tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41476234627200007262024-03-13T15:13:00.621-07:00Finding JoyWhere in the world is Emily Joy? Finding Joy is a blog for friends, family and fellow globetrotters to follow my journey as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay. Along the way I hope you find a little joy of your own.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-31178613252280150802016-08-15T11:32:00.001-07:002016-08-15T11:32:38.077-07:00Agradecida<div dir="ltr">
Written June 2016...</div>
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It's a funny thing to miss something before it's even over. The preemptive nostalgia for my Peace Corps service in Paraguay has started to hit hard as I wrap up my classes and events, handover my knowledge to the new volunteer already living in my site and say goodbye to friends knowing that it may be the last moment we share for a long while. </div>
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Peace Corps has been two years of momentary highs and lows, but looking back on it all the experience has been so good. And I still have time to make a few more memories. One of which, recently was my third birthday in Paraguay. I don't know how I got so lucky, but my birthday celebrations here have been nothing less than epic. A surprise party in my training community, a crazy 3 day celebration for my 30th complete with compañeros, a list of 30 birthday dares and bowling in Argentina, and this year a rock show. This was not your normal rock show, I was actually in it, playing the bass and channeling my inner Bowie by singing Ziggy Stardust on stage. Did that actually happen?! I swear, Peace Corps gives you the liberty and courage to do things unimaginable. Maybe it's because you're already so far outside of your comfort zone that doing a backflip off the cliff seems totally reasonable if you have to jump anyway. Or maybe it's because the support system of fellow volunteers, Paraguayan friends and adopted family is so strong you know there will always be enough hands waiting to catch your fall. </div>
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I have been thoroughly humbled and empowered during my time here, and at this moment feel profoundly grateful for the chance I've had to be accepted into the homes and hearts of so many amazing people. I often wonder why I have chosen a life that takes me away from friends and family, landing in strange places with unfamiliar cultures and languages. Then I leave the once strange place with new friends, family and a sense of home, struggling to return to a place where I thought home was to begin with. </div>
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I think that maybe through opening and closing this cycle several times now that I realize the key is taking home with you. I'm meant to find friends and family in many places, in many cultures, in many languages. I am thankful to have the opportunity to carry so <u>many</u> people's stories, struggles and love with me and in turn to leave my impression on so many hearts. </div>
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So now what? Another beginning fed by a bittersweet end, that can never really be distinguished from one or the other. I'll flow into the next adventure and for now dream of what could be and enjoy the last of what I have now, instead of feeling sad for a door that hasn't closed quite yet. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-33862767202981078812016-04-26T16:11:00.001-07:002016-04-26T18:50:56.428-07:00Closing the Cycle and Changing the FrameThe sudden realization of letting 4 months slip by without writing a post is yet another reminder of how the past two years of my Peace Corps services has flashed by. Since December I have written my graduate thesis and touched down in three other countries outside of Paraguay. I started teaching one last business planning class for young entrepreneurs and am working on wrapping up all the loose ends of my past projects. Just this week I was introduced to the next volunteer who will be living in Encarnación. She's an accomplished and motivated young professional with a plethora of opportunities to make a difference in Paraguay, a lot like myself not so long ago. <br>
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And just like that, my 2 year cycle begins to come to a close. Life after Peace Corps isn't so clear at the moment, but the promises of happy reunions with family and friends, attending my graduation ceremony and diving into the challenge of entering the professional world are all on the horizon. The importance of "squeezing the last drops" out of my Paraguayan life, a favorite Spanish saying of mine, is more real than ever. Each class, each dinner with friends, each sunset from the terrace is to be savored and enjoyed to its fullest. Instead of getting too far ahead of myself, I want to honor the significance of being here.<br>
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Paraguay Emprende Local Workshops and 2015 Winners Receive Seed Funding Awards</div>
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Encarnación Sustentable Strategic Planning Retreat</div>
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Encarnación Sustentable Finishes its By-Laws as a Formal Association<br>
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To show you how far I have come during my service, I would like to share the transcript of a short speech I recently gave to my Peace Corps peers and the Peace Corps Paraguay staff. Despite the challenges and the doubts, I can confidently say that I have found joy in Paraguay. I would like to thank everyone who read through, helped edit and listened to me practice this speech.<br>
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<i><b>Peace Corps Paraguay: Change Your Frame</b></i><br>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>I want to start out by referencing a concept that everyone encounters on a daily basis. It’s a communication and storytelling technique called “framing.” In essence, framing refers to the way a story or message is presented, which ultimately influences the choices the audience makes on how to process that message. Frames impact both interpretation and attitude toward a story whether we as the storyteller are aware of using them or not. Frames often tend to be agendas or biases that slant incoming messages. But rarely do we think about how we frame our own personal experiences from our daily lives within our own minds. The way we, perhaps unconsciously, frame our experiences begs the question, “What story are we telling ourselves? <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">Each and every one of us sees life in a different lens, captured like a camera, within our own minds. Today, I’d like to share a personal story with you about how seemingly small changes to my own frame greatly impacted the joy I found in my Peace Corps service in Pa</span><span style="line-height: 17.12px;">raguay.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>I had serious self-doubts surrounding my site placement as a volunteer in Encarnacion. It was not about the mission of my work but the reality in which I was supposed to carry it out. First, the temperatures: Hot, and I mean sweltering for a Montana girl. Not to mention, urban. What the heck was I supposed to do with the solar light, the straight blade and the garden seeds I had packed along with all the expectations I had of leading a pioneer life? In my mind’s eye, I was having a hard time coming to terms with where I saw myself at the moment and I wondered relentlessly of alternative possibilities. My frame was narrow, my lens was negative, laced with doubt, and limiting my experience. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>I started teaching my first employability class early on in my service, mainly because I’m not really good at being still. The highlight reel of my first class comes to mind right now. I can see myself there, nervous about language mistakes, about content, about cultural miscommunication and suddenly I find myself teaching the class in total mortification because every single student is sitting in the row of extra desks in the very back of the classroom, instead of the circle of desks I had carefully prepared up front. Questions are racing in my mind, What did I do wrong as a facilitator, a volunteer, a person? The jumbotron in my mind flashes “epic fail,” an affirmation of the insecurity I had already imposed on the situation. I had quickly framed the experience with negativity and failure.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>If I could have accepted that moment as a cultural quirk, which I’m sure most of you have the pleasure of experiencing on the daily, maybe I could have seen past my frame to the possible positive outcomes of my being there. For example, experiencing first-hand the amazing story of Soraya, a 17 year who took the tools she developed in this class to get a job at the university in her barrio. Soraya would tell me later that it was because of that job she decided to sign up for classes and pursue a career in psychology. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>Instead of building upon this win, I was so focused on the curve balls that Paraguay was throwing my way that it took me a while to find the key to not striking out. I allowed the communicative, cultural and bureaucratic hurdles to put a spin on my stories, so much so that I was missing out on all the little moments of joy. Doubt continued to frame my experience. Fortunately, what happened next would completely shift my frame from doubt to joy.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>During this time, The community organization, Encarnacion Sustentable, was becoming more autonomous and started planning projects, teaching charlas and painting incredible murals around the city to raise awareness for environmental sustainability and social justice. My star youth leader, Fabi, organized a presentation at a middle school, where she told the students with tears in her eyes how community service helped her find her happiness outside of a broken home. After a painstaking six month wait for the winners of Paraguay Emprende, the national entrepreneurship program, to receive their seed funding awards, I am happy to announce that those 30 young entrepreneurs now have the knowledge and a little bit of cash to help them fulfill their dreams. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>Instead of my experiences being captured in the shadow of doubt, I was slowly beginning to re-frame my service with the joy of being here. My perceived personal shortcomings were far outweighed by the fearlessness and growth of the youth I was working with. I opened the lens of my mind wider to accept each moment, and celebrate the accomplishments of those around me, focusing on how I could facilitate change in others and in doing so change myself.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>Recently, I returned home from vacation to find that, for the second time, my bike, and primary means of transportation, had been stolen. But this time my mental camera didn’t catch me throwing a fit, getting angry or beating myself up. It simply was what it was, framed as another learning experience. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>Life in Paraguay can be good, bad or neutral depending on what frame you CHOOSE to see it through. A quote I stumbled upon that has helped me become more accepting of my experiences here and leave behind the spin I put on my own stories, reads, “How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 17.12px;"><i>This leads me to ask each one of you, What happens when you consciously change your frame from one of resistance to acceptance? Your attitude changes and the outcomes follow. The lesson for me and I hope for you too, is to embrace your power as the cameraman, the director and the producer of your Peace Corps service. Focus on welcoming every experience with an open frame that will allow you to find joy in that moment, right here in Paraguay.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-25972844236063012462015-12-15T05:38:00.001-08:002015-12-15T05:38:25.723-08:00Happy Holidays from the Heart of South America <div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Season’s greetings from Paraguay to my faraway family and friends!<o:p></o:p></div>
