fotos!

1. me in the front yard before going to play futbol
2. more of the front garden
3. bathroom. we have running water and a hot water shower head!!!
4-5. lemon tree and some of our animals in the backyard.
The rest ' the kitchen, my host family´s house, the training center in town, me at the center on thursday after a long day of travel, the bus that we fit 12 people in on the way from the airport.

Mbaí`chapa!

Mbai’chapá (hey! How’s it going?) from Paraguay! After a very long plane ride to Brazil, a four hour line for our new boarding passes in Brazil, and a short (ok, I mostly slept through it) two hour ride to Asunción, we finally landed in Paraguay. We were greeted by Peace Corps staff, the Country Director, and cool weather – most surprising for most of us trainees!

Paraguay is beautiful. It’s very green and tropical looking – there are so many different kinds of trees and flowers here. The dirt and therefore most of the roads are a rusty red color, and it’s very sunny. We had very cool weather the first couple of days here, but today it’s much warmer and more humid. Although I spend most of the evening sitting under the roof of the patio with my host family, the stars have been striking when I’ve seen them on my trips to the bathroom to brush my teeth before going to bed, haha.

My host family is AWESOME. The family consists of my host mother Eva, my host tuva (father in Guarani) Raúl, my host brother Anchi who’s 31, my host brother Dani who’s 19, and my host sister Nancy who’s 14. Nancy is super friendly and has been helping me a bunch getting to know the house and the neighborhood, and practice both my Spanish and my tiny bit (michimi) of Guarani too. She has great taste in music, and hopefully we’ll get to share our music soon. Dani is very nice too. He works in his father’s nursery and plays soccer everyday. I haven’t seen Anchi too much, but he’s been very friendly as well. He works very early in the mornings at a chicken processing factory in a nearby town and has a six-month old baby named Angel Jesus. Raul, my host father, tells me “tranquilo” (relax, relax) which is a very typical Paraguayan expression that details the way of life here, and tell me not to hesitate to ask for or about anything. Eva, my host mom, is very sweet as well. She has been advising me to be careful about falling in love with a Paraguayan boy. It has happened to many female Peace Corps Volunteers with some very good and some bad results, I guess haha. My family has had 4 Peace Corps trainees before me, so they are pretty familiar with us Estado Unidogua. J

Although I am still learning and adapting to many of the cultural norms here, my family is really taking care of me. They slow down their Spanish for me, and explain the funny stories that I don’t quite get. I laugh at myself quite a bit, and try to make jokes…who knows how funny they are really or if everyone’s just laughing at how strange I am, but hey what’s the difference right??

Most of our training takes place in our “satellite communities” which are neighborhoods where we live close to the other trainees in our respective programs. There are 42 PCTs in total – MUCH larger of a group than I expected! But it’s great so far. There are a lot of people to get to know but it’s a little less stressful that way I think now. No pressure to make instant friends with anyone – we can just let it happen naturally. J I really like my Crop Extension group so far, and will be excited for Wednesdays too because that’s when the whole group comes together at the training center in town for training. Most of our training is learning the languages. My group is beginning with Guarani because we will be working most directly with farmers en el campo and we will most certainly need our Guarani more than anything else. Other groups that work more in schools are starting with Spanish because they will probably use it more often, but we all need at least a basic level of both. I am learning so much more Spanish now, but I’m really excited to be learning Guarani in training. Many people (including my family) speak a mixture of Spanish and Guarani so even if I spoke perfect Spanish (which clearly I am very far from), I couldn’t understand half of what they say. It’s a challenge but I’m starting to pick up some of the different sounds to recognize Guarani already. It’s much more nasal than Spanish, just like Portuguese.

We will also have technical training about soil, crops, gardens, food security, beekeeping, etc., and training in safety & security, health, and cultural adaptation.

Yesterday I subjected myself to a mandatory beesting to see if I was allergic. It hurt! But after that, my Hepatitis A shot REALLY felt like nada, haha. And all of the beekeepers got their own EPI pens…all I could think of were my fellow Bournians and our long list of allergies and allergic reactions.

