A new Photo

I have nothing to post. This coming week is Semana Santa, which is the biggest holiday in Paraguay. It is because of Saints week that we got all that glorious scantly clad, foamy, drunk Carnival last month. This month - lent. And then....CHIPA.
This coming week I will be taking lots and lots of photos of 'JUST WHAT IS SEMANA SANTA, PARAGUAY'. I will post them as soon as possible.

but for now, my mother has asked me to change the photo because she doesn't like that stick guy in a hospital bed picture.

Boxes of wine are the norm in Paraguay. It's really better as there is no trash pic up, and there are bottles and trash just lying around all over the place. At least boxes can be burned in your trash pit. Not that I endorce burning trash. Tastes like Boone's Farm. With better pictures....


Carnival, Oviedo! Who is spraying foam at that innocent man???

After my Women's race in Asuncion, PY. All the photos taken of this day were after I just ran my heart out. I look awful. Yuck. I am a tomato face.

I am a tough tomato face.

There you go, mom. Hope this is better!!! I promise to post more next week of my exciting adventures of eating as much food as possible!!!!

I'm So EXCITED about Development Work!!!

So just a little blurb about what I´ve been up to lately. I´m currently working with my womens group on a 'project'. Most people know that this word means 'free stuff from grants' so everyone is really excited. I´ve decided that my community needs some heavy duty health solutions. Of course, so does every other community, but my community has some experience in working with a specific grant company, so we're gonna give it a whirl.

My 'project' is Healthy Kitchens. Most women cook on a dirty old fogón, dirt floor, pig/chicken pens next to the hook where the meat hangs for a week. So my idea is to get a grant that will give us concrete floors, screened in window, cabinets and an indoor sink. My community has running water, but most just have 1 spicket outside somewhere. Along with this grant, i will be giving informational talks, and we will be building trash pits, compost piles, and a drain pit (in landscaping, it would be a sunken drain - covered hole filled with rock to slowly seep the used water back into the landscape). This will take care of mosquitos, rats, and snakes that frequent the average Paraguayan trash pile out back.

Right now we are in the designing stage and it´s going pretty slow. I´m trying to let the women drive the project and just interveen when necessary. My next design meeting will be on budgeting. We tried a little of this last week, and only a few people actually participated while the rest just sat and stared. It´s hard getting people to come out of their shells.

I´m also starting a radio show in my county of La Pastora. I will be going into the COOP on Wednesday with my closest neighboring volunteers to set something up with the intendente. I´m really excited. Maybe we can figure out how to tape a show and I can post wav files or video of us talking in Guarani. I´m pretty sure all the Paraguayans will laugh their butts off.

A side note is that I´ve finally gotten a spanish tutor, so maybe I'll finally be able to talk to people who live in the rest of South America.

I´m starting a cooking class with one of my other womens committes. Our first attempt at homemade bread didn´t quite go as well as I had hoped, but we're easing into it. The soap making has been going well too. I think I may just start my own company when I get back to the states.....

Big news on the personal front is that I'm training for my first official 5k run. My friend Kristin is my trainer and I´m really excited. I realize I've been a little stressed out in site (with my project and being eaten to death by all things bug). But as Elle from Legally Blonde says, 'Exercise causes endorfins, endorfins make people happy. Happy people just don´t kill their husbands.' Not that i am in danger of killing anyones husband, but maybe a random mitai'i throwing rocks at my house. So i figure I´d better start exercising more. My race is March 22, so wish me luck.

Nothing else to report. I still love hearing from all of you. I miss you and the countdown is started. I get out in December and it´s already March! Time is FLYING!!!!

Just a few random pics...

buildin my lean-to

SANTA!!! I know him!

San Telmo, Buenos Aires


Lujan, the day after my 31st bday

My friend Paul sent me this article from Colorado Springs, CO

Here's a fun post from the Colorado Springs police blotter.

Incident Date February 4, 2009 Time 1:54:00 AM Division Gold Hill Shift
III
Title Robbery Location 145 N Spruce Street
Summary Officers responded to a robbery at a 7-11 at 145 N Spruce St.
The victim said a white male in a black jacket, blue jeans and wearing a
black mask entered the store with a sword. The suspect demanded money
from the victim. He left with an undisclosed amount of money. The
suspect then left southbound on foot. Officers searched the area,
however no contact was made with the suspect.

At approximately 0220 hours, at a 7-11 store at 2407 N Union Blvd a male
matching the previous description, entered the store with a sword. He
demanded money from the store clerk, however he did not obtain any money
at that location. He left the store on foot in an unknown direction.

There was no vehicle description in either robbery. There were no
injuries to either victim. The sword was described as a Star Trek
Klingon type sword, a "Batleth".

