Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Things down here...
Well I suppose I should stop making promises about how I’m going to write more often because for some reason it always seems to slip my mind. Not that I don’t think of home and all my people there often, I guess its just that thanks to Skype and email and all that jazz I really haven’t felt too far away.
Things have been well, loco. I almost don’t know where to start. I got back from Buenos Aires and Punta del Este and was feeling a bit lethargic, to say the least. Projects weren’t really moving along, summer break was still going on, and it was HOT (like hotter than I ever thought I´d be hot). Y despues, I started having some troubles around the Villa as well. Even now many months later I can´t tell you why I ended up in the situation I did and in an effort to not play the victim nor place blame I’ll just say this: it was time to get out of the Villa (don’t worry family I was never in any serious danger). After some talking with the jefes, I decided that I wouldn’t move my site all together but instead just move into the center of the city, so that I could continue the work that I was doing in the Municipality, and also utilize some of the connections that I had made at the high schools in the center. Then began the search for a house which was in short, a nightmare. Two weeks of drudging around what felt like every barrio in Limpio looking for an acceptable house had lead to nothing but finally I got in touch with my good friend Fulvia who had been out on maternity leave but, as it turns out had a mother in law with an apartment she was looking to rent. The upsides were: a big and lindo space with plenty of room for my things, a great location to be able to work in various places, air conditioning (!!) and it is VERY secure. The down side: because of its location she wanted an arm and a leg for it and since it’s a second floor apartment, running water is non existent. Although the down sides where significant, the two week searched had come up too dry for me to turn it down and so it was time for yet another move. Three hours, three men, and a very precarious pulley system (yes, pulley system) later, I was moved into my new house.
At first, things were slow…and lonely….and I didn’t know what to do. BUT after some running around and networking and presenting of ideas to various people, the move has proved to be really great for me in a lot of ways. I am closer to a lot of resources and can more easily communicate with a lot of people who I had wanted to work with the past year, but had never gotten the chance to. My schedule in many ways has gone for 0 to 100 in just a month. I have been able to organize a lot more projects and a lot more variety of projects now that I am here and while the pace of life is for sure slower than it was for me in New York, I think I have found more or less my happy in place in terms of balance between work and play. Don’t get me wrong, there are still down moments (people saying they are going to do something and then not doing it seems to be a national epidemic; however, I´m learning to look at it through a more refined cultural lens and it has begun to bother me less and less) but at this point I can safely say that perseverance is a quality that I have acquired in this first year as a volunteer. Both mentally and physically I have been tested like I probably (hopefully) will never be again. I´ve had stomach problems, and headaches, and more mosquito bites than you´ll ever want to imagine-which ultimately resulted in Dengue Fever and a whole week in bed. I also apparently have psoriasis of the heel region. But on the upside I’ve lost almost forty pounds since the day I set foot in this country and when I’m not sick I feel great! This first year has been a loco one. The days are slow but the weeks are fast and I feel more and more at home each day. I´ve always been someone to put down roots and make connections wherever I happen to be but I think I doubted how real this Peace Corps experience would be for me. I suppose the mobs of stray dogs, the various annoying men, and the gallons of greasy food I encounter everyday will never seem completely normal to me but somehow all of that has more or less faded into the background and I have come to focus on, appreciate, and love the beautiful and friendly parts of Paraguay.
And that’s that for now I think.
Until next time che gentekuera,
Jaimee
Saturday, January 21, 2012
2012
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I know I know, its been too long again. The slow pace down here weirdly makes things go by really fast! December went by in a blink, broken up by a three day volunteerism conference that some of my fellow volunteers were helping run in Asuncion and a three day peace corps sponsored youth diversity camp in the religious center, Caacupe. It was nice to get out and get moving a bit and even nicer to be able to bring some teenagers with me. Diversity is basically a non-existent issue in Paraguay. I say non-existent not because there isn’t diversity but because it is not discussed, and there isn’t a whole lot of speaking out against the various types of discrimination that exist in the Paraguayan society. For this reason, this camp was particularly interesting and thought provoking for many of the youth. Kids from all over the country, from the bigger cities to the most rural of rural areas came together to talk about the different ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, and even socio-economic issues that exist in modern Paraguay. It was to-date, for sure one of the more interesting and fulfilling experiences I’ve had as a volunteer.
After all the work things were done in December, came the play things! Jaz arrived on the 21st just in time for the really extreme heat to kick in. We spent a couple days getting to know Villa Madrid and the surrounding areas and then headed to Buenos Aires and Punta del Este, Uruguay for a few days each. Traveling (even when you are living abroad, as I found out) always has a cleansing and motivating effect on me and as I approach the one year in country mark (!?) it was a good way to reorganize my perpetually unorganized brain. We danced tango, went to museums, ate sushi, and laid on the beach-all activities that rank very high on the therapeutic scale in my book. Despite the almost 24 hour bus ride back home to Villa Madrid, the trip really helped me move into 2012 in a solid mindset.
Work has been a bit slow to start up since coming back since summer vacation for Paraguayans lasts until February. I’ve been doing some work in the library with the kiddies and preparing for the English and small business money management class at the jail to start up in the next two weeks. Stemming from the camp, I am also hoping to do a diversity lecture series in the big catholic high school in Limpio, with Marian, one of the girls who came with me to the camp. I have some other ideas for an all recycled materials art camp and a professional development course that I’d like to run through the community center, now it’s all a matter of getting permission and hopefully a tad bit of funding to get things moving. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve learned by now to not get my hopes up too high about any given idea. It doesn’t matter whether I think it’s the best idea in the world, if there is no interest on the part of Paraguayans, exactly nada is going to happen. This used to be something that would make me mad and frustrate me but I’ve come to realize that a part of being a good volunteer is really truly embracing the mindset of the people I am working with, and understanding their reasoning for why, what and how they do things. This is, as you can imagine, more easily said than done. Especially when to my eye, there are so many things on a daily basis that I see and wish I could change. I have to constantly remind myself that my role here is to do what they want to do, not what I want to do.
