a taste of home

Upon cleaning out the volunteers' rooms after their orientation last week, Stephanie (another supervisor) discovered a large unopened bag of Trader Joe's dry-roasted almonds. Needless to say, she did not ask around as to who had left them behind. At staff house last night, we ate them by the handful, used them in a salad, and congratulated Stephanie on her awesome find. Yum.

things settle down... sort of

I'm back in the city and soaking in the oasis of internet accessibility. Aaaaah. The volunteers are doing really well, although they've given me a few scares already - a couple of girls are sick and have been calling the staff house every day, while another of my volunteers is rumored to have broken the "no amorous conduct" rule. I have some fun conversations in store for me next week (read: detailed descriptions of bowel movements and interrogating a strong-willed teen on late-night activities during orientation). But I wouldn't be here if I didn't love these kids :)

The first week on route started in Las Mercedes, with Drew and Ari. We arrived in the afternoon, headed over to the primary school to introduce ourselves, then took a nice long stroll through the banana fields looking for a good route for Ari to run his daily 5-6 miles. Along the way we picked some sweet mandarin oranges (they are absolutely everywhere here) and talked about plans for the week.

The following day I ran errands in Caraguatay then hopped an afternoon bus for Jhugua Guazu. After the hour-long walk from the main road I finally reached the house where Julia and Katie (a.k.a. Ana) were staying, only to find a note saying they'd gone out to meet with the latrine recipients at their respective homes. So I flipped on a telenovela and became engrossed.

I was actually on the verge of tears as Gabriela (one of the main characters) discovered who her real father was - incidentally, her real father's legitimate daughter was having an affair with Gabriela's husband, but when Gabriela discovered the truth, she got in her car and was promptly involved in a fatal car crash, which her husband then blamed on his illicit lover... but I digress. At the very moment that tears began to well, Ana and Julia appeared at the door with stories to tell of how far they'd gotten on their project. We sat down in their room and chatted, they gave me letters to mail and more errands to run, and discussed their next steps.

The other visits were similar: arriving to excited volunteers, laying out a plan for the week, talking over individual issues (which were mostly homesickness, discomfort with Spanish / Guarani, and a bit of stress over when the latrine materials would be arriving in communities), then spending the evening watching telenovelas or soccer (the Copa America just began this past week and there's a game on almost every night).

In Barrio Libertad, Sra Riquelme treated me to a home-made chocolate cake! The following day I took Daisy and Alexandra along with me to the Willamayor household to visit Amalio, Mercedes, and the kids. Mercedes had planned a cooking lesson for us, and we made un monton de gnocchis with chicken tomato sauce... probably one of the tastiest meals I have ever had hands down. She is an absolutely wonderful woman, and I've decided that they will be my surrogate host family. The kids are too cute for words.

Finally, in Mariscal Estigarribia, the week was topped off by an in-house musical performance! The Don of the house plays a nylon-stringed harp in typical Paraguayan folk style, and was accompanied on classical guitar by a neighbor. It was a lively performance, which I was too elated to stop and photograph. On the coldest night so far, the house in Mariscal Estigarribia was warm with music and smiles. I spent the night cozied in Stephanie and Jasmine's bedroom, on one of their cots and we chatted until late at night. Then at 6:30 this morning, I hopped the Asuncion-bound bus for the 5-hour trip back.

A typical week, more or less, with plenty of time for introspection - while waiting for buses, and walking country roads. The big ideas keep floating around. More on those next time.

a long week in training

The summer has officially begun for the volunteers. Last Wednesday they arrived en masse at the Asuncion airport - all of them wearing their blue AMIGOS polo shirts, carrying lots of neon-colored American luggage, and behaving like rowdy teens behave.

We had an intense 5 days of training, which included individual interviews, partner pairings, and community assignments, as well as various small-group discussions on things like culture shock, sensitivity around the role of NGO workers, how to plan and give health-related seminars in their communities, and some basic language instruction in Guarani. The kids also had plenty of time to play soccer, relax in the hammocks, participate in massage circles, and stay up late. I, on the other hand, don´t think I stopped for a personal pause the whole time. My nerves were on edge from the beginning tolls of culture shock and the task of taming a wild group of 60 teenagers. Yesterday they all left for their communities, truckload by truckload, and this morning I am finally catching my breath. In a strange physical manifestation of the state of my mental health, I was literally gulping breaths of air last night as I tried to fall asleep...

