Some thoughts at last...

I live in Paraguay. I am a Peace Corps volunteer. Sometimes you forget this while here. I have a job with little regulation, huge goals, and a contract that seems like forever and no time at all simultaneously. It can be overwhleming at times. Its a lofty situation, one full of moments of amazement, contentment, frustration, excitement, happiness, sadness, deep thoughts, and once in a while a realization that this is all real- this is my life... for the next 22 months at least.

And then I take a deep breath and try to embrade it. Some experiences lead inevitably to me wondering what the heck I am doing here, like when I flipped over my bike due to a Paraguayan fetish for overgreasing EVERYTHING, or when I offer to give a simple paper charla, or presentation and am told that the ag ministry is already going to give a talk with powerpoint... But maybe its just because I am a cup half'full person, or perhaps because I am easily entertained, I try to focus on finding myself in happy awe of my situation.

I am living in Paraguay. I recently aquired a puppy and my own house (fotos to come next post I promise!) Things are not that different here. I buy most of my fod at the super market. I play volleyball and soccer. I meet new people, and would like to think I am making friends. Sometimes I am surprised by how open these new people are to working with and knowing me, the strange blond girl who moved in down the road, and sometimes I am reminded that they are also confused and simply human (my initial host family once cheated me out of a gifted pack of 24 eggs... a rough reminder that generosity has its limits=. I still gawk like a tourist at times when the funny things do happen. Like the portable meat store... where my family bought a kilo of tongue (fortunately my guarani includes being able to say I do not know how to eat things like that... my cultural assimilation has its limits...)

So even in hard times, like dealing with losing trust in some of the people in town, I have this simple fact: I am living in Paraguay. There are ups and downs, and being out in the middle of nowhere with no concrete understanding of the world around me, everything is exaggerated. But I am living in Paraguay, and that itself keeps me going. I am meeting new people, I am teaching English, how to make your own yogurt, about gardening and potential latrine contamination, and I am learning, not only about Paraguay but about life itself. Amidst all of this I get to frequently pet Carpinchos, something that I feel I should do frequently because that will definitely only last for the next 22 months.

So I hope you enjoy the little adventures of my Paraguayan life. I have only a little time to post things online, but know that each post is a snippet of an amazing, overwhelming, and never-ending combination of events that have become my life.