I love trekkies. Even trekkie robbers. I especially love it that he got no money!!! Wha????

Carnival!

Well, it´s February again, so what does that mean in Paraguay?

Carnival!

Booze, foam, and yes, scantly clad women in a parade that lasts all night.

I decided to update my blog, but I can´t seem to load my photos, so this one will have to do.

I just got back from Encarnacion, Paraguay, where Anthony and I went to Carnival. It was pretty crazy, but I guess we went on a bum night, cause apparently other volunteers who went down after us told me some stories that i cannot repeat on this blog. No no, nothing bad! Let´s just say, a lot of foam....

After Encarn (which is about a 6.5 hr bus ride from Asuncion), we went up to Santiago where we attended a music festival, which was more like a rodeo. Another bus took us to where we went swimming in the river in Ayolas. This was about a 2.5hr bus ride Northwest of Encarcacion. I then headed up to spend the night in Anthony´s site which is in Carapegua (which is close to Paraguari on the map).

I´ve just gotten back to Coronel Oviedo, which is my main city. It´s really hot and i´m lugging around a giant backpack with lots of dirty, dirty clothes. I´ve decided that this year, I will be visiting lots of fellow volunteers to see the rest of Paraguay (not just my little portion!). A way that volunteers can do this is by working with their buddies! For example, I want to visit my friend Anne who lives near Ciudad del Este. In order to do this, we will be making soap at her site with her women´s comite! It´s productive for the communities, as well as for the volunteers who want to spend a few short (i mean 5-6) hrs on a bus to see the rest of the country! I love my job!

I have lots of fun activities planned within my own community, for example worm composting, fogón improvement, and community gardening! I plan on taking lots of photos, so keep an eye out for some updates!

Is Paraguay ready for Japanese fashion?

ugh. i bet you they are.

Happy New Year 2009!

Blog in Review

Since I have lately been ill, AND in the United States with WiFi, I have been pondering the internet lately. I have since being here, joined Facebook, which after a long hour trying to figure out how to upload the limited photos on my mom's computer (because yes..my laptop has finally died. I guess G3s aren't invincible like i once thought) I realized that I am the only person on the internet that wasn't on facebook. My mom even had a profile! WTF??? I too, have gone to the dark side. I will be adding my facebook link to my links section if anyone is interested, but seriously, it's just like myspace without all the bands. But you all know that.



I have also been trying to organize my blogs. Since I have been blogging since 2004 thanks to my ole favorite, Planetdan, I have a crapton of blogs before the invention of posting labels. While a labourous journey at first, I find the real reason for doing this is to take some time to review some of my favorite posts (or at least some of the most amusing).



As I was browsing I founds a few of interest:

scenarios

Read the comments, very concise



let's take a moment to reflect

These posts made me laugh as i now have concrete floors and call myself lucky, not to mention having had a real ant problem. To read the other apartment posts, just type 'apartment' in the "search this blog box"



rock bandana

This just made me laugh to recall my drunken discussion with Greg



what i did at school today

one of the few landscape plans online, but don't worry. this didn't even make it into my portfolio. Just an average day at the office.


i rant, therefore i am
I still believe this

and now for something completely different
i like the discussion this post got

apparently this programmer hates his job
still makes me laugh

class reunion to remember
cause my yearbook photos are hilarious

how many jello shots can i do?
because this made me laugh out loud (about the lip gloss)

i think my car is christine's evil cousin
ahh...when i miss the dart, i read this post

report: sci-fi fantasy movie seen as kid did not withstand the test of time
and of course, Krull

so a few for a read, but really I'm just sitting around being sick. So if you're bored take a look. If you're really bored, just search the for the word 'quiz' on my blogs, and do as many internet pop quizzes as you want. I used to belong to Quizilla.

Holiday Cheer

Povaticia (not bernice's)
Originally uploaded by locomocos

Yummy povaticia, spiral ham, and eggnog. All the things i wish i was eating if i didn't have the friggin flu. I've been sick for the last week and can't seem to beat this thing. Welcome back to the US, i guess. At least I am sick with a flu (that i have since found out most people have been having for 2 weeks) is that I'm at my mom's so she can baby me. I've been drinking orange juice and 7up galore. I felt a little better last night, so my stepdad made me a ginormous steak. I couldn't even eat half of it, but it was good. I'm barely able to talk, as I lost my voice, but my mom turned on the in home intercom so I could summon her whenever I needed. I've been watching Star Trek and Magnum P.I. for the last 4 days. Being sick is even starting to feel normal.
Scary.
I leave for Nashville tomorrow. Let's hope I don't infect my dad!
I've got some new photos on flickr! Check 'em out!

it's a christmas miracle

We've been avoiding the real issue.....