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My time here in the Peace Corps has been slipping by from what was once a daunting and some say crazy two-year endeavor to what now seems insufficiently short. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Even though I’ve lived it first hand, I look back and think, ¿Es posible? (is it possible), that I’ve had so many adventures, overcome so many obstacles, connected with so many people and still have so many lessons yet to learn during my last six months here in the heart of South America.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The heart. Paraguay is just that, and it’s helped me to open mine to many things. Sometimes it’s flowing over with kindness and hospitality, other times it’s a sanguine and emotional rush, but most times Paraguay is the steady beat of a tranquilopa (relaxed/chilled-out) philosophy that will be hard to let go. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s also the heart I see in all of the young people I work with here in Paraguay, who have hope for a better, more just, more prosperous Paraguayan future. “Otro mundo <i>es posible</i>,” (another world <i>is possible</i>), they say, and I most wholeheartedly agree.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>So, my most humble holiday wish is to appeal to your heart to accompany me in my work here in Paraguay. I have been the coordinator of a national program called Paraguay Emprende for the past year, which gives young entrepreneurs the tools they need, including a small investment of seed funding, to make another world possible for themselves, their families and their communities. This has been my most impactful and gratifying project, and I invite you to join me in a holiday giving campaign by doing whatever you can to help spread the word about this cause.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b>Please take a few minutes to explore and share our crowdfunding page <u><span style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><span lang="es-419"><a href="http://bit.ly/youcaring_ParaguayEmprende" style="color: #1155cc;">http://bit.ly/youcaring_ParaguayEmprende</a> </span></span></u>and if you have the time, the heartfelt video from, Walter, one of our past participants: <span lang="es-419" style="background-image: initial; background-repeat: initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAXXGuJJVlQ" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr></wbr>v=BAXXGuJJVlQ</a> </span>It inspires me to see how far one young person with a dream and a little help from those who believe in him can go. Heck, that’s how I got here, thanks to all of you.</b></div>
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Wishing you joyous holidays and a better future for 2016!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Warm regards, Emily</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-39477877190712907542015-11-09T05:01:00.000-08:002015-11-09T05:01:56.093-08:00Cross-Continental WhirlwindFinally I feel as though I am adjusted back to reality after September and October were spent in a travel time-warp. Even though I was only gone for about a month in total, the preparation and then decompression from a journey through four countries, (I am counting Texas as its own country), feels like I had been checked-out for much longer.<br />
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My solo journey back the the US for my sister's wedding reception and a quick family visit started with a bus ride and a border crossing from Ciudad del Este to Foz do Iguazu and then a flight from Sao Paolo to Houston and finally landing in San Antonio for a couple days to visit my sweet little Grammy and my Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Good company, micro-brews and homemade fajitas did not disappoint. But admittedly I was a little shell shocked while driving in rush hour on the interstate and especially when trying to work the technologically advanced ice-maker in my Aunt's fridge. "Yes," I thought to myself, "I have been in Paraguay for too long."<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NviJ_SylrQ8/VkCFj6GK3PI/AAAAAAAAC_A/bm9BkklKw7w/s1600/IMG_3216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NviJ_SylrQ8/VkCFj6GK3PI/AAAAAAAAC_A/bm9BkklKw7w/s320/IMG_3216.JPG" width="239" /></a>After three days in Texas I hopped another series of flights that deposited me in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, beautiful Whitefish, MT, my home. Glued to the window, gawking at the Bob Marshall Wilderness, as we got closer to Kalispell, I exchanged friendly chit chat with the tourist who seemed more excited at that moment about my homecoming than I was. However, when I saw my mom jumping up and down on the other side of the glass wall that separates the two terminals from the lobby in the Glacier International Airport, tears welled up in my eyes and I ran to greet my folks with joyful embraces.<br />
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It felt so amazing to be in my element, even though I felt totally estranged from it, for the next ten days. Spending time with my friends and family and enjoying the beauty of Montana and all her treasures filled up every waking second. I was exhausted but overstimulated every day as I raised my red solo cup of Salmon Fly Honey Rye to the newlyweds, climbed Great Northern Peak looking into Glacier National Park (an 8,705 foot shock to the system), and caught glistening cutthroat at a family favorite high mountain lake that resulted in five stitches - a small price to pay to take Montana's mark along with me for the rest of the journey. <br />
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It seemed like that old cliche, "things change but they stay the same," applied to both Montana and myself. It was amazing to fall back in so easily to the groups of people I had quit cold turkey for the last 16 months, but a part of me felt sad for the friends and family I had left in Paraguay, and will leave for an undetermined amount of time when I go back to the states for good in 9 months. It's a funny place to be, nostalgic for something that hasn't ended yet.<br />
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I bid my mom goodbye at the Missoula airport and met up with a Montana friend in Denver over lunch. From there I flew to Sao Paulo where I met up with another Montana buddy who traveled with me through Brazil and Paraguay for the next two weeks. Our final destination was Curitiba, Brazil where we soaked in the local sites, including a national park reminiscent of a slice of Canyonlands National Park in Utah, if it were covered in jungle. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7chmnTKeQBQ/VkCGksXEXZI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/E2duyzA3N2E/s1600/DSCN4701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7chmnTKeQBQ/VkCGksXEXZI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/E2duyzA3N2E/s320/DSCN4701.JPG" width="320" /></a>Then we hopped on a scenic train through the misty jungle covered mountains and stopped in Morrettes, a beautiful colonial mountain town. From there we hopped a couple buses and a boat to arrive at Honey Island, or Ihla do Mel at dusk. Dolphins rose close to the boat and we cheers-ed with a Brazilian beer to the upcoming adventure.<br />
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After 3 days of camping, hiking and enjoying the island, we made moves to return to Paraguay, but stopped first at the incredible waterfalls at Foz do Iguazu. Although it was my second time visiting the falls, it still took my breath away, especially when we doused ourselves under one of the waterfalls entering the "devils throat" or "garganta del diablo," in a speedboat raft hybrid. <br />
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After an especially tricky boarder crossing, we spent a few hours waiting for, hands down, the most horrendous overnight bus I have taken in Paraguay (and that is saying quite a bit). I drifted in and out of consciousness as we stopped every half hour or so and boxes were thrust in my window and over my head, then lighting struck and rain drizzled in through my window that didn't close for what seemed like an eternity.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1duPlCv4C9s/VkCEP3jgERI/AAAAAAAAC-c/xKfs9P7mwBI/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1duPlCv4C9s/VkCEP3jgERI/AAAAAAAAC-c/xKfs9P7mwBI/s320/DSC_0041.JPG" width="320" /></a>Fortunately the hell-bus deposited us in Encarnacion, home sweet home, where we spent a few days seeing the sights. But we didn't stop for long. We headed to Asuncion, caught an Argentina vs. Paraguay soccer match at the national stadium and hopped on a small military plane to Bahia Negra, in the heart of the Paraguayan Pantanal. After standing on top of a peak looking into Glacier Park only two weeks before, I associated the same feeling of grandeur and natural majesty with the Pantanal, only in a completely different context. The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world, where the Amazon basin drains all of its waters, and the Paraguayan side is by far the most remote part. We rode a speed boat up the Rio Paraguay to its confluence of Rio Negro where the murky Rio Paraguay was noticeable cut by the clear dark water of the smaller Rio Paraguay. At that point the tri-boarder region of Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil appears, though there are no signs of civilization that would reveal it.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCL170GEMSA/VkCEUHB2m6I/AAAAAAAAC-s/2268vn-aEM4/s1600/DSCN5190%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MCL170GEMSA/VkCEUHB2m6I/AAAAAAAAC-s/2268vn-aEM4/s320/DSCN5190%2B-%2BCopy.JPG" width="240" /></a>We spent three days at an eco-lodge and biological research station watching wildlife such as caymen and giant river otters from tree stands, photographing and identifying a handful of the 250+ bird species in the area and fishing for piranha from canoes. We did not want to leave this incredible wilderness, so instead of flying back, my friend and I took the merchant boat back down the Rio Paraguay for two days. The boat was a cultural experience of its own, and we felt, and certainly smelled, like wild-west pirates making our way from river-town to river-town, stopping at each port along the way to take on cargo and people and then unload them again. Besides being able to buy weekly staples in a market in the lower hull of the boat, there was everything from a pony to a washing machine on board. Indigenous people in cowboy garb spoke languages other than Guarani and Spanish and we played slap-jack with their kids at the lunch counter until we all took siestas as a hot and humid thunder stormed rolled over us.<br />
