Friends, family and fellow adventurers: the start of my Paraguayan Peace Corps passage has begun!
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.
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.
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:
emilymjoy@gmail.com
Emily Joy, PCV
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. López
Asunción 1580, Paraguay
South America
Happy trails and jajotopata!
- Emily
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Peace Corps Paraguay Preparation
Dear friends,
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
From Malawi to Montana
The 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.
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.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Malawi, 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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
The Life the Rest of the World Leads
As I type frantically by candle light in order to preserve the little battery life left in my computer, I thought I would leave my readers with a little picture of life in, well, the rest of the world outside of life as we know it. Just as I was getting ready to cook dinner, on a luxurious electric range and not over open flame, the power went out. Random rationing affects different parts of the city at any hour of the day and dinner time just happened to be our luck. If I had built a fire like the rest of the small houses around the complex I would have eaten by now.
So instead, I sit here on my computer, on a slow and temperamental internet connection, still connected to the technological age, but by candlelight. Somewhat romantic it would seem. Another detail about our accommodations is that we do not have hot showers, so instead each wash is refreshing to say the least. However, today we did not have water at all, the pressure was out. Instead I had a bucket bath for the first time ever. The staff here laughed when I told them I would figure it out, and it wasn't half bad, especially because the water was boiling hot.
So as you sit in front of the tube, enjoying all the modern comforts you take for granted, take a moment to give thanks for what you have and remember that the people of Malawi are still extremely happy, hospitable and quick to laugh. I think these experiences are worth more than any amount of dollars can buy.
So instead, I sit here on my computer, on a slow and temperamental internet connection, still connected to the technological age, but by candlelight. Somewhat romantic it would seem. Another detail about our accommodations is that we do not have hot showers, so instead each wash is refreshing to say the least. However, today we did not have water at all, the pressure was out. Instead I had a bucket bath for the first time ever. The staff here laughed when I told them I would figure it out, and it wasn't half bad, especially because the water was boiling hot.
So as you sit in front of the tube, enjoying all the modern comforts you take for granted, take a moment to give thanks for what you have and remember that the people of Malawi are still extremely happy, hospitable and quick to laugh. I think these experiences are worth more than any amount of dollars can buy.
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