nothing about Paraguay.

All that time spent at home (most of my classes were canceled due to the rain) gave me a lot of time to reflect on the last year. So much has happened and while some days were agonizingly slow (some weeks too) it is really incredible just how fast the time has gone by. Now, for those of you “in the know” you may realize that as volunteers we really have two anniversaries. One year in country and one year in site – and for the purposes of completing our service, the in-site anniversary is the one that counts. We will celebrate that anniversary on the 9th of August.

So, what have I accomplished during this, my first year of service? Simple, I’m here and I’m healthy and happy! As a taxpayer that is helping to support me here, that may not satisfy you, so here’s a few more things that I’ve accomplished, I have…

Taught young Paraguayans:
• To evaluate their choices and to focus on their futures
• The importance of caring for the environment
• How and why to recycle
• The importance of trees and why deforestation is a serious problem
• How to plant and care for trees
• Qualities of a good leader
• Leadership skills

Perhaps most importantly, I’ve tried to show them the best of what the United States has to offer, people willing to share part of themselves with others. Most people don’t think about the name, Peace Corps. Many people think it is naïve to think that through cultural understanding we can achieve some kind of global peace. I don’t think it is naïve at all, actually I believe it is the only way we can one day achieve peace. I don’t mean to pontificate or get on a soapbox here friends, but how can we ever talk about peace if there is not first understanding?

Well, as a naturalized citizen of the USA, I am proud of the work that is being done here –and not just my work, but also that of all my fellow volunteers. I’m not sure how much Peace Corps cost each taxpayer – I can’t imagine it’s all that much. But I guarantee you it’s just about the best money your government has spent in the name of Peace!

Peace out friends…..

Belonging

2009-05-03T15:20:00.006-04:00

Friends, what a difference a month makes…

Let me begin by letting you all know, what I hope has been obvious from previous posts. I am happy and fulfilled and enjoying my time in Paraguay. What is also true is that I didn’t always have enough activities to fill my days. Then along comes an idea, hopefully known to you all, called…”Como Planear Mi Vida.”

Now, if I had been more proactive, I would have marched over to the colegio and introduced myself to the students during my first month here in site. However, I was so fixated on doing my “job” which as a municipal services volunteer is supposed to be with the muni. Secondly, let me just be honest here… I was scared. I find high school students in general a bit intimidating, and Paraguayan students are even more so. The times I had come to the school in the past, to propose project ideas (my tutoring idea, for one), I heard piropos (catcalls or whistles) coming from most of the young men. This did not help ease my fear of working with them or wanting to meet them more personally.

Then I got the idea to teach the Peace Corps program, “Como Planear Mi Vida.” Well, my intention was to teach only the 7th, 8th and 9th graders, but as you all now know, I’m actually teaching the entire student body at the colegio. Well friends, this has opened my world in Loma Grande.

Now in my third week of teaching, I can honestly say, this is the best thing I could have ever done with my service. ALL of the students now know me and greet me either by name or by calling me profe (short for profesora or teacher in Spanish). The ripple effect is that the teachers all know me now as well. They stop me in the halls to invite me to school events (before they all passed without my knowing about them), include me in meetings, and call on me for help with English or with computer problems. I had tried to get them to understand that I was here to do just that – help them with whatever their needs were and to pass time with them and understand their culture. This is why it always made me sad to know some event had happened without my knowing or being able to attend. Somehow, before, that message never got through. Now, everything has changed.

Recently I was at the escuela (the elementary/middle school) and was helping the administration with a complicated document. Along the way, it turned into a lesson on Microsoft Word. I spent most of my afternoon there before I had to rush off for a class at the colegio (middle/high school). As I left, it hit me. I need them as much as they need me … now. I really felt like I belonged there. Suddenly I had a purpose and my presence here in Loma Grande actually seemed to matter to members of this community. Perhaps that’s not an entirely fair statement. I’m sure my presence here has mattered to some – even before I began teaching. I suppose that now the difference is that I feel it. I’m no longer wondering if that is true, I know it is true because I felt it and continue to feel it.

As I wander down the streets of my town now, I am usually smiling. The sense of purpose and belonging that I have now goes way beyond anything I felt before. My town has embraced me and I them. We are truly working together to create something special.

Thanks for being part of my journey…I hope you are as excited as I am to see where it takes us next…

Semana Santa, Como Planear Mi Vida and Every day Life

2009-04-19T21:25:00.014-04:00

So, my friend Alfredo invited me to spend Semana Santa, “Holy Week” with his family in the “campo” – very rural area. I had also been invited by my training host family to spend the time with them. I was torn but decided to spend the four days with Alfredo and his family. I was eager to see a different part of the country and to spend time in the “interior” part of the country.

I slept in my own bed in my own room though the walls were rustic and had big spiders in all the crevices. Come on self, I said constantly, you lived in Africa; you can sleep in a spidery room! Sufficiently calmed, I went on the next challenge, trying to eat vegetarian while visiting a family that had just killed a HUGE pig. But pig is not meat they tried to explain to me. Ugh, well, yes, but you see, I don’t actually eat anything that comes from the skin of an animal. So I ate salads and sardines. See, “campo” life isn’t so hard! Well, I had a great time and was even invited back! Here are a few pics that highlight my time in the “campo.”

Making it through Semana Santa meant only one thing to me: the start of classes. The school year began here in mid-March but the classes that I am now teaching were planned to start after the Holy Week break – April 13th. Although I was anxious to get started, I was petrified to get started. I knew only a few of the students but now I would be working with virtually ALL of them. Basically I had worked out a plan to teach a Peace Corps life skills program called, Como Planear Mi Vida (How to Plan My Life) with the 7th, 8th and 9th graders from the elementary/middle school here in town. The middle/high school also has 7th, 8th and 9th grades and so I inquired if they would like me to teach the program there as well. I guess the principal liked the program – a lot, because she asked me to teach it to the entire student body (about 250 students). So 12 classes later, I’m busier than I could’ve ever imagined.

I’ve modified the program and am more or less sharing three versions with the students. One is for the younger students – the 7th – 9th graders, one for the 10th and 11th graders and the last one is a shortened version for the 12th graders. I will only have access to them about 2x/month so I’ve trimmed their program down to the essentials (basically job /career related stuff and family planning related stuff). For the two younger groups the focus will more or less be the same: self-esteem, decision-making, family planning, and job/career planning. I’ll be with those two groups once a week.

I’ve just finished my first week and am now ready (I think) to get into the real “work” of the program. Last week I mostly introduced myself to the students, talked about life in the US, and summarized the program for them. We’re starting with autobiographies. I’m having the students use a basic questionnaire (how old are you, how many sisters/brothers do you have, etc) to begin writing their stories. When we are about half way through the course I’ll ask them to do so again, but this time imagining that ten years have passed. Towards the end of the course, we’ll do our biographies one last time – this time imagining that fifty years have passed. I can’t wait to see how their lives will all turn out!

Another activity we’ll do is create our own personal flags. Just the way countries have flags with colors and symbols that represent their values/beliefs we’ll make flags for ourselves that illustrate these things. My flag will probably have a globe on it, some green color to symbolize my connection to the earth/nature and maybe something that symbolizes service leadership – if there is such a symbol.

Clearly, I’m excited about this work. I’m also excited about a new recycling project I’m trying to get off the ground. Everything is in place to get it going except…someone to buy our recyclables. There is no formal recycling program in this country but there lots of companies that will buy glass, plastic, etc. We just have to go out and find them! Well, my boss from Peace Corps helped me find a list of companies online and I’ve now given that list to my mayor. Hopefully we can work something out with one of these companies and start our program up. All of the proceeds from the sale of our recycling will benefit our local health council (of which I’m an ad-hoc member). This council oversees the running of our local health clinic and ensures the clinic is meeting our town’s needs. As an avid environmentalist, I’m happy to have found a way to begin to tackle my town’s garbage problems. I’m also happy to be working on a project related to my project plan (as a municipal development volunteer there are certain projects I should be doing with my municipality).

Finally a few comments about life in Paraguay. I’ve been asked what my day-to-day life is like. Well, not having a 9-5 job my days are always different. Most mornings I go to the municipality briefly to see what, if anything is going on. Now, I have classes every afternoon (and on Thursdays have morning classes as well). I also have the health council meetings every Wednesday afternoon (recently moved from Wednesday mornings). I spend time (sometimes a bit too much time) on my computer researching information for my projects and checking email (I recently got internet in my home though it is slow and not very reliable). So, a typical day doesn’t really exist.

I try do laundry every few days so that it does not build up too much. I have a love/hate relationship with laundry day. I always dread doing laundry though it is not that unpleasant a task. I take my iPod and speakers to the patio where I wash my clothes and the music helps create a pleasant atmosphere. Washing clothes by hand is pretty simple: soak, scrub vigorously, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse (usually 4 rinses before the water runs clear), twist, flick and hang, let dry (depending on sun and other factors about 2-3 hours usually does the trick in summer), then iron carefully. I was not a big ironer in the US but here you MUST iron your clothes or risk the dreaded botfly. Basically, as I understand it, it will be on your clothes (you won’t notice) and once it comes into contact with your skin will lay its eggs under your skin. You will then develop a painful blister (looks a bit like one of those under the skin zits) that will hopefully have you seeking medical advice at which point they’ll tell you that you are about to be the proud parent of some baby botflies. Seriously, they will just dig out the eggs or whatever and you’ll be fine but still…gross! So ironing can apparently, prevent this horrid scene from occurring. In a continuing effort to make these kinds of chores more pleasant I usually iron with my laptop or iPod nearby and listen to music or watch movies.

I try not to save up household chores for weekends so that I can actually enjoy those a bit, but with my first week of classes this week, I found myself doing A LOT of laundry this past Saturday. Here’s how my day ended up:

-woke up at 7:30
-ate breakfast, changed by 8:30
-did 2 ½ hours of laundry, was done by 10:30
-ate a snack, checked email, left for grocery shopping by 11:30
-got to San Lorenzo where I do some of my grocery shopping 1:00
-finished shopping and headed back to Loma 2:00
-got home from grocery shopping 3:30
-drank lots of terere and relaxed ‘til 4:00
-took clothes down from line and started ironing
-finished ironing and started making dinner 6:00
-checked email while eating dinner 6:30
-was in bed and reading a book by 8:00
-lights out 10:00!

Yes, people, sometimes my life is just one adventure after another….until next time …

My New Home

2009-03-05T11:34:00.007-03:00

In December, I decided that it was time to move. I loved where I was living, though I yearned for a bit more independence than I got living on someone else’s property – just behind their home. I had a great host family, but there were so many of them around all the time and having lived on my own for more years than I care to count, I wanted to find a place that would give me more privacy. Though I found empty houses, they were not for rent. I went on vacation and left word with friends in my town that I was interested in finding a new home and asked if they would keep a proverbially ear to the ground about houses for rent. In a small town, with few people moving in or out, there wasn’t much available. I did not know when I started my search that it would take me three months to find my perfect home. I got frustrated but tried not to lose faith that my Paraguayan home was somewhere out there waiting for me to find it.

During the second week of February my host family told me that they were going to need the two rooms that I was renting and asked me to move out by the end of the month. I still had not found my perfect home and now I only had two weeks to find it. The pressure made me frantic. I called my new Peace Corps boss and felt badly that I was handing her a problem so early on in her job with us. I hadn’t met her yet, had only spoken to her by phone, yet she dropped everything and drove the 2 hours from Asuncion to come and see me. We called the mayor of my town and the three of us sat together to think about what could be done. The mayor had heard that someone had just moved out of a house located near the middle school/high school. He made a call and we went to see it. The house was adorable. A cute, new little two-room house. It had a cute little manicured from lawn and garden. The rooms were large and the bathroom, like the rest of the house was newly built and fairly large. I noted that there was no sink (the two rooms were just that – too big empty rooms, no formal kitchen) and I would have to buy and have one installed outside. The first room, the one you walked into from the front door, also had a back door. That was as good a place as any for a sink. I noted though, that there was not much back there, just dirt and not very much of the property back there would be mine to use. There was also no shade, meaning that during the summer (like right now) the sink could only be comfortably used in the very early morning or late evening, which also meant there would need to be a light installed above the sink. Not overwhelming problems, but still something to consider. At any rate, as my options were limited, I decided to rent the house and made arrangements to speak with the owner the following Sunday (the day that day was Monday).

On Saturday afternoon, I made a list of things to discuss with the owner the following afternoon. I doubt she would have any problem in my adding the sink and light as they would only increase the value of the house and property. Just as I was putting my list together and figuring out the costs involved, I got a text message from a friend of mine. She knew of a house that was for rent and had spoken to the owners on my behalf. She sent me there number and despite thinking of my housing issues as solved, I called the woman. The house in question was an awesome, modern 2-story structure next to the house I was planning on renting. I had passed the house a bunch of times always wondering who owned it. I was told the owners were seldom in town and that they lived in Asuncion.

