And for the fun part!

And here's my close-of-service questionaire for our Volunteer publication "The Kuat" (Kuatia Nee or the Paper that Speaks).

Name/Name in site: Amanda, Mamánda, “A-ma-nda-ba-ra-no-ki!”

Site/Pueblo/Dept.: San José Boquerón, Ybycuí, Paraguarí

What your site is know for: the cerro (big hill) behind my house

What you’re know for in site: baking cakes, jogging, playing with the kids, the big backpack

What you’re gonna use your Readjustment Allowance on: travel to Eastern Europe with my sister then a deposit on a sweet apartment in Chi-town

First thing you’ll eat when you get “home”: Mom’s pork chops with applesauce. Or Taco Bell.

Cool skill learned in the ‘Guay: climb through barbed wire fences in a skirt

Fav PY’an phrase: Piko, Haikuepete, Suerte.

How you beat the heat: Open everything in the morning, close everything in the afternoon, lots of tereré and watermelon (but not together!)

What you’ll miss the most: the kids, chipa-making hapes, wise advice from señora friends, everyone knowing/yelling my name

Never thought you’d: come to crave Paraguayan food, love chicarron(like bacon but with more fat and less meat), or buy sopa/chipa (homemade only) almost every chance I get

Strangest thing you’ve eaten: Nothing seems too strange anymore, but then again I stopped trying to force down churra(organ meat) a while ago

Most awkward moment: Just back from the states, 10am at neighbor’s house, her stumbling caña-drunk brother-in-law comes over to literally cry to me in incomprehensibly Guaraní about losing his onion crop to rot. And then the señora gets up and leaves me alone with him.

Describe your language situation: Añe’ekuaa guaraníme porque heta la gente oñeecheve guaranime che comunidadpe. Che suertekatu.

Best G-31 memory: Rockin’ kids camps with Teresa, and the “vanilla in the pasta salad” weekend

4^th goal: read 100 books

Your legacy in PY: neighbor girls knowing how to do cartwheels, play checkers, and read a book for fun. Also, 14 good-looking chicken coops with any luck. Oh and “Pato, pato,… lobo!” (Duck, duck, wolf!)

Best & worst lunch crash: Best - chicarron and mandi’o family-style, worst - cow stomach soup

Best purchase on a bus: all the ingredients for a killer fruit salad

If you could change the Peace Corps motto: Redefining “work” since 1961.

Advice for G-37: Say “yes” to every opportunity you get, at least the first time. Give people second chances because they will give them to you. Learn Guaraní. Speak Guaraní, no matter how terrible it is - many more doors will be opened to you. When frustrations get you down, plan something that you want to do, and it will be a success because of your enthusiasm for it. If you reach one person, you’ve made a difference. Most importantly - be yourself!

Starting to Say Goodbye

This morning, my 11 year old neighbor announced to me that I have 19 days left, living here in my community. Wow.

It was a wake-up call. I've been putting off starting to say my goodbyes because I didn't want my last month to be one long, sad, cry-fest. But now I'm beginning to realize that saying goodbye (in many forms) is the only real way that I'll be able to move on yet feel good about my service and my time here in Paraguay.

I've decided to do it bit by bit, but each day trying to accomplish a task I need to complete or visit a family I haven't seen in a while. I'm also starting to give away clothes, photos, and other gifts for people to remember me by. I think that doing it gradually will help it to seem more normal, more just a part of daily life and inevitable change as people's lives go different ways.

I'd like to do the same here on my blog, to share with you, my family and friends. I hope this doesn't seem like an unending farewell, but instead some further insight into what I've been doing these past 2 years and how it has changed me as a person. Also - I can't WAIT to see all of you in the good old U.S.A!!!

We'll start with the serious. Here's an official account of how I've spent my time as a PCV:

Assignment

On December 11, 2009, Ms. Amanda Baranowski completed training and was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She was assigned to San José Boquerón, a small community in the department of Paraguarí roughly 110 km south of Asunción. Guaraní is the language predominantly spoken there.

