Goin to Peru

So I´m in the airport at Lima waiting for my mom. I´ve been here about 5 hours and I ate 2 dunkin donuts, cheesy bread from papa john´s, doritos and a frappachino from Starbucks. I don´t need to visit the states any time soon. This place is magical. I should just hop back on a plane to Paraguay for another 9 months.

On a lighter note - I've uploaded some new photos on Flickr and have a little ditty to relate.

So this is just a hypothetical story, ok?

In training, there were many things we were taught about Paraguayan customs and culture. A big session we had was on Paraguayan social customs. For example, here it is acceptable and even supposed to be flattering if men hiss at women. It means they think they´re hot stuff. Another example is if a woman dances with a man too long at a fiesta, it means they are dating. If you leave your window open at night, it is an invitation for ANY man to come in and hop into your bed. And if you send a 'saludos' (by telling a friend or sending a text message that says saludos) to someone, and you recipricate it - it means you´ve accepted an advance from the solicitor. For example: Tell Jose I sent him 'saludos'. Jose sends 'saludos' back. I am now dating Jose.

Another big example is being alone with the opposite sex. Just don´t do it unless they are too young or too old.

This brings up many problems in my line of work. I am supposed to work with farmers. But all the farmers are men. I am a woman. One suggestion is that I take a little kid from the community with me. Another is to become friends with the farmer´s wife - and then it would be understood you were only there for sustainable development.

But what if one of your farmer´s didn´t have a wife, was older, and in no way a threat to you? Home free right?

Well....

So hypothetically, a female volunteer was in the field gathering tree seeds with an older Paraguayan farmer. By older, say in his 50s. No wife, no other chaperones. This has happened before, except this time the question comes up:

Innocent Farmer: What are you gonna do with all these tree seeds?

Hilariously Funny hypothetical female volunteer: I´m gonna grow these trees, become a carpenter and make furniture!

Innocent Farmer: Are you going to make cradles for babies?

Hilariously Funny Hypothetical female volunteer: Other peoples babies, but none for me.

Sassy Innocent Farmer: You´re not going to make babies instead?

*Important side note* Paraguayans constantly make dirty jokes. It´s part of the unspoken sexual tension throughout this country. I´m finally understanding the language a little better, and wonder what I have agreed to for the last 6 months. I´m also finally able to hold my own and be sassy right back. Sink or swim, people.

Hilariously funny hypothetical female volunteer: Are you kidding? I don´t want to MAKE babies. I just like practicing! Hahahahahahaha!!!!.

Not so innocent Farmer takes this as in Paraguayan culture dictates: This girl is making advances on me. I´m going to try and kiss her.

Not so funny hypothetica female volunteer: Whoaaaa!!! What the???? I gotta go.

On the way back to the house, awkward silence. What just happened? This guy is as old as my dad! I better come up with some chit chat quick.

Stressed out awkward hypothetical female volunteer: So are you going to the fiesta this weekend?

Confused Farmer: Yes. And you? We should dance at the fiesta.

Hypothetical Female Volunteer trying to run away fast: Yep! We'll dance the polka! See you later!

Now as the hypothetical female volunteer walks away, she realizes that by Paraguayan standards, the farmer did everything he was supposed to do. SHE came onto him. She also realized that by asking him if he was going to the fiesta, she just ASKED HIM OUT!!! Will her foot EVER come out of her MOUTH!!!!! HE is totally innocent and confused by the LOCA Americana!!! She did EVERYTHING she was ever taught NOT to do in training! Could she have MADE any more mistakes??? Other than just taking her top off - I don´t think it could've gotten any worse!

So her solution to this problem, to save her work relationship with her farmer and save a little face - she decides to hide in her house until she leaves for Peru.

The End.

Totally Hypothetical of course.

Sustainable Developement, or is it just Beer Pong?

So I´ve uploaded some new photos on my flickr account.
Here are some highlights of my last couple weeks. I got to visit a field with a Paraguayan farmer who is actually using a rollo cuchillo and siempra directa. 2 of the biggest agricultural practices we push here in Paraguay.

Farmers in Paraguay have been farming the same stretch of land for years. Even generations. The big problem is that instead of adding nutrients back to the soils and leaving the fields to fallow for a season, the farmers continue planting the same things over and over, leaving the soil devoid of any plant food. Artificial fertilizers are bought, but alas, most farmers can´t afford them for their consumable crops, only their commercial crops (if they have any). A smart way to farm this land is to rotate crops, use green manures - such as planting a crop of beans which are filled with Nitrogen which feed the soil. Using mulch is a great way to contain the moisture in the soil, and the less turning over of the soil, the less topsoil your scraping off. Siempra Directa is direct planting. Planting directly in the soil without hoeing. You fertilize by planting an abonos verde over your land to add nutrients. You cut the abonos verdes down with an ox drawn rollo cuchillo - or rolling knife (which is really what it is). Its a round compressor filled with water to make it heavy, and knives sticking out all over it to cut the abonos verdes. You then leave the abonos verdes to become a mulch cover, and then plant your crop seeds directly into the cut, mulched field.