A slow procession....

At age 3

At age 12

at age 21

Hmm...guess who's turning 31 in less than a month....

Did you say 31? Uhhh....

It's not much, really!

This is it. The list of all lists. I have been in Paraguay for 1 year, and I am homesick for certain...shall we say...important items.

When I say items, I really mean food.

My mom asked me to put together a list of some food and things I wanted to do when i came home for a couple weeks. Oddly enough, the 'Things to do list' was a lot shorter than the 'Foods I have to Eat' when I get home.

Here are some highlights:

Things I haven't done in a year and would like to:

• Eat Tillamook Extra Sharp Cheddar (there is NO cheddar chee in PY)
• Drink good beer
  
• Go to the Movies and eat popcorn and hot dogs
• Go Bowling
• Take lots of baths
• Go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without squatting and getting a mosquito bite on my kashi*
• Get a pedicure (although I'm pretty sure my feet are far beyond help at this point)
• Get FAT

Food I must eat to accomplish last objective on things to do list:

• Totinos Pizza
• Coffee - I've been drinking Nescafe for a year, people!!!
• Sammiches
  
• BBQ - without the sauce. so just grilled meat without chunks of fat and gristle
• Dunkin Donuts
• The Feast at the Ameristar Casino
• a Chinese buffet
• Pizza Street
• Nachos
  

So there you have it folks. Just SOME of the things I've been missing. Trust me, I have lots more, but I only have 3 weeks....

*Guarani for Hoo-Ha

What pretty toes you...WHAT IS THAT???

What pretty toes you...WHAT IS THAT???
Originally uploaded by locomocos

You saw it here first, people. My first scorpion. I think Les Stroud of Survivorman would NOT go hungry in Paraguay. There are mini scorpions a plenty in my HOUSE.

This is just making it all the more imperative that I have a wonderful Christmas vacation. NO SCORPIONS, TARANTULAS or HORN NOSED BEETLES.

Thank you. That is all.
I will post more later when i have more news.

Nashville, USA

Well, looks like my dad will be flying me down to Nashville for New Years this year. Anyone have any idea what a lone gal can do in a city with a Gran Ole Opry for New Years?
I might try to get ahold of a return Peace Corps Paraguay volunteer who told me to give him a call if I was ever visiting, but we'll see if it actually works. That's one of the good things about Peace Corps. You always have a friend, where ever you go. Even if you don't know each other that well!
In any case, I hope to see as many people as possible for Christmas!

Also, this weekend i am getting a PCT! A trainee! Remember about a year ago when I was a trainee and visited my first real volunteer!!! I remember i got a pique! Ew! I wonder what this guy with think about visiting me in my dorm room of a house! hahaha!

So I was reading a PCTimes magazine that had a funny quote from a bookmark!

“Some people see the glass half empty, some people see the glass
half full, a Peace Corps Volunteer sees the glass and says ‘Hey, I
could take a bath in that!’”

Baloney and rice anyone?

Baloney and rice anyone?
Originally uploaded by locomocos

This is a typical paraguayan lunch. the baloney is not typical. it is a delicacy. New photos on my flickr account!

I'm excited to be working with a couple new women's groups. we made bread the other day (see photo) and these new ladies are a L.A.F.F. Riot! I never realized how naughty a group of Paraguayan women could be! Maybe I'm just finally understanding the language!
Ha!

Enjoy!

Friggin' Navidad, People!

William L.Doolittle to me, sneakypie9

show details Sep 13 (7 days ago)

Reply

Cassie,

The dates are now: Depart Dec. 16^th and return January 5^th. The total cost with cancellation insurance is $2,012.25. $670.75 each. I can’t wait to see you.

Love,

Dad

Wholly crappola! That's a ton of cash, but well worth it! I'll give up Madonna Buenos Aires tickets on my birthday - ANYDAY so i can come home and spend it with my family!!!

Back in the Saddle

Well, after my breif brush with the blues, I'm back into a sustainable development mode, and have barred down, buckled up, and gotten back in the saddle. I'm working with a new women's commite which will hopefully refresh my once stale feelings of motivation.

Every volunteer goes through a tough spell, whether it's at the beginning of service when you're developing relationships, through the middle, when communities no longer think you're a lovable cartoon character, or at the end when all you can see is the light in the tunnel, and have champagne wishes and tilamook cheddar dreams. My September is booked solid with meetings, projects, and new planting times. The month is almost half over, my pocket book is empty and my mom just sent me 6 boxes of Kraft Maccaroni and Cheese. I only have good things to look forward to! My parents are also trying to negotiate buying me a plane ticket to come home for Christmas. If all these things are happening at the speed of ludicrous, then why do I get so down? Not for lack of love for Paraguay.
I'm actually very happy, but sometimes get really frustrated. I mean, why won't Ña Fulana change the way she has been killing pigs for the last 30 year after I've shown her in my limited, childlike Guarani that the CORRECT way is more sanitary for her dirt floor, wooden plank kitchen?

