Hey all! It's looking more and more like my blog has evolved from a weekly thing (my original intention) to a more monthly check-in. This is probably for the best, because it means most of the time I'm staying very busy, or at least preoccupied with my thoughts about the next meeting, project, or terere session with my neighbors (sometimes these are all the same thing). Regardless, this last month has been a busy one, and I'm excited to share it with everyone!
As you may have noticed, the title of the post is in Guarani. Basically translated, it means "we are the future," and was the name of our sector-wide leadership camp I talked about in my last post. That camp was by far the most incredibly experience I've had here so far. I find this rather ironic, considering I was originally nonplussed about the whole thing to begin with. Let me explain a bit how the camp functions:
The first step is identifying 2-3 youth in each volunteer's respective community to attend the initial camp.
Then you explain the camp to the youth, having them come up with some idea to pay for their bus fare to and from the camp (no small feat considering Paraguay is the size of California and we have volunteers that live very far away)
The youth attend the initial camp, where they are charged up and challenged to complete a project in their own communities (more on this later)
Each group of youth works together in their community to do projects and complete a minimum of 10 hours of service within this context
As a reward for their hard work in their communities, the youth are invited to attend a "reconnect" camp in 6 months where they get to see all the friends they made at the last camp, while at the same time sharing their experiences with projects
While in training, we had the opportunity to attend the camp "reconnect." However because of a number of factors, it didn't seem like a great project to most of us. We were in the middle of training, frustrated with language, and didn't know any of the youth because we had not attended the original camp. However I can safely say that these reasons blinded me to what this camp really is and really can be.
The week leading up to the camp was nothing less than chaotic for me. I had invited my youth rather late (I wanted to be sure that I was bringing kids that would really benefit from the experience, and like I said I was still unsure about the true benefits of the camp myself), I was working with the Cooperative on projects as well as teaching my English class, not to mention hosting visiting friends from Australia (an epic unto it's own; I'll share this side story at the end of this post). In addition I was trying to figure out how to give a brief talk about the importance of forming social networks and using tools such as text messages, facebook, and email to keep in touch and share ideas. Needless to say, the camp was upon me before I even knew what was happening.
The camp went on almost without a hitch. Every day the kids seemed to get closer and closer, sharing stories of frustration, building friendships, and learning how to be leaders. Many campers also approached the volunteers; they seemed genuinely interested in our role here in Paraguay, and how we had come to be interested in something as crazy as the Peace Corps. On the last night, we had the opportunity to tour the Itaipu dam, the largest operating hydroelectric facility in the world. While we were waiting outside the visitor's center, something incredible happened. The kids from the camp organized a dance routine together. Then they started chanting together. Then they started acting out ice-breakers that we had taught them, fun activities that emphasized teamwork and problem solving! They continued to chant, alternating between "Paraguay, Paraguay, Paraguay!" and "Cuerpo de Paz, Cuerpo de Paz!" (Peace Corps in Spanish). Everyone at the visitor's center looked at us like we were crazy; here were 50 odd Paraguayans, who rarely get this charged up for a game of soccer, chanting about the Peace Corps and how incredible it was to have participated in our camp! It was an inspirational experience. We gave these young leaders the tools they need, and in turn they took them, made them their own, amplified them, and emerged from our camp with the power to enact change. I know it might sound a little cliche, but if you had been standing outside the visitor's center that night, you would know that these kids will be the ones changing this country for the better in the next 10 years.
After an experience such as this, it was hard not to come back to site and see everything with the same charged optimism. This was both a benefit and a curse to working in my site. The entire month of January seemed to be everything I had wanted to get out of my Peace Corps service. It made dealing with those little bumps in the road that much easier. And more importantly, it renewed my hope in our mission here.
At the end of our camp, we formed a social network. We now have texting trees, an Excel spreadsheet listing everyone's talents and interests, as well as Facebook and Orkut (similar to Facebook) pages. Here in my site, my youth set out to work immediately. Together, we formed a youth group made up of local youth here in my site; so far we have about 14 kids. Since formation, we've had two (almost three; one got rained out) meetings with the kids where we've identified areas of opportunity for volunteerism and leadership in the community. I've largely tried to hang back, acting as a facilitator; encouraging the kids themselves to take ownership of projects. So far they have identified that they need to seek formal recognition from the mayor's office, as well as outlining three basic project ideas, all incredible! The first idea is for a city-wide competition, sponsored by city hall, in order to clean local neighborhoods. The would be competing against one another for the title of "Cleanest Neighborhood in Eusebio Ayala," as well as some potential prize, possibly a barbecue for anyone who helps. The second idea was for a lecture/activity series where we tour around to all the local high schools teaching civic education and leadership. I feel this is better than doing it myself, because not only is it an easy early success for the youth group to have, it also encourages continuous learning between Paraguayans. These ideas will sound much more convincing coming from peers. It's also probably the most likely to succeed here in my site..The third and final project idea we came up with is a mini-camp to teach civic education and leadership locally. It basically would mimic the larger country-wide camp, only on a more regional scale. I've already talked to several other volunteers who live nearby, and there's a general interest to do this project altogether. I'm really excited as to where this might go as well.
Other than that, school will be starting soon here, which means I will have A LOT more on my plate. I'm already committed to teaching some basic accounting in a local post-high school institute, leadership and civic education in the high schools, family finance via an hour long radio show, and a course on how to start your own small business (either with the Cooperative or with the institute). This may sound like a lot, but all of these would only be one day a week. I'm just really excited to get things rolling! A lot of the kids in my site already call me "profe" or "teacher." Hopefully I'll have a bit more to share about my projects the next post..
The Australian Epic:
One day, three Australian backpackers decided to visit their American friend who's serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay. Since they will already be traveling on the west side of the continent, and want to finish in Buenos Aires on the east side, it seems like an obvious pit stop to rest a bit on the way.
Having prepared all their things, they headed for the border between Bolivia and Paraguay. Thinking that surely Australia has excellent relations with almost every country in South America, and not having required a visa to enter any other country, they proceeded to the border, prepared to pass through without incident. However, they probably should have read their travel guidebook a little more closely.
At the border, the backpackers (now with 4 other Australians) are denied entry, informed that they do, in fact, require a visa. Only one of the three really speaks Spanish, so he acts as the interpreter. The other Australians, only understanding basic Spanish, become frustrated. One decides to take matters into his own hands, and yells at the border guard "NO NECESITO UN VISA" (I don't need a visa). One might imagine that the border guard is nonplussed with this behavior; in fact the Australians are consequently detained at the border for 8 hours, until which point the interpreter goes to apologize and all Australians are issued 48hour "travel-through" visas. They then make it as far as Filadelfia, located in the middle of nowhere in the Chaco desert.
At the bus terminal, I was very confused why the Australians didn't show up in Asuncion on time. With no way to contact them, I returned to my site to await some word. Finally, the Australians call and explain their plight, informing me that they will be arriving the next day. I then gave them very explicit directions, making them write down exactly how they should go about changing buses, and where to go once they arrive in my site, Eusebio Ayala.
The next day, knowing exactly how long it takes to get from Filadelfia to my site, I wait. And wait. And wait. Knowing that the last bus should pass around 10pm, I began to become concerned as 10 came and passed. Finally, a little past 11pm, I received a phone call from a number I didn't recognize.
"Hello, this is the police chief. I have your friends here with me."
