6-27-09
I woke up at 6am on Thursday to be at the comedor at 6:30 with 70 kids screaming in Spanish and Guarani. Luckily these kids are great, love me and listen to me--unlike most of the other Paraguayan kids I've encountered. I gave each family an invitation to come to my site presentation that evening at 5pm. I also gave invitations to the women who run the comedor--and all of them came! I went back home, took a quick nap, then went to take a bucket bath. Somehow the fuse in the bathroom blew so I found myself bucket bathing in the dark. Our bathroom has no windows, though there is a hole in the ceiling that allows you to hear all of the dogs barking, cats fighting, and people bumping music so clearly that if the room wasn't so small you'd think them at your elbow. I spent a few hours wandering around my neighborhood delivering invitations. My boss is a very spunky Paraguayan woman who has been working for PC for years. She and the old volunteer from my neighborhood who is now her assistant came at noon.
We sat through the inaurguration for the Orthodontist where a German's Lion's Club donated a dentist chair and some dental tools. No one seems to know how exactly this will pan out. It is unclear how many days a week or month the dentist will be in to see patients. The first priority patients are the kids from teh comedor and the preschool age and under kids from the community center. I'm planning on doing some dental/hygiene stuff with the comedor kids when I get back from the states. You can literally see the cavities in front teeth of a bunch of the kids. Supposedly there are places to buy toothbrushes and toothpaste for super cheap. I want to see if the comedor ladies have any interest in getting involved so it becomes sustainable. We'll see.
After eating lunch in the Super LT--Limpio's supermarket caefteria--we went to my house to drop off my new-to-me bike (!) and box of random manuals and books and do a quick safety check. My actual site presentation turned out much better than I had expected. About 30 people showed up, as did some of my favorite kids. One man who is supposedly Marisco Lopez's great nephew or something had a great deal to say. He wanted to know why we'll called Volunteers if we're paid, why the US government could help but PY's cannot, why the US was wasting time sending people and not money...then he quoted the Bible, "Give a man a fish..." Later, when the San Juan festival was mentioned he asserted that I must walk across hot coals barefoot and that no one in the history of San Juan had ever been burned this way...as long as they had faith. I do have faith, don't I?? That guy is rather eccentric but simultaneously one of my favorite people in my neighborhood. Other than him, my presentation went without a hitch. Oneo f my new favorite contacts came with several people from his group who I'm going to start working with. They're really motivated and I'm psyched to work with them. All in all I was pleased with the day. I've been having dreams about that bike for weeks now!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday Reality, Dinosaurs, and Eating Rabbits
6-19-09
I’m so pleased with my life right now. I’ve actually been really shocked at how happy I’ve been the past four and a half months. There have certainly been days when I’ve done my fair share of swearing in English and have essentially cursed all of
I walked the 3 kilometers home in absolutely beautiful weather and am now lounging in my backyard drinking terere. I have no plans for tonight and will probably do very little. I may actually do a little baking if I can motivate myself to go back into town. Tomorrow morning I’m planning on transplanting the vegetables we planted six weeks ago in the community center and told my host brother and his friend I’d bake for them if they helped again. Then we have the inauguration for the comedor. Even though it has been open for two months, they just got a freezer, fridge, and stove donated and delivered by the Mormons yesterday. They’ve been keeping food at their houses and cooking over a simple charcoal grill. Both have caused obvious problems—it is really smoky to cook over the charcoal and the grill stands like 2 feet off the ground so its tough on the back and the women have been accusing each other of stealing food when its kept at individual houses. The inauguration will consist of some traditional Paraguayan dances (obviously) done by the kids and them holding some signs welcoming everyone to the comedor. I’m sure someone will give a long winded speech. Afterwards I’m double booked to play volleyball there and to have a meeting with the youth group, though I assume no one will show up for the youth group meeting since one girl is having a birthday party tomorrow night. The third phase is celebrating
*Here is a reality check of what actually happened on Saturday. (Written Sunday, 6/21/09). The transplanting got moved to Tuesday because my host brother was feeling lazy, which was fine by me. The inauguration went as I expected although I did not expect to spend twenty minutes afterwards speaking to two nice older American Mormon couples who were there to represent the donated goods. I would not have spoken to them for so long if the kids hadn’t been so incredibly amazed to hear conversations in English. The youth meeting was cancelled, as expected, but so was the volleyball game. The 3rd Phase’s celebration of
We had a bit of a communication mix-up while watching one scene. She asked me if I believed there were dinosaurs. I said, yes, I’ve seen the bones. Do you? She said no. We sat there in slightly awkward silence. I’m thinking, OK, she is really Catholic. Maybe her creation story doesn’t allow for dinosaurs…But I’m also thinking, that is absurd! I wish I didn’t know that about my host mom who I like and admire. Then I have her repeat the question. She asked if I believe there are dinosaurs…as in right now! We had a good laugh when she realized what I was thinking and I realized she thought I was some sort of a moron thinking that a T-Rex and King Kong are maybe duking it out right this moment on some island somewhere.
