FIRST POST FROM PARAGUAY

It’s now been nine days that I’ve been in Paraguay and I’m not going to lie…I am still a little homesick, have been slapped in the face with ‘culture shock,’ and realize this adventure is MUCH harder than I ever anticipated, but…I know I´m going to make it.

ARRIVING IN GUARAMBARE

I arrived in Guarambare, Paraguay on Thursday at 10:00 a.m., after leaving Miami (where I met the group I would be leaving with) on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. and connecting in Brazil at 8:00 a.m. My hands and feet were swollen, for 2 days, from sitting so long! Once we arrived in Asuncion, Paraguay, we gathered our luggage and there was a lot of it, considering there are 31 in our group, which consists of three sectors (Urban Youth Development, Early Education and Rural Health & Sanitation,) we were taken directly to CHP, which is the school we’ll be receiving all of our training. No time for rest…

LIVING CONDITIONS

We received about four (4) hours of training (safety, scheduling, etc.) Thereafter, we were taken to meet our host families, which we will be living with for the next three months, during training. My host mother is Graciela and my host brother is Christian who is 21 years old, which is a much different environment than most other volunteers have, as most were placed in large families. Not to mention, this is the first time my host family is hosting a trainee.

The first day was rough with the family, as I’m not sure they knew what their role really should be, so for both of us, it was a bit of a challenge and discomfort. It felt strange settling in with a new family, house, room, environment, etc…. My room isn’t too bad—it has a bed (where a board comes through the mattress, lol,) a small table, an armoire, chair and thank God- -a fan!!! The house is small and modest. The kitchen has a portable 2 burner stove that is sometimes in the kitchen and other times, outside. There is no sink, but there is a refrigerator, which requires a board to push up against it, in order to stay closed. There’s also another part of the house, towards the back, but I’ve never seen it. There is no door in the kitchen, leading to the outside, but rather a gate, which is exposed. Have no clue how that works during the winter…

Okay…I know many of you are wondering…is there indoor plumbing? Well, there is a makeshift showerhead (no shower curtain or enclosure, of course,) a toilet and sink. Score! Uh, wrong…I thought I hit the jackpot, but I was only given a tease, as the first day I was able to shower (despite it just being a trickle,) but since then , there’s been no water, due to the hot days and I’ve had to have bucket baths. Not fun and flipping cold, despite how hot it is here!

I’m surprised at how fast my Spanish is improving. Not to mention, I’ve already learned a Guarani phrase (which is the native language of Paraguay). Mba’eichapa ne ko’e, which translates to How are you, this morning.

FOOD

What am I eating, you ask? It’s actually not too bad, with some exceptions… The first night we had hot dogs (without the bun,) with mayonnaise on top of them and pureed potatoes (uh, the potatoes were good…need I say more)? Paraguayans largest meal of the day is lunch, so for breakfast we usually have café con leche (coffee & cream, for you Gringos) and these little cracker nuggets (similar to what you put in clam chowder), lunch has consisted of some type of pollo and arroz or a sopa , which has chicken (and I mean all parts of the chicken, along with little chicken eggs,) combined with noodles. What’s strange is they also call their cornbread Paraguayan sopa. Oh, and I can’t leave out the biggest food staple they serve with all meals, which is Mandioca. It’s to them, what bread is to Americans. However, it doesn’t consist of a bread texture. It actually tastes and looks like a potato.

The other big thing in Paraguay is its Terere’ which is their tea, but it’s not made in any way like in America. They even have special jugs they carry around with them all day. It consists of a combination of special herbs, such as burrito, which means mint (not like our yummy carne asada burritos back in the States,) kapi’I kati (which is good for calming,) koku (good for the liver) and/or anything along these lines. However, you never use more than 3 herbs when making Terere’ with the main source of terere being yerba.

CULTURE

Paraguayans are very attractive people, which caught me off guard, as I expected the people to be more indigenous looking, due to the Guarani Indians, which founded this country. I guess that’s a good example of ignorance on my part and/or preconceptions. Also, although this country and the living standards are very poor, Paraguayans take a lot of pride in their appearance, so always look nice and clean, there doesn’t really seem to be a problem with hunger and they have a good health system. The people, in general, seem to be happy with the very little they do have. I don’t know if this is true for the entire country, but it doesn’t seem like they have that much of a need in Guarambare’, so I’ve been struggling with this, the past few days, as I feel like I sacrificed so much to help people in need. Perhaps the city in which I will be placed, will be completely different???

Tranquillo is a word in which I’ve become very familiar with, as that’s exactly how the culture is…very tranquil. People walk everywhere, don’t sit around watching T.V., they gather on their front lawns and just talk with each other and/or neighbors stop by. There seems to be a lot of visiting and never things to run out of talking about. Also, there are more motorcycles then there are cars and every Saturday night, the majority of the youth congregates at the plaza and just hangs out. It’s like something you’d see out of a movie that took place many years ago…

It’s hard being away from the States, home, my loved ones, taking bucket baths, struggling with speaking the language, living with strangers, some of the foods, and all the comforts of home, I no longer have. I thought it’d take me a while to become humbled and appreciate all the wonderful people and things I gave up, by coming here—but only after only a couple of days of being here, I can’t even think of the words to use to express the appreciation I have of all the people and things I’ve left behind.

I can only imagine how much my appreciation and humbleness will increase over time.

Until next time...I miss you all!!