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!

Introduction

Hi, my name is Ann Elise. I live in Washington, DC. I am currently a sophomore at School Without Walls, a small public school in Foggy Bottom. In February, I will be leaving for six months for an exchange program in Paraguay. I am very excited about this opportunity.

This first post will be my introduction. I am very friendly and love spending time with my friends at the movies, restaurants, parties, or going to different neighborhoods in the city. I play lots of sports including soccer, skiing, swimming, tennis, basketball, and jogging. I also love spending time outdoors biking, camping, or going for walks. With my family, I like cooking and baking, travelling, and doing normal activities like watching TV and reading. I have no brothers or sisters.

Around my friends, I love having fun and often organize things such as going ice skating or sleepovers. My best friends live very close to me, so we usually go over to each other’s houses after school to hang out. I love making people laugh. I think that my friends would describe me as funny, kind, and social.

I also have a very good relationship with both of my parents. I enjoy spending time with them and often go to them for advice or just to talk. We go to museums, cook, travel, and go to the farmers market and other places around my neighborhood. I love doing normal activities with my parents like walking our dogs, running errands, seeing movies, and going out to eat. I think that my parents would describe me as independent, fun, and a leader.

I am very athletic. My main sport is soccer. I play for my school’s varsity girl’s soccer team and hope to be a captain next year. On the team, I am a starter and am considered a leader. Through my soccer team, I have made lots of friends. In addition to soccer, I love skiing, swimming, biking, hiking, basketball, jogging, and tennis. I enjoy playing pretty much any sport. I love spending time outdoors being active. With my parents, I often go camping or biking with other family friends. My grandparents on my mom’s side have cabins in Minnesota that we go to every summer. I like travelling to other places too. I have been to most parts of America and also Mexico, the Bahamas and Canada. I particularly like going to New York City and the beach.

In addition to sports, I am in other clubs and activities. I am an active member of my church, write for my school newspaper, am a member of the Global Interfaith Youth Action Committee, serve on Michelle Rhee's high school cabinet, and am a Venture Scout. Through my church, I teach Sunday school and volunteer for organizations to help the homeless. I also do community service as a venture scout, in addition to going on high adventure trips to ski, sail, canoe, and other activities. As a member of the Interfaith Youth Action Committee, I meet with other high school students that are Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and other religions. We discuss issues affecting the world today and what we can do to work together to solve these issues. We also do service and art projects.

I decided to apply for an AFS exchange program because I love trying new things and learning about different cultures and the World. I also would like to improve my Spanish. I hope that through this program, I will make lifelong friends and gain a new perspective. I think that this world is huge, so it would be terrible to waste my whole life in one place. There are so many different people, cultures, and ways of life and I would like to experience as many as possible. I have never been the type of person that would be content growing up and staying in the same place my whole life. I love trying new things. Sometimes people don’t try new things because they are scared, but I look at every chance to try something new, whether it is a food, activity, or anything else, as an opportunity to have a great experience.

After high school, I plan to go to college and then travel. For a job, I want to be either a teacher or a journalist. Both of those are jobs that I would be able to do even if I wasn’t living in America. I am interested in journalism because it allows travel and I could use it to make people aware of issues affecting other countries that they might not have otherwise known about. I would like to teach because I have seen the impact that a good teacher make in a child’s life, and I want to make that kind of impact.

If you are interested in donating toward my trip, you can click on the ChipIn! button near the top of the page. An exchange program isn't cheap, so any donations would be greatly appreciated. Also, I will be blogging while in Paraguay, so you can subscribe to my blog to get all of my posts from abroad. For more information about AFS Intercultural Programs, you can go to the AFS website. For more information about Paraguay, you can go to the AFS Paraguay page and click the download brochure button on the top right hand side of the page.
Thanks!
p.s.- future posts will not be so long :)