I have just over a week left in my Peace Corps service. In the three years, nearly four months I have spent in Paraguay, I have:

Gained a pretty good grasp of the Spanish language, Paraguayan style. I took my Spanish language exam on Tuesday and tested at the Advanced High level, the second highest. This makes me happy seeing as I came here knowing very little.Survived for three years without a car or other motor vehicle.

Ran 1 Marathon, 1 Half Marathon, 2 10ks and lots of fun runs!

Conducted a weekly informational radio program first with Erin, then with Angelic, called Rojapo Radio (We Do Radio)Got a grant to build a building

Created a new position at the local MunicipalityTaught hundreds of students life skills and computer classes.Started eating meat again, hey I see them on the street and I know what they eat. Much better than the factories in the states.Survived without a washing machine or dryer.Learned how to do Paraguayan crafts including Nanduti and Ao'poi

Learned to love terere.Spent over 2 years with this wonderful guy without whom I never would have made it through.Made lots of friendships that I will never forget

I am sure there are tons more to list, but this is what I came up with for now. Coming to the end of my service is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to deal with. When new Peace Corps volunteers start their training they are warned that it will be harder to leave than it was to come and this has become a reality for me. Leaving Paraguay, unsure of when I will be back and when I will see and talk to all the people I have formed relationships with over the past three years is heart wrenching, but has to be done. I will miss everyone and everything, but I will always hold on to my memories.

I have just over a week left in my Peace Corps service. In the three years, nearly four months I have spent in Paraguay, I have:

Gained a pretty good grasp of the Spanish language, Paraguayan style. I took my Spanish language exam on Tuesday and tested at the Advanced High level, the second highest. This makes me happy seeing as I came here knowing very little.Survived for three years without a car or other motor vehicle.

Ran 1 Marathon, 1 Half Marathon, 2 10ks and lots of fun runs!

Conducted a weekly informational radio program first with Erin, then with Angelic, called Rojapo Radio (We Do Radio)Got a grant to build a building

Created a new position at the local MunicipalityTaught hundreds of students life skills and computer classes.Started eating meat again, hey I see them on the street and I know what they eat. Much better than the factories in the states.Survived without a washing machine or dryer.Learned how to do Paraguayan crafts including Nanduti and Ao'poi

Learned to love terere.Spent over 2 years with this wonderful guy without whom I never would have made it through.Made lots of friendships that I will never forget

I am sure there are tons more to list, but this is what I came up with for now. Coming to the end of my service is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to deal with. When new Peace Corps volunteers start their training they are warned that it will be harder to leave than it was to come and this has become a reality for me. Leaving Paraguay, unsure of when I will be back and when I will see and talk to all the people I have formed relationships with over the past three years is heart wrenching, but has to be done. I will miss everyone and everything, but I will always hold on to my memories.

After a stressful week of completing voter registration and finalizing logistics for Saturday's forum, the day finally arrived for the election.

I invited Liz and Jenna to come help with activities in the morning and they arrived Friday night. We got up early Saturday morning and headed to the location for the event. We got stuff set up and at 8:30 when we were supossed to start there weren't any participants. That was not too surprising, events rarely start on time in Paraguay, So we waited, continued with set-up and figured we'd start when the mayor arrived. By 9:00 the mayor was present, but there still weren't many participants. Not even the candidates for Youth Secretary were present. Eventually they arrived, but only to finalize their campaigns, not to actually participate in the needs assessments activities that we were doing.

While people debated over the big vote outside, we were deciding what to do inside. Eventually we started the activities with the few people who were there and talked about problems affecting youth in Coronel Oviedo. Then we ate lunch and headed over to the gym where the election would take place.

The election was a huge success. There were more than 4000 people registered to vote and about 1000 participated in the election. A terna, group of three, was elected and will be presented as candidates to the mayor for Youth Secretary. Unfortunately I don't know any of the candidates, so I have no idea how well they'd do with the new job, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Hopefully next year they will have better success with both parts of the event.

Brochure for the Forum

Meeting with the Candidates

Ivan, exhausted from entering all the info in the computer

Setting up

Needs Assessment

Hard-working Parliament members

Voting

It was nearly two years ago that I first heard about the democratic election of the Youth Secretary in Villarrica and the subsequent creation of the Youth Department and Casa de la Juventud in the town to my south. I was intrigued. Everyone in Paraguay talks about the youth, but few actually create projects that benefit the largest sector of the population. Coronel Oviedo had a Youth Secretary when I first arrived, but he was politically appointed and did not do many projects. He ended up quiting within a few months and was never replaced. The position sat vacant and although I heard rumors that the mayor wanted to appoint someone new, he never did, and therefore no new projects were planned.

During the two years I was in Oviedo I occasionally worked with the municipality and had a few contacts there. Together with these contacts I presented the idea to the mayor to reopen the Youth Secretary position as a democratically elected position in order to teach the local youth about civic participation, democracy and leadership. I planned a full day of activities and invited the youth. In May of 2010 we held the Primer Foro Juvenil Parlamentario, in which about 100 youth conducted needs analysis activities and elected three candidates from which the mayor chose one representative to hold the position of Youth Secretary.

Throughout the past year I have worked with the current Youth Secretary and the Youth Parliament to plan and execute various projects and promote civic participation. For the past two months we have been focusing on planning this year's forum. I have left the majority of the planning to the youth, while I serve as more of a guide. The project will only be sustainable if they know how to execute it again in following years.

This year the candidates for secretary had to sign-up early and those who want to vote have to register, like in a real election. There are currently 9 candidates for the position and over 4000 people registered to vote. The topic comes up often on local radio and tv shows and people all over town are talking about it. The participation has far exceeded our expectations.

Unfortunately the growth in participation has also resulted in corruption and dishonesty. I have heard rumors of people being paid to vote for a certain candidate and people sneaking in extra voter registrations past the deadline

One of my major goals with the project is to show the kids that democracy is possible, there can be clean and honest elections. Their generation can bring about change. The first year went really well. This year the politics have changed from small and clean to large and dirty. I hope that we can resolve these problems before the vote on Saturday. I hope that they can see that democracy can bring people to power who actually want to help bring about change.

This past Saturday I had my fourth, yes fourth, birthday in Paraguay. Because my birthday fell during training I was one of the few to celebrate an extra birthday here. The first one, my 24th birthday, I spent at my host family from training's house. I invited all the other trainees to hang out on the front patio area. We drank lots of beer, wine and coke, and cana and ate mac and cheese that my friend Heather helped me cook up. Then for my 25th I invited a few Paraguayan friend, my PC buddy Erin and a visitor she had to my house for tacos. Birthday number 26 was pretty depressing. It was Good Friday, which means most places are closed all day. I ate lunch with the novio's family, which was nice and then made homemade pizza for dinner. Victor and Angelic came over for dinner and cards, although it was a good time and we enjoyed ourselves, this year I wanted to do something more. So Victor and I went to Asuncion for a date night. We went to dinner at Las Palomas, a mexican restaurant near the hotel where we stayed and enjoyed a yummy spicy dish served in a molcajete and I had a refreshing margarita. It was wonderful and relaxing. Victor's family also prepared an asado for lunch and even got me a cake. I can definitely say I had a great birthday this year.

Our food looked something like this, with tortillas:

And the margarita:

I often find myself in the same situation, sitting around in a circle with a bunch of Paraguayans, drinking terere or beer or whatever is being served at the current function, just hanging out and talking. My predicaments usually start out in the same way. I greet the group as I join it. You have to say hello to each person individually, kissing their cheeks' or shaking hands, whichever is appropriate to the situation. Here is where I have to make my first big linguistic decision, throw in a little Guarani and get it over with, or wait it out. If I am feeling up to it, I'll throw in a "Mba'e la porte" or "Mba'echapa" and watch their faces light up due to my use of their native tongue. This is inevitably followed by a reference to volunteer x who spoke "perfect" Guarani. Then they make me feel bad because I don't speak Guarani, or not nearly as well as that other volunteer does. Because of this, I usually stick to Spanish in the initial stages of the conversation.

After a minute or so of polite banter in Spanish, the conversation reverts to Guarani and I am lost. Sometimes its worth my energy to try and follow the conversation and if its something work related I usually get it, but when its social chat I just don't understand. Words are cut off and pronounced differently than their original forms. Most of the time I zone out.

Paraguayans always tell us how no one really speaks the true form of Guarani, "its Jopara' they say, its a mix of Spanish and Guarani. Really its pretty much all Guarani with some Spanish words mixed in. During these conversations where I am in my own head and not paying any attention I'll hear myself mentioned in the conversation. "Melissa doesn't talk much" or "Melissa blah, blah, blah" accompanied by a look to me "You understood that, right? Hahaha" Of course I didn't understand, I wasn't trying to. At this point the conversation then goes to volunteer x who spoke "perfect" Guarani. Bring on the humiliation. I have to choose my battles, be humiliated right from the start or sit there hoping the conversation doesn't turn to my lack of linguistic abilities.

Sometimes they don't mention me or my lack of ability. Sometimes they just sit around talking and telling jokes. Another decision must be made. Do I laugh at the jokes just because everyone else is laughing? Or do I sit there, looking confused, obviously the only person not laughing? When I laugh I risk the common questions, "Did you understand that? What did we say?" When I don't laugh I look like a sour pus. Fiddling with my phone is a culturally accepted distraction that I sometimes use to be excused from the conversation. Other times I just sit and smile, hoping that just this once it won't be too awkward.

