Christmas Down South

Well I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas back in the US.  Down here in Paraguay we had a slightly different Christmas with VERY warm weather the last week or so.  Here in Paraguay the majority of Christmas celebrations begin on Christmas Eve.  We all got up early on Christmas Eve and went over to Hugo (my host dad’s) parents’ house where preparations were underway.  I worked most of the morning in the kitchen with the women while the men took care of butchering the cow.  I had never seen a cow killing done before, in the US, but here it is very primitive with everything done using machetes.  I decided to not watch the killing itself but worked inside instead and then came out when it was already skinned out. 

It was quite the operation with the women working in the kitchen, the men were butchering the cow, and each of the children ran back and forth between the butchering and kitchen transporting every part of the cow to the kitchen for the women.  The kids were just so proud of what they were carrying and comparing with each other which part was the most important.  The women worked hard in the kitchen sorting out everything with most of the organs going into a big pot of water.  The meat was just divided up into the four legs and the rib cage and was brought into the “dining room” and was hung up for a couple of hours.  Once they had everything cleaned up the men sat down at the table and began eating mandio and the intestine, but once again I decided to not participate.  There was also a lot of watermelon consumed throughout the day.

After the mid-morning snack most of the men loaded up on the ox cart and went out into the fields to harvest some fresh corn, watermelons, and melon.  One of the men stayed behind and was supervised by his mother as she told him what parts she wanted cut up for the big dinner.  After the men got back we all sat around in the shade for a while and talked and then went back to our house for the afternoon.  We all tried to lie down and nap but it was just simply too hot for that, so we settled outside under the shade tree for the afternoon.  Around seven we went back over to where we were in the morning.  By that time they had dug a big pit in the ground and filled it with wood and charcoal where they also had big skewers holding all the meat and were cooking it over the big pit.  Here in my community the water and electricity are not the most consistent and sure enough around 8 pm the electricity went out, so it was a good thing we were cooking over a fire for all the food because it didn’t come back on until right before we were to eat. 

As Paraguayan custom the men and women sit in different circles separated from each other so we sat around and talked for a while.  The volunteer that was actually the volunteer in the community we were in (about 5 km from my community) Ted who is finishing up his service and leaving in March came over.  So we were able to sit around and talk for a few hours so it was great to just get some pointers about his PC service and some things he found that worked/ or didn’t work.  It was also great to just be able to speak English for a chance, especially when celebrating such an important holiday.  So we were able to talk for a few hours until around 11:30 when we were all summoned to a big table to eat.  We had just huge piles of beef, mandio, and sopa (which is similar to corn bread).  So we all sat around eating dinner until midnight when we all got up and wished everyone a Merry Christmas, which took a while with around 30 people.  Once dinner was over we all sat around for a little while and then everyone quickly went home because we had a lot of young children that were falling asleep all over the place. 

On Christmas morning we all slept in since we were up late the night before but it just seemed like a normal day here in Paraguay and the heat had us all out of the house by about 9 am.  Here in Paraguay they don’t do gift exchange, and in my community no one really has a Christmas tree, lights, etc.  Christmas is mostly just filled with watermelon, fruit salad, sparkling cider, and shade trees.  Luckily in the afternoon though my host family said we were going to the creek.  So I was really excited because they were telling me about how beautiful it was and about twenty minutes later when we arrived I thought they were joking.  It was just simply a low water crossing that was more just a large ditch but sadly was in the middle of large production agriculture fields with no trees in site.  Normally I wouldn’t even think about swimming in that water because it was dirty just looking at it but the only other alternative was getting scorched in the sun so I jumped in, and the water was surprisingly cool and we played around for a while.  When I got out though I had turned very brown with all of the sediment and who knows what else but I guess it was worth it, the cold water felt so good.  When we returned I immediately took a shower and got most of the brown off (but sadly not all) and went to work in the kitchen. 

