I'm Confused.

For those of you wondering why I haven’t mastered Guaraní yet…

• The word for ‘delicious’? He
• The word for ‘yes’? Héẽ
• The word for ‘salty’? He’ẽ

Héẽ, it’s perfectly He’ẽ. Oh wait, you just asked if it’s He? Héẽ, it’s Heterei (very He).

Are you guys thinking the same thing I am?

Heh?

Paraguayan Myths

As the subject came up again recently, I found it hard to believe I have never shared Paraguayan myths with you all! Just as we have Big Foot and the Boogeyman, Paraguay has its own set of strange man/myths that they talk about. I have found, however, that Paraguayans take these myths much more seriously than I think we in the states take ours. I remember learning about them in training and cracking up as Aurelio, my language teacher, told me about their characteristics. Then when I got my first puppy and wanted to name her Pombero and all my neighbors freaked out, I decided to delve a little deeper into these myths. And after Friday night, when I think I may have had an encounter with sir Pombero himself, it became apparent that these myths are too good to simply not share with you all! So – Here are some breif summaries of the 5 most common myth creatures in Paraguay. (All the summaries are based on what my language teacher taught me. Guarani is primarily a spoken language, so the tales vary.)

Kurupi – Kurupi is short, ugly, and hairy. He lives in the forest and is considered to be the protector of fertilization. Unwanted pregnancies are often blamed on him. He is most recognizable by his incredibly long penis, which he wraps around his waist several times like a belt. 

Kurupi

Pombero – The most famous of the myths. Don’t you dare mention his name at night, because it’s an invitation for him to come. He is great at imitating a birdsong, and lures people to him with it. If you leave out tobacco and caña (sugar cane liquor), you will be friends with him. You have to remember to put it out every night, though!

Pombero

Jasy Jatere – Famous and recognizable for its gold snake. If kids are playing too close to his forest after lunch (during the siesta hour), he will capture them and they will never return.

Jasy Jatere

Luisón – Eats the dead on Tuesday and Friday nights. He also captures people to take them to the cementary, and then eats them.

Luisón

Ao Ao – Protector of the hills. When the men go to hunt animals in the hills, he is there to protect the animals.

Ao Ao 

And as for what happened Friday night… Around 10pm I start to hear whistling outside of my house. Assuming it was the town drunk, I rolled over and tried to fall back to sleep. Then, my dog starts barking like a mad man. She was the only dog barking. I ended up bringing her inside to quiet her down, but the whistling went on for around 45 minutes. The next day, I talked to my neighbors on both side, and neither heard a thing. Then I talked with a family I was visiting, and I end up leaving their place with holy water, a rosary, and with clear instructions to leave tobacco and caña outside my house. That evening, I mentioned the story to Silvia, and she goes “Pombero! He was at my house Tuesday!” Soooooooo. I have a short creepy creature lurking around my community. Do I believe in him? Sort of. Enough to definitely think the circumstances we’re weird, but not enough to use the holy water, rosary, tobacco, or caña.

Happy Monday! On a happy note – meet my newest neighbor, Matias Duarte Vallejos! He is 5 days old today and unbelievably precious. 

Matias and Fatima

Karen's Visit and PATAGONIA!!!

BUEN DIAAAAAAAAAA! A little less work and a lot more play been happening here down south… whoops! But hey, they give us those vacation days to spend, right?! Here is an update on my last couple of weeks.

On Sept 21^st, I picked up one of my besties from U of I, Karen, from the airport!!!! She was the last one out of the customs, so naturally I thought she got deported, but no – SHE MADE IT! It was so bizarre on the bus on the way to site. It felt just like we had grabbed lunch a week ago, but in reality I hadn’t seen her in a year and a half and we were in PARAGUAY. Very surreal. Anywho, she only had a quick stint in Paraguay, so I jammed in as much craziness as I could for her. We went to a (fake) Nene Malo concert with some of my PCV friends, hung in the campo where she killed a chicken that we ate for lunch, made chipa and drank terere with a family, attended a little kid’s birthday party… She even washed some clothes by hand! So while her time in the campo was short, we definitely made the most of it!

