Dec 2012 - Last days of Paraguay`s Bicentennial

Paraguay`s special year of celebration drew to a chose this month. There were more firecrackers set off than ever before, I'm certain. Here are some photos of images painted on the wall surrounding the local public high school in Villarrica, produced by students. The second image, representing "forjadores" weaves some of Paraguay`s leading patriots into its flag.

The third shot shows the shape of Paraguay painted with the flag`s
colors, "We believe in you Paraguay."












These last two photos, specific to Villarrica.

Tribute to Emily Balog, PCV Paraguay

With this month's post I would like to honor fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Emily Balog. Emily lost her life the Sunday after Thanksgiving in an automobile accident. While I did not know Emily well--she was in a different training group, working as a Community Education Volunteer--I did know her, and enjoyed her sunny disposition. Emily also kept a great blog, "Oh, by the 'Guay...Emily's Intrepid Adventures in Peace Corps Paraguay"--and I link to it here so you can get a glimpse of this exceptional volunteer.

http://paraguayemily.wordpress.com/

The Peace Corps paid tribute to Emily with this news release published the day after her death:

http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1921

The volunteers in her training group, G33, put together an incredible memorial service for her within 48 hours of learning the tragic news. Unfortunately I was unable to get to Asuncion for the event, but another volunteer who did wrote about it on her blog:

http://brittanygoesglobal.com/2011/11/30/emily-balogs-amazing-memorial-service/

I was able to attend a Mass held for Emily in her Paraguayan pueblo, Valenzuela, and meet some of the folks whose lives she touched with her service.

Peace Corps Paraguay staff and volunteers, you are all wonderful! Thank you for showing your love and devotion to Emily, to one another. Each one of you are very special and Emily is surely smiling down on all of us. God bless you, and God bless Emily's family in North Carolina. To her parents, thank you for the beautiful letter you sent to volunteers. I include here some excerpts from the Balog's note to us:

My Dearest Peace Corps Volunteers,
Steve and I are so very grateful to you for being family for Emily in Paraguay
--and around the world. She saw in you the person she wanted to grow up to be.
Emily was by far, the happiest she had ever been serving with you in South
America. All of the hard work of a new language, a new culture and a new life
brought out the very best of who Emily was to us....
Most of all, you honor the memory of Emily Balog by your sincere gift of service
to others. Please read that sentence again. You have made a wonderful, life
changing decision to serve in the Peace Corps. You are brave and courageous
and I love you all for your spirit of giving. You will change the world, one
community at a time - one project at a time - one person at a time...
We love you all,
Steve and Susan Balog

Emily's spirit of giving will live on here in Paraguay. 300 mango trees were provided to Peace Corps volunteers to plant in their communities, to create "Emily's Forest." The mango tree was chosen because when once asked what was her favorite fruit, Emily named the mango.

Peace Corps Paraguay, in coming together through this tragedy, has proven that the Peace Corps esprit de corps is incredibly strong, and indeed makes one feel part of the "Peace Corps family."

Peace,
Denise

Sept/Oct 2011 - Spring/Fall/Spring again

The beginning of the final quarter of this year found me back in the United States, enjoying my one-month home leave that comes with a full third year of service with the Peace Corps. I chose to take leave from mid-September through mid-October for many reasons, including the chance to a) experience a real autumn once again, including the annual Applejack Festival in my hometown, and b)celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps with throngs of other PC folks during the last week of September in Washington, D.C. The trip was charmed from beginning to end, and thank you to all my family and friends who helped make it so. It brought home to me more than ever that all of life is a journey, and each day is a journey in and of itself. I packed so many memories into that one month that I can't begin to do them justice here, but I will have the memories in my mind for a lifetime. Meanwhile, here's just a partial list to share some highlights of the special sojourn:

