Trying to Beat the Heat

It has been HOT HOT HOT here! We have been doing nothing but sweating for the last 5 days. On Monday night at 11 pm in my room it was 95 degrees, or so said my handy dandy LL Bean alarm clock, and this was with the lights off, window open and fan on! You can only imagine what the days are like. Sunday was probably the hottest day since my arrival, but I was lucky enough to go to a place called Salto Cristo for the day. Salto means waterfall in Spanish. Laura’s youth group from Church went and I got to tag along. It was the perfect way to cool off. The heat continues until it rains to cool things down. Although it did rain on Tuesday afternoon, the cool front that it brought lasted only about 4 hours. Wednesday was sunny and hot once again. So it is definitely as hot (probably hotter) as NOLA or Tampa in the summer. And we do not have those afternoon rain showers or AC to cool us down. On the positive side I am starting to get a tan!

The terrain here is pretty flat, lots of green grass and trees but no big mountains. We did see a few small mountains on the excursion on Sunday. In the city where we are training the roads are mostly dirt. There are some brick roads and also a few paved roads, which are the main routes. The dirt is red and sticks to all your shoes. It’s kind of like going hiking everyday!

The big thing here right now is “Fiebre Amarailla” or Yellow Fever. There have been outbreaks of Yellow Fever over the last week and the rumor is that it caused someone to die and put another person in the hospital here. We had to get the vaccine on our first day in country from the Peace Corps, but for the Paraguayan people obtaining the vaccine is a problem. There are not enough vaccines for everyone in the country so they give priority to certain sectors. Children under 10 can all get the vaccine but no one over 60 can get it through the Public Health Department. The Dept gives them out for free but people often have to wait in long lines or take a bus to Asuncion to get them. It’s very scary for the people here because the threat is very real and it seems unfair that the vaccine is not obtainable for everyone. Other frightening diseases transmittable through bugs are Dengue Fever and Chengas, neither of which are preventable and both can be deadly. Dengur is a viral infection transmitted through mosquitos and causes flu like symptoms but exacerbated. Chengas is transmitted through a type of bug that lives in the walls and furniture and comes out a night. The bug bites you and then deficates on your skin. If you get its feces into your body in any way and the bug had Chengas you get the disease. It doesn’t cause any immediate problems, but results in heart problems later in life. We have to get tested twice during the course of service to ensure that we don’t have the disease. Those are the scariest ailments. PCVs get lots of other bugs like parasites, piques and worms that can be taken care of pretty easily. I am not so worried about those.

So this weekend I am going to stay with a volunteer for a few days near Asuncion. I already know the volunteer because last Saturday we went to her site to do have our first hands on experience with Paraguayan youth. I will be spending about 4 days with her and learning what life is like for a volunteer as opposed to a trainee. It will be a nice change in pace. Training is very structured and exhausting. I am guessing that life as a Volunteer is a little bit more relaxed.
More next week…

El Dia de Las Enamoradas

El Dia de las Enamoradas, also known as Valentine’s Day, is similar here to the US. The concept is the same but the Paraguayans are not nearly as materialistic as Americans, so it’s not as big of a deal. We were in a slightly bigger city last weekend and I saw a few stores with teddy bears and chocolates, but for the most part one might not even know that the day was coming. My sister Laura and her boyfriend exchanged gifts and one of my teachers brought in cookies. There were a few venders selling flowers in the streets. The Paraguayans tell each other Happy Valentine’s Day as we would in the US. Very exciting… I was able to check my email though and I want to say thanks for all of the Valentines that I received. They were wonderful and I was glad to see you haven’t forgotten me yet!

Slowly but surely I am beginning to become a Spanish speaker. In just one week I feel like I have learned more than in my six years of Spanish in school. I can understand just about everything that Laura is telling me and a lot of what she is talking about with others. Which I assure you is great progress.

So far things have been great in Paraguay. I feel like I have been gone for a lot more than twelve days. It seems more like months because so much has happened. Just so you all know I am currently living in a “city” which is about an hour south of Asuncion. The concept of a city here is much different then in the States, so I can pretty much walk anywhere within the city in about 20 minutes. But there are bigger cities as well. For the next three months I will remain with my current host family. When I swear in as a volunteer and go to my placement I will be required to live with another family for six months in order to integrate into the community. We won’t find out our placements until week 8 or 9. I am hoping for something somewhat close to Asuncion. Laura is praying that it is close so we can hang out.

