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.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
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.
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.
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