IM IN PARAGUAY!!!

Well hello folks! I am finally in Paraguay and so far I absolutely love it here. Lots of updates to share, so I will try to be brief.

Staging - I got to Miami on the 7th and was the first of my group to arrive. Thankfully, my hotel room was ready so I went there, napped, and got my last internet fix. Then as people started to roll in, a bunch of us went to dinner at a fun cuban place across the street. After, we went to Bayside, an area of Miami, for a few drinks and to relax. It was a great place to get to know some people and relax before the real stuff begins. On the 8th, the day was full of orientation. Ice breakers, safety talk, the norm. And then late on the 8th we left! There was an overnight flight to Buenos Aires, a looooong layover, and we finally got to Asuncion around 4:30 here (3 hours ahead of Chicago). Side note: we all looked like freaks with all our luggage, and one of my bags broke and so I was forced to buy one in the airpot. Great start.

First impressions - Paraguay is beautiful! Very green, trees everywhere, and a little hilly in some spots. So far everyone I have met from the country has been very patient with my spanish and is doing everything they can to help me adjust. Its hot here, but not unbearable (thankfully, my hair hasnt completely exploded yet).

Favorite parts of culture - TERERE! I will likely dedicate a full post to this at some point, but for now, it is a cold herbal tea made of Yerba and medicinal herbs. it is a HUGE part of the culture, as is you do this every day, many times a day. There is one cup and once straw and you sit around the main person. they will fill it up, pass it to you to drink, you drink it all, and then it goes back to the main person to be refilled. its delicious. There are a lot of rules that go along with it, but I will share that another time. I also love how friendly it is. When sitting on the porch drinking terere, you say hello to everyone who passes. Just very nice people so far.

Host Family - Initially I thought I was going to be living with a big family, but turns out it is just my mom and me in the house. She has 2 sons and a daughter, but all live elsewhere. She used to have her nieces and nephews live with her, but they recently moved to Argentina to live with their parents. My mom, Lidu, mostly takes care of the house, but she also has a used clothing business that she runs out of the back. There is also Vovi (the dog) and Michi (the cat).

Living situation - I have a very chuchi (fancy) living situation. The house is split up into two sides. My host mom and the kitchen are on one, with the living room and upstairs on the other. I live in the upstairs, have a double bed, and my own bathroom. The bathroom has running and hot water, so thats very nice. There is a big patio in front where we pass the hours of the day drinking terere and people watching. It´s pretty ideal, to be honest.

Language - Thankfully, my host mom speaks spanish. While I am not at the level I was at in Spain, I get by fine and am able to converse. Guarani, on the other hand, is going to be a battle. Im not sure when I will start learning it, but the sounds are like nothing I have heard before and the few words my host mom has tried to teach me I forget almost immediately...

Food - So far the food has been good! Lots of meats and rices, fresh fuit, and the occasional salad. I will likely have a post dedicated to typical paraguayan dishes at some point, so not going to write too much here.

Training - we are in training for over 40 hours a week. so far its just basics, but we will be trained in language, technical training, medical, and safety. I haven´t had much, so again, I will elaborate once I know more.

People in G38 - G38 is my training group here, and there are 28 of us total. Ages vary as well as where we are from, but so far we seem like a pretty good group! I´m excited to get to know everyone better!

Fun Times -
-as a present, a girl in our group gave some kids little stamps you can put on your body. at the end of the hour, i had stamps all over my feet and arms, and the kids had them all over their faces. they loved them!
-yesterday a bunch of us vonteers and our host siblings played frisbee and cards for a couple hours in the afternoon
-i have been promised i can kill a chicken in the near future
-when my host sister (veronica) came to town, we hung out and drank beers with her a friend of hers. it was great to be around paraguayans my age

dorry for the long and vague post, im about out of time, and just wanted to cram as much in as possible. hope to be in touch again soon!