The training program is 11 weeks long and is run by a company called CHP. We have classes Monday through Friday from 7:45-11:30 and 1:00-5:00 and Saturdays from 8-12. The long lunch break is called La Siesta. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day here, as in many Latino countries, and is often accompanied by a nap. After almost two years of eating my lunch at my desk or on the run, if at all, I love La Siesta!

In case you were wondering the water here is very clean. I have been drinking it since my second day and haven’t had any problems. Luckily my family lives across the street from the water sanitation center so our water is probably the cleanest. The great thing about the water is that when showering you never run out of hot water. However the heating element is contained within the showerhead creating a somewhat dangerous situation because it is run by electricity and the wires could potentially touch the pipes. The bad thing about the water here is that there are not enough pumps keep it running for the whole city and often times the water shuts off around noon and doesn’t start running again until late. So that means using buckets of water to flush toilets, wash your hands, brush your teeth, etc. Luckily my family is innovative and they have an outdoor bathroom that has a tank on top. This way we always have running water, even if we have to go outside to get to it.

Dad you would be proud. I have been to Church more times in the last week then in the last five years. Laura is very involved in the Church and while I am trying to learn about Paraguayan culture and language I go everywhere with her, including mass and choir practice! The priest here is a 27 year-old Polack, which I find very fascinating. In the US it is rare to encounter such a young priest. It was interesting to see him perform mass especially since I could not understand most of it!

Well I am off for now! Thank you to everyone for your emails and posts. Keep them coming. Chao!

In Paraguay!

Hola! I am finally here! After many months of anticipation and preparation I have arrived in Paraguay. We got in on Thursday evening and spent the night at a retreat center. Then we took a bus Friday morning to Guarambare where the training center is located. My group, Urban Youth Development, is living in the same town. The other two groups, Rural Health and Early Education, are in satellite towns nearby. We took care of a lot of the logistics during the morning. We received all the information for training and our medical kits. We also started our immunizations today. I had to get one for yellow fever and I think I have about a hundred more to go! We learned some informational tidbits about Paraguay, such as the value of a Guarani… they are about 4700 to the dollar. Then around 4:30 we finally met our families.

My host family is very nice and extremely accommodating. My host sister Laura, 26, seems to be the most invested in my presence in the home. She came to get me from the center and has shown me everything around the house. Also in the home are an older sister and her husband with their three children, as well as the parents. They run a small store next to the house. My host father built the house himself. Laura and I went for a walk around Paraguay and she is going to walk with me in the mornings for exercise. I am the first volunteer in their home. The children are very interested in their new tia. There are two boys and a girl, ages 9, 7 and 5. Mara is the little girl and she helped me unpack all my things, telling me exactly where to put them.

Speaking of things. I had no problems with getting all my stuff on the airline. My large bag was exactly 50 pounds and I know it was over on the measurements, but they did not even check. I had my backpack wrapped at the Miami airport so the straps would not get stuck and cause my bag to be lost into the great abyss of cargo.

My family has electricity and running water so don’t worry. They even have a washing machine. I definitely need to work hard on my Spanish because I can barely understand anything Laura is saying, but she tries to slow down and explain which is great. Well I am off for now to learn more about the Paraguayan culture. Don’t worry about me I am safe and sound and most importantly HAPPY to be here!

Staging

Just heading back to my second day of staging in Miami. We are staying at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and they are basically just going over the facts of the Peace Corps. We went out in Miami Beach last night which was fun. The Peace Corps provides plenty of cash for it. The group is pretty interesting. Lots of people from Wisconsin. The Midwest seems to be taking over! I will tell you all more about it once I get to Paraguay!

One More Day

Well I am down to one more day in Cleveland before my journey begins. I would like to thank everyone for making my last weekend in town a lot of fun. A special thanks to Lauren and Mom for a great party! Thank you to everyone who came! Now if I can just get this packing situation under control all will be ready for my departure. All except the part about saying goodbye. I am sure that there will be even more tears tomorrow night and again on Tuesday morning. Thanks again to everyone for your support... I'm sure I will need it over the next two years!