Week 4

Wow, it’s been five weeks since I arrived in Paraguay! Time flies when you’re having fun… It seems like it’s been a week. Sorry I haven’t blogged for awhile. Honestly, I’ve been feeling really unmotivated to write recently. I think it is because the newness of being here has worn off and now I’m not amazed at every little thing I see or do. Now I really feel like I live here and I’ve settled into my life and my routine.

The week before last week was pretty normal. One night we went to my aunt and uncle and cousins’ house (which is only a few blocks from ours) for empanadas and sangria and to meet our new baby cousin…so cuteJ. Another day I went to this field a few kilometers from my school to play soccer with my friends. We ended up dividing into a girls’ team and a boys’ team. We weren’t really keeping score but I’m pretty sure the boys won. There were cows grazing on the field and we didn’t have goals so we used the space in between the cow’s front legs and back legs as our goals haha. The cows got a few shots in the stomach, but otherwise it actually worked pretty well.

Last Friday was my last day of Spanish class so we had a party to celebrate. Everyone brought food. We ate empanadas, pizza and ice cream. I brought the ice cream because there’s an ice cream shop right across the street from my house. I love it! On hot days I can just walk over and get some helado to cool down. The old lady that owns it likes to talk to me and she always gives me a little extra ice cream for free J

On Saturday, AFS volunteers took the exchange students in Luque on a walking tour of our town so we would know how to get around by ourselves. We went everywhere. We saw Sportivo Luqueño, which is the soccer stadium in my town. We found a door that was unlocked so we were able to actually go inside and see it. We also went to the market which is quite an experience. It’s about four blocks long and people sell clothes, food, school supplies and pretty much anything else you could possibly want. It’s not like the markets in America at all. It is very dirty and crowded. Also, cars still drive down the streets that the market is on so you can’t walk around very easily. But, things are super cheap and I bought a bracelet for .60 cents in USDJ.

One of my classmates invited me to her quinceañera, which was Saturday night. In Latin America, when a girl turns 15, she has a huge party called a quinceañera, or quince, to mark her arrival as a woman. Here, people go all out for their daughter’s quinces. My sister and I got all dressed up and our older sister, Ali, did our hair. It started at 11 (parties here start really late) and when we arrived at 12 hardly anyone was there yet. There’s this expression that things in Paraguay run on “hora paraguaya” (Paraguay time) and it’s so true! Things usually start an hour or two after they’re supposed to because no one gets there on time. After a while food was served and we talked with our friends. After dinner, a slideshow of childhood photos and video clips of the birthday girl was played. After that, we got to eat a gorgeous (and delicious!) cake. There was also a giant table with all kinds of desserts and sweets. Later, the dancing started. That was really fun except that all the people are such good dancers and I’m a terrible dancer. But by the end of the night I was doing okay… My sister and her boyfriend picked Martha and I up at about 3:30.

My sister has been dating her boyfriend, Kelo, for 8 years and he is so cool. For his job he goes to the Chaco and catches exotic animals like anteaters, armadillos and snakes. He sends these to someone in Atlanta, Georgia who sells them as pets in the US. This sounds really sketchy and it’s probably illegal but it’s still cool to get to see his animals. Also, in a few weeks he’s going to take me rappelling at a mountain nearby. I love rock climbing and stuff, so I’m really excited.

Speaking of upcoming plans, I’m going to Brazil next week! Next week is Semana Santa, which is Easter week, and we have no school. My aunt lives in São Paulo, so my sisters and my mom and I are going to go visit her for the whole week! I’m super excitedddd. I’ll make sure to take lots of pictures.

Well, I want to post about my second AFS orientation, which was last weekend, but I think I’ll make a new post for that since this one is so long already. I hope all is well in the US! Chau!

Kelo's snake

With mama before the quince

Snake #2

Week 3

Whew, this week has been busy, busy, busy. Last Monday was a holiday, so we didn’t have school. I went to my friend Amy’s house and spent the whole day with her and her host family. When I got there, her mom was tanning by their pool and a maid came and brought me fresh squeezed orange juice. I felt like I was on 90210! In the morning we went in the pool and relaxed on the patio. I got really sun burned :( After lunch it was really hot so we hung out in her sister’s room and talked for awhile. Her sister, Mayda, is 15 too and she’s super nice. At around 4 we went to the Club Internacional de Tenis, which they are members of. There’s a gym and a giant pool and tennis courts and soccer fields and a spa. Amy’s host dad is a former professional soccer player so he basically gave me a personal lesson for two hours, which was so cool. Also, while we were there, there was a giant international tennis competition. The participants were from all over the world including 5 or 6 people from the US. We watched a few games and then went in the sauna. Ahhh. For a few hours I forgot I was in a third world country!

