tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89859051615177320372024-02-20T02:30:17.492-08:00Del corazón de AméricaE Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-17458892908504909962014-06-21T14:01:00.003-07:002014-06-21T14:01:25.741-07:00Thanks everyone for following me during my time in the Peace Corps. It has been so great to come back to the States, catch up with all of you, and talk about my experiences. I am off on my next adventures--an MFA in poetry at UMASS Boston, starting up a <a href="http://windowcatpress.weebly.com/" target="_blank">micropress</a> for young writers, and writing a new blog. Please check out my new <a href="http://emjaeger.weebly.com/" target="_blank">website</a> and subscribe to <a href="http://poetventures.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><i>PoetVentures</i></a> to join me on the next leg of the journey. <br />
<br />
Much love,<br />
Emily JaegerE Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-4468561763729304232013-07-29T05:51:00.000-07:002013-07-29T05:51:03.365-07:00a guest blog from... AARON!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi, I’m Emily’s
brother, Aaron. I’m taking over the blog for today while Emily cooks some
brownies to celebrate the new tank of gas for the stove/oven. I left the hot
summer in Massachusetts to come visit Emily in Paraguay. Paraguay is a lot
different than America, and I want to share a few of the things that I have
experienced during my visit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I’ll start with lesson number two. To greet someone, one person says,
“ba’ay shappa” [mba'eichapa] the other person(s) replies “E’pona.” [ipora] This is equivalent to:
“How are you?” “Good.”<b> </b>If I am walking down the street, and I see
someone but do not plan to stay and chat, I say, “Adios.” Although, people are
always happiest when Emily, and I stop by for a chat. If you want to know
lesson number one, I am sorry, unfortunately it had to be censored from the
blog. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
On my first day here, Emily and I ate breakfast and then we went on a
walk. We stopped by one of Emily’s former host families. As we walked up to
their house I said, “Ba’ay Shappa”, the family laughed and replied, “E’pona.” Emily
introduced me as her “Armano” [hermano], “Brother.” We were told, “eh’wapu,” [eguapy]“sit.” As
they asked Emily questions about me in Guarani, we were given breakfast number
two, Pireka (similar to fried dough) with a cup of Cocido (when made
traditionally it involves taking Yerba mate, and sugar, then caramelizing the
sugar with a coal from the fire, and then putting all three into hot water or
hot milk.) When I finished my first Pireka I was offered a second one, and as I
was afraid to offend my host, I accepted. Emily tried to turn her second
helping down, and she tried to explain that she wasn’t hungry, but her former
host mom would not hear of it, and made her accept a second helping. I can only
imagine what would have happened if I had turned mine down, as I don’t know how
to speak Guarani. Like a lot of Emily’s friends they wanted to know how old I
was, if I spoke Guarani, if I was married, and if I had any children yet. (One
grandmother I met joked that by 18 I should already have two kids.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
A cool thing about Paraguay is that this type of hang out isn’t only for
people that are close friends. In the community many people run small stores
out of their houses. When we have gone to buy food, or cooking supplies, before
we make the purchase we sit down, we drink some terere (yerba with cold water),
or mate (yerba with hot water), and we chat for a little bit. Emily introduces herself,
she introduces me. They ask if I am happy in Paraguay, and if I have kids yet.
When that is out of the way, then we can buy what we need. It’s really
relaxing, but we need to have a lot of free time when we plan to go to one of
these stores, Emily tells me that it’s possible that we might be invited to
lunch.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Oh hey look! There’s an ox cart passing by the house! Anyway… <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
One thing I really don’t like in America is our pennies. It costs more
than a penny to make a penny, I always lose them, and I really can’t buy
anything with a handful of pennies. But Paraguayans have figured it out. The
answer to pennies is “candy change.” With most transactions, if there is any
change I’m handed a few sucking candies with the receipt. It’s wonderful.
Instead of endless frustration with coins lost in the sofa, I get to enjoy a
little candy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I’ve noticed that when it comes to “reduce” “Re-use” “recycle”
Paraguayans have Americans beat with both “re-using” and “reducing,” and in
general being resourceful. Old soda bottles are used as containers for seeds,
honey, milk, etc. When we had the cocido it was poured from a container similar
to a cool-whip container. CDs hung from string are used to scare the birds away
from plants. The trunk of a taxi was opened with a screw-driver because the
lock was busted, and toys, tools, appliances, and cars seem to have later
expiration dates than they would if these objects were used in the US. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Whose cow is this, and why is it in my yard? As a resident of Needham
Massachusetts I rarely get to see cows, chickens, guinea fowl, pigs, or horses.
In all of the places I have visited in Paraguay, every family has at least a
few chickens, a cow or two, probably a few pig, etc . For anyone who was
wondering, roosters start cock-a-doodle-doing at around 3:00 AM. I really don’t
know why people think they start at sun rise. Despite the pre-mature wake up
call, the animals are really fun to watch. At one house the chickens and the
pig would all try to sneak into the kitchen every time the door opened. Then
our host would run into the kitchen to kick them out, and around twenty
chickens would run out of the kitchen. By Emily’s house there is a gang of
around seven chickens that roam around and stop by the house every so often,
when they’re done digging through the yard they walk over to another house.
This is cute, but I have noticed that it can lead to a few problems. Because
there is a constant flow of animals running around the yard eating anything
edible many gardens suffer. Emily worked with some Paraguayans to protect their
gardens with new fencing. Additionally
there is a large loss of eggs. One lady in the community keeps her chickens in
a very large cage/pen. One day she sold us a dozen eggs from her chicken.
However, other people with a similar number of chickens lose a lot of eggs.
Chickens like to lay eggs in the same place every day. Without a centralized
designated laying area, chickens might lay their eggs in any number of unknown
places. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I have had a lot of fun visiting my sister and meeting her friends in
the community. Unfortunately my trip is almost over, and I have a really long
ride home. Time to start packing, Chaio. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-66811942197723840332013-05-13T05:42:00.004-07:002013-05-13T05:42:56.272-07:00Celebrating Mothers Day with the three Rs<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Happy mother’s day from
Paraguay! One year ago, I was walking down the street in my site and happened
upon a used grain-sack in the middle of the road. Thinking to myself “I could
probably use that for something,” I went and lifted it up. It was a bit heavier
than I expected a grain sack to be…and I was soon the proud owner of Jasy Ysapy
Jaeger (The-Dew-of-the-Moon Jaeger). We have been best friends ever since/rainy
day snuggle buddies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In honor of Jasy, who I came to
own by attempting to REUSE a grain-sack, I would like to talk about one of the
projects I have been working on since the New Year: my girls’/recycling art
group. One of the challenges of Peace Corps service is that I have to do
community-motivated projects. Just because I believe that something in my
community should be different, doesn’t mean I get to change that. I have to
work with community members to figure out what types of community development
are important to them and then figure out how my abilities and skills match
with their needs. And then we begin to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One day, I was talking to my best friend in site, Mirna, about how I
missed visiting art museums in the states (there’s no MFA here), and she said
to me, “I really like art!” when I asked her what type, she said, “Well, I
think I would like art if I ever saw any.” This conversation eventually led to
Mirna and I working together to form a girls’ group focusing on making arts and
crafts from recycled materials. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Some of the really great/special
things about this group:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-XnGOF87SnCbt7wUCew0QVUmLIHehtgljFGDA0wCYsw81Ze8dIbVboOvllQh0uE5txKAGilTPqHxmuqSUzzRnxlvq9X5J_X161vAWvDF3FovDCYiW0GWJ_vFWE427xS5p0G_f8it9KM/s1600/DSCN1754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr-XnGOF87SnCbt7wUCew0QVUmLIHehtgljFGDA0wCYsw81Ze8dIbVboOvllQh0uE5txKAGilTPqHxmuqSUzzRnxlvq9X5J_X161vAWvDF3FovDCYiW0GWJ_vFWE427xS5p0G_f8it9KM/s320/DSCN1754.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Brooms from soda bottles</div>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It was all Mirna’s idea! She both
wanted to learn more about art and also wanted to learn some different
activities to occupy her time—she works with her boyfriend on a farm, but
during down time, she wanted to learn how to do something more than just watch
soap-operas.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This is one of the only
extra-curriculars for girls in my community—while there are many local soccer
and volleyball games, most of are just for boys/men to play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of the few spaces for the girls
to meet, hang out, etc in a non-‘party’ (alcohol-free), safe environment.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We use only local materials: mostly
trash and some basics like glue that can be purchased nearby. We work on a very
small budget. Most of the girls don’t have their own money. The girls are
responsible for bringing the trash that we use. The trash is a great source of
free art supplies!</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The objects we make replace things
they would normally buy or want to buy. We are reducing the amount of trash
left to litter the community (which does not have a regular trash pickup or
dump) and saving money.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Many of the group members help teach
the classes (especially since my language skills are not the best for giving
instructions), we are learning how to be leaders! And also how to be creative…
each participant tweaks the project to their own style. No two pieces ever look
alike.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"></span></span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We make awesome stuff! </span>
</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAwmyQkWMfIxjUJr9dKk6GTCgrJlb5F1WDDJoP7NMjJUS9ggh67woz8Nh_NuuQ5dmWYZKV8M2E2HcicDnk1HYWlSSBKi3ReC8_GcrDo8KTwhjUM0ImYXikHFd68Eu11SF6MXtkY2vQT4/s1600/DSCN1755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAwmyQkWMfIxjUJr9dKk6GTCgrJlb5F1WDDJoP7NMjJUS9ggh67woz8Nh_NuuQ5dmWYZKV8M2E2HcicDnk1HYWlSSBKi3ReC8_GcrDo8KTwhjUM0ImYXikHFd68Eu11SF6MXtkY2vQT4/s320/DSCN1755.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqA9aIxma05Z5nvU6MHLXmn7G77cf69SEdRr7LnceUhJgDoJOrF-KRj11eszemEM5nNpQJ1xtaQct97NDEt1vIHc9H4-HGv04iBMVpf1aEvBuJy1N4_q_k5S14EBob-UqqqGqj4nanZk/s1600/DSCN1757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqA9aIxma05Z5nvU6MHLXmn7G77cf69SEdRr7LnceUhJgDoJOrF-KRj11eszemEM5nNpQJ1xtaQct97NDEt1vIHc9H4-HGv04iBMVpf1aEvBuJy1N4_q_k5S14EBob-UqqqGqj4nanZk/s320/DSCN1757.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
Cups
from glass bottles (I did this one with my women’s comite too)</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Earrings from tin cans</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Brooms
from soda bottles</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Decorative
bows from magazine pages</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Paper
Beads</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Picture
frames (these ones we made with magazines)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
Gift bags from newspaper<br />
7 strand string from plastic bags<br />
CD-tile
picture frames<br />
tetra-pac wallets<br />
homemade shampoo and conditioner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I never knew how to make any of these crafts previously,
but sometimes being a PC volunteer just means being the middle-woman for resources
(such as the internet!). Some great resources for recycling projects have been:
pinterest, instructables, about.com, spoonfuls (and more). I do my best to
translate the instructions to Guarani and make one example, and then the girls
take it from there. Luckily they are much better visual artists than I am. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One more word about international
development/the Peace Corps: over the past twenty months I have learned so much
about the unique struggles of the people in my community and Paraguay as a
developing nation. However, at the same time, many of the challenges here
highlight/remind me of things back home. Just because the USA describes itself
as “developed” doesn’t mean that we don’t share a lot of the same
‘developmental’ issues. The USA is still learning how to deal with the
environmental consequences of consumerism and the “TRASH PROBLEM.” Recycled
art/reusing trash to replace buying new items is just as relevant in the USA as
in Paraguay. While in the States we may be able to afford new art supplies, it
might be worth while trying out recycled art materials—it’s amazing what can be
done with some <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>cans, bottles, and plastic bags. For
starters, just google <i>plarn</i>!</span></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-34274139748375778162013-04-05T12:52:00.001-07:002013-04-05T12:52:09.218-07:00Paraguayan Passover: Four Questions<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Happy Passover (and Semana Santa/Easter) from Paraguay! Throughout my service, I have struggled at different points with how to be Jewish in Paraguay. In the states, from pre-school through college graduation, I had always been surrounded by a strong Jewish community, have had access to regular services, celebrations of Jewish holidays, and opportunities for education/reflection. Here in Paraguay, things are a bit different. There are a sprinkling of Jewish volunteers across the country, but Paraguayan society at large is deeply steeped in the Catholic faith and tradition. In fact, Jewish volunteers (along with volunteers who are atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Protestant) are often encouraged not to share their religion with community counter-parts because of issues of prejudice in the community. Being ‘in the closet’ about my Jewish identity and lacking much of a local Jewish community has been a weird feeling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last year, I chose to go home for Passover, because I felt like, on the holiday of freedom and liberation, I just needed to be in a space where I could be myself, freely and openly Jewish. But this year, I decided to stick it out in the sticks, because it was important to me to participate in the community traditions surrounding Easter, which I had missed last year since I went home. However, I still felt like a seder could be possible with the help of some local volunteers….And thanks to some great neighbors, EZ, Stacy, and Alissa, I was able to put together an amazing seder in Ysypo, Misiones, Paraguay and celebrate a Jewish holiday in Paraguay for the first time in my service!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Why was this years’ seder different from all other seders?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At all other seders, I have used Matzah from a box, be it burnt and holey shmurah matzah or factory made. This year, there was not enough time for a certain care-package containing box-matzah to arrive from the states, so I made my own. Thanks to Uncle Joe for the idea and Ha’aretz English version for the recipe!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7tA4Od8T5EsJmzP6R1Nzxlnl9okgFMdvD73KIX_6z2bwqsPfhyphenhyphenlVV3aqVtnUO1sC8Y5GYnnoLeNoOPGzVvze6wnXUqbbx-b5yj65k2s-UbkdE476V7hNiKB_m77jdQZoUvUohvUvaP4/s1600/DSCN1761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7tA4Od8T5EsJmzP6R1Nzxlnl9okgFMdvD73KIX_6z2bwqsPfhyphenhyphenlVV3aqVtnUO1sC8Y5GYnnoLeNoOPGzVvze6wnXUqbbx-b5yj65k2s-UbkdE476V7hNiKB_m77jdQZoUvUohvUvaP4/s320/DSCN1761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At all other seders, I use horse-radish for the bitter herb, this year lacking a good source for horse-radish or radish, I opted for lettuce. I also borrowed a medicinal root from Stacy’s fridge that looked rather similar to horse-radish to use a visual reminder on the seder plate. There were lots of giggles when we got to the “point to the maror” line (“How did that get there?”). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7miUdhEmYIMva7-VyaJcuvHH_mFPLl_slUqVIwMDjnNsgdyVfzj4oFpbbMSrJXrKuT1ZumaCRf4Qdcv53Leh-atklAXxEv4bZgdFWbPkCnFUTySezA9x3QXLMGQdFuvhv7by85CW-3w/s1600/DSCN1764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7miUdhEmYIMva7-VyaJcuvHH_mFPLl_slUqVIwMDjnNsgdyVfzj4oFpbbMSrJXrKuT1ZumaCRf4Qdcv53Leh-atklAXxEv4bZgdFWbPkCnFUTySezA9x3QXLMGQdFuvhv7by85CW-3w/s320/DSCN1764.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At all other seders, my family eats homemade matzah balls “dipped” in Robin Jaeger’s famous chicken soup. This year, we had a little Passover miracle, in the form of a “just in case” matzah ball mix that EZ got in the mail from the states, but what to use for the soup? Some miso-mix, fresh dug sweet potatoes, and chopped veggies came in handy for a golden broth. Also the parsley we used to dip in salt water came directly from my garden (the only plant to survive the summer).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoyMPPdbUdpouCNEaw7mWHI2aVG8nqTIAmu6Qi3ByCIgVJ6nrcsJ_hBH1oXZb3xzjKYQ3HEZfkZ3PgOWgQI2IOxHbwy-5MZA8ObfuXjNvJyR6dgno2rrEPRfS4qvaXO-6yOtcl0Bi4ak/s1600/DSCN1765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeoyMPPdbUdpouCNEaw7mWHI2aVG8nqTIAmu6Qi3ByCIgVJ6nrcsJ_hBH1oXZb3xzjKYQ3HEZfkZ3PgOWgQI2IOxHbwy-5MZA8ObfuXjNvJyR6dgno2rrEPRfS4qvaXO-6yOtcl0Bi4ak/s320/DSCN1765.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At all other seders, we conduct the meal reclining in our cozy dining room. This year, we had the seder outside on Stacy’s spacious porch. We could see the full moon outback, and also offer up the matzah and Elijah’s wine without opening the door. We also concluded the seder with some entertainment in the form of a water-rocket demonstration!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvhA-OhH__NoJPbEI3Vex-2Y6gY1WhQ6NtG2ECfSbLe-O4X0pjNOFO6qfn8Zi70uHN_9xXvguft88VDDqPUntZtrS9jCIGSftWymuLQivK8j243dH74QIqbATqpONxQv4I1iTH56xmrw/s1600/DSCN1766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mta="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvhA-OhH__NoJPbEI3Vex-2Y6gY1WhQ6NtG2ECfSbLe-O4X0pjNOFO6qfn8Zi70uHN_9xXvguft88VDDqPUntZtrS9jCIGSftWymuLQivK8j243dH74QIqbATqpONxQv4I1iTH56xmrw/s320/DSCN1766.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
</span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And of course, in the tradition of the Jaeger Haggadah’s fifth question (because four is definitely not daiyenu…)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My favorite new tradition: the mah-nishtana in sign language!! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-21334704017913827662013-02-12T04:04:00.002-08:002013-02-12T04:04:37.493-08:00The Official Soap Recipe<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> One of the most
important goals of Peace Corps is to promote sustainable development—changes
that will last after the volunteers leave. In my branch of Peace Corps
Paraguay, the agricultural sector, one of the ways that sustainable
development, or sustainable agricultural plays out is by working with the
Paraguayans to use the products from their farms and communities as efficiently
as possible, to create as much of a closed circle as possible. One way to more
efficiently use farm resources (and increase the yield of an individual farm)
is to maximize on the “by-products” of family farms. For example, waste
products such as cow manure, fallen leaves, and vegetable scraps can be
combined to make amazing fertilizer to increase the vegetable production in the
garden or field. And the left over fat (tallow) from meat can be used to make
soap (which is cheaper and possibly less “chemically” then the soap at the store).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> Speaking
of soap…I have been itching to learn how to make soap since I’ve been in
Paraguay. So, I was very excited when Mark and Susan from Arazape (a community
that is about ½ hrs drive north of me) invited me over to try it out. Susan has
made soap many times in the states, however, she always made soap using
different vegetable oils. This would be first time for both of us using tallow.