Sixta showing Karen the proper chicken killing technique

On Sept 24^th, we went on our next adventure – PATAGONIA!!! AKA – the most beautiful place I think I have ever seen. Both the Chilean and Argentine sides lived up to all the hype, and I am still pinching myself as I look at my pictures from the trip and realizing that it all actually happened. Rather than bore you with stories, I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Perrito Moreno Glacier, El Calafate, Argentina

PCVs in Patagonia

Hitting up the local ice bar in El Calafate

Sunset walk in Puerto Natales, Chile

Cueva de Milodon, Chile

Picnic spot in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Karen and I at Lago Grey, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Relaxing at Lago Grey

Incredible views in Torres del Paine

The gang in Torres del Paine

Richard, David, Spencer and Brice after finishing the race!!

Casey, myself, and Yihana as the awesome cheerleaders

Our souvenir from the marathon

Maritime Museum, Ushuaia, Argentina

Celebrating our first night out in Tierra del Fuego!

Dog sledding at the end of the world

Sea Lion Island, Boat Cruise, Ushuaia

Spencer, Yihana and I enjoying the boat cruise

Lighthouse at the End of the World

Our last night as a big group in our Ushuaia house

Layover lunch in Buenos Aires on our last day of vacation

Overall – a crazy couple of weeks! Now it’s another month and a half in Paraguay until my next and last vacation hits – USA! I do have one new activity keeping me busy, thankfully. The nurse at my health post started a walking club, and I join them as often as possible (about 5 times per week usually). Oh - and my neighbor had her baby yesterday, so I am officially a Godmother to a healthly baby boy, Matias! Should be meeting the little guy this afternoon :)

Until next time!

Besos, besos, dale, chau, chau, besos, dale, chau-

Emily

The Night I Went to the Q’mbia Juan Concert…

AKA – one of the weirdest nights of my life. Enjoy :)

Over the past year and a half in Paraguay, I have grown to love their music. The style is Cumbia, and I totally dig it. So when I found out a Cumbia group was coming to a pueblo near me and the tickets were cheap, I got super excited! I got my 16 year old bestie and her boyfriend to go with me, and was totally stoked. Aaaaaand that was the end of the excitement for the night. Here is the lovely story.

Part 1: Uncomfortable

Showing up in Santa Maria, I didn’t know what to expect. But when I arrived to see hundreds of sex crazed Paraguayan teens, I knew the night would be greeeeaaaaaat. Then, to top off the already ‘ugh’ feeling that came over me, I experienced something every PC volunteer dreads: I have to poop RIGHT NOW and there is no bathroom anywhere. I sat there with my friends thinking about how low I was about to stoop. Crouch behind a tree and nature poop is NOT something I had on my bucket list, so I tried my best to keep my cool. Thankfully not too long later, my volunteer friend who lives in the town saved the day when we showed up and was willing to walk back to her house with me. PHEW!  (although the feeling did manage to sneak back up on me later and I just had to hold out the whole night…)

Also, after feeling slightly better, I went to go buy a water bottle. But this is Paraguay, so of course they don’t have any. So I am offered a plastic bottle with the top cut off filled with tap water. Hope they weren’t using that for paint thinner before I used it!

Forgive my hideous-ness. but um.... wtf?

Part 2: 3^rd Wheel

Usually, Silvia and her boyfriend are great party friends. This time though, not so much. I mean, I can’t really blame her. She was at a concert with her boyfriend. But they were superrrrr lovey dovey. And then there I was, just dancing by myself – good times! Plus, I still wasn’t feeling all that great. I decided to let them do their thing, and I would just head to the bleachers and sit (and stay for the next 4 hours). I didn’t mind, but it was kind of a bummer.

The happy couple

Part 4: Paraguayans don’t understand concert rules

For example, when the singer screams “How is everyone tonight!”, you are supposed to respond with some screaming and excitement. These kids? Crickets. This happened several times throughout the night, and gave me a good chuckle every time

Part 5: Please don’t repeat the same songs over and over and over again.