There are also lots of situations in which the Paraguayans speak Guarani because they know I won't understand. They seem to enjoy the look of confusion on my face and they like to laugh at the Gringa who doesn't understand. This is when it hurts the most. Whether its a statement directed at me or a comment about me, its not fun to be laughed at like that.

My peace of mind comes from the knowledge that during my three years here I learned Spanish, the language that will be of use to me for the rest of my life. Learning Guarani would have helped avoid awkward social situations and humiliation, but I can use Spanish even in my own country. Plus I did learn at least of few key phrases in Guarani like my current favorites anichene, kinda like you don't say?, and ndaikuai, I don't know.

Three years in Paraguay has changed my expectations a bit when it comes to comfort. I used to live in a nice apartment with central air and cable tv. Now I live in a two room apartment behind the house of a Paraguayan family, below two loud 19 year old med students and next to a public washing station. There are more cows and bugs in my life than I would ever have imagined. I would like to share some of what now comforts me here in Paraguay and some other stuff that just helps me get by. Even though I look forward to some of the comforts of home, I will miss this stuff!

The entrance to my home

Public Washing Station, it doesn't have running water so those who wash here pull it from the well.

The Refrigerator, it doesn't close properly so I secure it with a bungee cord.

Cooking and Storage Area

My Bed/Couch/Living Space, best purchase in Paraguay

My Sink/Washing Machine/Dishwasher

Transportation

Entertainment, although its typically drowned out my neighbor's bigger speakers.

Heating

Cooling

Homemade Shelf

Closet

Hot Water

Don't forget the pool!

Pretty much everyday for the past 10 years has started with a cup of coffee. When I came to Paraguay I knew that I could not give up the habit. Unfortunately here in Paraguay coffee is consumed in the instant variety. Since I only resort to consuming Nescafe in emergency situations, as in no other coffee available, I have some delicious ground coffee sent from my mother's coffee business, Java Express, regularly. Although there are coffee makers available for purchase, they don't fit into my $300 monthly budget, so this is how I prepare it. Its not quite the same as a coffee pot but the result is still a yummy cup of caffeine infused deliousness and I get to drink it out of that awesome cup.

Also I finally ordered a thermos so that I can bring my terere habit back to the states. Initially I ordered one from a woman who sells thermos in a plaza in Asuncion. She told me it would be ready within a week. I went back a week and a half later and she said it'd be done the following day, I, being pretty trusting, believed her. I went back the following week and she finally told me she never sent to have it made. So, I decided to get it done elsewhere. I placed my order at a tourist shop for leather products and was notified within three days that it was ready. The result is my beautiful new equipo below.

As you know my time here in Paraguay is winding down and the opportunities to see the treasures of Paraguay diminishing. Luckily, I have some great friends who were able to take me for a trip to a beautiful waterfall in the department of Paraguari called Salto Cristal. I had been there once before during my first month in Paraguay with my host sister, Laura, and her church youth group. That trip was great, but this trip was even better.

We planned to leave around 7:30 am starting with a trip to the grocery store to get some sandwich supplies and then to Soperia La Familia, my novio's business, to get some yummy sopa, Paraguayan corn bread, before picking up Angelic and a swedish volunteer, Emmanuel. Of course in good Paraguayan fashion, and partly my fault, we got a late start, heading out closer to 8:00.

Once everyone, all 8 of us, and everything was packed into the suburban we headed towards Villarrica. Once we were near Carlos, the Baranda family dad, advised that we would be stopping by his friend's house, I think it was to convince them to come with us. This stop turned into a terere session and it was nearly an hour later when we got back on the road. Then we were off to find our way to Salto Cristal.

We were told that there were signs that marked where we needed to turn off the road. Unfortunately the sign was tiny and was only visible coming from the opposite direction. So once we arrived at the nearby town, we turned around and asked directions a few times, eventually finding the turn-off.

We then found ourselves in the middle of a sugarcane plantation. After driving around the red dirt paths we eventually found the signs that marked the way to the waterfall.

When we arrived at the gate to the parking area we turned around to find that our friends Jonathan and Dale were in the car behind us accompanied by their lovely significant others. Crazy coincidence!

After piling out of the truck we headed down the path to the waterfall. We didn't realize that it would be a pretty steep path climbing down large rocks. But we made it and eventually got to the waterfall.

There we spread out and ate our lunch, since it was after noon, and then jumped into the water. Dale showed off his bouldering and diving skills. And eventually we all climbed onto the rock and jumped off.

After a few hours of playing around and sunning ourselves, we headed back up the path to check out the top of the falls.

Then we piled back in the car and headed back to Oviedo. The return trip was much shorter and we even got home before dark. It was a beautiful day and a great way to spend the last official day of summer.

So I am down to a little over two months time left in the Peace Corps. One year ago I was ecstatic about staying. I didn't feel like I had accomplished what I wanted to during my time here and was looking to do more. Now, with over three years in Paraguay, I am ready to go home. I feel like I've done what I came here to do. I worked hard for two years. I taught in a high school and an elementary school and worked with the community center a few times per week. I created and maintained a weekly radio program with the help of Erin and Angelic. I had exercise groups where I worked with women to create a healthy self-image. I stayed a third year during which I helped get a $5000 grant to build a larger building for meetings and events at the community center, Gotas de Leche, and helped with the creation of a Youth Secretary position at the Town Hall, as well as the Youth Parliament to create more projects for the town's teenagers and young adults. These projects have been extremely successful. I feel like I will have left my mark on the town of Coronel Oviedo and had a positive influence on those who I have worked with.

Currently I am working with the Youth Parliament and the Youth Secretary to plan the "2do Foro Juvenil Parlamentario" in which the youth will elect their new representative. The new secretary will start work in May, I will be here to help him or her start work and give some ideas for projects for the coming year.

I hope that the experiences gained this year in planning projects and the forum will be enough for them to continue in coming years. Last year I planned the entire forum alone with the support of a small team from the town hall. This year I am leaving most of the planning to the youth, stepping in only when needed for consulting or nudging to actually get stuff done. Its weird not just doing the work, but I definitely feel like I am embracing the Peace Corps idea of creating sustainability in this way.

Because I don't have to do all the work, I end up with a lot of free time. I have recently started working out with my friend Daniela in the early evening, we are doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout series and riding our bikes everyday. I have been able to read more and am in the process of deciding where to go to law school. I am trying to enjoy the free time and the tranquilo atmosphere because come fall, I will be back in the world of academia.

So, of course I got busy and stopped writing about my trip to Brazil. I will try to summarize the rest of it quickly.

We ended up moving to another campsite due to our disappointment with the first one and a desire to see more of the island. Because we didn't really understand the bus routes we asked what the best way to get to the next place would be. Although the campsite is pretty popular most people didn't seem to understand where we wanted to go and we ended up spending a total of 4 hours on 3 different buses to get there. Upon arrival it started to drizzle so we hung out in a pavilion and played Farkle while we waited out the rain. The campsite turned out to be the only state-owned and operated campsite in Brazil. It was much larger than our previous site and much better maintained, it was called Camping Rio Vermilho. Which means Red River Camping. We ended up staying at this site for the duration of our stay. There was a small town located about 30 minutes up the beach where we were able to buy groceries and go out to eat.

On our first day on Praia Mozambique, which is the longest beach in Florianopolis, Kristin and I decided that we'd like to try surfing. Initially we figured we might rent a board for the day or half the day and maybe even get a lesson. We checked out the first Escuela de Surf on the beach and were told that boards rent out at 20 reales or about $12 per hour. Then we saw a board sticking out of the sand with a for sale sign on it. 30 Reales! We quickly bought it. It was pretty beaten up and much too small for learning, but hey, we knew we weren't going to become experts. We just wanted to have some fun. The boys we bought it from, who were about 12 years old, waxed it up and sent us on our way. We spent the day playing in the waves, attempting to surf, but mostly just riding in on our stomachs. The next day we sold the surfboard to a group of Argentines for the same price. It was perfect!

After selling the surfboard we hiked to a nude beach, which turned out to be more of a gay nude beach. There were few women and all of them were fully clothed. We didn't spend much time there. As we crossed the path back to our beach a storm rolled in. I led the way down the path through the cold pelting rain and stepped poorly turning an ankle. The rest of the walk back to town was not pleasant. My ankle swelled quickly and has yet to heal completely.

The following day we took a trip to the northern coast to a much more crowded beach called Praia Inglesas. There the water was warmer and the people were packed like sardines onto the soft white sand. There were vendors of all types. They sold everything from cheese on a stick to jewelry. We tried some coconut covered in chocolate and churros, yum!

It rained nearly every day of the trip and the last one was no different. Luckily these rains were light and usually only lasted a few hours. We decided that in order to catch our 5 pm bus back to Paraguay we should leave around 3. We packed up the tent and all of our stuff and headed to the bus stop. By the time we arrived at the local terminal in the centro it was 5:05, we raced the 2 blocks to the long distance terminal only to find that our bus had already left. Luckily the agency was able to put us on the next bus out for minimal cost and we got to stay a little longer in Brazil.