My dad had sent me a wonderful care package in November with cake mixes, among other things, so I was able to quickly whip up a cake as is the tradition with my mom, making a birthday cake for Jesus every Christmas.  So I was able to get that done and in the oven quickly since it was so hot inside and was able to sit outside until it was ready.  I tried to watch the Planet Earth ice world’s episode to try and imagine that I was somewhere cold, but sadly it didn’t work to well.  We also had a very rare bird show up at my house today that mimics the end of a branch and unless you’re really paying attention you will miss it.  So you should be able to see some pictures of it and it also had a very cute little fur ball baby under its wings

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Right around sunset I took a walk through my community towards the church and there was a fantastic sunset that I was able to get some pictures of.  Overall I had a great Christmas down here and I was able to talk to my family and friends back home, so it was a great time.  Next year though when I have my own house I am going to try and actually have a tree and lights so I can try and spread some of my American culture down here! 

A lot of you are also asking about my address so here it is again.

MY NEW ADDRESS:

Kaitlyn W. Bradley, PCV

Correo Paraguayo- Caaguazu

Caaguazu, Paraguay

Codigo Postal 3400

Sudamerica

0984664378

Also my internet in site doesn’t work enough to upload pictures so I am only able to do so when I come into town a couple of times a month, so please be patient with me I will get them up as soon as possible!

The men butchering and all of the kids standing around and helping.

I thought this was cute with a momma hen taking care of ducklings, they said their mother died and then was adopted by this hen.

The meat hanging in the open air kitchen!

One of the cute little boys in my family eating watermelon.

Some pictures of all of us at the dinner table. 

A picture of me and my host sisters swimming in the hole.  In case you didn't recognize me I'm the girl in the green hat trying to not get fried in the sun!

Can you see me?  

Another picture of this very well camouflaged bird, and the picture doesn't show it very well but she has a cute fur ball (baby) under her wing.

The beautiful sunset on Christmas Day overlooking the fields.

The only church in my community.

The birthday cake I made to help carry on the tradition I had with my mom growing up to bake Jesus a birthday cake.  It turned out alright I think!

First Two Weeks in my Community Pictures

The cute puppy sleeping with my smelly shoes, fortunately he found a great home!

All of the animals love my room.  Kitten by my pillow and dog under the bed!

One of the beautiful scenic points in my community, a wonderful cow pasture.

A wonderful yellow flowering tree, simply amazing.

Some cute owls that I see every time I go by them.

A cool old dead tree in the middle of the citrus fields.

My nice a dirty feet after a walk through my community.

Just a few of the many beautiful flowers that are found in my community.

First Two Weeks in my Community

Well I know many of you have been worried about me since I haven’t posted for a while but out here I don’t have the best internet connection.  It is highly dependent on the weather and quite frankly whatever else it feels like, so I am only connection every few days or so, so you will have to be patient with me.  From here on out I will probably only have a blog post once or twice a month.  So I have officially been in my community, Yukyry Central, for about two weeks now.  So I am once again living with a host family with Hugo (host dad), Mabel (host mom), and two sisters Pilar and Maria, and then their cousin Teresa.  So we have a very full house now, especially with three female pre-teens!  I will probably be living with them for three months until I can move out on my own. 

My first few days in site I hung around my host families house a lot and just observed and helped out around the house.  Hugo is a farmer here in the community since school isn’t in session so he leaves usually before I get up and then doesn’t return until dark.  I have really enjoyed watching him working with the oxen that pull the plow as well as a nice wagon, when I look at the agriculture here it seems like I have stepped back in time.  My host mom Mabel just works around the house a lot and every morning she is outside sweeping the dirt all around the house.  The family here just throws everything on the ground so all of the trash gets swept up.  Mabel also is mainly responsible for milking the cows and taking care of them during the day when Hugo is out working in the fields.  The girls are also constantly busy mainly dealing with cleaning up mandio for consumption as well as shucking dried corn for many of the animals around.  Every member of the family has a very important job to do!  But don’t get me wrong there is plenty of time to have fun as well. 

