June has always been one of my favorite months. School’s out
for summer, it’s warm enough to go boating, summer concerts are in full swing,
and it’s my birthday! And while I don’t have access to a lot of the things that
make June such an amazing month back home, it turned out to be pretty fabulous
time here as well. It was jam packed and fun filled, so settle in – this is
gonna be a long post!
Cooking
For some reason, I cooked with SO many people this month!
Usually they cook for me, but this time we cooked more American meals together.
Various items we made include bean burgers, tortilla chips and guacamole,
tacos, healthier empanadas, Chicago style hot dogs, and zucchini and eggplant
pizza! Heterei (delicious)!!!
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| bean burgers! |
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| chicago style hot dogs! |
Rally
After returning from Chile, Silvia, informed me a car race
was happening in site on June 1st. Needless to say, I was veryyyy
confused. But, sure enough, come Saturday morning signs were being put up and
people started lining up at the plaza to watch. The cars were racing for time,
so about every 3-5 minutes a car would zoom down the red dirt road. Not gonna
lie, it was pretty hilarious! I ended up having a super fun day with Silvia and
her cousin Cristian, and even got to keep a road sign as a memory!
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I’m going to be a godmother!
My neighbor (and one of my closest friends here in site) is
4 months pregnant. She has been keeping it on the down low, but at the
beginning of the month asked me to be the baby’s godmother, which I am super
excited about! The baby is due in November, and I am seriously looking forward
to spoiling him/her J
I feel so fortunate that she considers me close enough to ask, and now I will
have another connection to my community forever!
Como Planear mi Vida (CPMV)
CPMV is a program I have been looking forward to starting in
site, and finally got to it the first week in June! It is a course used
throughout Latin America designed to help high school students with situations
they will encounter throughout their lives. Themes include good communication,
self-esteem, values, stereotypes, establishing objectives, decision making, gender
roles, HIV/AIDS, and education/career planning. I am doing the course every Wednesday
with 10th grade and Thursday with 11th (as long as it
doesn’t rain…). It took the kids a little to get comfortable with my teaching
style (which promotes sharing ideas – something they are not used to), but they
are starting to come out of their shell! I had one student tell me my class is
her favorite of the week, which of course made me feel awesome J
Ovecha Rague
A big wool festival that happens about 45 minutes from my
site happens every June. I couldn’t make it last year, so was really excited to
go this year! About 7 other people from my VAC and I went. I only went for
Friday, which I am kinda bummed about since the main festival is Saturday and
Sunday. But there were still tons of stands to peruse and I had a great time
catching up with volunteers.
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| some of the wool stands |
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| love me some G38! |
Eco-Brick Benches
As a VAC-wide (volunteers in my department) project, we
decided to build eco-brick benches in at least 80% of volunteer sites. We built
the first one June 14th in my neighbor, Stacy’s, site. Eco-bricks
are plastic bottles filled to the brim with trash. Once the bottle is
completely stuffed, it can be used just like a normal brick. For the bench, we
used 24 plastic bottles and some mezcla (a mixture of dirt, sand, cement and
water), and built an extremely sturdy bench!
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| excited kiddos! |
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| the start of the bench |
I am currently planning on building mine by the end of
September. I am working with the 12th grade kids, who each have to
contribute a bottle. Once we have everything we need, we will take a day off
school to build it! I’ll update once the project is finished in site.
Ide’s Quince
Ide (pronounced ee-day) is a girl in my community who is
deaf. I have spent a lot of time with her, although I still struggle to
communicate. She has a form of signing she uses, but it is something she and
her family developed, so I don’t understand it. She started off in school, but
because the teachers aren’t trained to teach students with disabilities, she
had to drop out. Because of that, she can’t read or write. Amazingly, though,
that has not gotten her spirits down. She is smiling every time I see her, and
easily has one of the best attitudes around.
On the 15th, we celebrated her Quince in site!
She looked beautiful in her dress, and it was wonderful to see how even though
she can’t communicate well with that many people, she is loved by so many. Her
patio was overflowing with guests, there was more meat than I had ever seen
prepared, and I don’t think a smile left her face the entire night. It was a
wonderful evening!
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| that's a lot of meat.... |
Fiesta Patronal/My Birthday
On the 29th, my community celebrates its Patron
Saint day. The festivities started Friday night, with the annual Pelota Tata
(where they kick flaming balls of fire around, often times at us innocent
bystanders watching!). That night there is also a competition where the men
will climb a greased pole, where they can find bags full of cana, the local
liquor at the top. It’s a pretty hilarious night!
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| guy running around with a flaming bull structure |
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| the greased pole with booze at the top haha |
On Saturday the 29th is the actual celebration.
My friend Spencer came to visit for the day, which was lots of fun! The day
starts with a procession around the plaza and church. Then I went back and
enjoyed a delicious lunch with a family, drank beer and watched soccer in the
plaza, and relaxed in the afternoon. At night, we cooked tacos and prepared to
go out to the huge party in town. Spencer and I decided to get our hair done
like Paraguayans, and danced the night away!
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| procession before church |
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| horse races! |
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| delicious lunch! |
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| paraguayyyyy |
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| paraguayan hair! |
On Sunday, my actual birthday, I kept it low-key. I visited
my contact and her family, and enjoyed talking to friends and family back in
the states. Thanks to everyone who sent messages!!
So, as you can see, June was packed with activities! Hope
you all had a wonderful month, and have a fabulous 4th!
And as a reminder, I am planning a Sexual Health workshop with a few other volunteers in my area, and we need your help! If you are interested, please click the link below. And if you are financially unable, spread the word to your family and friends! Thanks so much!!
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