As I wrap up my 27 month Peace Corps service in Paraguay, I feel a wide array of emotions. While I am excited to finish my service, travel for a few weeks through Chile and Argentina, and make a new life for myself in the States, I am dreading saying goodbye to the amazing Paraguayans [...]
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With less than 4 months left in Paraguay, I have found that my new mantra is “Hay que aprovechar,” or “You gotta take advantage.” Long gone are the days when I complained about the fatty fried foods, was bored out of my mind in terere circles when people spoke mostly in Guarani, was frustrated about [...]
A BIG THANKS to everyone who contributed to and shared my Peace Corps Partnership… it is officially FULLY FUNDED! We will be receiving the check in 2 weeks and then will begin purchasing everything for the library. Check out my blog later this week – I promise to write an update about what’s been happening [...]
*PLEASE read the entire post! The link to the peacorps.gov donation page for my project is at the bottom of the post.* Finally summer is over and work has been picking up in site. This year, I have mainly been working with the two schools in Nueva Colombia – the elementary school (where I do [...]
Avy’a is one of the most important words to know in the Guarani language when you’re speaking with a Paraguayan you’ve met for the first time. No matter the person you’re speaking with, how long you’ve been in Paraguay, or your skill level in Guarani, the Paraguayan is bound to ask you “Revy’a?” And your [...]
I know this sounds like the same introduction to most of my posts, but I once again apologize for the severe delay in a new blog post. The beginning of my second Paraguayan summer was jam-packed with visits from friends and travels to foreign countries, and by the time I was ready to sit down [...]
In less than a week, there will be a big celebration for a very important birthday. And no, I’m not referring to Christmas. I’m referring to the fact that Esnaider will be turning 1 years old (or 7 human years) on December 25th!! It feels like just yesterday when I got the phone call about [...]
IT’S DECEMBER?! Anichene! If I weren’t directly under my ceiling fan sweating profusely, I wouldn’t believe it… Summer has definitely begun here in Paraguay, but thanks to living in my own house and being able to use vacation days (Chile, I here come!!), this year I am better prepared to battle the heat. I can’t [...]
Somehow a month has passed since I last updated my blog! I really was planning on writing more often… but che kaigue (I’m without energy). The past month I’ve been concentrating on my English classes (which I’m finishing up this week!!) and my environmental youth group. On October 16th, I had my first environmental youth [...]
I’ve been living in Paraguay for a little over a year now and every day I realize how comfortable I am despite living in a foreign culture – even though I don’t even understand 1 of the 2 primary languages. Standing on a crowded bus next to a man with a stereo system singing a [...]
One of the reasons I chose Peace Corps over other volunteer programs abroad is because I didn’t just want to teach English in a foreign country. I loved the fact that I was going to get to share my passion for the environment by doing different environmental projects for 2 years. That said, whenever teaching [...]
In June when I booked my flight back to the States there was some strategy involved. I was in a major slump because I lacked a good project in site, so I made sure I’d get back to Paraguay in time for the Peace Corps sponsored “Project and Design Management” (PDM) Workshop. Project and Design [...]
Good news: I had the great fortune of returning to Paraguay during strawberry season and yesterday I bought 1 kilo/2.2 pounds worth of strawberries for less than $3 USD! Thus, I find myself with a bit of extra time to write a brief update as I bake strawberry muffins that I later tend on distributing [...]
So, I know my last post was somewhat depressing, but I think it’s important to show both the highs and lows of this 27 month journey. Here are some of the highs of the past few months: Reforestation Project/World Earth Day My contact in the local government has shown interest in doing some kind of [...]
First and foremost, apologies that I have not updated my blog in almost 2 months. While I wish I could say that I haven’t updated my blog in a while because I’ve been unbelievably busy working in my community, unfortunately that isn’t the case. Rather, I’ve spent the majority of the past two months in [...]
I’ve been living in Nueva Colombia for a little over 4 months now and am still getting to know my community and figure out what my role is as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I’ve been spending time in the major institutions (e.g., the schools, local government, health center) and searching for people who are serious [...]
Since I have decided to continue concealing my religion from Paraguayans because I don’t want religion to hinder my relationships with them, I was somewhat nervous for Easter (especially considering how uncomfortable I felt spending Christmas in Nueva Colombia). Would everyone continue asking me about my religion? How many times would I have to explain [...]
For the past month, everyone has been asking me about my dog, Esnaider. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much to say because he was still living with my training host family in Guarambaré. However, as of March 14th, Esnaider is officially a resident of Nueva Colombia! And, well now, I’ve got a lot to say now…
I [...]
Ever since arriving to Nueva Colombia on December 15th, I have been counting down the days until the schools open because, as an environmental education volunteer, my primary job is in the schools. Well, finally, the day has arrived: The school year began on February 23rd!
Since many of you have been asking “What exactly is [...]
Peace Corps Paraguay requires all volunteers to live with host families during training and the first 3 months in site due to the myriad benefits of living with a family (e.g., learning the languages more quickly, safety, better understanding of culture/traditions, etc.).
In Guarambaré, our language teachers from training chose our families and we stayed with [...]
On Saturday February 20th, I had the opportunity to attend my first Paraguayan wedding. And it wasn’t just any wedding; it was the Mayor’s daughter’s (Cati) wedding. Everyone in Nueva Colombia had been talking about the wedding for over a month… Who would be invited? When would the family hand out invitations?
Although I lived with [...]