We got to check it out with the farmer and my local counterpart for my department of La Pastora. It was pretty cool. I really hope my farmer gets to check this out when we go to our seminar next week.

After that I headed into town to see Indiana Jones 4. I´m only going to make a couple statements about that movie.

Uh...what?

All I can say is WOW.
Apparently not even an atomic bomb can kill Indy - but bad acting surely will.
And DON´T call me Shirley.
Now now, it was Indiana Jones after all. And I really liked the part where it was...Indiana Jones. Waste of time? No. Will I see it again? Yes. Is Temple of Doom better? You bet.

After that I mosied on down to Carapegua to visit a fellow volunteer at his site. It sure is different than mine, and he even has a bathroom with a HOT shower. I´m super jealous. When I spoke to him about peeing in a banana field and bucket bathing, he looked at me like I was from the Looney Bin.
Great.


BUT we did get to listen to some great Paraguayan polkas from his community (I think ALL of them showed up) a little bluegrass from us PCVs and heck, even a couple rounds of beer pong. All and all, a good night.

I can´t wait for next week.
Oh yeah, and I´m starting a radio program. It´s all in Guarani! Yikes!!!

Che Shrekicha

Shrek = Cassie: A Case Study

So I was sittin' in my swamp the other day, and I decided to list the reasons as to why I, PCV Paraguay Cassie Doolittle, am just like Shrek. First I'll write up the list, and then we can discuss.

Top 10 Reasons why Shrek is Cassie, and Cassie is Shrek:

1. Shrek and Cassie live in a swamp

2. Shrek and Cassie have layers. Shrek is an onion, Cassie is Parfait.

3. Shrek and Cassie eat bugs (although Shrek does this intentionally, I do it while eating my beans and oatmeal)

4. Shrek has plaid pants with holes. Cassie has ugly pants with holes.

5. Shrek is an Ogre. Cassie feels like an Ogre compared to the average petite Paraguayan.

6. Shrek is a Lone Fairy Creature in a world of men. Cassie is a lone Norte Americana in a world of Paraguayans.

7. Shrek and Cassie have a quirky sidekick. Shrek has Donkey, Cassie has the Virgin of Caacupe

8. Shrek and Cassie have gross teeth (especially after eating barbecue. It's almost impossible to get all the meat out of them with or without floss)

9. Shrek is on a quest for a deed. Cassie is on a quest to DO a good deed.

10. Shrek finds a princess as disgusting as he is. Cassie will someday find a disgusting prince, too...? wait...I might rethink that one....

So there you have it folks. A Case study of Shrek and Cassie. Get Outta MY SWAMP!!!!!

Cassie Loves Mr. Show and Sunsets

So I´ve been watching a lot of Mr. Show on my DVD player out here in PY. Yup. I´m rotting my brain at night instead of reading novels. What can I say? I spend all day speaking 2 languages, working agriculture in a different country, while promoting rural health. I need some down time, and Mr. Show TCB. I mean, who could pass up David Cross with some guest appearances by Ben Stiller, Dave Foley and of course, my boyfriend, Jack Black!

I´ve been working a lot in women´s garden´s lately. Oddly enough, people don´t seem to value home gardens as much as they should. In a poor country where people make about $4 a day (farmers that is) you´d think a home garden would be a necessity, and people would have perfected it by now. But just like McDonald´s and Big Gulp back home, people pay for convenience instead of taking time to do it yourself. I can´t get too mad. I constantly come home after a tough day out in the field and wish I could whip up and instant 5 min Chicken Viola or go to a HYPERMART so I could get everything I need in a little time as possible. Although life is slower in the country, it certainly doesn´t mean that there is never enough time in the day. In response to all the other quazillion jobs a woman has to do here in the Paraguayan countryside (ex. feed all the farm animals, take care of kids, hand wash ALL the clothes, clean the house, go to the field and pick the beans and mandioca, prepare all 3.5 meals, serve terere when the men come in for their mid morning break, milk the cows, cut and bring in firewood for the stoves, wash dishes, make the beds, fix misc broken unelectrical items around house) they also are in charge of the gardens. Sure maybe their husbands might contribute and maybe fix the fence so the chickens and pigs don´t get in, but really - women run the roost. So having a lindo garden usually falls to the wayside, and what little money they have can be spent on buying a few crappy veggies the local almacen (little market that sells a handful of staples) can provide.
So my job has been to help create these gardens in a better way - by introducing new techniques (the use of compost, companion planting, mulch, natural pesticides, and new veggies). This goes along with better nutrition in the home, more than just a diet of mandioca, beans, tomato and onions.

