December...in and out of site...including some vacation time!
Since school is out my schedule has more flexibility between now and February.
I've really enjoyed the tutoring classes I'm giving to some students. The focus is on reading, since they're not yet at their respective grade levels, and I try to make the learning fun for them. I go to 10-yr old David's house, where we're joined by other kids who live in his neighborhood. David's mom has been great about giving us free reign with their limited living space, and we've essentially set up a small classroom in their main room. I used my staple gun to place 29 milk cartons on the wall, each one covered in paper and bearing a large capital letter. (The Spanish alphabet has a few extra letters, e.g. the "ch," the "ñ," the "ll.") The 29 cartons are in three rows, with enough space between the rows to place a large flash card of the matching letters on the tops of the milk boxes. The kids love this set up, and we invent all sorts of ways to play with it!
I had an interview for my Peace Corps extension proposal, but won't know the decision for a while yet. Meanwhile, another group of volunteers finished their service this month, leaving my "G," aka training group, as the "senior" group of volunteers. Our close-of-service conference is next month already, and the actual close of service is in April, 2011. Yes, we're quickly approaching two years here already, unbelievable!
I spent Christmas with my host family. This year we travelled to Asuncion to stay with one of Doña Lilli's cousins. I renewed my Paraguayan driver's license so I could drive the family's vehicle. (As Peace Corps volunteers we are only allowed to drive in country when we are on vacation.) My, did it feel great to be behind the wheel once again!
I'm drawing the year to a close in Santiago, Chile. I'm visiting a friend who moved here this year. I took the bus from Asuncion, a 30+-hour journey, complete with crossing the Andes between Argentina and Chile.
May your 2011 be full of many magical moments, wherever you may have the privilege to be living YOUR NEXT NEW YEAR! Happy new year, full of blessings and good stories!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
November 2010...a blur!
I've had to backdate this entry, I must confess. November was not a happy month for me in the online world. For the first time in my digital life I became a victim of hackers' activities. Some of you may have received email messages ostensibly sent by me, sent on days I wasn't even online! I apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you. Ironically, the hacking coincided with a phase in which I had much less online access, since the wifi connection at our city hall was mysteriously and suddenly disabled just prior to the November 7 municipal elections. So, the precious time I could access the Internet when in Asuncion or Villarrica was spent checking all my accounts, changing passwords, responding to those of you who alerted me to the spam coming from me, etc....in short, a major hassle which kept me from doing my "normal" online tasks, like posting to this! I have yet to catch up 100% with messages sent from many of you, and I thank you for your continued patience. Lesson learned: change passwords on a regular basis! I think I was vulnerable to a hacker's attack for having maintained certain passwords for way too long.
In the nonvirtual realm, November brought the official end of the school year, like last year, on the last day of the month. The month also included several library workshops that I gave, both in Troche, and in other communities. I participated in a "Diversity Panel" at the Peace Corps training center for the current group of trainees; I believe I was a part of it to represent the "seasoned youth" amongst volunteers! I submitted my proposal to extend for one more year in Paraguay. I also turned in a narrative about Nico, per my manager's request.
Thanksgiving was spent with a small group of other Peace Corps volunteers; we gathered at one volunteer's house and did our best to replicate turkey with trimmings, a la Paraguaya! The Thanksgiving weekend also included a family wedding in Troche. One of Doña Lilli's sisters tied the knot. It was a perfect evening for the outdoor event, and we danced under the stars. Another month in which to be thankful for all the good people and things in the world, hackers excepted!
In the nonvirtual realm, November brought the official end of the school year, like last year, on the last day of the month. The month also included several library workshops that I gave, both in Troche, and in other communities. I participated in a "Diversity Panel" at the Peace Corps training center for the current group of trainees; I believe I was a part of it to represent the "seasoned youth" amongst volunteers! I submitted my proposal to extend for one more year in Paraguay. I also turned in a narrative about Nico, per my manager's request.
Thanksgiving was spent with a small group of other Peace Corps volunteers; we gathered at one volunteer's house and did our best to replicate turkey with trimmings, a la Paraguaya! The Thanksgiving weekend also included a family wedding in Troche. One of Doña Lilli's sisters tied the knot. It was a perfect evening for the outdoor event, and we danced under the stars. Another month in which to be thankful for all the good people and things in the world, hackers excepted!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
October: Olympics + Elections = NOISY Paraguay
October in Paraguay means Olympics in many schools, at least in my part of the country. The children get so-o excited about their school-wide “Olimpiadas.” Here in Troche both my school (public) and Beta’s school (private) hold Olympics. In my school each grade is a different country (chosen at random, out of a hat), and at Beta’s they don’t organize by country, choosing to use colors instead. Countries in this year’s Olympics for my school, San Pascual, included Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain. Each grade decks out in sportswear displaying its country’s colors, carries a banner conveying the grade’s chosen message (this year’s theme was caring for our environment) and the opening ceremony is complete with the parade of countries, flags, and even torchbearers. This year the teachers paraded too, wearing our matching polo shirts. It’s quite a production and is a major fundraiser for the school—the opening ceremony is held in the evening and admission is charged. (If you want to sit down on something other than the ground you must rent a chair, a common practice here.) The 8pm event started at 9pm, and it was already 10:15pm when just the opening procession finished. I took Beta and Nico along, and they loved seeing all the pageantry, standing up on our sole rented chair. The pre-schoolers were especially fun to watch. Their country was Spain, and their parade included a little bullfighter, and accompanying bull. Once all the countries entered and took their places, all the “athletes” moved together to some popular tunes. In this World Cup year Shakira’s “Waka Waka” is omnipresent, and it was a hoot to see kids of all ages groove in time to the catchy tune. We departed when the parade portion ended, and I could hear the event wrap up about midnight, and yes, this was on a school night! (We live right across the street from the empty lot where many local activities take place, and so I can usually hear events, thanks to the loud PA system!) The next two school days were dedicated to various athletic contests.
Yes, October has been a very NOISY month. I’m pretty sure I’m experiencing some hearing loss while living here. One October Sunday we were exposed to 14 hours of nonstop LOUD noise masquerading as music, provided as background ambiance for a car show. It was the first day in Paraguay that I came very close to pulling out my hair! Imagine stereos blasting on a college campus on a Friday afternoon, or on the day of a home football game, and then multiply that sound, and its duration, many times over. Music forms a big part of political campaigns, and the whole country is filled with extra doses of music thanks to the upcoming municipal elections. Sunday, November 7, is the day on which Paraguayans in communities large and small will elect their respective mayors and city councils, who will serve for five years, through 2015. Many candidates, at least in my neck of the woods, have campaign songs which are blared through all the neighborhoods via campaign vehicles equipped with sound systems on steroids. I wonder how many different versions of Shakira’s lyrics to “Waka Waka” are circulating around Paraguay this election season? At least it will all come to a halt Friday, November 5, when all campaigning must cease, leaving a brief time for “reflection” before everyone heads to the polls on Sunday, Nov. 7. Winners will take office in mid-December, before the end-of-the-year holidays.
Yes, October has been a very NOISY month. I’m pretty sure I’m experiencing some hearing loss while living here. One October Sunday we were exposed to 14 hours of nonstop LOUD noise masquerading as music, provided as background ambiance for a car show. It was the first day in Paraguay that I came very close to pulling out my hair! Imagine stereos blasting on a college campus on a Friday afternoon, or on the day of a home football game, and then multiply that sound, and its duration, many times over. Music forms a big part of political campaigns, and the whole country is filled with extra doses of music thanks to the upcoming municipal elections. Sunday, November 7, is the day on which Paraguayans in communities large and small will elect their respective mayors and city councils, who will serve for five years, through 2015. Many candidates, at least in my neck of the woods, have campaign songs which are blared through all the neighborhoods via campaign vehicles equipped with sound systems on steroids. I wonder how many different versions of Shakira’s lyrics to “Waka Waka” are circulating around Paraguay this election season? At least it will all come to a halt Friday, November 5, when all campaigning must cease, leaving a brief time for “reflection” before everyone heads to the polls on Sunday, Nov. 7. Winners will take office in mid-December, before the end-of-the-year holidays.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
September, short and sweet--and springy!
September, short and sweet
The month was indeed both. The 30 days seemed like three, and it was sweet with the arrival of spring, which is heralded countrywide almost like an official holiday, since it starts on the same day as “Dia de la Juventud," aka "day of youth." Paraguayan springtime really is short and sweet, and the flowering bushes and trees are abundant (more than "mere" flowers in the ground). The month was also sweet with the news that our library committee proposal was approved, and went live on the Peace Corps web site September 8, International Literacy Day. (A good sign, I hope!) For those of you who would like to contribute to our library workshop for Paraguayans, please follow this link:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=526-215
A shout out to my local Rotary Club in Nebraska City for its generous contribution to our workshop. The club designated one meeting a month as “Paraguay Day” during which it raised money for our project.
At my school we observed International Literacy Day by highlighting it in the daily “assembly” and also entering each classroom to announce the winners of a reading contest. The winners were every student, since the idea was to motivate everyone to read more, not merely recognize the kids who read well, since everyone can readily identify the best readers. Every child was given a brand new pencil with an eraser, as we emphasized that reading and writing are linked.
This post is also short and sweet since I'm down to the wire, posting on the last day of the month, during my final moments of online access.
Happy Spring to colleagues in the Southern Hemisphere; Happy Fall to friends and family up north!
