R.U.S. alert!

Also, on my way to visit my PCV, Emily, in Guaira, we stopped off in Villarica and saw some...

RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE!

a.k.a. capybara

It's official - one month in PY

It’s official. I have been living in Paraguay for one month.

Time is weird. In some ways it seems like I just got here. The days are so busy with studying Guarani and agriculture six days a week, navigating cultural differences in Spanish and Guarani, combating digestive issues, trying to meet up with friends before it gets dark without cell phones, greeting everyone you pass on the street (even if you’re running?), and basically trying to keep an American-type schedule when everyone here is on “tranquilopa” time. So in that way, the time’s a-flying.

In other ways, it’s really not. It seems like forever since I’ve seen my family and friends back home. I was feeling kinda sick and really down earlier this week (opened 2 of my 3 emergency letters from Ashleigh). Yes, that bad. My host family told me they notice I’ve been quieter and more pensive since I got back from the campo even…I think that things have just been weighing a little heavier on my mind as of late. The campo brought a little reality into my little PCT bubble – the reality that I am living in a developing country. The honeymoon period “opama” (is finished). It can be tough here, navigating relationships both within your own culture and within the Paraguayan culture. Sometimes I fall into this mindset that spending time with my American PCT friends is so much easier than stumbling through Jopara (Spanish/Guarani) and Paraguayan culture with my host family. But really, building new friendships with people from my own culture can be just as confusing sometimes…I think in part because of the weird phenomenon of spending so much time together…it feels like I’ve known my fellow Crop-ees much longer than a month. And yet…at the same time not really? If you’re still with me at this point, MAJOR PROPS a vos (to you).

But on the flipside, many people in my training group are also struggling in different ways right now, and we’re trying to support each other as best as we can. Getting sick, feeling stressed, getting bad news from home…each one is enough to make you groan and question a bit why you’re here, and a combination of two or three is even worse. Personally, I was really aching for a big Jenny/Nicole/Ameri-Hug (?) and a heart-to-heart with Ris. I think the most comforting thing in the world might be a conversation with people who really know you. And I think I have been taking that for granted.

I am feeling much better ahora/ko’agua (“now”). AND I have gotten a ton of mail the past few days, which has been wonderful. Thank you all so much for your letters; I can’t tell you enough how much they’ve helped me through this rough patch. Hopefully some of my own will arrive in the States one of these days. Also, I have been enjoying myself as well – don’t let me whine too much. I rounded up almost all of the Crop-ees and Beekeepers to come to the discoteca on Sunday night and it was a blast. Eighteen Americans out on the town? Yes, we were those guys. Also one morning this week we had a cooking session instead of language class. It was great! We made soy juice, soy empanadas, tortillas with beans, and American-style salad. This means that we didn’t shred all the veggies into tiny indecipherable pieces. Also, we added our leftover beans and apple slices. The Paraguayans thought we were crazy but it was well worth it. Haha. Last night, a few friends came over to my house and we watched The Office on my computer and chowed down on popcorn and Starbursts (gracias a TK). Actually, yesterday I felt like was one of the best days I have had in Paraguay as of yet. Just a normal day, but so many little things came together to make one great day. So I guess I may have had my low and my high in the same week even. CRAZY, no?

Oh, and my friend Amelia and I cut each other’s hair. I bet you didn’t know I was an amateur hairstylist. Well now you do.

So sorry if this entry is a little pesado (“heavy”). It’s been one of those kinds of weeks. Hopefully these photos will give you a more well-rounded look at what I’ve been up to –

Also, Happy Belated Birthday to Dad! I was sending you good wishes and juju all day.  Love you!

There are so many things going on right now I´m not sure what to write about, so bear with me if you would. First of all, congratualations to Tim and Michelle! Wish I could be there for your big day and I can´t wait to see pictures-videos.

Yesterday I made banana bread (in a cake pan but it WASN´T cake) with Amelia and Raquel and we ate it today during receso from Guarani class.

Last weekend I visited a current PCV named Emily out in the campo and had a wonderful-enlightening time. My Guarani has a long way to go. So do my latrine squatting skills. Also, I learned that only the most chuchi or "fancy" latrines have doors or curtains. I played a lot of futbol and volleyball with the younger girls of the village, which was especially fun because it didn´t involve needing to talk or listen too much. Emily though, is amazing at Guarani...I can only hope to be able to speak and understand it that well someday. She´s also only been in her site for a year at this point, but has undertaken so many projects already. It was really cool to see what her life was like day to day. We also cooked and ate some amazing food, a lot of which was right out of her garden. mmmmmmmm. Oh, and made soy milk and whole'wheat soy empanadas..- delicious! Oh fresh veggies how I missed you.

The stars out in the campo were AMAZING.

It took me nine hours to get to Emily´s site by bus. The last two hours consisted of standing up in a bus going about 15mph down a cratered dirt road. BUT - I got on the bus and the ticket guy knew my name. (Emily had advised him that I would be coming). Not too shabby, huh? I think we were probably only about 100 miles, maybe not even, from Guaramabare (where I live) as the crow flies. It sure makes you appreciate road systems in the U.S.

We are raising baby chicks for our tech training. They are adorable, but I already know that they will soon be super obnoxious and try to peck at my feet in a few weeks (because that is what the chicken at my house do while I´m eating dinner.)

