My Trip to the Campo

Last Saturday I had my first taste of Campo (rural) life in Paraguay. After a quick trip to visit another UYD volunteer for lunch and ice cream I was off to a San Juan celebration at the site of a rural health volunteer. I boarded the bus and gave them the name of the nearest town when asked where I was travelling. Then as we got closer I asked the driver if he could let me off at Km 110 or a little bit past the chicken factory. Luckily the driver knew the place because there is no sign to mark it or even a street light to let you know that there is a street off of the Ruta. And seeing as I arrived around 6 pm, it was already dark. My friend Truman was waiting on the side of the road to greet me and we walked the short kilometer to the compañia where he lives. His site is probably the closest rural site to the Ruta, there are some volunteers that have to travel 50 Km to get to the Ruta. In those sites there are often local buses that run, but not very frequently. During our walk from the Ruta to his site I glanced up at the sky and I could not believe my eyes. I had the most amazing view of the stars. I could even see the Milky Way with a clarity that I have never known before. It was wonderful. Already I knew I would love the Campo! When we arrived at the house I where I would stay for the night they had already prepared a dinner for me and had it waiting, talk about hospitality! Unfortunately it was empanadas filled with ground beef. I kindly ate one but passed on seconds. The site does not have running water or modern bathrooms. Latrines and wells. This was the life I was expecting in the Peace Corps.
The celebration of San Juan is celebrated all throughout the month of June. A lot of schools and groups host the celebration as a fundraiser. They sell typical Paraguayan foods such as Kavure, Mandioca Empanadas and Mbeju. They also have a dj with lots of music and dancing. There are games which the kids pay to play and then win prizes. The most interesting is the one in which they grease a pole with pig fat and then the kids try to climb it to reach a prize at the top. There is also a lot of playing with fire, which I found somewhat disturbing seeing as we are constantly telling kids not to do so! The party was great.
The community was small and only has about 40 houses or in the neighborhood of 200 people. Everyone knows the volunteer and the people are a lot more open and inviting than in the city where I am much more annonymous. It was a great experience to have, but I´m not so sure I would love it so much after more then a few days!

Winter in Paraguay

After four months of warmth with few ugly days, winter has finally descended on Paraguay. Last week was freezing! Well maybe not literally freezing but its as cold inside as it is outside. I spent much of Saturday in the warmth of my sleeping bag reading a book and trying to keep from freezing. All the cold and rain leaves the ground wet and muddy. My half hour plus walks to get everywhere and anywhere are now spent trying to dodge puddles and keep my pants out of the mud. And often when I finally arrive at my destination I discover that whatever activity I planned to attend has been cancelled due to cold, rain or the chance of rain. This is life in Paraguay. On a positive note my tutoring at Gotas de Leche, the school reinforcement program I am working with, has helped me get an in with the kids. They are much more likely to want to play and hang out with me now than they were a month ago. The more confidence and trust they have in me the more likely they will be to listen when I start giving talks and actually dong more of the work I am here to do. I also went to an elementary school where I will most likely be a gym teacher for the kindergarten through third graders. Although I have absolutely no experience teaching gym, I guess I’ll have to figure it out as I go. Teaching gym will not only allow me to promote gender equality, self-esteem, leadership slls and a more active lifestyle, it will help me get to now the teachers and might proved an opportunity to work with some of the older kids in other classes. Not sure when I will be starting but it is sure to be yet another adventure in Paraguay!