How you know you’re assimilating well in Paraguay:

- You don’t search your bed for bugs anymore
- You’re okay with sharing the shower with a huge spider and a few frogs
- You’re dog has got your back and follows you to the neighbors’ houses
- Bathing in a stream doesn’t sound so ridiculous anymore
- You can sit outside after dinner and talk with your parents for hours
- The food is no longer scary and unknown
- You make a carrot cake and your family eats basically the whole thing while you’re at class
- You have a Paraguayan boy come over and you decline his invitation to go to asuncion for the day
- Red dirt roads ain’t no thanggggg. It may mean you have to wash your shoes every day, but it’s become routine… it’s also helping my calf muscles out quite a bit
- Sweating is the norm
- You’re totally cool with people staring at you and counting to three in English
- You have an interview in guarani and it isn’t a complete failure
- The soccer field is the best hang-out place you got
- You start speaking to your American friends in Spanish by accident
- Your family and neighbors start speaking to you in guarani
- You enjoy not having internet, cell phone, or English TV
- You’re able to able to make empanadas, tortilla, bean salad, and soy milk and apple juice out of ¾ kilo of soy beans (this coming from a person who does not cook… ever)
- You’re capable of making a spring well, losa for a latrine, and a brick oven
- Your head doesn’t spin around in circles when you see a family of 4 on a moto
- The thought of parasites doesn’t gross you out anymore
- Seeing the ox cart is an everyday occurrence
- And of course, you’ve scoped out where they sell the best cookies in town
.... to be continued!


the pictures are of the trainees with my neighbor who turned 5 years old!! and of my and my 2 favorite boys in my community :)

anyway, i visited my future site!!!! it´s called San Pablo in the department of Misiones. It´s about a 4 to 5 hour bus ride from Asuncion, the capital. Luckily, i live right along the main, paved road which makes in easy and convenient to visit! so, you should all probably buy your plane tickets now and plan a trip to the campo of san pablo! my site is pretty well off! we have a police station, a health post with a doctor and 3 nurses, a grade school, a high school, and a preschool. We have a huge soccer field and tons of volleyball courts! and da da da.... tons of horses! WOO! the main industry is crops of peanuts, mandioca, and beans. i stayed with a teacher and her 2 sisters. they were 29, 17, and 14 years old and they were absolutely amazing.. kind of reminded me of my sisters back home! :) my contact is a 20 year old boy who wants to study to be a lawyer. he´s very enthusiastic, maybe a bit too much (he wouldnt leave me alone!), but its great that hes willing to work with me. i met the principals of the schools and most of the teachers. as of now, i thnk my main projects will be sex ed, teaching english, building fogones (brick ovens), and working at the special school or rehab center (not too sure yet because i havent visited it) in the main city which is 16 km from my site. In the town, theres everything i would need (food store, internet, appliance stores, fruiteria, hospital, everything!) my site has about 100 houses and 500 people. Its a medium sized rural area. ill live with various host families for the first 3 months, and then rent a house of my own!!!!!! ill also work on making soap and detergent with the high school students as part of a buisness project. we have running water, and some people have modern bathrooms and some have latrines. im psyched!! if you all have any other specific questions, let me know!

i swear in as an official volunteer on april 30th. then, ill stay in asuncion for a few nights to relax and head to site on may 4th! (kristen´s birthday... its soo good luck!)

miss you all