The month was indeed both. The 30 days seemed like three, and it was sweet with the arrival of spring, which is heralded countrywide almost like an official holiday, since it starts on the same day as “Dia de la Juventud," aka "day of youth." Paraguayan springtime really is short and sweet, and the flowering bushes and trees are abundant (more than "mere" flowers in the ground). The month was also sweet with the news that our library committee proposal was approved, and went live on the Peace Corps web site September 8, International Literacy Day. (A good sign, I hope!) For those of you who would like to contribute to our library workshop for Paraguayans, please follow this link:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=526-215
A shout out to my local Rotary Club in Nebraska City for its generous contribution to our workshop. The club designated one meeting a month as “Paraguay Day” during which it raised money for our project.
At my school we observed International Literacy Day by highlighting it in the daily “assembly” and also entering each classroom to announce the winners of a reading contest. The winners were every student, since the idea was to motivate everyone to read more, not merely recognize the kids who read well, since everyone can readily identify the best readers. Every child was given a brand new pencil with an eraser, as we emphasized that reading and writing are linked.
This post is also short and sweet since I'm down to the wire, posting on the last day of the month, during my final moments of online access.
Happy Spring to colleagues in the Southern Hemisphere; Happy Fall to friends and family up north!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Niños and libros, books in the hands of niños
This month holds one of Paraguay’s most beloved holidays, the Day of the Niño, August 16. While not an official bank holiday, it is typically celebrated in the schools with snacks and raffles (hot chocolate is especially popular since the day occurs during wintertime). The origin of the Paraguayan version of the Day of the Child is tragic, for it commemorates the brave children who fought in one of Paraguay’s major wars, the majority of whom lost their lives in battle on August 16, 1869. There was a shortage of men, and children put aside books and took up arms, painting their faces with mustaches and beards. Most of them perished, and to this day every August 16 in Paraguay niños—and their rights—are center stage. I like this excerpt from one of the books I donated to the library, in an entry for the Dia del Niño:
"Los niños de hoy, tambien tienen esa batalla que libran dia a dia, la lucha contra la ignorancia. Sus armas son cuadernos, lapices y libros. Esta batalla todos la tienen que ganar."
In other words, today's children also have a battle that can free them day by day, the fight against ignorance. Their weapons are notebooks, pencils and books. Everyone must strive to win this battle.
For me, the best gifts for children have always been and will always be books. For the Day of the Niño I gave Beta and Nico each a book. Nico was especially excited with his Ben10 title. (I’d never ever heard of Ben10, a cartoon action figure, until Nico told me about him.) It made my day when I came home once and saw Nico lying in his bed on his stomach, attentively studying his new book! At schooI, I organized a book expo, to showcase all the new books either donated or purchased as a result of my recent trip home. ¡Muchas gracias! to all my friends and colleagues who are supporting my efforts in getting more books in childrens’ hands, whether via a direct donation of books (a big shout out to my friend Library Jane, and her foundation Libraries for All, www.librariesforall.org ) or by purchasing some of the Paraguayan “ñanduti” fare I was peddling while home, namely the colorful bookmarks made out of spider-web like lace. My ñanduti sales made it possible for me to return to Paraguay and purchase books published in this country, thereby further supporting the Paraguayan economy, rather than spending money on postage from home to mail books purchased in the States. Most of the kids in my school do not have ANY picture books at home, and there is no public library in this community, so the books in the school library are the only ones they see.
The book expo also kicked off a reading contest I’m holding with the kids, to culminate on September 8, International Literacy Day. Some days it can get discouraging when several kids in grades beyond 1st can’t read two letter words to you, like “yo,” “en,” “de”…you get the idea, and so I’m doing my best to put forth my little grain of sand by (hopefully) making reading more appealing to even reluctant readers. Every child will receive a prize on International Literacy Day, even if “just” a new pencil, for we must motivate everyone to try to read, and not merely reward those who already read well. Pencils (yet another thanks to those of you who have sent me pencils!) will be prized, especially as we approach the last phase of the school year here, when many children can be seen writing with pencils two inches long. I also plan to give out bunches of bookmarks and posters, part of my ALA conference swag collection! ¡Vivan los niños y los libros, vivan! ¡Y que vivan juntos siempre!
"Los niños de hoy, tambien tienen esa batalla que libran dia a dia, la lucha contra la ignorancia. Sus armas son cuadernos, lapices y libros. Esta batalla todos la tienen que ganar."
In other words, today's children also have a battle that can free them day by day, the fight against ignorance. Their weapons are notebooks, pencils and books. Everyone must strive to win this battle.
For me, the best gifts for children have always been and will always be books. For the Day of the Niño I gave Beta and Nico each a book. Nico was especially excited with his Ben10 title. (I’d never ever heard of Ben10, a cartoon action figure, until Nico told me about him.) It made my day when I came home once and saw Nico lying in his bed on his stomach, attentively studying his new book! At schooI, I organized a book expo, to showcase all the new books either donated or purchased as a result of my recent trip home. ¡Muchas gracias! to all my friends and colleagues who are supporting my efforts in getting more books in childrens’ hands, whether via a direct donation of books (a big shout out to my friend Library Jane, and her foundation Libraries for All, www.librariesforall.org ) or by purchasing some of the Paraguayan “ñanduti” fare I was peddling while home, namely the colorful bookmarks made out of spider-web like lace. My ñanduti sales made it possible for me to return to Paraguay and purchase books published in this country, thereby further supporting the Paraguayan economy, rather than spending money on postage from home to mail books purchased in the States. Most of the kids in my school do not have ANY picture books at home, and there is no public library in this community, so the books in the school library are the only ones they see.
The book expo also kicked off a reading contest I’m holding with the kids, to culminate on September 8, International Literacy Day. Some days it can get discouraging when several kids in grades beyond 1st can’t read two letter words to you, like “yo,” “en,” “de”…you get the idea, and so I’m doing my best to put forth my little grain of sand by (hopefully) making reading more appealing to even reluctant readers. Every child will receive a prize on International Literacy Day, even if “just” a new pencil, for we must motivate everyone to try to read, and not merely reward those who already read well. Pencils (yet another thanks to those of you who have sent me pencils!) will be prized, especially as we approach the last phase of the school year here, when many children can be seen writing with pencils two inches long. I also plan to give out bunches of bookmarks and posters, part of my ALA conference swag collection! ¡Vivan los niños y los libros, vivan! ¡Y que vivan juntos siempre!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
June and July fly by!
June and July…how did they fly by! Missed posting in June, and almost this month, due to VACATION…and when I am on vacation my focus is on real time with the folks around me, not on online time!
Peace Corps grants two days of vacation per month of service, 24 days a year, so I did have a nice chunk of time for holidays. “Back in the day” PC Volunteers could not travel to the States for vacation, a policy no longer in place. I went to the States. First, to Washington, D.C. for the annual conference of the American Library Association, to reconnect with my professional colleagues, and just otherwise enjoy a great time in our nation’s capital. I am so glad I went, for I always relish a trip to D.C., and this time was even better since I’d been out of the country for nearly a year. I never fail to get a “high” when viewing the main Presidential monuments, and flying into National Airport with a clear view of them was a treat. Conference highlights for me included: a lively RPCV luncheon in Chinatown, hearing and seeing Toni Morrison speak during the opening ceremony, a StoryCorps, www.storycorps.org, presentation by its founder Dave Isay, a night at the Newseum, www.newseum.org , the international relations reception in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, and the “Vote for Libraries!” rally on Capitol Hill, not to mention the delightful encounters, both planned and serendipitous, with library folks from all over the world. I felt reenergized from the reunion with “mi gente,” my professional guild. I also enjoyed how colleagues and friends bought up all 150 of the Paraguayan ñanduti (“spider web lace”) bookmarks I’d brought along. I had them made in Paraguay to help raise money for books for my library. I sold out in two days and could have sold many more if I’d had them. While in town I also stopped by the PC Headquarters, where I had a chance to meet with PC Staff in the ICE department, Information Collection and Exchange.
Nebraska was next on my travel itinerary, and I was surprised at how much water I viewed from the air as we approached Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. I don’t recall ever having seen so much beyond the banks of the Missouri River before. The upside was that I enjoyed an extra lush and verdant Nebraska countryside, and with the exception of just one day, no rain fell during my stay. I rented a car for the first few days, and just loved the chance to drive again, something we can’t do during our PC service (only when on vacation.) Several nights were spent watching nieces play softball, and just taking random drives in both town and country, amidst perfect weather during some of the summer’s longest evenings...ahh, the good ol’ summertime!
While home in Nebraska City, I again spoke to my local Rotary Club, this time to give them a show and tell of this year’s library workshop they helped fund, and to display some other pieces of ñanduti. (I just love the stuff, and even had an outfit made that includes several ñanduti appliqués, which I wore to the meeting.) I also distributed PC bookmarks, brochures and stickers, items I’d picked up in DC from PC’s “Third Goal” office, the department which overseas the PC’s Third Goal. The Peace Corps has three primary goals, copied and pasted here from the PC web site, www.peacecorps.gov :
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
So, in speaking to my local Rotary Club, I was carrying out the PC's third goal.