"Oh god. What did they do?! Are they alright?"
"They're fine, they just are a little lost, and very confused. You live here, right? Can you come and collect them?"
"Of course. I'll be right there. Thank you so much officer."
Washed with relief, I set out immediately for the police station.
Bursting into the police station, I set about asking a very confused night officer about Australians. I knew something was wrong, as the officer looked at me more and more like I was insane. The officer had never in his life come across three backpacking Australians. Filling with fear yet again, I called back the unknown number.
An Australian answers, "We're waiting in the police station, where are you?"
"The police station in Eusebio Ayala?" I asked fearfully.
"I don't know. We just got on a bus, asking if it went to your site. The bus driver said 'Si' and we got on."
"Please, is there a Paraguayan standing nearby? Can I talk to him?" I asked pleadingly.
After talking to the police chief yet again, I found out that (surprise) the Australians had gotten on the wrong bus. They were currently waiting in the police station of a city about an hour and a half's drive away. They weren't even on the right highway. Thinking fast, I asked the officer if there was any way they could possibly get to my site. After negotiating a bit, he agreed to give them a ride to where they could catch a bus, given that they reimbursed him for the gas money. I said of course, and got the Australians on their way. They finally arrived in my site at 3am.
While they were here, we had an absolute blast. I took them on a tour of my city, they helped out in my English class, and we had an EPIC barbecue. It was great to catch up with them, and also to share my experience with some from an outside culture. I really enjoyed their visit, even if they had quite the time of it actually getting here.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Holiday Edition
Hey all, it's blog time again! This one I'm going to go over the adventurous activities of the holidays here in Paraguay!
My first time being outside of the US for Christmas was certainly an interesting experience! When I was living in Finland the lead-up to the holidays was very similar, with lots of snow, shopping, and holiday activities. Here in Paraguay, things could not be more different. As Paraguay is situated in the Southern Hemisphere, all of our seasons are switched from the US. Which means that while there were epic snowstorms and airport closures in the US, we've been trying to manage the tropical heat, complete with ridiculous humidity! People here don't really go all-out for Christmas the way we know it; most people only have a few strings of Christmas lights up and seeing a Christmas Tree would be rare (though I did see a few!). In the Spanish tradition, most gifts are given on January 6th-La Dia de los Tres Reyes (Three Kings Day)-which marks the date the three wise-men arrived at Christ's manger to present gold, frankincense and myrrh. But even so, the gift giving is much more focused on children and toys.
As far as the holiday traditions go, Christmas here resembles something closer to a mix between the 4th of July and New Years. Every hangs out in their family's or neighbor's house on Christmas Eve (rather than Christmas Day). They have a huge barbecue, light off fireworks, drink A TON, and then have a countdown til midnight, at which point they drunkenly and dangerously light off a fireworks finale and give each other hugs, wishing them a Feliz Navidad (at least this was my experience; several other volunteers have confirmed it's a fairly accurate representation of the celebration as a whole). After the fireworks finale, all the young people (generally 35 or younger) then leave around 12:30 to go out to parties and dances, which last most of the night. The return home in the wee hours of the morning, and everyone takes Christmas Day off to sleep and eat leftovers. Absolutely NOTHING is open on Christmas, with maybe the exception of a local corner store.
For my Christmas Eve celebration I was fortunate to have a fellow volunteer visit (his plans fell through in his site) and we spent time in my host family's house, as well as watching the debaucherous fireworks finale presented by their crazy neighbor. He's usually a lot of fun, and tells great stories, but I couldn't get over the feeling that we might have to visit the hospital at some point in the evening. Thankfully, we didn't.
Christmas Day I spent opening some presents from the States, talking to the family on the phone, and receiving my Christmas Basket from the Cooperative. This basket was very comical, as it included some things you would normally associate with Christmas, as well as some fairly random items. Per normal, there were several loaves of fruitcake, cookies, and candy, some bottles of wine and sparkling cider, and snack crackers. Some of the more interesting items included a can of peaches, a container of sweet potato paste, and sweetened condensed milk. I would have to say that my favorite item was the card they included, not for the message-a typical holiday biblical blessing-but for the name they addressed it to: "Brett Mycrosoft." The story goes that my co-workers in the Cooperative had some trouble pronouncing my last name. After telling them I was from Washington state, I explained that they might know some of our more well-known companies: Boeing, Starbucks, and Microsoft (actually Boeing has moved their headquarters out of WA, but that's besides the point). Because of this story, one of the guys who works in the Credit department decided that my last name sounded like Microsoft, and the joke just grew from there.
With Christmas over, I spoke to some other volunteers about potential New Years plans. According to volunteers who had been here for one holiday season already, New Years was basically a repeat of Christmas: barbecue, fireworks, booze, countdown, and "felicidades." The only difference is that they say "Feliz Año Nuevo" rather than "Feliz Navidad." While Christmas was a phenomenal cultural experience, and I had a lot of fun, I wasn't keen on repeating the experience so soon. Thus we decided to meet up in Asuncion and have an American-style New Years: we would get dressed up really nice, go out to a fancy dinner, and then go out to a club and toast at midnight. This was a great plan, but we vastly underestimated how much the Paraguayan culture permeates every corner of this country, even the capitol.
We arrived in Asuncion on New Years Eve and grabbed a quick lunch with plans to see a movie afterward. We were very disappointed to find that all the movies had been canceled for the day. Returning to the hotel we all took a siesta with the intention of meeting up around 9 for dinner (it is very common in Latin America to eat dinner much later, around 9 or 10). Looking very dressed up, we left the hotel and headed to a nearby Korean restaurant. When we got there, we were disappointed to find it closed. So we defaulted to another, more Paraguayan, restaurant. But it too was closed. We began to realize that EVERYTHING was closed. We were devastated. As a last minute decision, we decided to take a taxi over to the more Americanized part of town, which looks like a mini-Miami, complete with an Irish Pub, a Hooters, and a TGI Fridays. We concluded that since it was so American, it HAD to be open. Again, we were disappointed. Everything was closed. Hungry, and a little desperate, we finally asked some security guards if they knew of anywhere at all that was open. They thought about it for a minute, and then informed us that two blocks away there was a Karaoke Bar that they thought was open. They told us we weren't the first Americans they had seen wandering, and were curious why we didn't know better. "Everyone passes the New Year in their house, and then goes out after that. That's why nothing opens until midnight." It seems that even in Asuncion the Paraguayan traditions stand firm.
Finally, we had a small stroke of luck. The Karaoke Bar, called Melody, was indeed open. And the other Americans the security guards had spoken of were some Peace Corps friends of ours, from our same group, that we hadn't know were going to be in Asuncion for New Years! Aside from our Peace Corps group, the only other people who were there were a group of Brazilians, who were also on vacation. After eating some pizza, we had A BLAST with the Brazilians! We ended up having very comical and VERY broken conversations in a mix between English, Spanish, and Portuguese. These conversations led to an informal Karaoke battle, with the songs going back and fourth between English and Portuguese. We honestly only noticed it was New Years two minutes before, and then we gave each other and the Brazilians hugs, wishing each other Happy New Year. It seems as though Paraguayan culture caught up with us, like it or not.
Around 1am, we took a taxi back to the city center near our hotel, and found out that most of the other Peace Corps volunteers from other groups were at a bar that had opened up at midnight. We went there and stayed out until very late, having drinks and celebrating the completion of a very interesting and eventful year for all of us.
