First off, I need to appologize for not writing sooner. Its been very busy around here and its tough to find the 20 minutes it takes to write these dialogues. On the up side though, life has been moving along nicely!
Two weeks ago we visited a volunteer in Ybycui which is about 2 hours from here. We just went for an overnight tech excursion to learn about his co-op. It also doesn´t hurt that just up the road from him there is a great national park too! His co-op is mostly working with giving out credits to farmers but he is trying to start a few income generating projects for the group as well, so it was interesting to brainstorm the possibilities and likelihood of each. While in Ybycui, we all witnessed our first cow killing. We got up at 4:30am and it was worth it! Not that I am totally into killing animals or anything, but I realize how important meat is to the families in this country and how many families will benefit from one cow. I couldn´t take pictures but the boys did, so one day I may share. Mary, the only other girl in my training group, also witnessed a pig killing with me with the family we were spending the night with. Two large animals killed in less than 12 hours kind of made us angels of death or something! The park we visted on the way out of town was nice. Reminded me of all of our national parks in WV. There was a waterfall right off the road and we trekked another 1km or so up to a much more exotic one. Very tranquil!
Aside from our classes another trainee and I have been working with a strawberry farmer. This week we´re actually giving him a presenation about how he can improve his business by expanding into jams too. Actually, this afternoon we´re making jam with his wife. She´s super sweet and her daughter is too, so that should be fun!
A family in our pueblo had a Quince last weekend. It was actually fun this time considering I´ve been to one before that was a total drag and a wedding that was equally boring. It was smaller and almost completely comprised of families we are familiar with, so that could have easily made the difference!
I´ve spent the last 5 days in Valenzuela visiting another volunteer for what they call Long Field Practice. We had to prepare mini presentation (refered to as charla here) to the organization that volunteer works for. Four of us were at her site and my topic was financing an internet cafe. It went well and its super easy when you´re giving a charla to a group of grandmas! Might I add, I´m completely coveting the volunteer´s project! She gets to work with a women´s organization 80% of the time and a credit co-op 20% of the time. The women´s organization (AMUR) is completely great! It was like being at camp for a week and I was the best camper! We made recycled paper, soap, and cooked a few traditional Paraguayan dishes too. I loved it!! They also have computer, sewing, and leather working classes as well. In fact, we had aopo´i(s) (a hand-made shirt that is a favorite of the locals) made for 60.000Gs which is roughly $12! I´ve never had anything customized before, so it was a treat! My host family for the week was amazing as well! The mom, Ña Elsa, is probably the best cook in that village. She even made me homemade ice cream! We also visited another one of the org´s members that is really well off... and I mean REALLY! Her house was huge and surrounded by acres and acres and acres of caña dulce, which can be made into sugar, molasses, and liquor. That´s how she and her husband had so much money. In addition to a giant house, TONS of land, a dishwasher, two kitches and their own factories to process the caña, they also had pure bread dogs (which you NEVER see here... muts everywhere!), a POOL and a slew of exotic pets. Everything from an ostrich to bunnies, exotic birds and giant turtles, and even their very own MONKEY! It was completely surreal and I had to ask myself... am I really in the Peace Corps? Apparently there are bubbles like this throughout the country where you just find people with money. Valenzuela is actually socioeconomically well off compared to a lot of other pueblos, but this house really blew my mind. We ended our week by cooking an American breakfast. It was nice to be the host for once because we are always the guests in this country and rarely ever get to cook for others. We made pancakes, bacon and omeletes for our host moms. They couldn´t understand why would ever have a meal without bread or mandioca (the standard potato-esque veggie eaten with all foods here) during a meal.
My Spanish is coming along nicely, although I still have a lot to learn with Guarani. I can hold down conversations about women in politics, how long it will take to recoup your losses after investing in an internet cafe, domestic violence, and what its like to be from parents that are divorced. Not bad for only 7 weeks here!! I´m learning more and more each day though and there will be no stopping that process for most likely two years!
This Friday (SIX short days!) I learn where my home will be. I´ve requested a larger area, 5 hours or less from the capital and to not replace a current volunteer but we´ll see what kind of curve ball they throw my way. Its a complete gamble, but I´m very excited! I really like it here and to think I could be writing from Morocco!!(which was my original Peace Corps destination!) This country needs a lot of work but the people are so hospitable and kind. Its going to be a good two years! Once we learn our future location and assignment, we have another couple of days of training and then set off on our own to visit for 5 days. I´m sure then it will really set in what kind of adventure I´m really on.
