Finally, an update from Paraguay! I’ve been here for over a month now and there’s plenty of things I’ve been meaning to write home about. First, let me say thank you to all of you who have already written me numerous emails or sent cards and letters – I can’t express how wonderful it is to get word from home. Plus there’s a somewhat dramatic and very public mail delivery system here in which all the other volunteers see who receives mail. And I’ve been lucky enough to get mail every delivery day so far – so thanks to everyone who helped me feel like the cool kid at camp. Keep those letters and emails a-coming!
Address:
Macy Kozar
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal Lopez
Asunción 1580 , Paraguay
South America
Email: macy.kozar@gmail.com
For my own benefit and the benefit of potential readers, I’m going to outline the topics this entry will address…
1. What I’m doing and why
2. Training schedule and highlights
3. Leave if you don’t like tereré
1. What I’m doing and why:
When I was back in the US and people would ask me what exactly Peace Corps was and what I’d be doing, I feel like I mostly shrugged my shoulders and gave some half-ass, slightly misinformed response. I’d like to think that after 6 weeks of training, I now have a better of idea of what the heck I’m doing here. So the deal is, I’m in Paraguay working in the Environmental Education sector, which is one of multiple sectors that fall under a broader umbrella category addressing environmental and agricultural needs. I am part of a training class of 46 other volunteers, 23 of whom are also Environmental Education volunteers. The other half of the group is divided among people who will serve in Agricultural Extension and Apiculture (bee-keeping). Don’t ask me what either of those means, I’m still figuring out my own sector.
Most of the trainees (because we’re not yet volunteers) in EE (environmental education) have had some experience with ecology, biology, and/or working with kids. We’re a pretty tight knit group and clearly the coolest. Just a heads up, Peace Corps is a government run organization, so I apologize ahead of time for the absurd amount of acronyms that may weezle there way into this entry. Try as I might to avoid them, they’re useful at times.
I got plopped in the EE sector probably due to my Biology degree and my time working with kids. This means that I’ll get to continue doing Biology “stuff” and will also probably work with kids in some capacity or another, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
The “why” of all this is less clear. I’m not going to rewrite my “Why Swarthmore” essay with Peace Corps inserted, but I will do a brief personal interpretation of the three main goals of the Peace Corps, as defined by the Peace Corps.
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.
I’m won’t spend my time or yours getting in to all the linguistic, ideological, and personal issues I have with these statements, but they do help frame why I’m doing what I’m doing. I would like to clarify that I think numbers 2 and 3 should be reversed if we’re listing these in the order of importance and I’d remind the Peace Corps that many consider “the Americas” to be a continent, not simply the United States. I hope you’ll stick with me as I step off my soap box.
2. Training Schedule and highlights
I’m currently in training to be a Peace Corps volunteer, and thus have not been granted the privilege of being called a volunteer. I’m a mere aspirante, or trainee. Training lasts for 10 weeks and is composed of technical training, language instruction, and some really boring power point presentations ranging from the dangers of diarrhea to the tricks of traveling safely. I would liken training to college orientation on crack. The days are long, everything is important, and there are wayyyyy too many ice-breakers. “No seriously guys, you’re gonna really want to use these once you get to site.”
My understanding is that training exists for two reasons, 1. to help us absorb as much information and language practice as possible and 2. to weed out the weak. Ok, so number 2 may not be totally true, but if you’re gonna jump ship, you might as well do it now. Because if you wait until after the “swearing-in ceremony” and after you’re an official volunteer, you get a big fat ET on your record. What does ET mean? It means Early Termination and there’s no going back, baby. It means you left before your two years was up and your Peace Corps record is forever soiled. But if you drop out now, before the ceremony shrouded in secrecy, well, you just got a free vacation from the US government. Ok, enough blasphemy for now. Training really isn’t all that bad, it’s just a little exhausting and my immune system is struggling.
If I survive and decide I want to commit the next two years to living and working in Paraguay (I do), I’ll become an official volunteer the 10th of December. We all get dressed up, head to the capital, and get three days of rest and relaxation before we head out to our sites. Speaking of sites, I find out this Wednesday, Nov. 17th where I’ll be living! I get both giddy and a little nauseated when I think about it. The site placements are picked based on a ton of different factors and we do have some input, but mostly not. It’s sort of like being matched to your future spouse through a 10 question questionnaire… yeeaaa, I think I value independence but also know how to be a team player. Right?!
I also just got back from a week long visit to a current volunteer’s community. This is something great about training – we get lots of opportunities to talk with current volunteers and see their living situations. I sometimes feel like we spend our days just talking and talking about what our real service will be like, so it’s very satisfying to see a real volunteer’s house, ask them how they bathe, if their local grocer has fruit, or how many time’s they’ve had pique (pronounced p-k… Spanish speakers will recognize this as simply something that itches).