Getting up around noon the next day, my friend and I headed to the mall to grab some pasta or maybe McDonalds (we really hadn't decided how American we wanted to be). However, we were defeated by Paraguayan culture yet again. Just like Christmas, New Years was a day of rest, where EVERYTHING is closed and Paraguayans sleep all day. Downtrodden, we found a Chinese restaurant open, and then figured out that at least the movies were playing again. We saw the new Tron movie, and then headed back to the hotel to siesta yet again. Thus (more or less) ends my holiday experience here in Paraguay.
Back in my site, Peace Corps life continues as usual. My English class has absorbed my life, and I hardly have time to do anything else! Now that the first few weeks are over, the committed students have been weeded out, and I really have a great group! My students are very eager to come to class and learn more, play games, and just generally ask me questions about why the heck I'm here! They were crestfallen when I told them we would have to cancel class next week (due to a leadership camp). One student even went so far as to ask me, "But teacher, can't we just make the class up on Friday?!" I had to explain to him that the camp ran through Saturday.
Aside from my English class, I also have been spending a lot of time getting to know my community, drinking terere or having lunch and/or dinner with my neighbors. It has been a blast, and when you are invited over for food it really makes you feel welcome in your community. My language skills are coming along fantastically, and I no longer am afraid to go up to someone and start chatting with them. Sure, there are still things I don't understand, and I am nowhere even near to speaking Guarani (though it is one of my New Years resolutions), but for the most part I feel great about my Spanish.
I continue to work at the accounting office in my cooperative, a task that makes everyone here think that I am incredibly hard working even though half the time I just hang out and drink terere or work on preparing my English class. It is convenient to have an air conditioned office space I can use, however. At my meetings for the Education Committee at the Cooperative, we have entered a phase where we are planning this years activities. On the agenda are my Business and Family Finance classes, as well as an environmental project where we will be working with a local NGO to plant trees and pick up garbage in the city. I'm really excited about all of these, as well as other potential activities we will be promoting in the area.
Thinking on a bit larger scale, we also have two events coming up that are "sector-wide," meaning that they involve all volunteers in our "Community Economic Development" sector. The first is the Leadership Camp, which takes place next week from the 12-15 of January. Each volunteer has the opportunity to bring 2-3 youth from their site to attend a four day camp on leadership, civic education, and volunteerism. The goal is that after the camp, the youth will bring these skills back to their respective sites and assist each volunteer with similar activities on a smaller, more localized scale. Some projects in the past have included the collection of secondhand clothes to distribute to the less fortunate, food drives, and mini-lectures on the importance of active participation in government. At the Leadership Camp I will be leading a small talk about the formation of social networks between the youth, and the importance of maintaining contact and working together to improve individual projects.
The second activity that we have been planning and has taken up quite a bit of time is the Business Workshop, which will take place the 4-6 of March. Each volunteer will have the option to bring 2-3 members of their community, who have some basic business background, to attend conferences on empowerment, innovation, and social responsibility, among other themes. The goal is that they will then return to their communities and share what they have learned, energizing their respective economies. This is the first time we have organized anything like this, and it is still in it's infancy. I have been on the planning committee, and we are really excited about this project's potential. Some ideas that have been tossed around include a business plan competition, regional workshops, and cooperation with local large businesses, all of which would go a long way towards encouraging sustainable economic development here in Paraguay.
Anyways, I hope you all had a great time over the holidays, got some rest, and ate some great food! Until the next post!
My first time being outside of the US for Christmas was certainly an interesting experience! When I was living in Finland the lead-up to the holidays was very similar, with lots of snow, shopping, and holiday activities. Here in Paraguay, things could not be more different. As Paraguay is situated in the Southern Hemisphere, all of our seasons are switched from the US. Which means that while there were epic snowstorms and airport closures in the US, we've been trying to manage the tropical heat, complete with ridiculous humidity! People here don't really go all-out for Christmas the way we know it; most people only have a few strings of Christmas lights up and seeing a Christmas Tree would be rare (though I did see a few!). In the Spanish tradition, most gifts are given on January 6th-La Dia de los Tres Reyes (Three Kings Day)-which marks the date the three wise-men arrived at Christ's manger to present gold, frankincense and myrrh. But even so, the gift giving is much more focused on children and toys.
As far as the holiday traditions go, Christmas here resembles something closer to a mix between the 4th of July and New Years. Every hangs out in their family's or neighbor's house on Christmas Eve (rather than Christmas Day). They have a huge barbecue, light off fireworks, drink A TON, and then have a countdown til midnight, at which point they drunkenly and dangerously light off a fireworks finale and give each other hugs, wishing them a Feliz Navidad (at least this was my experience; several other volunteers have confirmed it's a fairly accurate representation of the celebration as a whole). After the fireworks finale, all the young people (generally 35 or younger) then leave around 12:30 to go out to parties and dances, which last most of the night. The return home in the wee hours of the morning, and everyone takes Christmas Day off to sleep and eat leftovers. Absolutely NOTHING is open on Christmas, with maybe the exception of a local corner store.
For my Christmas Eve celebration I was fortunate to have a fellow volunteer visit (his plans fell through in his site) and we spent time in my host family's house, as well as watching the debaucherous fireworks finale presented by their crazy neighbor. He's usually a lot of fun, and tells great stories, but I couldn't get over the feeling that we might have to visit the hospital at some point in the evening. Thankfully, we didn't.
Christmas Day I spent opening some presents from the States, talking to the family on the phone, and receiving my Christmas Basket from the Cooperative. This basket was very comical, as it included some things you would normally associate with Christmas, as well as some fairly random items. Per normal, there were several loaves of fruitcake, cookies, and candy, some bottles of wine and sparkling cider, and snack crackers. Some of the more interesting items included a can of peaches, a container of sweet potato paste, and sweetened condensed milk. I would have to say that my favorite item was the card they included, not for the message-a typical holiday biblical blessing-but for the name they addressed it to: "Brett Mycrosoft." The story goes that my co-workers in the Cooperative had some trouble pronouncing my last name. After telling them I was from Washington state, I explained that they might know some of our more well-known companies: Boeing, Starbucks, and Microsoft (actually Boeing has moved their headquarters out of WA, but that's besides the point). Because of this story, one of the guys who works in the Credit department decided that my last name sounded like Microsoft, and the joke just grew from there.
With Christmas over, I spoke to some other volunteers about potential New Years plans. According to volunteers who had been here for one holiday season already, New Years was basically a repeat of Christmas: barbecue, fireworks, booze, countdown, and "felicidades." The only difference is that they say "Feliz Año Nuevo" rather than "Feliz Navidad." While Christmas was a phenomenal cultural experience, and I had a lot of fun, I wasn't keen on repeating the experience so soon. Thus we decided to meet up in Asuncion and have an American-style New Years: we would get dressed up really nice, go out to a fancy dinner, and then go out to a club and toast at midnight. This was a great plan, but we vastly underestimated how much the Paraguayan culture permeates every corner of this country, even the capitol.
