Alright. Gotta make this one brief. Im going to a meeting at Plan Paraguay with some volunteers. Plan is a NGO that does the adopt a child type program, but they also have lots of surplus cash which they use for projects like school gardens etc. We are planning on doing some type of Earth Day festival in Santani with Plan. After that Im back to the community to work in the school garden.
Whats new? Well, im eating well. As my act of rebellion against paraguayan food and the last sixish months of eating it, I eat almost all raw vegetables...lots of salads and beans. I also have been cooking soy since it is cheap, abundant and way way better than the grissle. For example, yesterday for lunch I made a salad of cabbage, carrots, beets, avocado (huge tree in the neighbors yard), tomato, and a dressing made of some soy sauce, fresh squeezed lime, coriander seeds, pepper, and a bit of honey. It was a true delight. The paraguayans looked at it in utter disgust. "David, are you really going to eat that?" "You know if you eat those together you might die" "You are crazy" Yes...I am crazy, but let me tell you...that salad was the best thing Ive eaten here in a long time. I fed it to some of my friends and they loved it, their eyes lit up.
So far Ive made yogurt, paneer, and currently I have mead fermenting. For those that dont know, mead is the ancient fermented honey brew. Im really excited. Im always thinking of things to make, it makes those slow days go by faster.
It´s still hot...whats up with that? I keep asking my neighbors "Where is autumn??" Soon it will come. We shall see. Oh, UNC is in the final four...so so awesome. They most certainly will win. Sadly I wont be able to jump over any fires on Franklin street. Maybe I will start one in the middle of my road and jump over it that night? That would certainly seal the deal for the Paraguayans that I AM crazy!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Ah to live alone
Life is good. I live in my own house, eat my OWN FOOD (best part) and don´t have to hear any crazy Paraguayan woman in the room next to me screaming at the pigs or whatever.
So far I have been living in my house for a week and it has been good. I wake up at around 5:45, make myself a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with freshly harvested honey and a cup of dark Driade coffee. I go outside on my little porch and watch the sun rise while I eat, it is amazing. Prior to this I would be woken up at around 3ish by the screams of the lady I was living with, eat a breakfast of cocido...which is just hot milk with mate and sugar in it with a roll of stale bread. Yea.....I think you could say I´m in a better situation now.
The weather is cooling down, though today is a hot one in the 90s. I have been working a lot in my garden, things are starting to sprout. Im also working with other Paraguayans, mainly the women, in their gardens since the men do the field work and the wives do the garden work.
My body feels good...im not eating all that fried stuff nor grissle, nor the bad rice or pasta. Im slowly getting back into shape but it is slow going. Here is the scary thing.....sometimes I crave those fried tortillas. I dont like that. Now that I can cook I try to share what I make with Paraguayans to open up their palate. Most of the time they are just weirded out by the food. For instance, I made Guacamole the other day and they were totally grossed out by it. They eat Avocados with sugar or make a juice from it with milk and sugar so the idea of a savory dish with Avocados, garlic etc. totally grossed them out. However, some ate it and actually liked it. They love the oatmeal and some are already buying it to eat for breakfast. I consider this a healthy eating victory, since usually they would just eat cocido for breakfast or tortillas and mandio.
I finished Zen and the art of motorcycle maintanance, which was a great book. There were parts that were over my head, but overall it was amazing....definitely gets you thinking. Now I am reading a book on the rainforests of the world. The book is kind of a downer since it talks mainly about the devastation happening to the land and the people living in it, but it is still a good book and makes me want to visit the Amazon even more! By the way, those who are interested in visiting the Amazon rainforest just let me know...I most definitely plan on going on a travel down the river and into the jungle.
So far I have been living in my house for a week and it has been good. I wake up at around 5:45, make myself a delicious breakfast of oatmeal with freshly harvested honey and a cup of dark Driade coffee. I go outside on my little porch and watch the sun rise while I eat, it is amazing. Prior to this I would be woken up at around 3ish by the screams of the lady I was living with, eat a breakfast of cocido...which is just hot milk with mate and sugar in it with a roll of stale bread. Yea.....I think you could say I´m in a better situation now.
The weather is cooling down, though today is a hot one in the 90s. I have been working a lot in my garden, things are starting to sprout. Im also working with other Paraguayans, mainly the women, in their gardens since the men do the field work and the wives do the garden work.