We figured, we would try it out once on our own and then teach the recipe to
our communities. Susan had procured the recipe from another volunteer who had
made soap with his woman’s commission, and so, after buying some lye and tallow
from the local hardware store and butchery (respectively), we were ready to go.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The Official Recipe for Tallow Soap</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Melt down cow fat in a large pot.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2N7aGTkVcoFrzfVQzNHuEadjCvTmUMgfMzcQ4aea085NomEDl2Rr5T6uifYvmPnSh9rrP0NE4AO1kfNWqf44qr-4bLHrMFZq8vi3mASCAroiTYwzdIF5FkV0UIZNnm1hunIgdYlY-C0/s1600/DSCN5035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2N7aGTkVcoFrzfVQzNHuEadjCvTmUMgfMzcQ4aea085NomEDl2Rr5T6uifYvmPnSh9rrP0NE4AO1kfNWqf44qr-4bLHrMFZq8vi3mASCAroiTYwzdIF5FkV0UIZNnm1hunIgdYlY-C0/s320/DSCN5035.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Combine lye with water in a glass
container.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF2zaZ8ALxiT-AUygI9DqZD95joAKYQYS3R7AJ_AHnZYXnfpH0NQoyu2Jm9olnkFNmOFDI2MG5DRDfffCYkenXtC6emBAnJbp06JhHOXVaVcdPR7V6AV-_aQzNeQrMyTl-7TlRkaQXCU/s1600/DSCN5036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJF2zaZ8ALxiT-AUygI9DqZD95joAKYQYS3R7AJ_AHnZYXnfpH0NQoyu2Jm9olnkFNmOFDI2MG5DRDfffCYkenXtC6emBAnJbp06JhHOXVaVcdPR7V6AV-_aQzNeQrMyTl-7TlRkaQXCU/s320/DSCN5036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Dice up herbs and grind up some oatmeal to
improve soap’s smell and add some gritty scrub.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Check recipe to make sure you have followed
exactly all the steps.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Pour lye mixture into tallow.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">As your soap boils and bubbles over
into yard, stir rapidly.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPtsp0vv17XNePyJQeVq5z0A4-91hD6-WW9xzJQeX1loYkbtRoghA8jUXERx-obCYXXuG11igrc3pOSSb0pHbTX_VgZHIMNLLOs_eZ10hmDFcS-cBU-JFVXxxbMRsNjMLfZk2wa6ZDBs/s1600/DSCN5037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXPtsp0vv17XNePyJQeVq5z0A4-91hD6-WW9xzJQeX1loYkbtRoghA8jUXERx-obCYXXuG11igrc3pOSSb0pHbTX_VgZHIMNLLOs_eZ10hmDFcS-cBU-JFVXxxbMRsNjMLfZk2wa6ZDBs/s320/DSCN5037.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Back away from smoking brew.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7K0GvgZwUz8r6-NbjOEDqTbWQcA1gvQb0d1Wbqz-8ol6yH3RVwzzNOTKBa5x8AkkELvnXFqlzrhPSYwmjlZ5hcCrGDoSbIsG7Y6uNVH2H8E5l84oxAxcuIwhyDFl_2z_dBgjKCBHmsWE/s1600/DSCN5039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7K0GvgZwUz8r6-NbjOEDqTbWQcA1gvQb0d1Wbqz-8ol6yH3RVwzzNOTKBa5x8AkkELvnXFqlzrhPSYwmjlZ5hcCrGDoSbIsG7Y6uNVH2H8E5l84oxAxcuIwhyDFl_2z_dBgjKCBHmsWE/s320/DSCN5039.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Add herbs.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iHFB7TTQ7tuOXVMOZEYINElydqUqv4hrOgRsWLrqiG8y7DTLRfANCHpVp9GHRxxHTFTKtbqNGc4L-FBqRtmFq9CQGcF3QxImYSG-x3-n8fmdC3hROZ6B-BtFvqvHtV0ZD85gQmWzC4k/s1600/DSCN5042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0iHFB7TTQ7tuOXVMOZEYINElydqUqv4hrOgRsWLrqiG8y7DTLRfANCHpVp9GHRxxHTFTKtbqNGc4L-FBqRtmFq9CQGcF3QxImYSG-x3-n8fmdC3hROZ6B-BtFvqvHtV0ZD85gQmWzC4k/s320/DSCN5042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Scrape hardening foam off of lawn and add
back into pot, adding a couple spoonfuls of boiled grass and dirt.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjWj0TGhXNjEZnv3sBc6sLWvQEeGg4hg7Qybj49-HQPDziFsNfVCbG-iNmNCxwxsgBNFg-xf1TMbO-RsijXflA24rDlNF-uJvyv5qufwLZEOzfYqtzn_0jDPl6gHREsNztJgCWX96wRc/s1600/DSCN5043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivjWj0TGhXNjEZnv3sBc6sLWvQEeGg4hg7Qybj49-HQPDziFsNfVCbG-iNmNCxwxsgBNFg-xf1TMbO-RsijXflA24rDlNF-uJvyv5qufwLZEOzfYqtzn_0jDPl6gHREsNztJgCWX96wRc/s320/DSCN5043.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Attempt to find original recipe with
snail-speed internet connection.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JmA3Owt24lGqFMyjy3EtCuDd_Z8nrrdw1RyGgy04AnPspRZ171-T9lYqNnWxpCyDox-v92SrlVOlYv0hlFVKJO5t6I4JZUsW562nMOcSxoXVC-nJgglxUF61PWPuz2VGB6iiw8L1RDg/s1600/DSCN5044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JmA3Owt24lGqFMyjy3EtCuDd_Z8nrrdw1RyGgy04AnPspRZ171-T9lYqNnWxpCyDox-v92SrlVOlYv0hlFVKJO5t6I4JZUsW562nMOcSxoXVC-nJgglxUF61PWPuz2VGB6iiw8L1RDg/s320/DSCN5044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Pour foamy brew into molds.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">When foamy brew cools down and is obviously
planning on remaining a cold foamy brew, re-melt on the stovetop.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuhpEroa9RcKWqqSEWN5wrkX2xO1vj7yyS2zkWbVpAB3WkmvMw8cHHR_L0_DM0VMz0aMtcHQT0pntRJjKsaTQ63T3tALHaXz5M7-cI_k5ibepagg8a9RPV5jr9sSscjcfHoBDKv_lBM8/s1600/DSCN5055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEuhpEroa9RcKWqqSEWN5wrkX2xO1vj7yyS2zkWbVpAB3WkmvMw8cHHR_L0_DM0VMz0aMtcHQT0pntRJjKsaTQ63T3tALHaXz5M7-cI_k5ibepagg8a9RPV5jr9sSscjcfHoBDKv_lBM8/s320/DSCN5055.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Pour back into molds.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Let cure for a week and enjoy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -18pt;">Optional: find a new recipe.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Photos taken of me by Susan Alves from <a href="http://twokeepgrowing.blogspot.com/">twokeepgrowing.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
</div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-60661328887498406372013-02-05T04:20:00.001-08:002013-02-05T04:20:31.153-08:00Howto Stay Cool in Paraguayan Summer<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It gets very hot in Paraguay in
the summer. I’m talking like 100+ on a daily basis, without AC. While I love
Paraguay, and I know that I willingly put myself into the Peace Corps, and
therefore accepted this situation upon myself, it is still very hot. Luckily,
over the past year, I have picked up some traditional and not so traditional
coping strategies to deal with the blazing heat of summer in Paraguay. </span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My original
Coping Method:</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sitting
in a chair, with my mouth open in disbelief, thinking “It can’t possibly be
this hot?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
holding still/not over-exerting yourself in hot weather is a very important
step of heat-stroke prevention. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
catching flies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">More
Successful Methods:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Mango Method: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">find your local mango tree and parking there from 10am-4pm</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkA6LLopfbVdW9fHKeSaCmMwrGluufxQkWhNrI7z8I4dH7Yr0gMEMRsPu-xGDeIOqrM9ZrpACDyRqf8OMFwAdrJY_AnVUhdDsTkPE2xNgzGz5Lvga6eULmr6w-zyWBYld2qxoRemsU9w/s1600/DSCN0864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkA6LLopfbVdW9fHKeSaCmMwrGluufxQkWhNrI7z8I4dH7Yr0gMEMRsPu-xGDeIOqrM9ZrpACDyRqf8OMFwAdrJY_AnVUhdDsTkPE2xNgzGz5Lvga6eULmr6w-zyWBYld2qxoRemsU9w/s320/DSCN0864.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
mango trees are magical creatures that create their own air-conditioning. While
the rest of the air might be still and stagnant, there is always a fresh, cool
breeze beneath the lush foliage of a mango tree. This is a good way to make
friends with many community members who use this same strategy. The addition of
a hammock makes a mango hangout almost irresistible. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
mango season—suddenly in January, when you most need the magical tree, you need
a helmet to enjoy the shade. Ripe mangos falling from more than 30 feet are not
gentle. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Tea Circle Strategy: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">drink ice-cold <i>terere</i> (tea)</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievdX95buQzq-zXKhy7A_eE2bAtAbmDBcvmZ8hIp-KUo39LkK2t4K-KVnNh_7L68sfiOXpMZuM8cTtXmxAG0khu4Gx-vXXAAeJUOK0gsNybSHmA3TU3-kEEL1clPH23IIr6VtzRqzgk2A/s1600/DSCN0874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievdX95buQzq-zXKhy7A_eE2bAtAbmDBcvmZ8hIp-KUo39LkK2t4K-KVnNh_7L68sfiOXpMZuM8cTtXmxAG0khu4Gx-vXXAAeJUOK0gsNybSHmA3TU3-kEEL1clPH23IIr6VtzRqzgk2A/s320/DSCN0874.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
cold, delicious, and communal rehydration. Often combined with the mango tree
method.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
after 3 or so pitchers the diuretic qualities of <i>terere</i> kick in. Quarter-hourly
pee-breaks can be complicated if your bathroom is see-through.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Herbal Remedy</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: A leaf in your cap</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZIIi-tKrrOLskRfsCyzOcP3kvEbwPgSvWUBIYTnwEI0FcpwIi98HHY4duy6AU3zSTkc6Qi0qv7_KEG0dCZqkMSJCvsGKlmXpzHWMn_uzZLTW2Rd3dia-F2m4_XzYavTiNUp_04BBDSw/s1600/DSCN0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFZIIi-tKrrOLskRfsCyzOcP3kvEbwPgSvWUBIYTnwEI0FcpwIi98HHY4duy6AU3zSTkc6Qi0qv7_KEG0dCZqkMSJCvsGKlmXpzHWMn_uzZLTW2Rd3dia-F2m4_XzYavTiNUp_04BBDSw/s320/DSCN0962.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
place a couple amba’y leaves in your hat and you are good to go in terms of sun
protection. Amba’y trees are pretty abundant: most families in my community
have one growing in their backyard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
might garner some strange looks in urban settings.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Guapa Way</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">:
Do everyone’s laundry (<i>guapa</i>in PYan Spanish means <i>hardworking</i>,
not <i>sexy</i>. Though of course, the two aren’t mutually exclusive). </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IqfAUMqnq5cnf_ifhQkwpQeK_Mq3ghsWUYxr9HiSWhvqF0yPt8m5F2QH-dHgh55Utrp4da5IjWE6uLZe_qjPz501ot22jv62jd0N21oLbgyivicZarnipmFdW5Mx3I5BFoyEXWf8ahs/s1600/DSCN0955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-IqfAUMqnq5cnf_ifhQkwpQeK_Mq3ghsWUYxr9HiSWhvqF0yPt8m5F2QH-dHgh55Utrp4da5IjWE6uLZe_qjPz501ot22jv62jd0N21oLbgyivicZarnipmFdW5Mx3I5BFoyEXWf8ahs/s320/DSCN0955.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
kill three birds with one stone with a 2-3 hour laundry session. By the time y<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8985905161517732037" name="_GoBack"></a>ou are done, you will have cleaned a week’s worth of clothes,
you will have had a good upper-arm work-out, and you will be soaking wet and
cool. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
you really need a shady area for this one. Otherwise you will have 2-3 hours
–worth of sunburn. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Chef’s Specialty: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">cooking outdoors</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6sOReiHgD5L9lQJRiljppXrm1V1OsmVQmUBxgKaZCjZS7wRA-_xlESSH-FJOxCZgAtYvHzq1tPaSq5W3bGv_8cr73rz0xBFNUPIVHLMTIbt0LAuPHdWSQRvPPHmpwP1PrxaU_AZd7svs/s1600/DSCN0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6sOReiHgD5L9lQJRiljppXrm1V1OsmVQmUBxgKaZCjZS7wRA-_xlESSH-FJOxCZgAtYvHzq1tPaSq5W3bGv_8cr73rz0xBFNUPIVHLMTIbt0LAuPHdWSQRvPPHmpwP1PrxaU_AZd7svs/s320/DSCN0834.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
keeps the heat away from the house.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
firing up the tatakua, the outdoor, clay oven, uses a lot of firewood and takes
a lot of time. Therefore, it is not so convenient for everyday use. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A Layered Approach:</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_ZgTmH27OIZEyY31CjkYC0FCA_KeWKli3ZcrSAGgoM3V4q1_xBWAUcO_6RJtrOxlgM23xyZ5aBKt-Fq941cQhpKt9DhcjUtSSkP9eTBx91Bq_uQWO4xrUL1Y_018YGyuxLXfRMU2-54/s1600/DSCN0644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_ZgTmH27OIZEyY31CjkYC0FCA_KeWKli3ZcrSAGgoM3V4q1_xBWAUcO_6RJtrOxlgM23xyZ5aBKt-Fq941cQhpKt9DhcjUtSSkP9eTBx91Bq_uQWO4xrUL1Y_018YGyuxLXfRMU2-54/s320/DSCN0644.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
light colored long sleeve shirts and pants protect you from the sun, keep you
modestly dressed, and according to some create a micro-climate/air-conditioning
system using merely your skin, sweat, undershirt, and overshirt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
twice as much laundry.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Visualization: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">snow-angel meditation</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 72.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
this method is portable and great for bus-rides</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
if you are Paraguayan, you probably have never made a snow angel before.
