My First B-day in Paraguay

Thanks to those who sent birthday wishes! I had a pretty good birthday here in Paraguay. I think I was sang to about 10 times! I celebrated by having some fellow trainees over for some snacks and drinks which was fun! I also think we´re going to a party on Saturday night which should be interesting and hopefully better than the last one.

Tomorrow is the big day of site announcements and the anticipation continues to rise. We will be out in different towns all day doing Cultural Visits to keep us occupied while we wait for the program directors to come with the info!

Last week´s long field practice was really fun. I went with one other trainee to stay in a volunteer´s site for five days to practice volunteer life. We taught about 5 classes on self-esteem, leadership and emotions. We also got to meet some of the volunteer´s contacts who include a youth group leader and a women´s group leader. I enjoyed getting the chance to meet people outside of the Peace Corps World. There are some really hard working Paraguayans... this gives me hope. It was great!

One of the crazy things about Paraguay is that politics filter into everything. They even impact whether or not a school will get supplies. The election is April 20th so things are really starting to heat up. There are political rallies everywhere and the corruption is becoming more and more visible. The Colorado party has been in power for about 25 years and this is the first time that the opposing party, the Liberales, have a chance to win. The election will definitely provide some excitement. Tonight, Thursday night, a debate between the candidates is being broadcast for the first time. It´ll be heated!