We arrived in Asuncion on New Years Eve and grabbed a quick lunch with plans to see a movie afterward. We were very disappointed to find that all the movies had been canceled for the day. Returning to the hotel we all took a siesta with the intention of meeting up around 9 for dinner (it is very common in Latin America to eat dinner much later, around 9 or 10). Looking very dressed up, we left the hotel and headed to a nearby Korean restaurant. When we got there, we were disappointed to find it closed. So we defaulted to another, more Paraguayan, restaurant. But it too was closed. We began to realize that EVERYTHING was closed. We were devastated. As a last minute decision, we decided to take a taxi over to the more Americanized part of town, which looks like a mini-Miami, complete with an Irish Pub, a Hooters, and a TGI Fridays. We concluded that since it was so American, it HAD to be open. Again, we were disappointed. Everything was closed. Hungry, and a little desperate, we finally asked some security guards if they knew of anywhere at all that was open. They thought about it for a minute, and then informed us that two blocks away there was a Karaoke Bar that they thought was open. They told us we weren't the first Americans they had seen wandering, and were curious why we didn't know better. "Everyone passes the New Year in their house, and then goes out after that. That's why nothing opens until midnight." It seems that even in Asuncion the Paraguayan traditions stand firm.
Finally, we had a small stroke of luck. The Karaoke Bar, called Melody, was indeed open. And the other Americans the security guards had spoken of were some Peace Corps friends of ours, from our same group, that we hadn't know were going to be in Asuncion for New Years! Aside from our Peace Corps group, the only other people who were there were a group of Brazilians, who were also on vacation. After eating some pizza, we had A BLAST with the Brazilians! We ended up having very comical and VERY broken conversations in a mix between English, Spanish, and Portuguese. These conversations led to an informal Karaoke battle, with the songs going back and fourth between English and Portuguese. We honestly only noticed it was New Years two minutes before, and then we gave each other and the Brazilians hugs, wishing each other Happy New Year. It seems as though Paraguayan culture caught up with us, like it or not.
Around 1am, we took a taxi back to the city center near our hotel, and found out that most of the other Peace Corps volunteers from other groups were at a bar that had opened up at midnight. We went there and stayed out until very late, having drinks and celebrating the completion of a very interesting and eventful year for all of us.
Getting up around noon the next day, my friend and I headed to the mall to grab some pasta or maybe McDonalds (we really hadn't decided how American we wanted to be). However, we were defeated by Paraguayan culture yet again. Just like Christmas, New Years was a day of rest, where EVERYTHING is closed and Paraguayans sleep all day. Downtrodden, we found a Chinese restaurant open, and then figured out that at least the movies were playing again. We saw the new Tron movie, and then headed back to the hotel to siesta yet again. Thus (more or less) ends my holiday experience here in Paraguay.
Back in my site, Peace Corps life continues as usual. My English class has absorbed my life, and I hardly have time to do anything else! Now that the first few weeks are over, the committed students have been weeded out, and I really have a great group! My students are very eager to come to class and learn more, play games, and just generally ask me questions about why the heck I'm here! They were crestfallen when I told them we would have to cancel class next week (due to a leadership camp). One student even went so far as to ask me, "But teacher, can't we just make the class up on Friday?!" I had to explain to him that the camp ran through Saturday.
Aside from my English class, I also have been spending a lot of time getting to know my community, drinking terere or having lunch and/or dinner with my neighbors. It has been a blast, and when you are invited over for food it really makes you feel welcome in your community. My language skills are coming along fantastically, and I no longer am afraid to go up to someone and start chatting with them. Sure, there are still things I don't understand, and I am nowhere even near to speaking Guarani (though it is one of my New Years resolutions), but for the most part I feel great about my Spanish.
I continue to work at the accounting office in my cooperative, a task that makes everyone here think that I am incredibly hard working even though half the time I just hang out and drink terere or work on preparing my English class. It is convenient to have an air conditioned office space I can use, however. At my meetings for the Education Committee at the Cooperative, we have entered a phase where we are planning this years activities. On the agenda are my Business and Family Finance classes, as well as an environmental project where we will be working with a local NGO to plant trees and pick up garbage in the city. I'm really excited about all of these, as well as other potential activities we will be promoting in the area.
Thinking on a bit larger scale, we also have two events coming up that are "sector-wide," meaning that they involve all volunteers in our "Community Economic Development" sector. The first is the Leadership Camp, which takes place next week from the 12-15 of January. Each volunteer has the opportunity to bring 2-3 youth from their site to attend a four day camp on leadership, civic education, and volunteerism. The goal is that after the camp, the youth will bring these skills back to their respective sites and assist each volunteer with similar activities on a smaller, more localized scale. Some projects in the past have included the collection of secondhand clothes to distribute to the less fortunate, food drives, and mini-lectures on the importance of active participation in government. At the Leadership Camp I will be leading a small talk about the formation of social networks between the youth, and the importance of maintaining contact and working together to improve individual projects.
The second activity that we have been planning and has taken up quite a bit of time is the Business Workshop, which will take place the 4-6 of March. Each volunteer will have the option to bring 2-3 members of their community, who have some basic business background, to attend conferences on empowerment, innovation, and social responsibility, among other themes. The goal is that they will then return to their communities and share what they have learned, energizing their respective economies. This is the first time we have organized anything like this, and it is still in it's infancy. I have been on the planning committee, and we are really excited about this project's potential. Some ideas that have been tossed around include a business plan competition, regional workshops, and cooperation with local large businesses, all of which would go a long way towards encouraging sustainable economic development here in Paraguay.
Anyways, I hope you all had a great time over the holidays, got some rest, and ate some great food! Until the next post!
Friday, December 24, 2010
National Business Taller, Please Donate!
That's right everyone, our National Business Taller has now become a reality! If you're feeling in the giving mood this Christmas, please donate! Even a little bit helps, and can go a long way to making business development a reality in this small country!
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=526-220
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=526-220
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The House Update!
Hey all! As I'm sitting here in the sweltering heat, listening to some Spanish guitar music, sipping on some terere, and reflecting, a lot of things immediately come to mind. Nothing would be complete without the story of my house, so I suppose I'll start there.
I officially live alone, having moved out of my host family's house on Saturday. A lot of factors had contributed to this move, but the main one was my want to finally have my own space and be able to cook my own meals. I love to cook, and have already started with pasta, salads, and Mexican food (tacos). We also received a cookbook that has been compiled by other volunteers, so that should be a lot of fun to experiment with.
One of the other main reasons I wanted to move on my own was to get my cat! A volunteer who was completing her service in December had talked to me about taking care of her cat Philipa after she had left. One of the main reasons I agreed was because the cat is used to living with Americans, house trained, and fixed. Plus she makes a great companion. The initial transition was a little traumatic for her, and she cried and hid under my bed. But after the first hard day, we've really grown on each other. She keeps the rats away, and even eats annoyingly loud crickets right in front of me (with a very loud crunch I might add!).
Aside from all the great things of living alone, there are a few setbacks. I truly miss my host family, and liked having people I could talk to all the time. However my host mom assured me I can visit whenever I want. I will definitely be visiting for the fresh bananas and mangoes that grow right in our front yard! :-) The other difficult thing about living alone is that I have A TON of free time now. This is great, because things that would normally take only a few minutes in the states have now been stretched across several hours. Until I come up with another plan, I am stuck hand washing my clothes, which is a long and tedious process. Also preparing food and cleaning my house take considerable amounts of time, due to the fact that the nearest sink (aside from the small one in my bathroom) is at my neighbor's house on the other side of the yard we share. She is more than happy to share this space, and besides the time consumption, it actually ends up working fairly well.