It has been quite hot these last couple of weeks and we have reached a high of 44°C.  It is unlike home in the US where you can just walk into the air conditioning and cool off.  So here I have been relying on cold showers and fans that work.  We do have electricity here in my site but occasionally it decides to not work, but for the most part it does.  Also for some reason our water has been pretty sporadic, so you always get a shower and fill up the water bottle whenever possible.  The last couple of weeks I have been trying to get up early and go and walk around the community before it gets too hot for the day.  I have made a map of my community so far with showing the houses, fields, major trees, etc.  Once I get back from my walk by around 9 am or so it is already scorching hot so the rest of my day is pretty much just sitting around underneath a shade tree drinking Terere and working on my language and technical skills.  It seems like this is going to be pretty common the next few months since it is just such a scorcher outside, but it is kind of a nice slow pace of life.  I have also decided to just take off my watch for a few months and just embrace the Paraguayan culture and life.  

The last few days I have kind of been comparing living here to camping.  Although we do have a house we spend the majority of our time outside.  We sleep inside the house but with the windows open and fans going, wake up and go outside where our “dining room” is, and then spend the rest of the day outside because the house is too hot to go into with the clay tiles.  We take all of our meals outside and the only things really in the house are the beds.  In the afternoon if it is cool enough right after lunch we go in to take a quick nap which is only possible because by about 2 pm it is too hot to sleep because you just wake up drenched in sweat.  I keep telling my host family I need to just move my bed outside but they are worried about all the mosquitos at night.  Also I made the mistake of putting my hammock in long term storage so it will not be here until the end of January but then it is for sure going up outside under the shade tree.  We also have an outdoor kitchen where they cook over a wood fire to try and keep the heat out of the house.  We also have our outdoor “bathroom” (hole in the ground) and shower hut.  I love it so far, it is nice to go outside at night and just look up at the sky which is just so beautiful here without the light pollution, and it is crazy to think that the stars down here are different from those back home, but they are.  Also the sunsets here are spectacular; I just need to start taking some pictures of them. 

My family and community are very active in their local Catholic church and for the ten days leading up until Christmas they have a devotional service for about 30 minutes each night.  It has just given be the opportunity to get to know many people in my community and also try to remember that it is in fact Christmas time.  It just doesn’t feel right but I think that perhaps may make it a little bit easier to take since this is my first holiday season away from home. 

Below you should be able to see a list of some of the things I learned down here so far.

1)      My family has a lot of different animals (puppies, kittens, piglets, chicks, calves, etc.) and I have learned to not become attached to any animal down here.  All of the puppies and kittens have been given away that I had become slightly attached to my first week.  I am trying to decide if I want the responsibility of an animal down here but I think it might be nice to have some company.  Also the other animals are used strictly for food purposes.  My first two days here we killed a chicken and piglet for food, and since then we kill about one chicken per day to eat.  We are also killing a cow for Christmas so that should be a new experience for me!

2)      Time here just slows down and pretty much just revolves around the weather and sun schedule.  Also when it is really hot only the men work in the fields and even they usually come in a couple of hours in the afternoon when it is so hot to water the animals and take a quick nap before they go out for the rest of the day.  Also meal times are quite different, we have breakfast (hot fresh milk, with little stale bread things) at about 6 and then eat lunch around noon (which consists of a hot soup/stew) and then don’t eat dinner until around 9-10.  I have learned that for some reason even though it is so hot outside they still love to eat hot food, which doesn’t make sense to me but I am adjusting.  Also I can honestly say that the milk down here is just wonderful since it is less than hour from the cow, to the stove to boil, and then to me to drink!

3)      Since I have been having so much time to walk around my community I have found many beautiful places, trees, and landscapes.  You should be able to see some pictures below.

4)      In order to deal with the heat, ice is a must!  Also Santa bought me an early Christmas present of a nice thermos so I can make my own ice water in the morning and use it all day.  There is nothing better than iced cold terere and water when it is 44+ degrees C outside.  Also watermelon has also become very popular and can be bought in my community for the equivalent of about one US dollar. I have found out that you can’t terere and eat watermelon at the same time because it is thought that you will explode (which will not actually happen) but they are dead serious about it.  You also can’t eat watermelon and take a shower, among many other things. 

5)      The fruit here is fantastic, in addition to the fresh watermelon mentioned above there is also an abundance of grapes, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, plums, mangos, and many other melons.  So I am for sure getting my fruits every day with all the fresh fruit and fruit juice we make.