Additionally, after a 5 hr no-AC busride (that should have only taken
3.5hrs!!)passing through high-noon, the image begins to fade. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Honi-Method</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">: rain-dances and circles in the sand.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pros:
a strong afternoon shower, called “aguacero,” can keep temperatures down for
the rest of the afternoon and even the following day. Not only does this shower
rejuvenate your sanity, but it also brings some life back into the field crops.
</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cons:
stares/gossip from neighbors as they watch the “nortetavy” (crazy northerner)
doing something weird, once again. Also, if the rainfall comes with high winds,
you will probably lose power, jeopardizing the contents of your fridge/freezer
and leaving you without a fan and therefore vulnerable to major mosquito
attacks until power returns. </span></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-594296387889195532012-11-09T06:03:00.002-08:002012-11-09T06:03:42.791-08:00The Art of the Lunch Crash<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The
story about the Jewish cemetery in Prague goes that once upon a time, when a
famous rabbi of Prague was on his deathbed, he asked as his parting wish to be
buried at the side of his beloved teacher, who had long ago been interred in
the Prague cemetery. The only problem, the space at both of his sides was
already filled. However, a miracle occurred, the earth spread, and there was
space for the student to also be buried beside his teacher. This story
(le’havdil) could be taken as analogy for Paraguayan hospitality, especially
surrounding meal times. There is always room for more at the table. In fact,
chances are, if you find yourself at a Paraguayan’s house before 9:30, you will
be eating a second breakfast. If it is after 9:30, you will be invited
(sweet-talked, guilted, stared-down) to stay for lunch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> One
of my host-mom’s, Ña Rafaela, takes this type of hospitality to a whole other
level. Sometimes when I show up, there are immediate family members, multiple
cousins (who have their own moms making lunch as well), in-laws, boarders (they
were actually staying with other families, but somehow in the end, moved into
Rafa’s house), grandchildren all smished around the table. I don’t think any of
them called ahead. I certainly didn’t. And yet, everyone is able to get seconds
and thirds. I think maybe Rafa just senses from the wind that she should add another
cup of rice to the soup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> While
sometimes PC’s innocently come to work with a community member in the morning
and just end up getting invited to lunch, sometimes (especially when it is
either really hot out, it’s a traditional PYan holiday, or when I have a really
bad cold) it is more intentional: the art of the lunch crash. I mean, there is nothing
better for a bad cold then really hot gizo—chicken or beef soup with rice.
Cooking it on the gas stove just doesn’t taste the same. I also love to
lunch-crash because that is how I’ve learned how to cook some different
Paraguayan dishes and also learned about living “close to the earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigfYeFxNE1QMKI6asfWiDBN3eiP1tighN_p8pzSnFjkQRjLNrfyMreTWhPC71q_RfMIWYiBIbH4dx-qzGwr_c2yzmeYlH3TdQA6koLgFjqKFfT-Pclh-U-CalqGg7M2wRpPiMgyYNoaA/s1600/DSCN0773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgigfYeFxNE1QMKI6asfWiDBN3eiP1tighN_p8pzSnFjkQRjLNrfyMreTWhPC71q_RfMIWYiBIbH4dx-qzGwr_c2yzmeYlH3TdQA6koLgFjqKFfT-Pclh-U-CalqGg7M2wRpPiMgyYNoaA/s320/DSCN0773.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">In my community, meals are generally cooked
over the fire—fueled by firewood. Paraguay, is 95% deforested currently.
Educating about trees, reforesting, and planting trees here is so important.
Since trees are scarce, much of the firewood is collected from dry/fallen
branches or from trees that can regrow after partial shearing. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3Uxt_Xhd2VQIPYOkDLrZS1wynXne6JIjvWYKj9sX7JFI9nX7uo-x75hz8gMKoZS2crbsNk2iVP0XpIzWSqA7JPz6eweN0R4_ijg13ftl-HHMk7HXnd_nJYPJaI6nYgI832qQFuMRdCc/s1600/DSCN0742.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ3Uxt_Xhd2VQIPYOkDLrZS1wynXne6JIjvWYKj9sX7JFI9nX7uo-x75hz8gMKoZS2crbsNk2iVP0XpIzWSqA7JPz6eweN0R4_ijg13ftl-HHMk7HXnd_nJYPJaI6nYgI832qQFuMRdCc/s320/DSCN0742.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Vegetables are seasonal—as in, in the
summer it is too hot for vegetables to grow in Paraguay without a sun-shade. In
the winter, 99% of my community cultivates gardens. Ña Rafaela’s garden is one
of the largest in my site—she expands every year. Here she is harvesting
cabbage for our salad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHsRUXMR5ocbMwfDadELe6Vie4u3weKhyphenhyphensm5VQU68UVjr0fBSgcSSRn_dtC-kY9SOYL7zThna01rYbEz5fVQ1vQDp8aqCFmsSc1hfGEtPgNeWlWJEmD1etYzO57Nqm3tWLtpRsq7E6yg/s1600/DSCN0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHsRUXMR5ocbMwfDadELe6Vie4u3weKhyphenhyphensm5VQU68UVjr0fBSgcSSRn_dtC-kY9SOYL7zThna01rYbEz5fVQ1vQDp8aqCFmsSc1hfGEtPgNeWlWJEmD1etYzO57Nqm3tWLtpRsq7E6yg/s320/DSCN0751.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Ña Rafaela’s oldest daughter and her first
cousin chopping together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQb9QtrJyVEKXef2WgMCz0egl70FmeHXsyeIc4hKCtAUDbASpLG8Wkgn5Qjr58rfYcnmIDWMHZ0NMoBElOyg4rYs75c8Js31Uwsvg_jkENwDcL7TmPJ9rcL5ZaKAtofCqhH3Pepn7ZXY/s1600/DSCN0769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQb9QtrJyVEKXef2WgMCz0egl70FmeHXsyeIc4hKCtAUDbASpLG8Wkgn5Qjr58rfYcnmIDWMHZ0NMoBElOyg4rYs75c8Js31Uwsvg_jkENwDcL7TmPJ9rcL5ZaKAtofCqhH3Pepn7ZXY/s320/DSCN0769.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">No food is ever wasted. When I first
attempted to make composts with some community members, I learned that whereas
suburban Americans might have lots of leftover vegetable scraps to compost,
many of the food scraps here are earmarked for various livestock. Chickens, for
example, love to crunch on the remains of leafy greens such as cabbage (or on
the leafy greens themselves if the garden doesn’t have a good fence!). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r6VOyiHbLoBSpim_us6-vilz9hLai02X2b72AHKElj1qeEfwgNU2xkVICYwT5nYZgIM1e9newjw537A1vbjyafKZqijhDMainObgp0_t18a9RxPRTP5pVMU4Cu3cigL3ZV18INouPLM/s1600/DSCN0776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8r6VOyiHbLoBSpim_us6-vilz9hLai02X2b72AHKElj1qeEfwgNU2xkVICYwT5nYZgIM1e9newjw537A1vbjyafKZqijhDMainObgp0_t18a9RxPRTP5pVMU4Cu3cigL3ZV18INouPLM/s320/DSCN0776.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">You never know how something might be
repurposed or multipurposed here. This bucket makes a perfect gigantic salad
bowl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2aJc8lQdUcYZGzibiB5gSqC-13P314SAk4apU1BK1uRytnmm8m9JHZvgx3I1eF-l5gAh_1C1mMmTwLVGPDbsLqipcxqNcKngJc9b8APR7-RxkIZvTSr_kIiqHEvpBAkmvOoT0GjAAAw/s1600/DSCN0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2aJc8lQdUcYZGzibiB5gSqC-13P314SAk4apU1BK1uRytnmm8m9JHZvgx3I1eF-l5gAh_1C1mMmTwLVGPDbsLqipcxqNcKngJc9b8APR7-RxkIZvTSr_kIiqHEvpBAkmvOoT0GjAAAw/s320/DSCN0767.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Although there is running water in my
community, the water is pumped from a special type of deep well (about a 5
minute walk from Rafa’s house) and then runs to individual houses. If the power
goes out, as it often does in this rainy spring weather, or if Rafa’s nephew
forgets to reset the meter, the water stops. Here Rafa’s daughter drains the
wash-water from the greens to use for soaking dishes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_CPS8mX7RDl-zPgWa74gMQwolAhcFyYZN4KLpmlJl7fOdhLPR_clQu074L-oQM0KFK24TTiZrBqATd6n72AvLaudQh905-f1sJ0AZHOxJ3ABrZuHd4iVm6pAK39OnrYzBsTY2TUAmaM/s1600/DSCN0794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_CPS8mX7RDl-zPgWa74gMQwolAhcFyYZN4KLpmlJl7fOdhLPR_clQu074L-oQM0KFK24TTiZrBqATd6n72AvLaudQh905-f1sJ0AZHOxJ3ABrZuHd4iVm6pAK39OnrYzBsTY2TUAmaM/s320/DSCN0794.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Lunch time! Today (in addition to myself),
there were cousins and in-laws at lunch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">In parting…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaF86kdxnHOPXxxWKRCF31pOWvCU-O-oHS4r7jwQvSRrblECmFcPg-CprW3o55vYTinD6MZBU0tjF19IEHUz401r_ZWBBBe4OK5NlwuRZ2G-g_5br09p2Dd4qsZ6vANiKAgkCWi8XmJg/s1600/DSCN0791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaF86kdxnHOPXxxWKRCF31pOWvCU-O-oHS4r7jwQvSRrblECmFcPg-CprW3o55vYTinD6MZBU0tjF19IEHUz401r_ZWBBBe4OK5NlwuRZ2G-g_5br09p2Dd4qsZ6vANiKAgkCWi8XmJg/s320/DSCN0791.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Happy thanksgiving from the Paraguay (I
will be celebrating with by attending a Lady Gaga concert…)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK78gA8wlY9FbDQFNr9xZitP5vG4n9hxXm679XbeaRdnV-Nwu9xZT3ZT4ejVcYkrLkQhG4SZSwWBcpBjKB7-X6ExdUw0_dxthiOCmQFdcin1Piz0PRvwMNluzWnmnTDBrPDcPk0UKNl4/s1600/DSCN0747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDK78gA8wlY9FbDQFNr9xZitP5vG4n9hxXm679XbeaRdnV-Nwu9xZT3ZT4ejVcYkrLkQhG4SZSwWBcpBjKB7-X6ExdUw0_dxthiOCmQFdcin1Piz0PRvwMNluzWnmnTDBrPDcPk0UKNl4/s320/DSCN0747.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">And here is my favorite smile in all of
Ysypo Potrero (Rafa’s son). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-86637952855963101922012-10-25T08:01:00.000-07:002012-10-25T08:01:31.088-07:00Santa Ara<br />
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Happy October 24<sup>th</sup>! What is October 24<sup>th</sup>, you
might ask…October 24<sup>th</sup> is the day of Saint Rafael, the patron saint of
my community Ysypo Potrero. According to the 2002 census (and according to
Wikipedia) 89.9% of the Paraguayan population is Catholic. However, this doesn’t
mean that everyone is “practicing.” In many ways similar to the Israeli
experience of Judaism, in many cases this means that Catholic traditions are
part of people’s identities, an underlying narrative, but not necessarily “commandment”
status. In my community, there is mass once a month, weekly first communion
classes run by volunteers from the community, and a pro-Church committee that
raises money for maintenance fees, organizes when the traveling Father is going
to come, and keeps the keys to the building. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite the <i>chiloni</i> (secular/cultural) flavor of Catholicism in my community (even
when there is mass, most community members don’t attend), Ysypo Potrero like
most communities in Paraguay has a <i>patron saint</i>, a Catholic saint
(intermediary with god) who watches over the community. Ysypo Potrero’s saint
is Rafael archangel—a seraph/angel who appears in Jewish tradition as well (c.f.