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Arriving in Concepcion signified our return to the land-lubber life and to civilization. We had traveled through the Pantanal and Gran Chaco by boat, an adventure few foreigners or even Paraguayans make in a lifetime...I hope I get the chance to go back one more time!<br />
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After a stop-over at another volunteers site and a few bus rides my friend and I parted ways. She was heading to Bolivia and I was heading home, finally, after covering thousands of kilometers swept up in a whirlwind of travel and adventure.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-22804039101421824682015-08-22T08:27:00.001-07:002015-08-22T08:27:26.264-07:00Press Release & Video: Paraguay Emprende National Workshop 2015<br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', sans-serif;">August 21, 2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">Paraguay Emprende
is celebrating the successful conclusion of the 2015 National Workshop and
Business Plan Competition which took place from August 13 to 15 in the city of
Luque near the capitol, Asunción. The
national workshop and business plan competition was made possible by the
collaborative efforts of Peace Corps Paraguay, the Secretary of Youth of the
Paraguayan National Government, the Cooperativa Universitaria and the Asociación
de Jóvenes Empresarios, a non-profit network of young entrepreneurs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">The 2015 theme “Realizar
Tus Sueños,” or “Realize Your Dreams,” highlighted the possibility for Paraguayan
youth to convert their entrepreneurial dreams into reality. The activities at the three-day workshop
concentrated on promoting the entrepreneurial spirit, and specifically focused
on business plan implementation, networking and financing. These topics were enriched by the expertise
of Paraguayan organizations such as KOGA, a social enterprise incubator, and
Fundación CIRD, an economic development non-profit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">57 youth
participants representing 11 departments of Paraguay presented their business
plans, which had been developed over the past several months in Paraguay
Emprende’s “Construye Tus Sueños,” or “Build Your Dreams,” entrepreneurship
courses. The participants valiantly pitched
their business ideas to Paraguayan business professionals who acted as judges to
determine the viability of each project.
PYG$84.000.000 was awarded in seed funding to the 30 participants who’s
business plans were most likely to yield sustainable businesses and a positive
community impact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">Paraguay Emprende
will now move forward with the follow-up stage of its program cycle by
providing the seed funding winners mentoring and consulting services. To conclude the National Workshop, winners we paired
with Paraguayan mentors who over the next year will provide their specific
industry expertise, support and perspective to each young entrepreneur, in
order to help them successfully navigate the challenges of establishing a
successful and sustainable business in Paraguay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Century Gothic",sans-serif;">For more
information, please find Paraguay Emprende on Facebook, visit our website at <a href="http://www.pyemprende.wordpress.com/">www.pyemprende.wordpress.com</a> or
send us an email at pyemprende@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-72590742399881971262015-07-18T15:26:00.002-07:002015-07-18T18:08:40.585-07:00Count Down: A Year to Go Here in ParaguayI'm sitting on my balcony, my happy place, overlooking the River Parana as the sun sinks into the horizon transitioning from bright orange, hot pink and finally to dusky violet revealing a smiling sliver of the moon and Venus shining bright despite the dying light.<br />
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I haven't written a blog post since April, because I'm happy to report I was just too busy with activities. Looking back on the last few months it's hard to believe I was able to pull so many things together considering the 'tranquilopa' nature of Paraguay. Recently I heard from my main contact at the office of employment that my hard-working attitude had set a new standard at the office, which as hard as this is for me to believe, is a meaningful compliment nonetheless. <br />
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I learned more, I think, than my students during the two classes I taught from April to June. Beginning English for the Tourism Industry and "Construye Tus Sueños" or build your dreams, a business planning course for young entrepreneurs kept me up at night with lesson planning and on my feet during the day as I worked with my students to either have a basic conversation in English or develop a business plan (both things not easy!). I also was able to reap the benefits of community collaboration by teaming up with the municipal department of youth and the employment office to facilitate two month-long workshops directed at teaching seniors in high school how to look for a job, write their resumes and conduct an interview, all important skills that are often overlooked here in Paraguay where most people have to rely on connections in the right places to find consistent employment. By traveling to schools outside of the ritzy city center I finally felt like the 100 kids we brought the workshops to could truly use the information to change their futures, it's just a matter of follow through on their part, which is the second biggest challenge.<br />
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My entrepreneurship class ended with 11 students writing full business plans and 6 competing in a local judging competition that decided the top 3 plans to compete at a national level. I was amazed at how emotional I felt as I had to announce the winners; I was invested in every one of the plans, though the time and effort I spent with my students in class, in tutoring hours and alone reviewing the plans and presentations. From a catering company with an organic garden to a native tree farm to a Paraguayan crowdfunding site, the business ideas were compelling and original and I can only hope that at least a few of them get off the ground.<br />
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I am also the coordinator for Paraguay Emprende the entrepreneurship initiative that the course "Construye Tus Sueños" is part of. In addition to teaching, I am also managing the institutional relationships, overseeing the largest budget to date and helping to organize the three day event that willl hopefully see about 100 young entrepreneurs compete for upwards of $16,000 in total seed funding prize money.<br />
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On top of these core activities, I piled on the extracurricular events, by taking some students to an international entrepreneurship forum in Asuncion, participating in several events in partnership with the local university's business incubator, and two entrepreneurship focused non-profits. I also collaborated with other Peace Corps Volunteers to give gender equality presentations for the UN initiative "He for She" that reached about 550 students in my city alone. I recently headed out to Trinidad, a beautiful small community with Jesuit ruins, with the organization Encarnacion Sustentable to participate in the Paraguay Verde'i event. We gave a presentation about the concept of creating sustainable citiess and giving attention to environmental issues especially relating to water. I have continued to work with Encarnacion Sustentable, a group of young sustainable development enthusiasts that love to work hard and play hard. We recently launched an organizational development course that I designed to get the group better organized and working more effectively on the projects that aim to raise consciousness about the need to bring an equilibrium to the social, environmental and economic sectors in Encarnacion.<br />
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Reflecting on the time that I have been here, I finally do feel as if I have reached a fair amount of people in my community, by educating, participating in capacity building and acting as a nexus between groups and institutions in order to inspire change with very little resources. Incredibly enough I have reached the point of only having one year left in Paraguay, which some days feels like forever and other days like not enough time to do everything. It also marks another lull in my service as my teaching momentum comes to a halt and I am forced again to think of the remaining work I must finish, like the organizational design of the Paraguay Emprende program, my graduate thesis (which I haven't even started yet) and my personal health and life. I still want to cross off all the items on my Paraguayan adventures bucket list while dealing with the reality of being so far away from family events like my sweet aunt's passing, my only sister's marriage, becoming an aunt and other big family and friend moments that I feel excluded from at times.<br />
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I wish I could say I'm riding high on a one-year-left adrenaline rush, but maybe its better that I'm not. I'm feeling accomplished and in a place to set new goals while at the same time seeking my center, a balance between myself and my work, life in the northern and the southern hemisphere, my desire to make a change and the impossibility to see an actual impact in the amount of time I have left here, among other existential dilemmas it would seem, Haha. Peace Corps, what a trip.<br />
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View from "Le Gran Chuch Hotel" (my 100 square foot imaginary pent house)</div>
