Solidarity

Before coming to Paraguay solidarity was not a word that often appeared in my vocabulary. I knew what it meant and thought of it in relation to Girl Scouts or perhaps ideals presented by political parties. Its not one of those words that pops out when you ask an American about his or her values. But here in Paraguay when you ask someone that same question solidarity tends to be one of the first that they list. For a long time I assumed this was something they had learned early on in school, one of the many things they memorize from the age of five to spit out when someone asks. And maybe it is, but in recent months I have learned that when things get rough they actually do come together and show their solidarity.

On November 7th, the day of the big municipal elections, a fire consumed three houses in a marginal neighborhood called an asentamiento. The asentamientos are small neighborhoods of government or donated housing that everyone claims are super dangerous, mostly because they are full of people poorer than themselves. The next day, Monday, Radio Coronel Oviedo, where I host a weekly radio program, conducted a drive for donations to replace what was lost in the fire. There were donations of everything from clothes, to furniture to building materials. A young girl lost her bike in the fire. The bike had been used as transport to sell cooked yucca/maniac around the neighborhood, one of the few sources of income for the family. Several bikes were donated to the little girl so that she would still have transportation. The houses are nearly rebuilt now.

Just a few weeks later my neighbor's house burnt down. The next day the radio repeated its donation drive for the victims. Although many had given just weeks before, people from the town opened their hearts and donated to this newly homeless family. Everything from a crib for the baby to materials to rebuild, just about everything that could be replaced was. While the home was engulfed in flames neighbors and friends ran in and out carrying whatever they could grab. As in most Latin American countries the firefighters are volunteers and don't have many resources, but they were on the scene quickly and worked hard to put the fire out.

The community really seems to come together in times like these. They give support to their fellow citizens whether or not they know the victim. Often times I see the negative things about Paraguay while living here, such as the rampant gossip and even more prominent corruption, but I also see that Paraguayans are generous and loyal. And when they list solidarity as one of their values, they mean it.

A New Face at the Muni

Ok, so it’s been awhile and you may be wondering, what exactly is Melissa doing down in Paraguay? I have been hard at work and also not so hard at work since returning to Paraguay after a month of home leave in July. I have managed to accomplish my goal of creating a new Youth Secretary position at the town hall and I have also been enjoying working when and where I want.

The Youth Secretary, along with the Youth Parliament, took some work to get going, but now we are well on our way to becoming a stable entity. The first step was planning a forum where more than 100 local youth participated in needs assessments and democratically elected three candidates for the Youth Secretary position. Then I had to nag the mayor to choose between the three candidates. Finally on September 1st, only three and a half months after the forum and one year after I initially heard about the project, a resolution naming the Youth Secretary was signed. The resolution also established the Youth Department at the Municipality and the Youth Parliament.

Since the establishment of the department we have planned several events. The first was a celebration for annual Youth Day on September 21st. Together with the Associacion de Rock Ovetense we planned a rock concert that was held in front of the Town Hall.

The Set-up

The Concert

Eco Ajos, an environmental youth group

Parliament members working hard



Next we planned a debate for the candidates for mayor, held on October 20th. Three of the five candidates were present. There were over 200 people in the audience.

Martin Giret, the democratically elected Youth Secretary

The Youth Parliament and Candidates

Signing a Promise Letter to continue with the Democratic Election of the Youth Secretary

Debating



We are currently planning events to support World AIDS Day on December 1st.

You can join our group and see more pictures on Facebook by searching for Secretaria de la Juventud, Coronel Oviedo.

Finally a Project Well Done

Week after week I went to Gotas de Leche, the community center that I was assigned to work with for the duration of my two-year service. I spoke with the kids and with their mothers searching, seeking any project that would occupy my time and benefit the families. For months I came up with nothing. I was already working with the youth group, but lets face it, working a couple of hours on Saturday mornings just wasn’t going to cut it. I found work in other institutions, but still felt like I needed to do more at Gotas. I conducted two cooking classes with the mothers and had a summer reading club for the kids, still I lacked tangible change. The parents commission started to feed lunch to the children once a week. They started talking about the possibility of a comedor, like a soup kitchen for kids. Finally I saw my in.