Other quick communication problem came with a girl named
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
I Didn´t Start the Fire
6-16-09
Last night I was working with the 10th grade night class of the high school in Limpio. I´m working with the kids when they have Orientation, which is essentially a free period that they have with the principal. Apparently she has no control over the kids. I found this out last night. I started off with an ice breaker on teamwork. Each group has to wrap a present (an empty matchbox) with some magazine pages and tape. Each person can only use one hand, so obviously team work is required.
My first problem was that the principal did not seem to care what was happening in the class, nor did she have ANY control over the kids. My second problem was that I somehow missed taking out one of the matches from one of the matchboxes. My third is that...umm...those kids are HELLIANS! So a fire was started. The kids started burning a handful of papers on the floor of the classroom. I couldn´t believe it. I obviously yelled at them but they did not seem to be in much of a hurry to put it out. After about 30 seconds of me telling the kid in Spanish to stomp it out (while swearing a great deal in English), he did so. I gave the class a lecture. The principal walked out. The kids were better for about 8 minutes. We changed activities, each kid was given a handful of dried beans. I then had several beans thrown at me.
By the end of the class I was convinced never to have children. I told the principal I didn´t think I was interested in working with that particular class again, mentioning the small fire as a reason. She seemed distant, unphased by it all and just shrugged. They were kind of off today, she finally admitted. As soon as I walked out onto the street I burst out laughing. How do I have such little control of classrooms in this country??
Last night I was working with the 10th grade night class of the high school in Limpio. I´m working with the kids when they have Orientation, which is essentially a free period that they have with the principal. Apparently she has no control over the kids. I found this out last night. I started off with an ice breaker on teamwork. Each group has to wrap a present (an empty matchbox) with some magazine pages and tape. Each person can only use one hand, so obviously team work is required.
My first problem was that the principal did not seem to care what was happening in the class, nor did she have ANY control over the kids. My second problem was that I somehow missed taking out one of the matches from one of the matchboxes. My third is that...umm...those kids are HELLIANS! So a fire was started. The kids started burning a handful of papers on the floor of the classroom. I couldn´t believe it. I obviously yelled at them but they did not seem to be in much of a hurry to put it out. After about 30 seconds of me telling the kid in Spanish to stomp it out (while swearing a great deal in English), he did so. I gave the class a lecture. The principal walked out. The kids were better for about 8 minutes. We changed activities, each kid was given a handful of dried beans. I then had several beans thrown at me.
By the end of the class I was convinced never to have children. I told the principal I didn´t think I was interested in working with that particular class again, mentioning the small fire as a reason. She seemed distant, unphased by it all and just shrugged. They were kind of off today, she finally admitted. As soon as I walked out onto the street I burst out laughing. How do I have such little control of classrooms in this country??
Talkin´ Bout My Reputation.
6-11-09
I think I ruined my reputation today. All during training we talked about the importance of maintaining a good reputation in site. Paraguay is a country that loves to gossip. It is small, eevryone is related, people travel to work, ther eis not much entertainment. They´re good at it. Some of the gossip is just absurd. Some gets turned around so that it is just silly. I told my host family during training that my parents in the US live in the country and that we used to have a horse. This turned into the fact that my parents are dairy farmers. What? Much more ridiculously is another volunteer´s story. Apparently his town was convinced that he killed someone in the US and was sent to Paraguay to do community service as punishment. Obviously the US government would send him elsewhere to work with kids and local governments...