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Adventure to the sand dunes of San Cosme y Damien for the 4th of July</div>
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English Class</div>
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He for She</div>
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Paraguay Verde'i, Parque Ita Cajon, Trinidad</div>
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Encarnacion Sustentable</div>
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Peace Corps Family, 4th of July</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-17666626475383547412015-04-19T13:33:00.002-07:002015-04-19T13:50:10.256-07:00Social Enterprise, Career Coaching and Urban Sustainability: How My Peace Corps Service Has Become My Dream Job<i>Peace Corps is what you make it.</i> I have heard that phrase from multiple sources, returned PC volunteers, PC staff, PC trainers and other volunteers. Combine that mantra with the right sector placement (I'm in the Community Economic Development sector), the right people and a little bit of luck, and come to find out, you can create your dream job. The only catch is, you don't really get paid, but the freedom is arguably worth the sacrifice.<br />
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I never thought I would have the opportunity to fully ride the momentum of my graduate studies and professional experiences into a country such as Paraguay, where language, culture and climate could cause my wave to break and disseminate in unforeseen ways. But the truth is, after a period of adaptation and relationship building, I have been drawn to people and activities that not only reinforce my decision to come here but also support the work that I enjoyed in the past and look forward to in the future.<br />
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Social enterprise is a new concept here, but there are already social enterprises blooming in urban and rural parts of the country. Taking charge of the role as coordinator for the Peace Corps national initiative, Paraguay Emprende, is allowing me to insert my passion for innovative solutions into a business incubator curriculum, seed funding competition and consulting services while managing public and private partnerships on a national scale. The piece of me that loves the big picture is totally occupied by the current and future possibility for strategic growth of the program. And the problem solving side of me is working on overdrive as I navigate local challenges with my entrepreneurship class to national-scale, attempt to synchronize logistics on Paraguayan time and work with an equally adept team of Peace Corps volunteers to make sense of running a private-public partnership in a foreign country.<br />
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The people piece that I crave is being satisfied too. Although it has taken the last ten moths to get here, almost suddenly it seems that I have several classes and groups that I am either leading or supporting. Whether its my entrepreneurship course, or teaching English with a tourism focus, I am loving the interaction with my students, and even more importantly cultivating relationships with Paraguayan facilitators so that I can pass the leadership torch to them.<br />
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My initiative in employability training and career coaching has suddenly taken a life of its own. In addition to offering weekly workshops at the local employment office for young people on topics like, how to write a resume and how to practice for a job interview, we now have a list of high schools and organizations asking us to take our workshops on the road. This means my projects are scaling to reach a much larger audience. I am looking forward to the potential to pass on this important skill set to many young people who have never even considered that they have a choice in their future career.<br />
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Lastly, sustainable urban development is a concept that is coming to life in the city of Encarnación. Working with the NGO Encarnación Sustentable and the larger network of Sustainable Cities here in Paraguay has introduced me to a group of people that are committed to positive change. From fact gathering to report on the quality of life in our city, to working with the local government to set up a transparent and public document setting development objectives, the organization is working at a grassroots level to inform and inspire the public to engage in participatory development.<br />
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Consulting, organizational design, inspiring and empowering youth, city planning, environmental and social justice activism, social enterprise development, capacity building, civil society building and training host-country trainers are all suddenly part of a days work here in Peace Corps Paraguay. And the best, and sometimes worst part, is that I make my own schedule and can say yes to everything, every experience and every individual who seeks me out. Building partnerships, trust and dialogue with individual Paraguayans and within groups is a daily challenge to my soft skills while my technical side is stimulated by the variety of projects and people that I am involved with.<br />
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At this point, I am filled with gratitude for the learning opportunities I have here in Paraguay, but also for the people and places in the past that have helped me to cultivate this possibility. When the nagging little voice of the uncertain future enters into my mind, I chose to recognize and accept the transitory nature of my time here in Paraguay instead and focus on the now in order to enjoy the dream job that has suddenly started to bloom.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-3504132452583349152015-03-21T16:43:00.001-07:002015-03-21T16:43:56.839-07:00Development Dilemmas<div>The cumbia beat blasts throught the makeshift sound system above me and the warm wind welcomly blasts me in the face as we crawl through the city slowly making our way to the highway. I'm on the bus headed out of town for the second weekend of a four weekend tour to give presentations about social entrepreneurship and promote the national initiative Paraguy Emprende, which I am now putting a lot of my time into. </div><div><br></div><div>On top of that I am also mentoring a young girl to strengthen her youth group, working with a collegue at the office of employment to implement a continuous series of job coaching workshops, attempting to write an NGO consulting curriculum, preparing to teach business planning classes, supporting the tourism office in organizing a community farmers' market, teaching a little English here and there and basically whatever else pops up around me. </div><div><br></div><div>Staying busy keeps me level, gets me out of the house and gives me a purpose. Although sometimes progress is slow, it might take a week or two to get a follow up meeting or a response to an email, I think I'm making headway. Sometimes it's difficult when I get overly excited about an opportunity only to find that I may have misread the situation or didn't recieve an entirely honest overview.</div><div><br></div><div>Development work is tricky, and on top of cultural and language differences there's the huge challenge of finding people who are open enough to be inspired to try something different. Then pair that with the desire to be self motivated enough to follow through and you've got the magic but rare combination. I can't help but reflect on who I interact with and I wonder if I can make an impact or if I'm even reaching the segment if the community who could benefit from my work the most. </div><div><br></div><div>It's hard to quantify, to see the long term possibilities and to arrive at the strategic outlook I am trying so hard to impose upon my projects. It doesn't hurt to take a step or two down the symantec ladder to get my head out of the clouds and my feet back on the Paraguayan ground. At this level I'm the one benefitting, with the lessons I'm learning, the relationships I'm making and the idiosyncrasies I'm accepting. </div><div><br></div><div>Today, I'm perfectly content sweating profusely on a crowded dusty bus, listening to the same reggeton songs I've heard a thousand times. Although I still look like an outsider, I'm starting to really feel Paraguay in my heart. And that's a development dillema that's not quantifiable, it's hard to articulate, and perhaps it's not even a dillema at all. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-37948556197116879582015-02-13T04:04:00.000-08:002015-02-13T04:04:47.272-08:00A New Year Begins with a New Adventure: Trekking BrazilAfter a quick day at one of the seven wonders of the world, the waterfalls at Foz de Iguazu, I welcomed the New Year with my good friend and room mate on the beach of Copacabana in Rio de Janiero with two million other festive faces. Dressed in white to usher peace and prosperity into the New Year, people packed onto the beach for free concerts, steaming street foods and an incredible fireworks display at midnight. But Rio's natural beauty, urban excitement and bronzed beach bodies couldn't hold us for long, our adventure was destined for the interior of Bahia State, over 36 hours of bus rides, to a National Park called Chapada Diamantina.<br />
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Before arriving, Chapada Diamantina seemed mysertious and wild from the lack of information online and in travel guides. After the last ride of the long trip in a rusty old van along a curvy one lane dirt road, I was surprised to find ourselves in a small hippy community full of good vibes, Hare Krishna folks, organic and vegan foods and beautiful views of the surrounding wilderness pervaded the small town of Valle do Capao. It felt like a little island of culture all to its own, and there was certainly not a shortage of helpful happy people tucked away in this mountain refuge.<br />
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We enjoyed the atmosphere, went on two day hikes to nearby waterfalls (one of which is the highest in Brazil where the water falls so far it dissipates into a plume of "smoke") and staged our trip into the park. Armed with a map, the essentials for survival and enough hubris to think that we didn't need to contract a guide, we set off at 6:00 am on what would turn into an 11 hour day to make it into our destination, Valle do Paty.<br />
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The first night in the shared camp or posada, people smiled with amazement that two girls made it into the valley without getting lost on the way. We didn't pay much attention to the comments because our legs were jelly and our bellies were growling. After setting up camp and taking care of our immediate needs I walked away from the camp in the dark where I could see the faint glow of thousands of lightning bugs. I sat by myself on a hill in the dark, overlooking what I knew was the wilderness we were going explore, surrounded by magical flickers of neon green light. The clouds started to brighten and the moon began to appear between two rocky mountain tops, a wedge of light illuminated the valley and I delighted in the spectacular of the natural light show.<br />
