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!