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I went to a handball tournament every night. It was really interesting, since I had never seen a handball game before. It’s basically like basketball except with a smaller ball and soccer goals instead of hoops. There were six men’s teams and six women’s teams from all over Paraguay. My parents were both volunteering at the concessions stand to support their church, so every night we were there from about 8 pm to 1 am. Needless to say, it was pretty hard to wake up at 6 for school in the mornings. Thursday was the championship for the men’s and women’s teams. Luque (my city) ended up winning for both men’s and women’s! There were a ton of people there, and they were going crazy cheering. It was fun and now I really want to try handball!

Friday was an AFS party for all the students in Luque. It was at my friend Ricarda’s house. There were about 20 students and volunteers there plus the host families. It was really fun, and I met a lot of new people. The party was to welcome me and the two other new students to Luque. Most of the other students are here for the year program. They’ve been here since last August. I think I may end up learning some German in addition to Spanish because about half the students are from Germany! It was so cool to hear all of the different languages and cultures being shared. At the end of the night someone brought out Espuma (which is a foam spray)leftover from Carnival a few weeks ago, and we all chased each other and got completely covered in it. Afterwards we broke a piñata filled with glitter and confetti. It stuck to our foam so we all looked like giant disco balls haha.

Yesterday we washed the dogs in the morning and went to my sister’s friend’s house in the afternoon. In the evening, my whole family went to a pizza place for dinner. It was SO fun! Everyone was laughing and joking around and having a really good time. At this point, I really feel like I am a member of the family, which is great. On Sundays we always have a big family lunch. Today my dad decided to make fish for the lunch, and I got to help him. In the morning, we went to the market and got a giant fish that had just been caught this morning in el Rio Paraguay. When we got home, we had to skin the fish and grill it. In the end it was deliciousss.

This week was so fun, even though it was busy! Hopefully next week will be just as good. Chau!

yummy fish!

Me and Martha

Go Luque!

Handball

Washing the dogs

Visiting my Grandma

Last Sunday, we went to my Grandma’s house in the country. I love going to the countryside in Paraguay because it’s so different from anywhere I’ve ever been before. This is one of the few places left on Earth that hasn’t yet been spoiled. There is electricity, but it’s very unreliable. In general, people do not have modern technology like TVs and washing machines. The way of life is so simple. People’s diets consist mostly of what they grow or have on their land. I think what I love most about it is that people here are able to be so self sufficient. They do not have to rely on a farmer across the world for their food or a car to get where they want to go. It’s never boring because there is always an animal that needs to be fed, fruit that needs to be harvested, or food to be cooked. I want to remember everything about this place and these nights: the smell of citronella burning, the taste of icy terrere, the sounds of laughter and insects, the view of the full moon, lighting the sky, and the feeling of being completely at home.

Photos from top: My grandma, me with my dad and cousins, a yummy fruit my grandma grows (I forget the name!), Martha and Alejandro (my babycousin), my grandma's house.

Settling in...plus things that no longer surprise me

Hey everyone! So my second week in Paraguay is done. It was another great week and now I’m starting to feel like I have more of a routine. This week several things happened. I started my Spanish classes, some friends came over to my house, I got my uniform and my cousin came to visit.

First, the Spanish classes. AFS requires all of its participants in Paraguay to take Spanish classes. We have them every day except Sunday for two hours. They are sooo boring. We are learning beginner’s Spanish such as greetings, the alphabet, family members and food. These are things I learned in Spanish I. And we have to do this for a month… There are three other AFSers in my class, a girl and boy from Thailand and a girl from Colorado. The only thing that makes the classes bearable is that I can talk with the other American, Amy. We both have taken several years of Spanish in school, so we are able to help Bang and Natcha from Thailand, since they don’t know any Spanish at all.

On Tuesday night after Spanish class, my friend Ricarda came over to my house for a little while. Ricarda is an AFS student from Germany and she’s the host daughter of my host mom’s best friend. She’s already been here for 6 months and will be here for another 5. When she came over we talked for awhile and bought ice cream from a store across the street. It was fun J When she arrived here, she didn’t know any Spanish and now she is basically fluent. Listening to her gives me hope for my Spanish skills! Yesterday (Thursday) afterschool, one of my friends from school, Dahiana, came over and hung out with me and my sister. We looked at my pictures of America for a while and then hung out in the yard. Funfunfun.