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The next morning it was clear that we were going to have a rough time finding all of the waterfalls, caves and trails that the park had to offer. Not a single trail was marked and the trail on our map was more of a friendly suggestion than an accurate guide. Fortunately, we meet a young married couple who invited us along on their day trip to the first waterfall. Creek crossings, bouldering along the river and narrow jungle pathways took us past a series of waterfalls that we would have never found on our own. We swam in the pool under the largest waterfall and basked in the incredible scenery. We had a great time getting to know the couple; the wife was Brazilian and the husband French. They had met years ago, but their marriage was delayed by two sizable barriers that they eventually overcame, an ocean and a language.<br />
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During our entire Brazilian adventure I was continuously grateful for serendipitous meetings with the right people at the right times. The couple invited us to go along with them on the hike through the park, as we had a similar circuit mapped out and a similar timeline. They saved us with great company and knowledge of the trails and we returned the favor by sharing food, our camp stove and our company. We camped under cliff ledges, hung our heads over incredible canyon overlooks, swam under waterfalls, awed at the vermilion green and red tint of the rivers and creeks and were astounded by the various micro climates that shifted between dessert, cloud forest, jungle, mossy fern groves and palm forests. We literally climbed a rocky mountain face, called the castle, and then bouldered through a cave to the other side of it where the view of the valley where we trekked through for 6 days took our breath away.<br />
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The last night sitting under the unbelievable blanket of stars after just barely finding our camp spot before dark I felt a little tinge of sadness because the adventure was about to end. Valle do Paty definitely pushed our limits but it was a chance to experience natural beauty unique to its remote niche on this planet. The next day we were on a bus by dusk, headed to the nearest coastal city, Salvador, and from there I hopped a plane back home to Paraguay. It was time to get back to work, but to take the images, experiences and inspiration from this fantastic escape along with me.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-1844415015824836992015-01-30T03:46:00.000-08:002015-01-30T03:46:00.384-08:00In Case You Missed It...The Christmas Email<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 14.0pt; language: en-US; line-height: 119%; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ligatures: none;">Dear Friends and Family,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt; language: en-US; line-height: 119%; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ligatures: none;">I am wishing you very happy holidays from far-away Encarnacion, Paraguay. This year has been full of exciting challenges and I thank you for sharing these moments as well as supporting me along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt; language: en-US; line-height: 119%; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ligatures: none;">Paraguay has transformed from an unknown destination into my new home over the last six months. My professional Spanish is improving and my Guarani vocabulary is limited but growing. I have started working on several projects in community economic development, including teaching courses in English, entrepreneurship and employability skills. I am working with inspiring young Paraguayan leaders to build the capacity of a sustainable urban development NGO and I am also newly part of a national Peace Corps initiative that serves as a small business incubator and consulting firm for young entrepreneurs. I have the opportunity to work on a local level with women’s groups and youth groups in marginalized areas as well as work on a national level to strengthen the organizational structure of several country-wide initiatives. I could not have asked for a more fitting service to complement my Mater’s program in International Development from the University of Denver, which I completed in March.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt; language: en-US; line-height: 119%; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ligatures: none;">It has been quite the adventure getting to this point, and I have certainly had both ups and downs. The heat here is unlike anything I have ever experienced, but fortunately there is terere, (the iced version of Yerba Mate), and plenty of activities to take my mind off the intense weather. My community, Encarnacion, has been a pleasant surprise. It is much more urban and touristy than I imagined my Peace Corps experience to be. However, I am appreciative for the uniqueness of my service and the opportunities I have to grow professionally and personally over the next two years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Candara; font-size: 11.0pt; language: en-US; line-height: 119%; mso-ansi-language: en-US; mso-ligatures: none;">The time has already flown by and I have no doubt that I will be reconnecting with everyone from Montana, Colorado and elsewhere before I know it. Until then, take care and know that I am truly grateful to have you with me on this adventure. All the best for 2015! Cheers, Emily<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-35421561088921210722014-12-21T07:16:00.000-08:002014-12-21T07:16:09.813-08:00A Personal Pilgrimage<br />
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35 kilometers, or about 21 miles, that seemed like an attainable goal from the balcony our group stood on while posing for our pre-pilgrimage photo. At about mile 13 I started to question my sanity and wonder if the fresh mango I picked off the tree for breakfast or the water I had drank that morning had altered my judgement.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-Pilgrimage Enthusiasm</td></tr>
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We hit the road at five in the afternoon, just as the sun started to dip, with plans to arrive at the Cathedral of Caacupe by midnight. As we marched along in good spirits the unrelenting rays of the sun stung our faces and we sweated our way into the night. As soon as dusk fell we were joined on the trail by more and more pilgrims. Thousands were making their way to either give thanks for a miracle that had occurred in the past year or ask for one. I spoke with several Paraguayans who were walking for the health of a family member or to thank the virgin for the miraculous recovery of their sick infant or mother who was diagnosed with cancer. Some walked for hours, others for days in converse and flip-flops with nothing more than a thermos for ice-cold terere and perhaps a baby in their arms. Amazed by the asceticism of these light travelers, I did not regret wearing my hiking shoes and carrying a backpack full of provisions as we grew weary after several hours in.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EJcdgb4MA88/VJbajNMzxsI/AAAAAAAABOA/Uz81VEXoggE/s1600/1465314_2704080997450_7241899226774726167_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EJcdgb4MA88/VJbajNMzxsI/AAAAAAAABOA/Uz81VEXoggE/s1600/1465314_2704080997450_7241899226774726167_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset along the Pilgrimage</td></tr>
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Eight hours later we crested the hill leading down to the cathedral and witnessed the fireworks exploding in the distance to mark the stroke of midnight. We missed our goal but hobbled down the hill into the crowed about half an hour later. <br />
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The sea of people was hardly navigable in our large group and we tried not to lose each other as we snaked through the crowded streets filled with vendors of all kinds. T-shirts, crafts, wood carvings, fans, and figurines of all sizes of the virgin of Caacupe anointed the streets. Mothers with children, grandparents and teenagers slept on the sidewalks, some with bamboo mats and a sheet, others with nothing but the clothes they wore and their shoes still on, undisturbed by the flow of activity and clearly exhausted by the long trek from their unknown starting points. We made it to the cathedral to witness the last part of the midnight mass, where the sea of tightly packed people insisted on shaking each of our hands and offered welcoming benedictions as we stood on tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the ceremony.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QQVXee2EkI0/VJbZ4aa8YsI/AAAAAAAABNw/LW5syZe7-kM/s1600/IMG_2505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QQVXee2EkI0/VJbZ4aa8YsI/AAAAAAAABNw/LW5syZe7-kM/s1600/IMG_2505.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Basilica of Caacupe</td></tr>
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Just two streets over there was a huge festival with make-shift restaurants and bars in the streets, carnival rides and betting games of all times. Smells and sounds drifted through the hot humid air from all directions. Men gathered around big roulette tables placed their bets with gregarious gestures and threw back bottles of beer. Children dodged in and out of the crowds, running to see the next diversion.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Litter Along the Pilgrimage</td></tr>
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The dualities of the holiday were compelling. On one side a devout religious ceremony on the other a heathen ruckus. Along the path people spoke of the reverence they felt for the miracles the virgin had provided while they carelessly tossed plastic cups from the water stations into the ditch leaving piles of trash in their wake. It made me reflect on the Thanksgiving party that I had attended only a week before with about 60 other volunteers, which resembled something more like spring break Cancun than a day of giving thanks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RybhjW5P78U/VJbZfcBhgAI/AAAAAAAABNk/Bd0dKJ102PY/s1600/triol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RybhjW5P78U/VJbZfcBhgAI/AAAAAAAABNk/Bd0dKJ102PY/s1600/triol.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Thanskgiving Party at Hotel Triol </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving Ads in Encarnacion</td></tr>