Well, if you put it that way, I guess if you're gonna get frustrated, do so, and move on. So I've taken a hold of my own destiny, AGAIN, and decided to chill out, do what I can while I'm here, and learn some much needed Spanish. Guarani is great and all my community speaks it. If you speak only a FEW WORDS in areas outside of your site, people LOVE it, and love you. They think it's WONDERFUL you are learning their indiginous language. They give you discounts on otherwise "foreigner" prices, and heck, throw in a free empeñada or two! But lo, the most important aspect of the Lilu Blues is that I can't express myself. I need a better grasp of language to do this, and for some reason, spanish just makes sense to me. I'm not giving up my Guarani, or my other language, Pantomime, but I've decided to get a tutor and study study study. Hopefully after another year, I'll be able to tell the joke about the Rabbi, the Priest, and the Minister.

I think it will go over pretty well by the time I'm ready to make like a tree, and get outta here.

Nobody leaves here without singin the blues...

And so, like Elizabeth Shue in Adventures in Babysitting, I too have sung the blues. Albeit begrudgingly, and with a shrug in my shoulders, I, PCV Cassie Doolittle, have had a bad week.

Da da du dah dant

I was working in Paraguay
Just the other day

Da da du dah dant

I gave a talk on Parasites
And meds to hold them at bay

Da da du dah dant

One of my ladies came to me
With her kid wanting play

Da da du dah dant

Asking for more free meds
Because she had a sister in the neighboring village that had a lot of kids but didn't have time to come to the prevention session, and she promised she would tell her all about sanitary conditions and blah blah blah blah......

Da da du dah dant

when i looked down at her baby's feet
and he had no shoes and a dirty seat

And it's so hard....

Da du dahnt da dahnt da dahnt

Being a PCV in Paraguay

I got the
Da Daaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh
P C V PY blues!!!!

And although I'm feeling better this week and I'm in the city eating ice cream and street meat (I love street food from a sketchy looking cart) I am still frustrated with my work. But the good thing about Peace Corps is that it keeps you on your toes. I figure i need to approach certain challenges with a different view. I'm trying to think outside the box, or at least in Paraguay, think outside the banana field. What's the point of staying frustrated when all you really need is some terere and meat on a stick to think through your issues!!!

Mystical Crystal rock people

Mystical Crystal rock people
Originally uploaded by locomocos

I have some new photos on my flickr if you´re interested.

Long Long Fork

It´s been a while since I´ve had time to sit down and blog up something interesting. But really, not much has been going on.

After my trip to Peru, I´m trying to get back into the groove in my site by baking bread. I made my first loaf of bread with my friend, Ña Gladys. It had swiss chard, onion, and garlic from our garden. I gave some of it to my señora as well, and she gave me a funny look when she ate it. She told me pretty bluntly that I didn´t kneed the dough long enough, and it needed more salt.

Screw you critics. I ate the whole thing myself. And Gladys didn´t complain. So boo on you.

I´m in charge of the Peace Corps Paraguay Fun Activities Commitee for Thanksgiving 2008. I´ve decided we're going to do a summer camp theme as long as I get a bullhorn and Camp Director t-shirt. Although I can´t decide if it should be fun 80s summer camp, or scary 80s horror summer camp (see Friday the 13th 1-10???).

There are some people that think since it is THANKSgiving, that possibly costumes with blood all over them would not be appropriate. But I ask you, if you could choose between Meatballs and Sleepaway Camp, which would you choose?


Meatballs with Bill Murray and some weird alien (although i can´t be sure but i think that was meatballs 2) or Sleepaway Camp, one of the best horror movies to date.


I know which way I´m voting. After all, this is important stuff when thinking about sustainable development. Right? RIGHT???

At least it´s keeping me from making naked pancakes and throwing kids over the walls. Even if it is a long time away. So if anyone has any ideas of fun activities, like hot dog eating contests and relay races, let me know. I also need to figure out a clever name for our camp. I´d like for it to be in Guarani, but I´ll take any suggestions. Camp Chippaguazu or Camp Eatalottafood are kinda what I´m looking for.

Frogger in PERU????

Frogger in PERU????
Originally uploaded by locomocos

Hey Everyone! I´ve uploaded my photos onto my flickr account! And anyone who has ever been to the Doolittle Family Reunion on July 4th can recognize this game!!!!

Peru Rawkd

I'll add the rest to my flickr account. But just FYI - it was great and I had a great time with my mom!