There were four parts to the show: The opener, a DJ, Q’mbia Juan (the main act), and then more DJ music. The opener was a cover band, so obviously they played all the popular cumbia music that is out right now. Then the DJ came on, where he remixed all the popular cumbia music out right now. Then Q’mbia Juan came on, and even they played some of the popular songs by other artists! And to end the night, more of the same popular cumbia music played by the DJ. Don’t get me wrong, I can belt “Lejos de Ti” at the top of my lungs with the best of them, but after the 3^rd time I wanted to crawl into a hole and die and never listen to cumbia again.

Q'mbia Juan

Part 6: The highlight of the night!

I have zero idea as to why, but towards the end of Q’mbia Juan’s set, they started playing the instrumentals to one of the CSI shows – Miami maybe? I don’t know. But it took me away for a minute. I started imagining this as one of the episodes. The plot? ‘American at a Paraguayan concert found sitting alone on the bleachers. Just when she is thinking about walking out and jumping in front of a moto to maintain her sanity, BOOM! The drummer gets up suddenly and boomerangs his drumstick directly in to my brain killing me. But nobody saw it happen… DUN DUN DUN’. Thrilling, right?!

Part 7: The End

The concert ended around 3, and I was READY TO GO! But… Silvia and her BF were nowhere in sight. I knew they were dancing, but couldn’t find them. So I text “hey I’ll be buy the coke stand come meet me here”. To which she responds “Come here and let’s dance more! Or do you want to leave”. Me being the cool person I am, said “I prefer to go, but if you guys want to dance a little I can wait a few minutes”. Welllllll, apparently a few minutes means an hour. And after sending them texts every 15 minutes to no response, I finally found them and we left. I didn’t end up getting back to my house until 5am. Lesson learned? Never go to a concert with your 16 your old friend and her boyfriend.

So – Moral of the story? I wish it would have rained like the forecast said so we wouldn’t have been able to go.

Hope you all had a fabulous Tuesday! I went to a pig asado – my neighbor volunteer Stacy killed the pig she had been raising! yummyyyyyyyyyy!

RIP Piggy (P.S. She's winking at you)

Asado Happiness :)

Smashing Success!

Well folks, not gonna lie… I am feeling pretty damn proud of myself and the other Misiones volunteers who put on the Sexual Health and Leadership workshop for Paraguayan youth this past weekend – IT ROCKED!!! We had 21 youth attend from all over the department, as well as 12 volunteers and 5 Paraguayan guest speakers. We covered topics such as STI’s, teen pregnancy, family planning, condoms, leadership, project planning, and communication. Here are some of my favorite moments.

Here are 2 teenagers from Presencia Joven, an incredibly talented group of teen leaders from Encarnacion. For me, they made the sexual health portion of the taller. They were captivating, interesting, funny, and really knew their stuff. Plus, I think it was really great for the jovenes (youth) who attended to see what actual Paraguayan teens can do to make a difference. They were able to relate and really enjoyed their charlas.

Sara (16) and Walter (18) demonstrating the proper condom technique

Ice breakers are a PCV favorite. Below are some pictures from the jovenes doing these crazy activities we put them through.

Dance parties always break the ice

Ducks in a line

Gusano! (Worm)

The biggest highlight of the workshop was definitely when we had the kids get out into the community and do some awesome projects. They were split off into three groups and had a couple hours Saturday afternoon to take what they had learned and put it into action. One group painted a mural in the regional hospital, another recorded radio PSA’s that will be used on one of the city’s radio station, and the last created a Facebook page where they can share with their friends and family what they accomplished over the weekend and will continue to accomplish in the future in their communities. All the teens came back showing the volunteers pictures of what they accomplished and we could tell they were really proud of the work they did! (I was in charge of the mural, so those are the only pictures I have...)

