28/4
Well, a lot has happened since the last time I wrote. First off, I visited my future site for a few days. It’s called San Pablo and it’s located in the south of Paraguay in the department called Misiones. It’s about a 4.5 hour bus ride from the bus terminal in asuncion, and my site is conveniently located right off the main ruta. I stayed with a beautiful family who I slowly fell in love with and I am so relieved to know that I will have 3 girls there with whom I can hang out and relax. My main contact is a 20 year old boy named Alexis. He’s studying to become a lawyer and is interested in helping me promote health because he had leukemia when he was a kid. He’s hardworking and has tons of energy which will be extremely helpful. In short, we visited the Health Post, the schools, the police station, and the main city 16 km from my site. I loved it! One of my favorite things was that there are a ton of horses, and also that there’s about 100 houses in my community, a perfect size.
This past week has been extremely busy because training is wrapping up. We had a party at Eliza’s house to hang out with all of our families, a family party at our escuelita which was hosted by peace corps, and finally, we’re having another party tomorrow night at Nicole’s house! Guasucora has been my home for the past 3 months and I’m pretty sure I couldn’t have picked a better community. The people here are just amazing and it’s been such a precious experience. My mom and dad gave me a red, sleeveless aopoi. Aopoi is a type of Paraguayan clothing that is hand stitched. They’re really light weight and perfect to wear for a dressy occasion. I was so excited to get it, because I had been planning on buying one anyway. My neighbor hand-made it which makes it even more special. I also went shopping with my mom in Villeta, just the two of us. It was such a nice day. We went food shopping, and then she picked out the shoes that I will wear for swearing in… which is FRIDAY! AH! I cooked dinner for my mom and dad the other night. I made chicken with potatoes, carrots, and onions, and macaroni and cheese. They loved it and I was so excited that my first real experience cooking went smoothly. I’m so pro. Today, we went to a place called Carapegua which is where there is market with hand-made hammocks, blankets, bags, and tablecloths. I bought a hammock for my house when I move to San Pablo, and a table cloth with some lace in it for my parents. I gave it to them tonight after dinner with a letter that I had written for them. I know they greatly appreciated it, and I just wish I could better explain how appreciative I am for their hospitality in the past 11 weeks. Not only did they open up their home to me, but they included me as part of the family and made my training experience the best that it could have been. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to live with Maria and Eligo. I have noticed the little things they do every day that make them extra special and really hard working. They may not have the most money in the world or very many possessions, but they are so happy with each other and they know how to make their life the best that it can be. These people have taught me so much about what needs to be prioritized in life. Truly, I can’t say it enough, but Maria and Eligo have been fabulous parents and I can’t wait to visit them every time I make a trip to ascuncion!
The fact that we swear in as official volunteers in 2 days is absolutely crazy. Time has passed way too quickly. As busy as we were throughout training, it has also been a kind of vacation or retreat in many ways. It’s been really relaxing and eye opening to spend time and hang out in guasucora while meeting so many new people. Not only have I become great friends with my fellow guasucora trainees and the rest of G32, but my neighbors and families of the other trainees have also become my family. Slowly opening up and really getting to know these people has been such a unique pleasure that I do not take for granted. Yes, there were some ups and downs of training and having such a strict predetermined schedule laid out for us was a bit trying, yet learning so many new things and absorbing the culture has been quite enjoyable. I will miss this place.
17/5/2010
Since the last time I wrote, I have sworn in as an official volunteer, partied in asuncion with my fellow G32 trainees, and moved to site on May 4th. Moving here has been an emotional rollercoaster. At first, I was so excited to finally arrive, to follow out what has been my dream for so many years. I was met at the bus stop by my “contact” and since then, I haven’t seen or heard from him except for a couple of inappropriate text messages (yes, I do have a cell phone these days!!!!!) Without a contact, I feel kind of lost as to what I should and can be doing. I moved in with a family of 4, parents and 2 seventeen year old girls. Luckily, my family is wonderful and has made me feel more than comfortable in their home. I use one of my sister’s bedrooms to sleep in which is more than I could have asked for. It’s a privilege to have a space to call my own because many other new volunteers do not. I hang out with my sisters every day and follow them to high school where I have taught a class of English and made detergent with an economy class. We sold the detergent to neighbors and made a little money to contribute to a class trip to a museum! My sisters have taken me to meet many neighbors; however, it has been unbelievably frustrating because they will not willingly speak in Spanish. Guarani is the preferred language and pretty much the only people who will speak to me in Spanish are teenagers or small children. This goes without saying that I have spent many hours sitting in terere circles of Paraguayans pretending to listen to their indigenous language, when really I’m usually thinking about home and what I would be doing if I were there. Congrats to everyone who just graduated!! I’m so proud of you all and so wish that I could have been there to share in the festivities. I thought about you guys a lot… probably too much because I’ve started to become a teensy bit homesick. I think this has to do with the fact that there is not one other English-speaking person in the near vicinity which leaves me with a lot of self-time and entirely way too much time to think about things. I needed a hobby, and so I have taken up crocheting! It’s actually really fun and it really fits well with my grandma reputation. Haaa. I’ve also been studying guarani in my free time… which I’ve had a TON of due to the past 3 days of solid rain. I’ll have you know that life in Paraguay literally stops when it starts drizzling. School is cancelled, and everyone sits under their porches drinking mate. It’s actually nice and relaxing and a bit relieving because I don’t feel pressured to be doing something proactive, but 3 days is way more than enough. I’ve gone a bit stir crazy, so I’ve decided to venture into San Ignacio today (the nearest large town near me) so that I can use the internet, buy some groceries, stop by the post office, and take money out of my ATM. I’m super excited.
So I’ve had a lot of funny moments since I’ve been here. They weren’t funny at the time, but now I can laugh at them. So the other night I was sick and needed to go to the bathroom. The toilet is outside, so of course I unlocked my door, brought my flashlight with me, and did my thing. I came back and got yelled at in the morning for leaving my room in the dark. My ma told me I had to use the bowl that has curiously been sitting on my bedroom floor to relieve myself in the middle of the night because she doesn’t want me outside. Another issue has been my laundry. My dirty clothes have been piling up, and I’ve wanted to wash the past few days, but one of my sisters was using the bucket ALL day one day, and then it’s been raining which means you do not do laundry. It stopped raining this morning, so I hurried outside, hand washed all my clothes (broke my ring cuz I scrubbed too hard  ) and hung the clothes on the line. Immediately after, it started monsooning and so now, my clothes are still hanging outside dripping in rain water. Oops. On another note, I’ve been eating a lot of crocodile and carpincho (which looks to me like an enormous beaver). They have an interesting taste, but surprisingly, I’m kind of a fan! Other than that, just the normal things… a lot of awkward stares, silly language mistakes, blank stares from me when people ask me things in guarani, and a lot of people asking me why in the world I’m here, if I miss my family, if I have a boyfriend, and how old I am. Seems like those are the pretty standard questions around here and I gladly answer them over and over again because I actually understand this vocabulary in guarani! It’s a start! I’m ready to begin my health census which has to be done with 50 families in my community. After that, I can start my projects which I think will consist of a lot of fogon building, working with commissions, teaching health topics in the school and high school, and hooooopefully I can find the special ed school or rehab center in san Ignacio and get my foot in the door there. We’ll see where things go, but I have a lot to forward to… I just don’t know where to start!
Thank you to everyone who has been making an effort to keep in touch. It really means so much to me. If I don’t get back to you right away, it’s only because I don’t have internet very often and am usually super rushed if I do have it, and I can’t call anyone from my cell because it’s way too expensive. However, I can text for cheap and I’m pretty sure it’s not that expensive to text me from the states… so I’m always open to some texting!! You can also call me from skype and its 22 cents a minute. My number 011 595 984 610 017. You can also send me letters and small packages to my new address!!!
Danielle Burns (voluntaria cuerpo de paz)
San Roque Gonzalez 1164
Telef: 0782 232335
San Ignacio, Misiones Paraguay
C.P. 4750