So as I´m feeling pretty good the other day, I was terere-ing with one of my women after a hard afternoon in her garden. It wasn´t too hot, but a nice cool down was in order. I feel like I´ve taken her one step closer to better health for her family. She is especially poor in my community, and never has any fresh veggies. She usually never has anything to feed her family of 8 with besides mandioca and beans from the field. Their small parcel of land only yields about 1.5 hectacres of cotton, which is the cheapest selling crop while the most expensive to grow. I feel like I´ve accomplished something. I feel like her and I deserve a little time away from the house, kids, husband, and any other duties. I want to enjoy a fresh pitcher of terere. Her daughter pulls water from their well and places it in the years old, beaten up thermos. There is a small fish swimming in the water. After bringing it to her attention, her young daughter reaches in and plucks the fish out and throws it to the chickens. She smiles as her mother continues to pour the terere for me, and shows me the wet, rotted old tennis ball she also brought up out of the well. As she turns it over in her fingers, I look back at her mother, who nods to her. She throws the ball to her younger brother and they run off. The mother hands me another 'ha' of terere and I sip it looking into the sunset.

New Blog

So I don't get much time to surf around on the internet anymore, so i have to rely on other people to open up my eyesight for good blogs, jokes, and other quick forms of internet entertainment. My mom sent me a link to this blog, and I really liked this entry:

http://napkinsketches.blogspot.com/2008/02/when-trilogy-was-king.html

check it out and the other rantings. i think it may be worthy of going on the blogroll.

Rant on, my friend. Rant on.

The Bare Necessities

The Bare Necessities
Originally uploaded by locomocos

New pictures on my flickr account!

IST, DVD, and Bryan Adams

I´ve been out of my site for the last week at IST (In Service Training) at the ole school in Guarambure. I stayed with my host family in Porvenir, which was by the city of Ita during my first three months of training. It was awesome.

I got in and first thing I did was buy a new pair of jeans. What does a new pair of jeans do for you? Gives you CONFIDENCE. I knew i looked good in my jeans, so I headed off to Porvenir and met with my host family. I was nervous. I was dreading it. I overreacting! It rawked! I had my old room with screens, a bed, hot shower, good food, and most important: I could communicate with my family! My language has improved so that I could actually talk to them, instead of using pantomime! Crazy, right? By the end of the week, my family actually gave ME presents, instead of vice versa. It´s custom here to brings gifts when you visit someone, so I bought them a nice guampa (cup to drink terere) and some toys for my little host nephew. They gave me a bedspread and sheets, since I told them I had neither! How sweet! Plus they really wanted me to come visit for a birthday party in about a month. How cool was that? I felt like a daughter and family member, instead of some scruffy Peace Corps Volunteer.

After my weeklong language class where I got to reconnect with my entire group of new volunteers (we call it our 'G' since our group of volunteers call number is G25) I headed to Asuncion for the weekend of fun, excitement, and shopping. My dad sent me money to buy a portable DVD player (after he MAILED me one from the states and I fried it by plugging it into my outlet without a transformer). I can´t wait to watch the entire first season of Monk! Thanks Dad!!! This means that as of NOW, friends and family can mail me burned dvds if they so desire. PLEASE!!!!

Can it get much better than that?

Only wanted to stay a while
Only wanted to play a while
Then you taught me to fly like a bird

Baby - thought I'd died and gone to heaven
Such a night I never had before
Thought I'd died and gone to heaven
Cause what I got there ain't no cure for

CASSIE!!!!

Yes. Bryan Adams came to Paraguay. I went to his concert in Asuncion and LOVED IT!!! Did any of you dear readers ever get a mix tape from me back in the late 90s or early 00s? Well, chances are I put some guy yelling my name at the end, beginning, or middle of your tape. It was Bryan Adams singing to me. And last night, he sang again...
And rawked Paraguay!!!

I think I like him even MORE than before after seeing his show. Crazy, right? What has Paraguay DONE to me? Long story short - I had a good week. I even got a package from my mom that included the best meal and my most craved food:

That´s a Crock!

So, I was walking to Oviedo this morning with Erin. I had been visiting her site for the weekend, and we got rained in. No buses, and definately no walking into town on the muddy roads. It was a little cold, and i didn´t bring any sensible mud shoes, socks, or clothes. We were talking about fashion and how in Peace Corps, it seems to be non-existent in the campo (country). We thought that the city volunteers when seen at the Peace Corps office in Asuncion always looked so cute and put-together. We had also taken the time while I was visiting Erin to look at the 2 ginormous Vougue magazines her friends who just visited from NYC brought for her.

I thought, well if I lived in the city, I too would look cute. But then I thought, wait- I look cute now! I mean of all the things I wear (and borrow from other volunteers) at least I have not created the biggest setback and or death of fashion. I have never in my whole life worn a birkenstock, and more recently, the revamp and awful fashion faux pas, The Croc.

And no, if you put charms on your Crocs, that doesn´t make it better.

The Croc is a garden clog. I believe my mom owned garden clogs long before crocs were popular, and can I just say, she never wore them to the grocery store - let alone to her work. Socks with your Crocs? Are you kidding? What about a plastic shoes tells people that it´s okay to wear them with socks? I mean, I thought the whole premise for this shoe was comfort, as well and the ability to stick your foot underneath the spicket if you foot got dirty. How can you do that with a sock on? No, no one wears garden clogs around in Paraguay. I´m seriously doubting they wear them around in Paris, London, or even friggin New York City. Think of the Birkenstock of the early 90s, people. This is the same for the early 2000s, and I bet you´re saying you wouldn´t be caught dead in ratty hippie shoes like you once were.