On Wednesday I came home and found out that my cousin was visiting from college in Asuncion. I don’t know how long he is going to stay here but he’s been living with us, in my brother’s room. His family has an exchange student also, from Germany. After we had lunch, my mom took me to get my uniform for school (finally!). I got measured for the uniform last week, but they didn’t have it ready until this Wednesday. As if I didn’t already stand out enough, I had been wearing jeans and my school’s polo instead of a uniform for the first week and a half. My uniform is a brown and white checkered jumper with a light blue collared shirt underneath. I also have to wear white knee high socks and brown leather buckle shoes. Pretty fashionable… haha.

Otherwise, this week has been pretty normal. I feel like I’m settling into my routine here. Usually I wake up at 6, get ready for school, eat some bread with dulce de leche (my new obsession!), get my notebooks together and my mom drives us to school. School is from 7-11:20, except for Tuesday, when it goes until 12:20. I love being done with school for the day and knowing that my friends in America are still in first period (I get out at 9:20 DC time)J. After school, my sister and I walk or take the bus home, depending on the weather. When we get home we read or watch TV and just relax for about an hour and a half. (Speaking of reading, I just finished the book Three Cups of Tea, about mountain climber turned school builder Greg Mortenson. I recommend it!) My mom makes us lunch, which is the main meal of the day, and we eat at about 1:30. After lunch, we have a siesta (naptime!). At 3:45 I walk to my Spanish class and then I walk back home when it's done at 6. After I get home, I usually hang out with my brother and sisters and sometimes run errands with my mom. I’ve been talking a lot with my brother because he’s trying to learn English. And we’ve been watching Skins together (we get MTV here!). On days that I have homework (which are rare), I do it before dinner. We eat dinner between 9:30 and 10. For dinner we usually go out to get empanadas or burgers or something. After dinner we watch TV and shower/ get ready for bed. And then I start over the next day.

I also wanted to post a few things that really surprised me when I first got here, but now seem normal:

· The buses are all painted with bright colors and patterns, like murals.
· There are dogs and cats and chickens in the streets and everywhere.
· People here shower two or three times a day (because of the heat).
· Horses or mules with wagons walk right alongside cars in the streets.
· Drivers here have no regard at all for other cars or people. Pedestrians fear for their lives.
· People put their whole families on motorbikes. I saw four people on one yesterday! And it’s common to see babies riding on the lap of the driver.
· People drink soda with every meal here, including breakfast. I now understand why Coca-Cola is a multibillion dollar company.
· I get more English channels here than I do at my house in DC.
· The dirt is bright red.
· In the country, women sometimes have 16, 17 or 18 children. They start having children when they’re 13 or 14 years old.
· EVERYONE is Catholic.
· Even though there are differences, the people here are really just like us!

sd Photos from top: The basilica in Ca'acupe, me with Martha and Dahiana (my friend from school), roadblock!, the calm before the storm

PP

First days in Paraguay

Hola! I'm in Paraguay! My first few days here have been great.

I started my trip with an orientation in Miami with 5 other students from America going to Paraguay. It was at a hotel that was connected to MIA airport. At this orientation, we learned about safety, communication and we got to talk with a consul from Paraguay. We did activities to practice acting out and drawing words we don't know and discussed our goals for the program. The orientation was led by two students from Miami International University.

After that we had an 8 and and a half hour flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile. On that flight I slept and watched movies and talked to the lady beside me. She was a retired teacher who is traveling the world now and she was going to Chile to hike in Patagonia for two weeks. So coool:)

From Santiago to Asuncion i sat next to a man who was very curious about the United States. He really wants to live there but he needs to "find an American bride" because it takes too long to become a citizen. haha.

When we got to Paraguay we were met in the airport by people from AFS and the students from Thailand. There alot of students from Thailand- 15 or 16. Thats more than all of the other countries combined! At the orientation we did more security info and we had lessons on Paraguayan culture. We learned about body language, culture, Guarani (the second national language of Paraguay), and medical info. On Saturday we met our families! I looove my family. My mom is very fun and my dad is really nice. I spend a lot of time with my 15 year old sister, Marta. My other brother and sister also live with us but they are both in college.

