There will come a day when I upload pictures...but, sorry Mom, it is not this day.

Since my last post things have been moving along poco a poco. Still taking a census, still planning with the schools, and still working in the health center. Small wins include acquiring a list of all of the students at all 3 schools, having someone agree with me that potentially using a calendar to organize classes was a good idea, and finally getting some plants in the ground (yeah leafy greens). I also have made a giant map of my community, bought a stove, cleaned my future house, went to a party, and planned part of a trip to Argentina. I also finished three books recently: One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Time Machine and Shantaram, all highly recommended.

Looking over this list, it strikes me that I probably could have done most of these things (minus the reading) in a weekend in the states. Here, I needed more than a week. It just goes to show you how different that pace of life is. My free time gets filled up with books, walks, and spending time with my host family and friends. My Mom keeps asking me if I am going insane here and doesn't seem to believe me when I tell her I am doing just fine. It's different, it's an adjustment, but it's...as they say here, tranquilo. There really isn't a better way to describe it. And while I'm sure that the pace of life will be a challenge to some of my projects and test my patients at times, there is definitely something to be said for having an hour or so each day to sit in the sun, drink copious amounts of terere/mate weather depending, and watch your neighbors/cows walk by.

I'll leave you with another dialogue from my paseos:

stranger: Good morning!
me: Good morning Senora, how are you today?
*senora invites me in we go through normal introduction*
senora: so, we all know you are a spy.
me: pardon?
senora: we know you are a spy here looking for water.
me: why would I be looking for water? As I said I'm here with el Cuerpo de Paz...
senora: yeah yeah but the USA is running out of water and then you will need to steal it from us. You know Paraguay has a lot of "agua dulce"
me: Well I can promise you I'm only here to work in Health. Yesterday I was at the schools doing...
senora: Yeah, sure you were.

New friends! We actually moved on from there, as she didn't seem to be too bothered by my so-called espionage.

Another comical exchange while I was working in my garden:

landlady: Do you want azadita (little hoe)?
me*having heard asadito (meat on a stick, little BBQ)*: No thank you! I ate very recently!
landlady: *looks at me like I am an alien*

Así es la vida! Until next time.

General life updates!

Last week I had my official presentation to the community. A lot of the people I invited showed up which was encouraging. My Peace Corps boss came and talked about the history of the Peace Corps, the work we are doing in Paraguay, and about my role in the community. After that, I said a few phrases in Guarani to warm everyone up, then introduced myself and talked about how I was happy to be in Caballero, blah blah blah. Then we all ate my delicious, made with yogurt so it kinda counts as healthy, banana bread. A few community members also gave me a few words of welcome and overall I would say it was a successful event.  Hopefully my role here has been made clear and it was the start of a lot of productive partnerships.

I'm still working slowly but surely on my health census, and have officially signed a housing agreement. I move into my own place on the 1st of July! I'm excited to have my own space to do yoga without half the neighborhood coming over to watch and ask questions about my "ejercicios." I'll also be able to plant a little garden to supplement my diet a bit--all I can find in site are tomatoes, onions, and green peppers. That being said, if anyone wants to send me some fun seeds I'm up to give anything a try!

I'll leave you with a general outline of the conversations I have with new people (generally middle aged women), because I find it amusing. Yay cultural exchange/integration!

me: Hi, I'm Dani, the new Peace Corps Volunteer in Caballero.
new friend: You're so pretty! You're so white! You're kinda chubby!
me: Ha, thank you, thank you, thank you?
new friend:  Do you have a boyfriend?
me: Yes, I have a boyfriend but I'm here to work in health...
new friend: But you need a boyfriend here too! I'll induce you to my cousin's friend's son's classmate! He's (any age between 16-40) and you'll love him. Are you going to stay here forever?
me: How kind of you, but really I am here to work for two years. I'm working with the health center and the schools.
new friend: Do you have kids? How old are you? 18?
me: No, I don't have kids, and I'm 23.
new friend: JOVENCITA! (which is like "oh you're still so young") Don't worry you still have time for kids, just make sure you have them before you are 30!
me: Of course of course, but you know, some people in the United States have their kids when they are 35, even 40!
new friend: Che dios! (OMG) Well, if that's the only way just make sure you have them so you have someone to take care of you when you're old. Come visit me tomorrow?
me: I'll try and come by next week I'm working on meeting everyone for my census.
new friend: Yes yes, see you tomorrow then.

One month down, twenty-three to go! My first month living in Caballero has flown by. Now, I can safely say that I expect to be happy and content living and working here. Sometimes it is definitely hard being the outsider, but everyone in my community has been very welcoming and seems to be looking out for me.

I finally have a semi regular routine worked out. I spend my mornings working in the health center. Sometimes I take vitals, sometimes I accompany the vaccination team on their outings, and if it is a slow morning, I just chat in a Spanish/Guarani mix with the doctors, nurses, and various other support staff. This has been a really good way to get to know my community and make some contacts for future projects. I head home for lunch with my new host family, stopping and talking with whomever I meet along the way. It takes me a long time to get anywhere because 1) I walk everywhere and 2) I'm still new and interesting so people want to talk to me. Especially kids. I've never been so popular in my life.
After lunch is siesta time. I don't like to sleep in the middle of the day or I can't fall asleep at 9/10 when my family goes to sleep so I generally read Harry Potter (in Spanish), or study language for an hour or so before heading out again to work on my health census/visit the schools.  I am interviewing as many families as possible to get a better idea of the needs and desires of the community. It's also been a great excuse to introduce myself to people that I haven't met. Visiting the schools is fun because the kids are super excited about working with me, and thankfully all 3 of the principles are also excited that I am here.
I head home around 5ish for "snacktime" with my family. The eating schedule in Paraguay is a bit strange, with a super light breakfast (coffee, bread), huge lunch (today I had 3 different types of carbs), a snack around the US dinnertime, and a light dinner around 8. I'm trying to fit in some exercise everyday as well. I've been running a decent amount, and people love to tell me that they saw me pass by.

The work right now is slow and I spend a lot of afternoons just sitting around chatting, but I really do think that this will serve me well in the long run as I strive to make Caballero really feel like home.

PS- NEW ADDRESS CONFIRMED. Snail mail welcome. :)