Horqueta here I come!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am moving to Horqueta, Paraguay. It is in the department of Concepcion. It is about 6+ hours by bus from Asuncion. To get there one must drive through the Chaco Desert or take a 24 boat trip down/up the Rio Paraguay! Do you know what this means?
#1. I will have the opportunity to wear my Chacos in the Chaco more often that I was expecting.
#2. There is only one stop in the middle of the Chaco and it makes some of the best Veggie Empanadas I have had yet! I am going to continue to eat amazing deep-fried food!
#3. I can take a boat home if I want!

The current Muni volunteer in Horqueta is amazing! He has done great work and set up a number of excellent projects for me to continue with. I will be able to jump in and work with the library commission, youth camp, garbage pickup, sanitary landfill, and much more!

I am also a proud new dog owner! Chris will be passing off the ownership of his loyal companion, Quito! He is a big, smart and sweet dog! I am thrilled!

I hope you are all well!

The the Montag clan! Please live it up in Chicago this weekend! Dance for me!
love,
rachel

Long Field Practice + PK+ New found love for empanadas= rachel loving Paraguay

This is Me in my Chacos---in the CHACO!

I have exactly one week until I find out where will be my new home for the next two years. Next Friday at about 3pm G24 will be receiving our site placements. It is a day we have been looking forward to since we started filling out our Peace Corps Applications. (That might make it sound a little dramatic – but still true!)

We just arrived back in our host training communities – where we have been living since we arrived in Paraguay. This week was an out of community fieldtrip of sorts. We split into two groups and went and spent a week with a real, live Peace Corps Volunteer. We gave a few charlas (kind of like community ed. Talks/future planning for various groups i.e. library commission and a youth group). My group went to Horqueta, Paraguay which is about 6 hours north of Asuncion. We had to drive through the Great Chaco Desert! I will be posting a picture of me IN my Chacos IN the Chaco! It is pretty cool for the first 15 minutes and then pretty much all looks the same. There are lots of cows, vultures and very very poor indigenous peoples and palm trees. The part that we drove through does not really look like what I thought it would look like (Saudi Arabia) there is more shrubbery than I expected.

Spending the week in Horqueta was great! It was packed full of activities but all very interesting and enjoyable. I stayed with a wonderful host family with a daughter who is 22 and the leader of the youth group – who was awesome. They were very sweet! Adam and I gave a charla with the youth group about planning for their future and assessing their current resources and brainstorming what sort of projects/activities they would like to work on in the future. It was a bit intimidating at first but I think it went well.

Poverty is everywhere. At times it rips my heart out and then dances on top of it. It is hard to know exactly what my role is to be here and in the world in general and where my responsiblitiy lies. I do however feel very lucky to have the opportunity to see all the things that I have seen and the privledge to decide when/where/how I want to be involved. Some people (many people) do not have that luxury.

We worked at a day camp for kids in the poorest neighborhood of Horqueta that was run by a PC Urban Youth Volunteer. We played games, made necklaces and sang kids songs in Guarani! It was there that I learned that I have been hosting a foot worm for the past 3+ weeks. PK (or so it is pronounced) is a worm that crawls into your foot and then lays eggs. It is a mildly painful visitor – however not so much that I really knew I had it. I just thought I had a sliver. Thanks to a Rural Health Volunteer who had come to work at camp – I learned that I had been an excellent hostess! My host sister was kind enough to remove it and the worm is gone and no long-term damage had been done. It was a teachable moment = sometimes slivers are really worms living and laying eggs in your toes! Watch out!

Empanadas! Are my new favorite food. Paraguay is a lot like the Minnesota State Fair. Everything is deep-fried. Empanadas are no exception. They are very much like Hotpockets – Parguayan style. Either flour or mandioca flour dough filled with any assortment of delicious things, most often ground beef, hard boiled egg, parsley or ham and cheese – they are then deep-fried. Needless to say – joining the Peace Corps is kind of like being a freshman in college except the freshman 15 might end-up being more than 15.