The question of Paraguayan fashion is much different. There really ISN´T any. I know while in Peace Corps, I will most likely NOT ever look cute or attractive to anyone. First, I´m not in a completely tight pair of jeans. Tight jeans are world renown, but what is really popular is a really tight, 2 sizes too small shirt to go with the tight jeans. That and women here really don´t have large chests, which I and many of my PCV girlfriends have been finding out while trying to shop. Why can´t we find a shirt that doesn´t make the state of Delaware actually look like Brazil? Body types alone, it´s tough to look good while at the same time building a latrine or harvesting cotton south of the equator. Let´s put it another way. I came here expecting to work my azz off, but i didn´t expect the need to SHOW the azz off. But like every woman after six months of living in the middle of no where, you want to feel pretty. Even if it´s to impress the mosquitos and occasional ox cart.

On a lighter note, our Easter week went by pretty fast and I just got back from a much needed weekend trip to Asuncion for a NVAC meeting. Every area of PY has a representative come to meetings every couple of months to hear about the goings on in Peace Corps. I had a wonderful time and really felt like I was more connected to other volunteers. I now bring back all my wonderful knowlege to the rest of the volunteers in my area -which consists of me, Erin, and one other volunteer (we had a group of 5, but 2 of them leave in April and aren´t getting replacements). Some groups have as many as 15 people in there region, but I guess we are special.

Here is a picture of me with one of my senoras and her daughter. They made me a special 'Lilu' chipa for the Easter week, which they call Semana Santas (Saint Week). Everywhere I went I was helping hand grind corn to make chipa, a gummy snack bread (made of ground corn and pig fat). Wednesday of Easter week is chipa making day, Thursday is feast day, Good Friday is a fast of only chipa bread and juice, and Saturday is set aside for visiting and church.

I hope everyone had a good easter and ate lots of chocolate bunnies and deviled eggs. In a couple weeks I have a three month re-connect and some language training. I get to stay in my training community for a week and stay with my host family in Porvenir! I´m really excited! Check out my pics I uploaded on my flickr account, and I hope to update more photos as soon as I can!

Calvin Klein or Gioven Kelvin?

Calvin Klein or Gioven Kelvin?
Originally uploaded by locomocos

I have some new photos on my flickr account if anyone is interested. Just go to the sets on the right side of the page to access them. They should all be in Peace Corps Year 1 folder!

Ants in My Pants

For real.

The other night, I´m sleeping in my bed - dreaming about Kraft Maccaroni and Cheese (cause it´s the cheesiest) and I wake up to use the bathroom. I feel like an old woman who can´t hold it till morning, but hey - that´s what happens when you drink liters and liters of terere during the daylight hours. So I crawl back into my bed under my mosquito net only to swat my arm as I am almost back asleep. I think nothing of it, and peacefully return to a light slumber. In my light slumber, I swat my leg.

And then I swat it again.
This time, I retain what I have crushed on my leg, and in grabbing my head lamp (which is always by my pillow) I turn it on to find I have swatted a small black ant. I begin to wonder if I had somehow stepped in a pile or trail of ants on my way back to my little house from the bathroom. Here in PY, it´s very common if you step amongst ants, they will immediately cling to your foot and leg and proceed to bite you. HARD. It is a common site to see a big, muscly Paraguayan farmer dancing around in his feild because he stepped in the path of ormigas.

I get up to turn on my light which is next to my door. As I turn to the right, I see tons of little black ants which have come in under the door, milling around for no reason. I proceed to get my bug spray and spray them all to kingdom come. Whew. As I killed the last of them, I wondered if there were more by my bed, that I could have tracked in. I looked and saw no trail to my bed, but upon closer inspection, saw a mass of them by the bookshelf at the foot of my bed.

This is when I proceeded to follow the ants. Up the bookshelf, up my wall, onto my windowsill, covering my shutters, above the windows on the wall, to the ceiling, and sure enough, as my sight came back down from my rafters, there were tons of them on top of my mosquito net, and yep you guessed it - in my bed.


Well, I´m sure you can guess what happened next.


I freaked,

I danced,

I indeed had ants in my pants.

It took me 2 hours to combat this ant problem. I slaved from 2 am to 5 am and finally, FINALLY had them all dead - at least the ones I could reach. I even when outside my window (the point of entry in which I have no screens) and saw the GINORMOUS path of ants which infiltrated my house. I sprayed and danced all night long. The following morning after snagging a few unsettling hours of ant anticipating sleep, I washed the floors, window, walls and the outside of my house. I have since then not seen any ants.

