Quick Paraguay update to share one of the countries weirdest traditions: Festival de San Juan.

San Juan parties are held all over Paraguay really anytime a school or community wants to celebrate in late June or early July. It's unclear to me where exactly the tradition came from, but the story pieced together from several senoras and youth I spend time with goes like this:

"Once upon a time in Paraguay there was a fiesta and San Juan was there. There was also a man there who was really ugly and dressed as a women. San Juan died at the fiesta so we remember him by having a party every year with traditional games and foods."

I clarified that San Juan was not the crossdresser, but other than that nobody had much more to add to the story. Is any of this true? I have no idea, but the party was fun and Paraguayans love any excuse to get together and have a good time.

These boys are the "camba," played by boys in masks made of ripped tshirts and paint. Some are dressed as women-- note the boy on the right in low heels.

These are the littlest girls dancing the "chipera," or chipa girl.

There are also a ton of games, from sack races to walking on fire to some game involving a live duck. Some things will just remain mysterious.

After getting back from Peru I jumped right back into work with a workshop on Gender Equality with my seniors in high school. Luckily, I had help from my regional coordinator Doug, and although the presentation was a bit long for the kids a few of them told me today that they learned a lot and thought it was an interesting and important topic.

The HeforShe campaign is a solidarity movement for gender equality spearheaded my UN Women. The idea is that, while historically the feminist movement has relied on women working for women, gender inequality affects all of us, male or female.

The HeForShe Commitment says:

Gender equality is not only a women’s issue, it is a human rights issue that requires my participation. I commit to take action against all forms of violence and discrimination faced by women and girls.

Because these issues are not commonly discussed here in Paraguay, we kept things simple and talked about how gender is a social construct, and how many parts of the macho culture can be as damaging to men and boys as it is to women and girls. We talked about equality as it relates to the ability of each individual to live a healthy life, find peace and contentment, and chose their own path. At the end of the workshop, the participants earned certificates and were able to elect to take the pledge.

Me, my counterpart teacher, and my students.

While it's really hard to gauge how much of the information was really resonating with these kids, especially the young boys, I'm glad that they at least had exposure to this important issue and hopefully we can keep building on this foundation throughout the rest of the school year.

This month I was lucky enough to go on vacation with my Nana and my sister to Peru. I met them in Lima, where we spend two days before flying to Cusco to spend time exploring the sacred valley and Machu Picchu!

Some highlights:

The Lima Coastline

Bike tour of the city

Cathedral

A park full of water fountains

Touring the sacred valley

Salt mines

Another Inca site

They think this was used as a sort of agricultural lab

Machu Picchu

The residential part of the city

Main courtyard

And all of us!

Visiting Peru was a good break in my normal routine and I think we all learned a lot about Peru and the country's interesting history. Another one of my favorite things we did was visit a planetarium and observatory outside of Cusco! We learned about the southern hemisphere constellations as they are known today, as well as how the Inca civilization interpreted them.

Until next time. Ciao.

I didn't like Zumba in the states. I think I took one class at UNC and maybe the teacher wasn't great  but I was underwhelmed. Had you told me that Zumba would turn into my biggest project in Paraguay, that it would spin off a women's soccer team, that we would participate and lead community events, and that we're even getting uniforms I would have never believed it.

There are a ton of reasons that this project has been so successful. One of the biggest reasons is that I've worked closely with a super guapa (hardworking) community contact. She is a nutritionist and helps me give charlas and every month the participants that want to weigh in have that opportunity through her. She also has lived in my pueblo her entire life and knew right off the bat who would be interested in coming and made sure they knew about it. Even so, I remember the look on her face when we had our first class with more that 70 women!

That was in Ocober of last year. Now, 8 months later our group meets three times a week for an hour, owns their own sound system, and we are well known in the pueblo. We've formed a more stable group of 30-40 "regulars," and many of them have lost weight and tell me that they look forward to Zumba not only because of the health benefits/free class, but because of the community that we have created. We're also slowly changing the way my site looks at exercise. My class is not only for young women, or for people that are already "in shape," and that speaks volumes. It's also great that these women have a space to call their own.