The buses we rode in and out on.

Waterfall we hiked to on the first day.

Our hostel from the first night

Natalie and I on the path to the beach from Campsite #2

Kristin and I taking the surfboard out.

Beach Bar

Home Sweet Home

At the top on our hike to the nude beach

The Storm coming in

Praia Inglesas

Yummy steaks we cooked up

Brazilian meals are monstrous

With our surfboard

Before heading to Brazil Kristin, Natalie and I decided to try and make the trip as economical as possible. Seeing as it was a relatively last minute decision, we didn't have it planned into our budgets. So we did a little research and seeing as accommodations tend to be the most expensive part of the trip we planned to camp as much as possible. Camping on the beach is illegal, but there are several campsites around the island of Florianopolis where you can pay to camp. The first night however we splurged and made reservations at a hostel in the south part of the island called Costa de Dentro. There we were able to get our bearings and more information regarding the camping options. In order to get to Costa de Dentro and the Alburgue do Pirata, Pirate's Hostel, we needed to catch a bus.

Living in Paraguay we are accustomed to taking buses to get anywhere we can't go on foot or bicycle. The buses in Paraguay are old and rusty, usually imported from some other South American country where they were used until the death, then revived for used around here. In Brazil it quite a different experience. In order to get to Costa de Dentro we needed to take two buses total.

After our arrival in Florianopolis we walked around a bit, checking out some of the shops and eating lunch at a small outdoor restaurant. Then we headed to the terminal to get the first bus headed south. Luckily we arrived just as the bus was getting ready to leave. We quickly paid for the tickets and jumped on the crowded bus, without much time to look around. The bus was crowded to the point of standing room only. Lucky for us the trip was only about 30 minutes. Loaded down with our backpacks we were obviously foreign tourists. The other passengers on the bus were nice, letting us put our bags at their feet.

When we got to the second terminal we found that there are accurate bus schedules posted, something you definitely won't see in Paraguay. The next bus we needed would leave in about 20 minutes. Also the transfers are free there, as long as you stay in the terminal. What a relief, bus trips sound cheap, but can definitely rack up quickly. We looked around the terminal and found that it included clean bathrooms and water fountains, oh how I have missed water fountains. I filled up my water bottle and pulled out my guampa and bombilla to drink some terere while we waited. As the time neared for the bus to leave a line formed, now that's definitely not something you'd see in Paraguay. People here push to get in front of each other and onto the bus. We hopped on with everyone else and headed to our hostel.

The hostel was quaint and quiet. It was also pretty full. There was a small shop down the street for groceries and the beach was just a few blocks away. The sky was overcast that day, but we still went to explore. We walked around on the beach and jumped in the water. Then headed back to the hostel. That night we made friends with some Australians, taught them how to play farkle, and we looked for camping nearby. We were told there is camping in Armacao, a beach we passed on the way down. We decided to head there the next day.

In the morning we started the day with a hike to a nearby waterfall where the water was cool and clean. It was beautiful. Then we packed up our stuff and went in search of the campsite. We waited for the bus across the street from the hostel and when the bus came, stuck our arms out, signaling that we wanted to get on. The bus blew by. What?! We were puzzled by this. Why didn't it stop? Then we looked around and noticed a bus stop sign about 50 meters away. So in this country you actually have to be at a bus stop for it to stop, sounds logical, I guess. We walked to the next stop and waited for about an hour for the next bus to come by. This time we were successful in boarding.

The bus let us off in Armacao and we asked around to find the campsite. It turns out the campsite was merely a patch of grass on an empty lot. There were some bathrooms and pavilions with kitchens, but the tents were packed in, with little personal space. But it did have access to the beach and was just a quick walk from the town. We immediately decided to stay only one night. We set up the tent, locking our stuff inside and headed out to do more exploring. We ate an enormous Brazilian lunch of pan-fried fish, rice and beans, fries, salad and a Caipirinha strong enough to intoxicate after only a few sips.

After stuffing ourselves with food we went to check out a hike we saw on the map, rumored to be about an hour long and leading to a private beach. After walking along the beach, this one more crowded than the first one we'd seen, we found the path and started along it. After going off on the wrong trail a few times we found the right one, but by then the sun was starting to set. We ran into a couple returning from the other side. They indicated that the last boat that returns from the beach had already left and that we should turn around because we probably wouldn't make it back before dark. We continued on for a few more minutes, then turned around. We played on the beach awhile and were amazed by how many people were there drinking mate, the hot version of terere. It turns out most of the tourists in Florianopolis are Argentinian and Uruguayan and they drink as much mate as the Paraguayans do terere, even on the beach. After returning to the campsite we made some guacamole and caipirinhas for dinner and headed out to the beach to enjoy its proximity. We climbed up into a lifeguard station and watched as the other tourists went about their business. Some walking on the beach and others getting more intimate. It was a great first few days in Florianopolis.

Paraguay is bordered by 3 countries, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Until last week I had only ever ventured into Argentina; not because I didn't like the idea of seeing the other two, more because in Argentina you don't need a visa. Getting a visa while in the states is probably time consuming and annoying, but not too difficult. In Paraguay however, obtaining a Brazilian visa nearly brought me to tears.

I decided during the week between Christmas and New Years that I would join my friends Kristin and Natalie on their trip to Brazil. Natalie speaks fluent Portuguese and I determined that it would be advantageous to travel with her. We hoped to leave as soon as possible and turned in the required vacation request forms to the Peace Corps office immediately via a friend who happened to be heading into Asuncion. Then I set about getting the visa. As the United States requires most foreigners entering the country to obtain a visa, Brazil reciprocates by requiring Americans to do the same. Kristin and Natalie each had theirs already.

The visa has a cost of $190, more than half my monthly living allowance. They also require financial paperwork, photos of a specific size and background, round trip tickets showing when you will enter and leave Brazil, and the location where you will be staying. Of course, the closest consulate is located three hours away in Asuncion and the visa takes several days to process. I decided to go into one day and apply for the visa, then return a few days later to pick it up.

Obtaining the visa was much like a scavenger hunt or following a treasure map, I needed to collect all the required items and get to the consulate before it closed at 2. First item of business, get to Asuncion. Because it was holiday time the buses were laden with travelers and I spent the hot and sweaty 3 hour ride to the capital crammed in the aisle among other passengers without a seat.

Upon arrival in Asuncion I started at the bus terminal where I bought my round trip ticket, but only after convincing the woman at the counter that I couldn't show her my Brazilian visa because I needed the ticket in order to get the visa and that I would show it to her after obtaining it. Tickets tucked safely away in my bag I headed to the next stop, Mariscal Lopez mall for pictures. The actual picture taking went quickly, but they said it would be at least an hour until they'd be ready, previously I had obtained them in only a few minutes. I decided to run to get the financial paperwork while the photos were processing. After a quick trip to the PC office to print out financial info I was back to pick up my photos and off to the consulate. By this time it was nearly one.

Upon arrival at the consulate I took a number, similar to the ones at the meat counter, and waited my turn. Even though I was the only person in the waiting room, it took nearly 20 minutes for the woman at the counter to talk to me. When I was finally called over she took one look at my passport and told me that I could not get a visa. Why? I asked, devastated that I had rushed around all morning only to be denied. I was lacking sufficient pages in my passport for the addition of a visa. I reluctantly collected my passport and sulked back to the elevator and out the front door.

What do I do now? I headed to the US Embassy hoping they'd be able to add pages to my passport. As I waited in the consulate office, I scanned the list of prices. $82 for the addition of passport pages! Great, I thought, now I will really be broke. Luckily when they returned the passport nearly an hour later I was reminded that the Peace Corps passports are no fee, which includes the addition of pages. It was now past three and there was no hope for getting the visa. I would not be able to get it until the following week and our trip would have to be postponed.

The next Monday I set out on my quest once again and things went much smoother. I already had all the required items. I even got a seat on the bus. I went straight to the consulate completed the visa request, went to the bank to pay the fee, returned to the consulate to provide the receipt and was told that I could return Thursday to pick up my passport.

I changed my ticket to leave Friday, luckily there was no fee attached, but the attendant stressed that I could only change it once. She also was unable to change my return ticket at the same time because she didn't have any more ticket paper to print on.

I picked up my passport Friday morning and headed off to Brazil an hour later. But not before getting the great news that I had done better than expected on my LSAT. That certainly cheered me up and my vacation started out wonderfully.

The bus ride was long. Nearly 24 hours, which was about 4 hours longer than we had been quoted. And although it cost more than the nice bus to Buenos Aires and traveled nearly the same distance, the bus did not include any meals, had no foot rests, but did include an annoying 2 year old child who was traveling with her teenage mother. The bus picked up my traveling companions in Coronel Oviedo, where the driver ate lunch and everyone got off to use the bathroom, we knew then that it would be a long trip.