While my work and “professional” experience in Peace Corps has been up and down thus far. I can say that it has been the personal experience and the relationships that I formed that I think have and will leave more of an affect (probably more on me than on them) when I’m done here. In the beginning, I felt a big pressure to go out and meet every single youth, child, and senora and sit and learn everything about them and let them ask me a million questions and constantly be in uncomfortable situations with people who I didn’t know and who didn’t know me. All of this effort and discomfort serves a very real and practical purpose for PCVs-cultural integration. It is a word we hear 20934839 times in training and even afterwards and in all reality, in Paraguay and I’m sure in other Peace Corps countries, it is nothing less than essential for PCVs work. All that being said, it’s awkward, and annoying, often involves less than appetizing food and is only sporadically gratifying until you really find the people who you enjoy spending time with. Thankfully, I can say that I’ve passed through that stage of Peace Corps service and now have formed relationships with not only people but entire families that make me feel so much more secure and happy on a daily basis than really any of my work does. Looking back, I guess all the awkward silences and weird q&a sessions were worth it. Life is very normal for me here now, the routines, the faces, etc. I still miss air conditioning, and my car. But the ways I’ve begun to embrace life here have surprised even me. Modern technology makes me feel very close to my friends and family in the United States and the comfort of knowing all of them are only a text message or a skype phone call away has also really been very essential in my adjustments this past year.
I suppose this was a bit of a rant but I guess that’s what I get for waiting too long to write again. In a nut shell: todo tranquilo here in Pguay.
Missing and loving you all,
Jaimee
I know I know, its been too long again. The slow pace down here weirdly makes things go by really fast! December went by in a blink, broken up by a three day volunteerism conference that some of my fellow volunteers were helping run in Asuncion and a three day peace corps sponsored youth diversity camp in the religious center, Caacupe. It was nice to get out and get moving a bit and even nicer to be able to bring some teenagers with me. Diversity is basically a non-existent issue in Paraguay. I say non-existent not because there isn’t diversity but because it is not discussed, and there isn’t a whole lot of speaking out against the various types of discrimination that exist in the Paraguayan society. For this reason, this camp was particularly interesting and thought provoking for many of the youth. Kids from all over the country, from the bigger cities to the most rural of rural areas came together to talk about the different ethnic, religious, sexual orientation, and even socio-economic issues that exist in modern Paraguay. It was to-date, for sure one of the more interesting and fulfilling experiences I’ve had as a volunteer.
After all the work things were done in December, came the play things! Jaz arrived on the 21st just in time for the really extreme heat to kick in. We spent a couple days getting to know Villa Madrid and the surrounding areas and then headed to Buenos Aires and Punta del Este, Uruguay for a few days each. Traveling (even when you are living abroad, as I found out) always has a cleansing and motivating effect on me and as I approach the one year in country mark (!?) it was a good way to reorganize my perpetually unorganized brain. We danced tango, went to museums, ate sushi, and laid on the beach-all activities that rank very high on the therapeutic scale in my book. Despite the almost 24 hour bus ride back home to Villa Madrid, the trip really helped me move into 2012 in a solid mindset.
Work has been a bit slow to start up since coming back since summer vacation for Paraguayans lasts until February. I’ve been doing some work in the library with the kiddies and preparing for the English and small business money management class at the jail to start up in the next two weeks. Stemming from the camp, I am also hoping to do a diversity lecture series in the big catholic high school in Limpio, with Marian, one of the girls who came with me to the camp. I have some other ideas for an all recycled materials art camp and a professional development course that I’d like to run through the community center, now it’s all a matter of getting permission and hopefully a tad bit of funding to get things moving. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve learned by now to not get my hopes up too high about any given idea. It doesn’t matter whether I think it’s the best idea in the world, if there is no interest on the part of Paraguayans, exactly nada is going to happen. This used to be something that would make me mad and frustrate me but I’ve come to realize that a part of being a good volunteer is really truly embracing the mindset of the people I am working with, and understanding their reasoning for why, what and how they do things. This is, as you can imagine, more easily said than done. Especially when to my eye, there are so many things on a daily basis that I see and wish I could change. I have to constantly remind myself that my role here is to do what they want to do, not what I want to do.
While my work and “professional” experience in Peace Corps has been up and down thus far. I can say that it has been the personal experience and the relationships that I formed that I think have and will leave more of an affect (probably more on me than on them) when I’m done here. In the beginning, I felt a big pressure to go out and meet every single youth, child, and senora and sit and learn everything about them and let them ask me a million questions and constantly be in uncomfortable situations with people who I didn’t know and who didn’t know me. All of this effort and discomfort serves a very real and practical purpose for PCVs-cultural integration. It is a word we hear 20934839 times in training and even afterwards and in all reality, in Paraguay and I’m sure in other Peace Corps countries, it is nothing less than essential for PCVs work. All that being said, it’s awkward, and annoying, often involves less than appetizing food and is only sporadically gratifying until you really find the people who you enjoy spending time with. Thankfully, I can say that I’ve passed through that stage of Peace Corps service and now have formed relationships with not only people but entire families that make me feel so much more secure and happy on a daily basis than really any of my work does. Looking back, I guess all the awkward silences and weird q&a sessions were worth it. Life is very normal for me here now, the routines, the faces, etc. I still miss air conditioning, and my car. But the ways I’ve begun to embrace life here have surprised even me. Modern technology makes me feel very close to my friends and family in the United States and the comfort of knowing all of them are only a text message or a skype phone call away has also really been very essential in my adjustments this past year.
I suppose this was a bit of a rant but I guess that’s what I get for waiting too long to write again. In a nut shell: todo tranquilo here in Pguay.
Missing and loving you all,
Jaimee
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Muy Agradecida
Hello again,
Over a month has passed since I wrote last time, it seems like it was 10 minutes ago-in a couple days my group will be completing their 10th month in country (8 months as volunteers). As you’ve all been reading here, up and down is a great way to describe the experience thus far but after a recent trip away from my site, I had a really great realization that I do, in fact, feel at home and comfortable here in Villa Madrid-despite my moments of frustration and medio-insanity.
The heat has been cranked up here in Pguay lately which has made everything slow down and bit and has demanded a thermo of terere on hand at basically any and all moments. Everyone keeps telling me that the summer hasn’t even arrived yet but I literally can’t imagine it getting any hotter than it has been the past couple days. I’ve been totally jealous of the little kids who have kiddie pools to play in but have maintained my pride enough so far to not ask to go in with them….dont worry, it’ll happen. I’ve also been sporting several hats, sun glasses and copious amounts of SPF in an attempt to not burn my delicate irish skin BUT igual no mas, I’m currently the resident yankee lobster in Villa Madrid.
My classes have all finished up for the summer, both my english class and the class at the jail will start up again in February when the school year begins again. Amy and I are going to be teaching a basic business course to the inmates since many of them make their own artisan goods in their free time there but many of them have little background in business. We are hoping to help them streamline their business plans and hopefully also market their products for them in the future. The municipality employees have told me a bunch of people have come in to ask about the english class so I’m anticipating a big turnout again next time. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at handling bigger groups so hopefully I’ll feel a bit less overwhelmed this time around! My two big summer endeavours are going to be working with the volunteer firefighters of Limpio to procure donations and equiptment and hopefully to start up a basketball club! I recently found out that the basketball court that is at the Mormon church in town is free to use and thanks to the generosity of another volunteer I’m getting gifted a basketball as well! A sports related project has been something I’d been looking for an opportunity to start for quite a while so I’m really hoping its successful-stay tuned!
