Monday, December 21, 2009

Felices Fiestas!

Ok. ok.  i know, i have not written anything in forever.  my apologies.

As it currently stands though, i am now an official volunteer of the Cuerpo de Paz in this here country of Paraguay.  I have recently, within this week actually, moved out to the rural town that i will be calling home for the next two years.  I am currently living with families for the next three months, and then hopefully i will be able to move out on my own! 

Everything is going really quite well.  My mind and body are slowly adjusting to the new rythym of life that i am in and i feel like things are looking up for the next two years.  I think that as you are living in a place it sort of starts to sink down into your heart.  I believe that paraguay has started its journey into entering into mine.  I realized this just the other day.

You see, my host father is a small time agricultural producer, and he asked me if i wanted to help him with the pepper harvest.  I was like, heck yes!, naturally.  So at the break of dawn just the other day, I, him, and his son boarded the ox-cart and slowly made our way a few kilometers to his field.  We spent all morning picking peppers, pretty much the green bell pepper kind...except skinnier.  It was such a peaceful experience.  Later we took a break, and had some watermelon, that was picked right out of the field next door.  Also great.  As we finished up picking he tied the guei back up to the cart and we hauled all 382 kilos of peppers back to the house!  At this time, i was pretty much thinking, screw peter piper...charles helms helped pick a peck of pickled peppers!  That day for lunch, we had a fish fry because my dad had gone fishing the day before.  I also ate some cow tail...not the candy...way more chewy. But still pretty good. 

I followed this wonderful morning up with a great siesta, probably my favorite cultural habit of paraguay.  I am not sure i will be able to deal with a life without siesta after this.  really. And what is more...that evening for dinner we had an asado...which pretty much means a barbeque...lots of meat, lots of goodness, lots of fun.

So yeah.  I am livin´ the country life and i think that slowly and surely paraguay is sinking its way into me...and i think that is for the best.

ciaomante

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Long Field Practice

This past week, myself and the other 41 aspirantes in the envrionmental sector of peace corps filled up our backpacks and water bottles and headed out to the paraguayan countryside for the week.  I was in a group of four trainees who went to visit a volunteer and work with them for a week, to get a taste of campo life and what working and living like a real life peace corps volunteer would be like.  We also practiced our guarani skills...alot.

But anyway, i would like to relay to you a few choice moments of this wonderful week.  Well...first off my host families house was about 1K away from the ruta, so i got to walk through some great fields everyday.  Bitter orange trees, really big cows, and a forest stood in between me and the road...not a bad deal.   While we were in the community we made some soap and shampoo...both of which turned out...well...mas o menos.  But, we had a really good time doing it.   The funnest part of the whole thing was probably bathing.  So at my house i bathed out in this little swampish area.  Surrounded by a little cove of trees, but with an opening looking over a pretty big field with trees.  It was really beautiful....I actually am going to rate it within the top 3 bathing experiences of my enitre life.  It was a bit ironic though....to balance myself on a plank of wood, surrounded my a mud pit, trying to get clean...i mean...if i fell, i guess i could just start over.  While this all sounds quite idyllic...i also had to deal with cows while i was bathing....they just stare at you.  It is a little awkward...i don´t know why, but it just is, haha.  Ecspecially when they try and come and drink out of your bath water!  One other obstacle was the small bee friend that tried to make my acquaintance during one bath.   normally i love bees...really...just not when i am stark naked, balanced on on foot, without my glasses on....haha.

but anyway...i have decided that i am ready to move into the campo.  I can´t wait to be a for real life volunteer, and start getting to know my new community.  We´ll see if i´m singing a different tune in a month when i´m living in my site...i think so. 

peace corps out.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

y, yvy, yvyra

Welcome to your guarani introdcution to paraguay...and three of the most important things ever!

y - water - high quality H20!

the water here in paraguay is actually pretty good...so no worries.  my stomach problems were most likely not caused by the fact that i drank some bad water.  I´ve actually had some people tell me that the water here was the sweetest water in the world.  There is even a story that PY exports some of its water to the united states, b-c we don´t have enough.  I´m no so sure about that one, but man do i love some good cool water when it is 40 d´s C outside.  dang it´s hot.

yvy. - soil - down and dirty!

there is a huge diversity of soils here in paraguay...or so they say. they being peace corps.  i have really only experinece one as of yet.  and that is sand.  in so many ways paraguay is the beach without an ocean.  and in the streets, sand in your sheets, sand all up in erewere. But there is supposedly clay too.  One of my biggest jobs will be working with folks to rehab their soil! add some organic material up in that piece and keep it from all washin´away!

yvyra - tree - you should got plant one!

