Manduvi Hape
One of my first trips to the field or kokue happened this past week for a manduvi (peanut) hape. I went with three of my six host siblings to turn over the peanut plants that they had already pulled out of the ground so that they could dry completely. It was fun to do something physical, and the walk up the mountain to where the field is was beautiful. Here, they like to eat peanuts ground up, with milk and sugar. I decided yesterday to shake up their world a little bit and try to make some peanut butter. Here are some pictures documenting the day and a half long process. First I had to grab a bunch of the dried plants and 
take the peanuts off. Then I proceeded to shuck the peanuts…not quick OR easy. I continued shucking the next morning, then washed the peanuts and dried them. Next, I roasted the peanuts in a pot over a fire. Then I rolled the hot peanuts in my hands to work the next layer of skin off. Finally I molinar’ed or ground the peanuts at the neighbor’s house then brought the bowl back to add some salt, sugar, and sunflower oil. Voila! Peanut butter! (It actually looks more like cooked ground beef…but it’s DELICIOUS.)
One Month In and ALREADY In Gambling Debt
So what can I say…the family’s gambling gene has awoken in my blood. Noooo, just kidding, but due to some compromise to Paraguayan culture, I did find myself in some cake debt this week. It all started Sunday afternoon when I went to a carerra hape with my host sister Vero. The main event was a 100m race between two men in their 50s, both husbands to women in my comite. Lots of people bet money on who would win, and the two men bet between themselves as well. This is the norm for just about any game or sport here, from a card game to a pickup volleyball game. The loser 
buys the gaseosa (pop) or beer. A little while later, someone asked me if I would race, and I said sure, but not for money. I offered to race for cake instead. No one could quite grasp this concept, but about the 5th time I explained it, something clicked.
So I found myself running against Carmen, one very guapa and very strong lady from my comite. If she lost she would make me budin, a kind of bread pudding/flan, and if I lost I would make her cake. We had some difficulty starting off the race 1) because I didn’t understand (and still don’t) the system 
of self-starting - taking 3 big steps and then sprinting off and 2) because Carmen is deaf and we have an interesting time communicating as it is, much less trying to decide how to start a race. Anyway, she won just by a step or two, so I made her some lemon cake today, which she told me she really liked. It was so much fun, especially seeing how all the little girls got into it. They warmed up with me, and two of them challenged me to separate races on the walk home. Carmen’s and my challenge was the only race of girls or women on that day. Kuñas (girls/women) represent!
Egg diversity - 1 double-yolk, 2 guinea hen, 1 blue
Mate and Térere
Térere and mate are the drinks of Paraguay, and represent not only a gastronomical custom, but an intensely social experience as well. Here’s how it works:
Let’s start with the equipment needed. First of all you need a guampa, or cup-like receptacle to drink out of. It can be made of wood, cow horn, or metal.
Next you need a bombilla. This is a metal straw with a small spoon-like filter at the bottom to keep out the yerba when you are drinking.
Now you need some yerba mate. This green substance is made of ground leaves from the yerba tree which is grown here in Paraguay. This provides the base for the flavor of your mate or térere.
And now you have some choices to make. Many Paraguayans add additional pohas or herbal remedies, to their térere or mate, which can generally be found growing around any Paraguayan household in the campo. Some pohas familiar to us Americans would be menta’i (mint leaves) or cedron (lemongrass) which are both very refrescante (refreshing) for térere. Other pohas are said to be good for settling your stomach or calming your nerves.
Ok, so here’s the main difference between mate and térere. Mate is made using hot (sometimes scalding) water, usually drunk in the early morning or when it’s cold outside. Térere is drunk with cold (preferably icy) water and is drunk from mid-morning to late afternoon, and in large quantities especially when it’s really haku (hot) outside.
And here’s the social aspect. You don’t usually drink mate or térere alone. Instead, you drink it in a group. One person serves – usually the person who prepared it, or the youngest person in the circle. This person pours a bit of water into the guampa and offers it to their nearest neighbor. The neighbor takes the guampa, drinks the few swallows of yerba and poha flavored water, and hands it back to the server. The serving person then pours again, hands the guampa to the next person in the circle, and so on.
It’s like sitting down to have a cup of coffee with somebody, but a lot more personal. After all, you’re swapping spit. It’s also a commitment of at least half an hour or hour. To mate or to térere is to sit together, to relax, to have some conversation, and to hydrate in a tranquilo manner. It makes drinking and spending time together very intentional. If you are going to térere, that’s what you are going to do. No guzzling down a Gatorade here. You sit and drink in small amounts, slowly. Also, no multitasking here, with the exception of maybe shucking some beans or corn. Leave that book or television set at home.
Most of the best conversations I’ve had here in my site have been over early-morning mate. Many of the Paraguayan ladies I’ve met here are very open anyway, but mate really makes you feel comfortable with somebody. We’ve talked about birth control, the Paraguayan educational system, and land reform. And térere-ing under the mango tree with my host family has kept me sane on those hot days when all I could think about was how much I was sweating. We’ve talked community gossip, technical skill transfer, crop yields, and how to raise children. This picture is of where we usually sit to terere - mangoguype (under the mango tree).
Really, it comes down to sharing. Paraguay is all about sharing. People are generous here, there’s no doubt about that. So why not your tea in the morning as well? Or those cookies you just bought? Among Peace Corps friends, we use the verb “to térere” referring to how we share just about any kind of food or drink here – an apple, an empanada, a can of beer, or a bottle of pop. You might buy it, but you should maybe only expect to have a bite or two yourself. You offer it around to your friends, and they don’t hesitate to take a bite or a sip. But don’t worry, all your friends do the same for you. And it makes you feel good because you are sharing something you enjoy with people around you.
That’s just the Paraguayan way.
(*And the beer stays a lot colder when it’s shared between four people.)
My current host parents, Waldino and Mariana, terere-ing with me.