For the rest of the summer I have a good mix of work and play lined up. I’ll be attending a national volunteerism conference in the capital, as well as a three day gender camp with three girls in the middle of the month. On the 8th, I’ll be making the yearly pilgrimage to Caacupe with Rodrigo and his friends and family. The walk is only about 15 kilometers from here so we’ll walk during the night to arrive in the morning for the mass. I’ve heard it’s a really interesting and uniquely Paraguayan experience so I’m looking forward to that for sure. Then, the very next day is the concert AHENDU that I’ve been co-organizing with a fellow volunteer. We have Peace Corps volunteers, Paraguayans, and Korean volunteers in the lineup so I’m excited to see how it all turns out. We are holding it in a cultural center that overlooks the Paraguayan equivalent of the white house and the Rio Paraguay, and we even have a discount at the bar! SO, all signs point to a great event.
Spending my first major holiday away from the United States was a weird and nostalgic experience. I couldn’t help but remember back on past holidays or think about what all my friends and family were doing at home without me. Luckily, I got to do a bit of traveling down to my friend Ellie’s house in the southern city of Encarnacion. Encarn is a really different Paraguay than I had been used to filled with nice restaurants, english speakers, and air conditioning (!). It’s truly a very international city and I feel like I’ve gotten to see now the full gamete of what Paraguay “is”. Ellie, myself, and another volunteer Katie spent a few days getting to know the city and then we headed to a fancy little hotel nestled in the forest about a half an hour from the city for some quality relaxation time. We lounged in the pool, had a DELICIOUS thanksgiving dinner and spent some time with some volunteers we hadn’t seen in a while. Sunday, however, we all got some really terrible news. A fellow volunteer who had been on her way home from another thanksgiving celebration had been killed in a car accident. Her boyfriend, a Paraguayan who had befriended many of the volunteers, was in critical condition. It was sobering moment for all of us and although I didn’t know the volunteer personally, it’s a tragedy that hit very close to home. There are about 250 volunteers in Paraguay currently, and although you don’t know everyone by name, there is certainly a sense of community among us and this girls death is a loss and heartache for all the Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteers. It was a quick and stinging reminder to us all to be mindful of what we are thankful for both in Paraguay and at home and also for the opportunity we have been given as Peace Corps Volunteers here.
Loving and missing you all very especially right now.
Jaimee
Over a month has passed since I wrote last time, it seems like it was 10 minutes ago-in a couple days my group will be completing their 10th month in country (8 months as volunteers). As you’ve all been reading here, up and down is a great way to describe the experience thus far but after a recent trip away from my site, I had a really great realization that I do, in fact, feel at home and comfortable here in Villa Madrid-despite my moments of frustration and medio-insanity.
The heat has been cranked up here in Pguay lately which has made everything slow down and bit and has demanded a thermo of terere on hand at basically any and all moments. Everyone keeps telling me that the summer hasn’t even arrived yet but I literally can’t imagine it getting any hotter than it has been the past couple days. I’ve been totally jealous of the little kids who have kiddie pools to play in but have maintained my pride enough so far to not ask to go in with them….dont worry, it’ll happen. I’ve also been sporting several hats, sun glasses and copious amounts of SPF in an attempt to not burn my delicate irish skin BUT igual no mas, I’m currently the resident yankee lobster in Villa Madrid.
My classes have all finished up for the summer, both my english class and the class at the jail will start up again in February when the school year begins again. Amy and I are going to be teaching a basic business course to the inmates since many of them make their own artisan goods in their free time there but many of them have little background in business. We are hoping to help them streamline their business plans and hopefully also market their products for them in the future. The municipality employees have told me a bunch of people have come in to ask about the english class so I’m anticipating a big turnout again next time. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better at handling bigger groups so hopefully I’ll feel a bit less overwhelmed this time around! My two big summer endeavours are going to be working with the volunteer firefighters of Limpio to procure donations and equiptment and hopefully to start up a basketball club! I recently found out that the basketball court that is at the Mormon church in town is free to use and thanks to the generosity of another volunteer I’m getting gifted a basketball as well! A sports related project has been something I’d been looking for an opportunity to start for quite a while so I’m really hoping its successful-stay tuned!
For the rest of the summer I have a good mix of work and play lined up. I’ll be attending a national volunteerism conference in the capital, as well as a three day gender camp with three girls in the middle of the month. On the 8th, I’ll be making the yearly pilgrimage to Caacupe with Rodrigo and his friends and family. The walk is only about 15 kilometers from here so we’ll walk during the night to arrive in the morning for the mass. I’ve heard it’s a really interesting and uniquely Paraguayan experience so I’m looking forward to that for sure. Then, the very next day is the concert AHENDU that I’ve been co-organizing with a fellow volunteer. We have Peace Corps volunteers, Paraguayans, and Korean volunteers in the lineup so I’m excited to see how it all turns out. We are holding it in a cultural center that overlooks the Paraguayan equivalent of the white house and the Rio Paraguay, and we even have a discount at the bar! SO, all signs point to a great event.
Spending my first major holiday away from the United States was a weird and nostalgic experience. I couldn’t help but remember back on past holidays or think about what all my friends and family were doing at home without me. Luckily, I got to do a bit of traveling down to my friend Ellie’s house in the southern city of Encarnacion. Encarn is a really different Paraguay than I had been used to filled with nice restaurants, english speakers, and air conditioning (!). It’s truly a very international city and I feel like I’ve gotten to see now the full gamete of what Paraguay “is”. Ellie, myself, and another volunteer Katie spent a few days getting to know the city and then we headed to a fancy little hotel nestled in the forest about a half an hour from the city for some quality relaxation time. We lounged in the pool, had a DELICIOUS thanksgiving dinner and spent some time with some volunteers we hadn’t seen in a while. Sunday, however, we all got some really terrible news. A fellow volunteer who had been on her way home from another thanksgiving celebration had been killed in a car accident. Her boyfriend, a Paraguayan who had befriended many of the volunteers, was in critical condition. It was sobering moment for all of us and although I didn’t know the volunteer personally, it’s a tragedy that hit very close to home. There are about 250 volunteers in Paraguay currently, and although you don’t know everyone by name, there is certainly a sense of community among us and this girls death is a loss and heartache for all the Peace Corps Paraguay Volunteers. It was a quick and stinging reminder to us all to be mindful of what we are thankful for both in Paraguay and at home and also for the opportunity we have been given as Peace Corps Volunteers here.
