What happened to August?

August sneaked by!

Did it ever, without a chance to post my monthly entry! Firstly, MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS to the generous supporters of our LIBRARY WORKSHOP, the focus of July´s post, for the event is now fully funded (hence, the link with its information has already vanished)! I can´t thank you all enough, and I will report on the workshop, now slated for next spring, in this space, so stay tuned!

August "sneaked by" thanks to a couple of Peace Corps multi-day workshops, one focusing on language (aka Guarani in my case, for more about Guarani, see http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/247844/Guarani-language), and the other on Project Design Management. The latter was especially interesting since each volunteer brought along at least one Paraguayan, meaning the total group had more Paraguayans than "nortes." It was really interesting to meet Paraguayans from all parts of the country, and I was delighted to take two women from my host community, Marlene and Simone. Marlene is a teacher who works on project management in the Area Supervisor´s office, and Simone is a young activist in my rural village who has already begun to form a neighborhood association as a result of the workshop. ¡Qué guapa! ("Guapo/a" in Paraguayan Spanish means hard-working.)

The month really sneaked by me tho, when I was able to slip in a quick, surprise getaway to the States, literally surprising my whole family (except one sister) as I arrived for the celebration of my parents´ 50th wedding anniversary. The travel gods were on my side and the trip couldn´t have been better. Even managed to purchase 12 Paraguayan soccer jerseys before take-off, and now have some great pics of my 12 nieces and nephews decked out like an "albirroja" team (Paraguay´s national soccer team, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albirroja). Since the colors are red and white like the Nebraska Cornhuskers, it´s likely more than one of these shirts will make it to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE this fall! The best part was seeing the moving sea of red and white as all 12 played soccer in my parents´ back yard...oh, and the snapshot of all 12 giving the thumbs-up sign, known as the beloved "al pelo" here.

Stay tuned for another entry this month, to make up for the August lapse!
Denise