Lifetime Memories in Paraguay

This is a guest blog by Kaitlyn’s American Mom after nearly 3 weeks in South America living the life of a remote Peace Corps Volunteer. The following are some highlights and observations of my time here. It is so different from what we can read from her blog or from the conversations we have cherished since her time here! To say I am proud and honored to be Kaitlyn’s Mom is so insignificant compared to the feelings I have for her as a Christian woman giving of her time and expertise to folks she now considers family!

Tranquil, laughter, rain, roosters crowing, calves mooing for their momma’s, dogs & cats scrambling for attention, baby pigs rooting out the seeds we just planted; Rain; Catholic services with primarily youth attendees; Kate’(what everyone calls her at site) being called out at all hours for her to come play with the children or let them in to color, sweep her porch, water the garden; Rain; baking bread, carrot cake, apple crisp & chocolate, chocolate chip cookies; teaching the ladies group to bake these as well & using whole wheat flour for their family as opposed to feeding the hogs;  RAIN; cancelled trips; walking in mud 1/2 way up my calves to attend a remembrance of a deceased community member; being hugged furiously because I was Kate’s Mom; being told I was beautiful & happy because I was fat and meaning that as great a compliment as any words spoken!! Direct TV dishes on homes that we would call shacks where electricity comes and goes by its own whim. Cellphones- many have cell phones and they text just like in the U.S.

 I sit here at the Peace Corps’ Office my last morning in Paraguay and it does not seem possible the 3 wks. has gone and I am to catch a plane tonight! I have shed tears of: joy at seeing my daughter’s shining face for the 1^st time in a year, sharing a small portion of her real life at site, seeing that perpetual smile that stays on her face constantly and seeing her develop laugh lines; awe in the beauty at The Divine’s creation in waterfalls, green pastures, baby goats, sheep, calves, chicks, human babies, lightning storms, children saying colors of markers they want in English or catching an American football and at scoring a goal in soccer; frustration in washing dishes in cold water or having no water at all, mud and grit no matter how often you sweep it’s still there; the loss of electricity for 48 hrs at a time and knowing Kaitlyn is losing precious meat she just bought 2 hrs from Caaguazu; honor in watching the daughter I gave birth to and had the privilege to call my daughter become a confident, respected, patient, cherished member of a community who just met her a little over 9 months ago. She has more Moms than she can keep track of and the men love her and look after her as well-they are impressed by her willingness to work alongside them no matter the activity.

I drank the water; ate the food-have some favorites and others I can live without trying again (mandioca the staple starch eaten at every meal) even sharing the same bowl of food; drank Terere & Mate communally; picked veggies from her garden and enjoyed roasted fresh veggies, made salads that they sprinkle with oil, vinegar and fresh lemon; shared meals with others in the community as well as Peace Corps volunteers we crashed upon when the bus did not run because of rain.

Did I mention RAIN?! We had lots and I worried as they were flooding the seeds we just planted but everyone takes it in stride especially Kaitlyn. People drink Mate or Terere and just relax. Walking we did lots of when we could walk. We explored the countryside and Kaitlyn shared some of her favorite spots to hang out by when life throws challenges which it has and will in the future. I understand now what she means by feeling at home in Paraguay, she has found her heart’s desire and the work she feels is so important! The Peace Corps bosses/staff all love her, the guards at the office get so excited seeing her and sharing stories of what has happened since they last saw her.

Enroute to Argentina we stopped at the Itaipu dam which provides over 80% of the power used in Paraguay as well as provides power to Brazil. It was pretty incredible to see and the grounds are amazing and very well kept. The border crossing into Argentina puts one thru Brazil as well. What a cluster!! We were stuck on a bus over an hour just trying to cross. We had to leave the bus and walk about 5 blocks to the deportation post and then back to the bus. An experience! There are no limits as to how many folks ride a bus and it was comical the ones sitting and the number of those trying to stand holding onto their belongings from shopping Paraguay! Men do not give up seats for anyone including older women. I was able to get a seat and Kaitlyn found a step on the floor of the bus to ride once we passed thru Argentina customs. The bus does not stop in Brazil and if it had we would have had to have a VISA each for $300.00. I was not impressed by what we saw from the bus and there were lots of casinos everywhere. Shopping in Argentina was an experience and we certainly saw many Brazilians and they put fashion to shame. Bizarre!!

We enjoyed Argentina and Iguazu falls which were breathe taking! We could have stayed there all day! We were lucky to have found a beautiful hotel with full running water and water pressure with the hot water! I could tell it was a bit overwhelming for Kaitlyn from what she is accustomed to! And food- my goodness the Argentinean beef is amazing and we had steak 2 nights while there and enjoyed the Argentinian wines! I can only bring 1 back to the states and decided against the hassle and chance of getting it broken. We shopped for Kaitlyn instead! By the time she reaches site she will most likely be sick of carrying the 3 bottles plus the bottle of olive oil that was so much cheaper there!