Loving and missing you all very especially right now.
Jaimee
Friday, October 21, 2011
Tanto Tiempo!
Hello once again friends and family…it has been A WHILE. The cold has passed (thank dios) and we are now in full-fledged spring (meaning about 90 degrees and humid most days). Luckily my shower has been functioning quite swimmingly and I’m averaging about three showers a day most days to keep cool/odor-less.
So I guess the biggest development in the past couple months has been that I moved! The house that I was in previously was quite literally falling apart at the seams (walls disintegrating around me, bathroom breaking every other day, etc.) SO with the help of my friend from the community center, I found a house right in front of the volleyball court. It’s nothing too chuchi but it’s bigger and well maintained and has a walled in yard which helps me feel a lot safer and happier. It also (drum roll please) has running hot water ALL the time! But probably the best thing about it is that every afternoon people come to play volleyball and listen to music right in my front yard which gives it have a very cozy feeling of community. We’ve also organized ourselves as a plaza commission for the maintenance and amplification of the plaza (we’re hoping for more lighting, benches, garbage cans etc.) which makes me feel like a real part of the neighborhood. Last weekend they had a tournament to raise money and let me tell you-these people know how to play. As someone who’s been involved in organized sports my whole life and has spent countless hours drilling and practicing and working on technique, it was pretty impressive to see how good these people had come to be without anything that Americans would consider “formal” training. Just goes to show, maybe we aren’t always right after all….
I’ve been feeling very Paraguayan lately. I’ve been drinking a lot of terere, eating a lot of white bread, playing a lot of volley, going to a lot of church, washing my own laundry, dancing a lot cumbia, and I’ve even began walking into the center of town (gasp!) instead of taking the bus like I was previously doing. I’ve become much less resistant to the lifestyle in general, a natural part of integration and adjustment I suppose. There are still things that bother the hell out of me and probably always will, but getting to know the little details of life around here has made me feel much more a part of the barrio.
So I have been in sight just a few days over six months thus far. They say that right around six months volunteers usually go into a periodic depression but luckily for me mine hit about month 4 and a half (hence the major absence in posting). At this point, the thrill and novelty of life here has all but worn off, and the new things to discover have become fewer and farther between. I’ve experienced my fair share of failures and disappointments in terms of work, and have still yet to discover what my “big” project is going to be in my time here. People know me, I know them but let’s face it-after only six months communicating with people in another language how well do you really know them? I’m learning pretty quickly who can be trusted and who can’t be, who genuinely wants to work and who doesn’t, and who is really running things around here. All of these things contributed to what I thought was a serious (now looking back not so serious) reevaluation of what the HELL I was doing here. There were quite a few tears and many phone calls and skype sessions, but luckily today I can say I survived my first Peace Corps depression-hooray!
Another occurrence in my life that I’m sure also contributed to the four and a half month nose dive was that I had to put down my puppy, Rugger. Having dogs here is difficult, there are a lot of diseases and going to a vet is expensive. Rugger had been sick for about a month or two and finally was beginning to suffer, jolting me out of my denial and making me realize I was doing the wrong thing by keeping him around. Having never had a dog before, it was a mildly traumatic experience and I was totally over dramatic about it (PS-my inner latina is alive and well down here, no one worry) but it’s all for the better now. Just yesterday, my friend Gerardo gifted me one of his puppies, a little golden nugget named Goofy. So, all is well in my patio once again.
In terms of work, my major endeavor at the moment is a personal development class at the local jail that I’m teaching with my fellow volunteer, Amy. Talk about things I never thought I’d do in my life, it has been a super interesting experience. The jail is small, only about 130 inmates. On the grounds they have a bread making factory, a garden, a beautiful church, huge soccer field, and a lot of recreational space as well. If I didn’t know it was a jail, I’d think it was a country club. There are about 15-20 students in the class depending on the day, and we have been working a lot with values, goals, self-esteem, and employment. They are WAY more participatory and interested than any of the school aged or high school aged kids I’ve worked with so each class is really interesting. Hopefully after this we are going to start with some basic vocational training and some more specific job skills since many of them are going to be getting out in early January.
My English class continues to be extremely crowded, which is a blessing and a curse. I now have two classes-one beginner and one intermediate. The interest levels vary greatly throughout the class and as I’ve said before, I don’t feel like teaching English to kids an hour a week is a very sustainable practice but, at the same time, I don’t want to deny them the chance to learn since there are kids who seem truly interested.
The library and the comedor have been uphill battles (yes, still) but I’ve been dealing with my frustration levels much better recently. I’m hoping to get a summer reading “camp” once or twice a week at the library and I’ve been taking some books down to the comedor and just reading with the kids, nothing too formal but they are happy to have the stimulation it seems and are always sad to see me go.
There have been a lot teacher strikes going on here in the past couple weeks, which has been pretty detrimental to their already weakened education system here. An article in the paper said almost two million kids missed class over more than a week because of the strike. Things remain unresolved as well and they are now threatening to strike indefinitely if they don’t get what they want. Stay tuned….
I’ve recently discovered the wonderful world of San Bernadino-the lake town that is about an hour and a half bus ride away from me to the east. During the summer it’s a rich tourist town for Asuncion’s richest people but it is also a great place to escape for the day with some terere and some comida. Since the heat has hit I’ve been there twice and it has been both a physical and mental treat to say the least. The lake reminds me of my grandparent’s lake in northern Maine, so it also has a bit of a nostalgic value for me as well. I recently found out you can rent boats and jet skis for super cheap also!
That seems to be all for now, I promise it won’t be this long before you hear from me again!
Loving and missing you all, as always
Jaim
So I guess the biggest development in the past couple months has been that I moved! The house that I was in previously was quite literally falling apart at the seams (walls disintegrating around me, bathroom breaking every other day, etc.) SO with the help of my friend from the community center, I found a house right in front of the volleyball court. It’s nothing too chuchi but it’s bigger and well maintained and has a walled in yard which helps me feel a lot safer and happier. It also (drum roll please) has running hot water ALL the time! But probably the best thing about it is that every afternoon people come to play volleyball and listen to music right in my front yard which gives it have a very cozy feeling of community. We’ve also organized ourselves as a plaza commission for the maintenance and amplification of the plaza (we’re hoping for more lighting, benches, garbage cans etc.) which makes me feel like a real part of the neighborhood. Last weekend they had a tournament to raise money and let me tell you-these people know how to play. As someone who’s been involved in organized sports my whole life and has spent countless hours drilling and practicing and working on technique, it was pretty impressive to see how good these people had come to be without anything that Americans would consider “formal” training. Just goes to show, maybe we aren’t always right after all….
