Month 8: Busy busy busy

HELLOOOO and welcome back!

May was a jam-packed month, and I did so many cool things. Let's jump right in.

More Training!

During the first week of May, my fellow volunteers and I were reunited again (we barely had time to miss each other from Reconnect) for another training. This time, it was an IST - in-service training - and what made this one special was our ability to bring a community counterpart. Any person in our community (although usually someone from the school or institution we're working with) is invited to participate in a series of lectures and workshops by the Peace Corps, with the hope of fostering ideas and helping make plans for future community projects. It also didn't hurt that the training was held in the beautiful town of Atyra - widely known as the "cleanest" city in Paraguay, and we stayed at the stunning Marianela, an old monastery.

I was so lucky to be accompanied by my super guapa [hardworking] Directora and one of my Profes. We spent the time sketching out and planning the steps of my next big community project - bringing trash cans to my town! This is the biggest initiative I've started since being here. It requires getting the physical trash cans and a lecture series on trash separation, classification, and education surrounding recycling and, hopefully, composting soon!

This training was not without its fun, however. After the counterparts left, the volunteers had to stay one more day to receive volunteer-specific training. An interesting fact about Atyra is that it's the country's leather capital, which means purses and terere sets. You know how much I've talked about terere and its importance to the culture, so getting your own set is a BIG right of passage for any volunteer. However, it's bad luck to buy your own set, so a few of my fellow volunteers and I searched for a quality leather shop and bought them for each other. Below is a picture of me with my new prized possession and my Nanduti earrings (a traditional Paraguayan artwork done by knotting thread). 

Collabs!

In my opinion, one of the coolest parts of being a Peace Corps volunteer is traveling to other volunteer sites, seeing different parts of the country, and working with them on projects. This month, I visited two of my friend's sites and helped with a tree planting project, as well as doing a charla and a recycling project at an economic volunteer's site, where we turned wine bottles into drinking glasses. Another less work-focused project we did? Taking it upon ourselves to decorate a fellow volunteer's wall with a beautiful mural, including drawings of Patrick Star from SpongeBob, Peppa Pig, and my contribution, a fat capybara.

 

Community Time!

Something else I was fortunate to be a part of this month was one of my community's Hamburgesa Beneficas. Whenever someone in my community is sick, hospitalized, injured, or generally unwell, a few señoras organize a fundraiser. They get together, make hundreds of hamburgers, and sell them, with all the profits going towards the family of the individual suffering. Now, I support these fundraisers whenever I hear about them (Paraguayans love putting a fried egg and mayo on their burgers; I can't lie, it's growing on me). Still, I was invited to help make the burgers themselves for the first time. After 6 hours of chatting with the women in my community and making burgers (I felt like I was cosplaying a McDonald's worker), we raised over 1 million Guaranies for the family! It was a lovely experience to show up and support the community that has given so much to me.

I also had the wonderful opportunity to march in the parade my community puts on to celebrate the Paraguayan Independence Day. It was such a fun experience to see my students marching and playing instruments and chatting with some of the professors of nearby schools and the Supervision (like superintendents) of my school system. 

On an environmental note, I had a lovely visit from my friend Tay, and we spent a fantastic few days kicking off my charla series and teaching kids about separating and classifying their trash and the difference between organic and inorganic materials. She even captured this sweet moment of a hug with one of my students, which is very common but usually involves me getting tackled by many small children.

After our charla, Tay and I spent a lovely afternoon wandering around and exploring my community, climbing trees, and asking my neighbors for some spare sticks. We then returned to my house, built a fire, and enjoyed the warmth with guitar strumming, singing, and stargazing.

You may notice that I'm wearing longer sleeves, jeans, and even a winter coat and hat in a few of these photos. That's right! The unending heat wave finally broke, and we have officially entered fall. We had a bit of a cold spat, which averaged about 45-55°F. This may not seem very cold - and indeed, I was made fun of quite a bit being from the Northeast and complaining about 45°F - but I will say 45 degrees when you have no insulation, indoor heating, or hot water in your house (as well as being used to 100°F temperatures) it is COLD.

Of course, I'm typing this in short sleeves and linen pants again as it's reaching 80° today (the cold finally broke enough yesterday for me to do the laundry I've been avoiding for 2 weeks), but this is just the start. Allegedly, it got down to 30°F degrees last year around my birthday (July 13th - but of course, that's already in all of your calendars, right?) I am definitely missing my New England summers (and especially GLP) right about now.

On another note from my school, we're currently on a winning streak!

Every year, all the schools in the country compete in a Futsal tournament (think soccer, but the ball is smaller and harder and played indoors on a basketball court-esque material). We've won every game except one so far, and I'm joining again today to celebrate and cheer on my students. Hopefully, we will make it to the finals, and they can play in the national tournament. They have four sections - girls/boys under 14 teams and girls/boys under 17. So far, our only team that's lost has been the boys under 14, and even that game went to penalty kicks. Is this part of why I haven't had English class with my 7-9th graders in 2 weeks? Yes. Is it worth seeing them go nuts every time we score and win? 100%. I'm repping grey and red every day. I've already told the Directora I need my shirt for next time. 

LAST THING!!!!

I made a friend 😊

This lovely woman, Yani, has adopted me as a little sister (she's 28, turning 29), and we now spend every weekend together. Whether it's eating lunch, watching futbol at the local cancha, or visiting her family's garden, we have such a lovely time, and I absolutely adore her and her family. This weekend, my site is celebrating "San Juan" (you'll get a full rundown about that next month; the actual holiday isn't until June 24th), so we're having a sleepover. It's been so lovely to spend time with and connect with someone around my age, as well as her friends!

I thiiiiiink that's all my updates for now. Overall, I feel very loved and grounded in my site. I'm also typing this with a 2nd grader on my lap, so everyone say hi to Alma (I'll put a picture of her and her little brother below)!

See you next month!!

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Anita💕💖