After having been in Paraguay for not even two weeks, I feel almost like I have been here for a month. I guess time is easily misconstrued in an unfamiliar place. I´ll try to hit the major points of the week with this post although there have been a ton.
Last Saturday, unbeknownst to me until about 8 pm and I was expecting to eat dinner in the house, my Paraguayan mama took me to her Grandson´s birthday party slash Asada. An asada is just a party with a ton of meat at it. Upon getting there I had a pretty good conversation with my host-uncle named Raul in which he explained to me his entire philosophy on life, which is ´why so much?´. I on a good role with my Spanish, and when some more people got there he invited me to play this crazy card game called ´truco.´ At this point everyone began speaking Guarani, and as a result I still do not understand the rules of truco even after playing for about an hour and a half. I think it is something like bridge because you play it in partners, but who knows. After that came the meat of the party, which was unlimited slabs of cow, I´m not sure which cut it was but it was good. The guys who I was eating with got a pretty big kick out of my estimation that the meat we were eating might cost like 20 dollars per plate in a nice restaurant in Chicago. And they insisted that I eat several slabs of it. Needless to say I had some slight gastro-intestinal problems for a couple days after that as my stomach tried to remember how to digest South American meat.
That was Saturday, Sunday was spent recovering from the discoteca the previous night and just sitting around my house, siesta-ing, and drinking load of terere. At about 5 I got up the strenght to head over to my friend´s pool, where another PVC and I succesfully taught Sharks and Minnows to the kids, which was a blast and the kids loved.
This week has been the first of getting into a daily routine. For me this includes getting up around 7 (well first around 5 when the roosters start crowing but I eventually fall back asleep) to go to Guarani language classes until 1130, eating, then heading back to school from 1 until 5 for educational studies ´technico´ classes. Basically we sing elementary school songs in Spanish, which sometimes feels a little ridiculous but is fun. After that I usually play soccer, study, head to my uncle´s pool, or some variation of those three. Dinner is around 8 and usually turns into a sit and chill session until 9 or 930 after the food has been eaten, and I head to bed after that, maybe read a bit and go to sleep.
A couple of nights this week I played my eleven year old host brother in Connect four. I beat him the majority of the times, but he is pretty competetive and keeps getting better. We also started a reading club this week, and 15 people came which was a pretty good turnout. The other PVCs and I interspersed games with reading. Another first impression notable is that there are soooo many moto´s driven here. If I had to guess I would say about half of all traffic is a motorcycle of some sort. Even my 11 year old brother drives one locally.
So overall, besides the fact that I sweat through a couple of shirts a day, life is good. The pace is wayyyy slowed down compared to the city of Chicago or even the suburbs, which I like. It´s amazing how much time I have spent just sitting around this past week watching the traffic go by and talking about the heat and/or rain. This coming week we are going to Asuncion, and next week we will all be visiting a PVC somewhere in Paraguay.
Tim and Paul, thanks for the questions. I will look into the bundles of hundreds and typical food situation. I am going to tenatively say that if you put the hundreds in a teddy bear and sewed it shut it might make it. Don´t quote me on that though. As for your question Tim, lots of meat, and also fruit. I will get you a more specific answer in a week or so.
On a final note, my older host brother just asked me my favorite American food and I explained to her the greatness of the Chipotle burrito. They don´t have burritos in Paraguay except for in the big cities, and actually ´burrito´translates directly has ´little donkey,´which definitely does not accurately describe the contents of a burrito. I know sometimes in the U.S. we think of Latin America as a whole, but burritos are definitely a mexican, not paraguayan, food. Oh and it is 97 degrees here right now, feels like 107. That is all.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Made it!
So this is the first post from Paraguay, and rest assured I have a mountain of things that I could write about, and I really don´t know where to start. It is Saturday afternoon right now and I am in an internet cafe in Guarambare attempting to download skype, which will give me some time right now to write a post. This is going to be stream of consciousness so bear with me.
We arrived Wednesday afternoon to Paraguay around 1 pm local time, where we were met by PC people at the airport. They transported us to the PC headquarters in Guarambare, where we had a few quick bits of orientation as well as host family interviews. At about 4:30 pm we drove to a smaller very rural town outside of the city where I met my host family, which is a 68 year old lady and her 11 year old grandson. When I got the sheet that said I was living with a 68 year old, I didn´t know what to expect, but she is defintely a young 68, like the type you could expect to find dancing till 2 am at the local shindig.