As of February 15th, I have officially been in site for two months. And how do you think I would describe my first 2 months in site? That’s right, you guessed it… Tranquilopa. But things are now finally starting to pick up in my site – thanks mostly to my summer camp and school starting [...]
Apparently my last blog post had a bit too much wishful thinking… Fresco February? Yeah right! It has been over 105 degrees F everyday this month with no rain or cloud coverage (and no rain in the forecast!). This past Friday was the hottest day of the summer thus far – 115 degrees F!
You may [...]
No one agrees on which is the hottest month: January or February. All I know is that I am happy that I survived my first January in Paraguay – even though there was a lot of sweat involved. I am pretty sure the word I said the most often this month was hakuterei, which means [...]
It has been a while since I last updated (or, as they say in Paraguay, tanto tiempo), but hopefully you all assumed that no news is good news. Though life is still pretty tranquilo since school does not start until the end of February, I have been finding things to occupy my time and have [...]
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Like I said in my last post, the Paraguayan New Years Eve celebration is practically idential to the Paraguayan Christmas celebration. Once again, we ate dinner at midnight after standing up, kissing each other, and saying “Felicidades!”
Dinner, however, did not last too long (which was unfortunate because I am a slow eater!) [...]
This past week I celebrated my first Christmas in Paraguay. And, well, I guess you could say I celebrated my first Christmas ever.
In the States, my favorite way to pass December 25th is to eat Chinese food and go to the movies with family and friends – like practically all the other Jews who have [...]
Many of you have been asking, “So now that you are a Peace Corps volunteer, what do you do?” Well, that is a great question! And, well, I am still trying to figure out the answer…
Arriving to site in mid-December makes life a bit complicated. Since I am an environmental educator, my primary job is [...]
Training flew by unbelievably quickly and I am currently settling into my site. Since I was in such a rush writing my last post, I thought it would be appropriate to reflect one last time on my experiences during training in Guarambaré (or, G-bé, for short).
What I will miss about training:
1. My Friends
Being with the [...]
After 11 grueling weeks of intensive language, technical, and cultural training, I am OFFICIALLY a Peace Corps Volunteer. On Friday, all 42 of us (yes, we all made it!) swore in to service at the United States Embassy in Asuncion. During the service, we listened to speeches by the PC Paraguay Country Director, the Ambassador, [...]
It has been a while since I last wrote, so I have quite a few things to cover… But let me start off where I last left off:
Thanksgiving
Many of you were wondering exactly what I did for Thanksgiving. Well, fortunately, all of us trainees had the day off. We were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving lunch [...]
So, as you all know, last Wednesday was the big day. Thats right: I found out where I will be living for the next 2 years. But before I tell you all about my site, I am going to make you wait… just like I had to wait practically all of Wednesday to finally find [...]
As you all know, I spent last week in a small pueblo called Yhu where I stayed with a current volunteer for long field practice. Monday morning our driver, language teacher, and five of us trainees piled into a Peace Corps vehicle for a five hour car ride to Yhu (two of those hours on [...]
So the big highlight of the week was long field practice, but there are some random things I wanted to talk about as well. Thus, this blog post is titled random-hape because “hape” means events in Guarani (for example, a dance is a bailehape) and I am going to talk about random events that have [...]
Finally! Yes, thats right, it rained in Guarambare and it cooled down a bit (though it is already heating back up so I guess I cant get too excited). The bit of cold air I experienced last night and this morning was definitely a well-deserved break from the 100+ degree F weather I have been [...]
Yes, that’s right, I am half way done with training. I have to make it through a few more obstacles – mostly the heat – but soon enough I will be lying in my very own hammock, attempting to teach myself guaraní, and trying not to melt. I have several topics to cover, so let [...]
I can’t believe I arrived in Paraguay one month ago; I feel like I’ve been here for so long! Adjusting to a new culture, new language, and new home made the days go by much slower, but now training is flying by!
Classes
I am slowly transitioning to Guaraní classes. This week we reviewed several phrases in [...]
I’ve done quite a bit of traveling this past week! Last Thursday I went to Asunción, which ended up being a lot better than I expected. Like I said, I visited the forestry department at the National University of Asunción in San Lorenzo (approximately 30 minutes away from Asunción). It was extremely beautiful due to [...]
Today we had our technical class in the center of Guarambaré, so I’m able to use the internet this week for a little bit. I wrote a relatively thorough post this weekend, so I don’t have much more to say. Language and technical classes are going well. It’s extremely hard for me to understand Paraguayans, [...]
Can you believe it? I’ve only been here for a little over a week. To me, it feels like it’s at least been 2 months. So much has happened since I arrived last Thursday. I have experienced: a black out in my house, 100 degree F (37 degrees C) weather one day and 51 degrees [...]
As I said in my previous post, I am enjoying myself immensely in Paraguay. Everything here is very tranquilo (or, as they say in Guaran, tranquilopa). And while not much has changed since I last wrote, I think I can go into a bit more detail about what we’re doing, what we’re learning, and what’s [...]
So the title of this post may look like jibberish, but in reality, it is how you say hello in Guarani. The language is incredibly hard, but I am trying my best to learn the greetings, at least. Environmental educators must be at the intermediate level in Spanish before starting Guarani classes. Thus, I begin my [...]
My 27-month journey has officially begun: I am currently on the plane that is taking me to Miami, FL where my brief Peace Corps orientation is held. The next few days are going to be extremely hectic and I will try to update you on my happenings, but for now let me explain what it [...]
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