The trip home went way too quickly of course, but I felt blessed to be able to make it both to DC for a professional “fix” and home to “the good life” in Nebraska. Family and friends, thanks for making it such a wonderful trip...it was great to spend REAL time with you face-to-face, and for those of you I did not get a chance to visit with one-on-one, I hope to next time, some time next year. Meanwhile, I thought of all of you yesterday, July 30, while celebrating "Friendship Day" here in Paraguay, a holiday started here in 1958,
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/ - ¡Feliz Dia de la Amistad!
I’ll be honest, readjustment here has been a challenge, slow...plus the first days I was back in Paraguay were among some of the winter’s coldest and grayest….and it’s raining cats and dogs as I write this. Mind you, the outdoor temps aren’t what we Nebraskans would consider winter cold by any means (approx. 40°F), but when the indoor temp is also in the mid-forties, well, you might as well be camping outside!
School starts up again across the country on Monday, August 2, following a three-week winter vacation.
Peace Corps grants two days of vacation per month of service, 24 days a year, so I did have a nice chunk of time for holidays. “Back in the day” PC Volunteers could not travel to the States for vacation, a policy no longer in place. I went to the States. First, to Washington, D.C. for the annual conference of the American Library Association, to reconnect with my professional colleagues, and just otherwise enjoy a great time in our nation’s capital. I am so glad I went, for I always relish a trip to D.C., and this time was even better since I’d been out of the country for nearly a year. I never fail to get a “high” when viewing the main Presidential monuments, and flying into National Airport with a clear view of them was a treat. Conference highlights for me included: a lively RPCV luncheon in Chinatown, hearing and seeing Toni Morrison speak during the opening ceremony, a StoryCorps, www.storycorps.org, presentation by its founder Dave Isay, a night at the Newseum, www.newseum.org , the international relations reception in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, and the “Vote for Libraries!” rally on Capitol Hill, not to mention the delightful encounters, both planned and serendipitous, with library folks from all over the world. I felt reenergized from the reunion with “mi gente,” my professional guild. I also enjoyed how colleagues and friends bought up all 150 of the Paraguayan ñanduti (“spider web lace”) bookmarks I’d brought along. I had them made in Paraguay to help raise money for books for my library. I sold out in two days and could have sold many more if I’d had them. While in town I also stopped by the PC Headquarters, where I had a chance to meet with PC Staff in the ICE department, Information Collection and Exchange.
Nebraska was next on my travel itinerary, and I was surprised at how much water I viewed from the air as we approached Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. I don’t recall ever having seen so much beyond the banks of the Missouri River before. The upside was that I enjoyed an extra lush and verdant Nebraska countryside, and with the exception of just one day, no rain fell during my stay. I rented a car for the first few days, and just loved the chance to drive again, something we can’t do during our PC service (only when on vacation.) Several nights were spent watching nieces play softball, and just taking random drives in both town and country, amidst perfect weather during some of the summer’s longest evenings...ahh, the good ol’ summertime!
While home in Nebraska City, I again spoke to my local Rotary Club, this time to give them a show and tell of this year’s library workshop they helped fund, and to display some other pieces of ñanduti. (I just love the stuff, and even had an outfit made that includes several ñanduti appliqués, which I wore to the meeting.) I also distributed PC bookmarks, brochures and stickers, items I’d picked up in DC from PC’s “Third Goal” office, the department which overseas the PC’s Third Goal. The Peace Corps has three primary goals, copied and pasted here from the PC web site, www.peacecorps.gov :
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
So, in speaking to my local Rotary Club, I was carrying out the PC's third goal.
The trip home went way too quickly of course, but I felt blessed to be able to make it both to DC for a professional “fix” and home to “the good life” in Nebraska. Family and friends, thanks for making it such a wonderful trip...it was great to spend REAL time with you face-to-face, and for those of you I did not get a chance to visit with one-on-one, I hope to next time, some time next year. Meanwhile, I thought of all of you yesterday, July 30, while celebrating "Friendship Day" here in Paraguay, a holiday started here in 1958,
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/ - ¡Feliz Dia de la Amistad!
I’ll be honest, readjustment here has been a challenge, slow...plus the first days I was back in Paraguay were among some of the winter’s coldest and grayest….and it’s raining cats and dogs as I write this. Mind you, the outdoor temps aren’t what we Nebraskans would consider winter cold by any means (approx. 40°F), but when the indoor temp is also in the mid-forties, well, you might as well be camping outside!
School starts up again across the country on Monday, August 2, following a three-week winter vacation.
Monday, May 31, 2010
May, a month of tributes to liberty and motherhood
May in Paraguay is replete with the above. In fact, Paraguayans refer to May as the "mes de la patria." Paraguayan Independence is celebrated midmonth, as is Mother's Day. Independence Day is officially on May 15, the same date as the immovable feast of Mother's Day. For many years the country's independence was observed on both May 14 and May 15 since the final machinations for achieving independence were in full swing on the first date, back in 1899. As of today's post, Paraguay is just 347 days away from celebrating its Bicentennial. (The MEC--national Ministry of Education and Cultura--calendar that I cited in last month's post, and repeat here, does a fine job of mentioning all the special days of each month on its web site, complete with colorful icons. Special days of the month = Fechas especiales del mes
http://www.mec.gov.py/cmsmec/?page_id=899
Its May list shows both dates for independence:
May 14, Independencia del Paraguay
May 15, Aniversario de la Independencia de Paraguay
And so as referred to on the "Discovering Paraguay" blog, it's "Happy Independence Days
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/independence-day-dia-independencia/
Both dates ALSO coincide with the founding of several communities in the country, including nearby Villarrica, capital of the department in which I reside. This year marked its 440th anniversary. I went into town with my host mother Doña Lili to watch the parade, a three-hour long view of all the educational institutions' students and teachers, decked out in their respective uniforms. Little pre-schoolers were kept in line by holding onto low-lying limbolike bars, and/or by holding on to strings attached to the leading flag bearer in front. I've never seen anything like this back home, a big local parade primarily for schools to strut their stuff. One addition for the Villarrica parade was a harp contingent, since the city prides itself on being the harp capital of the world. The harp element included both harpists just walking as they held their harps horizontally, as well as a float on which about a dozen musicians played their beautiful instruments.
Mother's Day is one big country-wide asadofest, with enough leftover meat to get most households thru the next day. For this very devout Catholic country the month is also chock-full of devotions to the Virgen Mother. For example, there were numerous tributes to the Virgen of Fatima around May 13.
Wanted to share (again?) this wonderful video of Paraguay, produced by a Peace Corps trainer last year to show new trainees destined to become volunteers here.
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/sites-and-sounds-of-paraguay-sitios-y-sonidos-del-paraguay/
Viva Paraguay, Viva! And to all you great moms out there too!
http://www.mec.gov.py/cmsmec/?page_id=899
Its May list shows both dates for independence:
May 14, Independencia del Paraguay
May 15, Aniversario de la Independencia de Paraguay
And so as referred to on the "Discovering Paraguay" blog, it's "Happy Independence Days
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/independence-day-dia-independencia/
Both dates ALSO coincide with the founding of several communities in the country, including nearby Villarrica, capital of the department in which I reside. This year marked its 440th anniversary. I went into town with my host mother Doña Lili to watch the parade, a three-hour long view of all the educational institutions' students and teachers, decked out in their respective uniforms. Little pre-schoolers were kept in line by holding onto low-lying limbolike bars, and/or by holding on to strings attached to the leading flag bearer in front. I've never seen anything like this back home, a big local parade primarily for schools to strut their stuff. One addition for the Villarrica parade was a harp contingent, since the city prides itself on being the harp capital of the world. The harp element included both harpists just walking as they held their harps horizontally, as well as a float on which about a dozen musicians played their beautiful instruments.
Mother's Day is one big country-wide asadofest, with enough leftover meat to get most households thru the next day. For this very devout Catholic country the month is also chock-full of devotions to the Virgen Mother. For example, there were numerous tributes to the Virgen of Fatima around May 13.
Wanted to share (again?) this wonderful video of Paraguay, produced by a Peace Corps trainer last year to show new trainees destined to become volunteers here.
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/sites-and-sounds-of-paraguay-sitios-y-sonidos-del-paraguay/
Viva Paraguay, Viva! And to all you great moms out there too!
Friday, April 30, 2010
April...many special days, including ARBOR DAY!
Si amigos, not only was April another good month for this PCV, filled with muchos dias buenos, but it also has been replete with several "official" special days. Once Easter was history, the calendar brought other things to celebrate:
-April 7, World Health Day
-April 14, Day of the Americas
-April 19, Day of the American Indian
-April 22, date of the original ARBOR DAY, and now well-known as EARTH DAY
-April 23, International Day of the Book (UNESCO)
-April 30, National Arbor Day in the States (last Friday in April)
-April 30, Day of the Teacher in Paraguay
An integral part of the Paraguayan school day is "la entrada," the few moments that start each day with all of the children assembled outside in front of the school's flagpole, lined up by grade. At a bare minimum, the ritual includes greetings by the Director, and/or the teacher who is in charge of the entrada for the week, and the singing of the national anthem as the flag is raised.
At my school, the teachers are very good about using this time as a daily "assembly" and cultural exchange, especially since there is no indoor space in which everyone would fit for such a gathering. So, on most of the dates listed above there was a presentation on the history and significance of the date. This presentation typically includes various recitations by the students, e.g. poetry, sharing a new song, etc. This month I especially enjoyed the tribute given on April 14, the Day of the Americas. I have to confess I didn't know about this day prior to this year, and was embarrassed to admit it when the teachers asked me if I'd celebrated this day in the States. Students from various grades had made homemade flags of all the 30-plus American nations, including a nice likeness of our good ol' Stars and Stripes (even if it didn't display all 50 stars!), and waved them in sync during the singing of a song in which all the countries are mentioned in rhyme.
