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!!