A curious conclusion to my ant story, is that everyone I´ve told (Paraguayan that is) knows all about the crazy ants. They asked if they were small and black and came at night, even before I said something! The señora to whom I rent my house from even said the volunteer before me had the same problem! Whaaaa????? This is NORMAL????

Well, I have learned to adapt. I have decided to be like the Paraguayans and not worry about the ant infestation. In fact, I´m not going think much about the ants in my house, bed, hair, and yes, my pants. Cool, collected thoughts about becoming one with the culture and going with the flow. I am a duck, and I will let the problems slide off my back like water! Heavy Sigh.

I bought screens and sealant paint for the windows.

In A Far Country

When a man journeys into a far country, he must be prepared to forget many of the things he has learned, and to acquire such customs are are inherent with existence in the new land; he must abandon the old id3eals and the old gods, and oftentimes he must reverse the very codes by which his conduct has hitherto been shaped. To those who have the protean faculty of adaptability, the novelty of such a change may even be a source of pleasure; bu tot those who happen to be hardenend to the ruts in which they were created, the pressure of the altered environment is unbearable, and they chafe in body and in spirit under the new restrictions which they do not understand. This chafing is bound to act and react, producing divers evils and leading to various misfortunes. It were better for the man who cannot fit himself to the new groove to return to his own country; if he delay too long, he will surely die.
- Jack London

A Word about Butter without Salt...

So lesson # 14526


Do not buy a package of butter without salt on a 104 degree day and think it will make it back to your house after an hour bus ride in Paraguay. It WILL melt all over you, the bus, and possibly someones metal roofing material. For anyone who doesn´t know, butter which contains salt is supposed to keep its shape longer - but without - well, might as well rub it all over your skin while in the 120 degree heat index of an oven, I mean bus...




So I got back from Asuncion the other day after a 5 day excursion. I must give props to my good friend, Katherine, who sent me the most wonderful Christmas gift, which I just got. It was a blue blanket just like Linus´s from Peanuts. Plus a crapton of shea body butter which must´ve contained salt, cause it DIDN´T melt. She also send me some winter slippers and hand creams. I am going to be PAMPERED this winter.



I also got gifts from my mom, which included ingredients to make green bean casserole, Kraft maccaroni and cheese, Peter Pan Peanut Butter, and Pumpkin Spice Nescafe! Yum Yum Yum! I can´t wait to put it all in my belly! I also received my camera, in which I will start taking pictures immediately as soon as I buy batteries today. My dad (as you may have read on the last post) sent me a DVD player in which to occupy my cold winter days sipping mate and rolled up in my new blue blanket. I have yet to get it, as I left the day before it arrived in the Peace Corps office. I might make a special trip here in a couple weeks just to go get it! Hooray! My Aunt Paula has been making appearances as well, by sending me tons of cards no matter what the occasion is! Sometimes, it´s just to tell me about Casey´s football team, or her winning her power lifting contest, cause she´s my new Aunt Conan!

So, If you´re looking for items to drop into the mail to your favorite PCV, here is a short list of all things Lilu:

• sugar free Kool Aid
• Burned DVDs
• hard copies of photos (to hang up in my house)
• tea
• burned music CDs
• candy that won´t melt
• yarn (I´m knitting again, but yarn is hard to come by here)
• magazines or used books
• deck of uno cards
• dominos
• johnny depp stickers (there´s gotta some out there SOMEWHERE)
• anything fun that will pick me up on a blue day
• a letter from you ;) (that´s schoo schweeet!)

Other than that, just moving into my house, and fixing the place up. I bought a 5 gallon bucket the other day that will enable me to transport water from the neighbor´s house over to mine. I will be able to have water at my house even if it´s not running. I also made a hand washing despenser our of an old 2 liter bottle, string, and a stick. I´ll have to take a photo of it to show everyone, but I really did feel like MacGyver when I was making it.

I also submitted a trivia page in our quarterly newsletter. Let´s hope people like it. I tried it out on a few folks in the ole PC office while there, and I´m a little nervous. I included such trivia questions as:

1. What was Rod Stewart´s profession before he became a singer?
2. From where does ¨the Whole Nine Yards¨ originate?
3. What country did McDonald´s build a special snowmobile drive thru?
4. How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?
5. What ¨Muscles from Brussels¨martial arts actor starred in Breakin´in 1984?

I had about 15, and I got most of them from old triva and quiz blogs in my archives. I know, I cheated a little bit. But they all came from my depths of useless knowlege and most people only knew 1 or 2 of the answers. Can it be possible that Peace Corps Volunteers didn´t play bar trivia as much as the rest of us? Could they have been reading books on developing countries and conflict/resolution? Nah......

A word about Tortillas

Well, I have found my new favorite food here in Paraguay.

The tortillas.

Why wouldn´t they be everyone´s favorite? Like everything down here, they are fried. But unlike everything fried, I actually enjoy this treat!

So it´s basically flour, egg, milk, and salt mixed together to make the batter. Some people (as seen below) add other ingredients such as onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. Oddly enough, I find that a little lettuce and onion make all the difference. But out in the campo where I´ll be spending my 2 years, most people don´t add a thing.