I hope all of you are doing well and please try to email me if you can. Bueno suerte! :) (which means good luck!)
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Mba´éichapa!
Its been a week or so since my last update, and I appologize. Its not always easy to get to a computer, and past that... sometimes there is just nothing new to report!
As you may be able to tell by the title of this entry, I´ve breezed through Spanish classes and as of yesterday I am fully in Guarani territory! Its definitely a very difficult language to say because there are 9 ¨nasal¨ letters that are a terror to pronounce correctly. Past that, many words can have different meetings. Heê means yes, and He´e means rico (rich, as in rich food). Since its an indigenous langauge, they don´t have a complete list of vocab so a few are pulled from Spanish. Its still rough! Luckily, my host grandfather speaks almost no Spanish, so I can practice on him all the time. I´ll keep you posted on my progress!
Big SHOUT OUT to one very special Zachery Scott. He sent a letter weeks ago and it was the first piece of mail I´ve received! Dad sent a letter and a packages ages ago, but they haven´t shown up. Actually, I was notified today that my package is in Asunción, but I have to go through 100 steps to get it. Hopefully I can have it in my posession by next week. The things a PCT has to go through to get some deodorant!
Saturday morning we got up early (we were on the road by 6:30am) to drive to THE Chaco! The Chaco makes up about 80% of the land but only about 5-10% of the population lives there. Its was somewhat barren, but we didn´t go in very deep. About 20km across the ¨border¨ there is an Agricultural School to teach young boys and girl better farming methods. It was the ultimate summer camp location too! They had beautiful yellow dorms dotting the landscape and everything farm related you can think of. We explore fish breeding ponds, every vegetable and fruit on earth, cows, chickens, goats, and much more. However, my favorite (and my mom will be proud!) were the baby PIGS! They are soooo cute, however last night we found one in our neighborhood, and I´m sorry to report the babies squeel just as much as the adults. A real let down! My friend has promised to train a midget pig (but I want it to always be a baby!) to not squeel and then give it to me next year for my birthday. The crazy thing is that is a perfectly normal gift! Actually, its probably too nice of a gift.... we´ll see if he actually comes through next April though.
After our Chaco trip we headed to Ascunción to spend the night. We stayed in a relatively nice two star hotel for 55.000 Gs a night ($11). The PC has a special deal with them always, which is great to know! Normally it would cost 3 times that. I think we all took showers for 20 minutes, 2-3 times while there too. Having the pressure was heaven! We wanted some non-PY food too, so we sought out an all you can eat Chinese restaraunt. We paid almost as much as we did for our room for that one meal, but it was totally worth it to have sweet and sour chicken, dim sum, and veggies!
Sunday was a big Independence Day party at the Embassy. The Embassy is MASSIVE! Its a solid 4 city blocks or more and is apparently the 2nd largest in the world. It was nice to chat with some other volunteers. I must report though that we had our butts kicked in volleyball. Turns out the Marines don´t even play because the Paraguayans murdered them last year. We learned our lesson the hard way. It was embarassing but of cource, FUN! We´ve already begun training so we can regain dignity next year!
This weekend we´re having an overnight at a volunteer´s site to help him with a project then Saturday afternoon we´re going to some great park for a picnic. If its warm, we can even swim! It ill be really nice to get some sun since we´re indoors so much for training. Sunday is my brother´s 9th birthday, but I think I have to miss the celebration because we´re trying our hands at BEEKEEPING! We hear about it a lot since we will most likely be working with farmers or farming families, so I´m really pumped to suit up! The funny thing is though you actually have to make a bee sting you before you can do the work, so apparently its hilarious to watch everyone try to force a bee to sting their arms.
Well, thats about all I have now. Please continue to write and let me know if you have any pressing questions. I´m enjoying myself down here in the sometimes Twilight-esque Zone, and I wish nothing but the best for all of you too!
As you may be able to tell by the title of this entry, I´ve breezed through Spanish classes and as of yesterday I am fully in Guarani territory! Its definitely a very difficult language to say because there are 9 ¨nasal¨ letters that are a terror to pronounce correctly. Past that, many words can have different meetings. Heê means yes, and He´e means rico (rich, as in rich food). Since its an indigenous langauge, they don´t have a complete list of vocab so a few are pulled from Spanish. Its still rough! Luckily, my host grandfather speaks almost no Spanish, so I can practice on him all the time. I´ll keep you posted on my progress!