It turned out that the family only wanted to rent me the lower portion of the home, which was completely separate from the second story. The first floor was basically just one big room. It has a very nice bathroom with a shower (which wasn’t huge, but looked brand new and had evidently never been used). The room had four large windows and a back door which led out onto a large courtyard that a big mango tree in the center (I love mangos). Around the side of the courtyard was a patio with a sink and Paraguayan outdoor oven and separate built-in barbecue. There were also a set of metal stairs which led up to a second floor patio. This patio also had a sink and space for putting up a clothesline. Next to the first floor patio was yet another patio, this one accessible through a big metal locking door. This particular patio had a number of fruit trees in it, lemon, orange, grapefruit, and mandarin. The owners understood that I had very little furniture of my own and showed me furniture that I could use if I wanted. The furniture was also great, and included a small bed, awesome desk with space for book storage, a brand new gas range with electric starter, a meat freezer which could be used at a lower setting as a fridge and a set of three storage units which together with my wardrobe could act as dividers between the main living space and a bedroom.

All in all, it was an amazing home and I was faced with telling the owner of the house next door that I had had a last minute offer and that I would not be renting her home. I was relieved that she understood that I had gotten a better offer and did not seem to be angry with me. Three days later, I moved into my new home. When I couldn’t find a good price on a dining room table and chairs (the only furniture I wasn’t able to borrow), my new landlords offered to take me to some furniture shops in Asuncion. As they were planning to come to Loma Grande the following weekend, they offered to drive up anything that I purchased. I found a great little dining room set at a good price and by the first of March, my new home was more or less complete.

Of course, the saying, good things come to those who wait, always turns out to be true for me. I did get frustrated but I didn’t really lose faith. I knew something great was out there for me; it was just hard to maintain constant optimism as the weeks went by. The only changes I’m making to my new home is the addition of screening for the windows as there are a ton of mosquitoes around and it’s Dengue season (though there hasn’t been any reported cases in my department for a number of years). Despite the use of repellent and mosquito coils (spirals that you light and the smoke and fumes are meant to keep the bugs away) I’m still constantly bitten. The carpenter just came by to measure my windows and my screening should be up next week. There are still little things to make my home more a home (like artwork from my nephews that my sister has promised to send) but little by little, I’ll get it decorated so it looks more like me.

So…now, I’ve got the perfect space for entertaining. There is plenty of space for guests, so all I need to know is who wants to visit me first? Remember, mi casa es su casa. Take care friends……

Summer Camp Fever

2009-02-25T14:22:00.005-03:00

Summer in Paraguay is notoriously slow (and hot). Many people go on vacation, schools are all closed, so what’s a volunteer to do? Well, the most common answer is summer camp. Lucky for me, I have three Peace Corps volunteers close by – my neighbors and my friends, and we decided to work together to do summer camps in each of our sites.

We decided early on in December that we should go forward with our idea. We began meeting after Julie and I returned from our vacation in early January. We started meeting over the lunch hour with our two other friends, Jenny and Andrew. We soon realized that if we met around a meal, we spent most of our time preparing the food, then cooking the food, then eating the food and finally resting after eating too much. The end result was that our meetings were less than productive. We amended our meeting times and soon we were on the road to productivity. We all agreed that the them would be the environment and we all decided on activities that focused on different aspects of the environment. It helped that one of us – Jenny, is an Environmental Education volunteer. The materials she provided us all with were invaluable.

We all worked together on deciding the activities that we would do and who would take the lead on each one. The schedule had us working first in my site (in the compania of Yaguarete Cua), next in Neuva Colombia (Jenny’s site), third in Acuna Andrew’s site) and lastly in Altos (Jenny’s site). I structured my 3-day camp in more or less the same way each day: name game, icebreaker, song, main activity, wrap-up. I was very nervous about how many kids would actually turn up. The principal of the school in the community of Yaguarete Cua is a friend of mine and was eager to work with me from the moment I arrived in site. She is also a very well connected member of her community and by having the camp at her home, I had hoped to get a good turnout. I was happy and relieved to have had at least 20 students every day which is the amount I was prepared to have).

Our first day was focused on garbage. Not a very fun or even interesting topic, but Peace Corps has lots of fun and interesting activities for a range of topics –including this one. We talked to the kids about the kinds of garbage that Paraguay produces and about how long different kinds of garbage take to break down (glass, plastics, etc). The second day was all about animals and all of our activities had an animal theme. Our main activity was more fun than educational – we made bird masks. The kids loved it and it was fun to see all of their creativity come alive when they put their masks on. It was also great for them to have something to take home from our camp. The final day was all about trees and deforestation. Another experienced environmental education volunteer (who is in his final year) came and facilitated a fun deforestation activity that really brought home the importance of trees not only for our own use but for animals as well.

We learned a lot from my camp and each successive camp got better and better. We modified activities and added activities and I was left with an excitement in thinking about the next summer camp opportunity (July, this winter). However, truthfully by the end of the last summer camp in Altos, I was glad to have them all behind us and it feel great to finally be done though. I hope to continue to work with my friends on summer camps, they are a great way to not only spend our time but a great way for kids to spend their time as well – and regardless of the work that goes into them, we all end up having a fun time as well!

Well, now the new school year is upon us and I’ve been asked to work with the 7th, 8th, and 9th graders on issues of responsibility. Peace Corps has a great text called Como Planar Mi Vida (How to Plan My Life). I will be sharing this information with students from both the elementary/middle school and the high school (both schools have 7th, 8th and 9th grades) here in the center of town. I hope to work with the compania (rural) schools on service learning as previously planned. My tutoring program is temporarily in limbo but I’m hopeful that once I get to know the students and teachers better that we might still be able to get the program going. At this point, I’m happy to have at least planted the seed of the idea.

In my immediate future (as in the next few days) is moving day. I’m moving out of the place that I’ve been living since September and am moving to the first floor of a 2-story building. It’s a large, lovely space that comes complete with a garden, patio and barbeque area. So, despite having recently completed my sixth month in site, I’m back to settling in anew.

Well friends, until next time…

The Vacation

2009-01-17T08:23:00.008-03:00

From the moment I heard that I was assigned to Peace Corps Paraguay, I thought, great, I’ll be close to family. Over 40 years ago, my aunt married a Uruguayan and has lived in Montevideo ever since. It immediately occurred to me that if I could not be home with my immediate family for Christmas, at least I could be with my extended family. Since Montevideo and Buenos Aires are so close together, it also occurred to me that I could spend; New Year’s there and begin some of the travel that I hoped to accomplish in this region. I broached the idea of my trip with my aunt and she seemed as excited about it as I was. It occurred to me that a few of my friends would perhaps be interested in this trip – and travel is always more fun with friends, so I invited my two friends Julie and Karen.

I had been planning the trip for so long that it seemed unbelievable that the day would ever arrive that we would actually leave, but of course, the day did arrive. Julie and I traveled together and met Karen at the bus station. The cheapest way to travel between Asuncion and Montevideo is bus. The bus is one of the large double-decker buses that has a bathroom and offers movies. Those amenities didn’t really comfort us when thinking of the 20+ hours that we would have to spend en route though…

The time actually went by much faster than we could have hoped. My aunt was waiting for us at the bus terminal in Montevideo and our vacation was underway! My aunt lives close to the “beach.” I use beach in quotes because though it looks like the ocean it is really a river. Ocean or river, we walked along the beach in front of said body of water nearly every day. Some days the air was really brisk and we had to wear hoodies to keep warm. The sun was always warm, but none of us was really prepared for those brisk winds.

We celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my aunt and her children—my cousins who all have families of their own. Next up was a trip to Punta Del Este, a really amazingly beautiful beach town about 3 hours from Montevideo. One point resembles Greece with its jagged rocks and beautiful blue ocean. We parked the car and walked around a bit. We saw yachts from all over the world parked in the marina and delighted in the sea lions that hang out there hoping to get a bit of a treat from the local anglers. We took another look around by car and then got ready for a few hours of relaxation down on the beach. The water was freezing but Karen, Julie and I braved going in anyway. After a nice dinner, we were headed back to Montevideo. My aunt also took us to Colonia, to the “campo” – the farming area where my cousin lives and works and to the old historic part of Montevideo.

Despite filling our days with activities, we had plenty of time to rest. The days passed slowly but the week passed quickly. We treated my aunt to a nice dinner the night before we left and before we knew it, we were on a boat headed to Buenos Aires.

Our boat arrived late and by the time we checked into our hostel, it was after midnight. None of the directions we were given to find food led to us actually finding anything open though just as we were about to give up we did finally eat (well after 1AM). The next morning we set out to by our tickets for our trip back home, change money and do a little shopping. Errands duly completed, we concentrated on our next objective: finding plans for New Year’s Eve. Most of the area restaurants/bars were already fully booked and it turned out that venturing too far away from our hotel would mean not having transportation back as taxis, buses, and subways would not be functioning late. Just as we were going to give up, we found a place that still had openings (thank you Lonely Planet).

The place we spent our evening is called Querandi and was offering an amazing meal and tango show extravaganza. They offered us a pick-up service, which we happily accepted though it was only a few blocks away from our hostel. When we arrived, we noticed that staff members of the restaurant were dressed in 20’s era regalia.Then we were offered our own costumes of sorts – flapper style headbands with feathers in them, long black gloves and red feather boas.

It was fun to see that most of the guests present that evening (around 70 people) were all happily joining in the fun with their feathered hair bands, gloves, and boas. The menu for the evening offered a choice of three appetizers, main courses, and deserts (they offered me special options for the appetizer and main course as a vegetarian). Alcohol was also included in the price of the evening – meaning we could drink as much as we wanted of what we wanted. We drank (not in excess of course) champagne, beer and wine throughout the evening. The floorshow was also scattered throughout the evening with shorter numbers between the appetizer and main course and then a series of longer numbers after the desert was served. We were all offered more champagne to ring in the evening and all of the guests were also presented with a special bag of noisemakers and silly string. We all played happily with our gift bags and most of us were covered in a mixture of confetti and silly string.

The evening didn’t end there though. They started playing great dance tunes and my friends and I (and most other patrons) hit the dance floor. We danced the night away and soon my feet were giving out. I sat out for a bit when one of the wait staff handed me a bundle of papers – songs for karaoke. I shared the song list with my friends and we picked out a few to sing. By the time the night was over, we had hit the stage with four songs (two in Spanish by the singer Juanes and two in English, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and I Will Survive). When the few remaining guests (about 20 of us) had had enough, around 2:30AM, they called the van and we were all driven back to our hotels. The evening was a smashing success and was one of the best ways I’ve had to ring in a new year in a very long time.

The rest of our days in Buenos Aires were spent on walking tours with guides or just discovering the city on our own. We visited an old friend of mine from Switzerland and had fun touring her neighborhood (Palermo) and shopping in the gorgeous shopping mall located there. We also spent time in Recoleta at a very well known old cemetery and in Retiro seeing old palaces and plazas. We walked along the port in Puerto Madero and had an excellent dinner there as well. We visited the zoo and walked through a few of vast parks located throughout the city as well.

Just as in Montevideo, we did a lot but never felt as if we were trying to do too much. We relaxed on our last day and prepared ourselves for the 18-hour bus ride back to Asuncion.

Now we are all back and getting (or trying to get) back into the swing of things here. Fortunately, the weather has not been as hot as we had all feared and we’ve even gotten some rain (it always seems to cool things down a bit). The summers are often slow here, especially just after the holidays. Soon our lives will be filled with summer camp plans, new school-year projects and much much more. Stay tuned….

The Pilgrimage

2008-12-11T14:03:00.004-03:00

I had heard about December 8th nearly from the moment I got to Paraguay. December 8th is the day that thousands of Paraguayans walk from their homes to the city of Caacupe (the capital of the department that I live in) to attend special masses and to pray to the Virgin of Caacupe. Many people make special prayer requests and then do the walk as a show of their faith. Those who live very far away start walking as early as the 5th of December. Not living that far from Caacupe, it occurred to me that it would be something I’d want to do – just for the experience. As it got closer, I sort of lost the desire to take part. Later, I thought, well, of course, I should do this at least once. I asked my friend Julie if she was planning on doing the walk and she told me a group of friends from her town (Altos) were planning on going and she was going to go along, and that I should go along as well.

