i'm in one of my really super hyper moods right now.. monica/ roommates, where are you??
to get all my jitters out, i decided to hop in my hammock and write you all a blog update. spring has arrived, which means beautiful weather. im laying on my hammock on my outdoor patio right now enjoying the breeze and sunny blue sky. i have a nice view of my really AWESOME garden which has onions, lettuce, squash, spinach, broccoli, parsely, basil, carrots, and peppers sprouting up. i'm also admiring my hand-washed clothes hanging on the line to dry and am grateful that i got that out of the way yesterday. if you're wondering, hand washing clothes is a tiny bit more difficult than having a washing machine! first you have to fill up a bucket with soap and water, put in a small quantity of clothes, let them soak, hand scrub them and then scrub the dirty parts with a brush, and then rinse them 3 times in a separate bucket to rinse the soap out. i will forever appreciate a washing machine and dryer.
the clock skipped ahead an hour today and not one person in my community told me about it until about 12 o clock this afternoon; that's how much time doesn't matter here. i know what time it is by the type of activity going on. for example, i wake up at about 5:30 every morning to the sound of birds chirping, roosters cockle-doodle-do-ing, the outdoor water spigots of my neighbors filling up their tea kettles for their morning mate, cows being herded past my window to the pasture, and men getting ready to go work in the fields and yelling guarani phrases at each other as they pass by. i have learned to roll over and go back to sleep until about 7:00 or 7:30 when the children show up at my door anxiously waiting to play. i constantly have kids at my house, which makes for good company, but sometimes i get so overwhelmed by their energy that i have to tell them to please... GO HOME! i make myself some coffee with the fresh cow milk my neighbor gives me daily and eat yogurt with granola and banana for breakfast. on weds and fris, my english class starts at 8:30 and we play fun games and learn new vocabulary, using the side of my house as the chalkboard. then, i have class again at 1pm for the older kids. my students are learning rapidly and there are a few super dedicated and intelligent kids that i know for a fact will speak english by the time i leave here. on the other days, i clean my house, work in the garden, go to the school and do lessons, or visit my neighbors and have terere. i know it's just about lunch time when the pre-lunch terere break rolls around. after lunch (i've been cooking up a storm!), i chill out in my hammock, drink some more terere, or go for a bike ride or walk around the community. i usually play cards once a day with the kids (thanks mo and neerav for the UNO cards!), visit my best friend sandra, and make my afternoon coffee or mate. at about 6:30, (now 7:30), i sit on my front porch reading and watching the sun go down. after dark, i finally get my alone time and watch a movie on my computer, listen to music, plan my lessons, or just sit and stare at the wall thinking, holy crap... i still can't believe i live in paraguay and am doing what i'm doing. it still amazes me that i've been here for 8 months and that in just 2 months, ill be zapped back to the states to celebrate christmas the good way. my life is 1000000% different; everything here is "tranquilopa" which basically means "everything is super chill".
today i had the ultimate paraguayan experience. my friend, Luci, invited me to her house to kill a chicken. i woke up this morning SUPER excited because i've been waiting and waiting to do it. i have had many previous invites to partake in a chicken killing, but it took me this long to build up the guts to actually do it. i arrived to her house on my bike, with my 2 biggest fans, 8 year olds laura and suzi running along beside me. We ran after the chicken, I grabbed it by it's neck and feet and pulled, pulled, pulled. i felt it's neck breaking and when it stopped moving, i assumed i had done it... chao chicken. but 3 seconds later, it started flapping around again and Luci had to lay it on the floor, put a broom on its neck and pull it's feet until it's head actually came off. we dunked it in boiling water, pulled out all it's feathers and finger nails, and cut it open only to find a bunch of little eggs inside that it was preparing to lay. we cooked the parts in water, including it's claws (they say they taste really good... YUCK), added vegetables, and sat down to an awesome home-cooked meal. can't say i ever would have imagined myself doing this a year ago, but things are a little different here.
i also wanted to take the time to thank everyone who sent me a package for my birthday. i received more than i could ask for and am so appreciative for everything. i'm organizing all the arts and crafts supplies to have a summer camp for the children, and i've been savoring every american food item i get. you'll never know how much it means to me to know that you took the time and money to send something. you're all the best and i miss you very much! thank you.
love you all, peace homes
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