Big SHOUT OUT to one very special Zachery Scott. He sent a letter weeks ago and it was the first piece of mail I´ve received! Dad sent a letter and a packages ages ago, but they haven´t shown up. Actually, I was notified today that my package is in Asunción, but I have to go through 100 steps to get it. Hopefully I can have it in my posession by next week. The things a PCT has to go through to get some deodorant!
Saturday morning we got up early (we were on the road by 6:30am) to drive to THE Chaco! The Chaco makes up about 80% of the land but only about 5-10% of the population lives there. Its was somewhat barren, but we didn´t go in very deep. About 20km across the ¨border¨ there is an Agricultural School to teach young boys and girl better farming methods. It was the ultimate summer camp location too! They had beautiful yellow dorms dotting the landscape and everything farm related you can think of. We explore fish breeding ponds, every vegetable and fruit on earth, cows, chickens, goats, and much more. However, my favorite (and my mom will be proud!) were the baby PIGS! They are soooo cute, however last night we found one in our neighborhood, and I´m sorry to report the babies squeel just as much as the adults. A real let down! My friend has promised to train a midget pig (but I want it to always be a baby!) to not squeel and then give it to me next year for my birthday. The crazy thing is that is a perfectly normal gift! Actually, its probably too nice of a gift.... we´ll see if he actually comes through next April though.
After our Chaco trip we headed to Ascunción to spend the night. We stayed in a relatively nice two star hotel for 55.000 Gs a night ($11). The PC has a special deal with them always, which is great to know! Normally it would cost 3 times that. I think we all took showers for 20 minutes, 2-3 times while there too. Having the pressure was heaven! We wanted some non-PY food too, so we sought out an all you can eat Chinese restaraunt. We paid almost as much as we did for our room for that one meal, but it was totally worth it to have sweet and sour chicken, dim sum, and veggies!
Sunday was a big Independence Day party at the Embassy. The Embassy is MASSIVE! Its a solid 4 city blocks or more and is apparently the 2nd largest in the world. It was nice to chat with some other volunteers. I must report though that we had our butts kicked in volleyball. Turns out the Marines don´t even play because the Paraguayans murdered them last year. We learned our lesson the hard way. It was embarassing but of cource, FUN! We´ve already begun training so we can regain dignity next year!
This weekend we´re having an overnight at a volunteer´s site to help him with a project then Saturday afternoon we´re going to some great park for a picnic. If its warm, we can even swim! It ill be really nice to get some sun since we´re indoors so much for training. Sunday is my brother´s 9th birthday, but I think I have to miss the celebration because we´re trying our hands at BEEKEEPING! We hear about it a lot since we will most likely be working with farmers or farming families, so I´m really pumped to suit up! The funny thing is though you actually have to make a bee sting you before you can do the work, so apparently its hilarious to watch everyone try to force a bee to sting their arms.
Well, thats about all I have now. Please continue to write and let me know if you have any pressing questions. I´m enjoying myself down here in the sometimes Twilight-esque Zone, and I wish nothing but the best for all of you too!
Friday, June 22, 2007
It´s been a while...
So life has been busy here! Last Wednesday we visited Asuncion, which is the capital of Paraguay, for the first time. That was an adventure and fun! We had a task to complete in pairs, and mine was meeting with a man that runs a company called CAPYME. We were given zero directions and just told what business to report to. We asked around our community and found out what buses to take where, and after walking quite a bit we found it. The guy was AMAZGING! He spoke English (which is almost unheard of here!) and his company helps small or medium sized businesses throughout the country. He wants a volunteer to work at one of his more rural businesses, but apparently the PC hasn´t agreed to that yet. He was really interesting though!
The capital is pretty dirty, just like the rest of the country. Actually, while at lunch an older man stopped me and said I was in the newspaper. He was from FL and said he never forgot a face. I hate to break it to you folks, but I am not famous in Paraguay (yet). It was some other PC volunteer, but apparently the main PC office is doing a lot of advertising for the giant 40th anniversary celebration in August. My swearing in actually! The president of PC will be coming down and its going to be a REALLY big deal!
Over the weekend, I was given the name of a volunteer and where she lived. Again, no real directions, just to find your way to the main bus terminal in Asucion and make it there SOLO. Made it there and got in my 5 hour ride to this volunteer I have never spoken to. Luckily, she was great! It was sooo refreshing to see the actual life of a volunteer. She had a really modest house... only two rooms, no fridge, no running water, a well that we couldn´t drink, and a latrine that was so far away we peed in a bucket at night. And you know what, I LOVED IT! You are one your own, you are doing good work, its just fantastic! I am really looking forward to having that freedom in a few months.