The plan was to leave Altos around 6PM and to walk (about 5 hours) through a neighboring town, taking shortcuts through the rural parts of that town. I was relieved at this plan because had we walked along the main road it would have taken us about 13 hours instead of the more reasonable sounding 5. We departed on time and despite the sun’s presence, the heat was not unbearable. The sun quickly went down and we found ourselves in darkness as we walked along dirt roads that were dusty, uneven and filled with holes, frogs and other creatures of the night. I had brought along my headlamp – or thought I had. When I went to get it out of my backpack, it was nowhere to be seen. Undaunted by this setback, I took out my cell phone, which has a small little light embedded in it. We used this to light our way though it only barely showed us where the road had potholes and such.

There were 7 of us in the group, two couples and three additional women including myself and Julie. The third woman, was my constant companion and we chatted endlessly about the US and Paraguay and our plans for the summer. We stopped around 8:30 and took a break, drinking and eating and basically trying to replace some lost energy. We were around the halfway point then and though we weren’t exhausted, many of us were definitely starting to feel our muscles tighten up and some were already tending to blisters and sores on their feet.

We marshaled on and finally came to the main road (an asphalt road) where we passed hundreds of people who’s destination was evidently the same as our own. There were also police lined all along the roadway, helping direct traffic and ensuring that the crowds stayed under control. The high spirits and energy that we had started out with were definitely depleted and though we were close to our goal, it did little to help us quicken our steps.

Some in our group hoped to see a bit of the midnight mass so when we were about 20 minutes away from the Cathedral in Caacupe, and it was only 11:30, we decided to take another break. Some in our group refreshed with beer others, myself included, were contented just to people watch. Already at this point, there were people who were camped out and sleeping on the sidewalks and alleyways. As the time for the mass approached, we continued on our way. The closer we got to the church, the more the crowds intensified. In addition, vendors selling everything from street food to “the Virgin of Caacupe” t-shirts and tank tops lined the way. To Julie and I, it seemed more like an evening street fair than a holy or religious pilgrimage.

We arrived at the church and I was astounded at how many people there were – not just people milling about or those trying to take part in the mass, but hundreds sleeping along the roads, sidewalks and steps of the church. Julie wanted to try to take some pictures so we pushed our way into the crowd just outside the church. We all went in together, like a train of school children – each person holding tightly to the shirt of the person in front of them. This was one of those occasions where being a person of small stature came as a huge disadvantage. Not only could I not see anything, I felt incredibly claustrophobic in the mass of people around me. People were pushing both to get closer to the church and to escape the crowd in front of the church. I felt myself being pushed from every direction. Our group finally made the decision to leave and the pushing then intensified. For 5-10 seconds at a time, I found my back and chest constricted virtually cutting off my breath. Scared and frustrated, it was with an immense amount of relief that I was able to finally escape with my friends back into the streets.

One of the guys in our group then began chatting on his cell phone. It turned out he had a friend who was willing to come to pick us up. I was VERY relieved. The buses after all were going to be standing room only – and the trip home would take at least 40 minutes. We were all so tired, I don’t think any of us were up to standing on a bus for that long. The problem was that most roads were closed to traffic, so we’d have to walk a bit out of town to be able to meet up with our ride. When we got to the meeting place, it turned out that the police were not letting any traffic pass by. We would have no choice but to get on a bus to go further down the road. The bus we got on was beyond packed and I’m not sure why were allowed to get on. The driver pointed at a place that I could sit, in the US we would call this place the dashboard, but here in Paraguay, I suppose it was an opportunity not to stand! I insinuated myself into the nook in the dashboard and we headed on down the road. After about 15 minutes we arrived at our new meeting spot. That too, however was blocked off. Yet another bus ride (this one much less crowded) took us to the place where we finally met up with our friend’s friend.

I was so happy to finally see an end to the long evening that I barely noted the size of his car. It was made to seat 5 and we were 7, not including the driver. We all piled in, five in the back (three across the seat in the back and two of us sitting on laps) and the final two sharing the front passenger seat. Not comfortable, but at least we were on our way. It was around this time that I chuckled to myself (probably giddy with exhaustion) and thought about Murphy’s law. It was now about 1:30 in the morning and I was figuring, if all went well, I could be asleep within 30 minutes. Of course, all did not go well. Within a few minutes of getting underway, the driver complained about something and the next thing I knew, we were all out of the car looking at a flat tire. Two of our friends, along with the driver, worked on replacing the tire and within another 30 minutes we were once again underway. A few minutes into the drive with the new tire, we stopped at a gas station. I thought this was weird as the gas station was closed. Two of the guys we were with argued this last point and one finally said something like, nah, the guy is sleeping in there. Well, I figured that we needed gas or to check on the tire or something – especially if it was worth waking up the attendant. But no, what we (apparently) needed was beer. Oh well, it was just one of those nights….

We finally arrived back to Julie’s place around 3 am. Funny – it took us 5 hours to walk to Caacupe (on foot) and nearly 3 hours to get back (with a car). Going to see the Virgin turned out a lot different than I had imagined and it was a much longer night than I could have ever anticipated. I was glad (as I nearly always am) to have had this unique experience but for once in a long while, decided that once was enough and this is one Peace Corps volunteer that will not be walking again next year!

A Historic Night

2008-11-11T11:18:00.003-03:00

I wasn’t sure where I would go on election night, but I knew for sure I’d be in Asuncion and thought my friends and I could find a place at the Embassy with a TV so we could watch as results came in. The Peace Corps librarian – and “knower of all things,” Marianne told me about a party that the Paraguayan American Cultural Center (CCPA) together with the Embassy was hosting. Peace Corps Volunteers were invited along with Embassy staff and staff and students (the CCPA teaches English among other things) of the CCPA.

I left for Asuncion very early, leaving my house at 6am and after meeting Julie in Altos, we hopped on a bus and got our trip under way. Later, in Asuncion, our friends Karen and Courtney also met up with us. We treated ourselves to a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant (very expensive but oh so worth it!) and then walked to the CCPA which, as luck would have it was close to both our hotel and the restaurant we dined at.

We were among the first people to arrive and we ushered in through the VIP entrance (which we noticed most people were using, but still). Our names weren’t on any list but we were assured if we showed our Peace Corps id’s we’d get in without a problem – and so we did. There were three big projection screens up – one was connected to a laptop and was showing the BBC’s election home page, which displayed a map of the country and as the night wore on was colored in either red or blue depending on which candidate won the electoral votes from that state. The other two screens had live feeds from CNN International (in Spanish) and the BBC.

My friends and I mingled about for a bit and cursed ourselves for eating so much at the restaurant as waiters walked around with delicious looking little appetizers. There were also waiters circulating with glasses of soda and wine (and we of course availed ourselves of the wine). There were as many – if not more Paraguayans, there as Americans and so the air was filled with Spanish and English (as well as a bit of Spanglish).

We decided that what we really wanted was to just know what was happening so we parked ourselves in front of the screen showing CNN. What we discovered was that we wanted to know what was happening but we preferred to do so in English, so we moved over toward the BBC screen. We stayed there throughout the rest of the evening. One of the local Paraguayan television stations had a reporter at the party and my friends and I found ourselves on television periodically throughout the evening. I didn’t realize they had captured us until my mayor’s wife (the mayor from my home town of Loma Grande) texted me to say she had just seen me on TV! There were also photographers around and the following day my friends and I saw a photograph of us all in one of the local papers!

A few interesting things (aside from news of the results) happened throughout the evening. We met and spoke with the US Ambassador to Paraguay and later she spoke briefly to the crowd at the party. We also saw the Vice President of Paraguay at the party (and in fact, he was standing right next to us while the Ambassador spoke). A group of Paraguayan students who take English classes at the CCPA also gave a presentation. They sang the Star Spangled Banner for us and it was very very sweet. They did a great job with a not-very-easy-to-sing song and it really touched the Americans at the party especially, I think.

As the results started coming in my friends and I were on the edge of our seats. The four of us all represented so-called battleground states: Karen is from Ohio (OH – IO), Courtney and Julie are from Virginia and of course, I am from Florida. As Florida and Virginia were too close to call for most of the evening we concentrated our efforts on Ohio and helped Karen celebrate when the final tally came in. I’m sure we amused most of those around us as we high-fived one another and held our breath as each new result came in and the numbers shifted. We explained to our fellow party guests all about where we were from, and what was meant by a battleground state. We explained (as well as we could) about the Electoral College and spoke to people about how we had all voted (absentee ballot). Another amusing thing was the fact that each of us had our cell phones in hand and were constantly texting groups of our friends with results. Not many of our friends were able to come in and of those, most have no access to television or radio. In a normal day I probably send out about 5 or 6 texts. In the course of a few hours I probably sent out about 20 or 30!

Karen and Julie, exhausted decided to go back to the hotel and watch from the television in the lobby. I didn’t want to move until the results were known. Unfortunately, the CCPA wasn’t counting on either the contest going on so long or that anyone would want to stay until the bitter end and as such began taking screens down and turning sound off around 12:45. So, Courtney and I also headed back to the hotel. We changed into our jammies, grabbed blankets from our bed and headed down to the lobby to continue our watch. We didn’t have to wait very long. Within 30 minutes of coming down, Obama’s numbers climbed to over 270 and so sealed his fate as our next President. We were able to hear McCain’s comments as he congratulated Obama but of course, it was all translated into Spanish. We were eager to hear Obama’s comments also, but by now it was closing in on 2am (we are two hours ahead of the East Coast of the US) and we were exhausted. We also realized that we’d prefer to see Obama’s words as he said them and not through the voice of a translator so we went to bed with dreams of change in our heads.

The next morning we all sat in the lobby (where there are also a few computers connected to the internet for guests) trying to find friends and family that were on-line so we could chat with them and the few of us that had laptops were scouring for updates and news of reactions. I found Obama’s speech on you tube and began the long process of downloading it (the internet connections are slow so it took about an hour to get the 20-ish minute speech to download completely) and then we all gathered around my laptop and listened to Obama’s comments.

I’m not sure how the others felt, but it was important to me to feel connected to this process. We all voted via absentee ballot, but that was, for most of us, weeks ago. I really wanted to see and feel my vote the way I would if I had been there to cast it in person. I also wanted to feel the energy, anxiousness, and excitement of the evening. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, it was great to share the evening with my new host-country friends. That was something I hadn’t thought about and wasn’t counting on when I thought about the evening. During election night and the following day I got to speak to a ton of Paraguayans about the US, about our government, the campaign process, the electoral college about the candidates – just a varied number of topics. One of Peace Corps’s goals is intercultural exchange and I was happy and proud to be fulfilling one of those goals. Election night was memorable, but not just because of who was elected but because of how I spent it and who I spent it with.

The Big Idea

2008-10-13T17:14:00.002-04:00

So, I’m going on my third month in site. I’m still in the observing/integrating phase of my Peace Corps service – arguably the most important part of service. However, I’m eager to get started on some more “peace corpish work.” Up until now, as I’ve shared with you previously, I’ve been spending some mornings going out with the nurses from the health center during their vaccination controls. This has been a great way to get to know the people in the more rural parts of town. I’ve also spent some time at the schools in these rural areas. It’s the time I’ve spent at the schools that got me thinking about “the big idea.”

Here’s the idea: start a tutoring program. Sounds basic and easy, right? Well, in some ways it is. I envision it this way (and this is how I’m going to sell it to the Director of the high school):

• professors from the high school (includes middle school) will create a list of students that get high marks in all of their work

• professors from the elementary school will create a similar list only with students that are falling behind or require extra help

• we will create an incentive for the high school students that participate in the tutoring program (not sure what this will be)

• during the school vacation (begins in November) I will work with some professors to “train” those high school students that are interested in being a part of the program

• we will start a pilot program when the new school year starts in February
Anyway, I envision the students coming to the municipality to do the tutoring in one of the conference rooms. I can take turns with some professors to supervise the sessions and a handful of professors (hopefully) from both the high school and elementary schools can work with their respective students to ensure that the sessions are going smoothly.

This idea is in its infancy and there are a gazillion different things to still be worked out. One thing that I’m hoping to come out of this program is the idea of volunteer or community service work. Most people want to do work that they will be paid for. With a shortage of jobs and the realities of poverty all around us, that is not very surprising, but I’m hoping that once students become involved in the program, the feeling of helping others will become enough to keep it going. I think the incentive will help and I’m thinking that it can be something really productive though fun like participating in a Peace Corps workshop for youth. These are often in interesting locations (and young people rarely get to leave their towns) and are a first opportunity for most to mingle with like-minded people of their same age. The workshops are also something that they can use on their resumes. Another possible incentive may be assistance for university (a small grant) or a gift of school supplies. Hopefully, the incentive will be enough to get them in the door but the experience will keep them involved and interested.