Yesterday morning I was fascinated to watch the volunteers get ripped from their comfort zone and placed in living situations tougher than anything they´ve experienced or ever will find themselves in again. I saw, as my mother saw in me the day I left for AMIGOS in June of 2000, their jovial grins and goofy struts replaced with an introspective look in their eyes and a utterly serious set to their shoulders. This was it.

I said good-bye to Stephanie and Jasmine as they squeezed into the front cab of a tiny Toyota pick-up and left Caacupe for their community, Mariscal Estigarribia. I gave healthy hugs to Julia and Katie as they threw their packs in the back of SENASA´s dusty vehicle and left on the bumpy road to Jhugua Guazu. Then I literally jammed myself in between the mayor of Caacupe and Sr Amalio (the SENASA engineer helping out in two of my communities) on top of the emergency brake in the front seat of another truck, as my four remaining volunteers squeezed themselves into the backseat. We spent a painful hour on those famous rock-paved roads, watching the countryside, and taking it in. Daisy and Alex were dropped off in Barrio Libertad, and I finished the trip with Ari and Drew - then spent the afternoon helping them get to know the roads around their community and playing soccer with a few kids in the houses nearby.

Like I said, I saw something amazing yesterday. These kids are becoming adults. I am so excited to visit them this week and see how everything is coming along. And although I have only known them a few short days, I am already touched by their dedication and their strength, and proud of who they are going to become.

a note about mate'

For those who are unfamiliar (as I was when I first got here), mate' is a kind of tea that is commonly consumed in Paraguay. It is made by crushing dry yerba mate' in a long sort of mug (called a guampa, and usually made from the horn of a cow), then topping it with hot water from a thermos, and sipping it through a metal "straw" (called a bombilla) which has a filter on the bottom. Mate' is consumed at meetings, around the breakfast table, on the porch in the evening, really all the time. One person has the thermos by their side, fills the guampa with hot water, and passes it to another person. Once that person has finished off the mate' in the guampa, they pass it back to be refilled and offered to another person. Basically everyone takes turns, drinking about 3 gulps at a time, using the same guampa and bombilla, until they are satisfied. There is another form of mate', called terere, which is exactly the same except cold water is used, which usually contains leaves and plant-things that have certain healing qualities (also known as 'remedios').

survey

I just returned from 5 busy days surveying the communities that will fall under my responsibility this summer. I am sitting now in the bus station in Asuncion; moments ago I was wearing hat, gloves, and a warm coat - a necessity in 40-degree weather both indoors and out - but I accidentally deleted another draft of this entry and, due to the flush of frustration, I was warm enough to take off my coat and gloves... sigh. How I dislike paying for internet by the minute.

But wait! I should have started this entry with an upper, not a downer. I just had a great 5 days! Survey - the most nerve-wracking week of the summer - is over, and I have four great communities with plenty of projects to keep the volunteers busy all summer.

My route took me northwest of Asuncion, first to the city of Caacupe, which is where the latrine project is based with a governmental body called SENASA. From there, I will be traveling by bus each week to Jhugua Guazu - a 20 minute ride outside of town on rock-paved thoroughfares, followed by a 3-4 km walk down a dirt road lined with fields of sugar cane and bananas. This week I got a ride with one of the SENASA engineers and his family, off-roading through the rough and winding terrain, passing ox-drawn carts and innumerable free-roaming cows and dogs. I noted in my journal that night that it would be interesting to juxtapose the image of the 5 of us tumbling back and forth, hurtling over mounds of eroded dirt in Sr Valbuena's little car, next to that of a giant Hummer driving down the urban paved streets of Chicago.

After a productive afternoon in Jhugua Guazu, I left the following morning for Las Mercedes, walking the 3 km to the thoroughfare, then hopping the bus at 7:30am. One thing about buses in the countryside (besides the fact that they only pass by every 3 hours or so) is that everyone on the bus knows each other and there is always someone on the bus who will know the house or town you might be looking for. When I got on, I asked if the bus would be going to Las Mercedes, got the nod, and paid my fare. As we approached the community, the driver asked which house I would like to be dropped at. Later that day, I took the bus back to Caraguatay to visit the health clinic, and I had the same driver. There was something nice about knowing that all these folks are going to recognize me each week when I get on and off the bus. It makes the whole trek seem so much safer.