My house is quite simple, and includes just 3 rooms, her and her grandson´s bedroom, my bedroom, and the kitchen. I didnt know quite what to expect as far as how formal things would be and stuff (if I should keep on khakis and my nice button shirt, possibly even for dinner) but when we ate outside for dinner, my 11 year old host-brother was all about being comfortble in soccer shorts and no shirt (it is ridiculously hot here, even at night) so I joined in by throwing on a v-neck ribbed t shirt, which made the heat a little more bearable.
Shower is pretty primitive, up until this morning I was not aware of the fact that I had hot water, and I then realized that in 100 degree heat why would I even need hot water? So I have been taking cold showers, which I enjoy. Basically there is a cement outhouse, probably about 6 feet by 6 feet with a toilet for doing business, a mirror for shaving, and a showerhead to the side of the toilet from which water falls, and it is possible to get a little water pressure if I keep turning the knob to the left, but then the water heats up (the pressure and heat are on the same knob), and it gets really hot, which is not desirable when it is hot out.
I will be doing most of my training in the satellite school for education, which is literally a stone´s throw from my house. I am the closest volunteer to it. As a matter of fact, I got myself into a bit of a pickle the first night at dinner when I spent about 3 minutes trying to explain the English idiomatic expression, and Kuke (my host mom) and Ibel (brother) kept trying to understand me. Obviously there was a lot of smiling and nodding going on through this conversation. Eventually I gave up and tried to drop it, but they made me keep explaining. I´m still not sure if they got it or not.
Two days ago, on the way home from the city, somehow two other volunteers and I managed to miss our stop. Long, long, long story short: what should have been a 5 minute bus ride turned into a 3 hour adventure. At one point, we used a phone from a local that we met to call our host moms, and so by the time we finally made it home I´m pretty sure the whole town knew about our little mishap on the busses, because a 12 year old girl that only one of us vaguely knew walked up to us and told us that everyone was looking for us and that we should come with her. Thank you small town Paraguayan hospitality. When I got home my host mom acted mad, but then laughed about it. We have been joking about ´the bus occurance´ for the last couple of days.
Other than that, things have been awesome thus far. I have to add some pictures soon because it is very hard to describe what it is like here just in words. At my house we have 3 chickens, one hen who wakes me up every morning, and about 8 little chicklets. The house is surrounded by a couple of mango trees, banana trees, a lemon tree, a grapfruit tree, and yea even a couple of non-fruit bearing trees.
The other night there were about 30 guys huddled around a tv the size of a normal computer screen watching a soccer game. They went crazy every time something happened in the game. Yea, it looks like I´m going to have to get into soccer here.
The internet cafe I am in is starting to crank this crazy techno music so I can only assume they are transforming it into a discoteca pretty soon, so I am out. Miss everyone, and hope you all are doing alright in the snowstormy weather!
We arrived Wednesday afternoon to Paraguay around 1 pm local time, where we were met by PC people at the airport. They transported us to the PC headquarters in Guarambare, where we had a few quick bits of orientation as well as host family interviews. At about 4:30 pm we drove to a smaller very rural town outside of the city where I met my host family, which is a 68 year old lady and her 11 year old grandson. When I got the sheet that said I was living with a 68 year old, I didn´t know what to expect, but she is defintely a young 68, like the type you could expect to find dancing till 2 am at the local shindig.
My house is quite simple, and includes just 3 rooms, her and her grandson´s bedroom, my bedroom, and the kitchen. I didnt know quite what to expect as far as how formal things would be and stuff (if I should keep on khakis and my nice button shirt, possibly even for dinner) but when we ate outside for dinner, my 11 year old host-brother was all about being comfortble in soccer shorts and no shirt (it is ridiculously hot here, even at night) so I joined in by throwing on a v-neck ribbed t shirt, which made the heat a little more bearable.
Shower is pretty primitive, up until this morning I was not aware of the fact that I had hot water, and I then realized that in 100 degree heat why would I even need hot water? So I have been taking cold showers, which I enjoy. Basically there is a cement outhouse, probably about 6 feet by 6 feet with a toilet for doing business, a mirror for shaving, and a showerhead to the side of the toilet from which water falls, and it is possible to get a little water pressure if I keep turning the knob to the left, but then the water heats up (the pressure and heat are on the same knob), and it gets really hot, which is not desirable when it is hot out.
I will be doing most of my training in the satellite school for education, which is literally a stone´s throw from my house. I am the closest volunteer to it. As a matter of fact, I got myself into a bit of a pickle the first night at dinner when I spent about 3 minutes trying to explain the English idiomatic expression, and Kuke (my host mom) and Ibel (brother) kept trying to understand me. Obviously there was a lot of smiling and nodding going on through this conversation. Eventually I gave up and tried to drop it, but they made me keep explaining. I´m still not sure if they got it or not.