I’ve been feeling very Paraguayan lately. I’ve been drinking a lot of terere, eating a lot of white bread, playing a lot of volley, going to a lot of church, washing my own laundry, dancing a lot cumbia, and I’ve even began walking into the center of town (gasp!) instead of taking the bus like I was previously doing. I’ve become much less resistant to the lifestyle in general, a natural part of integration and adjustment I suppose. There are still things that bother the hell out of me and probably always will, but getting to know the little details of life around here has made me feel much more a part of the barrio.
So I have been in sight just a few days over six months thus far. They say that right around six months volunteers usually go into a periodic depression but luckily for me mine hit about month 4 and a half (hence the major absence in posting). At this point, the thrill and novelty of life here has all but worn off, and the new things to discover have become fewer and farther between. I’ve experienced my fair share of failures and disappointments in terms of work, and have still yet to discover what my “big” project is going to be in my time here. People know me, I know them but let’s face it-after only six months communicating with people in another language how well do you really know them? I’m learning pretty quickly who can be trusted and who can’t be, who genuinely wants to work and who doesn’t, and who is really running things around here. All of these things contributed to what I thought was a serious (now looking back not so serious) reevaluation of what the HELL I was doing here. There were quite a few tears and many phone calls and skype sessions, but luckily today I can say I survived my first Peace Corps depression-hooray!
Another occurrence in my life that I’m sure also contributed to the four and a half month nose dive was that I had to put down my puppy, Rugger. Having dogs here is difficult, there are a lot of diseases and going to a vet is expensive. Rugger had been sick for about a month or two and finally was beginning to suffer, jolting me out of my denial and making me realize I was doing the wrong thing by keeping him around. Having never had a dog before, it was a mildly traumatic experience and I was totally over dramatic about it (PS-my inner latina is alive and well down here, no one worry) but it’s all for the better now. Just yesterday, my friend Gerardo gifted me one of his puppies, a little golden nugget named Goofy. So, all is well in my patio once again.
In terms of work, my major endeavor at the moment is a personal development class at the local jail that I’m teaching with my fellow volunteer, Amy. Talk about things I never thought I’d do in my life, it has been a super interesting experience. The jail is small, only about 130 inmates. On the grounds they have a bread making factory, a garden, a beautiful church, huge soccer field, and a lot of recreational space as well. If I didn’t know it was a jail, I’d think it was a country club. There are about 15-20 students in the class depending on the day, and we have been working a lot with values, goals, self-esteem, and employment. They are WAY more participatory and interested than any of the school aged or high school aged kids I’ve worked with so each class is really interesting. Hopefully after this we are going to start with some basic vocational training and some more specific job skills since many of them are going to be getting out in early January.
My English class continues to be extremely crowded, which is a blessing and a curse. I now have two classes-one beginner and one intermediate. The interest levels vary greatly throughout the class and as I’ve said before, I don’t feel like teaching English to kids an hour a week is a very sustainable practice but, at the same time, I don’t want to deny them the chance to learn since there are kids who seem truly interested.
The library and the comedor have been uphill battles (yes, still) but I’ve been dealing with my frustration levels much better recently. I’m hoping to get a summer reading “camp” once or twice a week at the library and I’ve been taking some books down to the comedor and just reading with the kids, nothing too formal but they are happy to have the stimulation it seems and are always sad to see me go.
There have been a lot teacher strikes going on here in the past couple weeks, which has been pretty detrimental to their already weakened education system here. An article in the paper said almost two million kids missed class over more than a week because of the strike. Things remain unresolved as well and they are now threatening to strike indefinitely if they don’t get what they want. Stay tuned….
I’ve recently discovered the wonderful world of San Bernadino-the lake town that is about an hour and a half bus ride away from me to the east. During the summer it’s a rich tourist town for Asuncion’s richest people but it is also a great place to escape for the day with some terere and some comida. Since the heat has hit I’ve been there twice and it has been both a physical and mental treat to say the least. The lake reminds me of my grandparent’s lake in northern Maine, so it also has a bit of a nostalgic value for me as well. I recently found out you can rent boats and jet skis for super cheap also!
That seems to be all for now, I promise it won’t be this long before you hear from me again!
Loving and missing you all, as always
Jaim
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Friends, Pioneers, and Music
So there has been a lot of celebrating going on in Villa Madrid this week (surprise, I know). Sunday was el dia de la Amistad “friendship day” which this year was declared by the UN as an international holiday, kinda cool. Friendship day is a day when everyone gives each other “felicidades” for being friends and they also sometimes give little trinket gifts and things to show their appreciation for their friends. Naturally, there was a festival in the church with singing and dancing, etc. Also, coincidentally, this festival coincided with the 19th anniversary of the founding the Villa. So, the older members of the community gathered their pictures of the founding of the Villa and made a nice exhibition for the community on the walls of the church. They sang the mass in guarani and even the priest who had originally founded the church came back from Spain to participate in the mass! It was quite an event. It was really interesting to see the progression of the building of the villa-how the school used to look, how the church used to be, the HUGE open space where the community center now stands, etc. It made me feel a little more attached to this place for sure, knowing how far it’s come in the past two decades.
I am currently (still) in the process of getting the library committee reorganized for the coming week. After a lot of back and forth with the current members about when and where would be best to have the meeting, we have finally agreed and have invited the teachers and the elementary and high schools to come participate as well but like with all things here, vamos a ver if they are going to end up showing up. The director of the community center has been really great and supportive and is going to try to rally some of the parents at the day care there to also join up with our cause. She has also this week put me in touch with a professor who teaches enrichment courses at the community center who wants to work on a professional development course (which he also said he wants to aim specifically at female youth-BONUS). He is currently teaching a waiter/waitress course there (a job skill that could potentially provide a very good life for someone here for their whole lives) and asked if I would help them with some gastronomical english lessons-talk about something I NEVER thought I would be asked to do. He seems like a pretty motivated guy and it is for sure meeting people like him that keep the wind in your sails when its FREEZING and people (including yourself at points) are more or less without motivation.
Additionally this week, my contact in the municipality asked me to come and work with a newly formed woman’s group in the community center that is trying to start a small seamstress business. A woman who already works as a seamstress in the neighborhood as offered her time to come and teach a week long course to the woman (that I also get to take!) and the municipality has donated some machines and fabric to start up with. My role is going to be working with them to form a business plan, another thing that I am less than qualified to do but I will hopefully be able to solicit some help from my community economic development folks to get them the type of plan they need. Needless to say, the workload has gotten a bit heavier this week!