Where would we do this? When? How? They had petitioned the municipality for money at the yearly project presentation and were approved for some money, but its been over a year and they still haven’t seen it. Ah-ha! I remembered the Small Project Assistance Grant (SPA) that is offered through the Peace Corps and funded by USAID. We would just need to fill out the paperwork and present the project and with a little luck we’d be granted up to $5000 to build the building. I spoke with the commission president who said “Great! I’ll fill out whatever paperwork you need, just as long as we can get something built already.”

Then I found out that another volunteer who works with the same NGO was planning the same project through the NGO. We talked it out and decided that it would be best for the parents to take ownership of the project, rather than be handed something else by the NGO. So Angelic and I met with the commission in late December and started in on the list of questions that needed to be answered for the grant application. About three questions in the complaints started. “Its hot, how many more questions?” they asked. Angelic and I looked at each other and smirked, we had a feeling this was going to happen. We had barely started the preliminary questions, we knew we’d be on our own for most of the actual writing of the proposal. We got the basic information and then worked out the details together. We had decided to build a pavilion like structure that could be used as a multipurpose space where they could feed the kids. Eventually the space would be equipped with the necessary equipment to turn it into the comedor.

The applications are typically accepted each month, of course, we worked several long days to complete the application for the January deadline only to find out they aren’t accepted in January so we’d have to wait until February. That’s okay we decided that we could improve the application for February. It was turned in after being reviewed by both our supervisors and awaited the committee’s approval. In March we were notified that it was indeed approved and the money would be available some time in April. Yes, we started the process in December but weren’t able to actually start the project until April. That’s how quickly things work in Paraguay.

On the day the money arrived I went with the commission treasurer to pick up the check. Obtaining $5000 to construct a building is a huge thing for a group in Paraguay to have accomplished, but rather than a grand ceremony with the handing over of the check, as it would have been with any other organization, we merely walked into the administration office where we signed for the check and walked out with it. The whole process took a total of two minutes, maximum.

We headed back to Coronel Oviedo and met with several contractors to decide who would direct the construction. Our original contractor had recently had an accident and was unable to work. The parents were expected to volunteer labor hours in order to keep the cost down and donate the required 30% contribution for the grant. We decided to go with a father from the community center who gave us a price within the budget. The ground breaking was held just a few days later. Of course, there we did have a ceremony in which commission members, the director of the NGO, and I each had a chance to break ground. I was surprised when I arrived at the ceremony to find that the plan for the structure we were to build was not located where I had apparently assumed it would be built, but right in front of the existing structure. Although I was not in agreement with the placement I figured that as their project they had the right to decide where to put it.

The actual construction process was extremely quick. The construction began in early May and was finished by mid-June, even though there had been several days of rain. The commission was required to meet weekly during the process in order to make decisions regarding the construction and in the end plan the inauguration event. Several parents contributed their time during the construction and there were few problems during the process.

The inauguration took place just a few days before my trip to the states and was considered my going away party as well, seeing as I would no longer be working with the community center during my extension. We invited all the big shots including the mayor, governor, and Peace Corps country director. In the end my supervisor’s assistant and coordinator were the only outsiders who attended the event. There were several children who gave speeches and performed traditional Paraguayan dances. I gave a speech during which I began to cry and couldn’t continue, I had never expected to become that emotionally attached to the community center, but I had and I had also finally accomplished something big at Gotas de Leche. It was a wonderful departure and a job well done.


A few days into the construction


Bricklaying




A grandfather helping out


Building the frame


Putting on the roof


First event in the construction, Mother's Day Celebration


Walls going up




Almost done!


The inauguration


My speech

From Paraguay to the US of A

When you extend your Peace Corps service for a year or more they send you home to the states for a month. I am not sure if its because they want to make sure you haven't gone crazy or its that they want to remind you of the life you left behind and the little it has changed in the past two years, or maybe they just want to reward you for your hard-work and commitment to service. Whatever the reason, I extended my service and therefore got to go home for a month. When I made the decision to extend it was not an easy one. I did what I often do when making tough decisions, I made mental lists of the pros of staying and the pros of going home. I listed things like the crappy economy at home with fewer available jobs and lack of scholarship funding combined with the increased number of applicants to grad schools. I included the fact that I could do work that would be both more rewarding personally and continue to have a positive effect on Paraguayans, oh and of course there was the boyfriend factor. All in all staying seemed like my best option. There was nothing urgent calling me home and the Universities aren't going anywhere, so whats one more year? I planned my one month leave to coincide with my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary, an event that I did not want to miss, and arrived in Cleveland in late June.