Another difficult aspect to living here in my own house is the sudden transition from a fairly Americanized house, to a VERY Paraguayan house, complete with plenty of interesting animals. I have stopped trying to identify the various bug species that enter my room with regularity, but to add to the list I also have (aside from my cat) birds, lizards, crickets, BIG spiders, a rat, and a frog who has taken up residency in my bathroom at night. Yes, I have considered opening a zoo down here, which I think would be quite successful. It's not as bad as it sounds; my cat keeps the bug, cricket, spider, and rat problems in line. As far as the birds, lizards, and frog, they are more than welcome to share my house. The main reason is that they also help to keep the bug population under control, and they aren't gonna scare me to death every time I try to use the bathroom in the middle of the night (which is quite the adventure I might add).
Thanksgiving here was not as bad as I expected it to be, even though I missed my family and friends back in the States a lot. We had a Peace Corps specially planned vacation and we spent 2 nights and 3 days in a nice hotel/resort near Encarnacion in the south of the country. We all had an amazing time, and being around other Americans, eating great food (yes a COMPLETE Thanksgiving dinner), and lounging by the pool for three days was definitely enough to take my mind off missing a real American Thanksgiving, if only for a few days. In addition to the relaxing atmosphere and great food, we had some incredible bonding opportunities, including a Peace Corps competition. We had relay races, diving contests, and a poker tournament. My volunteer group (G-33) is very close, and we are all great friends. This really shone through to other groups at Thanksgiving, who remarked that we were tight-knit. We're not really sure what brought us all together into such a great group, but whatever it was it still seems to be working. I am truly fortunate to have met so many people who instantly became my close friends.
In other notes, summer is officially here in Paraguay! Today is a "cool" 91 degrees with 63% humidity. Even writing that makes me almost burst out laughing. That is not even remotely "cool" for me. And the worst part is we haven't even officially entered summer - we're still in spring until December 21st. I'm still not sure yet how I will be coping with that heat. I think I will definitely be spending as much time as possible in my Cooperative, where they have air conditioning. I also will be teaching my English class starting next week in the Cooperative, which will afford me access to air conditioning almost all day Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In addition to the heat, it is as if summer has pressed a giant pause button here in Paraguay. Half of the activities I was doing were with schools and institutes, all of which have long breaks during the summer. This brings my official projects currently down to three, and also helps me to focus on what exactly it is I want to do here. English teaching is not a priority to our sector, but will give me something to do during down time, and also help me to meet more people in my community. The hospital project still soldiers on, and I am trying to help better organize their data. This is a slow and tedious process, but I am faithful that it will be worth it in the long run. And as always, I am still going into the Cooperative every day that it's possible. It's amazing how quickly going into an office where you know everyone can turn your day around, even if you're not really doing that much concrete work. I'm looking forward to the potential projects that might come from the Cooperative, and it's nice to feel like people want you to work someplace.
That's all for now, hope everyone is having a happy holiday season, and enjoying that cold weather! I'll post again soon!
I officially live alone, having moved out of my host family's house on Saturday. A lot of factors had contributed to this move, but the main one was my want to finally have my own space and be able to cook my own meals. I love to cook, and have already started with pasta, salads, and Mexican food (tacos). We also received a cookbook that has been compiled by other volunteers, so that should be a lot of fun to experiment with.
One of the other main reasons I wanted to move on my own was to get my cat! A volunteer who was completing her service in December had talked to me about taking care of her cat Philipa after she had left. One of the main reasons I agreed was because the cat is used to living with Americans, house trained, and fixed. Plus she makes a great companion. The initial transition was a little traumatic for her, and she cried and hid under my bed. But after the first hard day, we've really grown on each other. She keeps the rats away, and even eats annoyingly loud crickets right in front of me (with a very loud crunch I might add!).
Aside from all the great things of living alone, there are a few setbacks. I truly miss my host family, and liked having people I could talk to all the time. However my host mom assured me I can visit whenever I want. I will definitely be visiting for the fresh bananas and mangoes that grow right in our front yard! :-) The other difficult thing about living alone is that I have A TON of free time now. This is great, because things that would normally take only a few minutes in the states have now been stretched across several hours. Until I come up with another plan, I am stuck hand washing my clothes, which is a long and tedious process. Also preparing food and cleaning my house take considerable amounts of time, due to the fact that the nearest sink (aside from the small one in my bathroom) is at my neighbor's house on the other side of the yard we share. She is more than happy to share this space, and besides the time consumption, it actually ends up working fairly well.
Another difficult aspect to living here in my own house is the sudden transition from a fairly Americanized house, to a VERY Paraguayan house, complete with plenty of interesting animals. I have stopped trying to identify the various bug species that enter my room with regularity, but to add to the list I also have (aside from my cat) birds, lizards, crickets, BIG spiders, a rat, and a frog who has taken up residency in my bathroom at night. Yes, I have considered opening a zoo down here, which I think would be quite successful. It's not as bad as it sounds; my cat keeps the bug, cricket, spider, and rat problems in line. As far as the birds, lizards, and frog, they are more than welcome to share my house. The main reason is that they also help to keep the bug population under control, and they aren't gonna scare me to death every time I try to use the bathroom in the middle of the night (which is quite the adventure I might add).
Thanksgiving here was not as bad as I expected it to be, even though I missed my family and friends back in the States a lot. We had a Peace Corps specially planned vacation and we spent 2 nights and 3 days in a nice hotel/resort near Encarnacion in the south of the country. We all had an amazing time, and being around other Americans, eating great food (yes a COMPLETE Thanksgiving dinner), and lounging by the pool for three days was definitely enough to take my mind off missing a real American Thanksgiving, if only for a few days. In addition to the relaxing atmosphere and great food, we had some incredible bonding opportunities, including a Peace Corps competition. We had relay races, diving contests, and a poker tournament. My volunteer group (G-33) is very close, and we are all great friends. This really shone through to other groups at Thanksgiving, who remarked that we were tight-knit. We're not really sure what brought us all together into such a great group, but whatever it was it still seems to be working. I am truly fortunate to have met so many people who instantly became my close friends.
In other notes, summer is officially here in Paraguay! Today is a "cool" 91 degrees with 63% humidity. Even writing that makes me almost burst out laughing. That is not even remotely "cool" for me. And the worst part is we haven't even officially entered summer - we're still in spring until December 21st. I'm still not sure yet how I will be coping with that heat. I think I will definitely be spending as much time as possible in my Cooperative, where they have air conditioning. I also will be teaching my English class starting next week in the Cooperative, which will afford me access to air conditioning almost all day Tuesdays and Thursdays.
In addition to the heat, it is as if summer has pressed a giant pause button here in Paraguay. Half of the activities I was doing were with schools and institutes, all of which have long breaks during the summer. This brings my official projects currently down to three, and also helps me to focus on what exactly it is I want to do here. English teaching is not a priority to our sector, but will give me something to do during down time, and also help me to meet more people in my community. The hospital project still soldiers on, and I am trying to help better organize their data. This is a slow and tedious process, but I am faithful that it will be worth it in the long run. And as always, I am still going into the Cooperative every day that it's possible. It's amazing how quickly going into an office where you know everyone can turn your day around, even if you're not really doing that much concrete work. I'm looking forward to the potential projects that might come from the Cooperative, and it's nice to feel like people want you to work someplace.
That's all for now, hope everyone is having a happy holiday season, and enjoying that cold weather! I'll post again soon!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Great Update!