I lived with the volunteer from Saturday until Tuesday, and for Dia de Padre (Fathers Day), we went to a neighbors for asado which is BBQ essential. It was TASTY! Political talk started coming out though and although we all know I´m not a fan of our current administration, we have it way better off than most. W is a complete idiot, but Paraguayans lived under a dictator for 40 years. Strossner taught them to rely on others and never trust the government or any hierarchy of power. If people met in groups of 4 people, the police would come and break them up. This was only ended less than 20 years ago! So the older generations still talk about it, and although I do not think dictatorships are the answer to anything, a lot of people here liked it better. They felt safer in their communities and had a better economy, and thats all they recognize. The corruption is still prevelant here, but its just a lot to understand. It really affects the way I will need to observe others and motivate others, because honestly they are just unaware of all they can do.
This weekend is my first Paraguayan wedding and next weekend is the big 4th of July party at the Embassy! Its a pretty chuchi place, so we are all looking forward to exploring. Apparently the Marines are UBER competitive at volleyball at this party, so we have already signed ourselves up to complete. THEY ARE GOING DOWN!!!
More to come in the future! Also, if you email me and I don´t respond... do not worry! I am loving the updates but finding the time to write back to everyone is really tough! Keep them coming though! They keep me sane and you are all in my thoughts frequently!!
The capital is pretty dirty, just like the rest of the country. Actually, while at lunch an older man stopped me and said I was in the newspaper. He was from FL and said he never forgot a face. I hate to break it to you folks, but I am not famous in Paraguay (yet). It was some other PC volunteer, but apparently the main PC office is doing a lot of advertising for the giant 40th anniversary celebration in August. My swearing in actually! The president of PC will be coming down and its going to be a REALLY big deal!
Over the weekend, I was given the name of a volunteer and where she lived. Again, no real directions, just to find your way to the main bus terminal in Asucion and make it there SOLO. Made it there and got in my 5 hour ride to this volunteer I have never spoken to. Luckily, she was great! It was sooo refreshing to see the actual life of a volunteer. She had a really modest house... only two rooms, no fridge, no running water, a well that we couldn´t drink, and a latrine that was so far away we peed in a bucket at night. And you know what, I LOVED IT! You are one your own, you are doing good work, its just fantastic! I am really looking forward to having that freedom in a few months.
I lived with the volunteer from Saturday until Tuesday, and for Dia de Padre (Fathers Day), we went to a neighbors for asado which is BBQ essential. It was TASTY! Political talk started coming out though and although we all know I´m not a fan of our current administration, we have it way better off than most. W is a complete idiot, but Paraguayans lived under a dictator for 40 years. Strossner taught them to rely on others and never trust the government or any hierarchy of power. If people met in groups of 4 people, the police would come and break them up. This was only ended less than 20 years ago! So the older generations still talk about it, and although I do not think dictatorships are the answer to anything, a lot of people here liked it better. They felt safer in their communities and had a better economy, and thats all they recognize. The corruption is still prevelant here, but its just a lot to understand. It really affects the way I will need to observe others and motivate others, because honestly they are just unaware of all they can do.
This weekend is my first Paraguayan wedding and next weekend is the big 4th of July party at the Embassy! Its a pretty chuchi place, so we are all looking forward to exploring. Apparently the Marines are UBER competitive at volleyball at this party, so we have already signed ourselves up to complete. THEY ARE GOING DOWN!!!
More to come in the future! Also, if you email me and I don´t respond... do not worry! I am loving the updates but finding the time to write back to everyone is really tough! Keep them coming though! They keep me sane and you are all in my thoughts frequently!!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
What´s new in the campo?
Its a holiday for Paraguayans, so we don´t have class. Its a short week too because tomorrow we´re spending the day exploring Ascuncion (the capital) and then on Saturday we leave (SOLO!) to live with another volunteer for a few days. I have no idea where I´ll be sent in the country or what project I´ll be doing with what type of volunteer, but I´m definitely excited!
A group of us traveled to Ita today, which is the closest "city" to our campo of Las Piedras. Its about a 20 minute bus ride. The Cyber wasn´t open yet so we explored. We ended up grabbing a morning snack for 3.000 Guaranis which is equivalent to about 60 cents. And that was for all 4 of us! Everything is so cheap here. Its amazing!
Saturday I was taking my regular siesta and my friend Andrew walked into my room. He was bored so we decided to go on a walk to the local town to see our friends in the Municipal group. As we were meeting up with them we saw a 3 firetrucks. I thought it was a parade! Oh naive Betsy... a 12 year old was thrown 5 yards off his moto and was in the middle of the road. I kid you not, everyone in the city was crowded around him watching. No barriers at all! Motorcycle accidents happen all the time, but I´m so glad it´s a PC rule that we´re not even allowed near them.