short songs section of Anim Zmirot bencher). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS5XIr3vy1bjVNR-p0jTfqGAYqc17ySUrGPaslQfTvcPCtgiNtig_XpjNgqoGWV8yGfUcxnjpr7e4TAx8Ji6X4l0nzKsw52c3z2mr8ya9cEfjRHodYBGZgxgsd4NZME-4wxnbUZv8iZI/s1600/saint+rafael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYS5XIr3vy1bjVNR-p0jTfqGAYqc17ySUrGPaslQfTvcPCtgiNtig_XpjNgqoGWV8yGfUcxnjpr7e4TAx8Ji6X4l0nzKsw52c3z2mr8ya9cEfjRHodYBGZgxgsd4NZME-4wxnbUZv8iZI/s320/saint+rafael.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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As the name (in Hebrew) implies,
Rafael is specifically connected with healing. In Catholic tradition, every
saint has a special day that is their festival, and since Rafael is the patron
saint of Ysypo Potrero, that means we have a special mass/celebration here on
the 24<sup>th</sup> of October, the <i>santa ara</i> (Saint’s Day in Guarani). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcOer69phghMUu_rtj7ByTa6PaDCMjrDwvi1_xSkAw_Gym835LoQSUGO7rL3C9WU7L7zu0zyuH2OmxY1ePCD5kQVz2TxsVxyFlzadoRUdqQ-xbviNWY7HRt788db0NiW708CyUwFY1n0/s1600/DSCN0684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNcOer69phghMUu_rtj7ByTa6PaDCMjrDwvi1_xSkAw_Gym835LoQSUGO7rL3C9WU7L7zu0zyuH2OmxY1ePCD5kQVz2TxsVxyFlzadoRUdqQ-xbviNWY7HRt788db0NiW708CyUwFY1n0/s320/DSCN0684.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span id="goog_1874945988"></span><span id="goog_1874945989"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Everyone gathers at
the church and listens to the army band</span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdoJ0YHZgxGMylKsbGtQQievyBynbF9gj2sf0ikJXCxEelyOlMHQ-3KtpHCT8jVgLen__AJCIqxTwuEgZ9I0EXm46Te2tWAXwE8w6zbLidE963Lrv8IAp2TL5gCmDiAe_Qt6bKJuk5MQ/s1600/DSCN0682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdoJ0YHZgxGMylKsbGtQQievyBynbF9gj2sf0ikJXCxEelyOlMHQ-3KtpHCT8jVgLen__AJCIqxTwuEgZ9I0EXm46Te2tWAXwE8w6zbLidE963Lrv8IAp2TL5gCmDiAe_Qt6bKJuk5MQ/s320/DSCN0682.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Because it is a
special mass, it is common for families to baptize their children on this day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XZVB_xx-yBLUdlHkdy5Za82YySUn4piBTcie8LfCDlK0AFltoVB3GX3hf7FwDtT3Zm94S3LQnSPNh-Z8qgGpZcem7k-Ewvl1kg19km_0pvC9AP43-6O-uEdO7x8lpnHaFY6AHxGoM8A/s1600/DSCN0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XZVB_xx-yBLUdlHkdy5Za82YySUn4piBTcie8LfCDlK0AFltoVB3GX3hf7FwDtT3Zm94S3LQnSPNh-Z8qgGpZcem7k-Ewvl1kg19km_0pvC9AP43-6O-uEdO7x8lpnHaFY6AHxGoM8A/s320/DSCN0686.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Milena looks a bit
nervous.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPw9_qimJh9UfZo6vjdj_lakU9Ih54DFaLBRtJzHXLYEbDtaVQx12NgL1umBMRpQh03Rizx9MNrsVtHFlCVG0vvqZpuFTPOFLo_uZRwdG-leoxvFnRQs0xgAwf2DOhk4dFlLPEfE4yOOI/s1600/DSCN0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPw9_qimJh9UfZo6vjdj_lakU9Ih54DFaLBRtJzHXLYEbDtaVQx12NgL1umBMRpQh03Rizx9MNrsVtHFlCVG0vvqZpuFTPOFLo_uZRwdG-leoxvFnRQs0xgAwf2DOhk4dFlLPEfE4yOOI/s320/DSCN0691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Getting Saint Rafael’s
statue ready for procession (sorry for the blurrr).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWB4oKxaimjaR_TtDbP9q0w2GQDNBgHg02DFhaxbTwT3QsudEn_GWkGJuojEQB06zO1aE37retKhM9VdotshDKfsZTKvIFIIBlI9hMZcdzhFheRXcVkw1fkcW7lm-mqo5uepX-kDuqwew/s1600/DSCN0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWB4oKxaimjaR_TtDbP9q0w2GQDNBgHg02DFhaxbTwT3QsudEn_GWkGJuojEQB06zO1aE37retKhM9VdotshDKfsZTKvIFIIBlI9hMZcdzhFheRXcVkw1fkcW7lm-mqo5uepX-kDuqwew/s320/DSCN0692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Marching with the
Saint. Unfortunately this march was pretty short because it’s been raining a
lot and there was a ginormous puddle in the road.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsU_aYZadmx9ux7RFooJKhQ6R7h-Q7j2dNBKRprJtQyIsPVbmDN1UiI0g-VWHLLF2tClnLwNR4nrf_qM3dR3OehHW1F3MLUMPrnzW_udF0_u0IoMlkbbM6XQJR8yFARyQekKYyMYZf8Ec/s1600/DSCN0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsU_aYZadmx9ux7RFooJKhQ6R7h-Q7j2dNBKRprJtQyIsPVbmDN1UiI0g-VWHLLF2tClnLwNR4nrf_qM3dR3OehHW1F3MLUMPrnzW_udF0_u0IoMlkbbM6XQJR8yFARyQekKYyMYZf8Ec/s320/DSCN0696.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Fireworks…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizE-6sqiUceTuXt9POEjXHcHtbjF0S9pGkTNJMfX2dMA1p4GH8UqhR7WgJj_fseZcuPBOlzM5v4abekior7dCSnKQu-vYk4XuoEXbezigbV8Hwh-p3s3Da6FNSbqvGOSnbUeKN5zO4q60/s1600/DSCN0708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizE-6sqiUceTuXt9POEjXHcHtbjF0S9pGkTNJMfX2dMA1p4GH8UqhR7WgJj_fseZcuPBOlzM5v4abekior7dCSnKQu-vYk4XuoEXbezigbV8Hwh-p3s3Da6FNSbqvGOSnbUeKN5zO4q60/s320/DSCN0708.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Baptizing Milena…does
it count if she’s asleep?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohQQ70aHhGytMgEkV1yiB8-wpLLBy1EfAp_cFKGCpal2DPUP6Kpqon8hRyEAYI-D1tP60zmfTHxoXCM1MmI98cojzUTx76sf_0qW1a80KrAMJz1Jn9WOHkteNu0GEDK0vTV_okQ0hs_A/s1600/DSCN0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiohQQ70aHhGytMgEkV1yiB8-wpLLBy1EfAp_cFKGCpal2DPUP6Kpqon8hRyEAYI-D1tP60zmfTHxoXCM1MmI98cojzUTx76sf_0qW1a80KrAMJz1Jn9WOHkteNu0GEDK0vTV_okQ0hs_A/s320/DSCN0711.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Post-baptism, note
Trader-Joes box recycled to hold brownies. Erminio, I am told, was a fan. <o:p></o:p></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-37965941798990345742012-10-19T05:17:00.002-07:002012-10-19T05:17:57.444-07:00What I´ve Been Up to For the Last Month<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Green
Manures:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Real Magic Beans</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Hello once again from Paraguay!
This week has been a walk down memory lane as I got a visit from a
volunteer-in-training. That’s right my “sister-G” the next round of Agriculture
volunteers, have been in Paraguay for about two weeks. As part of the training
they get to visit current volunteers twice: once for a short visit by
themselves (that was this week) and then again with three other trainees and a
language teacher (in November). The idea of the first visit is just to take a
rest from the hectic training schedule, get to see “what volunteer life is
like,” and learn more about Paraguay. The second visit has more of a language
focus—trainees stay with a Paraguayan host family for three days, give a
presentation in Guarani or Spanish, etc. Anyway, it was pretty fun to have a
visit from a trainee “fresh off the plane” and remember how nervous I was back
then and how new and different everything was in Paraguay. Also my trainee
visitor was awesome and she taught me how to play rummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a great week!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Last week I just finished up a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8985905161517732037" name="_GoBack"></a>five week class on green manures which has been my biggest
(successful) project so far in site. During my “needs assessment phase” when I
went and talked to many of the families in the community, it became pretty
clear that people had noticed a lack of fertility in their fields. Or rather,
they weren’t getting an ideal amount of produce from their fields. Many of the
families here have been farming their land constantly for decades, so it’s not
surprising that the soil is a little low on plant nutrients. One of the ways of
fertilizing fields (organically/low cost) is with manure. While many families
do put cow and pig manure in their fields, they generally don’t have enough
manure to really provide enough fertilizer for all their fields (most people
have 3 cows or less and same with pigs).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As I have mentioned previously, another way to
return nutrients to the soil is through the use of green manures/cover
crops—there are plants that cover the soil fast and when they are cut down, the
rotted remains add nutrients to the soil (like a large scale compost pile).
Cover crops related to beans (such as vetch and clover commonly used<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on organic farms in the states) actually make
their own nitrogen, one of the most important nutrients for plant growth, and
add it back into the soil. Since my site is very near a city with a branch of
the Department of Agricultural Extensionists, of course many people have heard
of green manures. However, most of the farmers in my community have not tried
using green manures in their fields or they aren’t familiar with many
varieties. There are perhaps a hundred reasons why people don’t use green
manures in my community. Two reasons I could address: lack of
familiarity/education about soil (why it would be important to use cover crops)
and lack of a consistent source for seeds). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I decided to teach a five week class (meeting
once a week) about green manures, where participants would receive seeds for
seed production after attending three classes. I didn’t have enough seeds to
give people for a whole field, but if they planted and produced seeds this
year, the farmers would be able to plant a whole field of green manures next
year. The classes were really fun. It was a great way for me to see who was
excited and interested in green manures and get to know some community members
a bit better. It was definitely a challenge to present in Guarani for an hour
(because I get stage fright in English!). Sometimes, I would look at people and
realize that while I believed I was speaking in Guarani, they clearly had no
idea what I was trying to say. But I also watched people learn new things about
their soil and crops, and through repetition and review, they seemed to retain
the concepts—such as plant families (did you know that tomatoes, potatoes,
eggplant, and peppers are all in the same family?!), nutrients in the soil,
etc. During my favorite class, I had participants draw their fields and
throughout the class, they marked where they wanted to plant green manures and
what variety would best serve there. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Next step: visiting all the participants to see
if they planted the seeds/have any questions…stay tuned. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-76103958075911197732012-09-26T06:11:00.001-07:002012-09-26T06:11:38.921-07:00Paraguayan BBQTo my Jewish readers--gmar tov!! I happen to be sitting in a cyber in Southern Paraguay livestreaming Temple Aliyah services. Impressive.<br />
<br />And back to regular programming...<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One day
when I was having my favorite dinner of lettuce tortillas (imagine a fried
pancake but savory, with lettuce, cheese, and green onion inside) at my
neighbor’s house, Erminio asked “so Emily, when are you going to make us a
barbecue?” He was joking, but I thought it was a brilliant idea. I mean, I am
over at their house all the time. And everyone loves barbecue. I told him, I
will do a barbecue for my one year in Paraguay anniversary. I don’t think he
believed me, but I am very serious when it comes to culinary experiences. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rC8LP1TPXYZn1pkh2imO0gE4lBpbBr0ubZL8OoJsKGnjlt2TxhzyZGNGhlDvWA7YBSLcPVC_KmzAG6_lpF_SrJoMex8HAfrU6lTY37vBRKlJxaqHORbmvNgAi-lHzjD6ql_hRVh06Vk/s1600/DSCN0610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rC8LP1TPXYZn1pkh2imO0gE4lBpbBr0ubZL8OoJsKGnjlt2TxhzyZGNGhlDvWA7YBSLcPVC_KmzAG6_lpF_SrJoMex8HAfrU6lTY37vBRKlJxaqHORbmvNgAi-lHzjD6ql_hRVh06Vk/s320/DSCN0610.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some
differences between Paraguayan and American barbecue:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the
states, barbecue is made on a grill, generally outside. It randomly happened to
be freezing cold so we made the barbecue in the kitchen. First, Mirna put down
a piece of metal on the floor. The she put charcoal on the metal and started up
the coals with some embers from the fire. She balanced a grate on top of some
bricks. And that’s where we put the meat. Here Erminio is cooking, it was
pretty smoky. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNs4CM57vFZhsm1CwMA1Wiv95KBgb23v3fqYmGbrNZcqiAfNJ918rCXGiOQ7ZEv2bJM5Pf24ughCHRkMR-dRp7FhifhIucvO0pUlwEBNb-AyLWfLhs2MAcNwWZKYJRBsNxUvLhVCDc5uM/s1600/DSCN0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNs4CM57vFZhsm1CwMA1Wiv95KBgb23v3fqYmGbrNZcqiAfNJ918rCXGiOQ7ZEv2bJM5Pf24ughCHRkMR-dRp7FhifhIucvO0pUlwEBNb-AyLWfLhs2MAcNwWZKYJRBsNxUvLhVCDc5uM/s320/DSCN0611.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the
States, my mom often uses barbecue sauce or a marinade ahead of time on the
meat. Here, we used lemon and salt, but we mostly put it on after cooking,
spreading the salt onto the meat with our fingers and then squeezing the lemon
on top. The sharp, fresh flavor was really a delicious contrast to the meat.