The trip started off poorly with an unfortunate night in the Sao Paolo airport and a tired Melissa arriving around midnight into Cleveland. After that I spent three wonderful days visiting with my family including a Ladies' Night with Mom's side of the family. Then on Friday morning Mom, her boyfriend, and I set off in the car for New York City. Yes, after a lot of insistence my novio finally got a passport and had the dreaded visa interview which resulted in a 6 month tourist visa to visit the states. Of course the Peace Corps wasn't going to pay for his trip, so I booked him a cheaper ticket into JFK and we were off to pick him up.

The flight from Asuncion to New York was my novio's first time in a plane and rather than just one, there are no direct flights from Paraguay to the US, he had four flights. Luckily for him his experience was much better than mine and he arrived on time and had no trouble clearing customs. Leaving from the relatively small metropolitan area of Asuncion to arrive in the huge metropolis of New York City would probably be extremely overwhelming to most, but he handled it like a champ, no complaints, just awe.

Once we both had out feet on American soil we had a very American month ahead of us, jam packed with activities that started immediately with a trip to the nation's capital. There we saw monuments, museums and had tours of both the Capitol Building and the Library of Congress. Novio was in heaven, he's a history buff and had dreams of seeing these places. In fact it was embarrassing how much more he knew about each place than I did. It was interesting to see DC and learn about our history. My only previous experience there had been a class trip in eighth grade. It was also fun to drink terere, the Paraguayan tea, on a bench near the Washington Monument and get funny looks from the people passing by.

The rest of the month was filled with more fun summer activities including a great trip to North Carolina with Dad to visit my sister Erin, a day of thrill rides at Cedar Point (not high on novio's list of favorite activities), a visit to Dad's side of the family at an old mansion in Pennsylvania, Grandma and Grandpa's 50th, a three day trip to NYC before boarding the plane back to Paraguay, as well as numerous breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with friends and family. I am extremely grateful to all of my family and friends who welcomed novio with open arms and worked hard to make sure I had an amazing trip home.

There were several things that surprised us both on the trip home. For me it was amazing how easily I was able to fall back into bad habits that we have as Americans including the frivolous spending of money, although I did have trouble spending $50 on a dinner when its the same amount I pay for one month of rent here, and going through gas like water. I was shocked by the high quantity of trash that each of us produces and how much could be reused or recycled, but isn't. I was excited to be able to run without people shouting, kissing, honking, etc at me. And I enjoyed the cleanliness of the streets and eateries. Novio, setting foot in the states for the first time, was surprised by things that we often don't think about, for example, fans in bathrooms and automatic everything. He was disgusted by the amount of burps he heard and elated to find that all Americans are not cold and mean, but tend to be open and friendly. He was also exhausted by the number of activities I was able to cram into our one month trip. But by the end of it neither one of us wanted to leave. We each gloomily boarded our separate planes, one day apart and headed back to Paraguay, we arrived without problems and are back to daily life.

After two weeks in Paraguay I have readjusted to being here and am looking forward to accomplishing great things in my next 10 months of service.

Being the Face of America

On a rainy Saturday night a few weeks ago a local photographer showed up at my house to request that I be the Face of America for the upcoming state book fair. He explained that his wife is an artist and would paint me then he would take photos. Ok I agreed. As a Peace Corps volunteer I kinda am the face of America already for those in my community. So I showed up to the Gobernacion, the state governement building, the next day at the appointed time. There I learned that rather than paint my portrait they intended to paint my face with the United States flag and take photographs. They were doing it for all of the countries that would be participating in the World Cup this summer.

The photo is now hanging with the others in an exposition at the weeklong book fair. Several times a day I am asked about it. I am now literaly the face of America here in Coronel Oviedo.