Its a month of celebrating San Juan, which I really don´t comprehend. All I know is there are parties every weekend in our campo! Saturday was the first one. Only myself and 2 other guys went, but it was intersting. About 75 dudes ranging from 13-25 years old and only about 20 girls. All of the guys are obsessed with meeting girls! I thought them claiming I was their girlfriend would save me from pushy Parguayans, but it actually does the opposite! I save them!! My friend Andrew was harassed all night by guys trying to hook him up with girls. It was pretty classic!
For the PC we´re required to give a "charla," which is essentially a chat about a business topic. They have to be prepared in a manner that those that can´t read could understand and its supposed to be in Spanish. Pretty much everyone is going in July but I´ve been asked to go THIS Friday! Luckily, I get to speak in English. Its about marketing and needs based assessments, so I should be ok. I´m glad to get it over with though!
Today is the anniversary of my host grandmother´s death. I have no idea when she passed away or how. This morning I was trying to get info out of my little bro about it. To confirm my suspisions that she was dead, I asked "where is you´re grandmother?" And so matter of factly my bro responded "in the cemetary Betsy!" He´s a character but can be a little brat. The boys are waited on by their mothers all their lives, so he´s already experiencing that and loving it.
Not much else to report! As we all know, Teale got engaged so congrats! Kel moves to DC Friday and Kyle´s moving to FL on Monday. So excited for you all!
Are there any questions that you guys have about Paraguay´? I´m running out of material folks!
A group of us traveled to Ita today, which is the closest "city" to our campo of Las Piedras. Its about a 20 minute bus ride. The Cyber wasn´t open yet so we explored. We ended up grabbing a morning snack for 3.000 Guaranis which is equivalent to about 60 cents. And that was for all 4 of us! Everything is so cheap here. Its amazing!
Saturday I was taking my regular siesta and my friend Andrew walked into my room. He was bored so we decided to go on a walk to the local town to see our friends in the Municipal group. As we were meeting up with them we saw a 3 firetrucks. I thought it was a parade! Oh naive Betsy... a 12 year old was thrown 5 yards off his moto and was in the middle of the road. I kid you not, everyone in the city was crowded around him watching. No barriers at all! Motorcycle accidents happen all the time, but I´m so glad it´s a PC rule that we´re not even allowed near them.
Its a month of celebrating San Juan, which I really don´t comprehend. All I know is there are parties every weekend in our campo! Saturday was the first one. Only myself and 2 other guys went, but it was intersting. About 75 dudes ranging from 13-25 years old and only about 20 girls. All of the guys are obsessed with meeting girls! I thought them claiming I was their girlfriend would save me from pushy Parguayans, but it actually does the opposite! I save them!! My friend Andrew was harassed all night by guys trying to hook him up with girls. It was pretty classic!
For the PC we´re required to give a "charla," which is essentially a chat about a business topic. They have to be prepared in a manner that those that can´t read could understand and its supposed to be in Spanish. Pretty much everyone is going in July but I´ve been asked to go THIS Friday! Luckily, I get to speak in English. Its about marketing and needs based assessments, so I should be ok. I´m glad to get it over with though!
Today is the anniversary of my host grandmother´s death. I have no idea when she passed away or how. This morning I was trying to get info out of my little bro about it. To confirm my suspisions that she was dead, I asked "where is you´re grandmother?" And so matter of factly my bro responded "in the cemetary Betsy!" He´s a character but can be a little brat. The boys are waited on by their mothers all their lives, so he´s already experiencing that and loving it.
Not much else to report! As we all know, Teale got engaged so congrats! Kel moves to DC Friday and Kyle´s moving to FL on Monday. So excited for you all!
Are there any questions that you guys have about Paraguay´? I´m running out of material folks!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
down on the farm...
Today we were supposed to have a lesson on Parguayan history, but the professor didn´t show we have a rare Saturday to ourselves. I used the morning hours to make a few phone calls on Skype, so if I random number is on your caller ID... ANSWER IT! Talked to Dad, Carolyn and Taylor and it was great to hear all of your voices!!