Here you can see my container of salt on the table along with the (orange)
lemon. Also, we ate standing up.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBOnON-ZHazXXTOWkVDi4Bt491PIU9-yXya8_lPe8-KZEWclbGo_48V2qGIuVOxoZVXfYXFvsXKQLBnzK_J5G0pWlr8wTL83N2MvB9x69wCcc7YhEuT3-9Y3lbtrUqvt8sUrx31RYUTk/s1600/DSCN0621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBOnON-ZHazXXTOWkVDi4Bt491PIU9-yXya8_lPe8-KZEWclbGo_48V2qGIuVOxoZVXfYXFvsXKQLBnzK_J5G0pWlr8wTL83N2MvB9x69wCcc7YhEuT3-9Y3lbtrUqvt8sUrx31RYUTk/s320/DSCN0621.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the
States, we might buy a “coleslaw mix.” Here, I picked a cabbage straight from
Mirna’s garden, we added some tomato (from the garden as well), lemon juice
(using a lemon from the tree out back), and don’t forget the salt. It was
delicious. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASFRC_IX_XNpGWjS8pOHMOQu_5k0ENT767mIK3IjdXex_splDxsEkkCC0-laGXbui7yxUzry30RACy5WhrQgh1MnsjHjcB4055DTkx9J7ctTV3DD_uA9t_Y8bxEhXwLjc3PYlS0l23c8/s1600/DSCN0617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASFRC_IX_XNpGWjS8pOHMOQu_5k0ENT767mIK3IjdXex_splDxsEkkCC0-laGXbui7yxUzry30RACy5WhrQgh1MnsjHjcB4055DTkx9J7ctTV3DD_uA9t_Y8bxEhXwLjc3PYlS0l23c8/s320/DSCN0617.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cutting the
first bite:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbGBtMCgFNjKotZh2DUwkJ2qFTeJFLB-5ZL4qxBvUiVb5z_UzPVoirDEYVu7NojEc4yjY4i0-wAiriZ_WH2WwB14j80K1JNKebrINQRtZlzqtZcob-Bl1JE2-m7Nypw37YISO5Xzln2M/s1600/DSCN0619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUbGBtMCgFNjKotZh2DUwkJ2qFTeJFLB-5ZL4qxBvUiVb5z_UzPVoirDEYVu7NojEc4yjY4i0-wAiriZ_WH2WwB14j80K1JNKebrINQRtZlzqtZcob-Bl1JE2-m7Nypw37YISO5Xzln2M/s320/DSCN0619.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Emily stop
taking pictures and eat some meat (says my niece):</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMxxF7ZarbQnu2RgRGp46kVyqsZvAjqweseB9IRWJTwf2XUnQjMaPVCOzxgSoFaWa89ivps-YsAJ8G5dMVhTWC6JiiM1estSzsuLN6PxdvssADFRqsOzGHZlJyhJ_ODWLygoTXJS4EF1o/s1600/DSCN0620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMxxF7ZarbQnu2RgRGp46kVyqsZvAjqweseB9IRWJTwf2XUnQjMaPVCOzxgSoFaWa89ivps-YsAJ8G5dMVhTWC6JiiM1estSzsuLN6PxdvssADFRqsOzGHZlJyhJ_ODWLygoTXJS4EF1o/s320/DSCN0620.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-16308758889878955622012-09-14T07:15:00.000-07:002013-04-05T07:58:05.177-07:00Paraguay in Color<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
All right, all right, in honor of the new year…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Presenting, THE PICTURES!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Apologizing ahead of time for the fact that I don’t actually know how to use a camera. That is Aba/Aaron’s job…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Welcome to my community in Misiones, Paraguay. This is my favorite view. When I first moved to my site, I appreciated that the view did not speak to me (especially not in Spanish or Guarani). It just sat and looked pretty!<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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My house:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The love of my life:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The other love of my life:<o:p></o:p></div>
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These are (some of)my favorite people: <o:p></o:p></div>
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My first host mom Vicenta breaking into her typical laugh (note the guampa i.e. cup for terere in her hand)</div>
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My second host mom Rafaela and my host dad Lorenzo. No matter how many other families I may have already had lunch with that day, if it is within 2 hours of noon, Rafaela will place a steaming plate in front of me and stare me down until I’ve finished it all.</div>
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Rafaela’s youngests, Lee and Moni.</div>
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My next door neighbor, Mirna and her daughter Milena (my niece).</div>
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Somehow, Milena always manages to find some mischief when she comes over to visit.</div>
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The funniest baby expression:<o:p></o:p></div>
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A commission meeting:<o:p></o:p></div>
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The day we made the school garden:<o:p></o:p></div>
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And, it wouldn’t be Paraguay without some culinary adventures (that’s a dove on my kitchen table):<o:p></o:p></div>
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and a side of mandioca…<o:p></o:p></div>
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E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-59111379533039053682012-09-10T07:21:00.001-07:002012-09-10T07:21:46.268-07:00Shana Tova! (airing out some dirty laundry)Happy (almost) New Years from Paraguay! Apparently, despite the fact that I have definitely written two whole blog posts over the past 2 months, I never actually uploaded them...whoops. Since I am now using internet at the city near my site, San Juan Bautista, I of course, don´t actually have a copy of these posts at hand. I have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to take the bus into town, which means that I generally forget half of the things I need to bring with me, 5:30am is not the best time of day for me. So, in short, I will have two new (old) posts up sometime this month.<br />
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Today, I would like to talk about laundry. Once upon a time, when I moved to Jerusalem, Israel, I had remember having a panicked conversation with my roommates. Despite the fact that we lived pretty near the downtown, it would be a half-an-hour walk to the nearest laundrymat. How were we going to clean our clothes? We also had no car, and lived in a 4th floor apartment, so arranging for a 2nd hand laundry machine to make it to our doorstep was going to be complicated. Those things are heavy. In the end, Leora worked her magic, and we ended up with a great 2nd hander on our utility balconey.<br />
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One day, while preparing to do my laundry (in Paraguay), I remembered that conundrum and began to giggle. How was I EVER going to clean my clothes without a laundry machine??? Any woman in my community would find that question pretty ridiculous. So how do you do laundry without a laundry machine--I now know the answer:<br />
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Required Tools:<br />
<ul>
<li>At least one bucket. Two is preferable</li>
<li>A water source (luckily my community does have running water, but you can also get the water from a well).</li>
<li>Bar of soap</li>
<li>Scrub brush</li>
<li>wood tabla (can be as basic as a 1ft squared board, about 3 inches thick, but a wooden slab bench or table is preferable)</li>
<li>section of fencing (note, if fence is not barb-wire, you might need clothespins) </li>
</ul>
Steps:<br />
<ol>
<li>Fill up bucket part way with clothes and then add enough water to submerge and soak clothes.</li>
<li>For non-jeans and non-socks, pick up wet item of clothes, and rub bar of soap onto cloth in multiple places. Grab a handful of material in each hand and scrub together, repeat in multiple locations. </li>
<li>For jeans and socks: spread wet sock or jeans flat across tabla, and apply soap by running across each flat side of material. Then, use scrub brush to scrub material, moving down the length of the tabla. </li>
<li>Take soapy items one by one and dunk in a bucket of clean water, once or twice, wringing out soapy water. When relatively less soapy (preferably, when water runs clear, but hey, we´re in a drought here! Rinsing until clear takes A LOT of water), wring out water as much as possible, turn clothes inside out, and hang up on your local barb wire fence (or, if you don´t live in rural paraguay, on a clothesline).</li>
</ol>
Tips:<br />
<ul>
<li>you turn the clothes inside out to prevent the sun from bleaching away all the color (well, to slow the process)</li>
<li>small trees are great places to dry underwear--lots of branches to grab onto, some foliage to camoflauge your collection</li>
<li>socks are the spawn of the devil, not only are they white, but each one has to be scrubbed individually.</li>
<li>use the excess water for a greywater system--aka water trees and hardy field crops. Leaf cutter ants do not like when you pour gallons of soapy water down their tunnels. muwhahahaha.</li>
<li>If you see a large collection of grey clouds in the sky, wait a day to do your laundry...this is where the trouble starts. </li>
<li>Always give clothes a good shake before donning. </li>
</ul>
The result: in the states, it takes me about three hours to wash 1-2 wks worth of laundry. It takes me about the same amount of time here, except that i get a full arm workout.E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-18873908021441510002012-07-18T11:01:00.001-07:002012-07-18T11:01:39.007-07:00Winter Report from the (other) Land of Milk and Honey<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Yesterday
I just celebrated 7 months in site and in two weeks it will be 10 months in
Paraguay. It is winter here, and while 40 degrees all the time is not very cold
for Boston, MA standards, for those of you have ever spent a forty degree
winter without heat, in a cement building, you know what I’m talking about.
Luckily, I have discovered that my mosquito net actually doubles as a
wind-break/insulator, so at least at night, when it does occasionally frost, I
do not freeze as well. Now, just because the only warm spot in the entire
country is my bed, that doesn’t mean that I have been sitting in for the past
month. Well, at least not before sundown. Here’s what’s been up this winter:</span></div>
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LONG STORY SHORT:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Community
Integration:</b> people make fun of me now, which means I’m one of the family.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Women’s Commissions: </b>creating
sustainable relationships between the commission and the PYan department of
agricultural extension, working with my ladies on pig projects, needs
assessment, and commission’s internal rules. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Jaeger Farms:</b> the
garden is flourishing, my field, newly renovated, has some seeds in the ground,
the cat is alive, and the worms are multiplying. All but the cat are being used
as demonstrations of more sustainable agricultural practices and have inspired
experimentation in community members’ gardens. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>One-on-One
Agriculture Work:</b> playing in the garden with my comission ladies—making homemade
insect repellents, trying out double-digging, and even one worm bin!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>CNA:</b> that time
that I had to write a 10 page community report in Spanish after only speaking
Guarani for 10 months. <o:p></o:p></div>
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LONG STORY LONG:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Community
Integration: </b> I decided to celebrate
my 7 months in site by making gnocchi with my next door neighbor Mirna. Mirna
and her husband Herminio work and house-sit on the dairy farm next door to me,
and Mirna has come to be one of my closest friends in site. While gnocchi is a
popular dish (Argentinian influence) in some parts of Paraguay, and I actually
learned how to make gnocchi from a Paraguayan, it hasn’t quite made it out my
community. Mirna and I had a good time prepping the dough, trying to roll the
little dumplings just the right way, and of course, trying to communicate
cooking instructions in Guarani. I really need to learn the word for bowl.
While I was expecting that it would just be me, Mirna, and Herminio for dinner,
it turned out that another family dropped in to say hi and drink some mate. After some rounds of mate, Mirna loaded
up the plates (Rosana and Marcial, the other couple, were actually trying to sneak out at this
point). The verdict: Herminio and Marcial were not fans. Rosana may have been
faking that she liked it. In fact, Marcial only needed one bite to start giving
me shit, “Come on Herminio, next we’ll meet at my house and make some REAL
Paraguayan food.” At first, I was disgruntled. How many times have I eaten cow
legs, cow stomachs, pig innards, pig fat fried in cow fat, soups that have been
seasoned with a cup full of oil and cup full of salt, and taken it with a
smile? Pretty much every day until I moved into my own house. But then, after a
little bit of reflection, I realized that this was the first time that anyone
had ever hard-core made fun of me, Paraguayan style. I’m becoming one of the
family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NOTE: I actually like cow stomach! And the pig fat fried in cow fat was pretty good too with some
hot sauce. The resourcefulness here doesn’t stop at repurposing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Women’s Commissions:</b>
While I wrote another more in depth blog about the three women’s commissions in
my site, I figured I would mention it here since I have been spending a lot of
time working with them recently. It is always so exciting for me to see the
women in my site advocating for their specific needs and the empowerment that
comes through their work in the commission. I just love spending time with
these feisty women. I have recently had some success supporting a relationship
between one women’s commission and the PYan department of agriculture extension
(DEAG). While I can only be in site for 2 years, the DEAG is a local resource
that will always be at these women’s fingertips. Currently the commission, the
DEAG, and I are collaborating on a pig project for increased food security and
financial income. I am also working with a second commission as they make their
“ground rules” (constitution, internal rules etc.) and figure out their goals
(needs assessment and project development).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Jaeger Farms:</b> Aka
my demo plot, my garden, my worms, and my cat. My garden is both a “show
garden” where I demonstrate mulching, compost, companion planting etc. and a
“therapy garden.” It’s an angry day when I’m thinning. The work from the days
when I am not up to my PC-volunteer-best pays off on the better days,
especially when the women from my community come to visit. It’s easier to get
the gardeners in my community (aka the women) to try out mulching their beds
(etc) when they see a physical example of how to mulch and the results in terms
of increased vegetable yield. Also, I get to eat fresh kale on a daily basis. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
July, apparently, is when everyone starts disking their
fields. Even though August is really the major planting season, some early
varieties of corn and debatably beans and sweet potatoes are ready to go in the
ground now. Watching everyone prep their fields I decided the time had come for
some major renovations. With a little help from Herminio, my little field, 3x7
meters, is now about 15x15 meters. We prepared the earth by hand with hoes
because the tractor could not get in to my backyard without destroying the trees.
With any luck, my corn and beans will grow (!) and I will get a chance to model
some methods for soil recuperation/erosion prevention. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I headed out to site, I swore that the only pets I
would have in Paraguay would be worms. Worms??? California red worms are
special earthworms that turn your food scraps into worm castings/miracle grow.
You also have the joy of telling people “I have worms!!” and watching them look
towards your stomach in horror. While the worms aren’t originally from PY, they
can’t survive outside the worm-bin (and become invasive worm monsters) and they
are much easier to maintain than compost (which has to be turned). Turns out,
the cat is a great companion specie for worm-farming, because she protects the
worms from mice and other furry problems. As a pet, I love the cat very much,
appreciate that she has never used my carrot bed as a litter box, and enjoy
laughing at her residual fear of motorcycles (she came to me in a bag that had
fallen off the back of one these vehicles). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>One-on-One
Agricultural Work: </b>One of my favorite ways to build relationships with the
people in my community, spread the good word of sustainable agricultural
practices, practice my guarani, and mooch off of Paraguayan’s honey combs
(world’s best snack ever) is through one-on-one hands-on agricultural
education. I show to up to a family’s house to share the cup (of yerba mate)
and through conversation I find out about some pest problems in the garden, an
interest in worm bins or compost—that they’ve heard about, but don’t quite know
how to make—etc. Then we set a date, I come back, and we make homemade
repellants or whatnot together. In these mini-projects, we are using local
resources (be it leaves from a certain type of tree for the repellant, a
cracked bucket for the worm bin), I am passing on the knowledge in a more fun
way than a lecture, and the process of working together and follow-up helps me
and the family get to know each other better. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I originally came to the community, it became pretty
clear that the reason the original 16 families invited me to site was to work
with them on a modern bathroom project. While I quickly began to feel that
these women were my family, my home base in the community, I was frustrated
that at first there wasn’t enthusiasm for what I could offer about agriculture.
The rest of the members of the community were a little confused as to why a
random American was suddenly living in their village in the first place. These
mini-projects have helped me learn a little more about what the community needs
agriculturally (what do people already know, what subjects are they asking
about, what people are interested in learning new/different techniques). I am
hoping to use the information I’ve gathered to direct a small series of more formal
classes (that will allow more people to access what I have to offer) and the
relationships I’ve built, to among other things, fill the seats.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of my favorite “mini-projects” so far has been the worm
bin that I built with Na Rafaela. She is an amazing gardener, a bit of a
gardener perfectionist: she rarely allows anyone but herself to step on its
hallowed ground. She had visited my garden, liked what she saw, and asked me
“so how <i>are</i> those worms doing?” which
is about as direct as it will get here for “I want the worms!” We built the
worm bin out a cracked bucket. When I started explaining how the worms like
food scraps, she got so excited, that she announced in her boisterous way,
“That’s it! My kids don’t even like vegetables. From now on, I am making salad
and one half goes to me and the other half goes to the worms!! One tomato for
me, one tomato for the worms.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>CNA:</b> or the
Community Needs Assessment, is a report that I have to write about the
agricultural (etc) situation in my community and opportunities for change.
During my first few months in site, my main focus was getting to know the
community, and this document is a summary of that work. The idea is that I will
write this report, present my “findings” to community members, and leave the
document for them to use (it will probably live at the school). The document
will include ideas for potential projects that I culled from door-to-door
interviews, contact info for resources for funding, etc. I am really glad that I learned how to make a
needs assessment report, since it seems like a pretty basic requirement for
learning about and working with any new group at any job. It was, however, a
bit of an adventure to fit the concept census, reports, and needs assessment to
the Paraguayan reality. And all of that with my baby Guarani skills. I couldn’t
just hand a form to check like the U.S. census, and, for example, it <i>only </i>took six months to properly
communicate to the DEAG that I wanted them to show me their agricultural census
results for my community and to actually receive them. <o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-10342084577288960932012-07-18T10:52:00.000-07:002012-07-18T10:52:22.807-07:00Language Gaffs<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="background-color: white;">Between trying to learn (and constantly use) two
new languages, there are bound to be lots of gaffs. Doesn’t help that a lot of
completely unrelated guarani words sound exactly the same (in Hebrew, these
words would actually be related!!) and disaster can occur when you switch the
–a ending to an –o ending in Spanish. Here are some mistakes that I always fall
into (much to the amusement of the PYans) and a couple that I’ve so far managed
to avoid. This doesn’t include all the times I pronounce the right words funny
or try and talk to people in guarani and its clear from their expression that
they just have </span><i style="background-color: white;">no idea</i><span style="background-color: white;"> what I’m
trying to say.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast">
<b>Emily’s
Mistakes: <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->azad<u>a</u>=hoe, azad<u>o</u>= barbeque<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->In response to asking how I would prepare my
demo-plot, since I couldn’t get a tractor in: “with a barbeque!” (everyone
seemed very willing to help after that). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->pal<u>a</u>= shovel, pal<u>o</u>= stick.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->“I’m staking my tomatoes with some shovels I
found in the road!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->(nde) puerka=(you’re) a pig, common response to
a kid wetting their pants, eating their boogers etc, puerk<u>eza</u>= a curse<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Me in an argument with a two year old over who
is grosser, within hearing distance of her mother, “Nde puerkeza!!!” = you are
a curse (on humankind).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->ambo’<u>a</u>= I lay an egg, ambo’<u>e</u>=I
teach <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->being an agricultural volunteer sometimes means
I teach people how to increase their chickens’ egg production, and sometimes I
just do the job myself<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->aj<u>a</u>hu=I shower, aj<u>u</u>hu= I find, I
run into/meet someone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->“I showered Vicenta at Rafaela’s house the other
day!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->pir<u>a</u>= fish, pir<u>e</u>= peel, skin<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->“I really love to eat grilled skin!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Casarol (pronounced “casserole” )= large soup
pot vs. azadera=the type of pan you would make a casserole in. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I usually figure out this gaff when the wrong
thing is handed to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Amb</u>ochyryry= to fry/sauté something,
achyryry= I am fry[ing]<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The recipe for pizza, “I fry myself…vegetables.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Chortsito= shorts, chorizo = sausage<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->“What, your boyfriend doesn’t like when you wear
sausages???”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Common Mistakes (some
of these are a bit R rated)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Temb<u>i’u</u> = food, temb<u>u’i</u> = small
penis<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Figure it out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Che r<u>oy</u>= I’m cold (this is that tricky
guttural “y” that most American guarani speakers fudge with a “u” sound), che r<u>e’u</u>=I
want to eat you (the same here double entendre here as in the states). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->I usually avoid this one by sticking to <i>hoysa</i>= it’s cold out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Haku! = it’s hot out, haku (with antecedent) =
horny<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->In the 100 degree summer, trying to complain
about the heat, “Che haku!!!!!!” = I’m horny!!!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><u>I</u>pora= it’s good, fine, <u>che</u> pora =
I’m pretty<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Tatu’ahe= tattoo, tatu=lit. armadillo, slang for
vagina<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Tattoo’s used to be seriously looked down upon
in Paraguayan culture (aka having a tattoo= announcing you were a drug dealer).