Things remain shaky but generally ok in the comedor. They are having a fundraiser this weekend to raise some money for the extra that they need. The kitchen seems to be running much more smoothly than before and the nutritionist from the municipality is scheduling training in how to use soy in the menu for the next couple weeks. Stay tuned!
Friday night was AHENDU (I hear in guarani) a volunteer/Paraguayan concert in Asuncion that is meant as a way for the volunteers and the Paraguayans to sing together, share a little bit of culture, and usually a lot of beer. I had been convinced to sing after a LONG time of badgering and since I hadn’t sang in public in a long time, and hadn’t sang by myself in an even longer time I was quite nervous but everything went well and we all had a good time. A couple of my Paraguayan music enthusiast friends came to sing but due to some scheduling problems they didn’t get on. They enjoyed themselves the same and are already talking about what they are going to sing at the next concert in December (the concert that I have been nominated to be vice-coordinator for, yikes!) Then Saturday we all went out in Limpio to dance some cumbia! Sum up of the weekend: success.
The weather here has TRULY been unpredictable. As I sit here writing this I am in shorts and a tank top but just 48 short hours ago I was in several layers, scarves, gloves-the works. The climate here is bizarre to say the least and everything from my skin to my sinuses are suffering for it. It is rather impressive how Paraguayans transfer wardrobes so quickly, never seeming to be unprepared for the weather.
All for now mis amigos
Jaimee
I am currently (still) in the process of getting the library committee reorganized for the coming week. After a lot of back and forth with the current members about when and where would be best to have the meeting, we have finally agreed and have invited the teachers and the elementary and high schools to come participate as well but like with all things here, vamos a ver if they are going to end up showing up. The director of the community center has been really great and supportive and is going to try to rally some of the parents at the day care there to also join up with our cause. She has also this week put me in touch with a professor who teaches enrichment courses at the community center who wants to work on a professional development course (which he also said he wants to aim specifically at female youth-BONUS). He is currently teaching a waiter/waitress course there (a job skill that could potentially provide a very good life for someone here for their whole lives) and asked if I would help them with some gastronomical english lessons-talk about something I NEVER thought I would be asked to do. He seems like a pretty motivated guy and it is for sure meeting people like him that keep the wind in your sails when its FREEZING and people (including yourself at points) are more or less without motivation.
Additionally this week, my contact in the municipality asked me to come and work with a newly formed woman’s group in the community center that is trying to start a small seamstress business. A woman who already works as a seamstress in the neighborhood as offered her time to come and teach a week long course to the woman (that I also get to take!) and the municipality has donated some machines and fabric to start up with. My role is going to be working with them to form a business plan, another thing that I am less than qualified to do but I will hopefully be able to solicit some help from my community economic development folks to get them the type of plan they need. Needless to say, the workload has gotten a bit heavier this week!
Things remain shaky but generally ok in the comedor. They are having a fundraiser this weekend to raise some money for the extra that they need. The kitchen seems to be running much more smoothly than before and the nutritionist from the municipality is scheduling training in how to use soy in the menu for the next couple weeks. Stay tuned!
Friday night was AHENDU (I hear in guarani) a volunteer/Paraguayan concert in Asuncion that is meant as a way for the volunteers and the Paraguayans to sing together, share a little bit of culture, and usually a lot of beer. I had been convinced to sing after a LONG time of badgering and since I hadn’t sang in public in a long time, and hadn’t sang by myself in an even longer time I was quite nervous but everything went well and we all had a good time. A couple of my Paraguayan music enthusiast friends came to sing but due to some scheduling problems they didn’t get on. They enjoyed themselves the same and are already talking about what they are going to sing at the next concert in December (the concert that I have been nominated to be vice-coordinator for, yikes!) Then Saturday we all went out in Limpio to dance some cumbia! Sum up of the weekend: success.
The weather here has TRULY been unpredictable. As I sit here writing this I am in shorts and a tank top but just 48 short hours ago I was in several layers, scarves, gloves-the works. The climate here is bizarre to say the least and everything from my skin to my sinuses are suffering for it. It is rather impressive how Paraguayans transfer wardrobes so quickly, never seeming to be unprepared for the weather.
All for now mis amigos
Jaimee
Thursday, July 28, 2011
TEREVYAITEKE, TEREVYAITEKE KO NDE ARA MBOTYVO...TEREVYAITEKEEEE!!!!
So, I’m 23! Woohoo! Turning 23 in paraguay was a bit different than other birthdays I’ve had, but was for sure special in its own way. My birthday was on a Friday and by the time the mass came around at seven pm, more than a few people in Villa Madrid had heard and so, at the end of mass the priest made me come to the front of the church and be serenaded by the entire congregation in Spanish, guarani (terevyaiteke, terevyaiteke) AND english. It was quite a memorable moment and I’m pretty sure I was redder than I knew it was possible to turn. Saturday some of my amigas came over to have a bbq and some sangria and then we met up with some Paraguayan amigos to sing some karaoke and be merry in Limpio.
The next day was Sunday and so we all boarded the micro in an attempt to get to Guarambare (where we were headed for our three month in service training) by the time the Copa America final started. Unfortunately, a wrong bus decision didn’t get us there until half time but it was all well and good because there wasn’t much to see for the Paraguayan fans. 2-0 loss to Uruguay and Forlan. There is always next year!
Sunday through Wednesday was spent back with our host families in our training community of Guarambare. It was great to see everyone, American and Paraguayan alike. We had a lot of hardcore language class (I am REALLY going to make more effort to learn guarani) and some other more or less useless sessions about things we already knew and then we all headed back to sight. It was a whirlwind of a few days so I am glad my only real responsibility for the weekend is giving the final exam in my english class Saturday morning. The heat has been cranked up here the past couple days so im looking forward to a weekend filled with terere and guarani studying!
Missing you all more than ever, thank you so much for the well wishes from afar!!
Besitos!
Jaim
The next day was Sunday and so we all boarded the micro in an attempt to get to Guarambare (where we were headed for our three month in service training) by the time the Copa America final started. Unfortunately, a wrong bus decision didn’t get us there until half time but it was all well and good because there wasn’t much to see for the Paraguayan fans. 2-0 loss to Uruguay and Forlan. There is always next year!