The national Ministry of Education and Cultura (MEC) does a fine job of mentioning all the special days of each month on its web site. Scanning the month of April made me aware of many other celebrations that took place during these 30 days:
Special days of the month = Fechas especiales del mes
http://www.mec.gov.py/cmsmec/?page_id=899
I couldn't be present on April 23, the International Day of the Book, but my colleague Antonia, the school's librarian, was well prepared to give everyone an overview of the special day, declared by UNESCO in 1995. The date selected to celebrate the book is the date on which both Cervantes and Shakespeare died. I wasn't at school because I was in Asuncion. I had back-to-back presentations on April 22 and 23, to two different groups of Peace Corps folks. The first was to a group of Municipal Development Volunteers, and their community contacts, on working with libraries in Paraguay. The April 23 talk was to Peace Corps trainees, (during one of their last days in training before swearing-in today at the US Embassy), to talk about libraries. Libraries oftentimes become a secondary project for Volunteers, regardless of their assigned technical sector. So, as the only librarian amongst the current PCV Paraguay ranks, I'm being called upon to share the little I know about one of my favorite institutions. It's a lot of fun for me, and the most satisfying part is when someone who perhaps wasn't too enthused with the idea of listening to a talk about libraries, is jazzed about the idea of working on one in Paraguay by the time the session is over. On the Day of the Book, I was able to conclude the day with a quick showing of the "Gotta Keep Reading" video made last year by a middle-school in Florida. The catchy Black Eyed Peas tune is very popular here in Paraguay, and is used by various products in TV commericals, so it was fun to share it with this new twist:
(now to try and make a version with Spanish lyrics, which some of my students in Villarrica want to try!)
http://www.schooltube.com/v/e9bd79d29b4d0e6a2345
(and am compelled to cut and paste this whole article too):
Student video ‘Gotta Keep Reading’ inspires nation
Posted By mstansbury On March 18, 2010 @ 2:13 pm
In a powerful example of how online social networking, youth exuberance, and digital media can combine to affect a nation, students at Florida’s Ocoee Middle School created a video called “Gotta Keep Reading,” an infectious message that has “gone viral” and inspired other schools and big-name TV stars to endorse reading as a path to success.
The video began when the school’s reading coach, Janet Bergh, thought it might be fun to do something like The Oprah Winfrey Show’s “flash mob” video in Chicago last year. Winfrey and her producers elected to kick off the 2009 season with a live open-air version of the show in Chicago, featuring the Black-Eyed Peas and other performers. The Black-Eyed Peas rewrote the words to their single “I Gotta Feelin” as a Winfrey tribute dubbed “Oprah Feelin,” and hours before the show began the approximately 21,000 audience members were taught choreographed steps to the piece to create a flash mob dance.
As to why she chose to create a flash mob video about reading, Bergh said on Oprah recently that “students have a lot of other interests. Oftentimes reading takes a back seat to that. …It’s not always real cool to be seen with a book.”
“The initial inspiration for the flash mob was the idea of involving every student and adult on our campus in an event that was a fun, exciting, team building activity with a great message,” explained Sharyn C. Gabriel, principal of Ocoee Middle School, in an interview with eSchool News. “We wanted to promote reading—as we always do—in a way that was motivational, meaningful, and engaging to our middle school students. The idea of any publicity was not a part of the plan. However, it has been a welcome, super fun, and exciting addition to the project!”
Gabriel continued: “Our goal was to inspire all readers, especially teenage readers. They love music, they love videos, so why not a music video about reading? We thought this was a win-win situation.”
After the idea took hold in the school, the administration next had to secure rights to the song, “I Gotta Feelin.”
“We worked through [the Black-Eyed Peas’] publishers to get permission to use the song. While we did not speak directly to the artists, submitting our lyrics about reading was part of the approval process,” said Gabriel. “We are hoping they are thrilled that they motivated and inspired us, and we do know that they support our message.”
After the school secured copyright permission, music and drama teachers began to write the lyrics to the group’s song and to choreograph the dance moves.
Students practiced for the flash mob video during their gym classes.
The “Gotta Keep Reading” music video features nearly all of the school’s 1,700 students dancing and singing while holding books in the school’s courtyard. It was recorded with the help of the school’s partner, Full Sail University, in December.
“Full Sail University [staff] very generously donated their time, their equipment, and their talent to this project,” Gabriel said. “They support our school in a variety of ways, including curriculum development and professional training for our teachers.”
Lyrics were changed to make reading the center of the song, and to include the refrain “This book’s going to be a good, good book.”
The video was posted to the school’s web site in late January. It also was posted on YouTube, where it went viral and captured the attention of Oprah show producers.
This month, The Oprah Winfrey Show highlighted Ocoee Middle School and its video by filming a segment on the school’s campus. Winfrey announced that she and Target would pay for the school library’s makeover, including new furniture, new computers, and 2,000 books.
“They managed to get almost 1,700 kids pumped up about something you know I love,” Winfrey said during the broadcast.
(Singers are the school’s band director, Nicole Nasrallah, and its former chorus director, Jamie Perez. Principal Sharyn Gabriel is the solitary dancer at the front of the group when the video begins.)
Winfrey asked the students questions via satellite link, and the entire school gathered in the courtyard, just like in the video. Eighth-grade students Alexis Fox and Danny Mora were on stage with Gabriel and answered some of Winfrey’s questions.
Gabriel said the announcement about the library’s renovations is a great surprise, especially because the library was built to accommodate 600 fewer students than now attend the school.
“We are very fortunate to have been given this very generous and meaningful gift that will touch our entire community,” she said. “The plans for the renovation are top secret, but we do expect the renovation to be complete [by] the end of this school year.”
Since Ocoee Middle School recorded the video, Gabriel said, school data suggest that students are ahead of where they were last year at this time in the number of books read and Reading Counts! quizzes passed.
“There were many lessons learned throughout this entire process, but perhaps the most important is the value of an entire school community coming together to work on a great project with a crucial message,” said Gabriel. “The other lesson we hope to share with others is to think big. Our students can go farther and do more than we think they can. They can be rock stars if we believe in them and if we don’t hold them back.”
Gabriel said Ocoee has received messages from schools all over the country and even from other parts of the world—many sending their congratulations for a job well done and asking for information on how they, too, can do a similar project.
“We are thrilled beyond belief that others want to spread this message,” she said. “We certainly hope other schools will think outside the box when it comes to inspiring and motivating their students to read and succeed. We collectively need to share this message with students all over the world.”
Article printed from eSchoolNews.com: http://www.eschoolnews.com
This final week of the month has been very special too! Monday, April 26, I ventured to the southwest region of my department (state), to attend a workshop on reading promotion offered in the town of Iturbe. Iturbe was home to one of Paraguay's most famous authors, the only one to receive the Cervantes literature prize awarded by the King of Spain. Agosto Roa Bastos died five years ago on April 26, and the town of Iturbe's recently established cultural center and library (donning his name), located in an abandoned train station, paid tribute to Señor Bastos with a celebration of reading. I'd been invited to attend by one of the "reading promoters" who works for the Secretary of Culture in Asuncion. We had become acquainted by phone during my work on the library manual revision. She told me the workshop would be at 9am on April 26. The earliest I could arrive to Iturbe via two buses was 9:30. I arrived, assuming I was late. Instead, I found two "guapa" (hard-working) señoras in the old train station, in clean-up mode. Turns out the workshop had been changed to 3pm. One of the women, a retired high school principal, "Reina" kindly invited me to her home for lunch and a nap. It was 4pm by the time the event began, and by then I KNEW I would not be able to make it back to Troche in the same day, at least not via public transportation. But I was "tranquilopa," knowing everything would work out...as it did! I spent the evening with Reina and her family, and departed the next morning on a 6am bus bound for Villarrica. I promised Reina I'd be back, to offer a one-day workshop for her and her colleagues on libraries.
The unexpected Tuesday morning in Villarrica brought a nice surprise, for I stumbled upon the inauguration of a "TELECENTRO" in the city's main museum when I stopped by to greet its librarian, Olga. Villarrica's mayor has been trying to establish the town as Paraguay's first digital urbe (outside of Asuncion, claro), and he was able to secure funding from a NGO to help begin this reality. The "Telecentro" is comprised of 10 computers housed in the municipal museum. There is an Internet connection, and classes will be offered, all at no cost to the citizens of Villarrica. I took advantage of my presence at the ribbon-cutting, logged on muy quickly, and sent a message to a RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who just returned to the States after serving in Villarrica for two years.
Finally, today, April 30! Officially the Day of the Teacher here, although the main celebration took place yesterday across the country. We went to school for about an hour in the morning, for a prolonged "entrada" ritual to hear the different grades pay homage to their "profes," after which each grade went briefly to its classroom to shower the teachers with gifts. By noon all of the teachers were gathered at a colleague's home for an all-afternoon lunch, complete with mucho dancing! (oh, and I forgot to mention that we first had to go to the local sugarcane processing factory for a Mass to commemorate the official launch of the new harvest season, a very big deal here since the factory is central to the area's economic survival. President Lugo and the Minister of Industry and Commerce coptered in for the event. The President sounded the factory's siren to herald the harvest's start.) Today there is no school all across the country, which is why the in-school celebrations took place yesterday. Quite a deal for the profes here in Paraguay, and for those of us who work with them!