When I started my Peace Corps service I had some expectations in the back of my mind about the kinds of things I would do in my site, and this project just goes to show that sometimes the things you never could have predicted end up meaning the most.

My community contact Luz Marina and I in our soccer jerseys.

The rest of the Zumba team before a game!

I don't have a picture of my class because that is one of the rules that the group came up with from the beginning to avoid people being to embarrassed to come. However we will hopefully be taking a group photo once we have our tshirts!

Next week I'll be in Peru (Lina, Cuzco, Machu Pichu) with my sister Ashley and my Nana, so I'll update about that trip at the end of the month!

As I mentioned in the last post, Peace Corps Paraguay is in the middle of a training cycle with a new group of community health and community economic development volunteers. The trainees have multiple excursions throughout their 10 weeks, including a field trip to my site!

I checked out a Grassroots Soccer kit from our office earlier this month which includes all of the materials to run the program. In preparation for their visit I handed out invites to my 50 some high school students and got 21 signed up. However, I was told the Thursday before the trainees were coming that many of the students would be participating in a mandatory Church Retreat in preparation for their confirmation in the following weeks. Flexibility! We went ahead and ran the program anyway and just had the trainees join in the games too and had a great time.

First I gave an introduction along with some basic information on HIV/AIDS. There is a lot of misinformation about the topic here, so we kept things pretty basic.

Our first game was called "Risk Field." Each cone represented a risk behavior- "Unprotected Sex" or "Multiple Partners" for example. It was a relay race through the cones and if you touched one, there was a penalty exercise (push ups/jumping jacks). In the first round, your actions only affected you (ie only the person dribbling had to do the exercise, in the second your entire team was affected, and in the third everyone present did the exercises. The trainees did a great job facilitating!

Our second game was called "Break Away from HIV." Participants were split into two teams, one team was the players and the other team was HIV. They raced to their "goals," with the player having a second or two head-start.

As the game progressed, the players had to dribble one, then two soccer balls as "HIV" pursued them. In the discussion afterwards we talked about how people who are HIV positives have to work much harder to achieve their goals.

After the games, we took some time to drink terere in the shade and just hang out. Even though we had a change in plans, it was a fun morning and my students are excited to continue the program in the coming weeks. Thanks to the trainees for helping and to Cristian for the pictures!

Quick Paraguay Update! March was a busy month with school starting up again, helping out training the new group of health volunteers, and even my first music festival! I never thought I'd see groups like Fitz and the Tantrums, Alt-J, The Kooks, Foster the People, Bastille, Skrillex, etc in Paraguay of all places.

Our new sister G (the new group of health volunteers) arrived in country March 4th. As a part of their training, as it was a part of mine, trainees head out to visit current volunteers and live as we do for 4 days/3 nights. I actually have two mentees, but Aliza was who I hosted.

Aliza exploring my yard

 It was nice to have a visitor, and Aliza was able to help me kick off a dental health series in the local elementary schools. The kids were excited that I was back again this year and remembered a decent amount from the last school year about parasites, hand washing, and nutrition. Aliza was nice enough to take some pictures during the lectures.

Brush-em brush-em brush-em.

Expect an update early April about an upcoming Grassroots Soccer Camp! It's a series of soccer practices that tie in messages about HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. I'll have half of the new trainee group visiting me to help out with that as well.

Hey everyone. I had a busy first two weeks in February taking youth from my community to share in one of my favorite things in the world: summer camp.  The first week was a Gender and Development (GAD) camp with a health and wellness theme, followed by Girls Leading Our World (GLOW). I had a wonderful time and my youth really enjoyed the experience as well.