paraguay, like many places, has an ongoing problem with deforestation.  There are lots of cool native species of trees and quite a few introduced ones that peace corps volunteers work with and know.  I got a crash course in agroforestry the other day, and i have to say, it was really cool.  I hope to plant some trees soon after i get to site to that my community and i can see them grow through the whole two years!  My favorite species so far is called Timbo, and has a really cool seed pod that looks like an elephant ear.

btw. "y" is prounounced like euh...in the back of your throat.  it is a fun sound.

peace corps out.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Excursions and Excretions....yuck.

haha...don´t be turned away by the title, i just needed to share the past 24 hours of my life with the rest of the world. So the Crop Extension group went on an overnight tech excursion this past day and i´ve had a relatively interesting time.  Well...the purpose of things was to get some real world practice...and i did indeed...planting crotalaria and canavalia...two different abonos verdes (green manures) and making curvas de nivel...aka contour barriers.  But this is not where the humor lies...let us begin.

We are out in the field, in a rather mountainous...or should i say, hilly...region of paraguay and my stomach starts doing summer saults within my body.  I´m talkin crazy mess.  cramping up, cramping down...cramping all the ways round.  Too bad i left my TP at our host volunteers house and didn´t feel like using corn cobs to wipe down in the latrine of the farmer we were working with....so i hold it.  Forgive me if i become to graphic at any point, but i think this entire process is funny...and pc volunteers need to be ready to discuss there various bowel movements at any time.

So i finally make it back to the home latrine...and EXPLODE!  I was kind of proud of my aim, but was feeling pretty "crappy"...ha.  Fun turn of events...it was now time to go stay with a host family...aka people i was only going to meet for one night and morning.  My tech prof took me to there house, and explained that i was sick, didn´t want to eat, and needed to just rest.  They heard that...and said i could lay down and rest...but i coudn´t turn the tv off...my one night host dad needed to catch his bingo numbers.  haha...ok.  i could roll with that.  During the hour long wait for the bingo number i discovered that this family housed a toad in a box, which they freed every night to eat...i don´t know why, i don´t know how...but...amusing nonetheless. 

So finally I make it to bed...and lay restless for the next 2 hours...it was time to go again...so i throw on my headlamp...make the quick walk to the latrine...and well...got my business done.  Along the way, i scared the crap out of a cow who was snoozing...literally...he jumped up and stared pooping.  Maybe i´m just an inspirational pooper.  But at last i make it back to my bed.

My tummy is still doing some fun tricks, and i just can´t shake this odd feeling...so logically i sit up and vomit all over my host familys floor...and manage to fill and entire one of my work boots with the vom too.  Lets just say i won´t be eating the type of beans that came up for quite a while.  So here i am...in my undies...with a floor full of vomit...what am i to do!?  I wake up my host mom and dad...and with stunning guarani accuracy and grammar tell them that i had woken up and vomited all of the floor...they were very gracefull and helped me clean it up.  And then we were all back to bed.

But yet...the night had decided the fun was not over.  As i was laying in bed....i could not shake the last little bit of gas that was causing me pain in my stomach...so i thought..."it couldn´t be that bad of an idea to fart just once...or at least try".  So i go for it.  Now as any of you who have had diahreaa and tried to flatuate know...this is a bad combination.  So hear and now, I confess to the world...that I Charles D. Helms...pooped his pants a little in a strangers house...after throwing up all over their room and devestating their latrine. 

Welcome to the Peace Corps...haha.

BUT!!!  next day...we all went out and had some killer sushi and japanese food...thank goodness for japanese colonies in paraguay. 

Disgusting: yes...rude: a touch...real: i´d have it no other way.

ciao peeps.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Mayonesa.

Mayonaisse. yep. i´m not even sure if that is how you spell it.  but it is an important part of life here in paraguay...at least for this one peace corps trainee.

  1. Brand of choice in my host family.  Hellmans. which they think sounds very similar to Helms.  I am now affectionately knows as Carlos Helmmans, or Carlos Mayonesa by by host sister.  It makes me laugh every time.
  2. Salad - mayonaisse is the salad topper of choice for many people.  maybe you get a lime sometimes. I´m not proud, I´m not happy, but I ain´t gonna lie...i lay the mayo on my salad sometime
          ...sin verguenza, so they say.
  1. The mayo is made with sunflower oil...it just makes me a little happier knowing that within every calorie packed little drop...i´m also eating a little bit of sunshine...mmmmm...
Hellmans....out.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

North Carolina vs. Paraguay

So i´ve been living in paraguay for about 3 or 4 weeks now.  I´ve done a whole lot, and learned even more, and written on this blog very little...my bad.  BUT, i´d like to offer you a brief comparison on my two worlds.  I think you´ll be a little surprised just how similar they are...

