Ah.....much better..

Yep. Things are back to normal. Hopefully that phase of frustration and homesickness have been left behind for good! Sure, I will encounter frustration but I am ready for it! Things are much better. I have regained that feeling I had prior to my vacation, and am much more at peace in my community.

Work is going well. Right now it is spring time. The nights are still a bit nippy, but the days are in the upper 80s and it feels good! I am trying to enjoy this weather as much as possible, because I know that the inferno we call verano (summer) is just around the corner. That being said, we have been doing a lot of work. Ive been planting and harvesting a lot of green manures lately. One farmer and I are harvesting the seeds of Nabo Forrajero - which, it turns out, is daikon radish! Anyways, we planted it between his pineapple rows and it made great soil coverage and its root really softened up the ground. He was very happy with the results, as was I.
Yesterday I planted more melon in between another farmers pineapple rows. So far We have planted 16 rows of melon. I think it will work out to be a great intercropping.
Also, my neighbor and I decided to build a flower garden. We have a bunch of seeds, and we both love flowers, so why not? It is right next to my garden, we are making the fence out of bamboo and after that is done we will build a little arbor and have passionflower grow up over it for shade. It will be our little terere spot. How lovely!

September looks to be a busy month. The 1st through the 3rd I am going with a community member to Asuncion for a HIV AIDs workshop, which we are both excited about. Then the 17th through the 20th I am taking my neighbor to an beekeeping seminar. Lets hope my ankles make it through this time!

What a week..

I have been back in site now for a week. What a week. This has probably been the hardest week in Paraguay. All the doubts, the frustrations, the loneliness, that I had experienced and worked through during my first 8 months all came back within the first couple days in site. It was bad. I was angry, then depressed, then lonely and so forth. It was mainly just dealing with the people that got me so frustrated. I came back to the same old empty conversations, the perverted men, the laughing at animal abuse and so forth. The urge to repack my bags and go home was very, very strong. I knew it was going to be hard being back, but I dont think I could have prepared myself for the feelings I have felt this past week. That being said, I am feeling better everyday and am able to spend more and more time with my community members. It just takes time to readjust and get back into the rhythm of things. After sitting down and really trying to figure out what was going on I determined that all these feelings were just different manifestations of intense homesickness. And, as it did before, the homesickness will pass. As long as I keep myself busy working, reading, exercising, I feel fine. Surrounding myself with people I want to talk to, people who have interesting things to say is also a big help.
I will get through this, and things will get back to normal. It is just a matter of time.

Since I put you all through that downer of a blogpost I will repay you in pictures! Enjoy!



Check this out. This is a little project I have been working on with one of the farmers. We planted the pineapple, and in between we planted corn. Usually the farmers just let the land in between the rows grow weeds, or they just hoe it all the time. Why not use as much of it as possible? So we planted corn in between the rows and melons in between others. AND on top of that we planted a green manure that grows tall and gives good shade in between the melons and corn...a triple whammy! The green manure will replenesh the earth and protect the pineapples from getting sun scorched in the summer.




The kids brushing their teeth after recess. The program works! Look at those teeth.


School Garden..not bad eh?

These are what I found in my garden when I came home...eat your heart out Carrboro Farmers Market.

Ah to be back in Paraguay

Well, I am back. I got in this morning at around 10am after a long flight. I was able to sleep during most of my flight from Miami to Argentina, though I am still a bit drained. I am spending the night in Asuncion; I dont think I could make the 4 hour trip on bus and then the walk to my site right after getting off the plane.

How do I feel being back? Well, not bad! Of course I am not really BACK in site, but still being back in Paraguay feels good. The weather is surprisingly nice. The strong South American sun feels good.
My trip back to the states was wonderful. I can't thank all of you enough for such a great time. I apologize for those I did not get to see, or those who I could only spend a short amount of time with. I was constantly on the move, seeing people, getting things for Paraguay etc. Even with all the culture shock and hustle and bustle, I had a fantastic time.
You all are the best. In fact, you did such a good job of making me feel right back at home, and showing me a good time that it was really hard to come back here!
Also, it was so nice to hear all the compliments and positive feedback. In site I rarely get compliments, or thanked for what I do. It is not really a big deal, I dont expect them to thank me and I didn't join the Peace Corps to be bathed in praises. However, it was a pleasent surprise to hear what you all had to say and I thankyou all for that. It was that type of praise that has given me the extra push, that motivational kick, to get me back here and wanting to work!
Also, now that I know more people are actually reading this blog, I will take more time and effort in preparing posts. Usually I just spit them out when I get into the internet cafe, and the results are sometimes a messy jumble of ideas. I will try to write them in advance for your reading pleasure.
Thats all for now.
Thanks again everyone and I will see you in 2010!!!