-Applejack Festival in Nebraska City, Nebraska, also home of Arbor Day
-Peace Corps 50th Anniversary events in Washington D.C., Sept 22-25
-PC Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, PC Anniversary Gala + Dance,
-PC Memorial Service at Arlington National Cemetery, Parade of Flags from the cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial
(Bonus: The National Book Festival was held on the National Mall during this same weekend - so I was in hog heaven!!!)
-New York City area - visited oldest nephew at college and dined with dear friends in Manhattan
-Boston/Brookline - barely in the Beantown area 48 hours, dined with galpals in Brookline and visited my friends at the Literacy Connection. (Sorry I didn't have more time to see more of you--next year when I'm back in the States for good!)
-D.C. again (home base during my East Coast swing, special thanks to MB!) - back in time for a special screening of Emilio Estevez's and Martin Sheen's latest movie The Way . (I was able to attend thanks to my dear friend Carmen Estevez, who invited me to join in seeing the "family film" and also join the Q&A and reception following.) SEE THIS MOVIE, about how life is indeed a journey! Also visited the Pentagon's 9/11 Memorial and the MLK Jr. Memorial
-First Monday in October--sat in on part of the Supreme Court's first day in session
-Nebraska Library Conference - donated some Paraguayan ñanduti to the conference's silent auction, and whizzed through the exhibits to bring back freebies for our next library workshop
-Road trip to Lawrence, Kansas with sisters to visit our oldest niece who is a freshman at KU
-Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska on a home football Saturday--witnessed the Huskers first Big 10 conference home game, a brilliant victory over Ohio State.
-One relatively quiet week in lovely hometown, including a trip to high school alma mater to speak to a Spanish class, a meeting at the local library to give letters to kids from their Paraguayan pen pals, sitting in on a local book club discussion, walks through Arbor Lodge State Park with my mom, and drives through the neighboring countryside. It was good to have some time to just be....to count my blessings, to reflect...Aaah, my view of the harvest moon on Thursday, October 13, while seated in an adirondack chair on the terrace of the Lied Lodge...emblazoned in my memory bank for eternity. How I love my hometown, especially in the fall!

Again, this partial sketch doesn't capture the full essence of the trip, which again, was simply a GREAT MONTH, from beginning to end. I enjoyed all the time I had to spend with friends and family, yet there's never enough time to see and do everything you'd like. To all of you I didn't get to see during this whirlwind, there's always next year! I was very humbled by this dream trip, and feel more blessed than ever.

It's still springtime in Paraguay, so the switch from spring from fall to spring again has been pretty comfortable. I was back in time to share in a belated celebration of Paraguay's National Day of the Librarian, observed on Oct. 16. My Japanese friend Yoshiko, founder of the Fundacion Biblioteca Maximilian Freundorfer in Asuncion, invited me to lunch with her board and volunteers, after which we went to her library where I gave on talk on PC Volunteer library projects in this country. Now I'm back in Villarrica. I brought back Halloween treats from the States for the kids at the Cultural Center--how many pounds of candy corn must have been in my suitcase?!

August 2011 - Postcards (and some bookmarks) from Paraguay

I LOVE, absolutely LOVE postcards. I love writing them, receiving them, and collecting them. Unfortunately, I don't think most of us are writing or receiving as many of them as we once did, before digital images became so ubiquitous. I have tried to send real, physical postcards from Paraguay to many of you during my time here, many of them mailed by fellow Peace Corps Volunteers travelling home to cut down on the postage expense. (Thank you PCVs!)

Here are just a couple examples of some cards that have made it back to the States. I realize the resolution is not perfect on these renderings since I merely took a photo of postcards, rather than scanning them. If you really want to see more, a mere "postcards from Paraguay" search on your browser of choice will bring up more than you'll have time to look at!

1) I took a picture of these school children in November 2009, and the image was one of several selected amongst PCV Paraguay photos to be printed for postcards. (I only had two sets of alphabet flashcards with me the day of the picture; hence, we had to improvise with Paraguay's third "a".)


















2)This postcard (which should appear horizontally, but can't figure out how to change it for now) shows an example of some ñanduti craftwork. The word ñanduti comes from Guarani, Paraguay's indigenous language, and means "spider-web lace." It is one of my favorite types of artesania here. I found a woman to make bookmarks for me, since as a librarian I always love to give unusual bookmarks as gifts. Below the postcard are photos of Reina, a Paraguayan who works at this craft, and a close-up photo of some of the latest bookmarks she's made for me.











































Some friends have used these bookmarks as bracelets too!

July 2011--first International Friendship Day

The highlight of this month took place towards its end. For over 50 years in Paraguay its citizens have embraced the celebration of Friendship Day, El Dia de la Amistad. In the past year a group of determined Paraguayans advocated for the designation of an international friendship day, and their efforts were not in vain. On April 27th of this year the General Assembly of the United Nations declared July 30th as official International Friendship Day.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=39199&Cr=Secretary-General&Cr1

In the words of the UN's Secretary-General, may our "old friendships flourish and new ones [be] made."