After a day-long adventure in visiting health clinics (I also went to another town, San Jose Obrero, which is closer to the other communities), I spend a laid-back evening drinking mate and chatting with the host-brother and his cousin in Las Mercedes. Despite getting eaten alive by mosquitos, and then spending a restless night of sleep tying and re-tying my mosquito netting and scratching all my bites, I felt good the next day heading for Barrio Libertad.

Unfortunately, the host family was gone all day in Asuncion - but this meant I got to spend the morning and part of the afternoon with the family of another one of the SENASA engineers. We drank mate and terere (which is essentially iced mate) all day long, and I chatted with la Senora about the program, my job, Joe, etc. She was a wonderful lady, and insisted that I continue coming over for mate each week, even though they don´t live in the community. We made plans to have breakfast at her house every Thursday morning. Another lovely comfort along my Route each week.

In the last community, I was met by another wonderful strong woman - the head of the host family household. We spent the afternoon talking about her efforts to organize her fellow community members to get a clinic opened in their village. She has worked really hard, called government employees, gotten people together for meetings, and so on - as it stands, the clinic has been constructed, but lacks supplies, equipment, and a doctor. Its been two months since she heard anything from the government, and she cried with frustration telling me about the whole ordeal. I know its not something the volunteers can really help with, but it was amazing to see how sincerely she wants improvement for the health of her community. I think she is going to be a big help to the volunteers with their other little projects.

There was no end to my journaling this week - so many things ocurred to me with regards to community organization, globalization, and other 'big ideas'. Hopefully I'll have time at some point to write something more pointed about it all, but for now the wheels are just turning and turning. I am heading back to the staff house now. Happy fathers day to all, and I hope to write again soon.

"developing"

So all is well here in Paraguay. The trip was something of an adventure – a missed flight connection led to a 16-hour layover in Sao Paolo, during which I witnessed a group of Buenos Aires-bound passengers protesting a cancelled flight, chanting and clapping in unison until the airline granted them all temporary Brazilian visas and complimentary hotel rooms for the night. Sometimes it pays to give the ticket agents hell, I suppose. My fellow Paraguay passengers and I were not as fortunate. Our re-scheduled flight was 4 hours delayed and we arrived in Asuncion at 3:30 in the morning. There was another supervisor on the flight with me named Andrew. We grabbed a cab from the airport – a suspicious large black Mercedes with tinted windows and no running taxi meter... but the driver was ‘muy amable’ and brought us directly to our house after a few high-pitched cell phone conversations with our project director.

Since settling in, we’ve been alternately in orientation meetings or eating meals at interesting restaurants. Last night, a swanky Chinese restaurant; tonight an ice-cream and hamburger shop (incidentally this place was called 4d... v. odd).

This morning we met the coordinators of the government sanitation program and received our community assignments. I will be traveling to four communities northwest of Asuncion, about a 2-3 hour trip out into the campo, working with three of the engineers: Porfirio, Amalio, and Brigido. This was all very exciting news, and my angry morning mood (brought on by a third nearly-sleepless night in a row) melted away. The meeting was capped of with a feast of tasty grilled steak, sausages, and mandioca, and I decided I might like Paraguay lots.

After a satisfying morning meeting, we had an equally interesting discussion in the late afternoon back at our staff house. Our project directors compiled a few readings that highlighted several challenging views of international development, the role of NGOs, the role of international governments, and the negative aspects of ‘charity’-based work. This is something I struggled with a lot when I first took part in Amigos as a volunteer and when I was considering returning to the program as a supervisor – I didn’t want to ‘help’ in a way that was unwanted or un-solicited, I didn’t want to be imposing an outsider’s value system on a culture that had functioned just fine for thousands of years, and the idea that we were “changing the world” actually made me uncomfortable. But I believe I have arrived at a place where I understand my role among the people in the Amigos communities, and I know the organization has every intent to assure that the volunteers are not just “helping”, but are, in fact, engaging in a true cross-cultural experience that is both an effort for both parties and extremely beneficial to all involved. Our conversation this evening gave us all a chance to objectively discuss the arguments for and against the work of NGOs in ‘developing areas’ and to verbalize our own inner dialogues on the issue. A couple of key things emerged in my mind by the end:

1. Working under the coordination of the Paraguayan government means the project we are doing truly is “community based” – that is, it is run by Paraguayans, for Paraguayans

2. The volunteers are placed in communities to help these projects come to fruition, and are encouraged to involve their peers in the labor and education around the sanitation efforts. This is cross-cultural immersion not only in the sense of forming relationships with host families and friends, but also in working professionally in a foreign country, which has its own way of doing things. The volunteers are not considered ‘experts’ by any means, but rather serve as catalysts

3. The term ‘catalyst’ always seemed a bit too empowered to me, but I started to see it another way during our discussion – often, an organization or community needs a breath of new life to highlight the positive things and encourage the development of new initiatives. This happens every year at Amigos, as the new staff and volunteers come up with new ideas, have great discussions, and encourage and support each other in positive ways. In the same manner, young Amigos volunteers can bring life to the community where they are staying simply through their fascination and delight with the people and customs to which they are exposed

4. A large part of the discussion was about dependence. A few of my fellow supervisors questioned the role of NGOs in places where governments should be taking more responsibility. The issue of dependence, however, is a global one, and any country-level disparity between the amount of support provided by NGOs vs. the amount provided by a national body should be viewed at a global level. Some countries simply do not have the funds to provide for all the services their people need, and while other governments may have these funds, often NGOs have already taken up the cause. With a large part of NGO financing coming from government bodies anyway, the issue simply comes down to a global disparity of wealth and the question remains: who should take up the cause?

I have found that the model of cross-cultural exchange and community-based development is the most respectful and sustainable of the programs I have researched. I am already proud of the kids who will be participating, I am excited to meet the youth and adults who will be our community counterparts, and I am looking forward to the summer (winter here, don’t forget!) Development theory can be a bit, well, theoretical sometimes; when these projects are realized, however, I think the kids will know their experience was unique and will walk away as respectful global citizens.

two tidbits

1.) Here's a photo of Jen, Natalie, myself and Shelley waiting for the train last night. We saw a movie and said our good-byes (appropriately) on the 'L' platform. What a great bunch of ladies!
2.) Somehow the travel outfit I chose ended up being blaringly American... I am currently sporting a red-and-white striped shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots. Oops. Everything else is already in the suitcase, so I guess that's it. Hm.

and she's off

What a hectic last few days these have been! Paring down 3+ years of my adult life to fit into 1 suitcase and a backpack was quite the effort. That, and I went home to Minnesota for about 36 hours (16 of which were driving). Goodness.

SIGH!

I always think its amazing the thoughts that come to you when you are physically and mentally exhausted and overwhelmed. I had some great ideas this week - for a small-business project, for essays I would like to write, and for things I want to make sure I say to my volunteers before they go out on their own. I am excited for the plane ride, where I'll finally have a chance to write it all down. My oh my.

I am also amazed at the huge things I forgot to think about until the last minute... and the things I forgot in general. Everything that was hanging on my walls, my guitar, the towels, curtains - all were forgotten on my trip back to Minnesota. And all had to be taken down to the dumpster this morning :(

Then there was the budgeting issue. So many expenses I didn't account for, so many last-minute purchases. I would definitely say this was one of the most stressful weeks of my life. I kept thinking "I'm too old for this!" - which, of course, I'm not. But it felt like it.

Anyway, you gotta take the good with the bad. I have a lot of great things in mind for this summer and I am looking forward to them all. I'm off to get dressed, eat something, and make a bunch of phone calls. Next stop, P-guay!

the party's over

Paraguay is a week away. I had to start taking Chloroquine (the anti-Malarial medication) today, which they say causes one to have intense and wild dreams, so tonight should be interesting.

Anyway, I threw myself a couple of going-away parties this week – Thursday night at a casual little bar up north with friends from work, then another one this afternoon at the beach with the usual potluck crew. They were both laid-back affairs, which gave me a chance to have some good conversations with friends. Everyone was so sweet and wished me well, seemed excited about the project my subsequent 'TBD' plans.

As folks left the parties and the mood tapered to mellow, I started seeing a metaphor. In a way, the last three years of my life was a party - it started slow and a bit lonely, then the pace became overly high, the insanity went on slightly too long, and then it refreshingly switched gears and I found a comfortable and enjoyable camaraderie with all my Chicago friends as the party came to an end. This week is like making the last round, saying my good-byes, and stepping out into the world.