The logistics that need to be worked out are innumerable and I’ve also got to get the Director of the elementary school on board. And then of course, I’ll need some professors from both schools on board as well. The program will only succeed if students can be convinced it’s worth their time – and that goes for the tutor and tutored. I’ll be meeting with the Director of the high school this week and will go from there. Wish me luck…

A simple trip to Caacupe & the inconveniences of a rainy day

2008-09-15T23:49:00.006-04:00

It sounds easy enough – a meeting in Caacupe. Here in Peace Corps Paraguay we have what are known as VACs – Volunteer Advisory Councils. VACs are basically a collection of volunteers from different sectors that all live within a specific geographic area. My VAC – the Cordillera (this is the name of the department or state that we live in) VAC has been planning a project for several months now. The project is a trek that will take us from one of the southernmost towns in this area to one of the northernmost areas. We will be walking or trekking from town to town (where volunteers live) and stopping at the schools to plant trees and speak to students about the importance of trees and environmental conservation. We’ll be eating and sleeping at volunteers homes all along the way. The new volunteers (of which I am one) can participate but the plans are far too far along to incorporate our towns into the plans.

At any rate, a meeting was planned to discuss this project. Neither Lauren nor Julie – my two closest neighbors were able to attend, so I had to go to the meeting alone. I really didn’t want to go alone, the trip would involve a bus change – but I had no choice. Anyway, I reminded myself that I had travelled throughout Thailand alone – surely I could handle this (after all, I didn’t even speak Thai and my Spanish is pretty good). So, on Sunday morning around 10:30 – I head off for the noon meeting in Caacupe. I had all of the directions for how to get there all written out. Of course, I am the person who could get could take a wrong turn in my own home and get lost. But I digress…, I got on the first bus with no problem. It filled up quickly and all of a sudden, I couldn’t see out the window to see exactly where we were. I tried to make my way up to the front so I could look out the window but we were still a bit far from where I had to get off the bus.

Unfortunately, more and more people were getting on and I was trying to stay near the front of the bus so I wouldn’t miss my stop. Finally, we get there and I squeeze past a bunch of people and extract myself from the bus. My next step was to cross over a highway intersection of 4 major streets. It wasn’t very busy, thank goodness, so I didn’t have a problem crossing. Just as I get to the street I need to be on – I spot a bus with the name Caacupe – YES! Unfortunately for me, that wasn’t one of the buses I was supposed to take to get where I needed to go, but I figured, well, it’s going to Caacupe and so am I, but alas no, that’s not quite right. I ask the bus driver about the restaurant where we were planning on meeting and he doesn’t know where it is. I call one of the volunteers that is attending the meeting and it is then that I realize that I need to change buses yet again.

So, I get off that bus and wait for about 20 minutes for one of the buses that I need. Finally, it comes and I get on and about 10 minutes later, ….it runs out of gas. Yes, the bus ran out of gas. The driver assured me it would only take about 15-20 minutes for someone to bring us more gas but I was already nearly a half hour late! About 15 minutes later (and with no sign that the bus will start running again) another bus that is going where I need to go starts coming up the road and so I get on (and pay) for now, my 4th bus! Finally, I get there. Unfortunately, for me, the meeting is nearly finished! The great thing is that I got to meet a lot of my fellow VAC members and I did learn a few things about the trek. In addition, I learned when and where the next meeting is going to be. Plus, I got to go on a bit of an adventure.

In order to keep the bus mishaps to a minimum, I decided to go back with an experienced volunteer. She’s been in Paraguay for nearly a year and lives in a town about 25 minutes from where I live. We set out to catch our bus yet it never arrived. After nearly 40 minutes, we flagged down an expensive charter bus going to Asuncion and asked if they could drop us at the highway intersection. They said that was no problem – of course they charged us each Gs 5,000 (the currency here is called Guaraníes), normally the buses cost Gs 2,300. We get on the bus and try to squeeze into the passenger section. This was not an easy feat – the seats were all filled and so was the aisle – to capacity. After being kicked and pushed as people squeezed past us to get off the bus, we finally arrived. Thank goodness the bus that would take us back to our towns came fairly quickly. The rest of the ride home was uneventful but that was a real blessing. The ironic thing about this day is that Caacupe is not that far away so the trip should not have taken as long as it did (on either end of the trip).

Oh well, I’m in the Peace Corps and what would I write to you all about if I didn’t have these kinds of adventures? Now…about my rainy day. I’ve mentioned before that the weather here can change dramatically from day to day. This happened recently. I bought a wardrobe (like a dresser, but has room to hang clothes in) for my new home and was in my bedroom organizing my clothes. It was so hot that I felt like I was going to pass out. My host sister suggested I turn on my air conditioning (one of the reasons I love my new home) so I did and my room eventually cooled down. I heard that the weather was going to get cooler and sure enough the next morning it was noticeably cold (probably in the 50’s) but it only got colder as the day wore on. The following day it was much cooler (low 40’s is my estimate) and beyond that it was raining.

Now, if you take a look at the pictures of my new home, you will notice that I live in a home with two rooms. Those two rooms are not connected, which is to say when I leave my bedroom, I am outside and walk about 10 feet directly across to get to my kitchen door. Now, my “kitchen” is equipped with a table, chairs, and stove/oven unit and a fridge but there is no sink or water source in this room. In order to wash dishes or get water I have to go outside to the sink that lies directly behind my family’s home. This sink is used mostly for washing clothes but also, now, doubles as my “kitchen” sink. So, on this particular rainy day, I had to run through the rain to get to the sink to get water for my morning coffee. Unwilling to leave dishes lying around (and attract unwelcome critters and creatures) I also washed my dishes in the rain (though I did put on my handy dandy North Face rain jacket). It was then that I realized that one of the things I miss about the States is the convenience of life. The weather often annoys us but other than slowing down traffic, doesn’t really interfere with our daily lives much (not speaking of hurricanes and other such natural disasters here). In Paraguay, when it rains, as you’ve surely learned by now, frequently the electricity goes out and many people stay inside of their homes all day. Most people do not own cars and if they do have their own mode of transport, in all likelihood it is a scooter or motorcycle. Unwilling to risk illness walking or riding in the rain, most people opt to stay indoors. So washing dishes becomes a problem for those that do not have sinks inside their homes (this is most people, not just me). Also, it isn’t just dishes that become an issue but washing laundry as well. It is not only usually washed outdoors but even for those who have washing machines, all laundry is dried outdoors (I have yet to see a dryer though I’m sure they exist). So on rainy days, no clothes can be washed either. In fact, when people hear or suspect that its going to rain, most scramble around trying to get these kinds of things done in anticipation of not being able to do them when the weather changes.

Another inconvenience of my outdoor “kitchen” sink is the lack of hot water. All faucets here in Paraguay only have cold water. Hot water is reserved for showers only (I have yet to see a bathtub in this country) and is obtained through an electric shower head that heats water as it comes through (the more you increase the water pressure the less hot the water so unfortunately, if you desire a really hot water, you’re stuck with crappy water pressure). So, when its cold or rainy out, having to wash my hands or dishes with ice-cold water is no fun. Now, we’re just about a week or so away from the start of Spring (21st of September) and they tell me that’s when the unbearably hot weather will start. I’m therefore, trying to remember and enjoy these cool days, because I know very soon, I’ll be wishing for another one (though I’m sure the cold-only faucets will be a pleasure during the hot weather). So stay tuned, soon you may be hearing about how the hot weather inconveniences my life. In the mean time, please note that I’m happy and healthy and dealing with the inconveniences and they are nothing compared with the amazing people I’ve met and am meeting! Hugs from Laara in the small town of Loma Grande!

My first month in site

2008-08-30T12:43:00.005-04:00

So, my first month in site began with a bit of a bumpy start as I was in a new town, new home with a new family and with a new case of insomnia! Alas, as with so many things in life, I made it through that bump in the road. Some of the highlights of my first month: the support and friendship offered to me by the health center staff; visiting the rural areas of town; meeting a ton of people; visiting my neighboring volunteers; getting involved with the community health committee.

It sounds as if I’ve been busy, though I’ve been on a PCV guilt trip. Basically, my mornings (most of them but certainly not all of them) have been taken up with the trips I’ve made with the nurses from the health center. The days I’ve been lucky, those trips have taken up my entire morning. On the not-so-lucky mornings, I’ve either not gone out at all or I’ve been done by 9:00am. The worst feeling – at least for me, is that of being unproductive. Some mornings, when I’ve found myself suddenly free, I have managed to be productive with busy personal work. I’ve begun work on my thesis portfolio, written letters, organized my personal things, done laundry, ironed, and written this blog. A few mornings (and all too many afternoons) have been spent either sleeping or being a couch potato watching movies on my computer. Now, you may be thinking, well, Laara, our tax dollars are supporting the Peace Corps and its volunteers to work in developing countries not so they can veg out and do nothing. I would agree with that sentiment, and some afternoons I have gone to the schools to help with projects or just gone to visit people. Believe it or not, visiting people is my number one project for my first three months in site. This time is meant to be used to integrate and become a member of the community. I’m certainly not accomplishing that on those afternoons that I’m vegging out, but I would argue that I am putting myself out there as much as humanly possible given my energy levels and the fact that some nights I get only an hour or two of sleep. Some of the productive afternoon/evening activities I’ve participated in include: an artistic celebration of Paraguayan tradition and folklore at the school; a family birthday party, and a Church festival. Now, that I’ve moved into my new 2-room paradise and my sleep has nearly been restored to normal, you have my word that I will spend your tax dollars wisely. Some of my plans for the coming weeks are as follows:

I’ve already made arrangements with the health center and mayor to get a city vehicle to take a group of nurses and myself to the further out rural areas. The nurses will check for vaccinations, talk to people about local health issues and I will be meeting people and trying to find a few answers to a survey that I’ve come up with. Normally, the nurses would go to these areas on moto (a scooter or motorcycle) but PC forbids volunteers from driving or riding as passengers on these kinds of vehicles. Having arranged to get a city car (and chauffer) ensures that, not only can I attend, but also that we can take more staff members and more vaccinations, medications and teaching materials. It also helps ensure that we can spend a bit more time in these areas. We’ve already agreed on those areas that we’ll target (one rural barrio or compañía each week) for the entire month of September.

I’ve also now learned (or at least seen) where two of the rural schools are located. I’ve spoken to director of one of the schools and told her that I’m interested in coming for a visit and observing some classes. Given that I’ll have to walk that will take me a good hour and hanging out at those schools will likely take up the rest of that part of the day. Some other stuff that I have going on this month:

September 5th is the new and improved Community Health Committee’s first meeting

September 7th there is a special commemoration in honor of an ex-Paraguayan president who was also a war hero and who’s plane crashed here in Loma Grande (Paraguay’s President Lugo is said to be planning on attending)

September 9th my supervisor and volunteer coordinator will be coming to formally present me and my work to the community

September 19th I’ll be attending a GAD (Gender and Development) meeting in Asuncion

September 27th or 28th I’ll be back in Asuncion to help a few friends celebrate their birthdays

September 29th I’ll be helping one of my nearest neighbors celebrate her town’s festival

…and just like that, the month is over. And that’s how things go in the Peace Corps. Sometimes you are incredibly busy and other times you’re planning what to make for dinner during breakfast.

Now that I know more people though, it’s much easier to “put myself out there” and just go and visit or walk around. I guess that is also the challenge of being in a small town. There’s no cyber café so whiling away the hours on the internet is not possible unless I leave town; there’s no park area so just sitting and people watching isn’t really an option; and there’s no bar or café so sitting some place to just hang out, read or people watch isn’t an option either. I guess I’m trying to say that there isn’t much to do here and so it’s up to each person to decide how to spend their time. I guess that is true no matter where life finds you – we all have to decide what the best use of our time is. It’s just that so many choices have been taken away from me. Hmm, maybe that actually makes my decisions that much easier…..

The search for a home in my new town….

2008-08-21T14:01:00.010-04:00

My friend and fellow volunteer, Julie was assigned to Altos – the town next to mine (about 11k or a 15-minute bus ride away) so we decided to head to our sites together. I knew we could pick up a bus right outside of Asuncion that would take us directly to our sites. Despite leaving a lot behind, the two of us had our great big hiking backpacks on our backs, smaller backpacks on our fronts and small handbags dangling from our arms. Getting onto a bus (they have really high steps) with all of this stuff – especially when that bus starts moving the second you get on is quite a challenge. Of course, the challenge continues, as we have to get off the bus and then get on another one! At any rate, we made it on and off our first bus and then settled in for the long long hour and a half-ish ride on our second. An hour and a half might not sound like much, but when the bus has little to no shock absorbers, starts, and stops every few minutes and fills with people to capacity (and beyond), every minute seems to go on forever.