So, the highlight of my Paraguayan experience this month was that on July 30, the first official International Friendship Day, I was able to share in an international wedding made possible by international friendship. Paraguayan señorita Amada married Mr. James Durmisov from Australia in Villarrica's cathedral, with the ceremony presided by the Archbishop. The couple met last October when Amada and I went to lunch at a German restaurant here in Villarrica. James was dining with another Peace Corps volunteer who also lives in Guaira. We proceeded to introduce our friends to one another, and the rest, as it's said, is history. James had moved from Australia to Paraguay just two months earlier, and was exploring the capital of Guaira on his first trip to the city. Now Villarrica is home for these newlyweds, brought together by Peace Corps volunteers serving here. They will soon be building a house, and plan to include a rental apartment on the grounds--first priority for possible tenants given to volunteers, be they North American, Korean, or Japanese!





Viva la amistad, viva! One of my favorite quotations ever is from Shakespeare, (Richard II to be exact),

I count myself in nothing else so happy
As in a soul remembering my good friends.


And that is never more true than when one finds oneself physically distant from many friends. Facebook may connect you with friends around the world digitally, but in my book there is nothing like the one-on-one, face-to-face sharing with other people. Such encounters create richer, more contextual memories which your soul can resurrect again and again. How often do we recall the intricacies of online exchanges? So, my dear friends I close by invoking the good ol' Girl Scout song, ""Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."
May we all continue to be blessed with friendship, both in person and online, especially cherishing the meaningful connections we make with other human beings every day eye-to-eye.

June 2011--establishing a new routine

First just let me say that although this is now my THIRD winter in Paraguay I don't think I will ever get used to feeling so cold in June, especially indoors. Couple that with knowing that most of you reading this are in the throes of summertime does make it extra challenging to keep the sunnyside up every day! Aahh, this too shall pass. Just picture me sleeping with multilayers of clothing, including a couple pairs of socks and my hat! Amongst volunteers we exchange antidotes about how much time passes between complete bathing sessions since it's so darn cold! An upside is that on a sunny day you can get some relief by sitting outside and soaking up the big star's warmth while you remain bundled up.

This is my first full month as a resident of Villarrica, and I am really enjoying becoming a part of this little town, the capital of the state (referred to as "departamento" here) of Guaira, the smallest state in Paraguay following the Central department that includes Asuncion. It may be small in size, but it's definitely big on cultural heritage and pride. Here is the entry you will find for it on Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guair%C3%A1_Department
The English needs some polishing, perhaps I can try to contribute to the entry during this next year. Would be a good exercise to do with some of the students studying English here, verdad? Among other things, the area prides itself on being a cradle of harpdom, hosting a major harp festival each year. Here's a local practicing on the street:


My Villarrica routine includes living with a new host family. I've been blessed with another warm and wonderful one, thanks to my friend Amada. Sully and her husband Kamba oversee a three-generation household. Sully is a retired educator, and yet she's not even 50. Full of energy and activities. Kamba has his own auto-repair shop, located within a block of the house, so he comes home for lunch everyday, the main meal. Lunch with this family is one of the favorite parts of my day, for you never know who will be joining us around the table. One of Kamba's employees, a coworker of their daughter Paula, a teacher like her mother, the family of their adopted daughter who live in a nearby pueblo. Sully and Kamba's other child, 16-yr. old Pedro, usually can't join us for lunch due to his school's schedule. Sully's father usually pops in toward the end of the meal to say hello. And yes, there is a grandchild/son, Josue, who turned two in May.

When not home I'm usually at the CCPA, the acronym for the Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano, a binational cultural center where English classes are offered, and where there is a library, full of books both in English and Spanish. My mission here is to get the library organized, classified, lending books....stay tuned!

Ohh, and almost forgot to mention a very integral part of my new VCA routine...riding my Peace Corps bike. Yes! Villarrica is pretty flat and has many paved roads, so yours truly has been reunited with her bike, hooray! I ride it to and from the CCPA, and all over town. Love it!

May 2011--moving amidst Paraguay's 200th birthday

http://wwww.villarrica.gov.py/
Villarrica's City Hall festively festooned for Bicentennial
(and for Villarrica's 441st birthday!)