The food here is pretty nuts. A favorite drink is a mix of wine, Coke and ice. YUM-Y! Everything we consume is meat based or white... white rice, mandioc (which is a starch relative of the potato) and bread, hard or soft. GREAT! There are also ZERO condiments other than salt and oil. I don´t want to offend my mom too much, but we´re quickly approaching a conversation about the foods she´s pumping into my blood stream. The thing to do is drink mate. Its sort of like green tea but they add different herbs for different problems. there is even one for PMS, although I haven´t tested it yet! When I upload pictures I´ll include ones of us drinking the mate.
My average day is as follows...
6:30am: get up and shower
7:00: drink cafe con leche (but its mostly just sugar) and some hard bread
7:45-11:30: language training, and my language partner Brennan and I pracitcing sarcasm in spanish
11:30-1pm: my favorite time of day... SIESTA!!! (and lunch)
1-5pm: technical training about how to do development and work with groups
5-8: practicing spanish with my fam and playing more Uno than should be legal
8-9 or 10: study Spanish and Guarani, and reading up on developement
I guess this is what I would call living the dream? Ha! Its fun though and I´m still on a high, but they promise a bad day is just around the corner.
This weekend will have more volleyball or soccer and an American dance party. Should be fun! A fellow trainee´s bro is getting married in two weeks, and this morning I got the official invite! I´m PUMPED! Only 3 of us are invited so far... so we´re a pretty big deal! There is also a dude that lives in my community that is Japanese, which is rare. He´s really helped the community a lot and the local school is named after him! He´s in the process of building a pagota on top of a giant hill... so I´m hoping today we can explore it. I´ll let you know!
Keep the emails coming. I love hearing what everyone is doing!
The food here is pretty nuts. A favorite drink is a mix of wine, Coke and ice. YUM-Y! Everything we consume is meat based or white... white rice, mandioc (which is a starch relative of the potato) and bread, hard or soft. GREAT! There are also ZERO condiments other than salt and oil. I don´t want to offend my mom too much, but we´re quickly approaching a conversation about the foods she´s pumping into my blood stream. The thing to do is drink mate. Its sort of like green tea but they add different herbs for different problems. there is even one for PMS, although I haven´t tested it yet! When I upload pictures I´ll include ones of us drinking the mate.
My average day is as follows...
6:30am: get up and shower
7:00: drink cafe con leche (but its mostly just sugar) and some hard bread
7:45-11:30: language training, and my language partner Brennan and I pracitcing sarcasm in spanish
11:30-1pm: my favorite time of day... SIESTA!!! (and lunch)
1-5pm: technical training about how to do development and work with groups
5-8: practicing spanish with my fam and playing more Uno than should be legal
8-9 or 10: study Spanish and Guarani, and reading up on developement
I guess this is what I would call living the dream? Ha! Its fun though and I´m still on a high, but they promise a bad day is just around the corner.
This weekend will have more volleyball or soccer and an American dance party. Should be fun! A fellow trainee´s bro is getting married in two weeks, and this morning I got the official invite! I´m PUMPED! Only 3 of us are invited so far... so we´re a pretty big deal! There is also a dude that lives in my community that is Japanese, which is rare. He´s really helped the community a lot and the local school is named after him! He´s in the process of building a pagota on top of a giant hill... so I´m hoping today we can explore it. I´ll let you know!
Keep the emails coming. I love hearing what everyone is doing!
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
INFO OVERLOAD!
So the language training is super intense... our session today was all on contracting AIDS (which isn´t common here. YES!) and our potential roles in our communities when we´re solo. I found out that the whole "cotton farming assigment" is totally an example and they don´t even do much cotton farming here anymore. Great! As we´ve been told a million times since arrival... BE FLEXIBLE! Nothing is as it seems and you´ll never do what you think you´ll be doing. I´m trying to just keep an open mind, which isn´t hard since the local motto is tranquillo!
I´m making some great friends which is good and bad because in 3 months I´ll be at least an hour, if not a day, from each of them! We are in class 6 days a week so the learning is coming in full force. I just want to be able to speak Spanish, and that will make life much easier at home and traveling!
I taught my little brother Gabriel to play Uno the other night. He kicks my butt now, so maybe that wasn´t a good idea :) My mom doesn´t cook much on her own which is weird because everyone else´s mom packs them full of food. My mom gets someone else to make the empanadas which is what we eat a TON of! (Its meat, eggs, and rice in a deep fried casing). We have a orange tree, a few banana trees and yes... FIVE PIGS! I´m kind of getting used to the latrine too. Its not so bad until I get stomach problems which we are assured will come. GREAT!