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Pondering these contradictions and the past few busy work weeks have delayed me from posting this experience in a timely manner. As Christmas and the New Year approach I look forward to participating in other holiday traditions here in Paraguay, keeping in mind that the tendency to vacillate between opposing ideas, beliefs and worlds is a human reality and is a place I find myself in from time to time. While I will be thinking about my family and friends in the states I will be sharing the holidays with my Paraguayan host family, hoping that my presence is felt in both places.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made it!</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-28812998154571090952014-11-05T14:15:00.000-08:002014-11-05T14:15:17.505-08:00JusticeI should have known, at least that's what I keep telling myself.<br />
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I should have known to bribe the police to actually do something with the police report that I had to file regarding my stolen bicycle. I also should have known that a luxurious mountain bike in a third world country is a huge liability, and I should have know it wouldn't be safe sitting inside a government building out of my sight, (without cameras, a guard or locked doors), only 10 feet away from where I was sitting.<br />
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We all make mistakes, "sigh," and in retrospect everything is much clearer. But the lesson learned here is not only about my personal frivolity and carelessness but really about how things are here in Paraguay. <br />
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Clearly someone saw an easy opportunity and took it, and how can I blame them? Sometimes one small opportunity is all you get, and here you take it, whether or not it's "the right thing to do."<br />
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However, I have been touched by the shared embarrassment that all of my colleagues expressed after my bike was stolen from under our noses. And then, I just have to smile as the sentiment immediately fades and they all crack jokes about how tired my feet must be after walking so many kilometers to the office, ("maybe that will help you loose weight, Emily"). <br />
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Thanks to my colleagues' goodwill, yesterday, I found myself on an exhilarating stake out, with two old Paraguayan guys, patrolling a rough neighborhood outside of the city. In between sips of terere we discussed the hot tip I received on facebook from someone who thought they saw a bike like mine, refinished in matte black, cruising around this shady part of town.<br />
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Our driver was slow and deliberate, and so was his accomplice who explained to me the master plan of recuperating my bike, if we did indeed catch a glance of it. "I will promise a couple kids a reward if they tip me off about anything suspicious in the neighborhood, then we will visit the house where the suspected bike is, pretend we are looking for a place to rent, identify it quickly and discreetly, and then finally bring in the police in to investigate."<br />
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"Yes, genius," I mumbled, distracted not by my low-profile backseat search for the bike but by the rows and rows of shacks that served as cramped, inadequate living quarters for entire families. This was my first glance of the shanties outside of the buffer of wealth and the touristy facade that envelops the city center where I spend the majority of my time. The exhilaration of the search faded into a scene of abandonment, where both the people and their neighborhood seem to have been cast away to the fringes. The sun was shining, but the wind had a chill in it and it rustled the garbage piles in the ditches and sent plastic bags rolling across the road like tumbleweeds. No one would be cruising around on their new bike this afternoon. We turned up a rocky hill littered with potholes, waved at the old men on their stoops and drove back to the city.<br />
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I lowered my eyes and thought that if my bike was the one opportunity that some kid from this forgotten neighborhood saw and took, then I should have known...his need was greater than mine.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-79385748019554664292014-10-14T19:30:00.001-07:002014-10-14T19:31:04.671-07:00Getting to Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="text-align: left;">Building a new routine, making new friends and basically building a new life from scratch, in a different culture and language is not an easy task. In fact, it feels more normal to fall into the Paraguayan trap of being </span><i style="text-align: left;">kaigue</i><span style="text-align: left;">, or without energy to do much at all. Fortunately this last week, I shook off the cultural roller coaster and had a break though week as a </span><i style="text-align: left;">guapa</i><span style="text-align: left;">, hardworking, Peace Corps volunteer. </span></div>
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<b>DAY 1</b></div>
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Inspiration appeared in the form of Paraguay's own Land-Fill Harmonic, a brilliant orchestra composed of instruments made entirely of garbage. Carried by a refreshing river breeze the rusty, metallic twangs of junk reassembled itself into music of various forms. John Lennon, Metallica, Paraguayan folk and even a Pakistani tune were among the set list. I stayed to thank the Maestro and a few of the musicians afterwards, who even after traveling to all corners of the globe, remained true to the humble origins of their recycled violins, guitars, violas, trombones, string bases, flutes, saxophones and accordions.</div>
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<b>DAYS 2-5</b></div>
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The concert kicked off the ALEA, a week long South American architecture student convention, and with it a 5 day workshop with Encarnación Sustentable (my pet NGO, check them out! https://www.facebook.com/EncarnacionSustentable). Our participants designed various prototypes for recycle bins made of recycled materials.</div>
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<b>DAYS 2-5</b></div>
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Oh yeah, then I started a 20 hour a week course on teaching methodology for the employment office that I work at. In order to give my future students super official SNPP certificates, I have to take this class with about 25 other instructors-in-training. Although the four hour classes are a little tedious, this is a great opportunity to share time with Paraguayans and really analyze the learning style here. So far, it's painfully obvious that they love to share personal anecdotes about pretty much anything, no matter the relevance to the subject matter, haha!</div>
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<b>DAY 6</b></div>
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And if that wasn't enough, I also held my sixth and final employability class, with a group of young people that I really enjoyed meeting with for the past six Saturdays. They did great, and though our time was limited, they scooped up their <i>certificados,</i> (literally printed certificates saying they were in the course - a pretty big deal around these parts), and passed their final exams, a game of bingo, with flying colors.</div>
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<b>DAY 7</b></div>
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So, did I rest on the seventh day? Heck no, this week was too unstoppable. I rode my sweet new bike to the bike shop around 6:30 am to meet up with the "team" for a morning ride. Little did I know, 5 hours and 50 kilometers of beautiful Paraguayan countryside later, I would be sitting, rather uncomfortably because I didn't brink bike shorts to PY, at an <i>asado </i>(traditional Sunday BBQ), with a new group of biking buddies. The lingering pain of muscles I forgot I had continue to remind me that for the first time my Paraguayan mission was accomplished, and that this was a week to remember.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-31736308452977759872014-09-30T14:20:00.000-07:002014-09-30T14:23:32.029-07:00Thunderstruck, The MusicalThe first <i>stanza</i> of most Paraguayan conversations begin, of course, with the weather. Then, a brief <i>ceasura</i> is taken for the important business of sipping terere, and the conversation returns <i>da capo</i> to, you guessed it, the weather.<br />
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The weather as of late has been nothing but a <i>colossale</i> display of mother nature's <i>symphonic</i> wrath. For days now I have been jolted awake at night by the <i>duet </i>of thunder and lightening that produces a deep rumbling <i>tenor</i> with haunting <i>vibrado,</i> <i>crecendoing</i> to the deafing <i>stacatto</i> of biblical rains slapping my apartment's uninsulated tin roof.<br />
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As I sit here amused by the cacophony of thunder and raindrops that attempt to drown out Thunderstruck by AC/DC blasting on the Paraguayan radio, I wonder if I am witty or just sleep deprived. Finally, the <i>diminuendo</i> from the<i> forte</i> to the <i>coda</i> of yet another <i>score</i> of nature's <i>magnum opus</i> begins. The streets are converted into temporary rivers, the timpani drums resonate in the distance, I take a sip of terere and I think to myself, "at least I will have plenty to chat about at work tomorrow."<br />
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-<i>Fin-</i></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-62630426279031845232014-09-07T10:02:00.000-07:002014-09-07T10:02:18.408-07:00The Peace Corps Games<div class="MsoNormal">
Six actors stood frozen on stage, one pair in colonial
dress, a woman in a psychedelic green seventies motif, a second couple in all
white beach clothes and a third in a silver jumpsuit with futuristic LED
lighting. All were caste in gold-face
and were shimming yet frozen in various poses on stage while the most important
community figures spoke about a theme completely unrelated to the awkward living
statues; the book fair that was taking place next door.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fake blondes plastered with makeup and false eyelashes
clapped madly as the speakers finished their self-congratulating speeches that
hardly touched upon issues of literacy, reading or access to education but
instead reveled in the accomplishment of putting on the tenth annual book fair,
where one could buy a single book for the cost of what many people have to feed
their families for the week.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been the running joke that I am Katniss living in the
Capitol of a remote South American country.