Language Skills

Ms. Amanda Baranowski has achieved Advanced Mid competency level in Spanish and Advanced Low competency level in Guaraní during her Service. She effectively used Spanish to communicate in her work at school, with her colleagues, and with Paraguayan community contacts. In addition, Ms. Baranowski was also able to learn Guaraní, which she used in her work with farmers, while traveling and to communicate with her neighbors.

Primary Activities/Projects

Women’s Committee

During her service in San José Boquerón, Ms. Baranowski worked closely with the community’s women’s committee. The committee consisted of twenty women who met regularly in order to bring further development to the local community. Ms. Baranowski gave over twenty-five interactive trainings to the committee on a variety of topics including basic gardening, composting, family nutrition, contour planting, use of green manures, soil recuperation, beekeeping, and small animal husbandry. She also adapted these trainings to make them equally accessible for illiterate and/or deaf participants.

Using a grassroots community participation model, Ms. Baranowski worked alongside women of the committee every week for 6 months to design and write a grant proposal for a chicken-raising project in order to improve food security in the community. The project is valued at USD $4,500 and is awaiting approval.

Additionally, Ms. Baranowski helped the women to reassess and restructure the committee, in order to make both elected leaders and general members more accountable for the future of the organization. She supported the formation of a new committee as well, assisting with attaining formal recognition from the Municipality and the Governor.

Over her two years of service, Ms. Baranowski facilitated a strong working relationship between the women’s committee and a local NGO, which resulted in an onion-growing project as an alternative income source and the construction of a community greenhouse.

Soil Recuperation with Individual Farmers

Ms. Baranowski also worked alongside individual farmers to recuperate their soil. Her efforts resulted in a total of 25 men and women learning about and planting green manures as an alternative way to improve the soil, and 5 farmers adapting contour planting in their fields.

Peace Corps Training

In June of 2011, Ms. Baranowski taught a soil conservation workshop for 37 Peace Corps Volunteers and Paraguayan counterparts at the Agriculture Sector’s In-Service Training. She also assisted with Pre-Service Training in 2010 and 2011, for a total of 32 Peace Corps Trainees.

National Volunteer Action Committee Representative

Ms. Baranowski served as her region’s representative to the National Volunteer Action Committee, addressing the concerns of Peace Corps Volunteers to Peace Corps Staff.

Peace Corps Paraguay Seed Bank Treasurer

Ms. Baranowski served as the treasurer for the Volunteer-run Seed Bank Committee, managing funds, buying seed, and keeping a running inventory of high-quality garden, tree, and green manure seeds available to Peace Corps Volunteers and their Paraguayan counterparts.

SECONDARY ACTIVITIES/PROJECTS

Family Finance Course

Ms. Baranowski taught a seven-week series of 2 hour workshops on the topic of family finance to 20 women and youth, covering topics such as creating a savings plan, writing a budget, and taking out a loan.

Youth Life Skills Development

Ms. Baranowski mentored three teenage girls for a National Youth Leadership Camp and assisted them in conducting their own subsequent workshops on the topics of self-esteem, communication, and values, for 45 local teens from 5 surrounding communities.

Children’s Literacy Group

Ms. Baranowski established a weekly reading group to promote literacy, using read-aloud, partner-reading, and other techniques to reach over 45 children.

“Literacy through Photography” Class for Children

Ms. Baranowski taught a two-month “literacy through photography” class for the 10 6^th grade students at the local elementary school. Students learned about perspective, lighting, framing, and the use of color in class and then took the cameras home to complete their homework each week. Through their own photographic experimentation, personal poems, and creative analyses, students learned creative new ways to express their ideas. The class culminated in a traveling exhibit of the students’ 25 best photos, which were displayed in the local community and in the nearby town.

Summer Camps for Children

Ms. Baranowski conducted a series of 3-day camps for children on topics of environmental education, dental hygiene, art, and creative expression, with an average of 30 children participating in each camp.