Qué mas…

I played futbol this afternoon at la cancha (playing field) with fellow PCTs TK/Taylor/Tyson (new nickname from the host mamas because they can’t really say Taylor haha) and Kyle, and a bunch of little kids from the neighborhood. I was the only girl. I can already tell that I am going to have to pick my battles in terms of which cultural norms to stretch. For example, playing futbol with the guys…definitely not normal. But it went fine, I think that it’s more that it just surprises people. Of course I was terrible, but it was so great to get out and stretch my legs a bit. My teammates really included me too. The six year old passed me the ball three or four times and I only lost it immediately twice. ;) That was definitely a whoa moment. Like whoa, I’m in the Peace Corps, in the middle of South America, playing soccer with a bunch of little kids. Que lindo. Cool.

It’s really expensive to make international calls here, but I managed to get ahold of my mom on Skype at least yesterday. It was so good to talk to her, even for just ten minutes. The cyber café in town is really small and always really busy, especially with all the new PCT business too, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to get online. However, I will be writing letters and sending them out very soon, and posting blog entries when I can.

I miss everybody and wish I had a better way of sharing this experience with you. Pero, se va la vida. It’s how life goes. Cuidate mucho y hasta pronto.

Con mucho amor.

hasta pronto...

Step 1 complete. I'm in Miami! It was really hard to say "see ya later" to Mom, Dad, and Ris at Detroit Metro. I am going to miss you guys every day I am gone. (And I already do.) But at the same time, I feel like I am all the stronger from your love, and the love and support from all of my family and friends. As I said goodbye, I just got this feeling that I knew that this was what I was meant to be doing. It just felt so right.


Tomorrow is orientation and then we all leave together for Paraguay. There are 42 people in my training class. It's HUGE!! On the bright side, everyone seems really positive and fun so far. :)

Thank you to everyone for your notes and phone calls and messages of best wishes. I really appreciate it.

As of tonight, I am officially a Peace Corps Trainee. Love to all!

The Final Countdown / Check out this video!

Oh man, this is really it. Tomorrow I leave for the Peace Corps. No, I'm not quite packed yet and yes, I am EXCITED/scared/anxious/bewildered/somewhat in denial that "it's all happening."

I will miss everyone so much and want to hear all about what's going on in your lives, so please, indulge me.

Here is a video I -just- found about the Peace Corps in Paraguay and I just had to share it. It's a bit long, but it gives both you and I a picture of what's in store for me when I land in Asuncion on Thursday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZA78xUzwTA

2 weeks to go...

I can't believe I leave in two weeks! I have been pulling stuff together for a while now, but it still doesn't seem quite real. Really, I'm avoiding the whole countdown thing though, trying to enjoy the time I have here at home. :) I'm very excited to begin this adventure, but also scared to leave my family and friends for so long. Ahhh so conflicting.

Here I've answered some frequently asked questions about my Peace Corps service and visiting and such. Check it out and if there's anything else in particular you're wondering about, just let me know! My new address in Paraguay is below as well (hint, hint.) 

How long will you be in Paraguay?

            My Peace Corps commitment in Paraguay is for three months of training and then two years of service. Altogether it’s 27 months. However, we do get two vacation days for every month served. While I am sure that I will use some of these days to travel in and around Paraguay, I am also planning on coming home to Michigan for a visit sometime in the middle of my two years.

Can I come visit?

            YES! I would love to have you visit. Peace Corps does give us some restrictions as to when we can have visitors, mostly to ensure that we are well acclimated into our communities before we bring our friends and families in as well. This means that I can’t travel/have visitors for the first six months of service (December 2009 – May 2010) or for the last three months of service (September – December 2011). Anytime in between there would be fantastic!!

Where will you be living?

            While I’m in training for the first three months, I will be living with a host family in the town of Guarambaré. It’s about an hour outside the capital of Asuncion. After that, I will move to my own site. Where exactly will that be, I hear you ask? The truth is, I have no idea at this point. I will visit there for about a week before I actually move however, so don’t worry that I’ll be walking in blindly. Based on my assignment as a Crop Extension Volunteer, I will most likely be living in a small village in a rural area. Most likely I’ll have some electricity, but I probably will have a shared well for water. Usually there is another Peace Corps Volunteer living within an hour’s travel distance.