As much as I love to hate the truth in a pop-culture reference, I
couldn't help but smile at the irony when the grand finale of the book fair inauguration revealed eight carnival dancers on stage, scandalously embossed with
strategically placed bling and ridiculously large feather headdresses who gyrated
to blasting carnival music as a tribute to the great accomplishments of this
machista city of the south.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As the room full of ‘somebodies’ gawked and applauded over-approvingly
at the ‘performance’, I couldn't help but scream inside, “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE
BOOKS???!!!” <o:p></o:p></div>
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In my position, I've been
repeatedly warned against negative blogging about specific people, events or
places. I mean no offense with my description
of this night but can’t help but share the reality of living in a country that
is rated by Transparency International as having the 27<sup>th</sup> most
corrupt public sector in the world (<a href="http://www.transparency.org/country#PRY">http://www.transparency.org/country#PRY</a>). Guarding information and impeding access to
education is a celebrated fact when elites surround themselves with books and
pervert the transformational and liberating potential of the written word into
another show of affluence and decadence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Signing off from the Capitol…</div>
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<o:p></o:p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-50535792959597291312014-08-18T16:28:00.002-07:002014-08-18T16:31:01.978-07:00Settling in as an EncarnecenaI'm going on my third week as an Encarnecena; and since I will be living here for the next two years I might as well adopt the local namesake. I am amazed that I will be living the life of an urban Peace Corps volunteer, instead of my romanticized image of a rural volunteer watching her garden grow and fending off the occasional hostile cow. Although my site placement has hit me somewhat by surprise, I am thankful for the many opportunities I have to pursue here. <br />
<br />
As soon as I arrived I hit the ground running with a two-day conference promoting volunteerism with various speakers and projects highlighting local volunteer organizations. I made friends with young people from the three Rotaract organizations here in Encarnacion and was able to accompany one group on a project visit to a neighboring health clinic and attend the awards ceremony for elected officer positions, which turned out to be an elegant evening of pomp and circumstance at a sushi restaurant. I have been pinching myself lately and wondering, "am I really in Paraguay?"<br />
<br />
I also am working a few days a week at the office of employment where I will develop curriculum to help young people find employment, better their resumes, improve their professional English and even start a social entrepreneurship course with a national seed funding competition as the end result. <br />
<br />
The rest of my time I am using to work with various non-profits in the area, specifically one that focuses on sustainable urban development on a city, national and international level. I get to develop a best practices course for non-profit management and help bring these organizations along from the start-up/fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants phase to a more sustainable and operationally sound model.<br />
<br />
I also confirmed with Fundacion Paraguaya, a reputable microfinance organization, that I will be collaborating with them to perform a social performance audit using the measurement tool developed by Truelift, an organization I worked with in Colorado. This will be the basis of my work for my master's thesis at the University of Denver.<br />
<br />
In addition, I should probably also mention that I will also be compiling a community study of Encarnacion and various SWOT analyses of the organizations and institutions I will be working with here in Encarnacion.<br />
<br />
So if anyone (including myself) thought that I would be lounging in the countryside, sipping on terere and voraciously reading Anna Kerenina and all the other classics I downloaded on my kindle, you're dead wrong. Now if I can just get my professional Spanish up to snuff, I will be ready to take on the next big life challenge that has been handed to me: become a guapa (hardworking) Encarnecena and make some serious waves over the next two years.<br />
<br />
Wish me luck!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-68022696903811172412014-08-04T14:51:00.003-07:002014-08-04T14:51:40.401-07:00IncommunicadoBesides internet being scarce and unreliable, I have also experienced a technology breakdown...my computer se decompuso (the handy word used for every situation in which an object is destroyed, decomposing or dead). <div><br></div><div>Instead of dwelling on being disconnected, I have taken advantage of the extra time to read, study guarani and hang with my Paraguayan family. In the past few weeks I have unraveled some stories and created a few stories worth repeating of my own. Like last weekend when my sister, fellow PCV Ashley and I had a close encounter with a blood thirsty toro (bull) that chased us off the empedrado (cobble stone street) into a concrete wall, where our only defense was to crash into each other haphazardly, limbs and umbrellas flailing, and land in a panicked, bruised and muddy heap, which of course drove the rabid toro away. This is my second encounter with a cow here in Paraguay, and I was certainly pondering my animal karma as the owner of the bull stood in the near by field laughing hysterically. </div><div><br></div><div>The last couple weeks have also revealed stories of hardship and faith that exude a strong sense fatalism and realism in Paraguayan daily life. Religious ceremonies and festivals are omnipresent as the last week has been filled with celebrations of San Juan, the saint who apparently dictates young Paraguayans' relationship statuses (San Juan dice que si, San Juan dice que no), and doll-like effigies of virgins passing by in candle-lined streets followed by a procession following their virgin to the neighborhood chapel. I've heard an incredible Paraguayan story of a pilgrimage to the basilica in Caacupe while six months pregnant with a one year old on her back to thank the virgin of Caacupe for miraculously bringing her sick child back to health. And most recently, there's the story of my young Paraguayan friend who has had to make some difficult choices because of her abusive family situation. In her words, si dios quiere (if god wills it) she will survive.</div><div><br></div><div>Overall the time has flown by and although I have been missing much of the events of the outside world and the community I used to know, I have been able to take a closer peek into the lives of my Paraguayan friends and family. Please excuse me if my lack of technology has taken me away from my former network, but be assured that in the long run being absent/or more present has helped me to aprovechar (appreciate) the Paraguayan stories that are to be told. </div><div><br></div><div>Until my next post...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-35404774861416290952014-08-04T14:51:00.001-07:002014-08-06T10:41:39.369-07:00Officially a Peace Corps VolunteerWith great pleasure I am now able to say that I have officially begun my journey as a Peace Corps volunteer. As if packing up and moving to Paraguay wasn't enough, I survived the training process an am now living and working in the Southern city of Encarnacion.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Of course the goodbyes from training were bittersweet. Our training group of 25 bright, diverse and like-minded individuals from all parts of the US is now dispersed throught Paraguay, after sharing our first two and a half months together. For me, the hardest part was leaving my host family who not only opened their home but also their hearts to me while I was there. I spent my last day in Villeta visiting my 91 year old grandmother, still sharp as a tack, and my last night snuggled in bed with my host sister and mom like I had always been part of their family. Generosity is not limited by language or culture and is a truly universal human characteristic. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I arrived at my site after 6 hours on a bus to a plethora of opportunities, now all I need to do is a comprehensive community study and spend some serious face time with anyone willing to share a terere session with me. I kicked off my time here with a two-day conference centered on the importace of being a volunteer, which for me was not only fitting but inspirational to be surrounded by young Paraguayans who are truly changing their world. It was difficult not to jump in with enthusiasm during every activity, but instead I chose to observe and will continue to do so until the big picture of who, where and what I will be working with comes into focus. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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For now I would like to extend a thank you to all who encouraged me along the way and everyone involved in the process of me being here. I am seeing so many possibilities on the horizon of the next two years and look forward to sharing my experiences and learning life lessons along the way. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-38444213396199805492014-07-15T14:41:00.000-07:002014-07-15T14:41:55.222-07:00And my site assignment is...Encarnacion!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-6762424062398032732014-06-13T14:31:00.000-07:002014-06-13T14:31:06.084-07:00Volunteer VisitThis week I was finally able to experience some freedom and little bit of travel within Paraguay! We were released from our busy training schedule to hit the road and visit other volunteers in the field. Two buses and five hours later, thanks to the random Paraguayans I had to interview for directions along the way, I made it to the small town of Caraguatay in the Cordillera district. <br />
<br />
My volunteer hostess received me with delicious homemade pizza and loads of hospitality. We settled in for the afternoon in her vibrantly painted one room house and lounged on the patio in her equally colorful hammock. For four days I was able to get a sneak peak into the tranquilo life of a volunteer in a small community. We went to the radio station for the weekly program…but nobody showed up to put us on the air. After waiting for a half hour or so, we caught a bus to Caacupe and toured Paraguay's basilica, which attracts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims every year, who walk along the camino for a few miles or a few days to pay homage to the year's past miracles attributed to the Virgin of Caacupe. <br />
<br />