English Tutoring

Ms. Baranowski supported local English teachers by offering tutoring and in-class assistance.

Ms. Amanda Baranowski completed her Peace Corps service in Paraguay on December 9, 2011.

Milk and Bananas - Now that's a good combination.

See the big red flower? That's the beginning of "a whole bunch" of bananas!

And they are delicious, as Karen demonstrates.

You have to work a bit to get to them...

but the results are HUGE!

Hello. I'm in a field of future Paraguayan cotton.

Karen and her grandfather, Don Julio. I just love this picture.

Yes, I now know how to milk a cow. Very slowly.

Here's the Estela the professional at work.

Pakova Kambyre (Banana Milk)

1 ripe banana

1 cup milk (preferably whole)

Blend well. Enjoy the rich, nutritious goodness!

Korean Volunteer Visit

Celebration of a week's worth of hard labor with unbeatable Paraguayan music - live!

MBC Network crew filming the inaguaration of the community greenhouse.

Me and Miss Korea 1995 (now a television broadcaster). Behind us is the house that one group of the volunteers built for a family in my community whose house burned down 3 years ago.

It's been a while.

I haven't posted in almost two months here because honestly, I didn't know what to write. Most of the cultural norms here now just seem "normal" to me, my work is coming to an end, and with the chilly winter weather, not much of anything was going on. REALLY. But now that I've resorted to my normal "I don't know what to write so I'll just post some pictures" play, I see that actually quite a lot has happened. So thanks, guilt-trippers, for encouraging me to reflect and see that things are always what they seem... especially when you're the one they're happening to.

I've been taking the Ahecha kids on fieldtrips to town to put up their photos for exhibition in different locations. Here we are in the National Bank (yes, my favorite place.)

In August, I took my last vacation days and went to Northeastern Argentina (never more than a swim across the river from Paraguay) with my friends Dan and Mike.

Iguazu Falls are spectacular. REALLY.

This was a beautiful year for Tajy (guarani), or Lapacho (spanish) trees. They flower pink or yellow, when nothing else is flowering in the middle of winter and really light up the landscape.

Here's another cool flowering tree we saw in Argentina, but I don't know what it's called.

"Crossing the border back into Paraguay for another 3 months of service after a solid week of good beer, pool, pizza, waterfalls, coffee, and good company in Argentina."

"Just 3 months to go!!"

Tajy. And the Bicentennial of Paraguay.

Imelda, Estela, me, and Carmen at a campo dance party.

Dedi and I in town.

On a visit (finally) to the Ybycui National Park, we found that it was the site of ironworks, some of the first in South America, for 3 years in the 1860s.

While the artifacts are so old, it's still amazing at how advanced the technology was/is!

National Park in my "backyard" - with real hiking trails and waterfalls you can swim in! Hope to make it back here a few more times before December...

Recent accomplishments and fun times

We finished our "Ahecha Paraguay" program with an exhibit opening at the school and certificates for each student. (Certificates are VERY big in Paraguay.) I'm now looking to move the exhibit to the bank in town and then maybe to the hospital. I will also trade photos with a Volunteer from another part of the country to show my students another example of the "Ahecha" program.

I taught 7 Family Finance classes in total, covering topics of what we value, why do we save money, how to make a budget, how to use credit, the difference between loaned money and your own money, and how to open a bank account. Over 20 women came to at least 2 classes, and a solid group of 6 ladies came to almost every one. We celebrated the last class with a decorated cake that I bought in town and certificates for each participant.

Finally, in the middle of my second winter here in Paraguay, I've bought myself a small charcoal stove. It doesn't get super cold in Paraguay, but living in continuous 45 or 50 degree weather will still chill you to the bone. So now on cool nights I light some charcoal when it gets dark (around 5pm) and keep warm until I go to bed (around 9pm). Sometimes I cook my dinner over it in the cast iron pot my mom sent me.

This year's San Juan festival at the school finally happened in July, after a weather postponement. I braided hair for 4 girls, every grade did a great job with their traditional Paraguayan dance, and it was a fun time for all.