How will you communicate with people back home?

            I know that around the capital, Internet will be available in cafes and such, so I’m looking forward to Skyping and keeping up my blog on periodic visits. At this point, I really have no idea about the availability of Internet once I’m in site – it’ll depend on where I am. On the other hand,  I’m sure I’ll be able to call home with calling cards from wherever I am in the country. Peace Corps Paraguay also provides us with cell phones and plans so that we can call the office, other Peace Corps Volunteers, and anyone else in country. I can also receive international calls on my cell phone, although that may be pretty expensive for you guys. Anyway, I’ll let you know the phone number when I get it.

            The best way to keep in touch will be snail mail. Yep, real letters! It is best to send them airmail, which should take about 2-3 weeks, as opposed to ground mail, which can take months. Although the Paraguay mail service is considered relatively reliable for a developing country, it is still estimated that only about 80% of letters make it to their intended destinations. So if I haven’t responded, it’s most likely because I didn’t receive the letter. But please, don’t let this deter you! I promise to respond to all correspondence sent my way. J One method of keeping track of letters is to number them. This way, you know if one has gotten lost if it’s missing out of the sequence.

            My address is:

                        Amanda Baranowski, PCT*

                        Cuerpo de Paz

                        162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. López

                        Asunción 1580, Paraguay

                        South America

 

*PCT stands for Peace Corps Trainee. At the end of my three months of training, (around December 11, 2009) I will “swear in” and become a full-fledged Peace Corps Volunteer, which is abbreviated as PCV.

What are you planning on doing after Peace Corps?

            To be honest, I don’t know at this point. I am going to try and focus on the experience at hand, and see where life takes me. I will be back in the United States in a few short years. Heck, who knows? Maybe they’ll be some jobs around by then (kidding!...but serious). So please, give me some time to live in the present and I’ll try to do the same for you.

What will you be doing?

            I will be a Crop Extension Volunteer. As far as I know, this means that I will be working with small-scale farmers, most of whom only own about 5 to 10 acres of land. My job description is “to assist farmers in implementing new agricultural practices related to vegetable production, soil conservation, pest management, small animal husbandry, and the marketing of new products.” The goal is to increase farm productivity and crop diversification while ensuring sustained food crop availability for families.

            Soy is the largest Paraguayan expert, but reliance on this one crop can have terrible effects when the world price drops. If farmers cannot sell their crop for a reasonable amount of money, they do not have means of feeding their families, in part because soy is a cash crop, not a food crop, in Paraguay. This is how sustainable farming becomes a food security issue, in addition to a social, political, and environmental issue. I will be learning a lot about different farming methods during training so that I can become a mini-expert myself, before I go educate others about them.

            This doesn’t mean that I’m limited to working in the agriculture sector, however. Peace Corps encourages us to get involved in other projects, based on what’s most beneficial for the community. For example, I may teach an English class, join or start a Women’s Club, or organize a summer camp for kids. The possibilities are endless!

Bienvenidos

Bienvenidos, or welcome, to my blog. I'm sure I'll be using email, snailmail, Skype, and perhaps even a REAL phone to talk to most of you, but hey, one more means of communication can't hurt, right? AND it's pretty.

So here's the scoop:

I am joining the Peace Corps and running off to South America. Yep, for reals. I'll be a Crop Extension Volunteer in rural Paraguay, and I leave here on September 22 to depart for staging, i.e. orientation, in Miami, and then it's on to training in country! After about 3 months of training near Asuncion, the capital, I will be assigned a permanent site for my two years of service. Though I'm sure I'll be back to visit before then, my Peace Corps service will be complete on December 11, 2011. Fun fact - that also happens to be my parents' 29th wedding anniversary.

Right now, I'm working on getting my life in order, visiting with my friends and family as much as possible, and starting thinking about packing.

I'll be back with more details about what I'll be doing, but for now I'm heading to bed. My sister's home all day with me tomorrow. :)