On Sunday we went to my grandma’s house in the country for the day. It was really cool to see that side of Paraguay because it’s very different than the city. The people that live in the “campo” are generally poor and live a very simple lifestyle. Also, I think that most of them are indigenous because Guarani is the primary language. My grandma lives in what Americans would consider a shack. Her house is partially made of boards nailed together and there’s no running water or electricity. Her land is very pretty though. I think that she has a yucca farm and she also grows lots of different types of fruits. My whole extended family on my dad’s side was there because it was his sister’s (my aunt’s) birthday and because they wanted to meet meJ We had a huge lunch made up of grilled pork, beef and chicken and a little bit of yucca and fruit from the yard (Paraguayans eat A LOT of meat). After lunch my dad, sister, cousin and I went for a walk around the land. Behind the house my grandma grows lots of plants. We also tasted all of the fresh fruits. Yum!

On Monday, I started school. I LOVE school J I go to a catholic school called Sagrado Corazon de Jesus. It’s very different than my school in the United States. We have to wake up at 6 because school starts at 7. It ends at 12 though, so I don’t mind. The school has classrooms centered on an outdoor plaza. The stairs and hallways are outside, so it’s very open to the outdoors, which I like. Here, the students stay in one class and the teachers move every period. There are only 18 students in my grade and we’re all in one class. This is different than America where I switch classrooms every period and have different people in each of my classes. In terms of a schedule, I have 5 classes a day for 50 minutes each with a ten minute “recreo” between each one. The school has a food store with candy and empanadas and sandwiches so people usually eat or talk with their friends during recreo. The people in my class are so nice! My sister and I mainly hang out with a group of 6 girls (including us) and 3 boys. They are very interested in the United States and are helping me a lot with my Spanish.

Speaking of my Spanish, I’m learning much faster than I thought I would! I can easily have a conversation, though sometimes I have to ask the other person to explain a word or repeat themselves.

We are about to have company over to watch a soccer game. Every night we either go to someone else’s house or someone comes here for some reason. Last night we went to my mom’s friend’s house (because it was her birthday) and we had to wait two hours to drive home because there was a terrible storm that flooded the streets and knocked out power!

Wow I feel like I just wrote a novel. It took me two days to write! Sorry for the length, but I wanted to let everyone know how my first days in Paraguay are going. I hope all is well in the USA! Ciaooo

ps- I am created a flickr account to share my photos but the internet here is really slow so it’s taking hours to upload them. When they are up, I’ll post a link on this blog J

Host Family Assignent Redux, Blogging from Chile!

I'm writing from the airport in Chile! Because of the snowpocalypse, I left DC on tuesday, drove to Charlotte, NC tuesday night and flew from there to Miami Wednesday morning. I then spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday at an orientation in Miami. I was on a long flight last night (thursday night) to get from Miami to Santiago, Chile (where I am now) and I'll leave here in a couple of hours for ANOTHER flight, this time to Asuncion. I'll post more about my flights and orientations later, but what I really wanted to blog about is a change in my host family.

About a week ago I was informed by AFS that my host family has been switched. Instead of the Molinari family, I'll be staying with the Basualdo Rodriguez family. This family is also in Luque. In the family, I'll live with a dad, Cesar, a mom, Carmen, and a daughter my age (again!), Marta. They also have a 29 year old daughter, Carmen and 25 year old son, Cesar. I have a feeling these names might get confusing...

I exchanged emails with my host family throughout last week and I'm super excited to meet them. I asked my host mom lots of questions and found out lots of great information. For school, I will be going to the Sacred Heart Academy, a catholic private school. No one in the home speaks any english, which is actually what I was hoping for so that my spanish will improve quickly. They do have internet in the house. When I asked what their house was like, she said that it was "small but big hearted" :) She seems super nice and signs her emails with "besos" (kisses).

My adventure has begun and I'm so excited!

Host Family Assignment

I recieved my host family! I'll be staying with the Molinari family. In the family there is a mom, Liz, a dad, Jorge, a 15 year old daughter (!), Angie, and a 10 year old daughter, Giselle. They live in a town called Luque, just outside of the capital city of Asuncion and near the border of Argentina. The organization didn't give me any more information on them but I talked with my host sister on facebook briefly and she seems very nice. Ok, I'm off to go skiing, but I was really excited and just wanted to let everyone know!