The border in Ciudad del Este always promises to an amusing experience. The border is open and most people pass freely. There are no agents who get on the buses to check that everyone went through immigrations and no list like at the Argentine border. In fact you actually have to insist that the driver stop to let you off local buses passing into Foz, otherwise you will end up in Brazil illegally. Many people stayed on the bus, while others got off to do things the legal way. In the immigrations office my friends and I got to the front of the line and the border agent looked through our passports, stamped them, and then began a frantic search for a pen. He had to sign the stamp and it was obvious we were his first passport holders of the day. We let him borrow a pen then boarded the bus to head to the Brazil side. There the lines were longer. The Brazilians are slightly stricter with the immigrations process. Somehow we managed to pick the short fast moving line and even after using the restroom ended up on the bus nearly 20 minutes before the rest of the passengers.

The rest of the bus ride was pretty uneventful. We stopped several times for bathroom breaks and food. The girls had bought salami, cheese and crackers as well as some other snacks for our dinner. We enjoyed that and a couple of boxes of wine and tried to get some sleep. When we arrived in Camboriu, about 2 hours north of Florianopolis, most of the passengers got off the bus. Its a popular vacation destination for Paraguayans which freed up the seats to spread out. We continued to Florianopolis and breathed sighs of relief when we disembarked. Yay! We made it! Now the real adventure begins.

Waiting, waiting, waiting. I thought I had mastered the waiting game. I am a Peace Corps volunteer, we spend the better part of two years waiting. Waiting for buses, waiting for the rain to go away, waiting for projects to take shape. But here I am checking my email every half hour, trying to fill the time in between with tasks like washing clothes. I am waiting for my LSAT score to appear. I feel like I need to know my score. It is pretty important. It will help determine where I should and should not apply to law school, whether or not I will receive scholarships and of course my self worth for today, that is if it comes out today.

But I also don't want to see it. Every time I hit refresh my heart and stomach do somersaults. Will it be there? Please let it be there! No, no, I don't want to see it. I fear that my score will be lower than the one I got in 2005 as a college senior. In five years I must have improved my logical reasoning and reading comprehension, right? Or maybe I have been out of school too long and my rusty study habits failed me.

I made the trip to Buenos Aires in December to take the test way back on the 11th. It seems like ages ago. After nearly 24 hours on a bus and two days of walking around rainy Buenos Aires I took the test at a cultural center, where in good South American fashion the proctor turned up an hour after the scheduled time. The test takers, me included, had spent that hour trying to keep ourselves calm, doing breathing exercises, stretching, using the bathroom a million times. Air conditioning is a rather new concept down here and so of course it was cranked way up, causing the temperature to plummet. While my frozen fingers gripped the pencil, I silently thanked myself for bringing along a jacket and raced through the questions of the test. I did the best I could, I think. I didn't feel positive or negative about it when I left, just relieved that it was over.

Wow, still not posted. It has been nearly a month, of course the website states the scores will be released on the tenth, but every year they come out early. Here I am trying to keep busy, I even washed my tennis shoes, to keep my mind off my pending score. But I constantly ask myself, will today be the day? Will I be able to give myself some direction today? There are always those scholarship essays that aren't going to write themselves. But I know there's no point if I didn't do well on the test. I want to know, I need to know.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Paraguay is a predominantly Catholic country and like many other Catholic counties it has a Virgin. The Virgin of Caacupe.is venerated every eighth of December with a pilgrimage by thousands of Paraguayans who walk up to hundreds of kilometers from all over the country to see her. The Virgin is actually a small blond dollish statue that was carved hundreds of years ago by a Guarani Indian who was miraculously saved by praying to the Virgin Mary while being attacked by a neighboring tribe. The man actually carved two statues, the smaller of which is in Caacupe and the larger one is in neighboring Tobati. The pilgrimage to see the Virgin typically begins the first week in December and lasts until a few days after the eighth. People walk as little as a few kilometers up to hundreds, some walk for days while others dedicate just a few hours. Either way when you get to the Church the scene is incredible. Last year was very hot and I had no interest in walking to see a statue and a church that I had already seen before, but this year something came over me and I decided to do the pilgrimage. I debated whether to walk with other Peace Corps volunteers or to go with one of the many Paraguayans who would be making the trip. After some time I came to the decision to do it with volunteers, however I still think it’d be a more “real” experience with Paraguayans. My friends were going to meet up at the tollbooth in a town on the Ruta called Ypacarai, which is on the other side of Caacupe from my town and therefore caused some difficulty in actually arriving at the starting point. Because there aren’t freeways or even various routes around the city Angelic and I were forced to get off our coach bus about 10 kilometers before Caacupe and take a local bus into town, where we then had to get off and take another local bus to get to Ypacarai. While waiting for the bus into Caacupe we were talking with agents from the transportation department who were checking to make sure the busses going into town were registered. Of course they couldn’t help themselves from hitting on the gringas. Luckily when I told them I already have a Paraguayito they focused all attention on Angelic who towers about a foot over the average Paraguayan. The trip, which typically takes about two hours wound up being about double that, but we finally made it and actually got there before most of the others. Once everyone had arrived we set out at a pretty average walking speed. Ypacarai is located about 20 kilometers to the West of Caacupe and we were informed that it would take about 5 hours to complete the pilgrimage from there. We stopped after about an hour and a half for a quick dinner at a small hamburger joint started by Americans, then continued on towards the Mecca. At dinner one of the volunteers in the group announced that we were still quite far from Caacupe and we would not arrive in time for the midnight mass and serenade by another virgin statue that had traveled from my town for the event. At this half of our group decided to kick it up a notch, determined to make it in time for the mass. We ended up completing the trek in 3 and a half hours and arriving over an hour before the mass was to begin. The scene in the centro of Caacupe was that of a street fair, complete with venders selling everything from t-shirts and knick-knack souvenirs to food and drinks. There were people everywhere. We made our way to the plaza located behind the church, laid out a blanket and laid down to take a nap. Afterwards we wandered around looking for t-shirts and checked everything out. At midnight we made our way to the plaza in front of the church where the mass was to be held outside and projected onto big screens around the plaza. There were so many people it was hard to move. We found a place just behind a group of teenage boys who had ridden their bikes from Campo 9, about 150 kilometers to the east. They had flipped their bikes over to form a wall around their circle and were all fast asleep throughout the entire mass, which is okay seeing as masses were being held every couple of hours. The mass began with the priest talking about living in peace and harmony and some teenagers acted out a fight between fans of the two biggest rival soccer teams, Cero Porteno and Club Olimpia. It was definitely the first time I saw soccer brought into church, but I guess it works to send a message to the people. After mass we climbed over sleeping people, pushed our way through those were standing and found our way back to the spot behind the church where two of our friends were still napping. After a short rest we decided to try and make our way back home. We walked to where the busses were passing. On the way I ran into my host family who had decided last minute to bus in. We also met up with some other volunteers who were arriving from their walk in. When we were ready to leave we had incredible luck and a bus headed to Coronel Oviedo passed right in front of us, it even had lots of open seats. We quickly boarded the bus, plopped down into some seats and closed our eyes, still exhausted from the walk. Because the main route was closed off for walkers the bus had to make its way through some poorly cobble-stoned streets to a place where busses were allowed to pass. Some women who had boarded the bus before us started arguing with the attendant who was collecting money. They were charging more than the normal fare and these women weren’t putting up with it. They got off the bus and we gladly paid the extra dollar, happy that there was a bus with comfy seats available at 2 am. About fifteen minutes later the bus driver decided we didn’t have enough passengers and proceeded to turn around in the middle of the narrow crowded street. We made another pass through town and the bus quickly filled up. We ended up getting home at about 5:30 am. A fellow volunteer, Lynn, came to crash at my place and as the sun came up we both fell fast asleep. Completing a pilgrimage was definitely not on my list of things to accomplish in life, but I am certainly glad I did it! The scene in Caacupe is something that I will never forget!

Some people are sports fanatics they get excited and emotional just when talking about their favorite team. I have this same passion, but rather than directing it at sports, my passion lies in the area of Rights for Women and Children. This of course explains why I am the President of the Gender and Development Committee for Peace Corps Paraguay and why my novio has to hear long drawn out speeches every time the topic comes up, which is a lot in this macho country. Novio calls out Feminism every time I start in on one of my rants, but I don´t think we´ve even started into feminism yet, we´ve merely scratched the surface of human rights in general. A couple of weeks ago was on one of my tirades starting with the treatment of women in Paraguay, then on to the Americas in general. Women here, like in many countries, are expected to cook, clean, do the laundry and take care of the children. They are in charge of household chores while the men are responsible for working, which is fine and dandy if the woman actively decides that this is the roll she wants and together the couple decides to break up the responsibilities in this way, but that’s not the way it works, not here. Women are just expected to do these chores, even if they are working a full time job, and even if the husband works part-time or not at all. So why does this happen? Why don´t they stand up for themselves? Because if they don´t know it’s a problem, then how can they? That’s where people like me come in, people who believe in equality. I come and I tell them that they are being oppressed, that they need to stand up for themselves. And now they know it’s a problem. So now there is a problem. I created a problem. Not because it didn´t exist before, but because it wasn´t recognized as a problem before. Now the question is how to create change. What can these women do to improve their situations? They can speak with their husbands, but that probably won´t do much, it might even make the situation worse. What they can do is raise their children to share in responsibilities, both the boys and the girls. They can teach their boys that cat calls are disrespectful and their girls to stand up for themselves. The women of this generation may not be able to shed the macho ways, but there is hope for the future. The government has created the Secretaria de La Mujer to try and create more equality and equity between the genders. They create awareness and aid women in the creation of women´s groups. There are also several NGOs that do the same. This is a huge step for women and I hope that some day they reach beyond the capital and into the rest of the country. Luckily Novio is okay with my “feminist” rants. Later that same evening we got into a discussion about democracy versus dictatorship, but that’s an entire other blog entry to come later.

