- Have moved into my very own house, which I share with the other PC volunteer here in Alberdi!! (Check for uploaded pics soon!) It's a pretty sweet deal- two rooms, a "modern" bathroom, and a living/kitchen/everything else room! All for the amount of $30 USD a month! (I know you're all jealous! hehe).
- School has begun! I work primarily in the Escuela Basica, where they have grades K through 8th. My school is super guapa! The Directora is very environmentally and community minded- which is a huge blessing for me and my future work here! I have started my work by giving a series of "trash" talks to all grades- 1st through 6th! I also plan on helping out with projects for EARTH DAY (April 22nd!) which include: starting a tree nursery, talking about soil erosion, making crafts out of recycled bottles, etc. The Vice- Directora here is also very active and wants to start doing a "limpieza" (clean up) campaign in the surrounding barrios (or local neighborhoods). In addition, we have begun planning a tree planting project, which will be implemented towards the entrance of our town, where there is often much trash. We hope that with this project we will spark community awareness and interest in keeping the town clean and healthy.
- English classes through the Cooperative continue with full force! We have already taught some of the basics like: greetings, personal questions, the ABC's, numbers (up to 100), and some words for objects like ball, shoe, etc. I actually am really enjoying these classes, because the kids seem to really be interested in learning! Teaching English is a whole job in itself! I am very lucky that I have a teacher here who knows how to speak English well and has experience teaching. She gets most of the credit for putting together the activities and lessons for the class. I also taught them how to sing "Twinkle twinkle little star" and they learned "Happy birthday" as well. I hope that my relationship with the kids continues to grow. I see that they are less shy and more willing to talk to me, the weird Norte Americana, with the strange English accent!
- My "G" just finished what is called the "In Service Training Language Reconnect." Everyone from my group met up again in Guarambare, where we all trained, and did a 2.5 day intensive language review/brush up! I am SO grateful for the help! I had a really great language teacher, who helped us SO much with the finer points of Spanish and Guarani. As we spend more time in the country, our language skills inevitably are improving- and it's amazing to actually see the difference between when we last were in training and now, after 4 months in site! We also got some more information on other project ideas/resources to bring back to site like: Gender and Development, working with Youth, health, HIV/SIDAS, working with women's groups, using tools to develop community projects, etc. It was also nice to see everyone again! It was kind of weird being back in Guarambare with everyone back- although it wasn't the first time for me. I stayed, by coincidence, with my host mom Sole, my brother Genry at my host grandma's house! Many things have changed for them- but I plan on coming back to see them as often as possible!
Winter is slowly starting to creep up around the corner. I can't believe it's FINALLY happening! Technically, it's "fall time", which means that I no longer have to take 2+ showers a day, and do not use the fans anymore! Winters, like summers, usually consist of extreme temperatures- with lots of humidity! So even if it not very cold temperature wise, the humidity makes it THAT much colder! The weather suddenly changed for the colder right around the same time you all back in the US hit spring time! Paraguay recently switched its time, after much discrepancy, so that we are back one hour (which means there's a 3 hour gap between me and California)in accordance to daylights savings. So, as I write this post around 6:45pm my time, it is already pitch dark! Crazy! So long to the late evening strolls to watch the sun set around 8:oopm, which is one of my favorite things to do here in Paraguay.
As I slowly settle into my new routine, I'm starting to feel more and more at home here. The first few months in site are, inevitably, the hardest they say. So much has to do with having to adapt to a new area, new people, new way of life all over again after training. But, like the great Randy Pausch said in my new favorite book The Last Lecture, "Experience is what we get when we didn't get what we wanted." Although I had a very different idea of what my future site would be like, I am happy and can't wait to continue developing projects that I am passionate about. To all those who are/may be thinking about doing Peace Corps- my biggest words of advice are: just hold on and make it through the first few months!
Of course, I miss everyone back home infinitely so. Thank you so much to those who have kept in touch with me, despite terrible internet and no phone reception! You are all my inspiration.