Things have loosened up a bit recently, but volunteers are still encouraged to
keep tattoos covered for a while in their communities, until the volunteer is
more integrated. This is a difficult rule for many volunteers and came up
during our training period a lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
My unfortunate language classmate, teasing my female language teacher:
“do you have a [thought he was saying] <i>tattoo</i>?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Language teacher, attempting to turn this into an educational moment:
“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Classmate thinking he had discovered her dark side: “Where???” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
(she can’t help but laugh, but doesn’t answer)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
“where, where, where, where?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Still laughing, points. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto;">
Classmate
swears he will never speak Guarani again. <o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-1991392816331733512012-06-19T14:56:00.002-07:002012-06-19T14:56:52.349-07:00When I first found out that I was going to Paraguay, I was ambivalent. I knew nothing about the country--I had to pull up google maps to find out exactly where it was. Any other time in life that I have travled, I have chosen my destination. I have some idea ahead of time why i want to visit the country and what I want to see. I start out with, however small, a connection to the place I am hoping to visit. However, Peace Corps is a completely different experience. Your skills are matched to a country that requested a volunteer, and then later on, your personality and skills are matched with a community of people. As I arrived in Paraguay, looking out into the stretches of fields and red earth roads, I was wondering, how will this place ever become home.<br />
<br />
Throughout training (my first three months in my community) I continued to feel this sense of ambivalence. Yet, when I finally got to visit my community (where I am doing my volunteer work and living for 2 years) I finally found my connection--the reason why Paraguay is another home for me, a place that I love and feel close to: Paraguayans can and regularly do make something out of nothing. Recycling, repurposing, creating treasures (or at least useful household items) is a part of the daily experience. A pot with a hole in it becomes a strainer for cheese or noodles (with more holes punched in). The shell of a broken oven, transformed into the legs for an outdoor table and food prep area. I always love looking at chicken houses, garden fences, etc and discovering all the mba.e kue, ex-things, things that have been repurposed to create something new.<br />
<br />
To give you an idea of the recylcing genius down here, I would like to share with you all the example of the 2 liter coke bottle. In the states, if you drink coke, you might bring the old bottle to the supermarket to recycle it and collect the deposit. Or you might drop it off in a nice blue bin. In Paraguay, here are just some of the examples I have seen of ways to repurpose a coke bottle:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>(This doesn´t really count): Coca Cola</li>
<li>Store coco seeds (mini coconuts on the palm trees here)</li>
<li>Store used medical syringes</li>
<li>Store and sell gasoline, nafta, and other fuels</li>
<li>Store cooking oil</li>
<li>How to give dried beans to friends</li>
<li>Store fresh squeezed orange juice made by a family in the country to serve at a restaurant in town</li>
<li>Store lard</li>
<li>Store whey</li>
<li>Store and sell honey (one liter of honey costs 5 dollars. I may eat excessive amounts of honey)</li>
<li>Store any sort of seeds (with ash)</li>
<li>Sell milk (from dairy farms in the country to the unlucky cowless city dwellers. Milk in a carton just isn´t the same)</li>
<li>Distribute homemade pest repellents</li>
<li>With holes punched: water can</li>
<li>With top cut off: ice mold</li>
<li>Cut creatively: chicken feeder</li>
</ol>
Just some ideas...<br />
<br />
much love.E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-27779914829613704882012-05-18T07:00:00.001-07:002012-05-18T07:00:45.633-07:00Kuña Aty (Women´s Comission) Hello! I have now been living in Paraguay about 7.5 months and have spent an amazing five months in my site in south. Many of the differences in Paraguayan society and culture are becoming my norm. It´s not surprising anymore when an ox cart passes in front of my house (I am still trying to get a ride on one), I´ve learned which way to pass the cup of mate (always to the right), and I am slowly beginning to learn what seasons everything is planted and why. I am still working with the people in my site to help them figure out exactly how PC works and to find my role in the community.<br />
One of the things that stands out right now in my service is how often (and the amount of success) I´ve had working with women and women´s groups in my site. Comissions, especially women´s comissions, are very popular in my site. Although there are only 60 families in my community, more than 30 women (aka the mothers) participate in women´s comissions. These comissions, which can range from a PTA to a farmer´s comittee, are part of the way in which the government is able to aliment and aid families living out in the countryside. Oficially registered with the government, the comissions have the opportunity to decide what projects they would like to do to improve the community and the lives of their members (examples--raise chickens, pigs, build sanitary/modern bathrooms, get a fence around the school yard). The comissions then apply for grants from the government for the supplies for these projects. <br />
The traditional gender structure in my community--men working to make an income, generally outside the home, while the women work at home raising children, farm animals, and gardening--often leaves few opportunities for the men to gather in the community. On the otherhand, the women who are able to meet more often, use the comissions to voice their own needs and concerns. While the women may not have as a strong a role in their family´s personal finances, in the comissions they plan fund raisers, work with government officials, and often bring great structural (modern bathrooms) and economic changes (farm animal projects) to their homes. <br />
Ña Josefina (my community contact)´s comission, was the comission that requested a PC volunteer to come to the community in the first place. Ña J, who always laughs whenever I call her ¨Mrs. President¨ (Ña Presidenta), is in her mid-thirties, has three kids of her own, and is always welcoming another cousin or two to stay in her home. Sometimes when she describes the odessys of bringing in requests or forms to the government, she describes the journey in such detail and with such fervor, that I can´t tell whether or not she was successful at first (but she always is). Ña J´s comission´s main project is to provide sanitary (and modern) bathrooms to all the members of the group. This project is very special in terms of women´s development. While men in the community do not prioritize modern bathrooms over their current latrines, the women want enclosed, safe spaces. Unless the women organize and work to complete this project, their voices and need will often remain unaddressed or not prioritized. Also Ña J´s comission knows how to throw a party/fundraiser. They´ve been raking it in recently with some very successful bingo/dance parties. <br />
Ña Tomasa´s comission is the oldest women´s comission in my community. They are also part way through a modern bathroom project, have worked in combination with a yerba mate company and an Italian organization to grow medicinal herbs (they recieve the plants from the italian organization and sell the dried leaves to be mixed into the Yerba Mate teas), and have done projects with chickens and to improve their gardens. Observing the success and experience of Ña Tomasa´s comission, I have attempted to share some of their successful ideas and collaborations with Ña J´s comission. While Ña Tomasa´s comission is located rather far away from Ña J´s (so it would be difficult for Ña J´s women to participate), as the PC volunteer (with a bike that generally works!) I am able to help disseminate the info. <br />
And finally, one day I was taking a bit of a rest in the hammock (yes, I have a hammock on my porch), I heard the sound of many voices coming from my neighbor´s patio. Hmmmm...I marched over and landed on a third women´s comission (they were just beginning to fill out their paperwork at this meeting). They are very new, and I am very appreciative of their location!! Right now it seems like they all want to change but aren´t quite sure exactly the direction. They are also still learning the ropes. I am excited to work with them through this process of firming things up and starting off on their first project. <br />
P.S. Although it´s not technically a women´s comission, my next door neighbor (an extremely hard'working, sassy, independent teenage mother) noticed that while there are a lot of gathering and extracurricular opportunities for boys in the community (daily soccer tournaments, volleyball), there are not many extracurricular options for teenage women. She would really like to start a high'school aged girls group. This is still in the works. It was pretty exciting, however, to realize that at this point 5 months into site, <br />
1. We could actually have a conversation in guarani and have developed a relationship where we have deeper conversations than´´what´s up¨<br />
2. She voiced her dreams/ideas for improving her life and the community to me in a direct way (needs assesment is not an obvious concept in rural Paraguay, who knows about anywhere else in the world).<br />
3. She realized that a girls group would be something that I could help with as a PC volunteer. <br />
<br />
Last but not least--i am the very excited owner of a new cat! I was walking to my 2nd host family to celebrate PYan mothers day and i see this really nice grain sack in the middle of the road. I really wanted that grain sack!! When i picked it up, it was kind of heavy, looking inside i found Jasy, my new cat. Jasy (almost pronounced yazoo) means moon in guarani. <br />
<br />
Thats all for now!<br />
EmilyE Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-40899414471689622602012-04-27T12:42:00.000-07:002012-04-27T12:42:28.561-07:00Here Comes the Sun(Flower)<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
To those of you who I got to see during my (brief) stint in Boston—it was so great to see you and talk to you! It was so special to come home to so much warmth. To those who I missed this time around—I will probably be back in about a year for either Passover or my brother’s graduation. If you live on the west coast, you have about a year to move to Boston. Anyways, it’s been great to be back in site and I am beginning to reconnect with my neighbors and the rest of the community. The first thing that I noticed on the ride back to site was the fresh green color of all the plants outside the bus window. It’s been raining!! Yay. I won’t say that the drought is over (don’t want to jinx it) but, there has been a good deal of rain these past few days and everyone is thankful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
As some of you may know, as an agricultural volunteer, I am required to have both a garden and a demo-plot. While I have at different points worked on vegetable farms, I have never had my own garden or field, and I always feel a little anxious when I put my seeds in the ground. Will anything come up? Will something come up and be eaten alive by bugs? (yes in the case of my bean plants…). Following some perma-culture/peace corps guidelines, way back in February, I placed my garden behind my house, near enough to a water source and in a place where I would have some natural fence posts (aka trees).Then I double-dug all of my beds the day after the one day it rained all summer. I dug my demo-plot (three rows of a field) under my bedroom window. That way, I wouldn’t be able to ignore any bugs or weeds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bit of rain in my absence was good news for my garden, which thankfully didn’t die while I was gone. I had thrown some seeds in the ground (most of them were old, it didn’t really matter since I assumed they were going to die in my absence) and they all came up! Well only 1 lettuce plantling came up out of a meter of old seed, but hey, the seed was old anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve got some little carrots, chard, kale, garlic greens, and radishes . Yummm. Also, I was greeted by some gigantic sunflowers (their stems were thicker than my thumb!). This morning, after yet another full day of rain, I checked out the sunflowers and found that at least half of them are about to bloom! I am so excited to see their bright yellow faces following the sun right outside my bedroom window. </div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
My Paraguayan neighbors keep asking me why I am planting sunflowers. The true answer is <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>because sunflowers make me happy. But I am also planting them because sunflowers can be used as green manure—think growing compost. When they are nice, big, and leafy, I cut them down and let them decompose in my field, thus adding nutrients back into the soil and increasing the yield of future crops in that field. Hopefully my bright yellow beauties will encourage the folks passing on the road in front of my house to stop by and ask about my demo-plot. Hopefully the sunflowers will also screen my sad looking beans…damn moth larvae. I am hoping to make some organic insect repellants to save my beans and hopefully they will make a comeback!</div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-11773738101072151682012-04-04T09:35:00.000-07:002012-04-04T09:35:05.126-07:00Rally<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;">Heloooo!! It's been a while. Mostly because I lost my flash drive while cleaning my room about a week back...But all is well and here is a little glimpse of mid-March in my "hometown"</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I first visited my site in late November, my very enthusiastic host brother Junior (14) turned to me and asked “Do you like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rally</i>?” I didn’t have any idea what a rally was, and through broken Spanish, hand motions, and sounds, I figured out that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rally</i> meant a car race. I was still pretty confused. Why was he asking me, of all things, if I liked car races (as opposed to soccer, a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">slightly</i> more popular sport in Paraguay)? I think I managed a guarani version of “sort of, I guess?” as my response. I didn’t really know where this whole car race thing was going. The question stuck with me, and I assumed it was along the lines of many other questions I have since been asked in site about what it means to be American (for example, under the assumption from television that most Americans are blond with blue eyes, many people have asked me if I dye my hair black or if my mother is blond).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Fast-forward to the first week of March when my PC neighbor (the volunteer who lives in the next town over) asks me if I am excited to watch the rally. The what? About 3.5 months from the original, extremely-random-sounding, question, I finally got the full story. Every year, on approximately the second week of March, there is a rally/ car-race that passes through my site and many of the surrounding towns in the area. And they are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real </i>race-cars (she showed me pictures, and I have now seen the race in real time). Of course, back home, race cars going about 100 miles an hour are generally confined to rinks where they can’t spin out into innocent people’s backyards, tear down power-lines, or rip up fences. Details, details. (The local government, in fact, has to sign an agreement that they can’t hold the rally accountable for any damage to property or persons).</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The week leading up to the rally, every commercial break includes a commercial for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rally Misiones</i>, depicting the racers driving across the back roads (I kept trying to see if one of the scenes was my site) with a Lord-of-the-Rings-esque soundtrack. I was in love. So was my (ex) host-brother who pretty much gave up eating to see every single moment of the races that were within biking distance in other towns. His mother was not impressed. She did not appreciate that the race, which passes on the road directly in front of her house, was about to dump 100 tons of red dust on all her belongings. It has rained all of three hours in my site since I arrived three months ago, so things are getting pretty dusty. My nice red dirt roads have turned into a gigantic sandbox, which is always a little special on the bicycle, as it doesn’t function on sandy terrains. Now add about 4-hours-worth of race cars skidding around curves and zooming down the straight stretches. Race day was going to be followed by a lot of sweeping. </div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Inspired by my (ex) host brother’s enthusiasm, I decided to spend the day of the race with him and his family. Although the Lord-of-the-Rings commercials promised a very exciting day, I suspected that watching my host brother get a kick out of the race was going to be the highlight of the day. Around 10:30 am, as I was sitting drinking terrere with my ex-host mom, contact, ex-host brother, and assorted family and extended family members, a jeep with a big sign for security on it passed by, playing a siren. My contact jumped up and shouted “It’s starting” and we all ran across the street, and across a bit of a field to get the nearest exciting curve. There we found a couple of out-of-towner strangers who had parked in my contact’s backyard, all the neighbors, and one teenager who was working security (rapidly repeating into a walkie-talkie “ok, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">vale, vale</i>, ok!” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very official</i>). The cars passed one at a time (they were clearly racing for time, not passing each other) and showered impenetrable clouds of red dust on the audience as they zoomed by, making very enthusiastic zooming noises. </div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The most exciting moment of the rally was when suddenly a race-car broke through the tape marking off the boundaries of the curb, came straight for me (my contact, and assorted family members), and then quickly turned off and pulled straight up into my contact’s lawn. Apparently it had broken down. With my contact’s teenage son and other assorted boys from the neighborhood following everything closely on their camera phones, the drivers climbed out, communicated with the security guy (more “ok, vale, vale!”), and took off on foot. This made the day of the teenage boys who got up nice and close and took a look inside the race car through the windows. As everyone (but my ex-host brother) began to lose interest, we all drifted off to have lunch at my <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a>host mom’s house. It was pretty funny to be sitting around the table, eating a traditional soup, while race cars zoomed by every two minutes, spewing dust all over the yard. By the end of the day everyone’s clothes and skin were tinted red from the dust, and my contact’s son had a good laugh when he caught site of my hair, normally black, turned completely red from the dry earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-80010795443260055402012-02-24T05:15:00.001-08:002012-02-24T05:18:07.258-08:005 Things You’d Never Guess About Living in Rural Paraguay<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> Every time that I am about to go on a long trip to a new place, the advice of one of my wise creative writing professors always comes to mind. She always encouraged me to keep a journal from the point of preparation for the journey and throughout (at least) my first few months in a new place. Why? Not so much to remember what I did every single day, but because whenever a person goes to a new place, their senses are heightened to all the differences: in people, culture, nature, etc. After a few months the novelty wears off, and for example, you assume that having assigned seats in a movie theater, and all the exasperation that it causes, is just a normal part of life. The second year the changes in nature happen and you don’t even notice anymore. After almost six months Paraguay, I am beginning to experience this process of assimilation and normalization. A chicken pecking my leg while I am eating breakfast is no longer a surprise, but rather just one of many expected mishaps. Luckily, I have kept a journal, and would like to share five things that have now become part of the norm, but that I (and perhaps you?) would have never expected about living in rural Paraguay.