Two days ago, on the way home from the city, somehow two other volunteers and I managed to miss our stop. Long, long, long story short: what should have been a 5 minute bus ride turned into a 3 hour adventure. At one point, we used a phone from a local that we met to call our host moms, and so by the time we finally made it home I´m pretty sure the whole town knew about our little mishap on the busses, because a 12 year old girl that only one of us vaguely knew walked up to us and told us that everyone was looking for us and that we should come with her. Thank you small town Paraguayan hospitality. When I got home my host mom acted mad, but then laughed about it. We have been joking about ´the bus occurance´ for the last couple of days.
Other than that, things have been awesome thus far. I have to add some pictures soon because it is very hard to describe what it is like here just in words. At my house we have 3 chickens, one hen who wakes me up every morning, and about 8 little chicklets. The house is surrounded by a couple of mango trees, banana trees, a lemon tree, a grapfruit tree, and yea even a couple of non-fruit bearing trees.
The other night there were about 30 guys huddled around a tv the size of a normal computer screen watching a soccer game. They went crazy every time something happened in the game. Yea, it looks like I´m going to have to get into soccer here.
The internet cafe I am in is starting to crank this crazy techno music so I can only assume they are transforming it into a discoteca pretty soon, so I am out. Miss everyone, and hope you all are doing alright in the snowstormy weather!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Day Before Departure
It is Sunday afternoon right now, and my bags are mostly packed except for a few odds and ends. Strangely if there is any one group of similar items that is taking up the most space, it would be not socks or pants or shirts, but books. I think I brought about 15 of them, which I guess makes me a slight nerd, but hey, I’m going to need something to fill the hours with down there.
First and foremost I would like to thank everyone who came to the going away party that my parents had for me last Saturday. It was great to see friends and family one more time before leaving, and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. I think my parents counted about 60 people total, which is quite a lot considering the size of my house. The notes that people wrote were very thoughtful, and I have put them all safely into a binder to be taken them with me and read when I am in South America and need inspiration. So thank you again everyone who came out and congrats on finishing all of the beer except for approximately 9 Budweiser bottles (way to go, Marty). No worries though they will be taken care of at tonight’s Superbowl party.
The party was a week ago Saturday, and for the past week I have been surprisingly busy, meeting up with various people for social lunches and dinners, saying goodbye and trying to take my Mom's advice and put on some storage weight before I get to Paraguay. Highlights of the week include Tuesday, when my cousin Jake and I attempted to explain to Grandpa Miller that Google is so awesome because the algorithm that they use to order websites in a given search is the best of all the search engines. This was comical, as he still refuses to read emails on a computer (my Grandma has to print emails and give them to him for him to read them). I also explained the concept of a ‘web log’ or blog to him, which was not quite as difficult. I hope me having this blog gets him to start using the internet. And I hope that I similarly hold out on technology for my hypothetical Grandkids, those spoiled brats. I mean who knows what kind of crazy stuff they will have in 2060.
In my attempt to be as American as possible this past week in order to savor the flavor of this great country, I even ordered MGD on tap at Palmers, which has 36 beers from around the world on tap a couple of nights ago. Followed by a Budweiser bottle. This is rare for me. My friend Pete said it would be more American to have Keystone light, and I agreed. Maybe there will be Miller and Bud in Paraguay, but I am going to bet dollars over donuts (shotout to my cousin Jimmy for telling me about this awesome expression) that there will not be Keystone Light.
The peace corps requires that volunteers bring two pairs of eyeglasses if they need them, so I had to purchase an extra pair this week. I picked them up yesterday, and the rectangular black frames make me look (and feel) like a hipster when I am wearing them. All I need are pants that are a bit snugger and some PBR and I think I’ve got it. It figures that the contacts that I ordered Monday (which the lady said would be in by Saturday at the latest) aren’t going to come in until probably Tuesday, a day after I leave. Looks like I’m going to be a hipster quite often in the near future.
When I was having lunch at my Grandma and Grandpa’s in Downers Grove the other day, my Grandma gave me what I think is a solid idea. For this post I am going to request that if any of my loyal blog readers have a question about anything Paraguayan they just leave the question in the comments box below this post (or send it to me if you want) and I will try to respond to them in future posts. I mean, even after doing a fair amount of research on Paraguay I still feel I have a largely rudimentary grasp on what life is actually like there. And what better way to get those questions about Paraguay that you are dying to know the answer to than to ask someone who is experiencing the country first hand! Well, maybe not dying to know, but you get the idea. My Grandma led things off with the question “Do they have movies in Paraguay?” which, although basic, is something I could not give an answer to and be 100% sure about it. Well of course they have movies in the big cities, but how widespread is cinema there? Does Paraguay make its own cinema or watch American Movies? So think of some good questions, and I will do my best to answer all. Don’t worry Grandma, I will get on yours first no matter what.
