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My Route!

When they said we would be busy this summer, they definitely weren't kidding! These past few weeks have been filled with planning for the arrival of our volunteers, surveying communities, doing a three-day long training with all 37 volunteers, then finally dropping them off at their respective communities. When we finally brought them to their host families, everything became real. Strangely, it felt a lot like how I would imagine dropping off your kids at their first day of school would feel. We were excited for them, eager for them to learn and grow and tell us all about their stories. We also felt a little nervous, hoping they would be okay even though we know they would be. The way we decide who goes to which community is a fun but crazy process where we not only consider which pairs of volunteers will be compatible as partners for the summer, but also consider which families can take boys and/or girls, and whether the community as a whole will take two boys, two girls, or ...
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Guaraní and Paraguayan Words

Here's a running list of the words and phrases I've encountered so far in Paraguay! The Guaraní is spelled phonetically, in terms of Spanish pronunciation. Che - yo Nde - tu/vos Ha'e - el/ella Saludos Mba'e chapa :  Como estás Mba'e chapa nde coe : Como estás? (Mañana) Mba'e tekoiko : Like qué tal, used between friends Mba'e la porte: Same, casual greeting Nya-mongarú: Not sure exactly, it's like awesome! Cool! And you do it with a special hand gesture where you make a scooping gesture with your fingers all pinched together like you're making a talking hand, and you brush your fingers against someone else's. He: delicious, also means yes. Sometimes Paraguayans will say a drawn out "he" in agreement instead of using "si". It can be confusing at first if you don't know "he" means yes, because it almost sounds like they are surprised. Eterei: very, muy Hetereí: very delicious! Muy rico! Iporã eterei: v...
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Making friends with complete strangers

On my way to meeting Sam and Olivia today at Libélula cafe, I made friends with an older woman named Matilde. She was just a complete stranger walking in front of me, but that all changed when all of a sudden she looked back, saw me, and proceeded to enthusiastically carry a conversation with me for the next 15 minutes, speaking to me with great excitement as though we were long lost friends!  The conversation wasn't so much of a conversation as it was her talking about random subjects, everything from the impending rain to her family, rapidly in Spanish, and me agreeing and nodding to her periodically, but I enjoyed it immensely. She was one of those people that are perfectly content with carrying on a conversation with anyone who is willing to listen, and I was glad to have a companion during my walk.  Funny enough, she complimented me on my Spanish five minutes into our conversation, even though I hadn't said much more than "Si" a few times. I guess my excellent sk...
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