Unexpected bonds of sisterhood

Don’t worry- I’m still here! Sorry to keep you all waiting for the next update from Paraguay….it wasn’t until last night that I finally got a minute to sit down and write something substantial for this thing. My new strategy is to write my blog posts on my laptop in my room at night and then bring them to the internet cafe on my flashdrive so I don't have to sit there for hours thinking of interesting things to write while everyone stares at me.

Speaking of being stared at.....I’m currently living with a host family and will be for the next three months and there are three girls in my house who are 6, 10, and 14. Needless to say, it’s been difficult to find time to myself, let alone to write, as I’ve recently become very popular- thanks to my new Paraguayan sisters. For the last two weeks, my every move has been tracked- they look at me while I eat, while I brush my teeth, while I’m reading in my room, watching tv, etc. Luckily, since we’ve gotten to know each other a bit better in the last week or so, I find there is less staring happening and more human interaction, which I’m grateful for- all three of them are very sweet and very interested in having me around at all times. I must admit, for an only child, it’s been a bit overwhelming to have three new sisters, but to their credit they make it very difficult not to want to be around them AND we recently discovered that we all love Britney Spears….so who can discount that sisterly bond?

Outside of home, I spend four hours in the morning in language training and four more hours in the afternoon in technical training. This Peace Corps training business is no joke! We had language interviews the first Friday we got here and somehow the person I interviewed with seemed to think that my level of Spanish was good enough, so I was put directly into the language class that starts day one learning the language of the indigenous people of Paraguay, it's called Guarani, not that it matters to any of you because NOBODY else in the world speaks this language. Technically both Spanish and Guarani are official languages of the country and we are all required to learn at least some Guarani before they send us out to work, as many people in the more rural areas of the country speak only this. It's definitely not as easy to learn as they tell us it is- I kind of think they just say that to make us feel better about not being able to pronounce anything and my expert opinion is that there are just far too many vowels and apostrophes and not nearly enough words that sound either exactly like Spanish or English. I was hoping for a bit more similarity between the three but it’s just not happening. I must admit it is a pretty language, but me listening to other people speak it doesn't help with the fact that I don't understand anything they're saying…it’s going to be a long road ahead on the Guarani front.

So far I haven’t ventured too far out of the community I’m staying in, although I did go with some other folks in the Peace Corps group to the Paraguay vs. Chile soccer game last Saturday in Asuncion, which was fantastic. Paraguay was the number one team in South America until they lost to Chile last weekend and then lost again last week, to Brazil. The Paraguayans do love their soccer- so much so that they were willing to brave even the threat of H1N1 transmission from the Chileans- I guess there was a lot of people with the flu in their country at that time so there were tons of people wearing facemasks at the game. Being the bold Americans that we are, we opted for not wearing facemasks and seem to all be doing ok.

To our surprise we ended up in the section with the most dedicated fans, as evidenced by their gigantic banner waving, a full 90 minutes of chanting, gratuitous use of obscenities directed at the other team, etc. And to top off the night, on the bus on the way home, two beer bottles came through the back window and shattered glass all over the back seats. Fortunately we had made our way to the front of the bus and I’m still not exactly sure why that happened but the bus driver didn’t seemed too concerned about it, as he didn’t even turn around so I figured I shouldn’t be either. I have a feeling this is just one of the many stories I’ll have from riding the buses here….

This weekend all of us in training have been sent out to various sites around the country where other volunteers are living and working so we can get a sense of what it’s like to be a "real live volunteer." I took a bus six hours on Saturday to a small town in the southeastern part of the country, really close to Argentina, to spend some time with a girl who has been in her site for a year now. She’s also working in municipal services development (the job I'll be doing come August)- I'm hoping to get the inside scoop on what it's really like once you get to work. More to come on this trip!

Lastly, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who have either sent e-mails or posted comments on the blog- it makes my day to read your messages and I miss you all! Hope all is well in your lives and I’ll be in touch- hopefully sooner rather than later, although my track record isn't so good thus far! Besos!