November 16, 2011

Today was an extremely busy day in Paraguay.  I woke up at 5 and ran somewhere between 7.5 and 8 miles, which normally would be enough to write a blog about since a lot of crazy things happen when running in Paraguay.  Then I went on an adventure with the other trainees. We saw rock formations, a convent, climbed to the roof of a castle, watched a group of trainee boys jump into a polluted lake in their briefs, and saw hundreds of ceramic nativity scenes. However, I am not going to elaborate on any of those things.  Why you might ask? That would be because something WAY more important happened today.  That is correct blog readers that keep up with what I tell them, today I received my future site location!

I am convinced that the reason the Peace Corps took us on so many adventures this morning is because they knew how insufferable we would be during normal class in the training center.  They brought us back to the training center at 2 with plans of telling us where we were going at 3 (rude).  They tried to distract us with Paraguayan music and dancing (as if the polka could distract me from the folders they were laying out on a table and held the exact location of where I will live for the next 2 years).  I had some predictions before I learned my site; I thought I would be out in the middle of nowhere and that I would not have running water (we all have electricity!).  I ended up being half right.  So which would you prefer? No running water but close to civilization or running water out in the boonies?  I would prefer no water but close to civilization, which luckily is what I got! My site is located in the district of Paraguari.  I am between 3 and 5 km from the main road, which happens to be one of the main rutas in Paraguay and has buses to the capital coming by every half hour.  The closest town is at most a 5km walk (this is awesome in case you weren’t sure whether to be happy or sad for me).  Seriously, I am beyond excited! I am also terrified because this Friday I meet a group of people that want me to move to their town and teach them everything I know about agriculture (not a lot).  More on silly fears later, I am sure you guys are dying to know more about my site!

The site already has a ‘comité de agricoltores’, which is made up of all women! This is basically a women’s agriculture group. I told them in my interview that I was more comfortable working with women and children since Paraguay is very ‘machismo’. I feel like this aspect of the culture makes it hard for female volunteers to be taken seriously in the fields and that more I also found out that the town had a volunteer about 5 years ago and she started a library which they would like me to continue working with.  This is especially awesome! I am thinking about trying to help organize the library (shout out to the staff at SandorTeszler) while I integrate into the community and decide what the agriculture committee would like to do. The volunteer prior worked in the health sector but it means that the town should have an understanding of what the Peace Corps is and my role in the community.  It also means that the house the former volunteer lived in should be available for me!

So now part of the mystery is gone.  I know where I am going.  I know that I won’t have water.  I do not know who is coming to meet me on Friday or whom I will be living with for the 5 days I spend in my future site.  I am terrified, nervous, excited, and awkward all at once.  It is a magical bundle of emotions!  I am sure that I will have my ups and downs with Peace Corps and that right now I am on one of the ‘emotional highs’ that we learned about in training, but right now I cannot believe that I considered going to law school or doing anything other than what I am right now.  Seriously, imagine the stories I am going to come home with after 2 years of using a latrine and bucket bathing?

Hopefully during my trip next week I can take lots of pictures so that people that actually take the time to read my blog can see where I will be living! I hope everything is going well in the states and you all should write me a letter and be my penpal!