I am slowly learning to make these new fangled tortillas on a fogon. A fogon is the type of stove they cook on here. It is an open flamed type of range with an oven built into the side. Most people think of them like those stone pizza ovens - but that´s if yr real fancy-like....

This isn´t the best photo - but until I can upload some better ones, it gives you the idea of what cooking over open flame is like. Except there is a lot more smoke! I´m also learning to make cheese and milk cows. I think I´ll be ready to open up my own dairy/landscaping company when I get back to the US. Think it will fly?

I know some of you are also saying, 'Uh, since when did Cassie start eating onions?' Well, as onions are sometimes the only veggie I get, and it's either bland pasta with a side of mandioca (basically a potato) - I choose onions.

I'm also eating quite a bit of chipa. I didn't like it at first, but now i find it's pretty darn good right out of the tatakua (the brick ovens that everyone has in their yards).

This fabulous photo (i found online because i still don't have a camera, mom ;D ) shows the chipa bread they make with pig fat, mandioca flour, ground corn, eggs, and anis. They roll it into donuts and place them in the brick ovens on banana leaves. After only about 5-10 minutes, they are ready to be taken out and eaten! Yum!!!! It's a dry bread thats chewie in the inside - that at first I didn't like at all. But now, I think it's a darn good schnack on bus rides and sitting in front of my house.

I hope to get my camera in the mail soon from my mom, so I can start taking photos of my house and my community. Then you can see the REAL Cassie Paraguayan Peace Corp Volunteer!

PY Heart Jackie Chan

I believe everyone knows how I feel about Jackie Chan, but what a pleasant suprise to know that in Paraguay, everyone here feels exactly the same!

I have seen the following Jackie Chan movies since being in site for a month:

Supercop
The Medallion
Rumble in the Bronx
First Strike
The Tuxedo

If you think about it, that is a lot of Jackie Chan for only 1 month in site, and not all my host families have televisions.

There is also a wonderful 80s retro station here that I listen to as often as I can. Most of us G-25 Crop Extensionist know this station due to our tech excursion weekend when we went to Salto Cristal falls. We were lost in a sugar cane field and heard the song 'Everybody´s Guile' that went on saying the same thing (Guile) for like 20 minutes. The songs are so random. I heard an Oasis tune, Barry Manilow, and right after, Gene Loves Jezebel.


Gene Loves Jezebel, people!!! Talk about obscure 80s tunes!

Not much else to report. I am getting ready for my site presentation where my boss is coming out for a visit, and I hope to get a good turn out.
I move into my house on the 8th. Wish me luck. I have to find a good bug bomb to get out all the creepy crawlies. I seriously killed a spider as big as my palm.
Let me repeat that.
AS BIG AS MY PALM.

I Jackie Chaned it´s azz.

Weekly Wierd News

So I have heard that some people are interested in my day to day activities.

Actually, they really do vary until I move into my own house. Move in, you ask? Shall I explain?

So for the first few months, Peace Corps requires new volunteers to live with families in the community. It´s for safety, language and integration purposes. Most volunteers live with a family for 2 weeks, and move to another house. Sometimes they can stay longer, but PC recommends switching families in order to spread yourself out. Otherwise, some people might feel slighted and not want to work with you in the future.

In my situation as a follow up volunteer (which means there was a volunteer in site for 2 years before me) I have a house ready, but need to fill it with all livable things, i.e. stove, dishes, fan, screens, etc. I have also been switching families every week as opposed to every 2 weeks. I do this because the women´s commite - who applied for a volunteer - are running my show for a while. While the commite did all the work to get me into site, I belong to the whole community, and therefore need to be flexible - but sometimes I am treated as a possesion of the commite. This becomes a difficult situation as I want to help ALL and not just SOME people.

I am currently staying with the president of the commite and her family. I switch every Wednesday (Tuesday is the meeting and the commite decide who I will stay with then) and Thursday I come into Oviedo to buy groceries for the week I am there. I usually buy the staples of a Paraguayan kitchen: Oil, sugar, flour, pasta, tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, rice, salt, and sometimes bread. Please note that the bread is golf ball size and usually hard. They use it in their morning cocido (sweet warm milk) as breakfast. Since I do not eat soggy bread, this ritual makes me cringe. The picture attached is all hard bread (like italian breadsticks grammy used to have back home) that most Paraguayans eat as snacks.

Upon arriving at my new house with my clothes bag, mosquito net, shower bag, travel pillow and sheet - I immediately set to work by worming my way into the daily routine. Most people try to treat me as a guest, and if I ask if they need any help with their chores, of course they say no. So what does Lilu do? She asserts herself and butts her way into the routine (if possible). So yesterday I sat down with the señor and started shelling peanuts from his field. I got really lucky as the señora works in the field with her husband, and after a small mid morning breakfast of tortillas, we headed out to their field where I helped plant corn, peanuts, and picked beans for the next 4 hours. In between this hot, humid morning, we broke for terere at about 10 am to cool off. At 11:30 we headed back to the house where my señora started cooking lunch and my señor did some other chores up until our noon meal. I was really excited as this was my first time working in the fields with Paraguayans. Usually it´s just the men in the field while the women stay home and work their butts off ALL MORNING. My last house consisted of me milking cows for an hour, cooking breakfast, picking beans, preparing lunch, taking care of kids, and cleaning the house and laundry. Whew. These are some hard working people!