Despite the fact that it has been awhile since I last blogged, I guarantee this blog will not be a disappointment. The biggest question I will address is what the heck has happened to my life in the last two months?! Things have changed here in site, and as they say: Peace Corps is difficult, but never in the ways you expect.
One of the main things you notice living in Paraguay is the pace of everyday tasks. Living in the States we become accustomed to the instant gratification and rapid pace of business. If we want something, usually it is just a phone call or short drive away. The case is rare that we have to wait longer than a week for anyhing, which when you think about it is an incredible achievement of our society. However this is generally not the way the rest of the world works, especially here where the catchphrase is "tranquilopa" or "chill." Nothing ever happens quickly. Little by little you begin to get used to this, but every once in a while it builds up to absolutely frustrate you to the point of exhaustion. These things can range from the pace of mail (horrendously slow; the record for longest transit of a package sent from the US is 3 years) to administrative urgency (even though I called twice, and visited the office once, it has taken me two weeks to get my internet up and running). The bright side of these frustrations is that when you finally do receive something (a package from home, your computer, or your internet) it feels incredible, like Christmas came early.
Building on that last statement, yes, I have once again entered the world of technological interconnectivity. I have my computer, as well as internet. So hopefully now that I am on my own time (and don't have to continuously pay to use a computer) the blogs will be more frequent and detailed. Also if anyone wants a Skype chat, I usually have plenty of free time in the evenings. Anyways, on to my adventures here in site!
You know the day's going to be interesting when the mayor of your town, whom you only met the day before, and don't remember giving your number (I didn't; he got it from my cooperative), calls you up out of the blue first thing in the morning and asks you to swing by his office to chat about a project. I tell him "of course," hop in the shower, throw on my best shirt, and am out the door in less than 20 minutes. When I arrive at the Municipalidad (the government building), I just walk into the mayor's office like it's no big deal and start chatting away with him. I wasn't completely sure what he wanted; it's always a bit difficult to understand people over the phone, mainly because they aren't standing in front of you giving off other contextual clues. Over the phone I got the important things: come to my office in a half hour, something something, computers and the hospital. In person, the task becomes slightly more daunting. The hospital has asked for help in organizing their files from a paper system to computerized, to better serve the people of Eusebio Ayala.
There is something I should clarify a minute. The hospital is a government run organization, and provides the citizens of the country access to free health care. As such, in a country with financial struggles such as Paraguay, it's not in the best shape. Anyone who has a bit of money generally goes to the private hospitals, where the health care is better and the doctors get paid more. In fact Peace Corps mandates that we use specifically listed hospitals, most of them run by German and Canadian Mennonites, to ensure we are receiving decent quality emergency care. For everyday visits, we have our own doctors that operate a health center in our office in Asuncion. To make a long story short, the people who use the run down hospitals here are the people who generally have the greatest need.
The hospital secretary came and collected me, and away we went. When I got to the hospital, I immediately realized their problem. Their filing system was, for lack of a better word, a disaster. They use a numeric filing system, allocating a number to each person and filing (I'm guessing?) more or less alphabetically. The files looked like they were from the 1920's, and some of them were falling apart. The hospital secretary assumed I knew computer programming (I don't) and assumed I could write them a program to help sort through the mess (I can't). However, I told them not to be discouraged, as I could make a few phone calls to find out exactly what was possible. I assured them that I would help, and we would find a solution. I bid them farewell, offering to stop by next week when I have more information.
A few hours and a couple of phone calls later, I had what I needed. The Peace Corps Health coordinator got me the contact information of a member of the Health Ministry, so that I could find out what sort of program they use in the central hospitals in Asuncion. Once I find out that information, my coordinator assured me that Peace Corps could get me the program so that I can begin the process of helping the hospital. Once the program is installed on their computer, I will begin teaching the office staff exactly how to use it before we start digitizing the records. That way I am not the only one who knows what to do, and the workload is not so weighted on my time alone. It also makes the project more sustainable, which is the overall long term goal of Peace Corps projects.
Aside from my main project of working with the Cooperative, which is moving along like a snail, I have several other projects that are coming along nicely. These include my work on a World Map Project with a local elementary school, solid meetings with the librarian of the Municipal Library, hoping to start a reading club, as well as a prospective project helping a women's group look into environmental programs here in Paraguay. All these things aside, perhaps the pride and joy of my work thus far has been a collaboration of Peace Corps Volunteers on our first semi-annual Business Taller (workshop). This program has hit the ground running, with weekly meetings via internet and extensive independent work on Logistics, Programming, and Financing. I have been helping mostly with the Steering Committee, trying to decide exactly what we want this program to look like, and where we want to take it in the long run. I am also helping with some of the logistical planning. Our target for the first workshop is the beginning of March. While we started with a modest plan, our project has now attracted the attention and support of virtually any and all resources we could think of, from our Country Director to local Paraguayan Government to USAID (United States Agency for International Development; this is the main program that distributes foreign aid abroad). I will be sure to keep the blog updated as this project progresses.
In other news, stay tuned later this week for updates on my housing and social life here in site!
One of the main things you notice living in Paraguay is the pace of everyday tasks. Living in the States we become accustomed to the instant gratification and rapid pace of business. If we want something, usually it is just a phone call or short drive away. The case is rare that we have to wait longer than a week for anyhing, which when you think about it is an incredible achievement of our society. However this is generally not the way the rest of the world works, especially here where the catchphrase is "tranquilopa" or "chill." Nothing ever happens quickly. Little by little you begin to get used to this, but every once in a while it builds up to absolutely frustrate you to the point of exhaustion. These things can range from the pace of mail (horrendously slow; the record for longest transit of a package sent from the US is 3 years) to administrative urgency (even though I called twice, and visited the office once, it has taken me two weeks to get my internet up and running). The bright side of these frustrations is that when you finally do receive something (a package from home, your computer, or your internet) it feels incredible, like Christmas came early.
Building on that last statement, yes, I have once again entered the world of technological interconnectivity. I have my computer, as well as internet. So hopefully now that I am on my own time (and don't have to continuously pay to use a computer) the blogs will be more frequent and detailed. Also if anyone wants a Skype chat, I usually have plenty of free time in the evenings. Anyways, on to my adventures here in site!
You know the day's going to be interesting when the mayor of your town, whom you only met the day before, and don't remember giving your number (I didn't; he got it from my cooperative), calls you up out of the blue first thing in the morning and asks you to swing by his office to chat about a project. I tell him "of course," hop in the shower, throw on my best shirt, and am out the door in less than 20 minutes. When I arrive at the Municipalidad (the government building), I just walk into the mayor's office like it's no big deal and start chatting away with him. I wasn't completely sure what he wanted; it's always a bit difficult to understand people over the phone, mainly because they aren't standing in front of you giving off other contextual clues. Over the phone I got the important things: come to my office in a half hour, something something, computers and the hospital. In person, the task becomes slightly more daunting. The hospital has asked for help in organizing their files from a paper system to computerized, to better serve the people of Eusebio Ayala.
There is something I should clarify a minute. The hospital is a government run organization, and provides the citizens of the country access to free health care. As such, in a country with financial struggles such as Paraguay, it's not in the best shape. Anyone who has a bit of money generally goes to the private hospitals, where the health care is better and the doctors get paid more. In fact Peace Corps mandates that we use specifically listed hospitals, most of them run by German and Canadian Mennonites, to ensure we are receiving decent quality emergency care. For everyday visits, we have our own doctors that operate a health center in our office in Asuncion. To make a long story short, the people who use the run down hospitals here are the people who generally have the greatest need.