Back to my own reputation, I just don´t think my barrio´s kids are going to be very happy to see me anymore. Sure, I´m working with the community kitchen thing, playing games, and attempting to teach them to whistle through their hands, but today I walked around helping give vaccinations. The kids were so happy to see us at first. Most seem really thrilled to have me up close and personal to stare at. Then comes some sort of drop in their mouth. I gave that. It isn´t the best tasting thing in the world, but most kids take it without much fuss. Then come the shots. By the end of our visit the kid is screaming, bawling, and glaring at us. I wish I had brought lollypops. I was thinking about how many people I know have fears of needles. Maybe this helps with some of that fear. Perhaps it only helps curb the fear of the doctor´s office. I was also thinking about my Aunt Sally--my mom´s aunt who was the nurse at our pediatrician´s office and has the shakiest hands I´ve ever seen. Watching that needle tremble violently into my skin was trully terrifying each time...but she never missed. I also saw a really gnarly parasite in a girl´s arm. ¨Does it hurt and itch? That is because it is trying to get out.¨ I have never seen anything like it.
Although my assignment is Urban Youth, I live in the campo. Today I realized that more than ever. I wasn´t in my barrio exactly but very close. Villa Madrid, where I live, is 3 blocks wide, starting at the main road and working its way down a big hill then up another for about 35 blocks. There are two bus lines that go into the Villa, and they travel on the cobblestone road. Everything else is dirt, with some gravel. Running along the north long side of the villa are asentamientos. I don´t know what that translates to but they are shacks made of wood, metal sheets, and occasionally cement blocks. The people in them are squatting. They´re mostly families from the Villa who have been promised housing bu without a timeline. There are lots of lone lightbulbs that you can see glowing at night. I have been told most take water from houses in Villa Madrid to bathe, do laundry, and clean dishes. Those asentamientos have been around for more than a year and reallyhave no idea when they´ll actually own the land. Today I walked through the asentamientos along the south side of Villa Madrid to do the vaccinations. I think I´m going again Wednesday morning.
I think I ruined my reputation today. All during training we talked about the importance of maintaining a good reputation in site. Paraguay is a country that loves to gossip. It is small, eevryone is related, people travel to work, ther eis not much entertainment. They´re good at it. Some of the gossip is just absurd. Some gets turned around so that it is just silly. I told my host family during training that my parents in the US live in the country and that we used to have a horse. This turned into the fact that my parents are dairy farmers. What? Much more ridiculously is another volunteer´s story. Apparently his town was convinced that he killed someone in the US and was sent to Paraguay to do community service as punishment. Obviously the US government would send him elsewhere to work with kids and local governments...
Back to my own reputation, I just don´t think my barrio´s kids are going to be very happy to see me anymore. Sure, I´m working with the community kitchen thing, playing games, and attempting to teach them to whistle through their hands, but today I walked around helping give vaccinations. The kids were so happy to see us at first. Most seem really thrilled to have me up close and personal to stare at. Then comes some sort of drop in their mouth. I gave that. It isn´t the best tasting thing in the world, but most kids take it without much fuss. Then come the shots. By the end of our visit the kid is screaming, bawling, and glaring at us. I wish I had brought lollypops. I was thinking about how many people I know have fears of needles. Maybe this helps with some of that fear. Perhaps it only helps curb the fear of the doctor´s office. I was also thinking about my Aunt Sally--my mom´s aunt who was the nurse at our pediatrician´s office and has the shakiest hands I´ve ever seen. Watching that needle tremble violently into my skin was trully terrifying each time...but she never missed. I also saw a really gnarly parasite in a girl´s arm. ¨Does it hurt and itch? That is because it is trying to get out.¨ I have never seen anything like it.