After lunch we take an hour siesta. This is pretty staple and most families and towns (including Oviedo) shut down for the next hour or so - the hottest part of the day. After my siesta I usually visit other señoras, help gather firewood from the field, make preparations for dinner, and end up chilling out around 5 or 6. We don´t have dinner until 8 - 9pm (as Ted and Michelle said) and so I usually shower and sit and relax until dinner where I try to butt in and help prepare dinner around 7. After dinner, families that have TV will watch some pretty bad spanish dubbed movies (lots of Van Damme down here) while I usually read. Im in bed by 9:30 and out by 10pm.

Little by little I feel I´m integrating and my language is getting better. I still sit around and nod alot - with responses of ¨Si, si¨and ¨No se¨ but the more I listen and talk, the better I will become.

Today I needed a break and bought some articles for my house. I´m so excited I bought silverware, a tea pot and a scrubby broom to clean the concrete floors in my dormroom-like house. I have a far way to go to get everything I need. I just bought a stove a couple weeks ago, so that set me back a pretty penny of Gs 350,000 ($70). I get paid about Gs 1000,000 per month, so that´s quite a bit for me. I can´t say what my budget is for sure right now, as I´m not completely self sufficient yet. I will be using my host family´s water and electricity and paying them around Gs 30,000/month. It cost Gs 20,000 roundtrip to get to Oviedo and back, and I have no idea how much food I will consume, but popcorn and pasta can´t be THAT much....

On a lighter note, my mom is looking into taking a trip to Lima, Peru where I would meet up with her and we could visit Machu Pichu in about a year. I hope everything works out for that one. I have to save lots of money and get a visa, but I have a year to do it!

So there is an average day of a Newbie Peace Corps Paraguay Crop Extensionist. I will drastically update my daily life when it changes in the next couple weeks. I have a site presentation to prepare for, where my boss is coming out to meet my community. Let´s hope people show up. Some volunteers barely get their host families to come, let alone their community members!

Bloggin LiLu Style

So I was sitting under a tree the other day shelling some peanuts when a mango dropped on my head and gave me a big ole thought!

I haven´t been blogging very well lately. My catch phrase of ´Ranting and Raving´just isn´t true these days. I started thinking about how I just post boring stuff like site assignment, what I ate for thanksgiving and how that ox cart came out of nowhere, when the mango awoke the statement, ¨I really haven´t done any top 10 lists in a while¨.


So in true Leeloo (my name here in Paraguay because Cassie also is 'casi' in spanish, which means 'almost' and people get a good laugh at it - hence, I changed it to a GOOD name) Style:

Top 10 Things I´m Glad I Brought to PY
1. Watch (people don´t really use them here....)
2. Travel Pillow (the pillows here remind me of grandma´s log)
3. Sheets (good for moving from house to house)
4. Multitool/pocket knife
5. Hat and Bandana (i´m sweating like sweat was a fashion statement)
6. Boots
7. My Favorite deodorant (i brought lots)
8. My Music (which i could sure use more of....hint hint)
9. Beach Towel (while a pain to wash, it´s better than the hand towels used here for showering)
10. Dental Floss - my dentist will be so proud - but it´s seriously like flossing in Kingpin.

Top 10 Things I Wish I had Brought
1. Smaller Sleeping Bag (uh...mine is normal size but not for hiking - it´s huge and everyone else brought nice Hiker´s bags the size of a coffee can...the jerks)
2. Hobbie Books....lots of them (I want to learn how to tie knots! and juggle!...I have a lot of time.....)
3. Radio/Speakers/Ipod - I need more music and everyone brought theirs with a charger
4. Camera
5. Small Backpack for overnight trips - even though i´m an overpacker, I need a small bag for overnighters and weekend trips
6. Yoga Mat - i want something for the floor in order to stretch
7. Hard copies of Photos
8. Travel Money - for my weeks in Buenos Aires dahhhhling....
9. Harry Potter (all of 'em)
10. Better Clothes*

Top 10 Things I miss in the US
1. Screens on Windows
2. Washing Machine
3. Modern Bathrooms
4. Easy Access to All Things Vegetable
5. Everything Working (from the bus transportation to the $40 American dollar radio I bought, and ended up working 2ce - you just have to get used to nothing working the way it´s supposed to. If you can´t get used to it, you WILL go insane and make pancakes naked**)
6. Air Conditioning
7. My Voice (if ever there was a time in my life when Cassie can´t talk back...)
8. Target
9. Mobility (i´m going to see a man about a horse...)
10. Flouride in my tap water (they just don´t seem to have it in the well water either - you know, when you pull the bucket up and you have to pick the bugs and leaves out...) my teeth feel permanently fuzzy