Julie got off in Altos and I got off in my town, Loma Grande about 15 minutes later. I walked the two blocks to my host family’s house and clapped to announce my arrival (their doorbell is busted and clapping is the substitute for ringing a bell or knocking). The housekeeper, Maria, and my younger sister Thalia (age 11) came to the door. They seemed happy to see me but made no motion to let me in. Great, let the awkwardness commence. “Can I come in?” Of course, they replied in unison. Okay, well, I’ve made it through the door in my new home in my new town. My first success….

I settle in a bit and brig my things into the room I’ll share with Thalia. This is when I realize the mistake I’ve made. I ask if I should put my things down on the second small bed in the room. She says, no put them on the big bed – the one we’ll share. The small one is where Maria sleeps. What was that? I thought I was sharing a room with only Thalia. Nope – I’m sharing a bed with Thalia and the room with both her and Maria. Okay…

“Where should I unpack?” Oh, we’ll empty two shelves in the closet for you. Great (except of course the stuff I brought only represents about a third of my possessions in this country)! Now, Maria and Thalia are really nice and sweet. Shortly thereafter, I meet my 17-year old brother, Victor. He’s also really nice. My mother comes home a bit later and she’s amazing. She isn’t charging me rent and won’t let me even pay for my own water/electricity consumption. I’ll buy my own food, but that will be the extent of what my own expenses will be (a great opportunity to save some of my money). Another great thing about this family is that they know everyone in town. What an opportunity to integrate and become a member of the community instead of just a visitor. This family runs the cafeteria for the bus drivers and employees at the bus company. The buses run from about 5 am to about 11:30 pm, which means that my new family runs a food service that offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and they all take shifts working from around 5 am to 11:30 pm (with the help of 3 other employees). Because of their work, I’ll have a large amount of independence. I’ll make my own food and generally do my own thing (including my own laundry with their brand new washing machine – YES)!

Pretty good situation … BUT… a shared bed and shared room come with the package. Realistically, there is no room for me in this family’s home. I’ve asked my mother if she knows anyone renting a home that I could take advantage of and she was a bit taken aback. It seems that she wants me to stay. I’ve offered them a few “outs” but so far, they haven’t accepted my outs. So far, I really want to stay but after my first night in my shared bed and shared room, my reservations all come flooding back to me.

The bed I share with Thalia is only a full size – so basically, it’s not really big enough for two people (even if one of those people is me), and I realized after my first night that I would only ever get a very small portion of that already small bed. In addition, the four family dogs (all different breeds and sizes) bark at every little passerby and car or bus. As a light sleeper, every noise, including those of my sleeping roommates keeps me up. Normally, I would listen to my IPod to tune them out, but under the circumstances that isn’t really possible. So, what am I going to do? Ha – read on:

My mayor and his wife have been tirelessly speaking to people in town that they know to see if they anyone is renting a small house. They turned up two houses and though the Mayor came to pick me up so I could check them out, he, nor anyone else had the keys to the houses – but I was able to see them from the outside. Hmm, how could I best describe them….slightly scary I guess would be the best way. Nah, they were actually decent from the outside, but they both appeared to need a bit of work. New doors, one needed a gate and fence around it (PC rules) and they both needed a lot of clean up (remember, this was only my impression from the outside). Well, I wasn’t feeling very “up” about this new housing development, but I kept telling myself, “You have the perfect living situation.” That statement became my mantra and…

I have found “my perfect living situation!” About a 10 minute walk from the center of town, on the main road and not far from the Mayor’s house (and right where the buses going to Nueva Colombia and Altos pass) can be found my awesome new home! It’s very cute and is BRAND NEW! It was just finished a few weeks ago. It is a 2-room house that has a very nice patio area in front and on the side. It comes with a sofa and two love chairs that are in the small living room and a brand new BIG and comfortable bed and headstand that are in the second room (it’ll save me a lot money to not have to buy those things). The second room will double as my bedroom/kitchen. The side of the house also has a built in barbeque - the Mayor’s wife lamented how it would go to waste. Here they are only used for meat but I assured her I would make delicious vegetarian delights on mine! This area also has a large picnic table and bench and my two-basin “kitchen” sink. A lot of homes here have these basins only outside. Oh and possibly most importantly, the bathroom, though small is in my kitchen/bedroom. It too is brand new and comes with the handy dandy hot water showerhead. The only hot water most Paraguayans have in their homes comes out of these electric showerheads. They heat the water as it comes through and thus the way to control the heat is to either increase or decrease the water pressure. So, I’ve got an adorable 2-room, never-before -used home complete with barbeque/dining area. Oh, and did I mention the fact that it is all fenced in with a metal main gate that locks and that my bedroom/kitchen also comes with a ceiling fan??? Now, you may be thinking, but Laara, this doesn’t sound much like a “Peace-Corps-ish” living situation. And I would reply, “I’m okay with that.”

But then, the worst happened. I was planning to talk to the owner of the house to make arrangements to rent it. The mayor came by to pick me up and he had news – the owner decided to live in the house instead of renting it out! This was a crushing blow – probably my lowest point in Paraguay thus far. I had seen a solution to my housing problem and it wasn’t just any solution – it was THE solution!

Well, the mayor made arrangements for me to go with one of my coworkers at the municipality to look at other properties for rent. We set out first thing the next morning. One family had two different things for rent – both on the property with the main family home. One was just a room – albeit a big one. It wasn’t bad really, but I was hoping for more space. The next option was better. It was a rectangular building with two separate rooms and a bathroom in the middle. The rooms were decently sized. The pro’s of this space were that they were on a family property and were fenced in so it was definitely more secure; only women live on the property and I could share a washing machine with them; it was only a block from my present living situation so was still ideally located. The one additional pro is that because it is on a family property, I would be within Peace Corp’s “live with a family for three months rule.” The cons: the rooms face the street and despite the fence didn’t offer much in the way of privacy; the fact that it is on a family property also doesn’t offer that much in the way of privacy (God forbid any of my male volunteer friends decide to visit or spend the night) for example! I was really counting on my own private space.

However, in the end I decided to go with this option. I’ve arranged to stay there until the end of December when I can either decided to commit for the rest of my time in Paraguay or start the process over and focus on a home of my own. I found out more pros for my new home though: I can keep (borrow) the stuff that is in the two rooms – this includes the fridge and hutch-thingy in the “kitchen” and the ropero (wardrobe/dresser thingy) in the bedroom. Also – there is an air conditioning unit in the bedroom – I’m going to LOVE this in a few months! The rent I’ll be paying is totally fair and includes water and electricity (until I cut my hair, I’m on the winning end of not having to pay for water). What else? Well, the family owns a dispensa (convenience store) so that’s useful and also a great way to meet the many people that frequent it. So…that’s the story of my new home. I’m going to stay with the host family I’m presently with through the end of the month. I’ll move in to my new place on 1 September. In the mean time, I’m going to buy a few odds and ends that will make my new space more cozy (screening for all the windows) and shower caddy for the bathroom. Yeah – my own bathroom!!!!

My new home and the Peace Corps life….

2008-07-31T08:37:00.006-04:00

Friday, July 25th was an exciting day for the G27 Rural Economic Sector (that’s my group). We finally found out where we will live and work for the next 2 years. We found out on Friday afternoon (3PM to be exact) and we all left for those new sites the next morning. These are our site visits (and I’m writing you from said site visit). A 5-day trip to our sites to meet our counterparts and see where we’ll be for the next 2 years. Our primary objective during these visits is to find ourselves a host family that we can live with for our first 3 months in site.

My site is called Loma Grande and it’s about an hour (by car), hour and forty minutes (by bus) from Asuncion. It’s not too far from the Lake (Ypakarai) and has lots of nice trees and greenery. It is also slightly higher up than the towns below just where the Lake is located. There are a few great vantage points where the views are breathtaking. It is also not far from San Bernardino, which is the chuchiest (nicest, richest, etc) place in this region of Paraguay. It’s where all of the rich people go to vacation every summer. Kind of what the Hamptons must be like. It’s small – really small; population is around 4,000 but the municipality where I’ll be working is awesome. The mayor is young and enthusiastic and has great ideas of what could/should be done. The municipality itself – the building is small but has recently been expanded and has a ton of potential!

So you’ve now read about some of the positives: great mayor, lots of green and nature, location, and views. The downsides: no internet (well, almost none, but I’ll explain that in a bit), not a lot of families willing to let me rent a room from them, no groceries to buy and not a lot in the way of diversions.

Okay, first the internet situation: the mayor and his family own the only bus line that goes in and out of town. The upside of this for me is that they are going to give me a pass so that I can ride for free. This will enable me to go to Asuncion for free (though it won’t take me anywhere useful in Asuncion so I’ll still have to pay for another bus to get to the Peace Corps Office or to a market or shopping area) and also to another slightly biggish town: San Lorenzo. In San Lorenzo I can use a cyber café and buy groceries and veggies (essential for any vegetarian diet)!

There are dispensas (small mom and pop-type convenience stores) that sell food items and stuff like clothes detergent, dish soap but they are REALLY expensive and I’ve been advised that if I want to buy food and especially produce items, I’ll have to go to San Lorenzo or Asuncion.

As for the internet, I’ve been told I can use a computer at the bus company’s office. That’s great, but I doubt I’ll be there during the times that I’ll want to and be able to speak to my family via skype plus, how could I feel comfortable speaking on skype while people are working?? So that’s a real downer (though at least I can keep my blogs up to date J) but hey, let’s not forget I’m in Peace Corps. But looking at the bright side of things, I will be issued a cell phone (only 10 days until I get it!) so I’ll at least be contactable in-site and will be able to make phone calls home (albeit very quick ones). If you want to call me, let me know as I’m not posting the number anywhere as public as this blog. An occasional phone call would be a delightful surprise (and Paraguay is on the same time as the East Coast of the US at least until daylight savings kicks back in this fall). Again, not trying to be a negative Nellie here, but the downside again of the cell phone situation is that the cell phone company that Peace Corps uses doesn’t get a good signal here. I’ll have to use Tigo instead of Personal and so my phone calls to Peace Corps staff and most other volunteers will not be free but will eat up the minutes on the plan that Peace Corps provides. I guess that’s one way to ensure that I don’t use my phone as a crutch and rather spend my time integrating in the community!

As for my living situation, only one family had a living situation that met both my and Peace Corp’s standards (and mine were decently low). It seems like a great house but the downside again (not to be too negative here) but I have to share a room with a 12 year old girl. So much for my privacy! At least I’ve got free reign in the kitchen and can make my own meals and such. I’ve also got the use of the washing machine – a huge plus! The family runs a local cantina in town and I’m hoping I can use that as a way to meet a lot of people. I’ll be living with a married couple, their 12 year old daughter and 16 year old son (and their two dogs). A full house, but then I’m told they’re both out of the house most of the day (plus the kids are at school). It’s close to the municipality (like a block away) and is across the street from the church (another great way to meet people). Also, because they have to go to either San Lorenzo or Asuncion to buy their food also, I will probably be able to work something out with them to get my own food. Lugging all of my groceries on a bus for an hour and a half (to San Lorenzo) does not sound remotely appealing to me (but if I have to like so many things, I’ll just make the best of it).

There are a few more ups that I’ve yet to mention. All of the roads (both of them) in and out of town are asphalted. Also, the road that leads towards my closest neighbor in Altos (about 11 km away) is a great windy road with pretty views and decent shade. I will definitely be exercising by riding my bike to and from Altos as soon as humanly possible (should get my bike sometime in August or September). And writing about exercise reminds me that the Muni owns a huge piece of empty land across the street from where their main building is located. I’m told it’s quite safe to go jogging there alone if I want (and I want).

So I got a great site but it comes with certain sacrifices. I’ve been on a roller coaster (the roller coaster analogy gets old but there’s just no better way to describe the Peace Corps experience) since I got here to Loma Grande. I love it and then I feel disappointed that it doesn’t have something or that I won’t be able to find something that I think I need or want here. Then I remember – duh, you’re in the Peace Corps, Laara!!! It’s about service and sacrifice and that’s what you’re about too! Well, heck, I’m far from perfect and I too forget (from time to time) what’s important in life – but I usually come around.

Long Field, nearing the end and a rainstorm in Paraguay!

2008-07-25T16:44:00.003-04:00

Long Field – this refers to a week where four aspirantes got to a Volunteer’s site and participate in activities that the Volunteer has set up. It’s supposed to be a weeklong experience of Volunteer life. Along with three of my fellow trainees, I went to a very pretty site named Aregua (pronounced Are-a-wah). Aregua is on a lake – the biggest in Paraguay. It’s an old colonial town and has a lot of old homes, some of which have been restored to their original beauty. One of the things the volunteer there – Josh, is working on is tourism and he is starting with trying to get the colonial homes historical protection and funds to restore and maintain them. During the week, we met the staff in his municipality, gave charlas and planned activities for kids at a “camp” for their winter break, participated in volunteer meetings and took an awesome canoe ride on the lake. All in all, it was a great and relaxing week.