Side note: pique are small flea or tick-like insects that burrow into your feet and lay a little egg sack. It will eventually leave on it’s own, but I’ve heard it’s not a pleasant experience. Far from life threatening, these little nuisances are a great way to make new friends. Since Paraguayans are the most skilled at removing them, you’ll undoubtedly make someone’s day by exposing your ignorance and kindly asking them to dig a pique out of your toe. I’ve not yet had the pleasure, but I’m sure my barefoot running will help.
The best record I’ve heard so far is 73 pique in 25 months of service. Not too shabby.
But back to the visit. It was a very rural site with a 5 km walk after the last bus stop to arrive in the center of town. There was one elementary school, one high school, and one health center, as is usual in most small towns. I immediately fell in love. We’re currently being trained in a small neighborhood outside of a somewhat large city, sort of like downtown Latrobe. There’s lots of people, lots of reggaeton music, and very little privacy. Being the country girl that I am, the openness and solitude of the countryside was incredibly refreshing.
During one of my now ritual midnight potty excursions, I happened to look up at the night sky and was dumb-founded. I haven’t seen stars like that since the summer I spent on Nantucket, star gazing with no light pollution and feeling vey very small. Aside from being star-struck (sorry), I was disoriented by all the new constellations down here in the southern hemisphere. One of the most astute observations I’ve heard yet came from a drunk friend on a late night walk home here…
Drunk Friend #1: (after stopping mid-stumble in the middle of the street) Dude, whoa, the stars are upside down.
Drunk Friend #2: No man, wweee’rrrreeeee upside down.
Let me clarify that I was “Sober and Responsible Friend #3,” hence the ability to recall this exchange.
Anyway, the point is that after this visit, I was reassured that I want to live in the countryside. The idea of knowing everyone in the community, of working closely with one school, and of bathing in a bucket excites me. I’ve been told my disdain for hot showers will be helpful here. It’s already proven true. So keep your fingers and toes crossed that I’ll have some exciting countryside news to report on Wednesday.
3. Leave if you don’t like tereré
I’m serious. You won’t survive if you don’t like it. You won’t make friends, you won’t integrate, and mostly, you’ll dehydrate in the burning hot summer months. Everyday I thank those crazy stars that I like tereré. But what’s not to like?
It’s Paraguay’s twist on yerba mate, which most of the rest of South America knows simply as mate. Mate is similar to what us nortes would call tea, but the process and sharing of it are very different. Yerba mate is the name of the plant from which mate is made, and it’s roughly translated to English as “herb.” There are way more comprehensive explanations of this on the web and if you find yourself with some free time, check it out.
You drink mate in a guampa, a small cup made of wood, metal, or an animal horn if you want to be fancy. You drink mate through a bombilla, a metal straw with a bulbous tip with holes in it. The plant matter (imagine loose tea leaves) goes in the cup, the straw goes in the plant matter, and the boiling hot water gets poured on top. Chug and pass. Chug and pass. It’s a communal straw and cup that get filled, emptied by one member of the mate circle, refilled, and passed to the next member. That’s mate, which Paraguayan’s drink like most other South Americans… but they’ve also got tereré!
Instead of a hot water thermos, imagine a thermos for cold water… stouter, bigger, better. Put some ice in it, add some water, and now put that into your guampa and drink it. That’s tereré. It’s cold and refreshing and it’s going to be a twice daily ritual, so get used to it. Most Paraguayans say it developed out of necessity as men worked long and hot hours in the field and needed something refreshing to drink. Plain water is too boring and doesn’t have the medicinal and caffeinated properties of mate infused water, so tereré was born. At almost any time of day you’ll see people chilling in their front yards, always in the shade, drinking some tereré. It’s totally ok to go up to strangers and ask for a hit of their tereré. It’s a completely awesome tradition that keeps you hydrated, helps you make friends, and gives you an excuse to sit around for a while.
I haven’t bought my tereré equipment yet, but I think I will once I get to site. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone here who isn’t carrying their thermos, their guampa, and a box of yerba mate. I’m cautious of making sweeping generalizations about Paraguay and Paraguayans, but I continue to be impressed by the number of things Paraguayans can do while drinking tereré:
-Drive a bus with standing room only and make exact change
-Cook lunch with a baby on your hip
-Drive a motorcycle
-Milk a cow
-Give a presentation
I’m sure the list will only continue to grow as I stay here. I really do like the whole process and the implications of the process. Think sharing.
Well, that´s all folks. Please keep the letters, emails, and good vibes coming, they really are appreciated. Hope all´s well back in the US or wherever you may be - keep me posted on your lives!
Suerte,
Macy