Sunday through Wednesday was spent back with our host families in our training community of Guarambare. It was great to see everyone, American and Paraguayan alike. We had a lot of hardcore language class (I am REALLY going to make more effort to learn guarani) and some other more or less useless sessions about things we already knew and then we all headed back to sight. It was a whirlwind of a few days so I am glad my only real responsibility for the weekend is giving the final exam in my english class Saturday morning. The heat has been cranked up here the past couple days so im looking forward to a weekend filled with terere and guarani studying!
Missing you all more than ever, thank you so much for the well wishes from afar!!
Besitos!
Jaim
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Bureaucracy, Bars, and Birthdays!
This week has been BUSY-even by American standards. First some back ground: the comedor is a soup kitchen that serves lunch and breakfast, Monday through Friday, to about 60-70 kids a day. It is run totally by volunteers from the community (mothers mostly) and is headed by a commission that is elected by the people of the community but has been historically problematic and dysfunctional. There had been some stirrings of drama before I had left for Fourth of July but since there are kind of always problems I didn’t think it was anything worse than any other drama that I’d seen before. However, when I came back I found out that the entire commission had quit due to some conflicts between the community members and as a result of this, we had lost our funding from DIBEN- the government entity that supports these types of soup kitchens all over the country.
I had previously been talking to the municipality’s director of local development about working with the commission in order to help them work more effectively as a team, use their resources wisely etc, and we had been planning on meeting with them the in the coming weeks to do so. Now that there was no commission, our objective changed to forming not only a new commission, but also smaller sub groups to work on more specific tasks thus making the work load smaller and more stressful for everyone (and trust me, there is A LOT of work that goes into 10 meals a week for 60 niños). At this same point, por suerte, the neighborhood commission of the third phase (where the comedor is) contacted me about getting involved in the project as well. This is great news because 1) they are a well-known and well established commission in the barrio and people respect their authority and 2) quite frankly, the situation needed a little testosterone to create some equilibrium in the group dynamic. So I went to meet with them with Mari, a mother from the comedor who has been involved from the beginning and is very trustworthy (her son is also the leader of the youth group). We talked about the work plan and decided we would try and go get the funding back asap in order to keep the comedor running, commission or no commission.
However, the director at DIBEN was less than helpful and to be honest quite rude to both myself and my contact from the neighborhood commission who accompanied me. She was very unwilling to accommodate any suggestion we had and so we were forced to leave there without the funding once again. However, we still had the meeting planned for all the parents and were hoping to have a big turnout. I had additionally invited some of the people from the church as well, which is located in the first phase, in an attempt to bring awareness community wide to the comedor’s cause. Unfortunately Sunday, when I had made plans to meet with the group from the church, it POURED and on top of that the Paraguay Copa America game was on so that meant attendance=zero for my meeting. Additionally the group leader, Diego, flaked out on not one but TWO messages that I sent him. Not ok Diego!
So Tuesday came and the tensions were running a bit high. The municipality, DIBEN, and the neighborhood commission all wanted different things and I was a bit nervous about presenting the new work plan to the group. There was initially a bit of bickering but eventually we got everything ironed out and hopefully we are going to seguir adelante and make some changes. The turnout was actually half way decent despite the cold and imminent rain and we all decided that we would meet again tonight to continue organizing and smoothing over details. Stay tuned!!
In other news, Ahendu (“I hear” in Guarani), the tri annual volunteer/Paraguayan concert is coming up in a couple weeks. My closest PCV neighbor just happens to be the coordinator of it so I’ve offered to help her with some of the planning and I will also be singing a song with Rodrigo! It is my first time singing in public in QUITE some time but I’m hoping it will be fun and not too scary. I’ve also invited some other people I know from Villa Madrid to come perform which I am really excited about.
I was invited this week to go back to Guarambare to talk in a training session for the new group (G36) it was a nice day to be back there and Johanna was invited too so we had a good time. It was nice to meet some of the newbies as well. They are a smaller group and seem much closer than my training class was, they asked a lot of really good questions and they seem like they are all going to be super guap@.
My english class is coming to a close (thank dios!), just three more weeks left. The attendance was over all exceptional I think for a class like this which was nice but also a lot of work. I have told some people that I’ll be continuing giving classes but to be honest not only do I not really enjoy it, I see it as probably the least sustainable work that I have been doing. Studying a language takes a lot of time and effort as well as someone who has had real teacher training (not me) and while I’m sure learning english for these kids could potentially open doors, I just feel like that this isn’t really my role here in this community.
Mom and Dad’s trip is rapidly approaching and so I’m beginning to make some of the plans! We are going to be visiting Iguazu Falls via rental car, the Argentinian side. We are also planning on spending some time in Guarambare, Asuncion, and of course Villa Madrid. It is going to be a whirl wind but I think a great trip.
My birthday is Friday (23?!) and some of my lovely amigas are coming to visit me so we can eat some good food and drink some good drink before we all have to go back to Guarambare for a couple days of training. I got my patio cleaned and cut just for the occasion and I may even give my puppy (who is so not a puppy anymore by the by) a bath as well.
Saturday after my English class I noticed that the carpenter on the ruta was selling wooden chairs for just 23000 guaranies each! So, I went up there and hauled two of them home. I’m going to paint them orange, the same color as my house because I have SO much paint left that I don’t want to go to waste.
The Copa America has been all the talk these past couple days. Sunday night was the Paraguay vs. Brazil and the barrio was filled with fireworks, horns, pots and pans, screaming, drinking, and general debauchery. Luckily, the debauchery lives to play another day because Paraguay WON! In penalty kicks! Viva Paraguay!
This week I also got to head to Caacupe for the day with some other PCVs to have some delicious lunch and stroll through one of the more famous cities in Paraguay. Why famous, you ask? Well, this is the city where the virgin of Caacupe resides and every December 8th, many many MANY Paraguayans take the pilgrimage, on foot, overnight to the church there as a show of devotion to their faith and the virgin. Because of this, the town is a bit touristy but beautiful none the less. The café we ate at is run by a swiss man who was very funny and charming with his thickly accented english and nervous manerisms. Lunch was good but what was perhaps even more rico was the ice cream brownie sundae and various flavored muffins that we picked up at this little roadside place on the way home. I realize I tend to write a lot about my food consumption here, but the thing about it is because my day to day diet is so very very plain for the most part, any sort of excitement is quite literally, something to write home about. Anyway, the day was very pleasant- meeting some new PCVs and catching up with some old ones. Also I found out I am going to get a dresser (por fin) from another volunteer who lives close when she leaves in December-score!