We stayed with host families (as usual) during the week. The family I stayed with lived on the last road in town and were definitely more campesino than any of the families I’ve stayed with thus far. Their house was on a big piece of property and they had a vegetable garden and lots of fruit trees. They also had a lot of chickens, ducks, three dogs, and two cows. They were really nice and were amazing cooks (leading me to begin my diet immediately upon return to Guarambare).

Things are really beginning to speed up now. On Monday, we’ll start our last complete week of training. On Friday, we’ll be told what sites we are going to and on Saturday, we’ll leave to visit our sites. We’ll be in our sties from Saturday and we’ll return to Guarambare on Thursday. Our main objectives on these visits are twofold: find a family with whom we can live for our first three months there and get to know our counterparts. Peace Corps believes in working with and not for people so none of the work we do is in isolation. Rather than do projects for people we do them with people and the best model is always working with our counterparts who can then pass on information/knowledge to many others. And as per Peace Corps policy, we are required to live with a family for our first three months in site. How one goes about finding said family is the big question. Imagine, I’ve got to visit families (essentially interviewing them) to see if both they are comfortable with me and I with them (enough to share a living space for three whole months). It involves negotiating what they will charge for room/board/food and in my case also trying to find out if they are comfortable preparing food for a vegetarian (meat is such an important part of the culture here that many find it uncomfortable and strange to give someone food that has no meat).

At any rate, we return from site visits on July 31 and the following day is just a debrief on visits and our final training evaluation. We are also planning a final end of training party, probably on the 2^nd (Saturday) but it will also hopefully be a birthday party for myself (3^rd of August) and my friend Joan (4^th of August). We only have the 4^th and 5^th of the following week before we leave for Asuncion and swear-in! Swear in is on August 6^th (a Wednesday) and we’ll probably be told to be in our sites by Sunday or Monday (which means we have time to shop in Asuncion for things we think we might need in site). After the mandatory 3-month family stay, I will almost definitely find my own home and will hold off buying too much stuff until I see what I need.

The rainstorm…it started as a non-typical winter day. That is to say that the high temps (in the 70’s and 80’s) continued and this day was particularly warm. It looked like rain in the morning and I was annoyed at forgetting my rain jacket at my host family’s home. It didn’t rain and in fact, it turned out to be a nice day. A group of us had arranged to meet at Mark’s house after training class that evening to exchange photos. There was about 10 of us there when the lights went out. We thought we had blown a fuse – what with so many computers and what not going at once. It didn’t take long for us to realize it was the entire neighborhood though. It was then that Mark’s host-father warned us that if we wanted to leave, it was now or never! His warning was a bit too late though because the torrential downpour started before we were able to get our jackets on (I had mine this time)! We had no choice but to unplug all of the technology and sit in the dark and chat. We hung out there until the rains subsided a bit, probably about 45 minutes to an hour. Not bad really. However, due to the lack of drainage in Guarambare, we were all walking through the several-inch-deep-mud puddles to go the few blocks to our homes. The fact that there was a lot of lightning had us all a bit nervous, as there was no way to avoid the puddles. I made it home to find my own host family hanging out in the dark. I sat with them a bit and then decided to see if I could do a bit of work on my computer (working off of the battery). About an hour after I got home the power finally came back on. Ahhh – finally, I can wash my face and get some sleep. Oops – not so fast – the water was turned off! Not only that, my host family’s living room had about an inch of water on the floor (the origin of the leak has not yet been discovered). I waited for about half an hour (until around 11PM) and then decided shut-eye was more important than a clean face and brushed teeth!

Next morning…well, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Not at the mess in the streets from the night’s rainfall, (another torrential downpour began around 3am) but at how cold the morning was. The day before the weather had been extremely hot (somewhere in the 80s) and this morning it clocked in around 53 degrees. Pull out the sweaters again and find the knit caps. What a winter! It has been more or less like this since we arrived in late May, but a 30-degree swing in temps from one day to the next is too much! Oh well, life in Paraguay is nothing if not unpredictable!

A Random Week & Independence Day the Ex-Pat Way!

2008-07-13T10:28:00.005-04:00

Before I get into how my friends and I spent the 4^th of July, let me give a brief overview of the last few days:

We’ve now reached the halfway point in training – unbelievable how quickly the time goes by! The halfway point means that we had to have assessments – in both language and technical skills. Actually, the tech part also included areas like cultural adaptation, motivation, health and safety and security. The language assessments were actually interviews conducted by a certified language proficiency expert who is also one of the language teachers that CHP (our training providers) uses. The teacher isn’t teaching now, so the test wasn’t biased towards any one aspirante (that’s what they call us since we’re not yet volunteers, translates loosely as trainees). At any rate, I, along with the 4 other people I’m in class with, were tested in our Guarani skills (such as they are). I was really nervous about the interview but it went really well. I’m on track as far as where Cuerpo de Paz would like us to be, but I was still hoping to test a bit above that. Though given how tough this language has been for me, I’m happy to just be getting by!

The technical interview went really well. Our tech trainer, Ricardo, called me out of Guarani class and my classmates all teased me about being in trouble (ooohhh, Laara, you’re in truh-bull). I was the first aspirante to be interviewed so I had no idea of what to expect. The chat was pleasant and in reviewing the assessment documents and reading the comments made by the other trainers, (there’s a development trainer and the trainer that coordinates the cultural, health, and safety and security pieces); I was pleased to be surpassing my own expectations (and theirs). As someone who has just spent 9 months learning about training and aspires to be a trainer, I have involved myself as much as possible in this training process. The efforts were noted and appreciated.

All in all, I came away from both the language and technical assessments feeling good about my training experience thus far.

The erratic winter weather in Paraguay continues (thank goodness) and we’ve gone from terribly cold freezing days to autumn/spring cool days to warm short sleeve, capri pants, and open toe shoes pleasantly warm weather. Just in time to have a nice summery 4^th of July!

Starting three weeks ago, one day a week has been spent on “Dias de Practica” (DdP) (practice days) where we are supposed to practice being volunteers. There is no structure to these days. The only thing we are told is that we should find something to investigate. The great thing is that we are able to work in pairs and that we can do whatever we want. The annoying thing is that we can do whatever we want. Though we don’t have to, it makes sense to start on something that can be built upon on each successive practice day. My friend, Joan, and I thought this through and were thankfully interested in the same thing: the education system here in Paraguay. On our first DdP, we went to a local school that is supported by the Municipality (City Hall). It was definitely a revelation. The first interesting thing about schools here is that though they run from 7:00 – 11:00 and again from 13:00 – 17:00, the students only attend one of those sessions. That is, all students attend school for only 4 hours per day. Some attend in the morning and others in the afternoon. Our DdP is only half a day (we need to report to CHP by 13:30) so Joan and I got to the Municipal school shortly after the school day had begun at around 7:30. We went directly to the Director’s (Principal) office in order to present and introduce ourselves and give a little background as to what we were doing there. Our goal was to simply to observe how the classes run. The Director was the host mother of one of our friends. She instantly recognized us and gave us all the support we needed. We spent a few hours in a 3^rd grade class. A few insights:

Despite the frigid day, there were no heaters in the class (or in any class)
All of the students had to wear their hat and coats in the class to keep warm
Some of the windows did not open/close (making it even chillier in the room)
Only one of the four lights in the room worked, making it dark and difficult to read the chalkboard
The only person with a textbook was the teacher – this is VERY common
There is no library at this school

Although this school is one of the more humble schools in the area, it is quite typical of the schools in general here in Guarambare. Joan and I have now (we just completed our 3^rd DdP) visited five schools, two of which were private. The most expensive and well-run school was one of the local Catholic schools which is run by nuns. Even at this school, the children had no textbooks. All books, especially textbooks are simply WAY too expensive here in Paraguay. During our shopping trip in Asuncion, a few of us wandered into a bookstore. An ordinary looking paperback book averaged around ~$40 USD – WAY out of reach for the majority of Paraguayans. The expensive private school had a pretty nice library, but it was tiny and had only primary – level books. The other books in the library are textbook type of books that are mostly reference books on specific subjects. The teachers mostly teach the same way they were taught – they read passages out of the textbook that they have and the kids copy it all down. Sometimes they use the textbooks that are in the library. The main challenge that teachers and students face here is a lack of materials.

On our next DdP (#4) we’ll be preparing for our 5^th and final practice day where we’ll be evaluated by our language teachers (and I’m expected to use a bit of Guarani – in public!) and our technical trainer. We’re planning to do a “charla” or a talk. We’re going to use some of the facilitation tools that we’ve been taught to work with some of the teachers at the municipal school. We’ve developed a survey which will be distributed to them tomorrow (and which we hope to get back fairly soon thereafter). We’ll use their responses to tailor our charla to their needs. We’re hoping to discuss what they consider to be their biggest challenges and collaborate with them on practical ways that they may be able to overcome some of those. Wish us luck on that one though you’ll likely hear from me again before that day (24^th July) is upon us…

Other ramblings (keep reading, I’m almost to the part where I tell you about the 4^th of July!) I thought I might share with you include tidbits about my sleeping bag and my hair. Sleeping bag first – it’s my new best friend. Despite the warm temps lately, it still gets chilly at night and I slept so well in my sleeping bag when it was cold, I’ve just kept sleeping in it. I have a pretty comfortable bed and the combination of my sleeping bag on top of a decently comfy mattress makes for a pretty good night’s rest. I’m so terribly cozy in my sleeping bag that it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. I’ve been jogging with my friend Karen every morning at 6am and the commitment to not gain weight during training helps to lure me out of my cozy little cocoon. What’s the best thing I brought with me to Paraguay – definitely my sleeping bag! What’s the worst thing I brought with me to Paraguay? My hair!?!

My hair? Yes, my hair! When I decided to go to grad school, I thought growing out my hair would make me look more student-y. Then it started getting really long and I wondered how long I could let it get grow before I got sick of it. Then I remembered about a great organization that I did some volunteer work for years ago. It’s called “Locks of Love” – check ‘em out @: http://www.locksoflove.org/ . You send them your clean, unprocessed (not grey-coloured) hair and they make free custom wigs for children with alopecia. I was tasked, a few times, with helping them open their mail. They get (or at least used to, years ago) a ton of mail and opening it is a lot of fun. Most people that send in hair donations also send in a photo of “before” and “after” shots of them with long hair and then short. Many also include stories of why they were inspired to chop their locks. So, I decided I would grow my hair long to donate it to them (which I’ve never before been in a position to do (i.e. haven’t had long hair since I was 20). So how long can my hair get before I’m sick of it? Not very long apparently, since I’m already sick of it! I was hoping to cut it before getting sworn in (as a Volunteer) but it’s not quite long enough yet. It has to be at least 10 inches and at this point if I cut off 10 inches I’ll be left looking like a new military recruit (not a good look for me, I assure you). So, my water wasting, shampoo and conditioner guzzling, but not quite long enough hair gets to stay put. But, if you’re reading this and have long hair, consider chopping it and donating it along with me. I’ll keep you posted on the day I get to regain control and chop these locks off!

Okay, INDEPENDENCE DAY! Every year (or so I’m told) the American Embassy has a 4^th of July barbecue that embassy staff and their families, PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) and ex-pats in the area are invited to attend. It was a “school-day” for us aspirantes, but it just so happens our activities for that day were going to be taking place in Asuncion. Our technical session had us going to the Botanic Gardens, which is a project of the Municipality in Asuncion. In addition to the gardens, there is a small environmental education component to the park that we were going to check out. That took us to about 11:00 am and what do you know – just in time to start the festivities at the Embassy (I have a feeling our trainers were as anxious to join the party as we were). Security was tight and we could only go through one by one (there’s a security office that we had to go through, but as I said, one by one, so the rest of us waited, impatiently, outside), but once we cleared it, we were in. The embassy is huge, really unbelievably jinormous. Once we made our way to the barbecue (a few hours after being cleared through security) we were able to join the about 100 or so Americans that were celebrating Independence Day. We ate the 4^th of July staples, hot dogs, hamburgers (or soy burgers for those of us maintaining a vegetarian diet), potato salad, mac and cheese, chips and soda. It was deelish! We got to interact with a lot of volunteers that we had never met and a bunch that we had. We played volleyball against the embassy staff (we got beat, but hey, we don’t have a net to practice with!), we heard great music and generally just hung out. It was a great day and was followed by another great day (see pictures). On the 5^th of July we had a party at Shola’s (one of my fellow trainees) host families house. We all brought ingredients and together made several very delicious pizzas. We stayed a lot longer than we probably should’ve but it was great fun.