Although my assignment is Urban Youth, I live in the campo. Today I realized that more than ever. I wasn´t in my barrio exactly but very close. Villa Madrid, where I live, is 3 blocks wide, starting at the main road and working its way down a big hill then up another for about 35 blocks. There are two bus lines that go into the Villa, and they travel on the cobblestone road. Everything else is dirt, with some gravel. Running along the north long side of the villa are asentamientos. I don´t know what that translates to but they are shacks made of wood, metal sheets, and occasionally cement blocks. The people in them are squatting. They´re mostly families from the Villa who have been promised housing bu without a timeline. There are lots of lone lightbulbs that you can see glowing at night. I have been told most take water from houses in Villa Madrid to bathe, do laundry, and clean dishes. Those asentamientos have been around for more than a year and reallyhave no idea when they´ll actually own the land. Today I walked through the asentamientos along the south side of Villa Madrid to do the vaccinations. I think I´m going again Wednesday morning.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Kids: The New Bane of My Existence.
6-6-09
I was thinking this morning about the ironies and random pieces of my current daily life. I bucket bathe. I heat up water while I heat up whole milk on the stove for my cafe con leche. I eat my white bread with my coffee, then pour the hot water into a big basin, then add room temperature water from one of the buckets found in the bathroom. (The buckets are filled with the trash cans of water we fill when the water is on.) I then do a great deal of dancing and gasping as the hot water leaves me freezing and drying while I lather up. I get dressed. Then I blow dry my hair. What? In Peace Corps? There is straightener that I could use if I wanted. As a quick note, I will not be blow drying in the summer...it is just a nice way to be warm briefly. Also, I get pedicures. This strikes me as especially not Peace Corps but I`m so afraid of the pique that invade feet and lay eggs. I`m nervous that I won`t see them myself. (I haven`t--knock on wood--had any...yet.)
I also found myself thinking this morning about the volunteer I`m following up. When she got her bike from PC she put on her helmet (PC mandatory) and went for a ride. Kids promptly started throwing rocks--at her helmetted head! And hit it! I was thinking of this story because it makes me generally happy. And then, karma hit me like a rock. Oh, no--wait! That was actually a rock, thrown at me by either a Hellian in my 7th grade class or one of his little lackies. The real bitch of it was that I had paused on my run to talk to them because of that kid, then I went to continue on and got nailed by the rock. I didn`t even know how to respond. I may not like kids at all by the end of the two years--underwear on my head AND a rock pelted at me in the same week?? Only what? Like 100 weeks to go?
I was thinking this morning about the ironies and random pieces of my current daily life. I bucket bathe. I heat up water while I heat up whole milk on the stove for my cafe con leche. I eat my white bread with my coffee, then pour the hot water into a big basin, then add room temperature water from one of the buckets found in the bathroom. (The buckets are filled with the trash cans of water we fill when the water is on.) I then do a great deal of dancing and gasping as the hot water leaves me freezing and drying while I lather up. I get dressed. Then I blow dry my hair. What? In Peace Corps? There is straightener that I could use if I wanted. As a quick note, I will not be blow drying in the summer...it is just a nice way to be warm briefly. Also, I get pedicures. This strikes me as especially not Peace Corps but I`m so afraid of the pique that invade feet and lay eggs. I`m nervous that I won`t see them myself. (I haven`t--knock on wood--had any...yet.)
I also found myself thinking this morning about the volunteer I`m following up. When she got her bike from PC she put on her helmet (PC mandatory) and went for a ride. Kids promptly started throwing rocks--at her helmetted head! And hit it! I was thinking of this story because it makes me generally happy. And then, karma hit me like a rock. Oh, no--wait! That was actually a rock, thrown at me by either a Hellian in my 7th grade class or one of his little lackies. The real bitch of it was that I had paused on my run to talk to them because of that kid, then I went to continue on and got nailed by the rock. I didn`t even know how to respond. I may not like kids at all by the end of the two years--underwear on my head AND a rock pelted at me in the same week?? Only what? Like 100 weeks to go?
Animal Skins
6-5-09
The coordinator of PREA invited me to come back today because the American school from Asunción is coming. I was here to pick up a bunch of saplings with an eleventh grade class last week so they could plant them in their school yard. Animal skins--crocodiles, birds, some sort of jungle cats, sheep, maybe the shell of an armadillo--hung all around me in the open air dining room while I waited. PREA is a private organization that stands for Parque Recreativo Educativo Ambiental (Ambiental means Environmental...I hope you can figure out the rest). They have animals that you can rent for animal husbandry, but most of the farm environment is for show. They teach kids how to milk cows, teach them about the crocodiles they have in their swamp, have them feed a bunch of animals, show them how to compost, and all sorts of other stuff.