May 2011 was a marvelous month to be in Paraguay! Its Bicentennial is all year, but the peak of activity centered around the weekend of May 14-15, its actual dates of independence from Spain in 1811. For those of us in Peace Corps Paraguay the month's celebrations were extra special since the Director of the Peace Corps, Aaron Williams, came here as the official head of the U.S. Presidential Delegation for the Bicentennial events. There was a reception at our Peace Corps office during one of the major parades held in the capital; yes, we could hear the parade while we met since it was marching through the neighborhood. (The Peace Corps office is right off one of Asuncion's main streets, Mariscal Lopez.) It was really inspiring to meet the agency's director in person and listen to him talk about the Peace Corps' past, present and future. Dir. Williams was a volunteer too, an education volunteer in the Dominican Republic. There were approximately 50 volunteers in attendance, and he asked each of us to stand up to give our name, hometown/state and our sector. He made comments and connections while actively listening to us. He later met with a smaller group of volunteers and asked us to bring up anything we wanted; his only agenda was to listen. A very refreshing encounter, and it made me even more proud to be a part of the Peace Corps. Thank you Director Williams!

I also travelled to the capital for another Bicentennial event hosted by the Ministry of Education (MEC). It was a state-fair-like atmosphere (just without livestock); teachers and students were bussed in from all over the country. I rode there and back on a chartered bus full of folks from Troche, the majority of whom were wearing their Paraguayan soccer jerseys, the red-and-white "albirroja" shirts. Upon entering the event grounds, MEC personnel encouraged people to sign a red-white-and-blue cloth spread alongst numerous tables, a Paraguayan flag that would be displayed at a later date with all of our signatures. Peace Corps volunteers staffed a small booth to do free face-paintings, always a popular offering. Troche residents even brought along a cassava tree and cassavas to give demonstrations of converting the cassava to flour, known here as "almidon," a key ingredient in many typical Paraguayan dishes such as chipa and mbeju.

And of course most localities had their own versions of Bicentennial celebration, including student parades, concerts, dances. The photo shows Beta wearing her school uniform-- the sash denotes her as a honor student--and Nico is dressed as Dr. Francia, one of Paraguay's most famous rulers following independence. One evening's cultural event included typical Paraguayan dancing, complete with a bottle dancer or two. Women dance with up to a dozen wine bottles stacked on their heads. Yes, you have to see it to believe it!






























May also included taking my dear Paraguayan friend Amada to a project design management workshop for a couple of days. This is one of the examples of Peace Corps in-service training that includes taking someone from your community to participate, to provide training to host-country nationals. Each pair of volunteers/community counterparts chooses a project with which to focus while we work through the cycle of project design. Our project is the library at the Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano in Villarrica; to make it more functional and become a lending library.

Another side trip took me to a fellow volunteer's site to help her with a library workshop at her school. She's a crop extensionist volunteer so she lives out in the campo, a very different experience from my more pseudo-urban existence. She also happens to be a librarian so we had a lot of fun. It's always interesting to see other volunteer sites, no two assignments are alike!

May 2011's been a time of total transition, with one foot in my initial assignment in Troche, and the other foot stepping into the 3rd year location of Villarrica. Fortunately the two places are relatively near one another, approximately 25 miles, so that made it feasible to make a gradual move this month, especially with all the Bicentennial stuff going on. Fortunately no one is moving into my room at Dona Lilli's so I moved out little by little. Dona Lilli's birthday was this month too, and she really wanted me around for the celebration. Here are the kids showing the home-made birthday cards we made for their grandmother:














When I arrived at the house from Villarrica to bring "birthday breakfast" the kids wanted to retrieve her cards from my room at once. We practiced "Happy Birthday" one more time in English, and then delivered cards and song to their abuela. They were so proud of their creations and their English singing, and I was proud of them too! I will really miss these little people while adapting to a new family in Villarrica, and plan to visit them at least once a week.

By month's end I have just about everything in Villarrica. Thankfully there is room at the Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano ("CCPA")--the binational cultural center where I'm based for my extension--for me to set up shop with all my materials, much like I did at Dona Lilli's with my "aula'i'," aka little classroom.