Here me and my neighbor Silvia pose after her dance performance.

After all of the students dance, there is a DJ and dance party for everyone to get in on the fun. In a surprise turn of events, my dance partner for most of the night was Isabel, my six year old neighbor. Man, she knows how to groove!! We had a blast and I must say that she is my new favorite dance partner, by a mile.

Last week two Volunteer friends came to help me with a Winter Kids Camp for three days. It was an "arts" camp, complete with songs, dancing, recycled arts & crafts, and a different Odyssey of the Mind challenge each day. The kids loved it and on our last day, almost 30 came! I was especially proud of their creativity with the Odyssey of the Mind games, because creative expression is generally discouraged here, so it can be hard for people to think outside of the box.

On the last day of camp, my friend Jose (in the white shirt) came to visit and brought some of his friends, Korean Volunteers from other parts of the country. They made lunch, I made banana bread, and we had a nice afternoon.

My friend Carmen (in yellow) celebrated her 35th birthday last weekend. I helped her make a HUGE birthday cake (4 lbs of flour!) and it was a small tranquilo dinner celebration with close family and friends, chicken, cake, and dancing until the power went out and cut the party a little short, haha. It's hard to dance in the dark and without pounding music!

Words Full of Meaning

Sometimes in Paraguay, one word can mean a whole heck of a lot. It's hard to explain, but I'm going to try because these are some of my favorite words to say, and hardest also to NOT include in conversations in English. Here I'll try to give some translations of what I might say in English versus what I'd say in the same situation in Guarani. And believe me, with the right expression and vocal inflection, the translation really is the same.

1. Question: So Amanda, how did your kids' camp go last week?

English Answer: It went really well! A lot of kids came and they seemed to love all of activities that we prepared for them. They also behaved well and we all had fun together.

Guarani Answer: Ose pora! Oporta pora ha'e'kuera ha rovy'ama oñondive.

(Oh-say poh-nah! Oh-port-ah poh-na hah-eh-coo-eh-rah hah roh-vuh*-ah-mah oh-neo-n-dee-veh)

*the "y" sound in Guarani doesn't exist in English. It is a short guttural grunt. Try it out!

Ok...so this example isn't that drastic of a difference. But it is less than half the space, and 8 Guarani words vs. 32 in English. Not bad.

2. Question: Amanda, is there any more cake left?

English Answer: Oh no, I'm sorry there's not any left. It looks like it all got eaten.

Guarani Answer: Opama.

(Oh-pah-ma.)

Yes! Here is a better example. "Opa" means to end and "ma" is an adverb that conveys a sense of time in the present. "It has ended" might be a good translation, but of course, we wouldn't say that in English. Also, in saying simply "opama" I can convey my sympathy that there isn't any more cake left for you to eat but also not feel the need to implicate any wrongdoing in this state. The cake has ended, that's all.

3. Question: Amanda, how are you doing in general? Do you like living in San Jose Boqueron?

English Answer: I'm doing pretty well overall, and despite its challenges I do enjoy living in Paraguay and in San Jose Boqueron specifcally.

Guarani Answer: Avy'a.

(Ah-vuh*-ah).

Bam. This example might be the winner. "Avy'a" means to be happy but more than that...to be content. Not that that everything is perfect by a longshot, but that you're getting by and are generally happy where you are and what you are doing. For most Paraguayans, when I ask them this same question they laugh at me and say, "Amanda, how could I not be happy living here? This is where I'm from. This is where my family is." And that is that. Now for me, this is not to say that I don't have my very lonely days, that I don't miss my family and friends terribly, that I'm not feeling like I'm ready to complete my two years of service here pretty soon. Because all of those things are true.

But when a Paraguayan asks me if I "avy'a" still here in Paraguay, I say honestly and without a moment's hesitation, "Sí... avy'a." Because I do. And I think I've learned here how to be able to know that feeling and look for it wherever I may go.