Villa Madrid has been described as “relatively safe with the some petty theft and the occasional homicide”. Well, the past couple weeks have seen some of both of these crimes and so I made the decision to finally walk my lazy trasero around the corner to ask the herreria (iron workshop?) to come and put bars on my windows. I have five windows so it was going to be a bit expensive but por suerte Peace Corps reimburses things like this so I went ahead with it anyway. The senor told me he’d be coming to start the work on Monday since it would take more than one day but Monday came and went sin reyas. Tuesday as well came and went with nada. We’ll see what Wednesday has to bring but it’s raining AND there is a bus strike so it’s looking like I’m going to go another week bar-less.
Well, that seems to be all for now. I will be thinking of you all this weekend as I celebrate my birth!!
Love you and miss you all, como siempre
Jaim
I had previously been talking to the municipality’s director of local development about working with the commission in order to help them work more effectively as a team, use their resources wisely etc, and we had been planning on meeting with them the in the coming weeks to do so. Now that there was no commission, our objective changed to forming not only a new commission, but also smaller sub groups to work on more specific tasks thus making the work load smaller and more stressful for everyone (and trust me, there is A LOT of work that goes into 10 meals a week for 60 niños). At this same point, por suerte, the neighborhood commission of the third phase (where the comedor is) contacted me about getting involved in the project as well. This is great news because 1) they are a well-known and well established commission in the barrio and people respect their authority and 2) quite frankly, the situation needed a little testosterone to create some equilibrium in the group dynamic. So I went to meet with them with Mari, a mother from the comedor who has been involved from the beginning and is very trustworthy (her son is also the leader of the youth group). We talked about the work plan and decided we would try and go get the funding back asap in order to keep the comedor running, commission or no commission.
However, the director at DIBEN was less than helpful and to be honest quite rude to both myself and my contact from the neighborhood commission who accompanied me. She was very unwilling to accommodate any suggestion we had and so we were forced to leave there without the funding once again. However, we still had the meeting planned for all the parents and were hoping to have a big turnout. I had additionally invited some of the people from the church as well, which is located in the first phase, in an attempt to bring awareness community wide to the comedor’s cause. Unfortunately Sunday, when I had made plans to meet with the group from the church, it POURED and on top of that the Paraguay Copa America game was on so that meant attendance=zero for my meeting. Additionally the group leader, Diego, flaked out on not one but TWO messages that I sent him. Not ok Diego!
So Tuesday came and the tensions were running a bit high. The municipality, DIBEN, and the neighborhood commission all wanted different things and I was a bit nervous about presenting the new work plan to the group. There was initially a bit of bickering but eventually we got everything ironed out and hopefully we are going to seguir adelante and make some changes. The turnout was actually half way decent despite the cold and imminent rain and we all decided that we would meet again tonight to continue organizing and smoothing over details. Stay tuned!!
In other news, Ahendu (“I hear” in Guarani), the tri annual volunteer/Paraguayan concert is coming up in a couple weeks. My closest PCV neighbor just happens to be the coordinator of it so I’ve offered to help her with some of the planning and I will also be singing a song with Rodrigo! It is my first time singing in public in QUITE some time but I’m hoping it will be fun and not too scary. I’ve also invited some other people I know from Villa Madrid to come perform which I am really excited about.
I was invited this week to go back to Guarambare to talk in a training session for the new group (G36) it was a nice day to be back there and Johanna was invited too so we had a good time. It was nice to meet some of the newbies as well. They are a smaller group and seem much closer than my training class was, they asked a lot of really good questions and they seem like they are all going to be super guap@.
My english class is coming to a close (thank dios!), just three more weeks left. The attendance was over all exceptional I think for a class like this which was nice but also a lot of work. I have told some people that I’ll be continuing giving classes but to be honest not only do I not really enjoy it, I see it as probably the least sustainable work that I have been doing. Studying a language takes a lot of time and effort as well as someone who has had real teacher training (not me) and while I’m sure learning english for these kids could potentially open doors, I just feel like that this isn’t really my role here in this community.
Mom and Dad’s trip is rapidly approaching and so I’m beginning to make some of the plans! We are going to be visiting Iguazu Falls via rental car, the Argentinian side. We are also planning on spending some time in Guarambare, Asuncion, and of course Villa Madrid. It is going to be a whirl wind but I think a great trip.
My birthday is Friday (23?!) and some of my lovely amigas are coming to visit me so we can eat some good food and drink some good drink before we all have to go back to Guarambare for a couple days of training. I got my patio cleaned and cut just for the occasion and I may even give my puppy (who is so not a puppy anymore by the by) a bath as well.
Saturday after my English class I noticed that the carpenter on the ruta was selling wooden chairs for just 23000 guaranies each! So, I went up there and hauled two of them home. I’m going to paint them orange, the same color as my house because I have SO much paint left that I don’t want to go to waste.
The Copa America has been all the talk these past couple days. Sunday night was the Paraguay vs. Brazil and the barrio was filled with fireworks, horns, pots and pans, screaming, drinking, and general debauchery. Luckily, the debauchery lives to play another day because Paraguay WON! In penalty kicks! Viva Paraguay!
This week I also got to head to Caacupe for the day with some other PCVs to have some delicious lunch and stroll through one of the more famous cities in Paraguay. Why famous, you ask? Well, this is the city where the virgin of Caacupe resides and every December 8th, many many MANY Paraguayans take the pilgrimage, on foot, overnight to the church there as a show of devotion to their faith and the virgin. Because of this, the town is a bit touristy but beautiful none the less. The café we ate at is run by a swiss man who was very funny and charming with his thickly accented english and nervous manerisms. Lunch was good but what was perhaps even more rico was the ice cream brownie sundae and various flavored muffins that we picked up at this little roadside place on the way home. I realize I tend to write a lot about my food consumption here, but the thing about it is because my day to day diet is so very very plain for the most part, any sort of excitement is quite literally, something to write home about. Anyway, the day was very pleasant- meeting some new PCVs and catching up with some old ones. Also I found out I am going to get a dresser (por fin) from another volunteer who lives close when she leaves in December-score!
Villa Madrid has been described as “relatively safe with the some petty theft and the occasional homicide”. Well, the past couple weeks have seen some of both of these crimes and so I made the decision to finally walk my lazy trasero around the corner to ask the herreria (iron workshop?) to come and put bars on my windows. I have five windows so it was going to be a bit expensive but por suerte Peace Corps reimburses things like this so I went ahead with it anyway. The senor told me he’d be coming to start the work on Monday since it would take more than one day but Monday came and went sin reyas. Tuesday as well came and went with nada. We’ll see what Wednesday has to bring but it’s raining AND there is a bus strike so it’s looking like I’m going to go another week bar-less.
Well, that seems to be all for now. I will be thinking of you all this weekend as I celebrate my birth!!
Love you and miss you all, como siempre
Jaim
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