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.