In my hostess's community we hung out at the library she helped run, sipped terere and read aloud the many Paraguayan sayings and myths. We also walked an hour to the national park called Vapor Cue, where two huge steam ships used to transport supplies and troops along the nearby Rio Negro during the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860's were on display. Next to the ships and the monument we had a picnic and enjoyed the sunny weather. I hope to spot a crocodile in the murky waters that have been rising far above their banks due to all the rain, but to no avail. On a serious note, there has been significant flooding in all of Paraguay this winter, and upwards of 500,000 people have been displaced.<br />
<br />
Today I'm back in training and have a while to go before I will be able to travel again. But I'm feeling more confident in navigating my way around the hectic Paraguayan bus system and am reassured by the friendliness of Paraguayans. Visiting a volunteer was also a good look at challenges and successes in the life of a Peace Corps volunteer (PCV). No matter where I end up six weeks from now it is apparent that my ticket to success will lie within the slow but meaningful cultivation of community relationships, not only to combat feelings of loneliness and cultural isolation, but most importantly to build a foundation for impactful projects to come.<br />
<br />
Saludos, EmilyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-59998934084971284582014-06-02T14:49:00.000-07:002014-06-02T14:49:08.436-07:00Mba’éichapa!<div class="MsoNormal">
Mba’éichapa!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is to say, “Hello, how are you?” in Guaraní, the indigenous
language of Paraguay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have already been in the country for one week but have not
been able to access the internet in the small town my training group (G-45) is
staying in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first few days
were extremely rainy and cold, which made me question how I was going to
survive the winter without indoor heating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, the sun has come out and the temperature has
warmed up in the last few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nonetheless, I am finding that everything exists in a permanent state of
dampness no matter how much you sun yourself or your clothes hanging out on the
line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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I am staying with a host family that is super guapa (very
hardworking) and very generous and kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Us rubias (blondies) are a constant source of chatter for the town and
it has been very fun stumbling back into Spanish while meeting all of the
extended family in the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
writing down the recetas (recipes) of all the new Paraguayan foods I have
encountered and have been helping my host mom in the kitchen, which she clearly
loves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far, it has been an
exhausting and enriching week full of cultural exchange and daily fumbles on my
part, which makes everyone laugh until they tear up.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I am also attending Peace Corps training classes that go
from 8am to 5pm or later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
exhausting, but is a huge help for language and technical training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My group, G-45, is full of like-minded
adventurers and we have all proved to be a great support network for each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Time seems to be moving quickly, but my priorities have
certainly slowed down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without the
internet and other distractions, I have found that life revolves mostly around Mate
(a shared hot drink) and meal times, and the sharing of stories that go along
with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dare I mention that my
29<sup>th</sup> birthday is approaching next week?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I ride the cultural immersion rollercoaster, I remind
myself to be thankful for the opportunity to have this experience and truly
live an infinite number of possibilities here in Paraguay until the ride comes
to an end. </div>
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All is well in el sur (the south)!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the Peace Corps training center gets its wifi up and
running, I will have pictures for you.</div>
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Until then, happy trails.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-66412399627306246192014-05-21T20:45:00.000-07:002014-05-21T20:45:03.567-07:00Friends, family and fellow adventurers: the start of my Paraguayan Peace Corps passage has begun! <br />
<br />
My wanderlust has brought me across the US to Miami for staging, and after all the anticipation tomorrow I finally hop on an eight hour flight, one straight shot, to Asunción and the unknown. It's my last night stateside, but I have already enjoyed so many last nights; at school, at work, in Denver, in Montana and with friends and family. So I prefer to spend tonight with you, as I ponder my last truly reliable connection to a virtual network of readers that soothingly shrinks the distance between yesterday and tomorrow.<br />
<br />
I cannot convey my appreciation for the amazing amounts of support I have received as I embark on this exhilarating new epoch in life. Thank you, to all who have made this possible by encouraging me to follow my crazy dreams. Again, life has revealed that anything is possible, and now it is time to let go of past ties and move forward with determination into something completely new.<br />
<br />
As most of you know, I will be working as a community economic development volunteer, a mouthful of words indicating I will be doing small and rural business development work. For the first ten weeks I will be stationed with a host family outside of the capitol for training and then I will get my site placement. I am so looking forward to sharing these adventures, but I would also love to have my day brightened by you. Feel free to comment on the blog, email or send snail mail to:<br />
<br />
emilymjoy@gmail.com<br />
<br />
Emily Joy, PCV<br />
Cuerpo de Paz<br />
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. López<br />
Asunción 1580, Paraguay<br />
South America<br />
<br />
Happy trails and jajotopata!<br />
- EmilyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-61083768807858346812014-04-08T11:10:00.002-07:002014-04-08T12:16:43.553-07:00Peace Corps Paraguay PreparationDear friends,<br />
I'm counting down my last days in Denver and in the US! I will be leaving for staging in Miami on May 20 and from there on to Paraguay for 27 months. Please check in with me as I post about the Peace Corps process, my projects in the community economic development sector and my progress as a dedicated volunteer. Thank you all for your support up to this moment, I look forward to having you along with me, (albeit virtually), for the ride.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-53414964959829126392013-08-20T12:31:00.001-07:002014-04-08T11:11:13.213-07:00From Malawi to MontanaThe day after leaving Lilongwe, Malawi we found ourselves in the Heathrow Airport facing a ten hour lay-over. What else to do but hop on the underground and check out London? This was my first time in the city, and of course it is beautiful, clean and bustling with energy. But the cloud of colonization loomed over our heads as we tried to enjoy the sites. How strange it was to travel from Malawi, the former British colony to the capitol of the colonizers. How vast the disparity was, a truly unfathomable gap in development, dignity and basic human needs. Although Malawi has been independent for nearly 50 years, I could not help but think of the paternalistic, pillaging history that Britain and other colonizing powers (including the US), have lead while leaving behind their occupied territories in a disheveled wake of poverty and foreign dependence.<br />
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From London we returned to Denver, and although I swore to myself I would not set foot in an airport for some time, a day later I was on a plane to Montana to visit my family and friends.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4147623462720000726.post-37980566544842380832013-07-06T08:25:00.002-07:002014-04-08T11:11:13.207-07:00Malawi, you have shown me so much!What an unexpected, emotional and fast paced journey this has been. Malawi certainly holds some of the raw truths of the world, surrounded by hardship, joy and beauty. The last three days have been incredibly moving. <br />
<br />
Thursday we were able to head to a wildlife preserve to see some of the most amazing animals in their natural habitat. Cruising around dirt roads in the back of a beater pick up truck with an armed guard complete with an AK on his side, we saw warthog (I loved them!), nala, zebra, elephant, hippos, baboons, velvet monkeys, water bucks, and a few other animals I have never seen and can't for the life of me even pronounce their names!<br />
<br />
Friday we were invited to attend a concert of "traditional Malawian music." In my head I had pictured a tame auditorium with traditional instruments and a pulsing rhythm section. Much to my surprise we arrived at the Paradise Motel, clearly a party venue with a line up of about seven reggae bands. The party was on, the crowd was getting down; this was my Friday night party that I had so wanted to be a part of the week before. However, I was the one and only white person in the crowd, and a female to boot. The attention was out of control. Although we had Malawian friends with us I was proposed to, danced with, poked, prodded and cajoled by both males and females the entire night. To top it off, the parking lot outside transformed into a disastrous jam of vehicles, making our exit strategy totally impossible. We jammed to reggae and deflected drunken suitors until four in the morning. <br />
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Today we visited three different orphanages with boxes of gently used school uniforms from the UK. We were greeted by shouts of joy and songs. Kids ran in the thick red dust after our truck and then waited patiently to receive a new shirt, or pair of trousers. From tiny, dusty barefooted four year olds to teenagers, all of them joined in on the clapping and singing to show their incredible gratitude. To be honest, I lost it for a moment. Seeing that one shirt was so important to a child's happiness and quality of life, handed over by a strange looking, pale white girl brought tears of joy and total frustration to my eyes. What an epic failure of humanity to allow such a huge portion of the world to live in such conditions. But the joke here is on us and all of the problems that we carry on our backs. The smiles of these children beamed the truth of feeling pure happiness and joy without having anything.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02999469917113069934noreply@blogger.com0