May was jam-packed until its very last hour. One more trip to Asuncion for a two-day workshop sponsored by MEC at the country's book fair. I helped out a couple education volunteers to deliver reading promotion sessions, including one on Reader's Theatre. While in Asuncion I received a call from my friend Amada (mentioned earlier as the person I took to the Peace Corps workshop), to let me know she just got engaged to a person she met eight months ago thanks to me and another volunteer! I travelled back to Villarrica the next day to join Amada and other folks from the CCPA for a working dinner with folks from CCPA-Asuncion and the embassy, including the RELO (Regional English Language Officer) Dr. Lisa Morgan, (based at the embassy in Santiago, Chile), who happens to be a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. The next day, May 31st, I accompanied the embassy representative and Dr. Morgan to a couple of schools in Villarrica so she could observe English teaching in action. At one of the schools the students had all made little American flags to welcome us.

Whew...here's to the marvelous month of May 2011, and to all you marvelous mothers out there, in the US, in Paraguay...everywhere. Vivan las madres, vivan!

April 2011...an amazing array of activity!

Whew, what a whirlwind 30 days! The month began for me in COLOMBIA, my first visit to the northern South American country. A dear friend, MB, was celebrating her 50th birthday in Cartagena, on Colombia's coast, where she'd arranged for friends to share a nine-bedroom house with her during her birthday week. MB and I have known each other since our au pair days in Madrid many many moons ago, and it was pure joy to get to join her for such a milestone bday in such an incredible venue. It was a gift for all of us present to meet her other friends, and we're all now blessed with a new group of amigas.

The Colombian sojourn was bookended with time in Bogota too, where I spent two nights upon arrival to the country, and one night prior to departure. Once again I could make a cherished connection with an old friend, Ricardo. We met 15 years ago in Boston while I was volunteering at the Boston Public Library, teaching English. We laughed as we recalled how I then helped Ricardo to send his very first email. He was a gracious host, pleased that I finally made it to his country, and that he could put me up in "Hotel Ricardo." (His apartment thus christened by other Peace Corps Volunteers I've sent his way as they travel in the area; the first ones to stay with Ricardo gave him a guest book, dedicating it to him and "Hotel Ricardo.")

Once back in Paraguay I went to the PC training center for one day to present to trainees, and then attended a two-day national workshop in Asuncion organized by the Ministry of Education, on the "National Reading Plan." I attended with a fellow education volunteer, with the hope that we will be presenting at a follow-up workshop, together with other volunteers.

April 14 is Day of the Americas, did you know that? I never did until living here. It's observed in many schools, and I mentioned in last year's April post:

http://deniseinparaguay.blogspot.com/2010/04/aprilmany-special-days-including-arbor.html

Well, this year I thought I was ready to participate more fully. I had my Stars and Stripes in hand, and when it was my turn to get in front of the assembly at my school I proudly waved the grand ol' flag. I planned on just saying a few words, but then it occurred to me that I should belt out our national anthem, right? Now mind you, I'm no soloist, but I can usually carry a tune, so I figured what the heck, swallow your pride...."Oooh-h-h say can you see...."...can't recall now just how far I got before I drew a complete blank on the lyrics...so I just winged it without missing a beat. I mean, not a person in the crowd knew enough English to know the difference, and it turned out just fine. I was just flabbergasted that I could no longer remember all the words to my own national anthem, being that it's been a while since I've heard it sung in its entirety!

April 15 it was back to Asuncion for "NVAC weekend." NVAC is the PC Paraguay acronym for National Volunteer Advisory Committee. The weekend included a library committee meeting, my final one as chair since we held elections for new officers. I'll of course remain active with the group, but it felt good to pass on the leadership baton. NVAC weekend also includes a concert organized by volunteers, held in a local pub. It's known as "AHENDU," which is Guarani for listen. It's a chance for both volunteers and Paraguayans to share musical talents, and is really a great cross-cultural event.

Before the month was over I had to make one more trip to Asuncion (crazy month!) in order to join my fellow G29 volunteers for the Close of Service ceremony. Yes, the majority of folks with whom I arrived back in February of 2009 are now finished with this stage of Peace Corps connection, and are moving on to life's next chapters. Everyone received certificates and PC lapel pins that have both the US and Paraguayan flags placed above the PC logo. Bittersweet to bid farewell to so many neat people, but know our paths will cross in many ways in RPCV land.

Holy Week...tranquila in Troche, savoring the chance to stay still for several days, and just enjoy the family, the relaxed pace, and time for spiritual reflection while reading E.L. Doctorow's City of God.

