Going on route always feels like a strange mixture of uncertainty and familiarity. We never know what to expect from our visit to the communities, and yet even just after meeting someone once or twice, returning to their home and seeing them again is much like embracing an old friend. There's a strong sense of connection and comfort to our host families, a much appreciated element of stability that helps us get through all the changes and rapid growth.
Okay, generalities aside. People want to hear about the moments. I want to write about the little things that really punctuate this whole experience.
For starters, I made a peace-core volunteer friend in Ñumi! It happened in the funniest, most unexpected way. Craving some cookies, I stopped by a little tienda on the side of the road while waiting for the bus. Before I could order anything, the man at the counter told me, "Ah, tu amiga está acá! Espera un momento." The next thing I know, he brings out a girl with curly black hair, wearing a dark blue sweatshirt with a fire department logo on it. "Umm, no la conozco," she said with a confused look on her face. "Yo tampoco la conozco," I replied, slightly taken aback by her reaction but not exactly sure why. After some awkward introductions, I noticed the way she said "California" was very, well, Californian. It turns out she's a peace core volunteer from San Jose! She actually knew about Amigos because she ran into Ruby, one of the other supervisors, at Herrero (the supermarket) in Villarica a few weeks back. The craziest part is that she knows another volunteer in Paraguay who is from Modesto, too! I always feel like the world is smaller in Paraguay because everyone here seems to know each other, but this was beyond strange.
My first week of visiting my volunteers, I stopped by her host family's home in Ñumi and drank some chamomile anise seed tea in her backyard. Her host mother concocted it for me to help with a sour stomach I had gotten from some questionable asado I had eaten at the terminal. After finishing the licoricey tea, we walked part of the camino to Cerro Corá together, and it was nice having a compañera for a leg of the journey. After she left, the rest of the walk was a long, straight stretch. It was a relief to finally reach the point where the road splits into two paths, with the first houses located along each one. I took the left path leading to my community and greet a wandering chancho, feeling pretty lifted in spirits. I was ready for this week, and excited to see my vols!
Comments