GAD had both girls and boys participating and it was a smaller camp- 14 participants. This is the first year that Paraguay has done a Gender and Development camp and although the enrollment numbers were not as high as the goal, the camp went phenomenally. The participants learned about health as it pertains to our bodies and our minds with presentations on exercise (yoga, zumba, self defense), mental health, discrimination, self esteem, gender stereotypes and equality, gender based violence, gender in the media, nutrition, and teamwork. The kids were all really engaged and because of the small size became a really tight knit group. One of my favorite moments was during an ally training one of the girls said "And I'm not a feminist or anything..." which lead to a discussion about what feminism means. We defined feminism as the belief than men and women should have equal personal, economic, cultural, political, and social rights. The participants responded overwhelming with lots of "OHHH I'm a feminist then!" from both the boys and the girls. We also played and danced whenever there was a spare moment and I felt really lucky to be involved in such a special experience. We even made it into the newspaper!

Sneaking in a game of volley before a storm

My participants

Learning a hand clapping game

GLOW was a much bigger camp, with 47 female participants. It was awesome to have a girls only space to talk about some difficult topics. The girls learned about leadership, healthy relationships, values, gender based violence, equality, sex ed, yoga, self esteem, and heard from a panel of successful Paraguayan women. We even had a "Period Party," complete with red nail polish, red decorations, and "pad races" where we celebrated all aspects of our femininity, even the parts that make us uncomfortable sometimes. The girls worked hard all week and made new friends from all over Paraguay. They also received a manual of all of the weeks activities to take back to their communities. My participant is already talking about helping me run few programs her high school.

Our masterpiece, each leaf representing a value that a girl found most important

Everyone gathered in the main room

The girls on our last day in their "Por Ser Niña" shirts donated by Plan Paraguay, our community partner

The past two weeks have enforced what I've known since I went to Gwynn Valley and Akita as a camper and later a counselor at Akita-- Summer camp is good for the body, mind and spirit. There's no feeling quite like dancing to your own beat along side friends that are doing the same.

A Year In Review

As of today, I've officially been in Paraguay for one entire year. A year you say? What in the world has Dani been doing in America del Sur for a WHOLE YEAR. While sometimes I ask myself the same question, looking back it seems I have accomplished a thing or two.

Highlights Include:

I made friends: As you can imagine, making/having friends is one of the most important influences on contentment with day to day life in the Peace Corps. Finding people who are willing to look past all the quirky habits that we bring with us as volunteers can be challenging. Kids are great and love you pretty much no matter what, and I've managed to find my core people who help bring me up.

I have projects: Health education with 1st through 12th grade, an English Club, a Zumba Class, and a Maternal Health project in development. I'm not as busy as I am in the states, but I'm working as best I can while working with my Paraguayan contacts.

I speak Spanish: Now, instead of automatically knowing that I'm from the US, most people assume I'm Brazilian. Still foreign, but closer! I like to think this means I'm losing my accent but it may also just be that I'm tan right now.

I can (sorta) play the guitar: Made it past the basics.

I read (many) books: 