Next week we get a treasure hunt with another volunteer in the capital. That will be a task and fun! I´m looking forward to exploring the city though, because we haven´t seen it at all yet. And then next weekend we´re sent out ON OUR OWN to visit another volunteer in the field. That will be rough too but I´m excited to see how its really done. I´m leaning more towards assingments with entreprenuerial women and youth, so hopefully I´ll get to experience that next weekend. Again, it could be ANYTHING!
The more I´m learning about development though, the more I´m loving it. I´m reading all the material I can so maybe this will be yet another career option? Who knows!
As for the phones, there are a few places (not where i live though) where international calls can be made. I´m going to try to figure it out ASAP so I can let mom and dad know I´m ok. Its expensive though so the calls will be quick! Also, they´ve told us that training is the toughest time to keep in touch. We are constantly in class which is away from communication. I´m shooting for once a week!
I love and miss you all... and please keep up the emails! Its great to hear whats going on. Mad props to Meghan and Carolyn for writing... MOM, DAD, Taylor, Kyle, Em, Cathy?? WTF?? :)
I´m making some great friends which is good and bad because in 3 months I´ll be at least an hour, if not a day, from each of them! We are in class 6 days a week so the learning is coming in full force. I just want to be able to speak Spanish, and that will make life much easier at home and traveling!
I taught my little brother Gabriel to play Uno the other night. He kicks my butt now, so maybe that wasn´t a good idea :) My mom doesn´t cook much on her own which is weird because everyone else´s mom packs them full of food. My mom gets someone else to make the empanadas which is what we eat a TON of! (Its meat, eggs, and rice in a deep fried casing). We have a orange tree, a few banana trees and yes... FIVE PIGS! I´m kind of getting used to the latrine too. Its not so bad until I get stomach problems which we are assured will come. GREAT!
Next week we get a treasure hunt with another volunteer in the capital. That will be a task and fun! I´m looking forward to exploring the city though, because we haven´t seen it at all yet. And then next weekend we´re sent out ON OUR OWN to visit another volunteer in the field. That will be rough too but I´m excited to see how its really done. I´m leaning more towards assingments with entreprenuerial women and youth, so hopefully I´ll get to experience that next weekend. Again, it could be ANYTHING!
The more I´m learning about development though, the more I´m loving it. I´m reading all the material I can so maybe this will be yet another career option? Who knows!
As for the phones, there are a few places (not where i live though) where international calls can be made. I´m going to try to figure it out ASAP so I can let mom and dad know I´m ok. Its expensive though so the calls will be quick! Also, they´ve told us that training is the toughest time to keep in touch. We are constantly in class which is away from communication. I´m shooting for once a week!
I love and miss you all... and please keep up the emails! Its great to hear whats going on. Mad props to Meghan and Carolyn for writing... MOM, DAD, Taylor, Kyle, Em, Cathy?? WTF?? :)
Friday, June 1, 2007
FINALLY HERE!
So please stick with me as Paraguay isn´t great on technology. Internet just hit a few years ago and cell phones are the latest rage for those that can afford it. I´ll try to give a recap of my new life...
Miami was short and sweet. I´m in a group of 16, 7 of us (Brennan, Andrew, Stuart, Dave, Will, Mary) though are my core group. I see the other 9 when we´re in our main training station in Guarambare which is just outisde the capital of Asuncion. We come from very diverse backgrounds. Everything form former music compsition major and masters to all-American lacrosse player, business owners and lawyers. I´m the definite baby of the group the. Another guy is 22 but will turn 23 in the Fall.
My group is pretty great! Five boys and two girls, so that is somewhat rare. The guys are all really specactular though and have taken me under their wings. I´ve always been better friends with boys anyway!
We flew from Miami to Buenos Aires and then to Paraguay. A few delays but nothing major. We arrived at the aiport and apparently I won the "Welcome to the Peace Corps Prize!" because BOTH of my pieces of luggage didn´t make it. Luckily I know how to pack so I had some clean underwear for overnight! We were transported to our main training center in Guarambare which is about 45 minutes from the capital. Introductions and then we were out meeting our families.
My family lives in a tiny campo called Las Piedras. My mama is 38 and her name is Esperanza. She lives with her son Gabriel (8) and father Quintino (70). Gabriel can help me with Spanish and Quintino will be a great resource for Guarani, which is the local language. I´m rusty on Spanish and have learned a few Guarani words, but basically my evening consisted of me going through my Spanish dictionary pointing out words. They have a nice house as well. Its about5 rooms all connected via an outdoor walkway. Esperanza manages a tienda (store) out of her home during the days and her father farms nearby.