Even tho I pen this from Paraguay, I would be remiss if I closed this entry without mention of one of the days nearest and dearest to my Nebraska native's heart, Arbor Day. The original date, April 22, was the birthday of the holiday's founder, J. Sterling Morton. I still remember the excitement I experienced on the 100th anniversary of the holiday's founding as we wore our Centennial Arbor Day shirts, climbed the huge "monkey tree" in the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, and went to the parade in my hometown of Nebraska City, Home of Arbor Day. The celebration has come a long way since then, check it out at:
http://www.arborday.org/
In the words of its founder J. Sterling Morton,
"Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future."
Now off to climb the mango tree in my backyard with Nico and Beta as I tell them about Arbor Day and my hometown!
-April 7, World Health Day
-April 14, Day of the Americas
-April 19, Day of the American Indian
-April 22, date of the original ARBOR DAY, and now well-known as EARTH DAY
-April 23, International Day of the Book (UNESCO)
-April 30, National Arbor Day in the States (last Friday in April)
-April 30, Day of the Teacher in Paraguay
An integral part of the Paraguayan school day is "la entrada," the few moments that start each day with all of the children assembled outside in front of the school's flagpole, lined up by grade. At a bare minimum, the ritual includes greetings by the Director, and/or the teacher who is in charge of the entrada for the week, and the singing of the national anthem as the flag is raised.
At my school, the teachers are very good about using this time as a daily "assembly" and cultural exchange, especially since there is no indoor space in which everyone would fit for such a gathering. So, on most of the dates listed above there was a presentation on the history and significance of the date. This presentation typically includes various recitations by the students, e.g. poetry, sharing a new song, etc. This month I especially enjoyed the tribute given on April 14, the Day of the Americas. I have to confess I didn't know about this day prior to this year, and was embarrassed to admit it when the teachers asked me if I'd celebrated this day in the States. Students from various grades had made homemade flags of all the 30-plus American nations, including a nice likeness of our good ol' Stars and Stripes (even if it didn't display all 50 stars!), and waved them in sync during the singing of a song in which all the countries are mentioned in rhyme.
The national Ministry of Education and Cultura (MEC) does a fine job of mentioning all the special days of each month on its web site. Scanning the month of April made me aware of many other celebrations that took place during these 30 days:
Special days of the month = Fechas especiales del mes
http://www.mec.gov.py/cmsmec/?page_id=899
I couldn't be present on April 23, the International Day of the Book, but my colleague Antonia, the school's librarian, was well prepared to give everyone an overview of the special day, declared by UNESCO in 1995. The date selected to celebrate the book is the date on which both Cervantes and Shakespeare died. I wasn't at school because I was in Asuncion. I had back-to-back presentations on April 22 and 23, to two different groups of Peace Corps folks. The first was to a group of Municipal Development Volunteers, and their community contacts, on working with libraries in Paraguay. The April 23 talk was to Peace Corps trainees, (during one of their last days in training before swearing-in today at the US Embassy), to talk about libraries. Libraries oftentimes become a secondary project for Volunteers, regardless of their assigned technical sector. So, as the only librarian amongst the current PCV Paraguay ranks, I'm being called upon to share the little I know about one of my favorite institutions. It's a lot of fun for me, and the most satisfying part is when someone who perhaps wasn't too enthused with the idea of listening to a talk about libraries, is jazzed about the idea of working on one in Paraguay by the time the session is over. On the Day of the Book, I was able to conclude the day with a quick showing of the "Gotta Keep Reading" video made last year by a middle-school in Florida. The catchy Black Eyed Peas tune is very popular here in Paraguay, and is used by various products in TV commericals, so it was fun to share it with this new twist:
(now to try and make a version with Spanish lyrics, which some of my students in Villarrica want to try!)
http://www.schooltube.com/v/e9bd79d29b4d0e6a2345
(and am compelled to cut and paste this whole article too):
Student video ‘Gotta Keep Reading’ inspires nation
Posted By mstansbury On March 18, 2010 @ 2:13 pm
In a powerful example of how online social networking, youth exuberance, and digital media can combine to affect a nation, students at Florida’s Ocoee Middle School created a video called “Gotta Keep Reading,” an infectious message that has “gone viral” and inspired other schools and big-name TV stars to endorse reading as a path to success.
The video began when the school’s reading coach, Janet Bergh, thought it might be fun to do something like The Oprah Winfrey Show’s “flash mob” video in Chicago last year. Winfrey and her producers elected to kick off the 2009 season with a live open-air version of the show in Chicago, featuring the Black-Eyed Peas and other performers. The Black-Eyed Peas rewrote the words to their single “I Gotta Feelin” as a Winfrey tribute dubbed “Oprah Feelin,” and hours before the show began the approximately 21,000 audience members were taught choreographed steps to the piece to create a flash mob dance.
As to why she chose to create a flash mob video about reading, Bergh said on Oprah recently that “students have a lot of other interests. Oftentimes reading takes a back seat to that. …It’s not always real cool to be seen with a book.”
“The initial inspiration for the flash mob was the idea of involving every student and adult on our campus in an event that was a fun, exciting, team building activity with a great message,” explained Sharyn C. Gabriel, principal of Ocoee Middle School, in an interview with eSchool News. “We wanted to promote reading—as we always do—in a way that was motivational, meaningful, and engaging to our middle school students. The idea of any publicity was not a part of the plan. However, it has been a welcome, super fun, and exciting addition to the project!”
Gabriel continued: “Our goal was to inspire all readers, especially teenage readers. They love music, they love videos, so why not a music video about reading? We thought this was a win-win situation.”
After the idea took hold in the school, the administration next had to secure rights to the song, “I Gotta Feelin.”
“We worked through [the Black-Eyed Peas’] publishers to get permission to use the song. While we did not speak directly to the artists, submitting our lyrics about reading was part of the approval process,” said Gabriel. “We are hoping they are thrilled that they motivated and inspired us, and we do know that they support our message.”
After the school secured copyright permission, music and drama teachers began to write the lyrics to the group’s song and to choreograph the dance moves.
Students practiced for the flash mob video during their gym classes.
The “Gotta Keep Reading” music video features nearly all of the school’s 1,700 students dancing and singing while holding books in the school’s courtyard. It was recorded with the help of the school’s partner, Full Sail University, in December.
“Full Sail University [staff] very generously donated their time, their equipment, and their talent to this project,” Gabriel said. “They support our school in a variety of ways, including curriculum development and professional training for our teachers.”
Lyrics were changed to make reading the center of the song, and to include the refrain “This book’s going to be a good, good book.”
The video was posted to the school’s web site in late January. It also was posted on YouTube, where it went viral and captured the attention of Oprah show producers.
This month, The Oprah Winfrey Show highlighted Ocoee Middle School and its video by filming a segment on the school’s campus. Winfrey announced that she and Target would pay for the school library’s makeover, including new furniture, new computers, and 2,000 books.
“They managed to get almost 1,700 kids pumped up about something you know I love,” Winfrey said during the broadcast.
(Singers are the school’s band director, Nicole Nasrallah, and its former chorus director, Jamie Perez. Principal Sharyn Gabriel is the solitary dancer at the front of the group when the video begins.)
Winfrey asked the students questions via satellite link, and the entire school gathered in the courtyard, just like in the video. Eighth-grade students Alexis Fox and Danny Mora were on stage with Gabriel and answered some of Winfrey’s questions.
Gabriel said the announcement about the library’s renovations is a great surprise, especially because the library was built to accommodate 600 fewer students than now attend the school.
“We are very fortunate to have been given this very generous and meaningful gift that will touch our entire community,” she said. “The plans for the renovation are top secret, but we do expect the renovation to be complete [by] the end of this school year.”
Since Ocoee Middle School recorded the video, Gabriel said, school data suggest that students are ahead of where they were last year at this time in the number of books read and Reading Counts! quizzes passed.
“There were many lessons learned throughout this entire process, but perhaps the most important is the value of an entire school community coming together to work on a great project with a crucial message,” said Gabriel. “The other lesson we hope to share with others is to think big. Our students can go farther and do more than we think they can. They can be rock stars if we believe in them and if we don’t hold them back.”
Gabriel said Ocoee has received messages from schools all over the country and even from other parts of the world—many sending their congratulations for a job well done and asking for information on how they, too, can do a similar project.
“We are thrilled beyond belief that others want to spread this message,” she said. “We certainly hope other schools will think outside the box when it comes to inspiring and motivating their students to read and succeed. We collectively need to share this message with students all over the world.”