Working as an Urban Youth Volunteer in Paraguay can include a wide range of activities and volunteer Melissa Salamon is completing her service in Coronel Oviedo using that mentality to positively affect local youth. From the very start of her service she formed a youth group at a community center comprised of kids ages eleven to fifteen. The kids were cautious at first; unsure of the new American with the funny accent, but after a year and a half working together they have formed a close-knit faction focused on improving their community center and the community that surrounds it.   Members of the youth group participate in activities relating to health, self-esteem and leadership skills as well as creating their own projects to improve the community center such as planting trees and obtaining trash cans from a local cooperative. Together members of the group have raised money to go on outings by hosting soccer tournaments and raffles. Their cohesion was exemplified after the recent passing of one member when together they presented the boy´s family a banner covered in messages they had written expressing their sorrow for the loss.   In addition to working with the youth group Ms. Salamon also teaches in local schools where many of the members attend classes. In the high school she presents activities related to self-esteem, communication, gender relations, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Teachers from the classes with which she works repeat the activities with youth in other local high schools, therefore reaching a larger audience. In the elementary school Melissa is teaching computer classes to children who had never seen or touched a computer before but are now able to manage several programs. Ms. Salamon also works with young mothers to promote healthier lifestyles through cooking classes focused on vegetarian and soy recipes, as well as an exercise group that meets three times per week. Although her activities are varied and wide-spread Melissa has positively impacted the lives of many youth in her area. Their appreciation is often demonstrated not only in words but through behavior changes which will hopefully stay with them forever.

Living in a different culture, working with people who speak a different language and trying to maintain a somewhat normal life is a lot like juggling you start with one and then you can add another and then finally once you´ve got that down you add the third. Due to the instant immersion in Paraguay over a year and a half ago I was tossed the first ball right away and quickly adapted to living within the Paraguayan culture. One ball is easy so right away a second was added, the language. Now this took more practice, but I am constantly getting better and always learning more. I also added that third ball awhile back when I moved into my own casita and felt the relief of freedom. I no longer hide in my room watching movies trying to escape Spanish and Guarani speakers and the entire juggling art itself. Instead I made friends and have a boyfriend and often speak only in Spanish the majority of the time. I also get to do fun things like rock climbing and training for marathons. Now although I feel like I have gotten the hang of three balls and sometimes think they could label me an expert at juggling, there are times when I have a bad day and I can´t handle all three and I keep dropping one or another. Some days my Spanish goes down the drain or I feel like screaming at every Paraguayan who hoots and grunts at me and some days I just feel like crying. I am pretty sure this one happens when I drop the third ball. When I feel like it’s too much to have a life and work and speak a foreign language. But these things don’t go away. They just continue and although I just want to hide under the covers and spend the day crying, the students and their excitement when I walk into a classroom keep me going. The kids are the ones that force me to get my overemotional self out of the bed and into the classroom. Just last week I had a real reason to cry. Not because I couldn´t go out and get a veggie burger or because I hate the men with their stupid cat calls. One of my students committed suicide. Wow, suicide. This was the third funeral I had to attend in Paraguay but it the only one that affected me in a huge way. Dani was a 14 year old boy who lived with his grandmother, a younger sister and countless other relatives. His mother left to work in Argentina about 6 years ago and hasn´t returned to visit her 5 kids in over 4 years. But Dani seemed to be getting along okay. He was not overly outgoing, but he participated regularly in youth group activities and often played soccer with the neighborhood boys. Just the day before his death we planted trees as a reforestation project and he helped. I have spent the last week wondering how such a young person could make this drastic decision. I know a lot of people think about it, they might even attempt it in a call for attention, but to actually go through with it is incredible. No one will ever know for sure why this young man took his own life, but I am sure that he had lots of friends and family that cared for him and he will be missed. This past Saturday with my youth group we conducted a memorial type service for Dani during which we wrote messages to both him and his family. We then took the messages over to his family. I know that they appreciated this act because when I ran by that afternoon it was displayed out in front of their house. Just knowing this makes me proud of my group and the effort they put into it, even though it may have been awkward. After talking with the group about suicide I hope that if there are others who feel the same desperation they will come to me or tell someone. Sometimes we don´t see the warning signs, sometimes there aren´t any. Suicide is much more prevalent in Paraguay than I had presumed. It seems to happen more often among the rich than the poor and may be due to American and European influence in which one is pressured to succeed. I hope that this one was the only one I will experience in Paraguay and the rest of my life.

The month of September has arrived and is passing quickly. It has brought with it wacky weather, lots of pollen and a rollercoaster of emotions. It has also brought with it the first day of spring and Día de la Juventud as well as the Olimpiada, a sports tournament for the different high schools around the city. Since my return to Paraguay I have been super busy (yay!) so here goes with some of those activities. The first week of September was big here in Paraguay. The national soccer team qualified for the 2010 World Cup after winning two straight home games first against Bolivia and then a huge rivalry match against Argentina. The win was so great in fact that all public entities including schools and town halls were closed the following day to celebrate by order of the President.  Also this month, well actually in August, another volunteer came to live in my town. Angalic is her name and she also happens to be from Ohio, even though she doesn´t like to admit it. It’s a little different to have another volunteer in town, especially after having the whole place to myself for so long. Luckily she´s super nice and seems as eager to work as I am! This month on Rojapo Radio, yes I am a radio personality, we have been addressing sex, STDs and HIV/AIDS.  I find it amazing how openly I am able to talk about these topics when they are in a different language. I also hope to do some activities to talk about them in the high school and with my youth group in October. Sex and STDs tend to be a taboo topic that no one wants to address, especially parents, and when people do talk about them they end up doing boring presentations where the kids don´t pay any attention. At the end of August I was also on local TV with Erin. We talked about what we do as Peace Corps volunteers, our goals and why we decided to join. We were super nervous. Talking on the radio has become pretty easy, but when you are on TV there are cameras in addition to the microphone. But it went well and I am still hearing from people how they saw me on TV. So September is coming to an end with a bang. I will be in the capital this weekend for meetings Gender and Development, and NVAC, like student council. And I am deciding whether or not to stay for Reggae Fest!

When I got on the plane for Peace Corps Staging in February of last year I thought I would not see my family, friends and dog for at least the next two years and three months. Lucky for me Dad travels a lot and he had accumulated enough frequent flier to fly me home for a visit. I boarded a plane in Asuncion on Monday morning and arrived in Buenos Aires a couple of hours later. After a long layover in BA I got on an overnight flight to Atlanta. On  my flight to BA from Miami as I was about to start my PC service most of the service was conducted in Spanish and I could barely understand a word, on this flight I spent the entire time conversing in Spanish with an Argentine headed for LA. What a difference a year and a half makes! After landing in Atlanta I was quickly overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of the airport, but being the good American girl that I am I got right in line at the Starbucks to start putting my money back into the economy, or maybe it was because its been a really long time since I had a Skinny Vanilla Latte! On the flight from Atlanta to Cleveland I had the pleasure of meeting a group who was returning from some missionary work in Ecuador. It was great to meet people who took some from their lives to help others. Unfortunately I also felt like they were very self-righteous and self-deserving. I am sorry but just because you spent ten days in Ecuador doesn´t give you the right to be a bitch to the flight attendant. Another thing I immediately noticed on my arrival into Cleveland was that most of the service people with whom I spoke were unfriendly and did not appear to be happy that they are not amongst the millions who have recently lost their jobs. This seemed to be a common theme during my trip, so much so that when I went to a CVS in Bloomington, Indiana around 11 pm and the girl was super-friendly I almost hugged her! But the lack of friendliness is probably my only complaint from my trip and luckily it didn´t seem to be highly contagious. Tuesday night, the night of my arrival, was definitely an exciting time! After a great Mexican-American lunch with Dad, Erin, Lauren, and Andrew, and a pedicure at Ladies and Gentlemen, I met my nephew Alexander for the first time and then proceeded to give my mom a huge surprise! Both she and Audra had no idea I would be home. For the big surprise my sisters, aunts and grandma planned a Ladies´ night in. And while they were preparing dinner I rang the doorbell. After complaining that she had to get up to answer the door my mom got a shock and immediately started crying and I think within a few moments there were very few dry eyes in the house, maybe Jay and Andrew. Nick had the pleasure of driving Audra around for awhile making random excuses and not telling her where they were going before they arrived for her surprise. It all went really well and I am so thankful that no one spoiled the surprise. The ten days that I was home flew by. Of course I wasn´t able to do everything that I would have liked, but I was able to do a lot! I was able to visit most everyone in the family and get to know Audrey and Alexander a little. I got to go to the Vintage Ohio Wine Festival and sample different wines from Ohio as well as eat some great fair good and buy gifts to take back to Paraguay. I saw my sister Lisa participate in a triathlon and then headed out to Bloomington, Indiana to check out Indiana University and try to start thinking about what I will be doing next year, as well as spend some QT with Dad. Audra and I went to Pickle Bill´s where I got to eat lake perch. Erin made an amazing salmon dinner. I met Lauren´s man. And I got to see an Indian´s game. Although there was little time for rest, I got in my fix of the USA. I was also able to do some work while I was home. The third goal of Peace Corps is to broaden the understanding of foreign cultures at home. I took home with me many examples of traditional Paraguayan arts and culture. Including Ñanduti, Ao po´i, a hammock, filigrana jewelry and of course the unforgettable terere! My trip home was wonderful and amazing, it helped me to understand what it is that I am missing, like my family and changes within it, and that most things really don’t change that much, it´ll all still be there when I get back. Thanks to everyone for a great time!