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"></div><ol><li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Some of my future tomato crop may be stolen by the howler monkeys that live in the trees of my site. However, all bananas are safe despite the stereo-type. According to one of my many host-mothers, the monkeys here don’t eat them.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Certain fruits: grapes, mangos, and watermelon are considered “delicado” (delicate) in Paraguayan food culture. Attempting to make a fruit salad with all these ingredients indicates (to my many host-mothers) that I am in fact suicidal. Legend has it that if a person mixes watermelon and wine (grape product), they will </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">okapu</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> (explode!). I love how the word </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">okapu</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> sounds like the (yiddish?) </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">caput</i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">—it’s over.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Most families in my site own an assortment of farm animals (chickens, geese, ducks, pigs, cows, sheep—usually each family has a couple of each). The catch: these animals are generally free-range. This often makes great “animal tv”—like the particular white chicken who liked to follow my host-family’s dog to pick off of his food. In return, the chicken compliantly acted as the dog’s chew toy. My favorite free range moment: one time I was hanging out with a family and drinking terere in their entry-way. There was a loud rustling noise and barking from a distance which quickly became louder. Suddenly we all threw our legs up in the air as a tiny, yapping dog chased a huge, squealing pig across the entire house and then right between our legs. The minute the animals had cleared the front door (and were outside), the dog went off to some new amusement and the pig lay down for a nap in the mud.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The buses. Getting on a bus in Paraguay is always an adventure—while many of the long distance buses are pretty new and occasionally have AC, short distance buses, especially those that come (nearby) my site, make me question if it is safer to just stay home. Imagine, a mini-bus that is a least 50 years old. It drives on both dirt and asphalt roads and has a wooden floor. Underneath the dashboard, there is a huge gap to the outdoors. It makes many suspicious grinding and clanging noises. The bus driver is generally drinking terere with one hand (though luckily there is a person on the bus who collects the fares, and he is serving the tea). The bus is stuffed to the brim with people and groceries (50 kilo bags of flour, Cosco sized bags of noodles, chicken feed, children holding new pets in flour sacks etc). If your house is on the route, the bus will stop at your door, and the guy who collects the fares will help you off the bus and bring down your belongings. The bus is also painted bright yellow, bright blue, and bright red. There is no signage, and you know it’s your bus because you recognize the driver and know exactly which side road the bus parks on before leaving about a half-an-hour later than its scheduled time.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Despite the four facts above, if I don’t want to cook one day, I can order a decent pizza for pickup from a family that lives about a 10 minute bike ride from my house. </span></li>
</ol><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-70577293009950624842012-02-24T05:10:00.002-08:002012-02-24T05:10:42.831-08:00A Host of Hosts<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: 0px;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> I’ve just moved (again!!). I am now living with my third host family—well more like a host-grandmother—in my site. Next stop, my own house! One of the most challenging but also interesting parts of being a PCV is that I have to live with a host family both during training and during the first three months in site. Though in some countries, like Peru, volunteers must live with a host family for their entire stay in country, after those first three months I have the option of renting my own house. Starting with a host family gives me some amount of “protectsia” in site, helps me integrate (whether I like it or not), and also helps me connect to the resources in my community.</span></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> The first host family that I lived with, I chose because during my first time visiting site (all volunteers visit their sites for 5 days, then return to stay after a couple more weeks of training) Na V was the only person who seemed to understand that if she spoke a little bit more slowly (versus loudly) I would be able to understand what she was saying in guarani. I love her house because she has these two gigantic mango trees. They are perfect for hanging a hammock right down the middle (I may have spent the majority of the month in that hammock) and have the magical mango-tree air-conditioning. It is definitely about 20 degrees cooler under those mango trees at all times and there is always a breeze. Her house is also on the top and edge of a hill, so there is always an amazing view of rolling hills, palm trees, and distant houses. Na V also really loves animals. She always has a million chickens around, cows, pigs, and even a sheep. Everyone would always threaten to slaughter the sheep for her daughter’s quinceneara (15’th birthday), but Na V would hear none of it. She taught me most of what I know about medicinal herbs and also introduced me to about thirty families in my site on foot in the hottest part of the summer. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> The second family I lived with really wanted me to be with them for all two years! Three out of five of the children still live at home and they are just the best kids. They are so full of life and I enjoyed just sitting and watching them at play. Backyard soccer could be pretty intense. My host mom Na R has so much love for all of them (and some left over for me too) and is always super-enthusiastic about trying out different agricultural techniques. She is the oldest of ten children, many of whom still live in my site, and is super boisterous. Her father and mother are pretty much the patriarch and matriarch of half of my site (probably because they have so many kids). My contact is married to one son, two sons renovated my future house, and I am renting my future house from a son-in-law. Also the father is a really impressive farmer and hopefully I will be collaborating with him in the future. Living with Na R, I got to know the whole family better. Also Na R has really delicious grapes. Everyone else’s grapes ran out in January, and we were still harvesting well into February.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> Finally, my current host-grandmother Na S lives on the complete other side of town. Living in her house, I am realizing that even though I have lived in my site for two months (and it’s not that large), I still have so much more to explore. Just being physically present in another part of town has helped me meet so many new and kind people. Many of them just show up to visit Na S and I get to sit in on the conversation. Yesterday, one of the neighbors visited. This morning I returned the visit and went with the neighbor’s daughter to visit yet another new family. As we walked down a hill (where I had never been before), suddenly the path opened up to an area of flat fields, with barely any houses or trees and lots of cows. I thought I knew my site’s scenery by now—hilly with lots of different types of trees—this was the complete opposite. And I got to meet a family who grows rice! I don’t know anything about growing rice and I think they may be the only ones left in my site who grow it.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> Much love from the other side of town (or as my 2<sup>nd</sup> host mom would describe <i>amooooite</i> = waaaaay over there).--Emily<o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-28799014999199801292012-02-06T09:07:00.000-08:002012-02-06T09:07:04.414-08:00A typical (?) day in Paraguay<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">So what does a typical day in site look like? Well everyday definitely brings its own adventure but as time goes on, things are beginning to fall into a general structure (which of course will change beginning on the ives of March when I move out from my final host family). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> I wake up between 6:00 and 6:30am every day. By this point, my host-dad has already gone off to work (he is a farmer and is currently working on a cotton crop at a nearby agricultural school). As I stumble out into the light, I usually run into my host-mom sitting in the <i>ogaguy</i> (essentially a roofed porch between the room for the kitchen and the bedrooms/overhang?). She greets me with the traditional morning salutation <i>mba’eichapa neko’e</i> (how did you dawn?). After this little guarani quiz, we sit together and drink mate. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">Though most of my host families don’t eat breakfast until a couple hours later, my defiantly American stomach starts grumbling for breakfast around seven. The most common Paraguayan breakfast that I’ve seen in my site is the infamous <i>tortilla</i>—essentially a savory fried dough made with home-made Paraguayan cheese and home-grown scallions. Unfortunately I have discovered that the aforementioned defiantly American stomach and the <i>tortilla</i> do not get along. So, following in the footsteps of many other PCVs in Paraguay, I have introduced my host-mother to oatmeal. She was both somewhat frightened and amused as she watched me the first time I attempted to make (non-instant) oatmeal in a soup-pot on a wood fire. Unfortunately the oatmeal box only offers microwave instructions. Hmmm. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">As I make sure that my oatmeal does not boil-over while hoping that a little more of the water will boil off, the children begin to wake up and my host mom goes to milk the cow. By the time the cow is re-tethered, I’ve eaten breakfast, and the kids have started their first round of soccer for the day, it’s usually around 8:15. 8:15-11:00am has become my “work time.” While the sun hasn’t yet reached its full strength, I take the opportunity to visit neighbors (sometimes visiting neighbors can involve an hour walk to get to them, other days I just go next door), dig my mini-field/demo-plot, monitor and turn the two composts that I helped build, or whatever else needs to be done. During my visits with neighbors, in addition to terere-ing, I am attempting to learn the agricultural practices in my community and community needs. I have been learning what crops are most common, what pests are most common (currently the bean crops are being attacked by a bug called purgon), what people feed their animals, etc. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">Generally, I get another round of terere-time with my host family around 11am. While at first, I sometimes found the amount of terere overwhelming, now that the sun has reached its full power , I’ve found myself asking for an extra pitcher after my host family has had enough. January and February are the hottest months here and it can be over 100 degrees farenheit for days at a time with no AC. Lunch is usually at noon and the most common dish is hot stew (either beef, chicken, or beans) with either rice or noodles mixed in. And then siesta (yay!!). Coming from a siesta-less culture, it’s always a little funny/surprising to see my entire host family all asleep at the same time in the middle of the day. Siesta is only about 2 hours (everyone is awake by 2:30) but it is generally too hot to really get moving until 3:30 or 4:00.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">During this siesta/hiding out from the heat time, sometimes I get some sleep in, but when it’s too hot, I read about gardening and work on my <i>ao poi</i>—Paraguayan needlepoint. Right now I am copying patterns from another woman in the community (she has hundreds and copying them will probably serve as my down-time entertainment for the rest of my time in Paraguay). On Fridays at 5:00pm, I attend the meeting for the women’s commission who requested me. Right now I am still observing and learning, and they are working on fund-raising and organizing a project to get modern bathrooms sponsored by the local government. On other afternoons, I generally go on a visit to next door neighbors or help out with some of the agricultural chores around the house (which currently includes harvesting, husking, and pulling kernels off of corn). It’s always much easier to ask people questions about their agricultural practices while I’ve got an ear of corn in my hands (and am sharing the work). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">8pm is dinner—usually something light (I make salad or have a little bit of leftovers). Similar to my experiences in Israel, lunch is the heaviest meal, with a light breakfast and dinner. And shortly after dinner comes the bucket bath. Attempting to get water from a bucket onto me and soap/shampoo from me back into the bucket without flooding my bedroom (where I take said bucket bath) is always a bit of a challenge. By 9pm, after a quick glance at the stars (the constellations are different here and I can see the milkway!!) I am off to bed. <o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-30008469307007906992012-01-12T06:30:00.000-08:002012-01-12T06:30:58.027-08:00Paraguayan Xmas and New Years<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: .5in;">A couple of folks have emailed to ask me about how I spent Xmas, Hannukah and New Years in Paraguay. So here goes. Hannukah was pretty quiet since PY is a rather Catholic country and I have to take it slow on bringing up/sharing the Jewish stuff with my community. Luckily (when related to Hannukah) fried food is extremely popular in PY and though I didn’t have any latkas this year, I got a good share of empanadas (hot pockets), tortillas (fried dough pancakes),and Paragauyan schnitzel. I am confident that sometime in the near future latkas will be a big hit here. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">Christmas in Paraguay is quite different than Christmas in the states and one of the main reasons is because we’re in the opposite hemisphere. All the imagery of pine trees, hot cider, cinnoman/savory smells, sitting around the fireplace, and of course, dreaming of a white Christmas, doesn’t make much sense here in the 100+ degree weather. Christmas falls near the longest day of the year and markets the beginning of the harvest season for watermelon, melon, grapes, pineapple, squash and corn. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">Most of the Christmas celebration takes place on the evening of the twenty-fourth, where families get together to wait for the <i>doce</i>, midnight. I watched my family gather together a gigantic bag of watermelon and squash for the <i>pesebre</i>, nativity scene, that they were going to build at their grandmother/grea tgrandmother’s house. I saw another one at a different family’s house: first they placed dried corn stalks against the wall, then a little platform with some grass and decoration and a little cradle with a baby Jesus doll and Mary and Joseph figurines. Around the base of the platform was the semi-circle of squash and melons. I tried to figure out what the fruits represented but wasn’t able to quite understand/get a straight answer. Will try again next year. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">I expected families to start the cooking/food prep early in the morning (like Passover?) but most families started around four or five in the afternoon (“We have plenty of time!”) and spent the morning slowly, hanging out with the trickle of relatives arriving from other cities and towns. When the food prep did begin, my favorite part was making the <i>cleric</i>o, Paraguayan Sangria/Fruit punch. We used chopped up apples, oranges, melon, banana, pineapple, grapes, red wine from a box, and pineapple soda. Yummm. Stick in the fridge and marinate until around 8pm when the wait for midnight begins! A bunch of Paraguayans asked me if people drink Sangria in the states for Christmas as well and they all thought it was pretty funny when I told them no because there is no fruit in season and it’s too cold!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">Around 8pm I headed over to my neighbor’s house to wait for midnight. They had the radio going with Christmas music and call-ins and everyone was sitting in a circle enjoying the clerico. At nine we had a big dinner (schnitzel, rice, chipa guasu—corn quiche, and empanada) and then we just waited until 12am. As the clock hit midnight, everyone jumped up and began hugging and wishing one another a merry Christmas and then we each had a glass of champagne. The next day, we had a big lunch and then just rested. Another surprise: no presents! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">New Years was very similar. One of my favorite moments from New Years was listening to a particular call-in on the radio. Paraguayan-diasporaniks were calling into my local radio station from all over the world (well mostly Spain where there is a large community). Every time that someone called in the broadcaster would ask “so where are you calling from,” and as the night got later, “so what part of Spain are you calling from?” Suddenly, I hear this woman correct the guy, “No, I’m from the states.” “What state?” And I just knew. New Jersey! <o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-75625451069297996642012-01-12T06:23:00.000-08:002012-01-12T06:23:31.416-08:00Ogres Are Like Onions<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">Hello again! I have been living in my site, a small rural village about four hours south of Asuncion for a little over three weeks now and I am having a wonderful time. One question that has come up from both family, friends, and the Paraguayan families that I meet every day is “what exactly is your job?!” (other than sitting in the hammock under the mango tree?). The overall goal: my job is to build capacity, to work with the people in my (new) community to give them opportunities, skills, experience to improve their own lives. Sounds a bit vague/let’s all sit in a circle and sing kumbaya? Perhaps. For a few more details: I help the community analyze what it needs through a “Community Needs Assessment.” After presenting this information back to the community, I work with interested/motivated community members on some of the needs/goals that came up in the earlier interviews (as I am in the agriculture sector, most of these projects are related to agricultural production). The idea is that as I am facilitating these projects I am also handing over the leadership/organizational skills and contacts with any outside organizations to my host-country partners.</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"> Right now, I am just working up to step one: Community Needs Assessment—I am about one month into the six month process (which also means that I have no idea yet what actual projects I will be working on).Currently I am turning into a social butterfly (which is in many ways ironic). I have to visit at least half of the families in my community (about 40 families), perform a census (number of people, ages), ask about forty questions related to agriculture (what plants & animals people currently own, how they feed and upkeep animals, production rates, soil quality for planting, household finances, and interest in new crops/ animals), and ask them what they like/dislike/want to improve in their community. I have to visit any committees (in my site there is a farmers’ committee and two women’s committees), teachers, and any “outside” organizations that interact or could interact with my community (for me that means a representative from the municipal department of agriculture, an agricultural school, and a hotel).