Gracias! Love you all! Chao chao

ps. i also have 2 cell numbers. call from skype and its only 22 cents a minute! you can also text me and i can text you for 20 cents a minute! try this number first and if it doesnt work, try the second one!!

011 595 984 610 017 OR 011 595 975 101 248

por fin, soy misonera :)

hey everyone! i know it´s been quite a while, so i stopped by an internet cafe while i wait for my bus to get back to my site. i just visited another volunteer in southern misiones for a VAC meeting. i met 9 other volunteers who are all in my department of paraguay, which is reassuring to know i have some english speaking companions somewhat near by (the closest being about a 30 minute bus ride and a few mile walk). We ended up making mexican food and watching a marathon of jersey shore. it´s a little hilarious that i´m in peace corps paraguay watching probably one of the trashiest american tv shows out there, but it was a nice adversion to keep my thoughts away from thinking about my new site. i´ve only been there for a bout 5 days, and i dont really know what im supposed to be doing exactly. i´ve visited the school, met a bunch of guarani speaking families who told me that if i dont learn guarani fluently, we may have some problems, ill be making soap with the 8th grade class on wednesday, and ive just been doing things around the house like washing my clothes, and helping my ma cook some paraguayan food. it´s all gone really smoothly so far,and i couldnt be happier with the family im currently living with. i live with a married couple, and 2 seventeen year old girls who bring me around with them everywhere. i love where i´´m at, but im super nervous about what is expected of me. i think my community wants a lot of brick ovens, a reforestation project, and lessons regarding health in the schools. i have a lot of good things going for me, but it will be quite a long process to begin to have any type of sucessful project. first, i need to study guarani, and then ill worry about putting my muscles to work. ill keep you all posted. i have to go catch the bus, but hopefully i will be able to write more detail later. so much has been happening, and i havent had enough time on internet to really explain it to you all, but know that i am very happy, and i am doing very well. i miss you all greatly and i would huuuuuuuugely appreciate any texts, or skype calls to my new cell phone (its super cheap!)!!!! 011 595 984 610 017

much love, and congrats to the class of 2010. so proud of you all :)