6)      My sisters love to paint each other’s toenails and fingernails every Sunday so I had blue toe nails one week which was great but then we went to pink and sparkly (and if you know me both of those things are not be at ALL!) but I guess I can live with them for one week.

7)      The red dirt stains everything, which I’m sure I have mentioned before, but it isn’t a joke.  Everyone walks around in flip flops or just bare foot so I have joined in on the tradition but there is only so much skin you can scrub off your feet before you realize it isn’t coming out.  The first few days I wore tennis shoes but there is no way my socks or shoes will ever be anything but red again, oh well!

8)       Hand washing clothes takes a long time and is very hard on your clothes.  In my last host family house they had a washer of sorts and you just had to rinse them and hang them.  Here we just have a wash station for clothes, one side is a sink and the other is a wash board.  So I am quickly learning you only want to wait like two days maximum to wash clothes unless you want to stand outside in the hot sun for over an hour washing and scrubbing your clothes.  Also many of our fabrics are just not made to withstand a scrub brush.  For my first tutorial on hand washing with my host mom I think she scrubbed a few holes in some of my fabrics trying to get them “clean”.  So after that I told her I can take care of my clothes, although they might not be clean to her inspection they are just fine to me, these clothes have to last me two years so I need to be gentle with them.  I have also found that soaking them for a few hours before washing is nice but then the water gets super-hot in the sun.  

9)      Trying to live with three tween aged girls has been quite the experience, and I am actually glad I guess that I never had to live in a house full of sisters.  They are quite nice when the want to be but man to they fight like cats and dogs, as my mom says.

10)   In my community Paraguayans don’t like to walk, in the past it was the only way to get around but now with motos that is their favorite mode of transportation.  People look at me weird when I am just walking by and everyone is always offering to give me a ride or wants to make sure I have plenty of water since I carry my Nalgene with me at all times.  It is PC policy that we don’t ride motos, which I completely agree with because you have young kids driving, as well as entire families, and everything you can ever imagine going down the dirt roads.  There are also a lot of really bad accidents that occur here, and my host mom was telling me that every year at least one community member is killed on a moto.  Even to go to church which is about an 8 minute walk my family prefers to drive but I walk none the less!  I am trying to get lots of exercise down here and it is so nice to just walk and relax and just take in the beautiful landscapes and noises. 

11)   The roads here consist of the red dirt which quickly turns to rivers during the rainstorms that have become frequent here.  It is also impossible to do anything when they hit and you are pretty much stuck where you are for the time being.  Also the bus doesn’t run in and out of the community if it rains, or even looks like rain, so luckily there are some other PC volunteers in Caaguazu, the closest city where I get groceries so I can stay with them if I get stuck.

12)   I have many new “toys” that I brought that my host family is just amazed by.  My host dad needed a screw driver the other day and couldn’t find one to fix my fan so I pulled out my Leatherman and he was just so impressed.  I think he spent about an hour with it looking at all the other little parts and was just simply amazed.  Also my entire family loves my head lamp because I use it at night to go out and brush my teeth and go to the bathroom and they had never seen anything like it before. 

So I hope you can tell that I am having a wonderful time down here right now, even despite the heat.  I have only been here two weeks but am already feeling like a part of the community and language skills are coming slowly but surely.  I have been in Paraguay for three months on Christmas; the time has just flown by.  I pray that you all have a wonderful Christmas and stay warm.  Just enjoy spending the time surrounded by your family and friends.  I will be surrounded by my new host family and community and will try and post a blog about Christmas from down here in Paraguay! 

Will have to post pictures later, internet isn't working too well, sorry!

Swear In

After ten weeks we made it to searing in day!  Today (Monday) G-43 swore in as new Peace Corps Volunteers here in Paraguay!  All of our hard work, sweat, and tears has finally paid off!  We started out the morning getting picked up in our various training communities with all of our baggage that we are taking to site.  I don’t think any of us realized how much “stuff” we have accumulated over the past ten weeks.  Once we arrived in the training center and unloaded all of the vans we arrived to the municipality office where we were going to have our ceremony.  We had about half an hour so many of us decided to get pictures of many of our new friends since we were all dressed up and looking nice. 