Beginning stages of painting

The jovenes in front of the mural! (A couple volunteers finished it off since we rand out of time)

Overall, the weekend went about as well as we could have planned. The weeks leading up to it were stressful (and I would be lying if I said I knew it was going to go as well as it did), but it absolutely paid off.

To those of you who donated to the grant I sent out via email or Facebook – I honestly cannot thank you enough! Please know that through your generosity you have changed the lives of the people who attended, and I am forever grateful for that. (And keep your eye out in the mail for a little thank you. Although, remember that I am in Paraguay, so hopefully it will get to you before I get home next year….)

Here are some other great pictures from the weekend:

Silvia and Cristian (my jovenes) arriving in San Ignacio

Terere break with volunteers! Alex, Chris, and Alyssa

Creating a project plan for what we will do in our community

All the jovenes with their certificates!

Cristian, me, Silvia

My amazing jovenes!!! So proud!

Paraguayan Fiestas

This past Saturday I went to one of the best parties I have been to in site. It was my neighbor’s 50^th wedding anniversary, and they went all out for it! And it got me thinking… In a given week, I am usually invited to some sort of party. Maybe it's a kids birthday, a grandma's birthday, a wake (yes, that is sometimes like a party), a holiday, or a bingo; but there is usually something. I always look forward to these events, although thinking about it, I am not really  sure why. They are awkward, long, and I am ALWAYS forced to dance with someone I don't want to. Since they are pretty entertaining, however, I have decided to describe the 3 most common fiestas in my site.

Little Kid Birthday: Usually I am the photographer, so I show up early to help blow up balloons and take pics. The little girl can usually be found in a princess dress, and the boys in the nicest shirt they own. As people show up, they hand the little kid a present, kiss them on the cheek, and then sit in circle. Then, you wait while the birthday kid takes photos with all the families invited. The hosts will pass out chocolate milk and cookies, which the kids scarf down in seconds. After that the birthday kid will blow out the candles -- twice. They sing happy birthday once with the girls, blow the candles out, and then repeat with the boys. Then it's cake time, popping a balloon piñata, and leaving. They usually knock these bad boys out in an hour or two, so that's always nice!

Dana in her princess dress

Popping the pinata!

Thiago celebrating at school!

Grandma's Birthday: This is usually a longer and more drawn out ordeal than the little kid's. While there are no balloons, piñatas, or princess dresses; they have their own customs. If the family has a little money, they will hire a Paraguayan guitarist or trio to play music throughout the party. Then they will make SO MUCH SOPA in the tatakua, cook up a nice asado of some gigantic pieces of meat, drink terere (and quickly move on to beer/whiskey/cana). After lunch is served, the dance party begins. I am usually suckered into dancing with the drunk uncle, because everyone LOVES to laugh at the norte dancing to Guarani Polka. Sometimes I will spend 5 hours at these things, and by the time I leave, the party is just really getting started. They start a lunch and go all day, because... why the hell not!

Drunk uncle #1

Drunk Uncle #2

Typical Paraguayan trio

Bingo: Bingos are a huge way to fundraise for the high school or elementary schools here, and so they happen pretty frequently. You show up to a house, and they have circled off a designated party area. It costs 5 mil to enter ($1.25), and that gets you a bingo card. Bingo is not really the main purpose of the party, however. It's really just an opportunity for high schoolers and people who never left town to hire a DJ, drink, and dance. I avoided these to start because I wasn't all that comfortable drinking in public at site, but now I am over it... haha. I always go with Silvia, my bestie, who LOVES to dance. This should be awesome, but the concept of group dancing does not exist here. You need a partner. So this means I get up and dance with her, and we are quickly approached. I tend to attract 16 year olds, drunk host brothers, or a random guy I have never seen before. Fun stuff. (But really, it is fun... and I will continue to attend these)

wooooooo RiSo and I partying with high schoolers!

A little different from the party scene I left in the states... But, as awkward as they all are, they have their charm. At the anniversary over the weekend, I spent 10 hours at the house, and got two marriage proposals! Definitely a great party!