My body feels good...im not eating all that fried stuff nor grissle, nor the bad rice or pasta. Im slowly getting back into shape but it is slow going. Here is the scary thing.....sometimes I crave those fried tortillas. I dont like that. Now that I can cook I try to share what I make with Paraguayans to open up their palate. Most of the time they are just weirded out by the food. For instance, I made Guacamole the other day and they were totally grossed out by it. They eat Avocados with sugar or make a juice from it with milk and sugar so the idea of a savory dish with Avocados, garlic etc. totally grossed them out. However, some ate it and actually liked it. They love the oatmeal and some are already buying it to eat for breakfast. I consider this a healthy eating victory, since usually they would just eat cocido for breakfast or tortillas and mandio.
I finished Zen and the art of motorcycle maintanance, which was a great book. There were parts that were over my head, but overall it was amazing....definitely gets you thinking. Now I am reading a book on the rainforests of the world. The book is kind of a downer since it talks mainly about the devastation happening to the land and the people living in it, but it is still a good book and makes me want to visit the Amazon even more! By the way, those who are interested in visiting the Amazon rainforest just let me know...I most definitely plan on going on a travel down the river and into the jungle.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Little house in the campo
This is it...my little mandarine house. It is awesome
If you open the door you can see my wee little bed, from the bed you can see my fridge and shower.
Hey it´s my own fridge!! Notice that there is nothing in it but who cares. (Yes, I really am that dark)
My shower...kinda creepy.
My Garden.
Sorry it has taken so long to write but Ive been busy FINISHING MY HOUSE! Yes...that is correct, the house is done. Uncle d is living in HIS house, alone, by himself...eating his own food without salt, without sugar and most definitely without grease and grissle. This is the life. I came into Santani today to get stuff for the house such as blankets, cooking stuff etc. Im almost broke but PC will be paying me soon I think. As a side note, im being taxed on my living allowance .....which the government gives me to basically do government work, something doesn´t seem right there but Ill keep my mouth shut because I´m certain they are reading this. Hermano grande esta mirando, or in Guarani Ermano ituichava omañahina.
Anyways, back to the house. It is small but just enough. Sleeping in it is wonderful, there are these ants that sometimes bite me at night but I never have to hear any loud woman screaming, or some guy blasting music at 5am... it really is awesome. Though I will say that the first two days in my house I got a viral infection of...you guessed it, the gut. It was rough....real rough. Uncle d was down for the count. But Im all better now.
Anyways, I bought a new refrigerator, I have a little hotplate stove and a shower. I have hot water. In Paraguay they have these electric shower heads that heat the water when it comes out of the pipe. Definitely dangerous, but oh so good. Im using the neighbors latrine for the time being, my next project will be a latrine of my own, maybe even a composting latrine.
What else happening down here. It is kind of cooling down, days in the lower 90s. You Americans may cringe at that, but to me it is quite nice. Im almost done with Zen and the art of motorcycle maintanence, definitely a good book. Sesame is all about done. Lots and lots of people are striking, making road blocks because they are pissed about the price. Right now it is about 3000G a kilo, last year it was 8000G. They want the government to give them money but it isnt looking too great.
Thats all for now, Ive got a house calling my name. Oh, by the way, for those that dont know...Im actually going to be uncle dave sometime in August.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Let´s talk Salt
Now, before I go any further let me say that I dont like making generalizations. Living as a foreigner, I´ve been the subject of many generalizations about Americans. Some of these include me being a millionare, since all Americans are millionares. Ive been accused of being a spy by many Paraguayans, since to them all Americans that come here are spys. To this I always want to respond ''What is there to spy on???'' but I hold back and reassure them that I am surely no spy. Then they say that all Americans come to spy and steal Paraguays water. This always caught me off guard. Steal their water...hm. To this I want to respond ''No, señor, I do not want to steal your water...it has given me a bacterial infection in my intestines as well as Ghiardia more times than I can count...literrally.'' But I hold myself back and tell them that no, we have enough water in America, thanks.
With that said I will make a generalization. Paraguayans, atleast ALL the Paraguayans I have met and ALL the Paraguayan food Ive eaten, LOVE salt and sugar. Those are their two spices. To be fair I have met some families that throw in some cumin or garlic but salt is spice numero uno. For example, the other night we were eating meat for dinner and the father pulls out ketchup. I declined, since I didn´t think ketchup went will with grissle but he then poured some in his plate and told me it didnt have enough salt. He then added three tablespoons of salt to his ketchup....I was shocked. And the family ate it, they loved it.
Example two. The daughter made fresh orange juice, awesome! However after squeezing the oranges we had about 2 liters of juice. She then added sugar. How many spoons? 1? 2? 5? no, 10....10 spoonfulls of sugar. My teeth felt like they were rotting just watching her add the sugar. They love it like that.
