Monday, November 14, 2011

wedding frenzy + workin hard

I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to return to my site after a visit to Joel’s sisters in San Juan (Paraguay offers terrible bus schedules). But, I had the opportunity to see the sun rise over the open fields and realized.. OH CRAP I only have 5 months left in this beautiful country.

5 MONTHS?! I have so much left to do in 5 months! Where did the other 22 months go? How did this all happen so fast? My time here has been filled with so many amazing experiences including meeting and getting engaged to Joel, teaching children to read, speak English, wash their hands, brush their teeth, eat vegetables, and be creative through arts and crafts! There have been so many up and down times during my service, but what I remember most are the endearing qualities about Paraguayans. They are so generous, happy, and care-free.
Wedding preparations are full blown. There’s less than 3 months until the big day… February 4th, 2012. It’s been unbelievably easy to plan a wedding here because there aren’t many options to choose from. Things are really coming together and I couldn’t be more excited. Joel just started working at the food store in order to be able to pay for his ticket to the states and trust me--- he’s working hard! 11.5 hours a day/7 days a week. The poor boy doesn’t have time to breath and they’re paying him basically nothing. He’ll think working in the states is a luxury in comparison to this. He’s working on his English and has mastered all of the slang phrases thanks to the “modern family” and “big bang theory”. He’s really excited to get to meet all you guys and is a natural born Phillies fan… already decked out in apparel!
My reading groups have become a huge passion these last few weeks. After doing diagnostic testing, 62% of my elementary school, grades 1-6, have low reading levels. There have been kids over the past 3 months who have improved their reading level by 3 grades. Some have found a passion for reading and are constantly asking me to borrow the books and others have broken their lack of self-esteem and aren’t afraid to read out loud anymore. Of course, there are still those kids who show no interest, but it has been by far one of the most rewarding experiences. We’re planning on doing summer book clubs/camps to continue the momentum.
We’re also starting exercise classes 3 days a week to compete in a department-wide peace corps represented fitness competition. Should be verrrrrrry interesting to see old senoras doing a push-up… If you got any Richard Simmons videos, send them my way! HA!
In a nice short summary, life is moving fast and has been a fabulous time in Paraguay.