The Mermaid Chair- Kidd, Sue Monk
World Without End (The Pillars of the Earth, #2)- Follett, Ken
Bloodroot- Greene, Amy
The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1)- Riordan, Rick
The Princess Bride- Goldman, William
Harry Potter y el Prisionero de Azkaban- Rowling, J.K.
The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World- Novogratz, Jacqueline
The Scarlet Letter- Hawthorne, Nathaniel
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- Skloot, Rebecca
Two Ears of Corn: A Guide to People-Centered Agricultural Improvement- Bunch, Roland
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good- Easterly, William
This Is How You Lose Her- Díaz, Junot
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly- Bourdain, Anthony
The Angel's Game (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #2)- Zafón, Carlos Ruiz
Shantaram- Roberts, Gregory David
Harry Potter y el Cáliz de Fuego- Rowling, J.K.
Heart of Darkness- Conrad, Joseph
The Time Machine- Wells, H.G.
Little Bee- Cleave, Chris
The Prisoner of Heaven (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #3)- Zafón, Carlos Ruiz
One Hundred Years of Solitude- Márquez, Gabriel Garcí­a
Breakfast of Champions- Vonnegut, Kurt
The Goldfinch- Tartt, Donna
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4)- Riordan, Rick
Never Let Me Go- Ishiguro, Kazuo
The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #2)- Riordan, Rick
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #3)- Riordan, Rick
The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)- Riordan, Rick
The Glass Castle- Walls, Jeannette
The Rose of Fire (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #2.5)- Zafón, Carlos Ruiz
The Interestings- Wolitzer, Meg
The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)- Grossman, Lev
The Ocean at the End of the Lane- Gaiman, Neil
The Best American Short Stories 2010 (The Best American Series)- Russo, Richard
A Visit from the Goon Squad-Egan, Jennifer
I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago- Kerkeling, Hape
Black Swan Green- Mitchell, David
East of Eden- Steinbeck, John
Harry Potter y la Orden del Fénix- Rowling, J.K.
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom- Ruiz, Miguel
Lolita- Nabokov, Vladimir
The Blind Assassin- Atwood, Margaret
The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories- Keegan, Marina
The Joy Luck Club- Tan, Amy
American Gods (American Gods, #1)- Gaiman, Neil
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand- Simonson, Helen
Gathering Blue (The Giver, #2)- Lowry, Lois
Messenger (The Giver, #3)- Lowry, Lois
Son (The Giver, #4)- Lowry, Lois
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America- Larson, Erik
Lady Oracle- Atwood, Margaret
The Good Girl's Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure- Friedman, Rachel
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (Freakonomics, #1)- Levitt, Steven D.
Into the Wild- Krakauer, Jon
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls- DiSclafani, Anton
Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid- Hofstadter, Douglas R.
Memoirs of a Geisha- Golden, Arthur
Orphan Train- Kline, Christina Baker
Making Toast- Rosenblatt, Roger
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1)- Riggs, Ransom
Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World- Williams, Mark
The Night Circus- Morgenstern, Erin
The Cider House Rules- Irving, John
Animal Farm- Orwell, George
The Graveyard Book- Gaiman, Neil
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell- Clarke, Susanna
The Remains of the Day- Ishiguro, Kazuo

And I got a cat:

Photo along with filters and blur compliments of my Paraguayan friends. ha.

All in all, I feel lucky to spend my time in a country and open and friendly as Paraguay, and I'm excited for the upcoming year. Bring on 2015!

It's happened. 2015 is upon us, and I'm excited for what I believe will be an awesome year.

I got to Paraguay late January 2014, and it's weird to think that a year ago I knew so much less about so many things that I now take for granted. For example, when I got to the airport a few days ago, I wasn't lost, struggling to understand, or stressed about violating some cultural norm. I felt confident, I knew exactly where to go and could have directed the cab driver to the bus station in whatever language. I talked to the women next to me on the bus for an hour no problem. I know the jokes, I've learned the manners, I'm not scrambling anymore. While people can still peg me for a foreigner most days, I also fit in here.

While I am thrilled with how my projects have been going so far, there is always room for improvement. With this in mind I bring you.......

DANI'S PEACE CORPS RESOLUTIONS

1. Take more pictures
   I've been here for an entire year and have hardly any pictures, and it's entirely my own fault. This year I resolve to take my camera with me!
2. Spend less time online
   Obviously I am thankful to have the internet in my site, it's a useful tool and makes staying in touch with family and friends much easier. However, just like in the states it's easy to get stuck clicking around facebook for a half hour when I only got on to look up a recipe or something. I'll be making a conscious effort to set aside time in advance to check email, update my blog, skype, or do other things online and staying away the rest of the day.
3. Update my blog
   I'm going to try and do a better job this year recording my experiences, maybe with a few project spotlights or posts on events/culture.
4. Set boundaries
   Last year, I went to almost everything I was invited to. It didn't matter if I was tired or sick or didn't feel like going, I went. This year I feel that I have been in my community long enough that I can put myself first again- whether that means polity declining a food I really dislike, going home early when I'm tired, or speaking up if something is making me uncomfortable.

Here's to wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2015!!