<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">I’ve started out by trying to visit 40 families (at least once) to present myself and get to know them a little before even beginning to ask questions. I want people to know who I am first and feel a little more comfortable talking to me before I start asking them about their successes and struggles. Since I don’t have a bike yet, that has meant a lot of walking in very hot weather (and you have to cover up, I never imagined myself walking around in a hundred degrees farenheit in long pants, long sleeves, and a hat!), a lot of terere (ice-teaish stuff), a lot of guarani (they DON’T speak Spanish in my site), and a lot of awkward moments (luckily Brandeis prepared me for awkwardness). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">And so far it’s been going good. I have been picking up so much guarani. When I first started the house visits, things were a bit rough language-wise, since the only comment I could really manage was “so, I see you have chickens.” Generally not much of a conversation starter. Luckily, many of the families/people I have met seem enthusiastic, or at least curious, about my presence in the community, and during many of those first visits they helped me expand from the chicken topic. Three weeks into my site and I can already understand many of the questions thrown at me and respond in a way that people almost understand! Woot. Also I can understand many of the conversations around me, which is super-helpful. I’m catching a lot of little details about the community that way. Also, my lovely host-mom Na Vicenta has insisted on accompanying me to almost all of my visits, and as I am more used to her intonation, and she is more used to my chicken-scratch style of speaking, when there are major misunderstandings, she has been helping me out. She is one of the few people in my site who figured out right away that if she spoke slowly (as opposed to regular speed but with added volume) that I would understand what she was saying.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">I (aka a Peace Corps volunteer) was specifically requested to come to my community by one of the women’s committees in my site and my contact (aka the person who has all my emergency contact info and set up my initial host family) is the president of the committee. Therefore, I have been using the committee and its participants as a sort of “home field.” For example, they aren’t uncomfortable if I write down the answers to the census questions (whereas when I visit other people I can only ask as much as I will be able to remember, and then I write responses later). Also I have been using a couple of different mapping/graphing tools with the members to get to know the growing seasons, the lay of the land (community maps), and the strengths and weaknesses of the commission itself. Unfortunately, unlike my guarani skills, my drawing in straight lines skills have not improved just yet. Eventually, I will also be using some of these tools with other community members and groups to help them prioritize their needs (what do we want to work on first/what is more important to do/what project has the most interested participants and organizers), and lay out the steps towards reaching their goals. Eeek!! <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: .5in;">One of the many great things about my site is that within a forty minute walk of my current host family is another volunteer, Andrea, from the Environmental Education sector (lots of overlap). She lives in the neighboring community, and has helped me out a lot with her year’s-worth of insight into the community. A couple of days ago I went to visit her and after I asked her a million questions about the community, we ended up watching Shrek. I couldn’t stop laughing. I realized that in my community I AM DONKEY! Like Shrek, most of the people in my site did not ask for me to be there, and now I keep following them around, asking lots of annoying questions, eating their food, and accidently setting off dragons (well, perhaps not dragons, but I do seem to have my fair share of somewhat entertaining misadventures). <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast">And now for…the moment(itos)</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpLast"></div><ul><li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; text-indent: -24px;"> </span>Not being able to get off the bus at my site because my backpacking pack couldn’t fit through the doorway.</li>
<li>The three laughing women (my contact, my current host-mom, and my next month’s host mom) who greeted me at the roadside with a clamber of guarani.</li>
<li>Learning all the right noises and hand-motions to dispel the legions of free-range chickens/ dissuade them from their favorite past-time of pecking my knees in the middle of serious conversations.</li>
<li>Walking with my current host-mother through the fields to visit new families. To me we are walking through weeds and grass. To her, the earth here is a pharmacy. She points out and explains each different bark and weed with special properties, and soon the landscape opens up for me as well and we collect the herbs together to put in terere and mate.</li>
<li>Watermelon season! Holding half a watermelon cradled in my lap and eating the whole thing with a spoon like a bowl of ice-cream. Placing the finished half on the ground where a dog laps up the remaining juice and seeds and chickens peck away at the juicy parts of the rind, leaving thousands of little indents on the inside.</li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; text-indent: -24px;"> </span>Spending many a siesta in the woven hammock which hangs between two gigantic, wild mango trees.</li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; text-indent: -24px;"> </span>Watching my contact’s<span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-indent: -24px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-indent: -24px;">daughter climb to the highest branches of the mango tree (at least forty feet up) to throw down the first sun ripened fruit.</span></li>
<li>Learning on Christmas Eve that my new favorite Paraguayan dish is <i style="text-indent: -24px;">mondongo milanesa</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-indent: -24px;"> aka schnitzel of a particular cow stomach (cows have more than one stomach, mondongo is the white bubbly one)</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman'; text-indent: -24px;"> </span>Attending many birthday parties for 90 year olds and watching tipsy family and neighbors (who are essentially family, the way things go in the countryside) dancing together in the backyard to the blast of Paraguayan regaton and polka.</li>
<li>Falling flat on my face (chin that is) in front of my contact while trying to cross a wire fence. Luckily (as one of the other volunteers pointed out) there were no cow patties nearby.</li>
<li>Learning how to do <i style="text-indent: -24px;">ao poi</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-indent: -24px;">, Paraguayan embroidery, from one of my neighbors.</span></li>
<li>Watching my host mom unwind the pig. Essentially the pig is kept on a long leash tied to a post. At some point the pig had just wound himself around and around until he had gotten himself into quite the situation. So my host mom grabbed him by the back two hind legs, and as the pig screamed bloody murder, she walked him around and around the post until he was free again. </li>
</ul><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-87387271907038973032011-12-10T09:37:00.001-08:002011-12-10T09:37:55.049-08:00Sworn-in!<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I’m officially a volunteer!! Yay…and now my two years begin. Training ended with a very nice swearing-in ceremony in the municipality near our training-center. Two people from each host family were invited to attend (so we got to see all of our host-mamas dressed up in their finest).We had to take some oaths (to defend the US constitution, and an oath in Spanish, which unfortunately none of the volunteers quite understood), we ate a gigantic cake (apparently you only get this special cake for swearing-in and close-of-service).We also got another chance to shake hands with the American Ambassador (who gave a speech and made a joke in broken Spanish about how Obama’s swear-in oath was messed up). Then Peace Corps took us for our final ride (in our vans that we used during training) to <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Asuncion</place></city>, where we got our bank cards and were suddenly volunteers. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Swear-ins (which take place a couple of times a year since there are four different sectors of volunteers beginning their service after a training cycle) are also the time for volunteers all over <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Paraguay</place></country-region> to meet up in the Capitol. Friday afternoon, I attended two club meetings—one for the Seed-Bank club, a free resource for volunteers to introduce green manures/cover crops into their communities, and the other—a gender and diversity club, which organizes summer camps for Paraguayan youth so that they can learn about gender, religious and other type of diversity in Paraguay as well as receive leadership training. I also went to Ahendu (“I listen” in Guarani), a concert by volunteers/for volunteers. This year Koika, the Korean Peace Corps, were also invited to attend and perform—so I watched a bunch of Peace Corps volunteers rocking out to the Korean version of “I Feel Pretty” from <place w:st="on">West Side</place> story. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">On the way to my hotel, I saw my new favorite billboard, an advertisement for Jäger Condoms! This is their website (I wouldn’t open this at work): <a href="http://www.jagercondoms.com.ar/"><span style="color: purple;">http://www.jagercondoms.com.ar/</span></a>. Yeah, way better than jagermeister/McJagger/the Jaeger menswear store. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Also, realizing that I will soon be about 4 hours outside of the capitol in the Paraguayan countryside, I decided that this Saturday would be a good time to meet/find the Jewish community of <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Asuncion</place></city>. In order to enter the Synagogue, I had to send them a letter from Peace Corps proving that I was a volunteer and they also scanned my passport at the gate. Despite this intensive security, the congregation that I met inside the Hebraica compound was really sweet. It seems like Friday night services are more egalitarian and Saturday morning services are leaning more towards Orthodox. Since I went to the Saturday morning services, it was very small, less than 20 people, and everyone was very welcoming. I was surprised to find out that this week was my bat-mitzvah portion (va’yeshlach), though unfortunately I wasn’t able to whip out any of my skillz because of the denomination of the services. After the prayers were over, there was a small kiddish, where we all sat around a large table and talked about the Torah portion. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">It was very interested to suddenly change perspectives—most of the congregants (all Paraguayan) had no idea where Misiones (my site’s district/departmento) is located. They kept asking if it was in the <place w:st="on">Chaco</place> (the desert/wasteland in the middle of the country). This was surprising since all the people in my rural training community (who generally don’t have access to maps and internet, and also are rarely able to travel the countryside) all know where it is. Also, since the Torah portion described the story of Jacob’s daughter Dinah attempting to date/marry non-Israelites, the conversation turned to intermarriage. It was pretty interesting to listen to this Paraguayan congregation of 20 (there are only about 1000 Jews in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Paraguay</place></country-region>) discussing intermarriage/ asking about non-matrilineal descent, and generally “what does it mean to be Jewish?” The Rabbi was in a bit of a bind, since it was technically an orthodox service, but he tried to present a spectrum of Jewish-law responses to the questions of matrilineal/patrilineal descent. Hopefully as I get to know the community more, I will have more of a chance to ask them what it is like to be Jewish and Paraguayan. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Not exactly sure when I will next have internet connection since I still have to find the cyber-café nearest to my site…but hopefully I will have up some more posts later this month!!</div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985905161517732037.post-26111843641942504802011-12-05T10:58:00.000-08:002011-12-05T10:58:16.048-08:00Yerba Mate aka the Diuretic Nectar of the Gods<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, I’ve been meaning to write a little something about Yerba Mate since arriving in Paraguay. For those of you who have heard of Yerba Mate before, I’m sorry that this may be a bit a repetitive, but then again, in Paraguay, where you can have three different variations of Yerba Mate before lunchtime, Yerba Mate is intrinsically a bit repetitive. Yerba Mate is a type of tea leaves (made from a Yerba Tree) that is very common in Paraguay as well as other places in South America (so folks from/who have been to Argentina have heard about it). In Paraguay, especially since coffee isn’t really a thing, Yerba Mate is kind of a staple/how you drink water. So far I have had four different preparations of Mate. </span></div><ol><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mate</i>—a hot drink. All you need is a thermos of boiling water, a cup (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa)</i>, about ½ a cup of Yerba Mate leaves in the bottom of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa</i>, a metal straw (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bombilla</i>), and two or more people. To serve, one person pours the hot water into the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa</i> containing the Yerba Mate, then dealing to the right, passes the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa.</i> The receiving <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mate</i> drinker/participant, sips up the boiling serving, and then passes the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa</i> back to the server. Server drinks last. There is a special verb for this type of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mate</i> in guarani: Akay’u= I drink mate. This type of Yerba Mate tea is had first thing in the morning (while still picking sleep out of your eyes) and is more of a cold weather tea.</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cocido</i>—this is Paraguayan tea. Take a metal spatula/fire mini-shovel. Place a couple spoonfuls of Yerba Mate on the shovel and in some cases sugar. Place coal from the fire on top of this mix and burn the Yerba Mate/caramelize the sugar. Dump this mixture (including the coal!) into a pot of boiling water. Pour 1 part water through a strainer into one part milk (preferably the milk should be straight from the cow, that you milked after drinking <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mate</i>) and eat with cookies or some other breakfast bisquity things. This is a breakfast drink!</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Terere</i>—this is Paraguayan ice-tea. Extremely essential in this hot country (last week it was about 110 degrees out and nobody has AC). Pull out that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa</i> (cup) with ½ of Yerba Mate leaves, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bombilla</i> (straw), and thermos of icy water (preferably with some mashed up remedial herbs mixed in). Server deals to the right (in the same manner as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mate</i>, except this time the gringos don’t burn their tongues). Terere also has its own verb in guarani: aterere= I want to drink terere. Around nine am, Paraguayan snack time, is the traditional terere drinking time, but any “coffee break,” hangout time with family, or boring class, also qualify as good times to start passing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">guampa</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Terere is both meant to relax (essential to the Paraguayan slogan of “tranquiiiiiilo”=everything is chill man) and to perk you back up (with the help of some remedial</span><a href="" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> herbs like mint, lemon grass, etc).</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>Mate Dulce</em>--this is a winter drink/its been raining for for days and it could be winter I'm so cold drink. If you take the instructions for <em>Mate</em> (category 1) and replace the thermos of boiling water with a boiling milk+sugar combination, you've got <em>Mate Dulce</em>. The combination of the bitter/earthy flavor of yerba mate and the sweet/creamy flavor of some fresh frothy milk is definitely my favorite, however, drinking boiling sugar through a metal straw (if the hot sugar doesn't burn the top of your mouth off, the blazing hot metal straw will) is not my favorite. A bit of a give and take situation. Luckily there are only two months of winter in Paraguay!!</span></div></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In addition to the four different preparations of Yerba Mate, there are about three bazillion and seven traditions related to drinking (some form of) Yerba Mate in Paraguay. For example, the youngest person in the family is technically the server in the case of Mate, Terere, and Mate Dulce (which all involve passing the cup) and the order of serving is always to the right with the dealer last. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here are two of my favorite traditions/stories of Yerba Mate that I have encountered so far in Paraguay</span></div><ol><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Santa Tomas (Saint Thomas)--the first serving of Terere (that's the "ice-tea" one) is traditionally reserved for Saint Thomas (and nobody gets to drink it). Since this serving is the first time the yerba mate leaves have had any water in them (they've just been scooped out of the tea box and placed in the bottom of the cup), the liquid produced is pretty bitter. In that case "Saint Thomas' Serving" is sipped through the straw and then spat over the shoulder. Sometimes, the dry tea leaves absorb all of the first serving of water as they rehydrate. In which case, it almost looks as if someone (perhaps a Saint) has drank all the water. Why Saint Thomas (and not Elijah)? It's a pun. In Spanish, "toma" means "he drinks" therefore Santa Tomas (pronounced Santa Toma) can also mean "The Saint drinks."</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Terere + Watermelon = death by stomach explosion. A large part of Paraguayan food traditions have to do with bad mixtures, aka don't drink cold water while eating hot soup, don't eat hot dogs and ice cream in fast succession. The idea being that certain extreme opposites of temperature or types of food will cause a stomach-ache or fever. In terms of Paraguayan food tradition, watermelon is a very volatile fruit and is best had alone. But no matter what, one MUST NOT mix watermelon with Terere. Of course, after 3 months of intensive training and attempting to learn guarani (a language where at least half of the letters are pronounced nasally, and if you switch two letters you end up cursing someone out) a Peace Corps volunteer may begin to rebel/crack and purposely eat Terere and Watermelon together to annoy the language teachers/ wait to see if an explosion will actually occur. The results where definitely disappointing because a. no one exploded b. this seems to be breaking point which occurs with every group of PC trainees, and therefore the language teachers had a very "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" sort of reaction. </span></li>
</ol><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">That's all for now...</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">--Emily </div>E Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14578540300475943703noreply@blogger.com0