big news! and some pictures!

Some pics from my life!

My pre-defrosted freezer!

Luke and Danita (a new-bee volunteer) jausting with with brooms and bikes! They are a little goofy sometimes! Lifes short - have fun!

Doing Radio!

Reviewing the radio show! Travis, me, Alberto (a youth from our youth group - who is also going to GAD camp with me. He is an HIV/AIDS expert - he came to talk on our show!) and Luke!

I made Gazpacho! This is what it looked like before-hand!

Great gifts from Iowa! Thank you!

Big news from Horqueta!
I figured out I can make my FAVORITE breakfast of oat/cinnamon pancakes and they turn out EXACTLY like they do at home! Which i am thrilled about! Cause lots of time when I cook stuff - it turns out ok, but not like it does at home. Its always just a little different! But, let me tell you how much I love having unlimited access to my stove and refridgerator! I havent made granola yet - cause my oven doesnt work and I am on the local for local raisins and nuts...but they are coming - i just have a feeling!

Cook anything good lately? Im looking for recipies or suggestions!

So its funny - my computer has a little window (as a part of the internet page) that is the local weather - and I had it programed to Milwaukee weather! It is currently -1 degrees F. And they are predicting snow for tomorrow - how bizzare! It is hot here! and humid. Which equals MUGGY! Which is the opposite of -1 and snow!

So what can I tell you that you might think is interesting...hmmmm.....
1. I have a new Muni contact. Her name is Norma, she is a law student and is 22. She seems pretty excited to work - but lost and not sure where to start. So we are working on that!
2. Hopefully starting to work on trash collection soon - which would make me really happy! And then maybe they would come pick MY trash up! (I currently illegally take it to the plaza to throw away...cause they cant get their act together to get me on the list!
3. I was dog sitting Jill's dog Lucy all of last week and decided I dont want a dog! (high maintence and needy...not things i need in my life!)
4. Had my finger and toe nails painted by Augustina, one of my favorite youth!
5. Going to GAD camp (Gender and Development) from Feb 8-10th! What a better way to celebrate a birthday besides hanging out with 70 people who want to play games, learn about self-estime and have fun with eachother!
6. I had lunch yesterday with the four New-bees that are in my VAC group (volunteer action committee or something like that!). Three are women bee keepers and one is a male Environmental Ed volunteer. They all are pretty cool! And have some ridiculous stories about what has been happening in site!
7. The country director and new safety and security officer are coming up to Horqueta on Tuesday to have lunch with our VAC. Which means a few things. 1. Free lunch. 2. Hanging out with volunteers 3. Probably a dance party at the watermelon on tuesday night!
8. Radio - we just had 3 weeks taking about HIV/AIDS. And now we are on to a new topic - its my turn to write the show...not sure what its going to be on! yikes! We had a guest host, Travis - the new Envir. Ed. volunteer, because Jill is on vacation! He wrote and sang a song about the importance of condom use!
9. The host of Cantando por un Sueno! (Singing for a dream - very much like a Paraguayan version of American Idol) is in my hotel right now...he's shorter than I imagined but still very attractive!
10. I had to defrost my fridge yesterday cause the freezer part had almost completely frozen over - thank whirlpool for creating a self defrosting freezer for me!

I think thats all of the interesting news I know for the moment. Ill let you know if I think of anything! I am in Asuncion...using wireless internet and have a dinner date to eat Peruvian food! Cant wait!

do ganas matter? and other questions

12jan08
do ganas matter?
Ganas: a spanish word for desire, energy or um-phf to do something. If you are without ganas you could be described as lazy - but other times it is just used to describe being worn-out.


I have had a lot of people ask me to teach them to speak English. To be completely honest I am not really interested in teaching English. It takes a lot of patience that I am not sure I have or am willing to put forward in that way. I tried to give Osvaldo an English lesson – or at least help him with his homework and I wore me out so much! And it frustrated me, tons! So that’s not good. I don’t want to do something (or start something) that makes me tired and angry. That sounds like a recipe for disaster! yuck. so what do I do? The issue of english classes has raised an interesting question for me:
Does it matter what I want to do? Does it matter if I am not interested in doing something? If Paraguayan want it and it is something that would help them – shouldn’t that be something that I want to do or just do! Does it matter if I like it? I don’t know how to draw the line. I don’t know how to balance whose needs/desires come first. I swore to serve Paraguayans – how do I balance Rachel things with what Paraguayans need? How selfish do I get to be when I am supposed to be being selfless?

question asking - i think is a good thing.

More questions and thoughts

Development:
don’t send money. don’t give anything away. don’t tell people they are going to receive x-amount of dollars because they are breathing. There is something to work-incentive. There is need, great need; Hungry people, kids without shoes, houses or educations, kids, moms and grandmas with parasites. How do you find the “poor line” where it is impossible to develop/move forward/improve your own life if you don’t have your basic needs met? How do you meet those basic needs without providing incentive for people to purposefully drop themselves below the line to receive the handouts? How do you light peoples fires about making their lives better? education? I don’t feel like most people want to learn. They say – yeah teach me. But they don’t say, yeah, I want to change the way I run my life – I am going stop burning my trash/littering, drinking alcohol when im pregnant, im going to start using condoms or I am going to be loyal to my partner. No one. In ningun pais, are people going to jump on the, “tell me and I am going to change my ways” bandwagon. So, I don’t know what I think that it’s a good idea that I am here saying…um…have you thought about ____?
Maybe I do know. I know that I like my city better when there isn’t trash everywhere. I know kids are healthier when they don’t have fetal alcohol syndrome. I know its better when people don’t have unwanted pregnancies. I knows its better when people are loyal to their partners. Why is this development? Why have I decided its my job to tell people? Who the hell gave me the knowledge and authority to go around telling other people how to live their lives?
Although maybe Im not here to boss people around.
I came to meet people. I came to learn languages. I came to share my life with people on the opposite side of the globe.
It still makes me feel awfully high and mighty. And I don’t have any right to.