Change in Training -- Latest Update: We just found out a few days ago that due to budget cuts (and the falling value of the dollar) our training is being cut short! We were supposed to swear-in on August 14^th but will now be swearing in on August 6^th. I will update this blog and my information with my updated address as soon as I know it (sometime in the next 3 weeks). You can always reach me via email or by snail mail through the Peace Corps Paraguay address listed in my profile. Cheers!

Life in the fast lane

2008-07-05T20:44:00.002-04:00

Life in the fast lane…

…hmm, life in the fast lane. Not sure why, but that old tune has been rattling around in my mind for a while now. I guess going from spending several hours a day on the internet to spending one hour a week on the internet will make one question a few things in life, like, “what did I do before the internet?” I suppose there was a time that I was more patient and either asked my questions to teachers, professors or supervisors and colleagues. It wasn’t even that long ago that I consulted encyclopedias for answers to my nagging questions. Here in Paraguay and more specifically, here at CHP (the name of the organization responsible for our training) we like to rely on something much more innovative: Google unplugged. The term was coined by one of the trainers and seems rather apropos given our limited internet connections. Actually, considering the limitations that still exist in many countries, we are rather lucky. Nearly every medium-large sized town has at least one internet café (called cyber here, they pronounce it seeber) and it costs around 5,000 Guaraní’s per hour (not too expensive by our meager stipend standards). At any rate, Google unplugged works like this: you think of a question and then ask a person to see what they say. Like any Google search, you usually have to check a few sites and so with unplugged you ask a few different people. Usually the answer reveals itself after about the 4^th or 5^th person. It’s either majority rules or what makes the most sense to the person asking the question. Overall, it’s rather similar to the WWW’s version of Google.

I think the thing that surprises most of all (aside from the fact that Google unplugged actually works) is that even with checking email only once a week (although a few of us are still addicted and check much more often than that, those these are always the people that end up with little to no money on “pay day), there isn’t usually anything in our in-boxes that is really all that important. Oh sure, hearing from you – our friends and family is great, but while our lives are full of new friends, information, skills, foods, etc, we somehow expect that there is that much going on back in the world we left behind. Often we find that nothing really new is happening. And that’s not to say your lives are all boring, not at all, just that feeling disconnected we seem to expect that somehow all of these things are happening back home without our knowledge – when in fact, most things are as we left them (and thank goodness for that). I notice that when one of us has actually spoken to a friend or family member back home and the question, “what’s new with them,” the response is almost always, “nothing.” And that’s the way it goes. I guess the most ironic part of this is that we all generally always have 50 or more emails in our inboxes and that most of our one hour on the internet is spent not answering, but deleting emails. And a small plea here to all of our good friends and family: please don’t send us any forwarded messages, while we all love those PowerPoint messages with beautiful songs and images and appreciate the poems and prayers that remind us how loved we are and how many friends we have and that we’ll only have good luck if we pass the messages along, it really costs us a lot of money to view, read, download and pass those messages on! So while we thank you, we also ask that you limit those kinds of emails until we’re back in the States and able to check email every few hours instead of every few days!

What else, well, just got done with celebrating the 4^th of July at the American Embassy in Asuncion. Where do I begin? Well, there´s too much to tell, stay tuned....

Adjusting to what it means to “come home” and adventures in Asuncion

2008-06-25T18:09:00.002-04:00

As noted in my last entry, I had a great trip in Horqueta and the fact that I didn’t have to take another overnight bus (or any bus for that matter) to get home was great. But spending an extra day away from my host family’s home was brutal. I was eager to sleep in my own bed and shower in my own shower, etc. It made me reflect on what “my own” meant and what “coming home” actually meant. My host family is great and for the next three months, their home is my home. Despite the fact that my current living situation is only temporary, it was great to feel so connected to it and to genuinely look forward to returning to it. It also caused me to reflect on the fact that once I get to site after swearing-in (as an “official Peace Corps Volunteer – I’m only a trainee at the moment) I’ll find myself in yet another temporary living situation. Peace Corps requires that all Volunteers stay with a host family for their first three months at site. After that, we are free to find our own places to live or stay with the family we are with or find another family with whom to live. Most of us plan to move out on our own but until that moment, our living situations are all longish-term temporary, at least until November!

We normally have technical/cultural sessions on Saturday from 08:00 to 12:00. This past Saturday we had a morning session from 07:00 to 11:30 and then another from 13:00 to 17:00. That meant that Sunday was our only “day off.” Four of us decided to go to Asuncion for a little shopping and adventure. By bus, the trip takes about one hour and 15 minutes. We left around 10:00 and got into Asuncion around 11:30 (mostly because we neglected to get off the bus at the right stop and so we ended up circling the outskirts of the city for 15 minutes)! We had planned to go straight to town to do our shopping but because we found ourselves in front on two of the three shopping malls in Asuncion, we decided to simply stay put for the time being. We entered the mall in Asuncion, but what it really felt like was a brief trip back to the States. We used CLEAN bathrooms and settled in to the warmth being piped in by the central heating. We ate awesome meals (we found a salad bar and loaded our plates with veggies) and got soft serve ice cream from McDonald’s (we couldn’t resist). We shopped at the American style grocery store (though I didn’t find any peanut butter) and then we finally prepared ourselves to leave. Stepping back into the nearly freezing weather, we reflected on how easy it was to spend nearly half the money we had brought with us and decided that the mall would forever be a special treat. We did spend a little time looking around. I, in particular, was interested in acquiring a new pair of jeans. Levi’s are my favorite and I figured they wouldn’t be too expensive. The pair I found were 418,000.00 Guaranís. Unfortunately, our salary is 210,000.00 Guaranís – every other week! Everything we saw was out of reach…but then, that’s true for most of the population in Paraguay.

Heading towards the local markets in town, where we were guaranteed to find something we could afford, we instead found a ghost town. Not only was in Sunday, but it was 14:00, which meant it was siesta and all the shops were closed. Unfortunately, for us, given that it was Sunday, they would not be reopening at 15:00 as they do on all other days. We resigned ourselves to sightseeing and vowed to return on a Saturday afternoon or to head to the markets early on a Sunday. We saw the things we had read about in travel guides or the internet, the monument to the Spanish conquista of 1537, the Pantheon of Heroes, the legislature and the government palace to name a few. In order to save 2300.00 Guaranís and to get some much-needed exercise, we decided to walk back uptown to catch our bus back home. We over estimated our energy level and the actual distance we would need to walk and an hour and half later we were exhausted. We passed the American Embassy and all waved as we passed a piece of home. We finally reached the street where we would see our bus pass (you can flag the bus down anywhere and don’t necessarily need to wait at a bus stop) and waited the 10 excruciating minutes for it to pass.

The exhaustion of the day had made me cold and hungry. My host family doesn’t really eat dinner, just a little snack late in the evenings so I was relieved to see that my little sister (4-year old Valeria) had requested and received some homemade popcorn. I inhaled the leftovers and then grabbed my sleeping bag and cozied up inside. One of my fellow trainees (and a good friend), Mark, came over so we could study our Guarani together (we’re 2 of 5 people skipping the Spanish lessons for the local indigenous language, Guarani). We studied for an hour and a half until our brains collectively decided to stop working. My family had decided the evening’s cena would be pancakes (just like we make back home, but paper-thin) but didn’t want to disturb my study session so neglected to tell me they were done. I gobbled mine up in their stone-cold state (and was thankful to have something – even carbs, to fill me up ‘til morning). I wanted to wash my hair and since I would be jogging with my friends first thing in the morning (6AM), I decided an evening shower was in order. Hair washing showers are always obviously longer, but the cold weather conspired to make me want to stay in the nice warm water for much longer. As a result, I caused a fuse to blow as running the hot water (from the electric water heating showerhead) and was rewarded with a pitch-black bathroom and nearly instantly freezing cold water. Given that, it was probably around 48-50 degrees in my home that made the next few minutes unbearable. My host brother was able to quickly restore the power, but I was still left shivering (thank goodness I was rinsed off and ready to get out anyway)! I decided to stay up for a bit to let my hair dry and so I crawled back into my sleeping bag to watch a movie on my computer. Despite the presence of two warm blankets, I decided to sleep in my sleeping bag, mostly because I was just already so warm and didn’t want to have to re-warm my sheet and blankets!

Monday morning greeted me with an even colder blast of air. Jogging with friends ensures that I keep my commitment to exercise – none of us want to let the others down! Still, getting up at 6am in COLD weather is difficult. I grudgingly got up and put on a few more layers than I normally do. I walked over to Courtney’s house but her host mom told me that her knee was bothering her (probably from our long walk in Asuncion the day before) so I proceeded to Karen’s house. I found Karen walking towards me with her own host mother. Karen’s host family has a small farm and each morning her mom goes to collect the milk from the cows. Her host sister wasn’t feeling well (a common theme here on cold days) and so Karen decided to go in her place. I didn’t really feel like jogging anyway, so I accepted their invitation to tag along. The farm is about a 20-minute walk from the center of town (where most of us live) and we were all feeling a bit less cold by the time we arrived. The farm was bigger than I thought it would be. They had a lot of pigs (including some so-ugly-their-cute baby pigs) and about six cows. The milking had already begun and so Karen’s mom began to strain and bottle the milk. A lot of people here drink fresh milk rather than store bought. I’ve decided to forgo the milk drinking completely and instead just use store-bought yogurt. At any rate, the process was interesting if smelly. It was strange to see the amount of steam rising from the buckets of milk (there was a slight ewww factor at this, let’s face it, I’m not the most mature wine in the cellar) and I was surprised and how bad it smelled, but there is something nice about being so connected to the food you consume. Karen and I got back to our respective homes a bit later than planned and had to run to make it to the training center on time. We’re in the same language class (beginners Guarani) which made it a bit easier to walk in late (only a few minutes). Class went well and I was surprised by how far my language had progressed: Che cherera Laara, che aiko Zayas familia ndive ha che aspirante Cuerpo de Paz pegua. Che Estadus Unidosgua, Floridape. Che areko 32 ano ha avy’aiterei Paraguaipe = My name is Laara, I live with the Zayas family and I am a Peace Corps trainee. I come from the US, specifically from Florida. I am 32 years old and I am happy in Paraguay. Actually, we’re learning Jopara (that word means mix in Guarani) which is a mix of the Spanish and Guarani languages.

After a few hours of language class, I was more than ready for lunch. As lunch is the main meal of the day, I always prepare myself to eat a bit more at this meal. Thank goodness today’s specialty was yummy – vegetable soup and tortillas (tortilla here refers to little fried pieces of dough). Despite not wanting to eat too many fried dough delicacies, I ate like 5 or 6. I also ate two bowls full of the healthier yummy veggie soup. Oh well – that’s why I’m jogging! Before I knew it, it was time to get back to CHP (stands for the Center for Human Potential and it’s the name of the company that handles all of the Peace Corps training needs here in Paraguay) and an afternoon of technical training. The topic of this tech session was civic education. Getting people – especially kids, to see the importance in getting involved in their new democracy is really important. We learned more about a local NGO working out of Asuncion named ABC Color. They make a lot of games that are easily purchased (very cheap) and can be played by both adults and children.

The day was rounded out by my after-school snack, 4 mandarin oranges and a handful of peanuts. Dinner, when it came was yet more Sopa Paraguaya – a type of corn bread that has onions and cheese in it, in case I’ve not mentioned it before. Not bad really, but you get sick of it after you eat it for dinner a few days in a row!

After dinner I watched a movie on my laptop and then crawled into my sleeping bag and appreciated the warmth it provided. It´s amazing how cozy and comfortable warmth can be! It makes it that much harder to get out of bed in the morning – especially for a 6am morning jog! Oh well, my two friends (Karen and Courtney) and I are committed to getting some excercise during training.

Well, that´s a typical day for me, if there can be such a thing. Thanks for the comments – keep them coming. And thanks for all of your support!

Adventures on the way to, from and in Horqueta!

2008-06-21T12:02:00.002-04:00

As promised, here are my tales of my recent visit to Horqueta:

I was supposed to travel with Sasha, who is a member of the Rural Economic Development (RED) group, so I waited at our training site for her to come from her training site a few towns over. One of the trainers was coming up to Guarambare and had offered her a ride. While I waited our Associate Peace Corps Director, (the Municipal Development Volunteers’ work supervisor) or APCD Fernando, and the Muni Coordinator (a 3^rd year volunteer who extends to act as an assistant to the APCD), Chris, turned up at the Guarambare training site. The reason I bring up their presence is that they were surely headed to Asuncion and I was certain they would offer us a ride. Oh to avoid the buses in Paraguay!