Last night in Horqueta we had an amazing Asado (Spanish for BBQ). The volunteer that hosted us was incredible! We had a feast beyond any of our wildest dreams – see photo! Also the Urban Youth Volunteer that is working in Horqueta came over for dinner and fire-danced for us. See picture!

This weekend I am going with my host mother to pick-up my three little sisters who went to their grandmother’s house for the week. (My grandmother is 52 and has 12 year old grandkids – they are tight generations!) My grandmother and host mother both have plans for me to meet/marry their son and brother. However – I did NOT join the Peace Corps to be set up. So – it should be an interesting weekend. My future husband will be there! I actually am going to tell them I now have a boyfriend in Horqueta – Mario Gonzalez Gonzales (this is a lie) but will get them worked up! We will see how it goes! Wish me luck!

My host-mom died my hair last week! It was a bonding moment. She said she tried to go to beauty school – but every time she went she got pregnant so she wasn’t allowed to go any more…hmmm….

The weather is BEAUTIFUL today/this week! We are enjoying 70s and sun! My kind of winter! However should it rain again I will need to pull out my long underwear and wool socks again!

I hope you are well and wonderful!

Please let me know how you are doing. One year ago this weekend many of us were gathered together for the festivities of my mom and micks wedding! *sigh. I think of you all and smile!

-love

-r.

Photos!

Aregua, Paraguay

Christina, Josh, Gloria and me! We are on top of one of the only hills in Aregua, Paragauy. We had a short trip last weekend! We visited a ceramic artistisan coop, I was able to throw a blow, we ate ice cream and had hot showers and took a boat trip! It was an excellent weekend!

¿Paraguayan Princess?

I feel like a Paraguayan princess – I am writing to you as I sit in bed under my mosquitero – mosquito net. I always wanted a canopy bed when I was little – and now I finally have one. I just had to move to Paraguay to get it!

We are finishing up our fifth week of training! Which could not be more welcomed. Historically speaking the 5^th week is the hardest to get through emotionally and mentally. Our group (myself included) has felt the challenges that go along with being in the middle of the training, fighting with language and other challenges that are a part of the package deal!

We are headed out on a “tech-overnight” this weekend to scope out another municipality and see how things work in a different town. The city we are going to visit is called Aregua – it is known for their arts and crafts! It is also located on one of Paraguay’s (few) lakes – I am very excited to be by water! It will nice to have a little change of scenery and see more of the country.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go in to Asuncion (the capital) for a little R&R and eat a little potato salad at the US Embassy for their 4^th of July party. Unfortunately, there weren’t any fireworks but we all enjoyed ourselves! I did get to eat a hamburger (without a fried egg on top – the Paraguayan norm), ice cream and cotton candy!

There is a town named Nemby – and every time I see a bus that says its name on the window I feel like it is going to my city – cause it ALMOST looks like it says it is going to Newby. This however does not make it any easier for my family (or other Paraguayans) to pronounce my name. Lubi is the current (and most consistent) pronunciation of my name. Raquel Lubi.

Hand washing my underwear is NOT my new favorite activity. Its an excellent learning experience and it has given me great appreciation for my washing machine and Tide. I hand washed two of my bras and hung them on the iron bars/grate outside of my window – and my mom asked me if they were clean or dirty – and I said clean – cause they were. (And why would I display my dirty bras for the whole world to see?) But she gave me the eyebrows, which means – “Really? Are you sure they are clean?” And I said – maybe I will try to wash them again tomorrow. Opps! I thought they looked ok. Damn, I am no good at hand washing my clothes. Maybe I will be able to learn in the next 26 months!

I hope everyone had the opportunity to see some fireworks and eat Red, White and Blue food! (I was craving blueberries, strawberries and whip cream!) Please let me know how you are doing! (email me at rachelknewby@gmail.com)

rachel.