The hospital secretary came and collected me, and away we went. When I got to the hospital, I immediately realized their problem. Their filing system was, for lack of a better word, a disaster. They use a numeric filing system, allocating a number to each person and filing (I'm guessing?) more or less alphabetically. The files looked like they were from the 1920's, and some of them were falling apart. The hospital secretary assumed I knew computer programming (I don't) and assumed I could write them a program to help sort through the mess (I can't). However, I told them not to be discouraged, as I could make a few phone calls to find out exactly what was possible. I assured them that I would help, and we would find a solution. I bid them farewell, offering to stop by next week when I have more information.
A few hours and a couple of phone calls later, I had what I needed. The Peace Corps Health coordinator got me the contact information of a member of the Health Ministry, so that I could find out what sort of program they use in the central hospitals in Asuncion. Once I find out that information, my coordinator assured me that Peace Corps could get me the program so that I can begin the process of helping the hospital. Once the program is installed on their computer, I will begin teaching the office staff exactly how to use it before we start digitizing the records. That way I am not the only one who knows what to do, and the workload is not so weighted on my time alone. It also makes the project more sustainable, which is the overall long term goal of Peace Corps projects.
Aside from my main project of working with the Cooperative, which is moving along like a snail, I have several other projects that are coming along nicely. These include my work on a World Map Project with a local elementary school, solid meetings with the librarian of the Municipal Library, hoping to start a reading club, as well as a prospective project helping a women's group look into environmental programs here in Paraguay. All these things aside, perhaps the pride and joy of my work thus far has been a collaboration of Peace Corps Volunteers on our first semi-annual Business Taller (workshop). This program has hit the ground running, with weekly meetings via internet and extensive independent work on Logistics, Programming, and Financing. I have been helping mostly with the Steering Committee, trying to decide exactly what we want this program to look like, and where we want to take it in the long run. I am also helping with some of the logistical planning. Our target for the first workshop is the beginning of March. While we started with a modest plan, our project has now attracted the attention and support of virtually any and all resources we could think of, from our Country Director to local Paraguayan Government to USAID (United States Agency for International Development; this is the main program that distributes foreign aid abroad). I will be sure to keep the blog updated as this project progresses.
In other news, stay tuned later this week for updates on my housing and social life here in site!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Its Official!
Hey all! Last time I posted, I was a mere Peace Corps Trainee....and now? I can happily say I am a Peace Corps Volunteer! Hopefully I can recap a little of what has gone on in the past few weeks:
Swear in was an amazing opportunity for all of us to celebrate finally completing our at times painful training. The actual ceremony took place in the US Embassy in Asunción, and was short but sweet. We even got our photo taken for the local newspapers! However they wrongfully described our group's work as being in the areas of Health and Education...oh well I guess you can't have it all right? After the ceremony, we walked two blocks over to the Peace Corps office and finished our paperwork, as well as prepared to relax a bit! We had four days free in Asunción, and you better believe we made the most of it!
Almost all of our group was staying in the Hotel Chaco, which is in the heart of central Asunción, close by to several restaraunts, bars, and night clubs (or discotecas as they call them here). Over the course of four nights, we ate out at Mexican, Spanish, Korean, and Lebanese! It was incredible to finally have some variety in our diet, and prepare ourselves for the upcoming months with lots of repetition in the food lol. We also had a chance to hit up both a British and an Irish Pub, as well as a whole host of nightclubs. It was really great to go out and dance to reggaeton (the music thats popular with kids here; think American pop meets Latin beats) and have a great time, and most of the training staff as well as our coordinators joined us!
By day, we also got to explore the city of Asunción, which has a lot to offer from expansive malls and movie theaters, to an open air market the size of which I had never seen in my life! In the market (Mercado Cuatro) they sell anything from vegetables to shoes to electric appliances. Basically anything you could ever need to find is here, most of it cheap knock-offs and Chinese imports. Also, you can buy virtually any movie LONG before it comes out on DVD. Piracy of movies and video games is rampant.
In addition to the malls, we also scoped out the supermarkets (for me at least it is not so out of the question to go into Asunción to buy things I can't find in my site; its only an hour and a half by bus). One of the supermarkets near to the mall has a HUGE American foods aisle, and you bet that I spent some time there shopping! Mostly I was obsessed with the sauces (Barbeque, A-1 Steak, Terriaki, and others) that you quite literally can't find anywhere else. If you really want as well, they sell boxed mac and cheese (Velveeta brand) for probably twice what it costs in the US (no thanks, I'll wait until I visit home lol).
When we weren't exploring the city, we were lounging by the hotel's rooftop pool sunbathing or watching the sunset. I know, stop me now, because to be quite honest that weekend did NOT feel like Peace Corps. It was, however, an incredibly relaxing weekend and got me ready to dive into my service, which I started just over one week ago today!
Now a little taste of what I've been up to lately, and what I hope to accomplish with my service:
All of our trainers and coordinators told us to relax, and take the first three months easy. They said we would be bored, sitting around not doing much. They said we would need to bring books and magazines, and just get used to talking and drinking tereré. I don't know what Peace Corps Volunteer they were talking about, but it certainly has not been my experience!
In my first week, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, working in the cooperative as well as attending meetings and talking with local schools. Every morning (Monday-Friday) I head to the cooperative between 8-9 in the morning. There its a toos-up of who gets me; I started out working with the Comittee of Education, and have more recently been working with the Accounting Department, helping them go through their records and balancing the books. This has been an incredible opportunity because I have had the chance to observe and ask specifically how the cooperative works from a financial perspective. Though I will admit its a little strange, and I feel like the new inturn in a bank. The only difference is all the guys are making jokes in Spanish, and talking about going to Octoberfest (yea they have that here, gotta love the Germans) and the Linkin Park concert that (they say) is coming to Asunción in October, even though their website only lists Buenos Aires as a tour stop... Anyways, it has been an interesting experience to say the least.
My afternoons have been more variable, with a myriad of activities. I have been running around to local schools and institutions, trying to see where the need really is and what I can do to help. I have already identified two schools that I hope to work directly with developing small classes on Civic Education (one of the four pillars of my sector) and possibly basic business skills (another one of the pillars). In addition to this, most schools are interested in English classes. Looks like my schedule just filled up. Most of these classes it will be very difficult to start until after their summer break, which ends in the beginning of February. That gives me a bit of time to work on some side projects and do some serious planning.
On September 13th, I will be starting a World Map Project with a local school, helping them to paint a world map as well as doing mini-courses in world geography. I have tweaked this a little from Peace Corps' original model, as the school also wants to incorperate something for Paraguay's bicentenial (at the end of the year). For this, we will also paint exploration routes going to the New World from Spain, with the biggest exploration route going to Paraguay (the most important to Paraguayans, of course). I also have a meeting on September 10th to start planning a youth summer camp with some of the school teachers. I will of course advertise this to the other schools, but sometimes it is difficult to travel across town for little kids. I have heard from several sources that there is not much for kids to do in the lazy summer vacations, so this is a great opportunity to get to know the community while at the same time incorperating aspects of civic education, and having a little bit of fun! I have already attracted the interests of the schools director, as well as the art teacher. With one more teacher, I think I might have enough local help to actually pull the summer camp off. Only time will tell for sure, but hopefully this can be an early success for me.