Article printed from eSchoolNews.com: http://www.eschoolnews.com
This final week of the month has been very special too! Monday, April 26, I ventured to the southwest region of my department (state), to attend a workshop on reading promotion offered in the town of Iturbe. Iturbe was home to one of Paraguay's most famous authors, the only one to receive the Cervantes literature prize awarded by the King of Spain. Agosto Roa Bastos died five years ago on April 26, and the town of Iturbe's recently established cultural center and library (donning his name), located in an abandoned train station, paid tribute to Señor Bastos with a celebration of reading. I'd been invited to attend by one of the "reading promoters" who works for the Secretary of Culture in Asuncion. We had become acquainted by phone during my work on the library manual revision. She told me the workshop would be at 9am on April 26. The earliest I could arrive to Iturbe via two buses was 9:30. I arrived, assuming I was late. Instead, I found two "guapa" (hard-working) señoras in the old train station, in clean-up mode. Turns out the workshop had been changed to 3pm. One of the women, a retired high school principal, "Reina" kindly invited me to her home for lunch and a nap. It was 4pm by the time the event began, and by then I KNEW I would not be able to make it back to Troche in the same day, at least not via public transportation. But I was "tranquilopa," knowing everything would work out...as it did! I spent the evening with Reina and her family, and departed the next morning on a 6am bus bound for Villarrica. I promised Reina I'd be back, to offer a one-day workshop for her and her colleagues on libraries.
The unexpected Tuesday morning in Villarrica brought a nice surprise, for I stumbled upon the inauguration of a "TELECENTRO" in the city's main museum when I stopped by to greet its librarian, Olga. Villarrica's mayor has been trying to establish the town as Paraguay's first digital urbe (outside of Asuncion, claro), and he was able to secure funding from a NGO to help begin this reality. The "Telecentro" is comprised of 10 computers housed in the municipal museum. There is an Internet connection, and classes will be offered, all at no cost to the citizens of Villarrica. I took advantage of my presence at the ribbon-cutting, logged on muy quickly, and sent a message to a RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who just returned to the States after serving in Villarrica for two years.
Finally, today, April 30! Officially the Day of the Teacher here, although the main celebration took place yesterday across the country. We went to school for about an hour in the morning, for a prolonged "entrada" ritual to hear the different grades pay homage to their "profes," after which each grade went briefly to its classroom to shower the teachers with gifts. By noon all of the teachers were gathered at a colleague's home for an all-afternoon lunch, complete with mucho dancing! (oh, and I forgot to mention that we first had to go to the local sugarcane processing factory for a Mass to commemorate the official launch of the new harvest season, a very big deal here since the factory is central to the area's economic survival. President Lugo and the Minister of Industry and Commerce coptered in for the event. The President sounded the factory's siren to herald the harvest's start.) Today there is no school all across the country, which is why the in-school celebrations took place yesterday. Quite a deal for the profes here in Paraguay, and for those of us who work with them!
Even tho I pen this from Paraguay, I would be remiss if I closed this entry without mention of one of the days nearest and dearest to my Nebraska native's heart, Arbor Day. The original date, April 22, was the birthday of the holiday's founder, J. Sterling Morton. I still remember the excitement I experienced on the 100th anniversary of the holiday's founding as we wore our Centennial Arbor Day shirts, climbed the huge "monkey tree" in the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park, and went to the parade in my hometown of Nebraska City, Home of Arbor Day. The celebration has come a long way since then, check it out at:
http://www.arborday.org/
In the words of its founder J. Sterling Morton,
"Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future."
Now off to climb the mango tree in my backyard with Nico and Beta as I tell them about Arbor Day and my hometown!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
March Madness in Paraguay
March 31, Holy Week
As I post this entry, and reflect on the month that's transpired since my last one, I have to say that March 2010 has been a "mad" month in which I seem to have gotten my groove back! It began with a national holiday on the 1st (which is also the b-day of my home state of Nebraska!), and hosting the Peace Corps trainees that I mentioned in my previous post. We travelled to nearby Villarrica on March 2nd to attend a meeting of the area's volunteers, and then put them on their bus back to the Asuncion area. My pace accelerated MUCHO in the first week, as I finished prepping for our Peace Corps library workshop, held in Asuncion on March 5-6. I took the librarian from my school here in Troche, Antonia, and we boarded the 4am bus for Asuncion on Friday morning. The workshop ("taller" en español)was held in a lovely locale,
http://www.quintaykuasati.com.py/galeria-de-imagenes.html
where it was a pleasure to stay up until 2am the next morning mounting the "shelves" for the Dewey Library I would have participants create the next day. It was "maddeningly" fun to get my groove back doing the library stuff...yes, I'm a library geek, and proud to be one! Here is the thank you note sent by one of my fellow PCVs to those of you who donated! (I've forwarded it some of you as well, and my apologies if I missed you!)
Dear Library Lovers,
I could not be more excited to write to you today. Finally, the library workshop has occurred, and it was a great success! On Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6, almost 30 Paraguayan librarians and 30 Peace Corps volunteers convened in Asuncion to participate in two half-days of activities devoted to library creation, management, and use.
The presentations were dynamic and varied, ranging from the vibrant storytelling of a Paraguayan historian/author to Dewey Decimal games to small group discussions about the importance of story hours to software demonstrations of Biblio, an open-source digital catalogue program. Three Paraguayan publishing companies also attended the workshop as part of a miniature book fair, displaying their wares and donating books to be raffled to participants.
The participants came from as far north as Concepcion and as far south as Pilar (for those who don't know Paraguay, the two cities sit on opposite sides of the country), from tiny villages and pueblos and metropolitan areas. Some are currently engaged in building school or community libraries; some seek to better use existing libraries; some hope to create reading programs for schoolchildren in their communities. But all left happy with the information shared, the contacts made, and the energy generated by the workshop.
The Library Committee already is planning for next year, hoping to amplify the web of ideas, information, and creativity generated in this year's workshop. And, according to evaluations from participants, the workshop already is eagerly anticipated! "Sigan adelante con talleres como estos!" urged one comment.
I'm forwarding a few photos of the workshop in a following email (sorry--I'm having computer troubles, and the photos won't load as attachments): 1) of Don Clark, the director of Peace Corps, delivering opening remarks; 2) of Margarita Prieto Yegros, a Paraguayan historian, storyteller, and author; 3) of groups working together to learn about systems of classification; 4) of the publishing display of Editorial Oceano; and 5) of the 60-person-created Dewey Decimal wall library (an activity designed by PCV Denise Davis to teach the fundamentals of the oft-feared Dewey Decimal System).
On behalf of the Peace Corps Library Committee and on behalf of all the communities who participated in the workshop, thanks so much for making this happen. The experience was tremendously valuable, and I, personally, count it among my most inspiring moments in two years of service in Peace Corps-Paraguay. I truly think each participant returned to his or her community motivated to make reading a fundamental part of the community's life.
Thanks again,
Amy Dickinson
Peace Corps Volunteer
Early Elementary Education
Yuty, Paraguay
Post-workshop I worked on transcribing all the info we gathered during the event, including the evaluations, into computer files so we'll have good documentation with which to plan for the next workshop. As Peace Corps volunteers with "only" two years in our sites, the turnover in volunteers is constant so it's helpful to get as much documented as possible for those who follow.
By month's end I'd attended a library inauguration in Asuncion, for the Fundacion Biblioteca Maximilian Freundorfer,
http://fbmf.org/
which I'd learned about in the course of revising the library manual for the workshop. It was like food for my librarian's soul to attend this milestone event, to see the 80-yr old Japanese woman who has dedicated her life to libraries and librarianship in Paraguay, open a beautiful library primarily for children.
While enjoying delicious sushi once the ribbon had been cut by the Swiss ambassador to Paraguay, I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow American, Robert Russell, who has lived here many years and brings his children to this jewel of a library. He serves as the treasurer of the library's foundation, and is also involved in the local American Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Turns out one of the current projects of the Foundation is the construction of a library in another area of Paraguay....fast forward, and less than 10 days later the President
of the Foundation has called me, and invited me to visit the construction site with her, and to later attend THAT library's inauguration, sometime in April/May.
Spent the last weekend of the month in Asuncion (first and probably only time I'll be in Asuncion so often in one month!) to meet with my PC boss, participate in an interview for new PC full-time staff, and to attend a library committee meeting. We debriefed the library workshop, and "elected" new leadership. Yours truly will be the "President" of the PC library committee for the coming year, and is delighted to have the chance to work with other volunteers in this area of INTEREST/PASSION!
Oh yes, and now it is HOLY WEEK, a VERY big deal here in predominantly Catholic Paraguay. Holy Wednesday, today, appears to be NATIONAL MAKE CHIPA day...and oh my gosh, how I love the INTERNET, for after typing "appears to be NATIONAL MAKE CHIPA day" I just had to query the web, y VIOLA:
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/
in which you can read how HOLY WEEK ("Semana Santa") is also Chipa Central, y specifically TODAY.....in fact, I must log off now for I've been invited to go help make, and partake, in some local chipa creation, a final day of MARCH MADNESS a la Paraguayan!
Hasta abril amigos y amigas!
As I post this entry, and reflect on the month that's transpired since my last one, I have to say that March 2010 has been a "mad" month in which I seem to have gotten my groove back! It began with a national holiday on the 1st (which is also the b-day of my home state of Nebraska!), and hosting the Peace Corps trainees that I mentioned in my previous post. We travelled to nearby Villarrica on March 2nd to attend a meeting of the area's volunteers, and then put them on their bus back to the Asuncion area. My pace accelerated MUCHO in the first week, as I finished prepping for our Peace Corps library workshop, held in Asuncion on March 5-6. I took the librarian from my school here in Troche, Antonia, and we boarded the 4am bus for Asuncion on Friday morning. The workshop ("taller" en español)was held in a lovely locale,
http://www.quintaykuasati.com.py/galeria-de-imagenes.html
where it was a pleasure to stay up until 2am the next morning mounting the "shelves" for the Dewey Library I would have participants create the next day. It was "maddeningly" fun to get my groove back doing the library stuff...yes, I'm a library geek, and proud to be one! Here is the thank you note sent by one of my fellow PCVs to those of you who donated! (I've forwarded it some of you as well, and my apologies if I missed you!)