We just got back from lunch, gelato for dessert and my last bus ride in Paraguay. I will be catching a taxi to the airport with another Peace Corps volunteer who is headed back to California to see family. Somehow it is harder leaving her behind as I know she has found her space and purpose in life at least for now and is as relaxed and happy as anyone dare be at 24. I thank God for the gift loaned me and am slowly releasing that gift back to the Divine and it is so hard! If it doesn’t hurt it’s not love and I’ve certainly experienced more than I care to in the past 5 years! The next blog will be Kaitlyn’s and the excitement she has planned for the next month +!! Chao, chao!

Evidence of some rain.

Kaitlyn, Maribel & Alexis planting flowers in her homeade bed with glass bottles.  

Planting more seedlings in old juice/milk/wine cartons!

Guadalupe, Carlos and Julio double digging her last patch of soil in her garden.

Mode of travel in Caaguazu.

Typical market scene in Cagguazu.

Back of the bus scene. Sacks of corn, cement, lumbar, dozens of cans of gas, huge bags of bread, barbed wire, furniture, even boxes of chickens, pigs, etc!

Painting the bathroom- drab brown to light blue!

Picking oranges close to home.

Typical lunch prepared by Kaitlyn's Mom-noodles, broth, bits of meat and mandicoa.

Multiplication lessons on a rainy morning.

Kaitlyn's favorite meal prepared by her Mom-beef sliced very thin, soaked in lemon juice, floured, dipped in egg, then in bread crumbs and fried.  On the side is yummy rice salad and more mandioca.

Typical Momma cow anorexic. She is brought from the fields at night, separated from her calf and then milked the next a.m. before the calf feeds again. Pitiful cries from both mom & baby at all hours.

Kaitlyn and Jr getting 'futbol' tips from Alcides.

Sam hanging out with me before bedtime. He slept between my legs every night. The only cat in the community which gets cat food. Pretty  privileged and slightly spoilled!

Sister Rosa and niece Rocio planting melon seeds between the trees.

Drying some socks by the oven while baking apple crisp.

What happens to the laundry when it rains. I carried those clothes to & from the laundry, hand rinsed then rinsed with fabric softener, wrung them out 3 times each and then carried then to the outside line the next day when the rain stopped. Exhausting! I will never complain about laundry again. Kaitlyn was working on Peace Corps reports at the time!

Kaitlyn and Jr.

Neighborhood 'futbol' game.

Kaitlyn's English class and their glasses made from wine bottles as well as their Bass Pro fish craft, Thank you Bass Pro and John Curtis!

Paraguayan BBQ my last night at site.

Kate' and Jr.

Border crossing from Paraguay into Brazil.

The Iguazu Falls in Argentina. Splendor & Awe!!

1st night in Caaguazu at Katie and Brad's the bus did not run this Monday and we had waited patiently for several hours for it to run.

Next morning waiting for the taxi to catch the bus to site(home).

Erosion on a walk close to home ~ 75 -100 feet deep.

Alcides' mom and niece on a walk about.

Green pasture just down the road from Kaitlyn's home. Reminded me of fields in VA!

Harvesting mandicoa 2 years old with help from a local farmer Alcides.

Itaipu dam 2nd largest dam in the world but the number #1 producer of electricity.

Argentinian steak with blue cheese! 

Iguazu falls.

We had the privilege to sit in a woman's garden for an hour while the hummingbirds fed!

Catching the ferry back to Paraguay.

Riverfront in Asuncion. 

New Bathroom!

Well after almost a year of sharing a bathroom and mostly cold showers I finally have my own bathroom.  It was a long time coming and quite a process to complete construction here in my community as far as finding someone to build it and getting in the supplies but we made it!  Below you will see some pictures of the construction of the bathroom and then the finished product.  I had a great week and a half working with the guys and learned a lot and they were actually impressed that I did know some basic construction skills.

This is a picture of everything after the first day of construction.  In the bottom middle is the place where they mixed cement with a hoe which is surprisingly hard work and then in the left is the huge pile of dirt from the 2 meter hole they dug for the septic tank.

After day two of construction.

Laying the bricks in place for the septic system.

Day three with the addition of a roof.

The 2 meter tall cone that is the septic tank for the bathroom.  It was so fun to watch this come together and see how it is built here in Paraguay.

I now have running water at my house, which is making my life so much easier!  I also have such a nice double sink that I use for hand washing, dishes, and laundry!

The finished bathroom from the outside, I just love all the different shades of bricks!