Yesterday was our first Dia de Practica. It´s a morning where we go out into the community in pairs and just try to introduce ourselves to people and see if we can come hang with them at a later date. Mostly, it´s just SUPER AWKWARD. I will expound on this more later...but basically a lot of faltering Guarani and some totally blank stares. Also the classic question¨: do you have a boyfriend?

If NO: that´s ok, we will find you a nice Paraguayan boy who´s guapo (hardworking).

IF YES: that´s ok, we will still find you a nice guapo Paraguayan boy.

Ok, I think that´s enough rambling for now. G-ma, thank you so much for the card! Nicole thank you so much for the letter and seeds! We soaked them last night and planted them this morning...I cant wait til they sprout.

Love and miss you all. Tranquilopa mis amigos!

what a whirlwind

Friday, October 2, 2009

What a whirlwind the past week has been. Training is great so far, but we are just super busy every day. My Guarani is coming along slowly, but it’s pretty exciting even to just start incorporating some of the words and phrases I know into everyday conversation with my host family. It’s also nice because it’s not at all confusing for them for me to mix Spanish and Guarani because that’s exactly what they do (but with A LOT more Guarani.)

We’ve started our technical training as well with a soils of Paraguay class and the planting of our own class garden/test plot! So exciting . Many Crop Extension PCVs create this in their sites to demonstrate some of the techniques that they are trying to promote. We hoed up the plot ourselves, divided it into rows, decided how we wanted to use manure and mulch in certain areas, and planted a whole ton of stuff including mandioca, sesame, sunflowers, beans, watermelon, two kinds of squash, and more that I can’t remember right now. We also had the help of a current PCV who came to share her knowledge and tips with us. She was super nice and down-to-earth. She’s part of the G-25 group (I’m G-31) so she came two years ago and will be swearing out when we are swearing in . But still, awesome to see somebody so grounded and confident with her Guarani and ag knowledge…and still very “normal” after two years in the “campo”…hahaha…

On Tuesday I got to help make gnocchi for lunch – it was fun AND delicious. I guess they make it the 29th of every month and then we put money under our plates. You’re supposed to then save the money so that you will be prosperous in the future. Pretty cool. I had an American quarter and nickel under mine. 

Thankfully, I haven’t gotten sick yet, though it’s inevitable at some point. I would like to push that off for as long as possible.

I have heard people say that Catholicism is the national religion of Paraguay. I’ve heard others say that no, in reality, it’s fútbol. Me, I say that the national pastime of Paraguay is definitely conversation. From the time I get home from class at 5 until I go to bed usually around 10:30, I could definitely (and have definitely) just sit around the kitchen table and continuously just listen and chat with various family members who float in and out. It’s a little bit crazy for me to think about how much time they spend with each other, just talking…no TV, maybe a little radio, maybe a little máte (hot shared tea-like drink that I will explain later) or térere (similar idea but cold). And they never seem to run out of things to say either. And they’re always joking around…even when I don’t understand what’s going on, I find myself laughing even just at their facial expressions. It’s a pretty good time.

This weekend, my plans are doing laundry (not fun), going to the fútbol game (hopefully fun), and learning from my host father how to milk a cow (possibly fun and definitely interesting ).

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

So I have yet to milk a cow, but I did have quite a fun weekend. On Saturday night I went to Jenny’s host sister’s birthday party and then to the discoteca in Ypane with my host brothers. It was FANtastic!! Can’t wait to go back and bring some Peace Corps peeps as well.

Yesterday we had a technical training about beekeeping and got to go out to “work the bees” too. While bees are fascinating creatures and it was very interesting to learn about how the hive functions, I have to say…not really my thing. I was definitely more focused on hoping not to get stung than “admiring” the bagillion angry Africanized bees swarming around my face and body. Eeeek! Also it was about 95 degrees F plus those bee suits. But…definitely an experience. And I didn’t get stung after all, so that was definitely a plus. Haha. I would love to help make honey and other products from the beeswax, but not such a big fan of the little guys themselves. The great thing about bees in Paraguay though is that people here LOVE honey, and so if managed properly they can be a good source of supplementary income. Can’t wait to try me some tasty Paraguayan honey! (Maybe with some peanut butter if I can ever find it??)

Tomorrow is our big excursion/ secret mission to Asuncion (to learn how to get around a big bad city where maps simply don’t exist). I’m going a fellow Crop Extensionist named TK and this is how our mission reads:

The first part of your mission is to visit Mercado 4. Wander around the market (it’s big) and look for vendors of seeds and agricultural products. Specifically look for the staples (corn, wheat, soy, yerba, etc.) and cuts of meat and find the price of one kilogram of beef. Explore the area and experience the ambiance. Lastly, check out the price of a nice KISS, Motley Crew or Marilyn Manson t-shirt – or better yet – treat yourself to a new pair of flip-flops! If you happen to find a nice AC/DC shirt, buy it and bring it to your Tech Trainer. Size medium, black of course.

The second part of your mission is to go to Agro-Abasto. Find out if they sell broccoli seed and inquire about seeds for summer gardens and prices. What else do they sell that may be of use to a Peace Corps Volunteer and their community members?

Once you have read this, burn this piece of paper, read it again to make sure you’ve got it, and feed it to a street dog. Now burn the dog. Just kidding (about the dog, not the fire).

Lol. So you see that this is serious business.

(p.s. and don’t worry because by the time you read this I will already be at the Peace Corps office safe and sound  ).

Miss you all like whoa! Love, Amanda

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!