And my small world experiences keep happening. Out of the two teachers from the American School who came to PREA with the 45 students, one is from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and went to Gettysburg College for a year before transferring. The American School is a prestigious private school consisting of a lot of Embassy kids and rich Paraguayan kids. It was interesting going from PREA with them to my seventh grade class where they can`t afford books or any other suplies. I did a leadership charla with them where we talked about good vs bad qualities of a leader. The teacher stayed in the room, which I appreciated, but also answered a HANDFUL of questions aimed at the kids, which was obnoxious. The kids also elected a class government but didn`t talk about the responsibilities of each official and none could tell me why they wanted a government. It basically became a popularity/boy vs. girl contest. Odd but not surprising.
The coordinator of PREA invited me to come back today because the American school from Asunción is coming. I was here to pick up a bunch of saplings with an eleventh grade class last week so they could plant them in their school yard. Animal skins--crocodiles, birds, some sort of jungle cats, sheep, maybe the shell of an armadillo--hung all around me in the open air dining room while I waited. PREA is a private organization that stands for Parque Recreativo Educativo Ambiental (Ambiental means Environmental...I hope you can figure out the rest). They have animals that you can rent for animal husbandry, but most of the farm environment is for show. They teach kids how to milk cows, teach them about the crocodiles they have in their swamp, have them feed a bunch of animals, show them how to compost, and all sorts of other stuff.
And my small world experiences keep happening. Out of the two teachers from the American School who came to PREA with the 45 students, one is from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and went to Gettysburg College for a year before transferring. The American School is a prestigious private school consisting of a lot of Embassy kids and rich Paraguayan kids. It was interesting going from PREA with them to my seventh grade class where they can`t afford books or any other suplies. I did a leadership charla with them where we talked about good vs bad qualities of a leader. The teacher stayed in the room, which I appreciated, but also answered a HANDFUL of questions aimed at the kids, which was obnoxious. The kids also elected a class government but didn`t talk about the responsibilities of each official and none could tell me why they wanted a government. It basically became a popularity/boy vs. girl contest. Odd but not surprising.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Its a Small World and Underpants on my Head
6-3-09
Time is flying! This past weekend a bunch of other volunteers came into Asunción for meetings and rendezvous. It was great to see everyone--and to celebrate some birthdays! We went out to karaoke after a delicious dinner of Mexican food where I promptly ran into a Paraguayan who stopped me by saying my host brother-during-training´s name. Apparently he used to work with the host brother and recognized me from Guarambarè. I could have sworn I had never seen him before in my life. I sang. Then, yesterday I was sss-ed at from a parked car while waiting for a bus in Limpio. (I hate the sss-ing but it is an awfully effective way to get someone´s attention.) He did the ¨Ven aqui¨ motion--palm down, fingers move together from flat hand to closed hand and back. Then he told me he recognized me from Guarambaré, that I walked by his house at 7:30 every morning for 3 months. Weird--two Guarambarè spottings in 5 days. Good thing I blend in here, right? Then, a half hour away in a big super market I saw two kids from a school I`m working in. They were working bagging groceries. All these small world Paraguayan meetings of course come now that swine flu has hit the country. My host family says that lots of schools in Asunción are now requiring the nose-mouth covers by students and teachers.
This week has been interesting thus far. I had a good break through with the principal of the high school I`m working with in Limpio. I thought she wasn`t going to allow me to come back after I deliver the survey results but after some sweet talking, she is now giving me pretty much a free pass to do whatever I want. I found a school in Limpio also that does environmental education support for other schools. They have trees that are ready to be planted, a vegetable garden, and apparently a bunch of animals--some that you can rent (cows, pigs, goats) and some that you can`t (like alligators). I don`t know why you can`t rent alligators. That makes me slightly sad. I`m going back Friday. What else is going on in my life? Today I walked back with a bunch of kids from their school. I didn´t know any of them but they had plenty of questions for me. Unfortunately, one found a pair of underwear on the road. They started throwing it on each other. I apparently have no control over kids I don`t know because I couldn`t make them stop. Then suddenly, it was on my head. Yes, underwear was on my head. Some probably dirty, stranger´s underwear that had previously been laying in the dirt by the road was on my head. After my response they didn`t pick it up or throw it on anyone else. And they were suddenly much nicer and more respectful. I`m pleased with the final result but EWWWW.
