Month 19: Charlas, Chipa, and Cumples

Hi everyone!! Apologies for the wait, my computer went kaput on me, so I've had this month and the following ones backlogged for a while.

April in Paraguay means a couple very important events; Semana Santa, my host mom and my best friends' birthdays, and a couple special holidays at school! For this April, it also involved the new school I started working at.

Semana Santa:

In case you forgot from last year, Semana Santa is Spanish for "Holy Week", and it's the week leading up to Easter Sunday. In many Latin American countries, and especially in Paraguay, this means celebrations all week long. The two most notable traditions we have in Paraguay is “Los Villacruces” (Stations of the cross), and “Chipa Apo”, in which the family gathers together to make chipa, a traditional Paraguayan bread with cheese.

Below are some pictures from our Chipa Apo, as well as an example of one of the stations in the Villacruces. It’s common for a school or community to put on a live reenactment of Jesus’s walk to crucifixion on Good Friday. The community members will follow the reenactment with lit candles as they walk through the community, finally ending at the Church where he is nailed to the cross, and the community finishes with a group prayer.

Since it’s only a half week of school during Semana Santa, we take advantage of this opportunity to spend more time with our loved ones. This year, we had many a lunch at abuelos house, as well as going on a hike with Maria Liz, Mariel, and their cousin Belen who came to visit.

Birthdays:

April 1 and April 9 also mark two very  important dates in my life in Paraguay, my host mom’s birthday, and that of my best friend Maria Liz. We got to celebrate both with many a cake, lots of love, and laughter. 

New School:

I also started working at a new school this month! It’s in the community next to mine, and between the two schools and my work with the municipality, my weeks are booked and busy! My original school will always be #1 in my heart, but I love working with the kids in my new one as well.

School events:

April 22 was a crucial day in any environment volunteer’s experience: it’s Earth Day!

This year to celebrate, I taught the kiddos about the parts of a tree. Then, after making a tree trunk and branches out of recycled materials, I had them draw pictures and write things about the Earth they were grateful for. The final result was our “Tree of Gratitude”.

In addition, I went to my friends’ site to plant some trees! It was a lovely opportunity to get my hands a little dirty, as well as reconnect with some people I hadn’t seen in a while.

Not that I haven’t been getting my hands dirty on a regular basis in site. This month was all about preparing the garden; getting the plant beds ready for seeds, adding fertilizer, and overall having my middle schoolers take full advantage of every opportunity they had to be in the garden rather than in English class. 

I even had a lovely “2nd year site visit” from the Peace Corps programming team, who came to watch me give a Charla on the water cycle, as well as offer some advice for my garden.

Finally, August 30th was Dia de Maestro, or National Teacher Day. 

As a teacher, I joined the other members of the institution in being pampered with dances from the students, gifts, and a delicious asado lunch in the school. 

Last year for this event I was definitely still new and felt a little out of place participating in the celebrations. I had never been a teacher before, and definitely suffered a but of imposter syndrome. However this year, seeing all my students - younger and older alike-  run up and hug me, give me gifts, shout “Feliz Dia” as I walked down the street, or even hearing the thunderous applause as the students crowned me “Miss International” during the celebration, brought tears to my eyes as I realized how much this community truly had welcomed and accepted me, and how much I did truly feel like a valued member of the community.

That’s all I have for this month. Apologies again for the late upload. I’m slowly making my way through my camera roll and journal to write updates for you from now through July (maybe August by the time I get myself together), and I’m hoping to post all of these soon. Thanks for your patience 😘 see you soon!