Dear Library Lovers,
I could not be more excited to write to you today. Finally, the library workshop has occurred, and it was a great success! On Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6, almost 30 Paraguayan librarians and 30 Peace Corps volunteers convened in Asuncion to participate in two half-days of activities devoted to library creation, management, and use.
The presentations were dynamic and varied, ranging from the vibrant storytelling of a Paraguayan historian/author to Dewey Decimal games to small group discussions about the importance of story hours to software demonstrations of Biblio, an open-source digital catalogue program. Three Paraguayan publishing companies also attended the workshop as part of a miniature book fair, displaying their wares and donating books to be raffled to participants.
The participants came from as far north as Concepcion and as far south as Pilar (for those who don't know Paraguay, the two cities sit on opposite sides of the country), from tiny villages and pueblos and metropolitan areas. Some are currently engaged in building school or community libraries; some seek to better use existing libraries; some hope to create reading programs for schoolchildren in their communities. But all left happy with the information shared, the contacts made, and the energy generated by the workshop.
The Library Committee already is planning for next year, hoping to amplify the web of ideas, information, and creativity generated in this year's workshop. And, according to evaluations from participants, the workshop already is eagerly anticipated! "Sigan adelante con talleres como estos!" urged one comment.
I'm forwarding a few photos of the workshop in a following email (sorry--I'm having computer troubles, and the photos won't load as attachments): 1) of Don Clark, the director of Peace Corps, delivering opening remarks; 2) of Margarita Prieto Yegros, a Paraguayan historian, storyteller, and author; 3) of groups working together to learn about systems of classification; 4) of the publishing display of Editorial Oceano; and 5) of the 60-person-created Dewey Decimal wall library (an activity designed by PCV Denise Davis to teach the fundamentals of the oft-feared Dewey Decimal System).
On behalf of the Peace Corps Library Committee and on behalf of all the communities who participated in the workshop, thanks so much for making this happen. The experience was tremendously valuable, and I, personally, count it among my most inspiring moments in two years of service in Peace Corps-Paraguay. I truly think each participant returned to his or her community motivated to make reading a fundamental part of the community's life.
Thanks again,
Amy Dickinson
Peace Corps Volunteer
Early Elementary Education
Yuty, Paraguay
Post-workshop I worked on transcribing all the info we gathered during the event, including the evaluations, into computer files so we'll have good documentation with which to plan for the next workshop. As Peace Corps volunteers with "only" two years in our sites, the turnover in volunteers is constant so it's helpful to get as much documented as possible for those who follow.
By month's end I'd attended a library inauguration in Asuncion, for the Fundacion Biblioteca Maximilian Freundorfer,
http://fbmf.org/
which I'd learned about in the course of revising the library manual for the workshop. It was like food for my librarian's soul to attend this milestone event, to see the 80-yr old Japanese woman who has dedicated her life to libraries and librarianship in Paraguay, open a beautiful library primarily for children.
While enjoying delicious sushi once the ribbon had been cut by the Swiss ambassador to Paraguay, I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow American, Robert Russell, who has lived here many years and brings his children to this jewel of a library. He serves as the treasurer of the library's foundation, and is also involved in the local American Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Turns out one of the current projects of the Foundation is the construction of a library in another area of Paraguay....fast forward, and less than 10 days later the President
of the Foundation has called me, and invited me to visit the construction site with her, and to later attend THAT library's inauguration, sometime in April/May.
Spent the last weekend of the month in Asuncion (first and probably only time I'll be in Asuncion so often in one month!) to meet with my PC boss, participate in an interview for new PC full-time staff, and to attend a library committee meeting. We debriefed the library workshop, and "elected" new leadership. Yours truly will be the "President" of the PC library committee for the coming year, and is delighted to have the chance to work with other volunteers in this area of INTEREST/PASSION!
Oh yes, and now it is HOLY WEEK, a VERY big deal here in predominantly Catholic Paraguay. Holy Wednesday, today, appears to be NATIONAL MAKE CHIPA day...and oh my gosh, how I love the INTERNET, for after typing "appears to be NATIONAL MAKE CHIPA day" I just had to query the web, y VIOLA:
http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/
in which you can read how HOLY WEEK ("Semana Santa") is also Chipa Central, y specifically TODAY.....in fact, I must log off now for I've been invited to go help make, and partake, in some local chipa creation, a final day of MARCH MADNESS a la Paraguayan!
Hasta abril amigos y amigas!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Carnaval, back to school, Peace Corps Week
February has been full of carnaval fervor, and now has begun to settle into the school year routine.
Who hasn't at least heard of Carnaval, right? Well, I'm here to tell you, anything you've heard or seen from afar pales in comparison to experiencing it first hand...and mind you, I didn't trek to the Mother Lode of Carnaval celebrations, the Rio de Janeiro version. I merely watched the smaller fetes held in my area of Paraguay, the state of Guaira...its capital city Villarrica's celebration, and the parade staged in my pueblo of Mauricio Jose Troche, aka "Troche."
The celebration, "Carnaval - the holiday of self-indulgence just before Lent in Latin America, Europe and the US." honors el Rey Momo or Bacchus. It always starts on a Friday, when the Carnival queens (and their courts) salute their subjects from atop scintillating floats. The pageantry is beyond anything I've ever seen. The females' outfits put Cher to shame. The floats feature anything from giant genies to fire-breathing dragons. I especially enjoyed the Carnaval in Troche since it was a chance to see my colleagues and neighbors in a totally different light, literally. There is a fierce competition amongst the barrios to stage the best group performance, and in Troche they have two nights to strut their stuff. It was fun to see students and teachers I know from school parading in public in such a variety of costumes. These include the scantily-clad females that you can picture in Rio, to the older señoras who are fully clothed in gorgeous belle-of-the-ball gowns (picture dresses from Gone With the Wind), the latter group affectionately known as the "Retro" ensemble. I aim to join this group for next year's celebration! Oh, I almost forgot to mention the foam, the "espuma." Spectators participate by spraying surrounding bystanders with white foam, so it's next to impossible to attend a Paraguayan Carnaval celebration without being coated in the white stuff, at least for a while....gotta get in the spirit!
Many in this Catholic nation then go on to observe Ash Wednesday. (I went and was blown away by the massive attendance. The church choir I've joined got to sing at the Mass.) What happens in Carnival stays in Carnival… After all the hard partying, everyone is spent; it's easy to behave for the following forty days of Lent.
Switching gears, the first day of school was Tuesday, February 23. (Conveniently scheduled post-Carnaval.) The Ministry of Education asked that all church bells ring at 7:00 a.m. to literally ring in the new school year. 7:00 is starting time for the morning shift of school, although starting today our school day will begin at 7:30 until we change the clocks some time in April. The first day's opening included dance and poetry recitals by the teachers. Even the Directora got into the spirit by performing the traditional Paraguayan bottle dance, moving about with an empty wine bottle on her head! The 2nd day of school it rained cats and dogs, both morning and afternoon, so very few kids showed up, and therefore there was no class. The teachers did come in the morning though, and we used the time for a group meeting. I'd given a little workshop to the teachers the day before school started, covering "Los Sonidos de las Letras" - the sounds of the letters - using a song and flashcards created by previous Peace Corps Volunteers. My host family sister, 3rd grader Beta, went along as my assistant. It was a big hit, and so on the first day of school I sang the a-b-c song over half-a-dozen times to different classes of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. Imagine me singing "Araña, araña (spider), a-a-a; Bebe, bebe, b-b-b; Casa, Casa, c-c-c...while showing the big flash cards with letters and pictures. Fun way to start the new school year!
Last day online for this short month, hence my "early" post. This weekend I'll be hosting a current Peace Corps trainee in the new Education group, and she'll be here through Tuesday, March 2. Next on tap is our Peace Corps Volunteers Library workshop, March 5 and 6 in Asuncion. I've submitted the final version of the revised manual we'll be giving out (came in at 96 pages)...and now I'm clamoring to put together a basic overview of the Dewey Decimal System for the Paraguayans, sans powerpoint...it must be interactive and full of fun examples! Thanks again to those of you who contributed to our fundraising for this workshop, including my local Rotary Club back in Nebraska. All of this will be happening amidst Peace Corps Week, March 1 - 7:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.returned.thirdgoal.pcweek
Until next time...wishing those of you up north better weather as you transition to a much desired springtime, while we here begin to don long sleeves as fall approaches.
Who hasn't at least heard of Carnaval, right? Well, I'm here to tell you, anything you've heard or seen from afar pales in comparison to experiencing it first hand...and mind you, I didn't trek to the Mother Lode of Carnaval celebrations, the Rio de Janeiro version. I merely watched the smaller fetes held in my area of Paraguay, the state of Guaira...its capital city Villarrica's celebration, and the parade staged in my pueblo of Mauricio Jose Troche, aka "Troche."