The ceremony started with a wonderful welcome from my APCD- Eli followed by a speech by a representative of the host families.  We then had a speech given by one of our own trainees who did a great job talking about what experiences we have had and what we have to look forward to.  After that there was a speech given by our country director and then we swore in as PC Volunteers!  Following our swear in we were able to give each of our host families wonderful certificates thanking them for hosting us and my mom and dad had come to the ceremony for me.  It was a very emotional experience because I have grown so close to my host mother and she calls me her American daughter and she was just crying the whole time so of course by the end I was in tears as well!  After the ceremony we had a wonderful reception with many traditional Paraguayan foods as well as a large cake.  Below you should be able to see the pictures!

 

 

Time Marches On!

Well this past week has just been a whirl wind of activity, as has been the last ten weeks.  We started out the week spending time in the training center finishing up various classes as well as taking our final Safety/Security exam which everyone passed.  We also had to write up our own recommendation for service to swear in as a PC volunteer.  On Tuesday we spent the entire day in Asuncion trying to get all of our last minute paperwork taken care of and then got a tour of the PC office, learned about how we get paid, and other administrative activities.  At the end of the day we spent a couple of hours going over the policy/ procedure part of PC Paraguay and PC in general so we learned all of the things we can and can’t do which is important!  On Wednesday we spent our last day in the small school in our community where we took our final language exam as well as had fun making fruit salad which was a great break from the heat.  On Thursday I also found out that I passed my language exam which was such a huge relief since I had put a lot of work into it.  I still have a long way to go but I am so proud of myself to have learned the basics of two new languages.  In the afternoon on Wednesday we learned the “bad words” of Guarani not so we could say them but rather so we could recognize if someone was saying them to us and then what we should respond with.  Also we learned about texting in Spanish/Guarani which was super interesting but also a lot of work because I can barely text in English and then trying to text shorthand in 2 other languages was almost like code to me, but it was fun. 

On Thursday we had our long term bags picked up which means that I will not see those items for a few months until my boss comes out to visit my site.  When we arrived at the training center the staff and language professors had different activities set up.  So we were able to learn about and participate in different past times for example I learned how to do a craft similar to craft stitching that they use to decorate their shirts.  I also learned how to crochet which was a lot harder than it looked.  Another station was one where we could write letters to ourselves that they would keep with them for our two years and give to us at our close of service.  So it was great to just sit down for a little bit of time and reflect both on the last ten week as well as our future two years here in Paraguay.  I also was able to make a glass out of a glass bottle using just wire and an ice cold bath which was fun and a great present for my host family.  After we got to as many stations as we wanted we learned about our ongoing language training in our first three months in site and then had a carry in lunch.

In the afternoon it was time for our final/farewell to training.  So we started out the afternoon with our language teachers having a wonderful performance.  We learned all about Paraguayan music and dance and we have very talented teachers and they brought in a girl that plays the harp and it was just so beautiful!  We also learned the national anthem and happy birthday in Guarani.  We also had some wonderful dance performances by our technical trainers and a daughter of our Master Training.  All of our training staff, including our technical trainers, and amazing language trainers are so AMAZING!  After our musical and dancing training we moved into the skits and performances from the trainees so the technical trainers and three of the four communities (including my own) had wonderful and hilarious skits prepared.  They mostly were just about different aspects of the last ten weeks and it is amazing the talent we have in our group, especially comedy. 

After they all finished we did an amazing activity that I think should be done more and I hope to bring back home with me.  We all stood in a circle and ¼ at a time of the people stepped out of the circle and began walking around the circle.  The people in the circle had their eyes closed and then the person in charge started asking questions while the other smaller group was walking around.  If the saying could be related to the person you tapped them on the shoulder as you went around.  You also switched out so you were in the circle for ¾ of the time while the other ¼ you were the one giving the complements that were secretive.  There were about 50 different complements ranging from who is the best listener, someone who surprised you, your new friend, someone you can trust and count on, but all positive and really heartfelt.  It was just an amazing experience and by the end I was just in tears feeling all of the wonderful compliments that people placed upon me.  It is crazy that I have known these people for only just over two months and many of these people are my new family here in Paraguay and many will be my friends for life.  It is just such a unique experience to go through in PC and the relationships you built are so important and so strong.  It was also a bitter sweet day because it was one of the last times that we would all be together because over the next week we will be all going out to our separate sites and will not see them for about 4 months. 