As I was getting a tour, I also got yet another gold star for having one of two houses (out of all 16 of us!) with an OUTHOUSE! I guess this just points me back to my real WV roots! Its not too bad, although I´ve only used it once and have yet to venture there at night. There is a shower as well but it doesn´t get hot at all. This is what I signed up for though, so bring it on!
Our days will be filled with training. Right now I am in Guarambare, but soon I will only be here once a week. The other 5 days of weekly training (the only day we have off is Sunday) I will be in my campo which has no phone service or Internet Cafe. I´m SLOWLY relearning the Spanish I learned in junior high and high school, and starting to learn other skills as well. Many other trainees are already fluent and so I have had to rely on them a little to explain things. I can understand it far better than I can speak it. I guess the evenings are for studying!
Home life is interesting too. They are really into soap operas! I´m in a rural area as well, so that means lots of roosters (or I call them alL GAMECOCKS!) and cows walking around on the roads and dogs that aren´t pets. The farmers get up around 2am to start their days, so its very noisy all morning. Again, this is what I signed up for! The only things I could really talk to my host family about was my family, a little bit of food talk and where things are. Esperanza said "tu madre es linda!!" which means your mom is pretty, which only makes since considering her given name is Bonita! They also asked if Kyle was my boyfriend and when I said no they said Ben O´Dell was lindo (attractive) and simpactico. Get it Ben!
Anyhoo, please continue to send me emails if you can! If you reply to the email I send you after my blog is updated, it reaches all of us! Just type in betsy.curry@yahoo.com and write me! Hasta Luego!
Miami was short and sweet. I´m in a group of 16, 7 of us (Brennan, Andrew, Stuart, Dave, Will, Mary) though are my core group. I see the other 9 when we´re in our main training station in Guarambare which is just outisde the capital of Asuncion. We come from very diverse backgrounds. Everything form former music compsition major and masters to all-American lacrosse player, business owners and lawyers. I´m the definite baby of the group the. Another guy is 22 but will turn 23 in the Fall.
My group is pretty great! Five boys and two girls, so that is somewhat rare. The guys are all really specactular though and have taken me under their wings. I´ve always been better friends with boys anyway!
We flew from Miami to Buenos Aires and then to Paraguay. A few delays but nothing major. We arrived at the aiport and apparently I won the "Welcome to the Peace Corps Prize!" because BOTH of my pieces of luggage didn´t make it. Luckily I know how to pack so I had some clean underwear for overnight! We were transported to our main training center in Guarambare which is about 45 minutes from the capital. Introductions and then we were out meeting our families.
My family lives in a tiny campo called Las Piedras. My mama is 38 and her name is Esperanza. She lives with her son Gabriel (8) and father Quintino (70). Gabriel can help me with Spanish and Quintino will be a great resource for Guarani, which is the local language. I´m rusty on Spanish and have learned a few Guarani words, but basically my evening consisted of me going through my Spanish dictionary pointing out words. They have a nice house as well. Its about5 rooms all connected via an outdoor walkway. Esperanza manages a tienda (store) out of her home during the days and her father farms nearby.
As I was getting a tour, I also got yet another gold star for having one of two houses (out of all 16 of us!) with an OUTHOUSE! I guess this just points me back to my real WV roots! Its not too bad, although I´ve only used it once and have yet to venture there at night. There is a shower as well but it doesn´t get hot at all. This is what I signed up for though, so bring it on!
Our days will be filled with training. Right now I am in Guarambare, but soon I will only be here once a week. The other 5 days of weekly training (the only day we have off is Sunday) I will be in my campo which has no phone service or Internet Cafe. I´m SLOWLY relearning the Spanish I learned in junior high and high school, and starting to learn other skills as well. Many other trainees are already fluent and so I have had to rely on them a little to explain things. I can understand it far better than I can speak it. I guess the evenings are for studying!
Home life is interesting too. They are really into soap operas! I´m in a rural area as well, so that means lots of roosters (or I call them alL GAMECOCKS!) and cows walking around on the roads and dogs that aren´t pets. The farmers get up around 2am to start their days, so its very noisy all morning. Again, this is what I signed up for! The only things I could really talk to my host family about was my family, a little bit of food talk and where things are. Esperanza said "tu madre es linda!!" which means your mom is pretty, which only makes since considering her given name is Bonita! They also asked if Kyle was my boyfriend and when I said no they said Ben O´Dell was lindo (attractive) and simpactico. Get it Ben!
Anyhoo, please continue to send me emails if you can! If you reply to the email I send you after my blog is updated, it reaches all of us! Just type in betsy.curry@yahoo.com and write me! Hasta Luego!
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