The celebration, "Carnaval - the holiday of self-indulgence just before Lent in Latin America, Europe and the US." honors el Rey Momo or Bacchus. It always starts on a Friday, when the Carnival queens (and their courts) salute their subjects from atop scintillating floats. The pageantry is beyond anything I've ever seen. The females' outfits put Cher to shame. The floats feature anything from giant genies to fire-breathing dragons. I especially enjoyed the Carnaval in Troche since it was a chance to see my colleagues and neighbors in a totally different light, literally. There is a fierce competition amongst the barrios to stage the best group performance, and in Troche they have two nights to strut their stuff. It was fun to see students and teachers I know from school parading in public in such a variety of costumes. These include the scantily-clad females that you can picture in Rio, to the older señoras who are fully clothed in gorgeous belle-of-the-ball gowns (picture dresses from Gone With the Wind), the latter group affectionately known as the "Retro" ensemble. I aim to join this group for next year's celebration! Oh, I almost forgot to mention the foam, the "espuma." Spectators participate by spraying surrounding bystanders with white foam, so it's next to impossible to attend a Paraguayan Carnaval celebration without being coated in the white stuff, at least for a while....gotta get in the spirit!
Many in this Catholic nation then go on to observe Ash Wednesday. (I went and was blown away by the massive attendance. The church choir I've joined got to sing at the Mass.) What happens in Carnival stays in Carnival… After all the hard partying, everyone is spent; it's easy to behave for the following forty days of Lent.
Switching gears, the first day of school was Tuesday, February 23. (Conveniently scheduled post-Carnaval.) The Ministry of Education asked that all church bells ring at 7:00 a.m. to literally ring in the new school year. 7:00 is starting time for the morning shift of school, although starting today our school day will begin at 7:30 until we change the clocks some time in April. The first day's opening included dance and poetry recitals by the teachers. Even the Directora got into the spirit by performing the traditional Paraguayan bottle dance, moving about with an empty wine bottle on her head! The 2nd day of school it rained cats and dogs, both morning and afternoon, so very few kids showed up, and therefore there was no class. The teachers did come in the morning though, and we used the time for a group meeting. I'd given a little workshop to the teachers the day before school started, covering "Los Sonidos de las Letras" - the sounds of the letters - using a song and flashcards created by previous Peace Corps Volunteers. My host family sister, 3rd grader Beta, went along as my assistant. It was a big hit, and so on the first day of school I sang the a-b-c song over half-a-dozen times to different classes of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. Imagine me singing "Araña, araña (spider), a-a-a; Bebe, bebe, b-b-b; Casa, Casa, c-c-c...while showing the big flash cards with letters and pictures. Fun way to start the new school year!
Last day online for this short month, hence my "early" post. This weekend I'll be hosting a current Peace Corps trainee in the new Education group, and she'll be here through Tuesday, March 2. Next on tap is our Peace Corps Volunteers Library workshop, March 5 and 6 in Asuncion. I've submitted the final version of the revised manual we'll be giving out (came in at 96 pages)...and now I'm clamoring to put together a basic overview of the Dewey Decimal System for the Paraguayans, sans powerpoint...it must be interactive and full of fun examples! Thanks again to those of you who contributed to our fundraising for this workshop, including my local Rotary Club back in Nebraska. All of this will be happening amidst Peace Corps Week, March 1 - 7:
http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.returned.thirdgoal.pcweek
Until next time...wishing those of you up north better weather as you transition to a much desired springtime, while we here begin to don long sleeves as fall approaches.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Holidays in Paraguay, Part II.
This entry's title might be a bit of a misnomer, since it's now January 31st, but thought I should at least try to be a bit consistent, given my previous entry's title. I mistakenly thought the holiday festivities would be a bit more prolonged here, like they are in Spain with the observance of the Reyes Magos on January 6. While many children here do indeed receive a gift from the Three Wise Men/Kings on the morning of January 6 (after first leaving out water and hay for the camels the night before), the day itself is not an official holiday nor is there any sort of community-wide celebration, e.g. parade, at least not in my village. The upside is that since it is not a holiday, there is mail service. I felt like the Kings had left something for me too since I received my first USMail package of the year on this day, a package full of gifts I had ordered for folks here...so I in turn had a chance to give back on the special day!
2010's first month has just evaporated. It began with a couple days of being under-the-weather thanks to extra gastrointestinal activity, and then switched gears to an office routine, as I staffed our area's education Supervision office from January 5 thru Friday, Jan. 29. The women who work in Supervision include the person who requested a Peace Corps Volunteer for this area several years ago, while she was still the director of the small school where I began my service. "Lidia" is now "Supervisora Lidia" who oversees 54 schools in our district. She and others in the office had worked through December 30, and were looking forward to their January vacation, planning to return to open the office on February 1. (School is out for the summer, classes scheduled to resume on February 23.) She learned on Monday, January 4, that the Ministry of Education and Culture had decreed that all Supervision offices must remain open during the month of January...you now get the picture....she asked if I could staff it so they could have some long-anticipated time-off. I was more than happy to help out, especially since I needed some good office space, complete with a land-line, this month to make progress on the library manual revision. So, in short order, I was given the keys to not only the education offices in the City Hall, but the key to the front door of City Hall, and the key to the Mayor's secretary's office where the fax machine is located. My "keys to the kingdom" have come in very handy this month...in fact until this last day of January...for having them has allowed me to come into the City Hall on a Sunday afternoon to post my January blog entry (the City Hall has a wireless network, hip hip hooray!) I turn the keys over this evening so my colleagues can open up the office tomorrow, February 1. I will be boarding an early bus to Asuncion with the director of the main school; where we have a 2 1/2 day workshop with the rest of my training group.
January was not ALL work at the office however...it included two lovely outings to nearby Colonia Independencia. The first was for a birthday party for 3-year old Nico, held at http://www.hotel-sportcamping.de/en/index.php?weiterleitung=true&language=en. In essence, it was a pool party, amid thatched huts, and mountain views. I delighted in getting Nico to jump into the pool/my arms repeatedly, and started teaching him how to swim. Many Paraguayans do not learn to swim. The kids were amazed when I simply dived into the pool! The second outing was with some girlfriends, and included a behind-the-scenes peak at a 21st Century castle that looks like it should be overlooking the Rhine. (I'd mistakenly assumed it'd been built by a homesick German, for there are many Germans in this part of Paraguay, dating back to post-WWI days.) Colonia Independencia is nestled amidst Paraguay's highest mountains, the Ybytyruzu range, and we could readily view Paraguay's highest peak, 842 meters high Cerro Tres Kandu, from the castle tower. Here are some mountain views, courtesy of the Travel-images web site:
http://www.travel-images.com/paraguay5.html
Hope to make it back to Colonia Independencia before the summer's over and school starts again. Thankfully it's really close by, so we'll see...meanwhile, next on the fiesta agenda here in Paraguay is CARNAVAL...and nearby Villarrica supposedly stages one of the country's best celebrations...stay tuned!
2010's first month has just evaporated. It began with a couple days of being under-the-weather thanks to extra gastrointestinal activity, and then switched gears to an office routine, as I staffed our area's education Supervision office from January 5 thru Friday, Jan. 29. The women who work in Supervision include the person who requested a Peace Corps Volunteer for this area several years ago, while she was still the director of the small school where I began my service. "Lidia" is now "Supervisora Lidia" who oversees 54 schools in our district. She and others in the office had worked through December 30, and were looking forward to their January vacation, planning to return to open the office on February 1. (School is out for the summer, classes scheduled to resume on February 23.) She learned on Monday, January 4, that the Ministry of Education and Culture had decreed that all Supervision offices must remain open during the month of January...you now get the picture....she asked if I could staff it so they could have some long-anticipated time-off. I was more than happy to help out, especially since I needed some good office space, complete with a land-line, this month to make progress on the library manual revision. So, in short order, I was given the keys to not only the education offices in the City Hall, but the key to the front door of City Hall, and the key to the Mayor's secretary's office where the fax machine is located. My "keys to the kingdom" have come in very handy this month...in fact until this last day of January...for having them has allowed me to come into the City Hall on a Sunday afternoon to post my January blog entry (the City Hall has a wireless network, hip hip hooray!) I turn the keys over this evening so my colleagues can open up the office tomorrow, February 1. I will be boarding an early bus to Asuncion with the director of the main school; where we have a 2 1/2 day workshop with the rest of my training group.
January was not ALL work at the office however...it included two lovely outings to nearby Colonia Independencia. The first was for a birthday party for 3-year old Nico, held at http://www.hotel-sportcamping.de/en/index.php?weiterleitung=true&language=en. In essence, it was a pool party, amid thatched huts, and mountain views. I delighted in getting Nico to jump into the pool/my arms repeatedly, and started teaching him how to swim. Many Paraguayans do not learn to swim. The kids were amazed when I simply dived into the pool! The second outing was with some girlfriends, and included a behind-the-scenes peak at a 21st Century castle that looks like it should be overlooking the Rhine. (I'd mistakenly assumed it'd been built by a homesick German, for there are many Germans in this part of Paraguay, dating back to post-WWI days.) Colonia Independencia is nestled amidst Paraguay's highest mountains, the Ybytyruzu range, and we could readily view Paraguay's highest peak, 842 meters high Cerro Tres Kandu, from the castle tower. Here are some mountain views, courtesy of the Travel-images web site:
http://www.travel-images.com/paraguay5.html
Hope to make it back to Colonia Independencia before the summer's over and school starts again. Thankfully it's really close by, so we'll see...meanwhile, next on the fiesta agenda here in Paraguay is CARNAVAL...and nearby Villarrica supposedly stages one of the country's best celebrations...stay tuned!
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