When I got on the plane for Peace Corps Staging in February of last year I thought I would not see my family, friends and dog for at least the next two years and three months. Lucky for me Dad travels a lot and he had accumulated enough frequent flier to fly me home for a visit. I boarded a plane in Asuncion on Monday morning and arrived in Buenos Aires a couple of hours later. After a long layover in BA I got on an overnight flight to Atlanta. On  my flight to BA from Miami as I was about to start my PC service most of the service was conducted in Spanish and I could barely understand a word, on this flight I spent the entire time conversing in Spanish with an Argentine headed for LA. What a difference a year and a half makes! After landing in Atlanta I was quickly overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle of the airport, but being the good American girl that I am I got right in line at the Starbucks to start putting my money back into the economy, or maybe it was because its been a really long time since I had a Skinny Vanilla Latte! On the flight from Atlanta to Cleveland I had the pleasure of meeting a group who was returning from some missionary work in Ecuador. It was great to meet people who took some from their lives to help others. Unfortunately I also felt like they were very self-righteous and self-deserving. I am sorry but just because you spent ten days in Ecuador doesn´t give you the right to be a bitch to the flight attendant. Another thing I immediately noticed on my arrival into Cleveland was that most of the service people with whom I spoke were unfriendly and did not appear to be happy that they are not amongst the millions who have recently lost their jobs. This seemed to be a common theme during my trip, so much so that when I went to a CVS in Bloomington, Indiana around 11 pm and the girl was super-friendly I almost hugged her! But the lack of friendliness is probably my only complaint from my trip and luckily it didn´t seem to be highly contagious. Tuesday night, the night of my arrival, was definitely an exciting time! After a great Mexican-American lunch with Dad, Erin, Lauren, and Andrew, and a pedicure at Ladies and Gentlemen, I met my nephew Alexander for the first time and then proceeded to give my mom a huge surprise! Both she and Audra had no idea I would be home. For the big surprise my sisters, aunts and grandma planned a Ladies´ night in. And while they were preparing dinner I rang the doorbell. After complaining that she had to get up to answer the door my mom got a shock and immediately started crying and I think within a few moments there were very few dry eyes in the house, maybe Jay and Andrew. Nick had the pleasure of driving Audra around for awhile making random excuses and not telling her where they were going before they arrived for her surprise. It all went really well and I am so thankful that no one spoiled the surprise. The ten days that I was home flew by. Of course I wasn´t able to do everything that I would have liked, but I was able to do a lot! I was able to visit most everyone in the family and get to know Audrey and Alexander a little. I got to go to the Vintage Ohio Wine Festival and sample different wines from Ohio as well as eat some great fair good and buy gifts to take back to Paraguay. I saw my sister Lisa participate in a triathlon and then headed out to Bloomington, Indiana to check out Indiana University and try to start thinking about what I will be doing next year, as well as spend some QT with Dad. Audra and I went to Pickle Bill´s where I got to eat lake perch. Erin made an amazing salmon dinner. I met Lauren´s man. And I got to see an Indian´s game. Although there was little time for rest, I got in my fix of the USA. I was also able to do some work while I was home. The third goal of Peace Corps is to broaden the understanding of foreign cultures at home. I took home with me many examples of traditional Paraguayan arts and culture. Including Ñanduti, Ao po´i, a hammock, filigrana jewelry and of course the unforgettable terere! My trip home was wonderful and amazing, it helped me to understand what it is that I am missing, like my family and changes within it, and that most things really don’t change that much, it´ll all still be there when I get back. Thanks to everyone for a great time!

Every July the Paraguayan school system shuts down for two week for the "Vacaciones de 15" or Winter vacation. Last year I used the time to present a Geography camp to kids in 1st thru 6th grade at the community center. This year I helped out at a camp for teens for a few days and then attended a three day workshop in the capital where I learned about Youth Employment and Youth Counseling. The workshop was very interesting and I came home with all kinds of ideas for great projects, except that actually getting someone to listen and go along with the projects now thats a challenge. I woke up last Monday morning with tons of ideas in my head, but when I took those ideas to the city officials they just kinda laughed and told me my ideas won't work or they've tried that before and it fell apart. The problem here is someone to keep the projects going. So here I am again with all kinds of ideas and nowhere to go with them... frustration!

So then comes the announcement that the two week vacation will be extended to three weeks. Three weeks! Three weeks with no classes to teach. Sounds like a nice break, except if you are someone who always has to be active. So just why did they extend the vacation? H1N1. Yes that nasty flu has made its way down south. Although up there you guys are not hearing about it so much anymore Paraguayans can't stop talking about it. Many people walk around the streets with surgical masks and Purell has finally found its way into the market. So now the kids are at home for a third week and so am I. It has given me a chance to clean up though! And also the opportunity to get some long runs in, yes thats right I will be running another race! A half marathon in Asuncion August 2nd! Its less than two weeks away...

This week I have worn both thermal underwear and shorts and a tank... this weather is a bit crazy.Why is it that every time I take out a book to read people think I am reading the Bible? Do I look religious or is the Bible the only publication worth buying in Paraguay?Why do people become teachers if they don't want to teach?You know its cold when the water coming from the faucet felt freezing yesterday, but its suddenly warm today.Why is there no such thing as a direct response? Everyone always just talks in circles.My youth group had a really successful soccer tournament last week, however the girls were in the kitchen making panchos while the boys played... they start young here. Why is PDA not only acceptable but encouraged while couples behind closed doors forbidden?

So its been awhile, again. Its not that I don´t have anything going on and not that I have too much going on and no time. I just dont know what to write. I have been in Paraguay one year and four months now and I am in the middle of my service. I have been busy ever since school started but I still managed to take a vacation to Chile in May. Chile, lets start there. I love Santiago! It´s beautiful and clean! There isn´t trash everywhere and there are nice big sidewalks to walk on. I got to eat Dunkin Donuts and drink delicious wine. I absolutely loved it there! Then I came back to Paraguay where there is no Dunkin Donuts and delicious wine, but there the people here are soooo much nicer! People in Paraguay go out of their way to help when you´re in need. They make an effort to make everyone feel welcome. They are happy people! So although Chile is cleaner and has yummy food, I was happy to be home again.

In terms of work I am continuing to do much of what I was doing before. I am teaching computer classes in the elementary school and doing activities with the high school kids about self-esteem, values and life skills. I am now working with two youth groups at the community centers and we are trying to get a new women´s group going, since the last one fell apart. I also continue to lead an exercise group three days a week with a group of women and I am working with my neighbor on a World Map at the high school in her community. I have also been elected the President of the Gender and Development Committee which is a volunteer run comittee working to explore gender issues and promote gender equality in Paraguay. So its been a pretty busy time for me... Its also super cold here. While all of you up north are enjoying bbqs and pinics, I am bundled up in a scarf and gloves, even inside my house! I am also attempting to train for a half marathon in August... we´ll see how that goes! Wish me luck!

Flat Stanley

After a month long journey through the mail Flat Stanley came to visit me in Paraguay. Paraguay, where is that? It is in South America. A small land locked country about the same size as California. Paraguay has a population of about seven million inhabitants. They speak two languages here, Guaraní and Spanish, so it was a Little bit tough at first, but Flat Stanley managed just fine!

Because Paraguay is in the Southern Hemisphere Flat Stanley arrived at the beginning of the fall, which is actually more like summer. There are still days where the temperature gets to be over 100 degrees and it is usually sunny. Soon the weather will change though. It will be much cooler and rainy, with gray skies like Cleveland, but here there is no snow!

During his trip here Flat Stanley was able to hang out with kids at the community center for their group activities. He got to visit my old host family and play Uno with the kids. He went to school and participated in computer classes. And most importantly he got to hang out at home and drink tereré. Flat Stanley definitely enjoyed his trip to Paraguay, he enjoyed it so much that he just might stay around a bit longer!

Friday night I was in Asuncion, it had been just under a week since I ran “La Carrera de La Mujer” (Women’s Race) at Nu Guasu Park in 100 degree heat and I decided to remind myself how much I actually love to run in that park when I am not feeling the effects of heat exhaustion. I went around 6 pm just as it was starting to get dark. The park is well lit with police and lots of evening runners. From my Ipod blared my newest running playlist as I began the 6k loop at a nice brisk pace. I was feeling pretty good, losing myself in my run, forgetting about the stress of the previous few weeks, when I looked down and noticed a not so itsy bitsy spider hanging out in the middle of the path. The tartantula was just chillin on the asphalt. I quickly veered to the right to avoid stepping on it and continued with my run. Wow, I thought, good thing I saw that before it was too late, and before I could finish my thought I saw another and a few meters later another. Before Friday night I had never seen a taratantula outside of a glass aquarium, but that evening I spent my run trying to dodge them! It was pretty amazing to see so many in one place out in the open. I am constantly being exposed to new things in Paraguay!