Top 10 Things I love about PY
1. Stars - they are FANTASTIC - I can see TONS of them! I want to get a constellations book as well....
2. Natural Food - I actually see what I´m eating, which sometimes makes me less hungry - so I lose weight! I mean, I killed a chicken for Christmas for the love of Pete!
3. Terere
4. Simple Living - and not like the joke magazine for bored housewives - serious simple lifestyles
5. Haggling
6. Crazy Buses (like the Knight Bus in Harry Potter - they drive like that here, except they don´t squeaze between 2 double deckers)
7. Tortillas
8. Siestas - this naptime needs to be instituted into the US
9. Funny English Language Items that don´t make sense***
10. Paraguayan Polka - I WILL master my accordian in order to join a band....


*So I only brought work clothes. I had no idea I should´ve just brought clothes I was comfortable in wearing everyday. Basically I look like a crazy Island Of Dr. Moreau person who doesn´t want sunlight to touch their body. And a slob at that. I feel the need to dress cute AND be an effective volunteer. Hard to do when most of my good clothes were donated to me by my friend Kara who went home early. I bought a pair of jeans and my host dad (and other volunteers by the way) said I looked like I had lost 10 lbs just by clothing adjustments! Note to trainees reading this - bring what you would wear everyday and what you feel comfortable in. Don´t go out and buy hiking gear and think mountaineering is a good look for everyday of the Peace Corps. Bring your favorite stuff! You won´t regret it - just make sure it can hold up to hand washing. Nothing too stretchy - no dryers here to put things back to normal!

** Our program director told us a story about Peace Corps volunteers who went a little off the deep end by not taking personal time and vacations days. He said when PC went to visit the volunteer cause they hadn´t heard from him in a couple months, his community members pointed to where his house was and made the crazy circle motion with their fingers. When PC arrived, the volunteer was making pancakes naked at his house, and nailing them to the walls and ceilings. Moral of the story - If you need a break from site, take a break. Don´t go Loco. That and someone threw a kid over the fence. I thought that was pretty funny. Don´t do that either.

***I read a blog about a chinese guy who thought the same thing in the US about all the chinese characters showing up that didn´t even make sense - like on clothing, cars, and tattoos. Shirts that say, ¨Heart Loves I¨and a notebook that I bought that has a picture of a surfboard and a big word saying ¨SPORTS¨next to it. I love funny english translations.

So there you have my Peace Corps Paraguay Packing Wish List.
I´m pretty happy here. I only have a few weeks left before I move into my own house and things get rolling. I can´t wait to be my own woman again, and not have to climb up mango trees just to get reception on my cell phone. Sorry again for the last post. I don´t know why my phone isn´t working....oh wait. See Item #5 in list 3.

Text Message me for FREE!!

That´s right, chillins! You can text me for NO MONEY! Just go to this link:

http://www.personal.com.py/

go to the left hand side of the website to the Accesos Directos menu and click on the line that says:

Envio de Mensajes

Type in my phone number which is 0971 (which is in the drop box) 702151

and write me a quick message in the box (up to 110 characters)

put your name in the nombre box

click the circle at the bottom which says 'ahora' (meaning send now)

type the verification in the code box (like when leaving a message on my blog)

and hit 'Enviar' (send)

That´s right. You can text me while you´re sitting at work, play, or just hanging around on the internet wondering if I´m online and ready to chat! I know you all miss me terribly - especially since I´ve been gone for only 3 months so far!

If you´re reading this right now - take a moment to visit the website and send me a little message! I would really really really love it.

Does that sound too desperate? Well, believe it people. I would love to hear from anyone seeing as how I´m probably killing a pig or macheteing down a sugar cane field. Seriously.

Just a few photos...

Check out more of my photos at my flickr account!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/locomocos/

Happy New Years Anyone?

PCV Cassie

Well folks, I´ve made it. I am now a full blown volunteer. I was able to pass my language test and now I speak Intermediate Mid level Guarani and Intermediate Low in Spanish. I can´t believe my Guarani is now better than my Spanish.

As Will Farrel said in Elf, ¨That´s Shocking¨

So I leave for my site on Tuesday. I am currently in Asuncion staying at a sweet hotel with my other 40 newbies, along with some oldies from our sister G, G-22. My group is actually G-25. G is our sector and my family. There are 3 waves of volunteers that come to Paraguay per year. So as we are swearing into Peace Corps as the newest "G", G-19 is signing out.

I've also got a phone now! I will expect tons of phone calls to me, as it's free to recieve calls! It is NOT free for me to make calls, so I might be calling on your phones and hanging up.

My phone number is 595-971-702-151.

CALL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I will write later as I have to go get my ginormous bags back to my hotel and get ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the first day of my next 2 years. I can't believe it. It's a little crazy just thinking about it.

I think I'll go get some movie popcorn and Pizza Hut to celebrate!!!