The evenings are a bit different, and can vary. Recently I have been attending educational classes that my cooperative offers for its members, usually traveling to nearby towns for these. The course subjects have ranged from social responsibility of cooperatives, to public speaking, to leadership development. It is a great way to gather firsthand exactly what it is the Comittee of Education does for its members. Its also a bit of an excuse to travel and get to know some of the surrounding cities (where other Peace Corps Volunteers live).
Tonight I have a meeting with a Neighborhood Comission to discuss potential projects. Some ideas that have been brought up already are cleaning up the trash that seems to be everywhere on the streets, and working on a project to sell mangoes. They apparently have some strategy, so hopefully I can help them develop this from a business perspective.
Other than work (which honestly takes up a lot of my time), my home life is great! The family I live with is everything I could ask for, my host mom even calls me her hijo nuevo (new son) and always tells me to be careful when I leave the house because she worries about me. On a more comical note, she can't pronounce my name so she calls me Fred or Frederico, depending on her mood. I just kinda go with it. All these factors have come together to make my integration into the community of Eusebio Ayala a little easier, though there definitely still are tough days. My hope is that with more time here (and more time in the language) things will get easier and easier and I can finally feel like a part of this culture.
Until the next blog post, chau!
Swear in was an amazing opportunity for all of us to celebrate finally completing our at times painful training. The actual ceremony took place in the US Embassy in Asunción, and was short but sweet. We even got our photo taken for the local newspapers! However they wrongfully described our group's work as being in the areas of Health and Education...oh well I guess you can't have it all right? After the ceremony, we walked two blocks over to the Peace Corps office and finished our paperwork, as well as prepared to relax a bit! We had four days free in Asunción, and you better believe we made the most of it!
Almost all of our group was staying in the Hotel Chaco, which is in the heart of central Asunción, close by to several restaraunts, bars, and night clubs (or discotecas as they call them here). Over the course of four nights, we ate out at Mexican, Spanish, Korean, and Lebanese! It was incredible to finally have some variety in our diet, and prepare ourselves for the upcoming months with lots of repetition in the food lol. We also had a chance to hit up both a British and an Irish Pub, as well as a whole host of nightclubs. It was really great to go out and dance to reggaeton (the music thats popular with kids here; think American pop meets Latin beats) and have a great time, and most of the training staff as well as our coordinators joined us!
By day, we also got to explore the city of Asunción, which has a lot to offer from expansive malls and movie theaters, to an open air market the size of which I had never seen in my life! In the market (Mercado Cuatro) they sell anything from vegetables to shoes to electric appliances. Basically anything you could ever need to find is here, most of it cheap knock-offs and Chinese imports. Also, you can buy virtually any movie LONG before it comes out on DVD. Piracy of movies and video games is rampant.
In addition to the malls, we also scoped out the supermarkets (for me at least it is not so out of the question to go into Asunción to buy things I can't find in my site; its only an hour and a half by bus). One of the supermarkets near to the mall has a HUGE American foods aisle, and you bet that I spent some time there shopping! Mostly I was obsessed with the sauces (Barbeque, A-1 Steak, Terriaki, and others) that you quite literally can't find anywhere else. If you really want as well, they sell boxed mac and cheese (Velveeta brand) for probably twice what it costs in the US (no thanks, I'll wait until I visit home lol).
When we weren't exploring the city, we were lounging by the hotel's rooftop pool sunbathing or watching the sunset. I know, stop me now, because to be quite honest that weekend did NOT feel like Peace Corps. It was, however, an incredibly relaxing weekend and got me ready to dive into my service, which I started just over one week ago today!
Now a little taste of what I've been up to lately, and what I hope to accomplish with my service:
All of our trainers and coordinators told us to relax, and take the first three months easy. They said we would be bored, sitting around not doing much. They said we would need to bring books and magazines, and just get used to talking and drinking tereré. I don't know what Peace Corps Volunteer they were talking about, but it certainly has not been my experience!
In my first week, I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off, working in the cooperative as well as attending meetings and talking with local schools. Every morning (Monday-Friday) I head to the cooperative between 8-9 in the morning. There its a toos-up of who gets me; I started out working with the Comittee of Education, and have more recently been working with the Accounting Department, helping them go through their records and balancing the books. This has been an incredible opportunity because I have had the chance to observe and ask specifically how the cooperative works from a financial perspective. Though I will admit its a little strange, and I feel like the new inturn in a bank. The only difference is all the guys are making jokes in Spanish, and talking about going to Octoberfest (yea they have that here, gotta love the Germans) and the Linkin Park concert that (they say) is coming to Asunción in October, even though their website only lists Buenos Aires as a tour stop... Anyways, it has been an interesting experience to say the least.
My afternoons have been more variable, with a myriad of activities. I have been running around to local schools and institutions, trying to see where the need really is and what I can do to help. I have already identified two schools that I hope to work directly with developing small classes on Civic Education (one of the four pillars of my sector) and possibly basic business skills (another one of the pillars). In addition to this, most schools are interested in English classes. Looks like my schedule just filled up. Most of these classes it will be very difficult to start until after their summer break, which ends in the beginning of February. That gives me a bit of time to work on some side projects and do some serious planning.
On September 13th, I will be starting a World Map Project with a local school, helping them to paint a world map as well as doing mini-courses in world geography. I have tweaked this a little from Peace Corps' original model, as the school also wants to incorperate something for Paraguay's bicentenial (at the end of the year). For this, we will also paint exploration routes going to the New World from Spain, with the biggest exploration route going to Paraguay (the most important to Paraguayans, of course). I also have a meeting on September 10th to start planning a youth summer camp with some of the school teachers. I will of course advertise this to the other schools, but sometimes it is difficult to travel across town for little kids. I have heard from several sources that there is not much for kids to do in the lazy summer vacations, so this is a great opportunity to get to know the community while at the same time incorperating aspects of civic education, and having a little bit of fun! I have already attracted the interests of the schools director, as well as the art teacher. With one more teacher, I think I might have enough local help to actually pull the summer camp off. Only time will tell for sure, but hopefully this can be an early success for me.
The evenings are a bit different, and can vary. Recently I have been attending educational classes that my cooperative offers for its members, usually traveling to nearby towns for these. The course subjects have ranged from social responsibility of cooperatives, to public speaking, to leadership development. It is a great way to gather firsthand exactly what it is the Comittee of Education does for its members. Its also a bit of an excuse to travel and get to know some of the surrounding cities (where other Peace Corps Volunteers live).
Tonight I have a meeting with a Neighborhood Comission to discuss potential projects. Some ideas that have been brought up already are cleaning up the trash that seems to be everywhere on the streets, and working on a project to sell mangoes. They apparently have some strategy, so hopefully I can help them develop this from a business perspective.
Other than work (which honestly takes up a lot of my time), my home life is great! The family I live with is everything I could ask for, my host mom even calls me her hijo nuevo (new son) and always tells me to be careful when I leave the house because she worries about me. On a more comical note, she can't pronounce my name so she calls me Fred or Frederico, depending on her mood. I just kinda go with it. All these factors have come together to make my integration into the community of Eusebio Ayala a little easier, though there definitely still are tough days. My hope is that with more time here (and more time in the language) things will get easier and easier and I can finally feel like a part of this culture.
Until the next blog post, chau!
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