Things here have been super busy over the past few weeks. School started at the end of February. I am teaching in two different schools this year. At the elementary school I teach computer classes to kids in preschool to ninth grade. At the high school I am working with the Community Project Class to teach about Self-esteem, Values and Decision Making to seventh, eighth and ninth graders. Last week I hosted Long Field Practicum in my site. Three of the new trainees came to my town to observe my work and also present some activities as an introduction to life as a volunteer. They stayed with different host families in my town and were able to get a break from the monotony of trainee life. I really enjoyed having them visit. We were super busy, but had a lot of fun too! Having them here reminded me where I was a year ago. Its hard to believe I am already almost halfway through my service! The time is flying by. The new group swears in at the end of April on the same day that the old group swears out. I will be really sad to see the old group go, but I am going to meet up with some of my friends from that group in Mendoza and Santiago during the first week of May. Yea vacation!!! I am definitely ready for it!

February in Paraguay is time for camps. During the past two weeks I had the opportunity to attend three different camps each of which was unique. The first camp was held by the NGO with whom I work on their property. The kids came in groups according to ages and stayed for one night each. On day one they participated in fun camp games and a talent show. And on day two they got to go to a pool if it didn´t rain. For many of the younger kids it was their first opportunity to sleep away from home seeing as sleepovers aren´t nearly as popular here as in the states! The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves and will all have the opportunity to participate again next year.

The second camp was the Urban Youth Development Camp at Campamento Jack Norment in Caacupe. This one was like an American style camp with cabins named after states, a mess hall and a low ropes challenge course. I was able to take two kids with me to participate in the camp and they loved it so much they didn´t want to come back home. There was a pool with a diving board and the 15 year old girl I brought went swimming for the first time! During the day the kids participated in activities focused on improving their communication and teamwork skills as well as leadership abilities. They learned a ton and the kids can´t wait to do the activities again with our youth group.

The third camp was at the biological refuge Tati Jupi which is just north of the Itaipu Dam. It is set on a lake that was actually created by the dam. This camp was a little bit longer, three nights, and was planned by the Gender and Development comitee. I was a primary planner for the camp and am proud to say that it went great! I brought with me four teenagers who turned out to be really outgoing and even wanted to present activities on a regular basis. There were activities that focused on eliminating discrimination and learning about personal identity as well as civic responsibility. There was a teamwork/leadership ability contest in which they raced to complete activities and two trips to the Itaipu Dam. It was my first time seeing the dam and it is amazing. Itaipu is currently the largest dam in the world and produces the most electricity. It is one of the 7 modern wonders of the world and I am happy that I was able to see it!

So now that camps are over summer is coming to a close. School starts this week and with that I hope to have lots of work! Unfortunately the heat hasn´t let up at all... its still over 100 everyday! Yikes!

So as the summer vacation comes to an end and I fill myself with anticipation for a super busy and hopefully very productive school year I realize that I have not written a post in some time. I have not melted away in the heat, I just don´t have much to report. The summer in Paraguay has been somewhat boring and monotonous. Nothing too exciting going on and when the newness of summer wore off so did my creative juices. Luckily this week the ball gets rolling again. I have two summer camps this week in two different cities. I will be taking a total of six kids to learn about leadership and teamwork as well as responsible citizenship. It will be a totally hectic, but hopefully very exciting week for the kids.

It has officially been one year since my arrival in Paraguay, crazy to think that I´ve already been here one year. In some ways it has flown by but in others it seemed to go so slow. I am looking forward to the next year and three months. I think that it will fly by. I also think that I will be able to accomplish a ton. Until next week... when I hope to have more to tell...

It is HOT in Paraguay, we`re talking over 100 degrees almost every day of the week! Most people have fans, but when its this hot, they just blow around the hot air, yuck! So what do we do to escape the heat?! We sit around all day drinking Terere. What is terere you ask? Its a tea made from yerba maté. In Argentina they drink the hot variety called maté. We do that here too, when its cold out. But in the summer we try to make it as cold as possible. Now it sounds simple, we just brew some tea, ice it and drink it, right? Wrong! Tereré is highly ritualized and if you don´t do it right you usually just get laughed at, but there also might be some old timer who gets mad! In order to drink Tereré you must have the proper equipment. That includes a guampa, the cup which is traditionally made from a cow horn but now comes in the wood and metal varieties as well, a bombilla, a metal straw with a filter attached to the bottom, and a pitcher. The yerba maté comes in many varieties, some are flavored with stuff like mint and lemon others are just plain. The yerba is poured into the guampa and the bombilla is then insertered into the yerba. To prepare the water Paraguayans typically use water and ice and also add some yuyos. Yuyos? Thats Spanish for weeds, they put weeds in their water? Yep? Makes it taste yummy! Different weeds have different uses. Most are said to be some sort of natural remedy. The most common are mint and boldo which are said to reduce acid and aid in digestion. They are also very refreshing. So they ground up the yuyos and put them in the water with some ice. The water is poured into the guampa with the yerba and the first pour is soaked up by the yerba, they say this is Saint Christopher´s turn, I think. Once the water is soaked up the person serving pours some more in and hands it to the person to his or her right. That person drinks the tereré and then hands the guampa back to the person serving. The server is often the host or the youngest person in the group. Traditionally the guampa is only touched by the right hand. Only the server can touch the bombilla with his or her hand and the bombilla should never be touched by teeth while drinking. The order in which the guampa is passed to drink is always the same even as people may enter or leave the circle. The server will continue to serve to each individual until they say Gracias or the water runs out. Drinking tereré is a very ritualized and traditional Paraguayan custom, and is one of the best ways that a Peace Corps Volunteer can integrate into the community. Most Paraguayans have their own equipment and often will get a really nice set as a gift for graduation from college or from collegues. Its amazing the work that goes into drinking this tea, but it is definitely worth it! Its delicious!

So after one day of intensive planning and three days of chaos my geography camp has come to an end. I had about 70 kids come in all, 25-35 at a time. Even with the help of another volunteer it was rough. The kids were rowdy and didn´t really want to listen, but I am hoping that they got something out of it. We were unable to finish the World Map, but I am hoping to work on it over the next week and possibly finish it up. I am putting up pictures from the camp on the Flickr site. Next week I plan to take a break and relax a little bit. We´ll see if that actually happens!

So I have been in my site for two whole months now! Can you believe it? Only 22 months left... yes that means I am still counting. So what have I been up to? Tons of stuff! My main contact is the community center/after-before school program and I go there almost daily to do work. What type of work? Some days I am tutoring kids other days I am helping to serve snacks to the kids and others I am working on our new garden. Garden? With the youth group I formed at the community center we have cleaned an area and prepped it for a vegetable producing garden. Which we will hopefully be planting soon. We have youth group every Saturday morning at the community center and we have been doing some random fundraisers to start out with. I am also teaching computer classes at an elementary school two days a week. There are about twenty classes in all which is really overwhelming. We are on winter vacation for the next two weeks and I have planned, or am in the process of planning, a three-day day camp for the kids at the community center. They'll be learning about geography and some American culture. The theme came to me when one of the kids pointed to a map of Paraguay and asked me to show her where my county is located. I have another volunteer coming to help me with the camp and on the last day we will be painting a large World Map as a project. I can't wait! After winter break is over I will be teaching cooking classes to some of the mothers from the center. That should be interesting. We will be cooking without meat and Paraguayans are not exactly open to the idea. But it will help to reduce food costs and improve their health so I am going for it! So other than that I attend meetings for some other youth groups in the area and accompany my host mother on an hour walk nightly to sell sandwiches at a night school. I haven't been nearly as bored as I thought I might be. Living in a big city there's always something to do!

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!

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!

So they say that once you stop counting down the months to your close of service and start to just live your life in Paraguay that the time flies by, even faster then you might want it to... I am still waiting for the day when that becomes my reality. Here I am just under one month into service and hoping that I will reach that point of comfort. I know that I am still in the integration process, still trying to get to know my site and not actually expected to do any work yet, but if you know me then you know that I am a busybody and I like to have something planned for just about every hour of my day. So that is what I do. I plan and I plan and I plan. But in Paraguay it is hard to live by my plans because a meeting that is supposed to start at 9 am probably won't actually start until 11 and the one that I walk forty minutes to get to will likely be cancelled. But I am getting used to it.

The work that I have started has been equally frustrating and rewarding. I have found here that like in many of the poorer education systems in the States, there are many children that will be passed from grade to grade without actually ever learning anything. There are kids in fourth and fifth grade who haven't learned their ABCs. They don't know how to add or subtract. But they keep passing the grade. Is it because they somehow manage to pass the tests? Or is it more likely that their teacher doesn't want to have them as a bother in her class again the next year? I don't know. I just know that due to a lack of support both within the school and the home the children suffer. So that is where I have started. Teaching the ABCs. Teaching basic addition. Not sure if that's what I thought I would be doing in Peace Corps, but here I am with something to do. And on the days when I have something else to do and cannot teach it makes me happy just to hear that the kids were asking what happened to Profe Melissa. It means that I have on at least some level made a difference in someone's life. I have accomplished what it was that I set out to do... and now I have 23 months left to do it over and over and over again!