Now, I may sound bitter about the food subject, and I am. But I will survive it. Im actualy feeling really good lately, work is good...lots of sesame harvesting. The house is slowly coming. But life in general is good. Though it has been hot. Probably the hottest days so far, around 42C which is hot. Really hot. On top of that we havnt had water, they are working on the water tank so I have been hauling dirty water from the well. Luckily it hasnt made me sick.
I have been doing a lot of work with the bees, which I am really enjoying. We harvested honey from one hive two days ago. We went out late afternoon, smoked the bees, then took out the shelves of hive that had around 80% capped honey. Capped honey refers to the honey in the comb that is ready, thus the bees cap it with wax. So we harvested 8 shelves worth, brought it back to the house where we take a really sharp nife and slice off the cap. Then we pop them in a centrifuge and spin the honey out leaving the comb intact. This works well because you can put the shelf back in and instead of remaking the hive the bees go right back to work filling the comb with honey. I also got to eat pollen. It was amazing. There are little packets of it in the comb that the bees feed the young larvae. They mix pollen with a bit of water and yeast to preserve it. This pollen must have come from the orange blossoms because it tasted like a fruit candy chew. Trully a delight. Anyways, we harvest 12 liters of honey from that one hive, thats a lot of honey. Im working on better ways for this guy to sell his honey. In the meantime Im selling it for him to other volunteers. I have plans inthe future to make mead, the alcoholic beverage made from honey.
Currently Im reading ''I´m a stranger here myself'' by Bill bryson. A really, really funny book.
Now if you all will excuse me, I have some salt to add to my empanadas.
With that said I will make a generalization. Paraguayans, atleast ALL the Paraguayans I have met and ALL the Paraguayan food Ive eaten, LOVE salt and sugar. Those are their two spices. To be fair I have met some families that throw in some cumin or garlic but salt is spice numero uno. For example, the other night we were eating meat for dinner and the father pulls out ketchup. I declined, since I didn´t think ketchup went will with grissle but he then poured some in his plate and told me it didnt have enough salt. He then added three tablespoons of salt to his ketchup....I was shocked. And the family ate it, they loved it.
Example two. The daughter made fresh orange juice, awesome! However after squeezing the oranges we had about 2 liters of juice. She then added sugar. How many spoons? 1? 2? 5? no, 10....10 spoonfulls of sugar. My teeth felt like they were rotting just watching her add the sugar. They love it like that.
Now, I may sound bitter about the food subject, and I am. But I will survive it. Im actualy feeling really good lately, work is good...lots of sesame harvesting. The house is slowly coming. But life in general is good. Though it has been hot. Probably the hottest days so far, around 42C which is hot. Really hot. On top of that we havnt had water, they are working on the water tank so I have been hauling dirty water from the well. Luckily it hasnt made me sick.
I have been doing a lot of work with the bees, which I am really enjoying. We harvested honey from one hive two days ago. We went out late afternoon, smoked the bees, then took out the shelves of hive that had around 80% capped honey. Capped honey refers to the honey in the comb that is ready, thus the bees cap it with wax. So we harvested 8 shelves worth, brought it back to the house where we take a really sharp nife and slice off the cap. Then we pop them in a centrifuge and spin the honey out leaving the comb intact. This works well because you can put the shelf back in and instead of remaking the hive the bees go right back to work filling the comb with honey. I also got to eat pollen. It was amazing. There are little packets of it in the comb that the bees feed the young larvae. They mix pollen with a bit of water and yeast to preserve it. This pollen must have come from the orange blossoms because it tasted like a fruit candy chew. Trully a delight. Anyways, we harvest 12 liters of honey from that one hive, thats a lot of honey. Im working on better ways for this guy to sell his honey. In the meantime Im selling it for him to other volunteers. I have plans inthe future to make mead, the alcoholic beverage made from honey.
Currently Im reading ''I´m a stranger here myself'' by Bill bryson. A really, really funny book.
Now if you all will excuse me, I have some salt to add to my empanadas.
Friday, February 20, 2009
In Asuncion for the day
This is what I normally look like; Sweaty and dirty!
This is my "Holy @#$% it's hot!"
I came into Asuncion today just for the day. I woke up at 3am, caught a bus and made it here around 8, went to the post office and picked up a package and I will leave again today. Lots of bus riding. It is very, very hot in Asuncion..which is about normal.