Today, after that super fun experience I went to the community comedor, which I`ve mentioned before. This women`s group put together this place where kids 7-12 can eat breakfast and lunch for free. The same two or three women are always working. It is a new project and seems to have burn out written all over it, as far as I`m concerned. Those women work 25 hours a week. They`re having a lot of drama with the really well-intentioned but spread-too-thin president, lack of transparency with food stuff and money, and a general communication break down. As these women were telling me all about the drama I couldn´t help but think of the frequently exhausting union meetings from Rosemont. They have a meeting on Friday that I`m going to. I`m interested to see how this works out. In the meantime I`m going to try to stay as neutral as possible. And so tomorrow I`m doing an art project with the kids. I`m thinking no political statements with the art...probably less Banksy and more finger paint.
Time is flying! This past weekend a bunch of other volunteers came into Asunción for meetings and rendezvous. It was great to see everyone--and to celebrate some birthdays! We went out to karaoke after a delicious dinner of Mexican food where I promptly ran into a Paraguayan who stopped me by saying my host brother-during-training´s name. Apparently he used to work with the host brother and recognized me from Guarambarè. I could have sworn I had never seen him before in my life. I sang. Then, yesterday I was sss-ed at from a parked car while waiting for a bus in Limpio. (I hate the sss-ing but it is an awfully effective way to get someone´s attention.) He did the ¨Ven aqui¨ motion--palm down, fingers move together from flat hand to closed hand and back. Then he told me he recognized me from Guarambaré, that I walked by his house at 7:30 every morning for 3 months. Weird--two Guarambarè spottings in 5 days. Good thing I blend in here, right? Then, a half hour away in a big super market I saw two kids from a school I`m working in. They were working bagging groceries. All these small world Paraguayan meetings of course come now that swine flu has hit the country. My host family says that lots of schools in Asunción are now requiring the nose-mouth covers by students and teachers.
This week has been interesting thus far. I had a good break through with the principal of the high school I`m working with in Limpio. I thought she wasn`t going to allow me to come back after I deliver the survey results but after some sweet talking, she is now giving me pretty much a free pass to do whatever I want. I found a school in Limpio also that does environmental education support for other schools. They have trees that are ready to be planted, a vegetable garden, and apparently a bunch of animals--some that you can rent (cows, pigs, goats) and some that you can`t (like alligators). I don`t know why you can`t rent alligators. That makes me slightly sad. I`m going back Friday. What else is going on in my life? Today I walked back with a bunch of kids from their school. I didn´t know any of them but they had plenty of questions for me. Unfortunately, one found a pair of underwear on the road. They started throwing it on each other. I apparently have no control over kids I don`t know because I couldn`t make them stop. Then suddenly, it was on my head. Yes, underwear was on my head. Some probably dirty, stranger´s underwear that had previously been laying in the dirt by the road was on my head. After my response they didn`t pick it up or throw it on anyone else. And they were suddenly much nicer and more respectful. I`m pleased with the final result but EWWWW.
Today, after that super fun experience I went to the community comedor, which I`ve mentioned before. This women`s group put together this place where kids 7-12 can eat breakfast and lunch for free. The same two or three women are always working. It is a new project and seems to have burn out written all over it, as far as I`m concerned. Those women work 25 hours a week. They`re having a lot of drama with the really well-intentioned but spread-too-thin president, lack of transparency with food stuff and money, and a general communication break down. As these women were telling me all about the drama I couldn´t help but think of the frequently exhausting union meetings from Rosemont. They have a meeting on Friday that I`m going to. I`m interested to see how this works out. In the meantime I`m going to try to stay as neutral as possible. And so tomorrow I`m doing an art project with the kids. I`m thinking no political statements with the art...probably less Banksy and more finger paint.
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