Christmas in Paraguay!

Hello again!
I have had a lot of people ask me about Paraguayan traditions for Christmas and New Years - and well I am still feeling in the season because in the last two weeks I have got a lot of christmas mail! (Sometimes it takes a little time!) I have been the lucky recipient of some lovely christmas cards and 2 packages from Grandma and Mary and from Camp Stanhope! THANK YOU!
So, since I am still in the Christmas spirit! Let me tell you about Christmas in Paraguay! It acutally isnt that big of a deal! Christmas eve, families have a big dinner at 10 or 11 at night and then after dinner everyone goes out to the disco or a club and they dance til dawn...or after dawn. And then they sleep all day on Christmas! Oh there are lots and lots of fireworks! The kind that used to be illegal in Minnesota! The people that are incharge of setting them off are children between the ages of about 4-20. And adult supervision is not really considered to be necessary! New Years passes almost igual! (or the same!) Bonnie and I spent New Year's Eve in J.A. Saldivar, with my original host family! They were thrilled to see us and to have more people to feed! As always Na Olga cooked up some amazing deliciousness and Don Oscar took care of the grilling (lamb leg, spicy sausages, meat (beef) and also baked chicken) = amazing! Gloria (4), Lorena (9) and Paola (12) showed Bonnie and I how fireworks are supposed to be done! And almost lit bonnie on fire!

The holiday that is a little more like our Christmas is El dia de los Tres Reyes Magos - Three Kings Day! It came on Jan. 6th and is the day when little kids get presents! Like the US, presents range in quantity and quality depending on the family income. There are still fireworks on Three Kings Day - actually any time that you want to celebrate anything - Fireworks are an excellent way to let your neighbors know there is a party!

I have been trying to put up a slide show of photos from Bonnie's and my adventure to Argentina, Uruguay and our 2o minutes in Brazil! It is in the works still! Stay tuned!

Lots of love from the watermelon!

ALL I WANT IS A BAGEL!!!

http://www.einsteinbros.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Home.

I am craving a hot Einstein Bros. Bagel! Oh darn...its far away!

Rollercoaster! Whoo hooo!

Yesterday I made a treasure hunt for the youth group, and it went really well and i think our youth group really liked it! they had to do the limbo at the municipality, count the seeds on my house, have a waterballoon toss and go to a professors house and wash their hands before they found out they were going out for ice cream! It was fun!

I have had a bit of a roller coaster morning. I arrived at the muni and they told me i had a new counter part. Perfect, prayers answered, maybe my work can start, someone who actually might want to work with me! This is amazing! Its what I been waiting for for months! Fantastic - let me at her! So I met her, she was fabulous, young and energetic! She was a little overwhelmed and didnt really understand her job (maybe cause she hasnt had any training or advice about what her job actually entails!) Luckily I was able to talk to a few PCers and tracked down a general job description for someone who is the Secretary of the Environment. But then the secretary general tells me that they are transfering her to the finance office - and as quick as she came, she was gone again! And here I am left contactless again! I am really a friendly person, I dont really understand why no one wants to hang out with me!

We will see what the afternoon brings! Im hoping the AC gets installed!

some news!

Just a little sneak peak at my vacation!

Me and bons at Casa Pueblo, located in Punta del Este, Uruguay. It is a house, hotel, resturaunt and museum that was designed by painter Carlos Páez Vilaró for his work space. It looked like a giant white sand castle! It was incredible! We didnt have tons of time here - but it was definately my favorite part of Uruguay!

news from the home front...

Things are good. It is hotter than all get out! I never knew that my knees could sweat so much. It is unbearable at moments and makes me feel like i might die. So I took a big step yesterday - i bought an air conditioner. I spent all of my American savings on it. But I figured that I will probably be able to make money at home when i get back and its way better than being misserable for the next year and a half!

My best friend Bonnie came down to visit for three weeks and just got on the airplane this morning. It was really sad to see her go - there were only two airplanes leaving Asuncion this morning so I could watch her (actually) plane take off. We had a great three weeks - we went to Buenos Aires, AR and Montevideo, Colonia and Punta del Este in Uruguay. Then we came back to PY and spent a week in my site hanging out with my buddies. We threw a big party on saturday night to inaugurate my house and as a goodbye party for her! It was great! One of the guys I work with did the grilling, my boyfriends brothers brought over their sound system and there was good eating, drinking, dancing and merryment all night long! It was great!

I am headed back to site today. WITH MY AIRCONDITIONER! I am thrilled!
More to come about vacation...soon!

The first adventure to BA

These are a few fotos from my first trip to Buenos Aires when I traveled with the Youth Orchestra from Horqueta in October!

Getting ready to pull out of Horqueta. Please note the mattresses-I never knew that when traveling you should bring your mattress along with you! The process to load the buses took 5+ hours! And it was a bit hot and sticky...icky!

Traveling with 90 paraguayans: something that I never had even dreamed of! It was wonderful! They were so much fun!

Mural: I love wall art!

Me and wall art! I love public art!

This was the bus that I spent a total of 53 hours on! Princesa del Norte = Princess of the North!

Princess...not sure if thats what I would have named it...

Me!

Luna Park! This is where the culmination of all of the performaces was held!

This is everyone performing at Luna Park! They sounded great! Luna Park is actually a basketball stadium - but can be transformed into a music hall! Wow!

I will post pictures from my latest adventure soon!

love,

r