Those People

The idea of becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer floated around in my head for several year before I actually decided to submit my application and begin the long drawn out process. By the time I actually got to Paraguay I was totally committed to doing my part to “save” these people. Save them, thats right, as a 23 year old female American I was going to come in an heroically change the lives of 7 million Paraguayans. Well, okay maybe not 7 million, but at least those in the community where I would be living for the next two years. Boy was I in for some surprises!

Before leaving for Peace Corps my experience with foreign countries was pretty limited. It included a couple of high school excursions to Toronto and a cruise that included stops in touristy Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico. Hardly diverse, nor developing. Although I had never been to a developing nation, I had formulated several ideas about how to work with the ever growing urban youth population, which would be my main focus as a volunteer. In the information sent to me by the Peace Corps, in a futile attempt to prepare future volunteers for their immersion in Paraguay, I read that the problems facing urban youth include unemployment, low self-esteem, lack of recreation, as well as several others. In my mind I was going to go to my community and resolve these problems leading the Paraguayans into a better life.

Foolishly thinking that I would be going into a impoverished area like you see in the movies I followed the Peace Corps packing list and consulted volunteer's blogs when deciding just what would I would include in my precious 50 pounds of luggage that would have to last me for the next two years. I packed Chaco sandals, super-plain understated clothing, a headlamp, and a sleeping bag. I included very little make-up and even less jewelry. Little did I know that within weeks of arriving in Paraguay, I would be yearning for a nice pair of shoes and some dressier clothes just to fit in with the locals.

During the three month training period I learned I would not be doing any saving. Really there is no saving to be done, besides I am not a missionary. Paraguayans may live in an under-developed country where not everyone has running water and electricity. Where corruption runs rampant and nepotism reigns free. But they live here happily. The most popular word heard when describing Paraguay is tranquilo, which means tranquil and is by far the best way to describe Paraguay. The Paraguayans may not be the most efficient when it comes to doing a project, but they've got lots of time. As a Peace Corps volunteer rather than saving people I would be teaching them to tweak what they've already got. Helping to make them more efficient. Use different teaching techniques. Pay attention to individuals and make each and every one know that he or she is special. Volunteers don't make miracles happen, but they can definitely make a difference in the lives of some. That is, if they can get the language down, convince the host country nationals they are trustworthy and then motivate them to participate to work on and complete projects.

During training we lived with host families, therefore we were immediately confronted with the fact that while Paraguayans existed as a population in a far off developing country while we were preparing for service, they are individuals. Each one has a name, or is supposed to, they have an identity, likes, dislikes, hobbies and passions. They not one being, but individual people. Recently a group of Canadians came down to give out gifts through the Operation Christmas Child program and I was asked to translate. Great, I thought, another group of self-righteous rich people, coming to “save” the poor Paraguayans so they can feel good about themselves. Although it seems eerily similar to my initial thoughts before coming to the Peace Corps I felt that I had moved past that stage, plus I had already devoted two years of my life to living and working with Paraguayans, I am an Ameriguaya now.

Of course I was wrong about the group. I was amazed as I watched their faces take in all of the things that no longer phase me. They took pictures of grapefruit trees full of fruit and cows in the streets. They were baffled by Guarani and complained about the heat when it was barely 85 degrees, good thing they didn't come in the summer. The best part about being with the group was to watch their reactions when they too came to know the Paraguayans as individuals. One little girl had the same name as someone's daughter. Another woman gave her shoe box gift to a girl from an extremely impoverished family. They met mothers who had nine children but were smiling and seemed to be carefree and children who suffered from diseases that afflicted their fellow Canadians. It is amazing to see as the Paraguayans changed from being some population in a far off place to individuals who have wants and needs and hopes and dreams. I was wrong to judge to Canadians before they got here, but the Paraguayans have become my family and friends and not just some population in need of saving.

Some photos from my experience with the Canadians:

Some of the kids awaiting their gifts, tickets in hand.


Canadians hard at work prepping the gifts to hand out.


At each of the places where gifts were handed out there were 100s and often 1000s of kids.


We had a crazy ride down the side of a mountain on the back of this truck!