On Friday we went back in Asuncion to get all of the last minute paperwork taken care of.  We had to fill out and sign all of the paper for our two year visas, sign paperwork to have a Paraguay identification card, received lockers in the main office, as well as got our bank cards and internet modems.  So it is finally starting to feel real that we will become official PC volunteers on Monday!  On Friday night we had our celebration with my family for me swearing in on Monday as well as leaving.  My family absolutely LOVED their gifts that I gave them and I also received a beautiful blue handmade shirt that is characteristic of Paraguay and just a perfect gift because they said it reminded them of my blue eyes.  I can honestly say that I am going to miss my new Paraguayan family SO MUCH.  They have helped me through this unique and fun experience of PC training, I am so sad to leave!  They also keep reminding me that I have to come back and visit them and especially bring my family.  They kept saying that they want to meet my family but to give my mom a heads up so she can start cooking, which she is phenomenal at.  Also last night we began to set up for Christmas so we have the artificial tree all ready to go and lights up on the house and then Saturday afternoon we spent most of the afternoon getting the huge nativity scene set up in the yard. 

On Saturday since I didn’t have any class I went with my parents to go and sell milk.  We went to Villarica which is about a twenty minute drive and we had a great time just going down the road and meeting their regular customers that come out to buy milk.  They sell it for 3 mil for 1 L which is about .70 cents.  Also it was fun to see all of the different containers that people bring out for their milk, most were just pots and pans and I freaked out when someone brought an old 5 L oil container but I guess for them it was normal and it had obviously been used for milk before, but I guess if that’s what you got!  After we had made many of our deliveries we went and picked up my adorable niece Mia from her mom’s house and we went to the “beach” for about 15 minutes.  The beach was actually a river on the eastern side of Paraguay and on the other side we could see Argentina.  We had a great time taking pictures and watching a barge head up river.  I also had to put my foot in the river and it was actually pretty warm water, which is guess was to be expected since it was about 100 degrees outside today!  I also got to go to the grocery store with my mom today which was a good experience but the stores didn’t have A/C and it seemed like everyone was at the grocery store, but I might as well get used to it!  On Saturday afternoon I just worked on getting the rest of my stuff packed up and got the last minute laundry done and out on the line. 

On Sunday my mom had many of our family members over to help celebrate the Virgin of Caacupe as well as a sort of kick off to Christmas.  I unfortunately was really sick on Sunday so I spent most of the day just sleeping and waking up for meals.  I was able though to get up in the evening when a bunch of neighbors came over and they did their prayer ceremony and then we had a bunch of wonderful food that my mom had practically spent all day making.  It seems like our training here has just flown by and everyone just keeps telling me that it just moves faster so I guess we shall find out!

 Some pictures from our wonderful music lesson!

 

 My wonderful training community and technical trainer, as well as our three wonderful language trainers!

 I made up some of the wonderful fudge brownies that my dad sent down and my family loved it!

 My sister and I working on making empanadas!

 Our finished product!

 My mom and I sitting in front of the newly decorated Christmas tree and below is a photo with my sister as well!

 

 My dad loved his present of a beer and new baseball hat!

 My mom and sister also loved their brand new shirts! 

 On Saturday I got up early with my parents to go and sell milk so they were retrieving the milk from the water cooler where they store the milk. 

 This is the river that separates Paraguay from Argentina and below is a picture of me with my niece Mia.

 

 The wonderfully large nativity that I helped my mom set up on the patio.  My favorite is the two HUGE frogs on either side.

Some of the wonderful food my mom made for everyone on Sunday with a fruit cake, an apple dessert, an empanada, and a piece of pizza!

 

Last Week of Training!