I just checked the weather in Guarambare, the city where I will be doing my training. It is 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The “realfeel’ temperature when I arrive on Wednesday is supposed to be 120. Yea, it’s going to be hot and humid. I’m sure I will be needing a lot of B list ‘it’s so hot jokes’ in the near future so I’ll just quote my 3 year old cousin Ava for now: Are you kidding me?
Oh and I almost forgot, my staging is in Miami, where I'll be getting into the airport tomorrow around noonish. In light of the location of the Super Bowl this year I will be sure to let everybody know about any athlete or other celeb sitings. Take care everybody, next post should be from Paraguay.
First and foremost I would like to thank everyone who came to the going away party that my parents had for me last Saturday. It was great to see friends and family one more time before leaving, and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. I think my parents counted about 60 people total, which is quite a lot considering the size of my house. The notes that people wrote were very thoughtful, and I have put them all safely into a binder to be taken them with me and read when I am in South America and need inspiration. So thank you again everyone who came out and congrats on finishing all of the beer except for approximately 9 Budweiser bottles (way to go, Marty). No worries though they will be taken care of at tonight’s Superbowl party.
The party was a week ago Saturday, and for the past week I have been surprisingly busy, meeting up with various people for social lunches and dinners, saying goodbye and trying to take my Mom's advice and put on some storage weight before I get to Paraguay. Highlights of the week include Tuesday, when my cousin Jake and I attempted to explain to Grandpa Miller that Google is so awesome because the algorithm that they use to order websites in a given search is the best of all the search engines. This was comical, as he still refuses to read emails on a computer (my Grandma has to print emails and give them to him for him to read them). I also explained the concept of a ‘web log’ or blog to him, which was not quite as difficult. I hope me having this blog gets him to start using the internet. And I hope that I similarly hold out on technology for my hypothetical Grandkids, those spoiled brats. I mean who knows what kind of crazy stuff they will have in 2060.
In my attempt to be as American as possible this past week in order to savor the flavor of this great country, I even ordered MGD on tap at Palmers, which has 36 beers from around the world on tap a couple of nights ago. Followed by a Budweiser bottle. This is rare for me. My friend Pete said it would be more American to have Keystone light, and I agreed. Maybe there will be Miller and Bud in Paraguay, but I am going to bet dollars over donuts (shotout to my cousin Jimmy for telling me about this awesome expression) that there will not be Keystone Light.
The peace corps requires that volunteers bring two pairs of eyeglasses if they need them, so I had to purchase an extra pair this week. I picked them up yesterday, and the rectangular black frames make me look (and feel) like a hipster when I am wearing them. All I need are pants that are a bit snugger and some PBR and I think I’ve got it. It figures that the contacts that I ordered Monday (which the lady said would be in by Saturday at the latest) aren’t going to come in until probably Tuesday, a day after I leave. Looks like I’m going to be a hipster quite often in the near future.
When I was having lunch at my Grandma and Grandpa’s in Downers Grove the other day, my Grandma gave me what I think is a solid idea. For this post I am going to request that if any of my loyal blog readers have a question about anything Paraguayan they just leave the question in the comments box below this post (or send it to me if you want) and I will try to respond to them in future posts. I mean, even after doing a fair amount of research on Paraguay I still feel I have a largely rudimentary grasp on what life is actually like there. And what better way to get those questions about Paraguay that you are dying to know the answer to than to ask someone who is experiencing the country first hand! Well, maybe not dying to know, but you get the idea. My Grandma led things off with the question “Do they have movies in Paraguay?” which, although basic, is something I could not give an answer to and be 100% sure about it. Well of course they have movies in the big cities, but how widespread is cinema there? Does Paraguay make its own cinema or watch American Movies? So think of some good questions, and I will do my best to answer all. Don’t worry Grandma, I will get on yours first no matter what.
I just checked the weather in Guarambare, the city where I will be doing my training. It is 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The “realfeel’ temperature when I arrive on Wednesday is supposed to be 120. Yea, it’s going to be hot and humid. I’m sure I will be needing a lot of B list ‘it’s so hot jokes’ in the near future so I’ll just quote my 3 year old cousin Ava for now: Are you kidding me?
Oh and I almost forgot, my staging is in Miami, where I'll be getting into the airport tomorrow around noonish. In light of the location of the Super Bowl this year I will be sure to let everybody know about any athlete or other celeb sitings. Take care everybody, next post should be from Paraguay.
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