Another Semana Santa

Being a mostly Catholic country Paraguay makes a pretty big deal out of Easter. "Semana Santa" as its called here starts with Palm Sunday and ends a few days after Easter. Holy Thursday and Good Friday are national holidays, most businesses are closed. Wednesday is chipa making day. Everyone makes hard cornbread shaped like doughnuts, a traditional Paraguayan food, in large quantities. The chipa will be consumed all day Friday and everyday after that until they give it all away or get sick of it.

Holy Thursday includes a fury of activity. Everyone spends the morning preparing for the "last supper" and whatever will be consumed Friday, mostly chipa, but also possibly sopa paraguaya, a softer cornbread, or fish soup. They eat lots of food on Thursday, then "fast" on Friday, which really means not eating meat.

Good Friday is a long lazy day. (Lucky me it was my birthday this year!) Nothing is open, including the small shops in the neighborhoods called dispensas.So if you need some t.p. or a bit of sugar you should have thought of that on Thursday or ask a neighbor. Of course the liquor store opened up in the afternoon for all those who forgot to stock-up on beer or already drank it all. Its eerily quiet because those who usually blast their music at all hours keep it turned off out of respect on the holy day.

Saturday it is pretty much back to normal. Most of the stores re-open and everyone back out in the street. Easter Sunday is pretty much like any other Sunday, maybe just a little bit quieter. The only traditional action is that kids are supposed to give their baptismal godmothers chocolate Easter eggs.

Monday and Tuesday are called Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday but they are just like any other normal work or school day.

Although this has been my third Semana Santa in Paraguay, it will not be my last! One more year, I think I can be classified as an expert at that point.

Becoming a “REAL” Volunteer

For two years I have claimed to be a Peace Corps Volunteer, and although its true, the reality of the situation is that I have it pretty easy here. Sure I wash my clothes by hand, walk or ride my bike everywhere and there is that whole live in a developing country where they don´t speak English element, but in Peace Corps terms I have a great life. I have internet in my house, even if it doesn´t always work, a fridge, which I use duct tape to keep closed, and of course running water and electricity. My town has two large supermarkets, lots of places to eat and even a few bars. So imagine my surprise when I had to “suffer” a bit.

The storms started a week ago Saturday and were heavy with rain and hail. It continued to rain off and on until Wednesday morning with a full 12 hours of downpour Tuesday. Its nice to get a good rain every once in awhile. You get to stay cozy in bed and skip anything planned for that day. Well this rain brought with it an extra surprise. It rained so much that the river where our water comes from overflowed its banks, flooding the pumping station and washing out the road to Villaricca.

Now although Villaricca is a nice town, my suffering did not result from the inability to access it for a few days. No, my suffering is a result of the flooded pumping station. It’s pretty ironic actually. It rained so much that we have been without running water since Wednesday, 6 days and counting. So now I have been forced to live like a “real” volunteer, pulling water from a well and bucket bathing.

Of course it hasn´t made my life too difficult seeing as the well is about 30 feet from my door, but it does make getting up for a run just a little bit harder knowing that I will not have a warm shower when I am done.

Where in the World is Melissa?

A vacation to Buenos Aires, Christmas and New Years in Paraguay, camps in Tati Jupi and Caacupe... its been months since she wrote a blog, where could Melissa have disappeared to? Perhaps she went native or maybe she was kidnapped by the EPP. Have no fear, it wasn't any of these. She merely hasn't had any motivation to write an interesting blog.

I am still here in good ole Paraguay working to develop the minds and skills of young people all over Coronel Oviedo. Its going so great here that I have decided to stay another year. I always thought that Peace Corps would be a two year commitment, however that was before I found out you can extend your service. Many of my friends have returned to the States over the past two years only to have difficulty finding work or funding for Grad School, so I have decided to stay here, where I have job security and a boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for? I am working to develop a project with the Municipality or Town Hall in which I will assist a new Youth and Sports Secretary to develop the position and projects that benefit youth in my city.

One more year, but have no fear, I will be home for a visit soon! The Peace Corps will be sending me on a month long vacation to visit my family probably in July so as not to miss the long awaited 50th Wedding Anniversary of Grandma and Grandpa Kohler!

I will update everyone when I have more info.