The inside of the bathroom with the back half being a shower.  I also paid a little extra to have hot water which is just amazing, especially in the winter!

A modern toilet!

The "welcome" mat of concrete in front of the bathroom that was welcomed by both the dogs and cats. For some reason the kitten loved wet concrete so throughout my bathroom there is little kitty tracks, I guess it just adds character.  So anyone who wants to come down and visit I now have running water and a modern bathroom with warm water!

Christmas in August and Recycled Art Day

This past week I was happy to welcome the Caaguazu VAC to my site.  This is just a small group of volunteers that all live in and around Caaguazu.  They arrived into my site on Saturday morning and stayed through Monday mid-day.  We had a wonderful time together and had fun celebrating Christmas in August and then on Sunday afternoon helping me to host a fantastic recycled art class.  Below you will be able to see all of the photos from this weekend.

On Saturday evening we celebrated Christmas in July.  We made some wonderful sugar cookies and homemade pizza and watched a Christmas movie.  We also had a white elephant gift exchange that turned into a lot of fun with some wonderful gifts.  So this picture is of the gifts before we exchanged them.

This is a picture of some of them after they opened their gifts.  After we celebrated Christmas we went outside to see the beautiful starry night that I have at my site due to limited light pollution.  We were out looking for quite a while because the stars were just so beautiful!  We were actually able to see a meteor falling and many different shooting stars. Such a great ending to a fun celebration.

On Sunday morning we got up and made a great breakfast and had some great actually Starbucks coffee, Christmas holiday blend of course.

In the afternoon we had a large recycled art day and invited all of the kids in my community.  We had 23 actually show up which I was very happy with.  We had 5 different crafts that the kids all rotated through.  This picture is of Nari showing the kids how to make wallets out of Tetra-paks which is just like a juice or milk carton. 

Pauline worked the station of magazine beads.  You cut pieces of magazines and roll them around a small stick and glue the end down to make beads that you can then make bracelets, necklaces, etc.

Katie worked a station where we had collected Styrofoam plates to make picture frames.  The kids used magazines to find pictures and then colored and added stickers. 

Sofia worked with the kids on making bracelets out of plastic bags.  There are always a lot of plastic bags all around the community so we had collected them and cut the bags into strips.  From there the kids could choose three different colors and braid them together.  Once it was braided we then ironed the plastic between pieces of paper so all of the plastic then fuses together and forms a beautiful bracelet.

One of the favorite stations was making glasses from glass bottles.  Brad and Abiu and I worked this station helping the kids use wire to get the bottle hot and then dunking in in ice cold water which usually works to cut the glass.  The kids then just had to use sand paper to smooth the edges.  The kids loved this station but it is actually a lot of work to get the bottle hot enough so we ended up having to help them a lot, especially the little kids.

After the kids went to each station we then had 20 minutes of free time where they could go back to whichever station they wanted to make additional crafts.  After that Nari and I gave a small presentation of making eco-bricks which just involves stuffing 2 L plastic bottles with plastic and other inorganic trash.  I am trying to get the kids excited about this so we can make enough in order to make an eco-bench in front of the school.  

A picture of all the participants with their new recycled art crafts.  I think all the kids had a great time and were excited about making more in the future. 

A picture that we told the kids to look crazy in but I think the volunteers here had a lot more fun with it than the kids, but fun picture none the less!

After we got the recycled art day done we when on a small walk in my community to see the beautiful overlook point and we decided to take a Caaguazu VAC picture along a fence line.  It took us a few tries to figure out the self-timer on my camera but we figured it out!

We had a lot of extra bottle tops the kids didn’t want from making the glass bottles so Brad and I made a beautiful wind chime to hang in my tree which actually works and sounds pretty cool!

So now I will be in site for a few weeks working in my community and preparing for my mom’s trip here to Paraguay.  We have a wonderful trip planned including a trip up to the Pantanal (like you see on Planet Earth, one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth), time at my site, and a trip to Iguazu Falls in Argentina.  I can’t wait!

IST Training

Last week we had our IST (inter-service training) that was held in Atyra, Paraguay, which is the same place as our last training was held.  This time I brought Victorina, who is the president of the women’s committee in my community.  We had a great three days of class learning more hand on aspects of projects ranging from tree planting, tree maintenance, cooking/ nutrition, to green manures.  The training was held at the beautiful location of Marianela.  Below you will be able to see some pictures of some of our classes and the beautiful grounds surrounding Marianela and Atyra. 