Well I can honestly say the last nine+ weeks have just flown by going through training.  I think they just like to keep us very busy!  On Friday night my family went over to my grandma’s house to celebrate her birthday.  Overall we had a great night and I met a lot of new people and had some great food!  The best part of the night was when the mariachi band showed up in traditional Paraguayan attire and playing the traditional instruments and it was just a great experience and the guys were so good.  I have posted some pictures of their performance below. 

This past weekend we had our last Saturday session that we will have but it was on bee keeping.  I can honestly say that before this session I had very limited knowledge about bees and bee keeping but I learned a lot.  The bees that we have here in Paraguay are Africanized bees which are also known as the “killer bees” because they are a larger, blacker bee that is a lot more aggressive than the European bee.  Evidently they can also produce a greater amount of honey if properly managed.  It was great to just learn how it is done in Paraguay because in the US it can be just as simple as mail order hives and queen bees.  Here in Paraguay everything is either done by separating a hive that is too large that is already currently managed or live captures that is mostly done out in the woods.  It was amazing some of the stories we heard today about the live captures and how it is normally done with very little “equipment” by the Paraguayans.  Some of the stories are a little bit scary and mostly involve cutting down trees to cut the hive out, so they were telling us different ways to do a live capture. 

After our two hour lecture we got to go outside and get suited up in what felt like space suits to go and visit the bees.  I have some pictures below!  We were able to go out into the woods and see the managed hives at the local agriculture school but we didn’t have the best weather for bee keeping because it was very cloudy.  Also it didn’t help that our smoker broke on our walk into the woods, which is very essential when opening up the bee boxes.  So we simply just looked at the bee boxes and then stood way back when our guide attempted to open a box to get out a panel for us to look at but sadly the Africanized bees lived up to their name and were NOT HAPPY with us.  Luckily most of us were standing back a bit because when she opened the box there was just a huge swarm and she calmly told us to just turn around and walk quickly away.  If I was her I wouldn’t have been as calm because she was just covered with bees. 

So at the end of the day I learned that it is only possible to open the hive with a smoker and that you for sure need the proper equipment and a calm attitude.  I was luckily not stung at all but our guide was stung around 30 times but she was used to it, but still didn’t look like fun to me!  Also I learned if you do have bees on you the best thing to do if you are done with what you’re doing is to just start walking in circles out away from the hive and give the bees a chance to be done with you and go back to their hive.  Overall it was a great morning and even though we were just able to suit up and see the bee boxes it was for sure a great day and peaked my interest in bee keeping.  They said bee keeping in the states is a lot easier with access to proper equipment and tools, so I guess I will have a couple of years to do some great research on that!

When I got home from bee keeping I spent about two hours washing a lot of clothes by hand, it still just amazes me how long it takes but since it has been raining just about every day at least for a little while it has been awhile since I could wash clothes so the majority of my Saturday afternoon was done doing that.  On Sunday we had some people from other communities come over for a soccer game and we had a great time but had to quickly stop because it just got WAY TOO HOT!  I also uploaded some pictures of food since some of you have been asking about that!

This last week of training we have A LOT of different things going on.  Many of which just involve wrapping things up including our final safety/security test and language test.  We will also be going into Asuncion a couple of times this week to complete even more paperwork and get a lot of the last minute essentials out of the way.  Also I am starting to get everything packed back up, which is proving to be difficult; I really need Thad here to help me pack!  We are taking with us three months’ worth of stuff to our site since we will be using the public bus so we can take our large hiking backpack and the rest of our stuff will be delivered to our site in about three months.  It is just amazing how much stuff we have accumulated since we arrived: mostly stuff from the PC like our mosquito net, which doesn’t really condense, our first aid kit, and many, many different training manuals.  I think though I will be able to get it all fit and figured out, might just take some time and adjustment. 

We will be done with everything on Friday and have the last weekend with our families before we swear in on Monday morning.  My mom was saying this weekend she was going to start decorating for Christmas so that will be a great way to end my stay here.  I am going to really miss my host family here!  On Monday after we swear in we have to start moving towards our site and since I logistically can’t get to my site in one day due to the bus schedules I will just travel to Caaguazu and stay with my PCV friend there overnight before I go into site the next day.  Once Monday rolls around I will try to keep you all posted over the next week but a lot of things going on!