Not only did they offer us a ride, but we even stopped at the bus terminal on our way into Asuncion. Sasha and I bought our tickets in advance so all we would have to do later is find our bus and get on it! Chris also offered to let us crash at his apartment while we waited for our bus. We got into Asuncion around 8PM and our night bus wasn’t leaving until 11:45PM. So we all headed to his apartment where he lives with four other PC Coordinators. Each sector here (AgroForestry, Health, Environmental Education, and the Muni’s) has a 3^rd year volunteer that acts as a coordinator. At any rate, Chris and his roommates had planned “Italian night.” This consists not only of preparing cuisine from said region, but dressing the part as well. One of the other volunteers lent Sasha and me some cute clothes that could pass for Italian. The men were all dressed as Italian-American stereotypes but it was pretty funny nonetheless. We had great food and great fun – and all before our trip even began!

The night bus was pretty chuchi (Paraguayan Spanish for posh) – but we didn’t mind one bit at all. The trip was supposed to take about six hours (making our ETA around 6AM) but the rainy weather slowed us down and we didn’t turn up in Horqueta until nearly 7:30AM. Rachel, the Volunteer I would be staying with, spotted us right away (not sure, if it was the bewildered look on our faces or our fancy hiker’s backpacks) and we all walked the 10 minutes to Rachel’s house. Sasha still needed to get on another bus to go to her site but the volunteer she was visiting, a Tennessean named Mary, was trying to come and meet her. The roads had been washed away in Mary’s site (Tacuati) and she was stuck in a town b/t hers and Horqueta. Sasha left a few hours later when we figured out she could take a bus that was running on another road that let into Mary’s site.

Rachel took me around Horqueta, introducing me to neighbors and friends and letting me tag along as she ran some errands in town. I was happy (and surprised) that I was able to carry on “normal” conversations with all the people I met. Now, what do I mean by “normal”? Well, I suppose the thing that struck me was that I wasn’t trying to engage the people I met in conversation – the conversation was just happening. We just talked and even if we didn’t, it didn’t feel strange. I didn’t constantly feel like an alien in a strange world. That was a fantastic feeling.

Rachel and I made a great lunch (a vegetable soup made from her mother’s recipe) and hung out most of the day on Saturday. She was great at answering my questions and never tired when I had more and more questions for her. She filled me in on some of the projects she is involved in and told me exactly how she got to know so many people in her town. During the course of that first day, I also got to meet two other first-year volunteers. The two were beekeepers and made up part of the Agro Forestry sector. Unlike our group, they skip the Spanish (though some of those volunteers already speak Spanish) and only learn Guarani since they are all working/living in very rural situations. I was amazed at how well they spoke – especially given that they had been in-site less than a year (6 months at site, 9 months in-country). It was also great to hear about their experiences just in general – as volunteers.

On Sunday, we both took it easy and slept in a bit. We had a nice lunch and then got ready for members of the local youth group. Rachel works a lot with the local library and was working with a few girls from the youth group to make a street sign advertising a celebration of Paraguayan books that is going to take place at the library on the 25^th of the month. She had purchased a large banner, but all of the information needed to be painted on to it. The girls came over and we all had fun painting – and the banner came out great. The girls all had so much fun that they kept painting – and at the end, Rachel had two very brightly colored wooden chairs!

The football (soccer) game between Paraguay and Brazil began just after the girls left. We weren’t watching the game, but followed all of the goals with the roars, hoots, hollers, firecrackers and gun shots (into the air) that rang throughout the streets of Horqueta. Paraguay won 2-0 (though we sadly lost the next game against Bolivia). After the game ended we headed into town both to see the madness in the streets (just good-natured celebrating with loud music and cruising cars & motos up and down the one paved road in town) and to phone our fathers for father’s day. A quick bite to eat at a local establishment capped off a great day (in case you’re wondering, Rachel had a traditional Paraguayan hamburger which is served with a fried egg on top of the meat and I just had a fried egg sandwich).

Monday was the day in which I would be able to go to “work” with Rachel. I use the word work in quotes only because the job of most Peace Corps Volunteers is not a 9-5 type of affair. More on this point later and throughout these little stories in the next two years….

At any rate, I went to the Municipality with Rachel and was greeted by all of the staff members (funcionarios) with a smile, handshake, (or double cheek kiss when meeting the women) and some hot mate. Mate is an acquired taste, but I’m definitely on the road to acquiring it. The day was freezing and the hot beverage was as welcome as a great strong cup of coffee. The mate that I was offered was prepared not only with yerba mate, but with a few local jujos (medicinal herbs). The jujos that were used in this particular brew of mate gave it a minty and slightly sweet taste – not bad at all! In truly Paraguayan style, there is only one guampa (special cup that you drink mate in) and one bombilla (special straw for drinking mate) and it is passed among whoever wants some mate. I was happy to share in this little ritual – if only because it makes me feel like I’m “in the club.” Most people took the time to speak to me about their jobs, what they did and why and I came away with a greater understanding of how the muni works (and as a soon-to-be Municipal Services Volunteer, that’s kind of the point). We went to the library after that and I got to see the kind of work that Rachel has spent most of her time doing. We had lunch with the host family that she lived with when she first arrived to site and then headed back to her home for siesta. I got a little too comfortable and snuggled in my sleeping bag, as the day was still really cold. I ended up staying in my sleeping bag for most of the rest of the day as the book I was reading started to get too good to put down.

The next morning we packed up the Peace Corps car that Fernando and Chris had come down in (they had had a meeting earlier that morning with Horqueta’s intendente (mayor)). Then we hit the road for the 40K drive to Tacuati. The road was not paved and in fact, with the recent rains, was more like a roller coaster. In addition, the one some-what high bridge we had to cross was a leftover from “ano de la oopa as my mother would say, or really freakin’ old as I would say. It was made of wood and looked like it might break under the pressure of having me (and my whole 110 pound body) gingerly walk across it. Needless to say, going over it in a fully loaded SUV made me a little nervous. It creaked with every little inch that we went over. Every plank of wood creaked and even wobbled as we made our way across! We of course did make it across, but I was hard-pressed to imagine one of the local buses crossing over it and I couldn’t help but think of poor Sasha going over it just a few days before!

We finally made it to Mary’s place and found both Mary and Sasha in good spirits. Mary is an Ag (agriculture) volunteer and lives a bit more modestly than Rachel. She has two small houses that are connected. The first is a concrete structure that is her foyer/living/dining room. The next part of the house is made of wood and can be described as a 3-room shack. It is wood slats and there are thin spaces between the slats (so you can kind of see into the house from the outside – but only a little). The first room and the one that adjoins with the concrete room is the kitchen which she has organized really well. She’s got a gas stovetop/oven and a mac-daddy modern (if small) fridge. The next room back is her bedroom and the last room behind the bedroom is just a storage area. She has done a lot with her space and it’s actually a really warm and inviting little home. She made us a great lunch (chicken-noodle soup for the meat-eaters and a taco salad made with soy meat, which is surprisingly delicious for me) and we gobbled it up in no time flat. We hit the road again – this time for the long 6-hour haul back to Asuncion.

Adventures we encountered along the way – nearly running over an armadillo (which are eaten here and are considered a delicacy) and stopping to take a look at some wild ostriches. We listened to some great 70’s and 80’s hits, ate snacks, slept and told jokes and stories to make the time go by. We made it back to Asuncion late enough that Chris offered Sasha and I the use of his apartment and couches so that we could simply get back in the PC SUV the next morning and head in to Guarambare with him and Fernando! Sasha and I managed to do most of our “volunteer visits” avoiding public transport and instead rode in style courtesy of the Peace Corps SUV. The way I figure it, we have the next two years to enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of public transport – so we might as well take full advantage as long as we can!

As you can tell, the adventure was great – and it’s only just begun! This is Laara, signing off and wishing you well, no matter where in the world you find yourself reading this and remember, electronic communications are great – but there’s nothing like getting an old-fashioned hand-written letter in the mail. Also, interested parties should note that little luxuries like hand sanitizer, light Skippy peanut butter, and cliff bars are always welcome!

Leaving for Horqueta

2008-06-13T16:21:00.002-04:00

Hi Friends,

Its official - I´m visiting a first year municipal development volunteer in Horqueta (northern Paraguay, near Concepcion). I leave this evening with a fellow trainee who is visitng a different volunteer nearb. Our journey will first take us to Asuncion (via bus), where we will hang out in the Peace Corps office for a few hours. Then, we´ll take another bus (a harrowing experience if there ever was one) leaving at 11:45 PM and travel all night to get to Horqueta sometime between 6 and 7 AM. We´ll be staying with our host volunteers through Tuesday morning when we have to make our way back to our training site - Guarambare.

I´m missing my camera terribly (forgot it and my parent´s have sent it, but the waiting and missed picture opportunities are driving me crazy) and sorry I can´t share more images with you all. So far, Paraguay is a great country with warm and kind people. I am looking forward to venturing out and seeing more though.

While in Asuncion on Wednesday I was able to visit with a USAID representative and that was really interesting. The program is small, but seems to be contributing to Paraguayans especially in their transition to democracy. USAID primarly supports local government institutions and specifically the local municipalities (which is where I will eventually be working).

Well, the connection is slow and expensive so I´ll sign off. But keep coming back as the next installment is sure to be better!

Second week of training

2008-06-09T17:34:00.003-04:00

Hi Friends,

Second week is under way. It´s hard to believe we´ve only been here for two weeks. We all feel as though we´ve known each other much longer and we are all settling in to our lives here in Paraguay. Our training staff has prepared a few adventures for us this week. First, a vist to Asuncion on Wednesday. We are travelling in pairs and we´ve all been given assigments. I´m travelling with Liam (the tallest guy in our group) and our ¨mission¨ is to find the USAID office and attend a meeting there. I´m excited to visit them and can´t wait to hear what they have to say about working with Municipalities and how they feel they can help (or how they feel they cannot help). The second adventure is a 3 day trip to visit a volunteer. We don´t know which volunteer we will visit or where they are located, but we will find out on Wednesday. The volunteers we will visit are either in their first or second year and are all working in the same sector as us (Municipal Development). This is our first opportunity to see the work we´ve been learning about first hand. I´m sure I´ll have tales to tell soon....

In Paraguay - First days...

2008-05-30T17:57:00.002-04:00

Hi Friends,

I arrived safely and am in Guarambare where our 11 weeks of training will be held. So far, we´re still in the orientation phase -- the real work begins on Monday. We´ve received some shots (yellow fever and flu), been placed with our host families and been given language assessments. I´m happy to say that my host family is fab and my Spanish passed enough so that I can begin with Guarani (Paraguay´s indiginous language) lessons. It´s really cold here now -- much colder than I anticipated and I´m suffering as a result.

Our training staff seems top-notch and I can´t wait to get started with the technical part (i.e. job training). I have enough trouble with our own political system, it´s hard to imagine that I will be working together with mayors and others in the Paraguayan goverment!

Well, will post pictures soon. Until then, take care and keep in touch!

Laara

Today's the day!

2008-05-28T00:03:00.002-04:00

Hi Friends,

Its midnight now - which means that in about 20 hours, I'll be getting on a plane for Paraguay (via Buenos Aires). My group consists of 18 people - 8 guys, 10 girls and that includes one Puerto Rican American and one Mexican American -- a very nice diverse group. Most of us are in the Municipal Development sector with all the rest in the Rural Economic Development sector. We had a tiring day today - discussing all the things we're nervous and excited about, discussing Peace Corps policy and what to expect when we arrive.

So...how am I feeling now? Well, it's late and it's been a long day, so I'm tired and overwhelmed by all that is about to happen. Excited? Yeah, there's a bit of that somewhere inside me too - but I think I'll get more excited when I step off the plane in Asuncion.

Well, that's all for now - the next installment will come to you (not live) from Paraguay, stay tuned...

Laara

Only 17 days to go

2008-05-09T20:19:00.008-04:00

Hi Friends, I've got less than three weeks to go or should I say three weeks to stay? I've got two big assignments to complete for school and then I'm home free! Of course, the second I leave for Paraguay (8PM on the 28th) I’ll have a lot of new work to do. Language training, job training, cultural training….I think I’ll just stop thinking about that for a while. I think I’ll concentrate on the 3 ½ days I have in Boston to “hang-out.” I'm leaving campus on the 22nd (about 12 hours after my last class) and plan to spend a few blissful days doing a whole lot of nothing with my cousin and her family in Boston. No papers to worry about, no reading to do, no meetings to schedule…just a little time to reflect on my time at SIT and all the amazing friendships I made. Well, back to those two final assignments…. Peace, Laara