Like last year, the month ended with another celebration, National Teacher's Day. I celebrated with both of my work groups in Troche, the Supervision team at City Hall, and the San Pascual teachers at the Principal's house. Both events doubled as pseudo-farewell occasions for me, since I will be moving on to Villarrica over the next couple weeks. I insisted on not having any official "despedidas" (good-bye events) occasions since I will still be nearby and plan to visit Troche at least a couple times a month. I actually spent the month's final hours in Villarrica. I had my English conversation class at the CCPA (Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano), the place where I'll be based during my extension. After class the center's administration held a teacher's day celebration for all its teachers, which wound up being lunch since it was almost noon and they served us all kinds of delicious savory treats. I stayed overnite at my friend Amada's house (she is the Academic Coordinator at the CCPA) so I could join in a birthday celebration for our Australian friend James.

So, I did manage to get some work accomplished this April, even if the month both began and ended with big birthday bashes, with other fetes sprinked inbetween. By the time I post May's entry I should be fully settled in Villarrica...si Dios quiere, y la Virgen! Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the build-up to Paraguay's Bicentennial Celebration, for the official dates are May 14-15.

March brings good news!

Yes, it's now 100% official, your's truly will be serving one more year in Paraguay! I learned of the decision in a very special way too. This month included our library workshop, March 11-12. We were delighted when the US Ambassador accepted our invitation to attend the event to give the welcome and opening remarks. Our country director, Don Clark, was there to introduce the diplomat. Before he turned the podium over to the Ambassador, he included thanks to volunteers for putting together the workshop, naming me and my colleague Marissa, the workshop coordinator, specifically...and to the thanks he added something like, "...and Denise, it's now official, we just heard from Washington that your extension has been approved, so you will be in Paraguay another year, congratulations!" I was standing in the back of the room, and couldn't help but let out a bit of a spontaneous shriek. What a sweet way to learn the news, at an event that represents the essence of my work here...as good as it gets!

Getting the extension means I can take some vacation time now. Normally, volunteers aren't allowed to go on holiday during the last two months of service in order to finish up projects in site. But since I'll now be around until May 2012, my final two months won't be for a while yet! So yes, I'm off for some much needed decompression time following the successful workshop....I'll write about my latest adventure in April's post.

Meanwhile, a big SHOUT OUT and GRACIAS to all friends and family who supported our workshop in so many ways. For those of you who sent items for our conference bags, I have to tell you that they were a BIG, BIG hit with the Paraguayans. It was worth all the extra effort to put those together. The US Embassy contributed as well, providing book donations for us to include in each bag--many thanks!

February funk

February 2011 - February Funk

Yes, "funk" is a good word to describe much of my state of mind during this short month. With last month's Close-of-Service conference I've been extra eager to move my extension efforts forward, and yet I must be patient,working with the pace of bureaucracy. I managed to get all my required medical check-ups scheduled and as of now have done everything required by Peace Corps on the medical front. One thing I still hope to get is a hearing test, for as mentioned in a previous post I am convinced I have experienced some hearing loss while living here, and not just a normal amount that one would attribute to mere aging. Hearing well is a daily challenge, as one's ears work to distinguish speech and other things you want to hear from mufflerless motorbikes, megadecibel music and other varieties of noise pollution. (Wouldn´t you know, right after drafting this first paragraph I left the city hall to go home for the day, only to hear that we`re in for another evening of concert-volume music across the street. Heaven help me, help my hearing!) A hearing test isn't required for me, but I want to know how this function is faring, not to mention it`s always a good idea to document any changing health conditions one experiences during service.

The "funk" continues until I know my extension request status, because if it is not approved I need to be ready to depart for the States in less than two months. With each passing day I am feeling more positive that it will go through, and yet I do not want to assume anything until I have the official decision in writing, especially given the current state of U.S. budget deliberations. One way or another, stay tuned for the March post which will convey my confirmed status!

Meanwhile, February means back-to-school mode here. Last week I went snap-happy taking pictures of Nico´s first day of school, eager to document the childhood milestone. He now goes to preschool every afternoon, complete with a "Cars" backpack and cup. It rained cats and dogs all over the country on the first official, country-wide day of public school, and so many children didn't trek to school, including those in my site.