1. Sweet Tea vs. Tereré

Any southerner worth there salt wouldn´t want to go a day without a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea....mmm....i can almost taste it now.  Any good southern americaner, specifically paraguayan, wouldn´t start there day with some hot maté or cool, refreshing, and minty tereré.  Man, this stuff is good, and no one goes anywhere without it...anywhere.  Bus drivers while talking on cell...and driving...have a cup in near at hand.  News anchors...sippin´and reportin´, same time.  it is awesome.

2. A lil´bit of chicken fried.

You think people in the south like to fry their foods, their veggies, there everything.  False.  People in paraguay know how to down some fried food.  Milanesa (aka chicken fried steak), fried mandioca (aka extra greasy cassava), fried er´thing.  Sometimes it weighs on the stomach...but for me, it nourishes the sould.

3. Cornbread is mas ó ménos Sopa Paraguaya

Ok...so this is a stretch, but...there is this soup here...that isn´t a soup...it is bread.  Yes this is the land where soup is bread an mayonaisse is salad dressing...don´t ask.   It is like cornbread, but thicker, and cheesier.  it is easy to get used to. 

That is the extent of the compare contrast that i´ve got today.

Also, quick wrap up of highlights of paraguay life
  • 20 baby chickens...raise ´em, love ´em, eat ´em.
  • i milked a cow today
  • i´m making cheese tommorow
ciao for now.

haha.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Carlos y el Cuerpo de Paz

Mbae´chapa!   Hello!
Chererà Carlos!  My name is Charles
Che aspirante de Cuerpo Pazpegua! I´m a Peace Corps Trainee!
Che Estado Unidogua! I am from the United States

Welcome to the amount of conversation that I can have with my host family in Guaranì.  Haha good thing that i have a little spanish to fall back on.  Not that my spanish is great though...haha.  So far I am saying a few things and smiling a whole lot.  I give a lot of thumbs up too...it is money.

Also, my name is (un)officially Carlos from henceforth, which is kind of fun.  My host family is wonderful and are taking very good care of me!  I got my first shot and my first killer bee sting the other day, so that was fun too.  Three cows live in my yard, which is great, and i have a mango and a lime tree!  mango season should peak around december...so good times are a´comin.

But for now, this internet is costing money, and I could type this out on my laptop and bring it in to the internet cafè and do this for much less.

Just because i´m in another country, doesn´t mean i´m still not cheap.  haha.

much love.

Carlos.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Nah, Nah, Nah...Nah, Nah, Nah...

Hey Hey Hey...Goodybe!

Ok kids, here we are.  I am leaving for Peace Corps Staging tommorow and there are a few things i need to let you all know.

1) I have an address!

Charles D. Helms, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. López
Asunción 1580, Paraguay
South America

There is nothing that would mean anything more to me in the world than if you wrote me a letter! I'll write you back. pinky promise.

2) To anyone reading this (well anyone I know at least).  I love you very much. From the bottom of my heart to the top of my nose. The thing i'll miss most about the united states are my wonderful friends and family.  I have a small song that I need you to here that you might be encouraged by the eternal nature of our relationship.

I am your brother.

you are my simon.

peace (corps) out.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Fast Food Fun For Friends or F.F.F.F.F

McDonalds McCafe 'Intellectuals' commercial at Boston.com

Shared via AddThis

Paraguay?

1) I love Mickey D's coffee.

2) You need to know where Paraguay is.

3) If you don't...let's talk.

4) Only 11 days left!!!!!!!!!!! (that is one exclamation point for every day.)

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The Run Down

Who: Charles D. Helms (yours truly)

What: Moving to Paraguay to be a "Crop Extensionist"

Why: To serve for 2 years in the United States Peace Corps

When: I'm leaving on September 22! I'll be at staging in Miami for like a day, then down to Paraguay I go, with an undetermined number of new friends.  3 months in the the city of Guarambare for training then...who knows.

Current Emotional State: Over the rainbow, exuberant, nervous, scared, optimistic, excited to say the least.

Definition of a "Crop Extensionist" : I'll be working with farmers to increase soil productivity, crop diversity, introduce new farming techniques, act as a in-between with the government, strech out vegetables? (no)

Biggest Worry: Psh...i'll worry when I stop being pumped up.

Biggest Excitement: Living with Host families! Not that I don't love my current family...i'm just not sure how well they can teach me to make empanadas.

Current Goals:
  • Brush up on my Spanish
  • Come and visit you. (if you are reading this then you probably deserve a visit or hug or high five or something)
  • Resist the urge to indulge in America just because i'm going to leave it for 2 years.
Why am I writing a blog: Why not?  I'm not a great writer, but now you can see pictures and blurbs about my life since I'll be down south for a little while.

I think that covers all the FAQ's, and I probably won't attempt writing anything else till right before I leave, or right when I arrive, or right after I arrive.  One of those.

Adiós Amigos