Yesterday we worked more on the house - we finished the walls, and started the flooring. I hope we can get it done by early March, fingers crossed.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Out of order pictures
Hey! It`s David! Long time no see. This is me relaxing in my kyha...hammock and drinking some terere. I had a picture of me in my work clothes but it wont load...so you get to see me clean and not so sweaty....a rarity in Paraguay.
Close up of Sesame. The pods on the side hold the seeds
Pigs. The neighbors pigs gave birth to a bunch o pigs...lots and lots of them.
This is what we do after we cut sesame. It is put up to dry for about 15 days. Afterwards we will put it in a tarp and beat it with a stick to knock the seeds out..then filter and clean.
Freshly harvested honey comb....yum! Too bad the fathr I am staying with ate ALL of it. I had maybe a spoonfull.....
My beesuit. No bee can enter! It is awesome, though its hot..very, very hot.
This is what a bee hive looks like, though no bees are in the picture they were all swarming around me.
This is Don Sakaria. He has 7 bee hives and he is really excited that I am working bees with him. Here he is revising a bee hive.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Back in site
Asuncion was a much needed break from my site. I got a lot done, including buying a hammock, visiting the dentist, picking up packages, getting bee gear, watching the superbowl, and just hanging out by the pool with friends. I went to the hooters in asuncion to watch the superbowl since that was the one place that we knew for sure had the game. It was my first time in a Hooters.....probably my last.
Things in site are going well. A lot of the usual stuff. My house is still far from done and I want to be living in it by march since peace corps says thats when I can live alone....but I dont think it will be ready by then. Either way, im learning to let go. Things will come when the time is right.
Im reading Canterbury Tales as well as How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci. Both are great books. The Da Vinci book has been a big help on those frustrating days and how I can change my attitude to make the best out of any situation.
It is sesame harvest time in my community. I went out with a couple farmers to cut down sesame. The plant has one stem which is about shoulder height and along it are these little pods which hold the sesame seeds. When the plants are yellowing you cut them down with a machete. By the way, using a machete is one of the fine perks of the job! There is nothing like weilding a heavy, razor sharp machete. I can hear my mom saying ''I hope you are being careful, david''. After hearing stories of volunteers nearly lopping off toes and gaping wounds, I make sure I use it with care. Anyways, the day after cutting the sesame we go back out to the field and prop it up like a teepee and let it dry. Ill try to take some pictures soon for you all to see, it is an interesting process. Sadly, the sesame isnt great this year. My community has suffered a drier than normal season along with a plague of aphids. Ive talked to them about using natural, homemade pesticides but they are hesitant. These homemade pesticides honestly arent great for very large farms and need to be applied more than one time but are free and nontoxic. The farmers know this but usually still stick with the toxic nasty stuff. I have to remember to respect their decision, even if I do not agree with it. What I can do, however, is show them the correct and safe way of using these pesticides since most of them just dump the whole thing in their fumigator, add some water and go out to the field with no protection and the wind blowing in their face. Very dangerous.
Things in site are going well. A lot of the usual stuff. My house is still far from done and I want to be living in it by march since peace corps says thats when I can live alone....but I dont think it will be ready by then. Either way, im learning to let go. Things will come when the time is right.
Im reading Canterbury Tales as well as How to think like Leonardo Da Vinci. Both are great books. The Da Vinci book has been a big help on those frustrating days and how I can change my attitude to make the best out of any situation.
It is sesame harvest time in my community. I went out with a couple farmers to cut down sesame. The plant has one stem which is about shoulder height and along it are these little pods which hold the sesame seeds. When the plants are yellowing you cut them down with a machete. By the way, using a machete is one of the fine perks of the job! There is nothing like weilding a heavy, razor sharp machete. I can hear my mom saying ''I hope you are being careful, david''. After hearing stories of volunteers nearly lopping off toes and gaping wounds, I make sure I use it with care. Anyways, the day after cutting the sesame we go back out to the field and prop it up like a teepee and let it dry. Ill try to take some pictures soon for you all to see, it is an interesting process. Sadly, the sesame isnt great this year. My community has suffered a drier than normal season along with a plague of aphids. Ive talked to them about using natural, homemade pesticides but they are hesitant. These homemade pesticides honestly arent great for very large farms and need to be applied more than one time but are free and nontoxic. The farmers know this but usually still stick with the toxic nasty stuff. I have to remember to respect their decision, even if I do not agree with it. What I can do, however, is show them the correct and safe way of using these pesticides since most of them just dump the whole thing in their fumigator, add some water and go out to the field with no protection and the wind blowing in their face. Very dangerous.
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