Carnaval time again too, and although there's not a celebration in Troche this year, nearby Villarrica is staging two Carnaval weekends. Our PCV group for Guaira met in Villarrica this past Saturday to coincide with the carnaval happenings. Carnaval is colorful and a feast for the eyes (especially if you happen to be a heterosexual male), but I can do without the spewing foam that is part of the Villarrica version. Nonetheless, I did enjoy experiencing this spectacle once again, trading in the month`s pervasive funk for some FUN with which to draw February to a festive close.

January 2011 - vacation, turning point and a request

2011 began with some much needed vacation. I thoroughly enjoyed my sojourn to Chile, including the 30+-hour bus trip from Asuncion to Santiago, complete with two border crossings (Paraguay-Argentina, then Argentina-Chile) and the snail of curved passes through the Andes. This was my first time to Chile, but hopefully not my last while serving in this part of the world. This visit was limited to the capital of Santiago and a day trip to the port city--and UNESCO World Heritage Site--of Valparaiso, a place I’m totally enchanted with and heartily recommend. Some good American friends are living in Santiago for a few years, so that’s an extra good reason to get back before I live up north again.

Once back in ol’ Paraguay it was birthday time. Dear little Nico made the change from three to four, and I gave him a birthday book I’d found in Chile. It was specifically for 4-yr olds, and included props, pop-ups, room to write guests’ names, a photo, and other information about your special day. It was a big hit, and he asked where I found it. I explained I found it in a bookstore in Santiago, where they only had such books for years three and four. When he learned that he asked why I didn’t bring the one for three-year olds too! (Note: When I returned from Chile, his greeting included the question, “Did you see any of the miners?” Yes, a special kid!!)

The month has also been a turning point in my service. As every Returned Peace Corps Volunteer knows, the Peace Corps experience includes a Close-of-Service conference, held approximately three months before the end of our two years of service. (Close of Service, aka “COS” in Peace Corpsese.) Well, by the end of January it was our training group’s turn for our COS conference since our COS date is April 20, 2011. We were put up in a nice hotel for two days and two nights to attend sessions on assessment, reviewing our PC experience, readjustment, options for life post-Peace Corps. We were given our COS “kits,” essentially the check list of the approximately 30 administrative tasks we need to “check off” in order to officially finish our service in Paraguay, and the accompanying forms and documents to help us complete the list. They really do us a favor in holding this conference three months before our two years are up since there is indeed so much involved in wrapping up an experience like this…you don’t want to leave it all for the last minute! In Peace Corps Paraguay they do a nice job of holding this conference in an appealing venue where we can rest and relax between sessions with folks from our training group, some of whom we haven’t seen much since training in 2009. By the end of the couple days of immersion with fellow Americans about to finish this chapter of life, you really did feel like you had reached a turning point…..and yet in my case, the turning point has a broader curve…I have submitted a proposal to extend for one more year, and should know the decision within a couple of weeks, ideally by the next time I post to the blog. So, for now, I only have to start doing a portion of the items on the check list, and hopefully the rest will get checked off around this time next year. (Medical tests are pending, since you can’t receive an extension without medical clearance.)

It´s really hard to believe that two years ago I was muy busy with another to-do list, all the things to take care of before departing the States for this adventure...yep, it's nearly two years to the day, Dios mio. If my extension is approved, I will be a volunteer here in Paraguay until May of 2012.

Now for the final portion of this post, the part that corresponds to "request" in the entry´s title. As many of you know, I´m very involved with library work here, and it culminates with a library "mini-conference" we´re staging next month, March 11-12 to be exact. We plan to give all the Paraguayans conference bags, full of practical goodies to take back to their libraries. If anyone would like to send me *anything* for these bags, I would be so very grateful! (Think anything "booky" for instance, including stickers, posters, book marks, small bone folders--for book repair, book-themed wrapping paper...things easy to mail, of course.) Someone once gave me stickers of just little books, and they're great, but I've never seem them for sale myself. Here is the mailing address for the Peace Corps office in Asuncion:

Denise Davis

Cuerpo de Paz

162 Chaco Boreal, casi Mcal. Lopez

1580 Asuncion

Paraguay, South America

Best option is to just use padded manila envelopes... they seem to get here more quickly. Plus, the majority of items I've suggested can fit readily into the envelopes (posters folded flat, obviously!) I would suggest mailing anything by FEBRUARY 15 to assure we have your things in time to use for the March 11-12 workshop.

MUCHISMIAS GRACIAS a todos! I hope your 2011 has gotten off to an excellent start!