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.