The top ten things I am glad I brought to Paraguay:

10. Pens and Markers... they give you tons of papers and manuals in the Peace Corps, but nothing to write with!

9. A towel... Paraguayan towels are thin and rough.

8. Sleeping bag... really useful for cold winter nights.

7. Hiking shoes... even though I am in the city it feels like the Campo with red dirt roads.

6. My recipe book... I am actually Vegetarian food for myself!

5. Lots of underwear... hand washing and air drying does a number on all your clothes... especially underwear.

4. A jump rope... good for exercising inside or in the yard where there aren´t a million Paraguayans looking at you like you are crazy!

3. My Camera... I already of tons of great pics!

2. A pillow... Paraguayan pillow are hard pieces of foam, my travel pillow rocks! Thanks to Tasha and Jessica!!

1. My Laptop... it´s really useful for writing emails and blog posts, listening to music and watching DVDs. Eventually I actually plan on using it for work.

The top ten things I wish I would have brought to Paraguay:

8. A hand or face towel... it takes awhile for mine to dry.

7. DVDs... I kinda forgot to pack them... but thanks to Danica I already have some to watch!

6. An extra supply of contact solution.

5. Girl Scout books... they have lots of good ideas for working with youth.

4. Coffee... Paraguayans usually drink Nescafe, luckily Mom put some in the mail... hopefully I get it one day!

3. A converter from 220 volt to 110 volt... some things I can plug and some things I can´t.

2. Cute shoes... even though its PC we do get to go out once in awhile!

1. MORE clothes... the ones that I´ve got are started to get old and boring already.

So I could only think of 8... I guess that´s a good thing!

I have been in site for about two weeks now. Things are equally frustrating and exciting. I haven´t really done too much ¨work¨ yet. But I am making lots of contacts and doing some observing. I need to improve my Spanish a lot more before I´ll feel totally comfortable giving charlas. The first few months in site are supposed to be more observation and integration than anything else. So that´s what I am doing... although it tends to get boring. Hopefully I will be doing more ¨work¨ soon.

On Friday afternoon I took the oath to protect the constitution, so help me God, and with that officially became a Peace Corps Volunteer. OK so there was a lot more to it than that, but I am officially a PCV now, so those of you who send mail can change my title from PCT to PCV! Thanks again to those who do send mail. It is always really exciting when I go to my mail box and there is actually something in it other than the PC papers! I love it! So our swearing in ceremony took place at the American Embassy, which happens to be the largest American Embassy in the World right now. Apparently Iraq will have a bigger American embassy one day... we´ll see how that goes. After the ceremony we had the best chocolate cake I have ever had in my life from a place in Asuncion. It was amazing! I then spent the weekend in Asuncion ¨relaxing¨and travelled to site on Monday afternoon. So far so good here. I am working on getting some furniture for my room, right now all that's in there is a bed and my huge bags. I was worried about being completely bored in the beginning, but so far I haven´t had that problem. I am sure that it will come along shortly though! Although the town is pretty big and there is plenty for me to get to know around the area. I am still focusing on not getting lost going between my community center and my house. I´ll get there soon enough.

Today began my final week of training, which means I get to pack up all my stuff and lug it halfway across the country to my new home next week. But first this week will be packed with tons of activities including a party with our host families and our swearing in ceremony. I will be spending the weekend in Asuncion with the other new volunteers having a great time before I head out to site. Going out to site means integrating with a new family, getting to know a new city and trying to convince the locals to trust me so I can work with them. It won’t be easy, but I am always up for a challenge. My days will be much less structured and there won’t be Americans to talk to and hang out with. That might be the hardest part!

Yesterday the Paraguayan elections were held. The two major parties were still campaigning hard until Thursday night in Asuncion. There was no campaigning allowed after Thursday night so things were a lot quieter during the weekend. They also have a law here that prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol on election day to help prevent rioting after the election. The voting is done via paper ballot. The Liberale party won! It will be interesting to see what happens as the Colorado party has been in power for 60 years and this is the first time the Liberales has won since the democracy was established in 1989.

So I have now met my contact and spent six days in my site! It was one of the most awkward times in my life. But I am starting to get used to awkwardness. The city is pretty big with plenty of shops, a big market and several ice cream shops, yum! Unfortunatley, the barrio I will be living in is about a 20 minute walk from all of that. I guess I get to work off the calories after I eat them! The barrio is also extremely poor and I give major props to the kids I will be working with just for putting in the effort. I only hope that I can do something to make a difference in their lives because I know they will surely make a difference in mine!

This post is what I wrote to post last week but the internet wasn´t working so here it is...

After eight grueling (or maybe not so grueling) weeks of training the time has finally arrived, G-26 (my training group) now knows where they will live for the next two years. Friday afternoon we received out site assignments. Friday morning was spent distracting us by driving us around the country to various places. I went to see a 200 year-old Church built entirely from wood, the home of a war hero and former Paraguayan President and an Artesinal School where they teach how to make the material for hammocks and blankets. We also went to a market where they sell a lot of hammocks and I was able to buy one for pretty cheap. After all of the distractions and anticipation I found out my site, which is located pretty centrally in the Eastern part of Paraguay. It is halfway between Asuncion and Ciudad del Este and is at the crossroads for people to turn off and head north or south from Ruta 2. The city is the birthplace of the current president and has about 85,000 people. I will likely be working with a program that assists kids who work on the street, a community center and a school. My site is also the former site of my technical trainer, although I will be in a different neighborhood. They did not provide us with a ton of information, just enough to get started. On Tuesday I will meet my main contact and then travel to my site to spend a week there getting to know the area, trying to find housing and trying to figure out how I can start my work there. It will be another awkward week of meeting new people and staying in a strange place but this time there won’t be any other Americans… which means nothing but Spanish for almost a whole week! Scary!!

Thanks to those who sent birthday wishes! I had a pretty good birthday here in Paraguay. I think I was sang to about 10 times! I celebrated by having some fellow trainees over for some snacks and drinks which was fun! I also think we´re going to a party on Saturday night which should be interesting and hopefully better than the last one.

Tomorrow is the big day of site announcements and the anticipation continues to rise. We will be out in different towns all day doing Cultural Visits to keep us occupied while we wait for the program directors to come with the info!

Last week´s long field practice was really fun. I went with one other trainee to stay in a volunteer´s site for five days to practice volunteer life. We taught about 5 classes on self-esteem, leadership and emotions. We also got to meet some of the volunteer´s contacts who include a youth group leader and a women´s group leader. I enjoyed getting the chance to meet people outside of the Peace Corps World. There are some really hard working Paraguayans... this gives me hope. It was great!

One of the crazy things about Paraguay is that politics filter into everything. They even impact whether or not a school will get supplies. The election is April 20th so things are really starting to heat up. There are political rallies everywhere and the corruption is becoming more and more visible. The Colorado party has been in power for about 25 years and this is the first time that the opposing party, the Liberales, have a chance to win. The election will definitely provide some excitement. Tonight, Thursday night, a debate between the candidates is being broadcast for the first time. It´ll be heated!

Sunday was Easter, and in the States Easter usually means finding your hidden Easter basket full of candy, possibly an Easter egg hunt, going to Church and a big dinner. In Paraguay Easter is not celebrated for a day but for an entire week. Palm Sunday signifies the beginning of Semana Santa (Holy Week), which ends on Easter. Monday and Tuesday most people go about their usual routines with work and school, but starting Wednesday everything changes. I had a half-day of training on Wednesday but most schools were closed and many people had off from work. All over Paraguay on Wednesday families were making Chipa. Chipa is a traditional bread made from corn meal, yucca flour, eggs, pig lard (or butter), anise and of course Queso Paraguaya. It usually tastes pretty good when it’s fresh, but after a few hours it gets hard and dry. Thursday is the day of the last supper. Many families eat pork for lunch. I was lucky enough to arrive home Tuesday afternoon in time to see my host dad’s sister, who lives next door, slaughter and butcher the last of three pigs to be sold for the week. On Thursday most families also make Sopa Paraguaya, which is like a Paraguayan cornbread with many of the same ingredients as Chipa. Friday is the most important day of the week because that is the day Christ was killed. Most businesses in Paraguay are closed on this day, including the Dispensa at our house. The traditional families fast for the entire day eating nothing but Chipa and Sopa Paraguaya and drinking cocido, brewed Yerba with charcoal burnt sugar. On Saturday most businesses are open, but it is a very relaxed day. There was a three-hour mass that began at 9 pm. Sunday was a pretty normal day with no extra special celebration. Semana Santa is the most important holiday is Paraguay. Many people travel to spend the week with family in other parts of the country, like we would for Christmas. One of my host brothers who currently lives in Buenos Aires came into town for the week. It was nice to have a few days off from training. I read a lot, watched a few movies and taught Laura and Santiago how to play Rummy 500. This week I am in another town visiting a volunteer for my Long Field Practice. We got here Monday and we´ll be here until Friday. Next Friday we find out our sites... the anticipation is building.