The class itself started on Wednesday afternoon where we started out with a fantastic lunch.  Just about all of the food that we eat at Marianela comes from the grounds around the church/ conference center.  They have their own gardens, orchards, and animals so each meal is full of wonderful fruit and veggies!  After lunch we had a fantastic presentation from A Todo Pulmon on the production, care, and maintenance of a native tree nursery.  The first part of the class we had a PowerPoint presentation and then the second part we went outside and had hands on activities.  The first station was on growing trees in macetas (containers) using a variety of different materials that you can find anywhere and that can have little or no cost at all.  Another station was how to actually grow the trees and tree care followed by a demonstration of proper tree pruning and care.  Below is a picture of trees growing in an old tetrapak or juice/milk carton.  

Later in the day we had a presentation about biodiversity here in Paraguay with a great video of the Pantanal, which is where I will be visiting next month with my mom (I can’t wait!!!).

This is a picture of one of the fantastic pieces of art they have around Marianela that I evidently missed the first time I was here but is just beautiful.

On Thursday we traveled out into a nearby community in another environmental volunteer’s site for a morning of classes.  We started out breaking into two groups and my group first had a class on healthy cooking and nutrition.  This is something that was very interesting to everyone and is a major problem here in Paraguay.  I didn’t know this but in Latin American countries Paraguay rates #2 worst for malnutrition behind Guatemala.  It was also good for the PY’s to learn more about healthy eating and different components they can incorporate into their meal. They also learned the importance of hand washing and sanitation when cooking, which is a big problem here.  We ended this session learning how to make our own mayonnaise (which is surprisingly easy!) and then making sandwiches with the new mayo and fresh veggies.  

Belen teaching us how to make the mayonnaise.

Our assembly line making sandwiches for 50+ people having a lot of fun!

From there we switched with the other group and had hands on activities about double digging raised beds, and planting, as well as compost and worm compost.  For many of us volunteers it was a good review from training and for our counterparts was a very good learning experience.  

On Thursday afternoon we started out the class learning about trash management hearing from my friend Nari about her experience working in Caaguazu (she is the closest volunteer to me).  It was great to just reemphasize trash management and the consequences (personal health and environmental) of burning trash and ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  We then went on a walk through Atyra which was voted the most green and clean city in Paraguay and spent the afternoon in a public park.  There were six different classes that we could choose from: constructing an eco-bench, eco-trashcan, preparing homemade pesticides, agroforestry/ planting trees, water analysis, and tree grafting.  My contact went and learned about homemade pesticides and I went and learned more about agroforestry and planted trees.  There ended up only being 3 PCV’s in my group with no contacts so we had the class in English and was able to get many of our questions answered and ended up planting about a dozen trees.  

This is a picture of those of us that planted trees and we painted our faces with some mud.  In the evening we had two optional classes on Zumba and abonos verdes (green manures) which was just a fantastic review from training and eye opening for my contact.

On Friday morning we had a couple of hours in the morning where we worked with our contacts about how we can bring back what we learned at training to our community and what possible projects they would be interested in.  Just like last time my contact was very excited about starting a tree and plant nursery in the school.  We also received the final copy of our community needs assessment and my contact was just amazed looking through mine after explaining to her that the last few months I have been “working” and not just holed up in my house!  This will be something great to share with my entire community.  We then split up into PCV’s and contacts and we had a great talk with our PCMO’s (the doctors) and our new country director of PCPY.  Our contacts learned more about PC and the history and what it means to be a contact.  

This is a picture of Victorina and me standing in front of the church after we finished our class.  It was a wonderful three days and was hard to say goodbye to everyone.  The next time we will be all together will not be until December when we have our mid-service training.  I learned a lot and my contact is excited to bring some new ideas into the community and especially the women’s committee, so I guess time will tell.

On Sundays I have continued to have my English/ Conservation/ Environmental class and this week they learned how to make an “eco-bottle”.  This is just a 2 liter plastic bottle filled with inorganic trash- mainly just plastic.  So we spent about 20 minutes walking around the community and especially around the school picking up trash (which there is a lot of) and then spent the rest of the time stuffing the trash into plastic bottles.  Once these bottles are complete they can be used like a brick and we will be making an eco-bench using bottles in front of the school as a bus stop seat.  The kids are just so full of energy so it was nice to get them excited about picking up trash and stuffing it into bottles!

The first veggies that my garden produced, fresh red butter head lettuce which I put on my homemade bread and made a delicious BLT.  My garden is doing great but unfortunately was taken over by many different ants and I have used every homemade pesticide I have found and they are just eating everything so have now reverted to more drastic measures but I am putting into too much work for ants to eat all my goodies but I think I am successfully wiping them out (at least for now)! 

Well that is it for now, it is hard to believe that we have almost been here one year, already more than 1/3 through my service.  I am having a wonderful time and enjoying the cooler weather right now.  Will be hosting 7 PCV’s to my site this weekend for a recycled art day with my community on Sunday so I am really looking forward to that and will be sure to post pictures!