Movin' Out... and In!

Peace Corps Paraguay has a rule that each volunteer must live with a Paraguayan family for three months upon their arrival in their new site. This sounds like a short period of time, but when added to the three months already spent with a family during training, and the total loss of control that moving in with a family causes over your own life (I do enjoy Paraguayan food, but I also enjoy vegetables....) moving out is pretty freaking exciting.
When I first got to my new site they told me there were no houses to rent. They were not lying, but somehow I became friends with the right people, and one of my favorite families offered me a deal: I finish building their modern bathroom in their little house in exchange for rent, and they will move next door to grandpa's house for the next two years (they each actually have more rooms now next door). I agreed.
Building the bathroom was a bit of a pain, with people promising and falling through, but at last, and with too much help from my wonderful community contact, it was done, and I moved in (after helping the family out and sweeping out many many spiders) on Monday, with the help of my new puppy! His name is Tony (not my choice, Paraguayans names him, I'm not psyched... but its too late, and my family loves it here). He is super sweet, loyal, soft, and unfortunately loves to eat cow poop and my shoes (but we are working hard on training).
So I hope you enjoy the photos of my new puppy, and the tour of my house. Living alone has made all the difference. I go to the super market, I control my own food intake, and I have my own space to clean, organize and do what I want. Its lovely.Now I am taking a brief trip to Asuncion to celebrate birthdays and grab some abonos verdes (green manure) seeds to plant with some members of the committee in hopes of improving the soil in town. Soon I will also plant my own little garden, and seeds will be purchased this trip. Thank you all for your birthday wishes! I will post more on work and my life alone next time around. Love, Jess