a much needed update!

It’s hard to believe that I let myself avoid blogging since January! Bad bad Betsy!!

A lot has been going on, which is why my writing time hasn’t taken a priority. Here’s an update…

I just got back from a FABULOUS vacation in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!! It was such a refreshing break from life here, which has been a little tumultuous (another reason I haven’t felt like writing a blog). The reason I went back for such a quick trip (8 days) was to be a sneaky granddaughter ☺ My grandpa Getz turned 90 on March 1st and I had been planning since early last fall to make the trip to surprise him. He was very shocked along with everyone else on the Getz side! The trip wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my grandpa’s wife, Irene, my personal travel agent Kyle Bohman, my best friend and temporary chauffer Cathy Gable, and as usual Mom, Dad and Carolyn. Thanks for everything!!

While in America I hit all the best “hot spots” like McHappy’s donuts, Don Emilio’s, and Taco Bell. I also probably consumed my weight in honey mustard! It was so nice to eat unnecessarily over-processed food for a few days! I even got to visit with my very good friends from high school and even one from college, so that made the trip extra special too! I miss everyone and everything about America, but as I realized when I got back to Paraguay: this is my life now. Its kind of annoying because I’m ready for a change of pace and location, but for now my life and work is in the middle of no where surrounded by banana plants!

As for my work, the co-op is doing well. We’re currently going through the first steps of project with a value somewhere near $300,000. That is a HUGE undertaking and luckily my guys have a lot of outside help. Basically new and stricter international sanitation laws will be in affect starting 2010 and if we don’t majorly up our standards we can’t export to Argentina, which is where my boys make more money. Also, upping sanitation will open other doors for exporting. So we have this project that starts with a tractor for fumigating the fields (yes! It’s a John Deere and my co-op guys wanted to make sure Kyle knows!) and will continue with the purchase of a parcel of land and constructing our own packages/cleaning center. Its all very complicated because the chosen piece of land currently has no access to electricity or water but it has to be at least so many meters away from polluting humans, so we can’t change it. I’m officially done in August and they’ve set that as their finish date so I can aid/see/document the entire process. It’s all very exciting actually!!

My computer center is a hot mess though. We’re down on enrollment but I have no desire to find new kids because they won’t even get the first of the four courses completed in my time here. We fired our lying, cheating secretary, which was necessary but a bummer because at least she spoke Guaraní and helped out with teaching (albeit horribly!). So I recruited another teacher and taught her the course 6 hours at a time only to have her turn her back too. Women are famous for crap like that. She wants to make more money, but we have no way of paying her more. She’s also not technically qualified to make more cash. She also shares transportation with her husband, which is a bigger problem than pay. So now I’m back at square one with no one to teach other than myself and without enough class income to pay for our monthly Internet bill. Grand!

The sewing group had some ups and downs as well, but we’re on an up so I hope it can stay that way for the next couple of months. I just got confirmation that a U.S. org is going to find us a volunteer to build us a website, which is fantastic! That’s the next step for them and the only method to sell more in dollars. Once the site is in development, I can start talking to banks and get that ball rolling. I am always taking orders, however, if you are interested! I’m going to try to upload more pics on my picture site to show off our latest work, but our Internet is painfully slow here. I’ll get to it though! Women shirts are $35 and men’s $40, plus shipping which is determined by weight. PLEASE let me know if you are interested! We do literally all colors and styles; so let me know what you’re looking for! Feel free to send “orders” to betsy.a.curry@gmail.com.

School is back in session as of last week. I’m going to try to pound out the nutrition classes I was planning on doing last year and maybe get the garden going, but I’m not much of a green thumb so I’ll be recruiting parents and other PCVolunteers to help out with that one. I started the 2m x 4m world map painting back in November but then someone stole my supplies from a classroom (even though when I left them there, it was locked). I didn’t get new supplies until Feb. but I had already done the brunt of the work. Now it’s just finishing up the sweet paint job but its going to look pretty amazing. I then want to do mini cultural classes with some of the older kids, so lets hope there is enough time!

As for what happens next? I’ve officially been here 22 of my 27 months, but I’m not exactly ready to leave. Ever heard of the economy in the states? Probably not because its NEVER in the news there or internationally, but basically I’m not interested in fighting that fight. I did my time at Hardee’s, and it sounds like that is the only type of job still hiring. I’ve completed my application for a position here in the capital, Asunción. It’s a volunteer management position and is more leadership based, which I’m much better suited to, than my current work,. I was trained to be a leader, not a bug bite infest, sweating, agricultural goddess! I won’t interview until late March but wish me luck! If I get it, I get to leave my site early (a blessing and a curse) to move to the city (yes please!) and then I would be here for another full year, with an end of service date sometime in August 2010. I will also get one month of MANDATORY leave to the good ‘ol U. S. of A. so I’d take that around Christmas/New Years to not have to be here for another. It truly isn’t my bag. I’d also plan another trip back to the states in May 2010 as my good friend Carmella Wright is getting married (and I’m in the wedding!) and my cousin Dusty Getz as well. I’ve missed out on a lot of holidays and family/friend time and I refuse to miss those big events in May! So we’ll see how things pan out…

I haven’t done this for a while, so here’s your current Betsy info:

GUARANí WORD OF THE DAY: haikue, which is pronounced like its spelled. We say this when something is surprising or unbelievable.
Example…
-Person 1: I just ate 15 hotdogs
-Person 2: haikue!

BOOK: A Time to Kill by John Grisham (but like a 16 year old I loved Twilight and just bought book #2 in the states!)

TUNES: Ben Folds has an album that’s new to me and I still adore him.

SPIDERS IN MY BATHROOM AFTER VACATION: 7, of various sizes

CURRENT SEWING PROJECT IS FOR: Irene (although I’ve already done ones for Cathy, Mom, Dad, Carolyn, and three more that were sold to make extra profit for the co-op) Again, let me know if you want one too!!


Well I think that’s it for now. Please let me know what’s going on with all of you and I’ll try my best to get pics up over the next couple of weeks. I love and miss you all, and thanks again for everyone that made my trip home possible and fun!