the option was presented...

...And now I have a new pet. This is Canela (Cinnamon). She is a carpincho (think: "Rodent of unusual size" from Princess Bride). I was sipping scalding hot mate with Kai Eligio last Thursday when his son Rafaelito pulls up on his moto. I wandered off to find a hoe for my garden and when I returned Kai Eligio starts telling me about a carpincho that has been caught. He tells me it would be excellent for my engagement party when Jeremy is here. I'm skeptical at first, but then I think why not. When else in my life will I have to opportunity to buy a large rodent. It will be a nice surprise for everyone. That same day the docile little creature arrives. She makes little grunting sounds, but not harsh like a pig. Jazz is crazed with its presence and won't stop barking. We keep chasing him off. Almost as soon as he arrived Kai Eligio and Rafaelito determined that he was going to be a lot of work and that we should sell him as soon as possible and get a pig instead. To date, Canela has escaped twice and now resides in the pig pen at Kai Eligio. Jazz still seeks her out to go bark at her, but everyone else is impressed at her cuteness.

next door memories

Between grandfather Eligio exclaiming,” foto! Foto!” every time he finds something beautiful or unusual and just the ordinary scenarios that I find beautiful I have a memory card full of everyday memories. I have pictures of armadillos, a one day old baby sheep, an orange tree loaded with juicy fruit, a bird with a white band of feathers and more. the best part is that Eligio also has figured out the camera. Sometimes the photos don't turn out the best, but it sure is fun the watch him with the tiny red camera and hear him shout "oikopora" (it came out well) and give me a thumbs up. The snapshots I captured are of Kai Eligio helping his granddaughter, Dalila try on new tennis shoes he bought for her in town. Dalila’s grandmother, Naty broke her arm a few weeks ago and Dalila is focused on helping send a text message. I decorated her cast with my permanent markers and before it comes off I hope to have it entirely colored. The hard part is getting her to sit still. Even with a broken arm she’s always busy.

Bicentenario...200 Years of Independence.

All the students from 5 area schools joined together to celebrate Independence Day. It was filled with traditional dancing, a giant torch being lite. Since May 15th is also Mother's Day, there were a half dozen poems either read or recited by the students. To close the event every school marched down the street carrying flags or banners. The high school students kept it festive with a drum line and baton twirlers. You are probably wondering why I was in it. Because I participated in last years dance class that was sponsored by the district cooperative I was asked to wear my dance costume and represent them. The entire event came together and was enjoyed by all in spite of the summer-like heat.

Paraguay Celebrates 200 years...and I bake for Mother's Day

The bunch of bananas. Jeremy wanted banana flower pictures. Which lead to the last photo and many more and 70 bananas! I have about 2 dozen left.
Mini Banana Cream Pies for Mother's Day.

Beautiful banana flower.

Today was laid back compared to most days. I decided to skip the Bicentennial Independence Day Celebration in O’Leary to transplant my fast growing vegetable seedlings. (One celebration was enough. More on that later). A stormed moved in around 9:30am, but not before I spread the lettuce and beets to new beds. I also picked up the last of the passion fruit and a few plump lima beans. I gifted this to my Paraguayan grandparents. They had given me milk and fresh cheese that morning after grandfather Eligio and I shared anis infused mate.

The real reason I am writing today is because I wanted to make your mouth water for mini banana cream pies. A few weeks ago, Kai Eligio gifted me an entire bunch of bananas (over 70 bananas! I counted.). Right now they are in their peak ripeness and besides eating them just as they are I have been experimenting too. While baking a cake with my neighbor across the street, Ña Kike, I got the idea to make the little pies. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I will give them to the hardworking señoras who have blessed my life and without them Paraguay wouldn’t mean what it does to me.

The crust is a toasted peanut crust. I baked it first and then layered slices of bananas. Next I spooned in a creamy layer of homemade vanilla custard. To finish I topped it with hand whipped meringue and baked it until the peaks were toasty.

Me Cepillo Los Dientes...photos

El Patito y Su Cepillo. (L-R) Carmen, Lara, Angela, Noelia, Diana, Mavel, and Cristina
Alejandra presents the flip chart on dental health.
All the kids with their certificates!
Sing-a-long: (L-R) Me, Alejandra, Amelia, Elmer

Me Cepillo Los Dientes...

“Me cepillo los dientes, cada día, cada día…” The sound of children singing and Elmer picking the notes on his guitar drift over the humid air. It’s Saturday afternoon and about 45 kids have gathered to learn about dental health.

My parents brought me a load of dental goods donated to me by our generous dentist, Dr. Wintersteen. I did not want to just hand out the toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss and that is how I found myself leading a group of kids in a sing-a-long with three other volunteers.

After the song icebreaker, a group of teenage girls presented El Patito y Su Cepillo. It’s about a duckling’s quest for his misplaced red toothbrush. All the animals he asks offer him a different red item that is good for your teeth until he finally finds his toothbrush. The girls had worked very hard coloring the pictures and attaching sticks to the props and I was bursting with pride as they each stepped onto the “stage” to read their lines.

My closest Peace Corps neighbor, Alejandra, captured the children’s attention with a colorful flip book. One little boy was all smiles as he brushed the giant teeth I held. The terribly decayed teeth I passed around to the group helped hit home the destructive nature of sugar and soda. They were real human teeth that a local orthodontist had gifted me. While Alejandra explained flossing I asked for volunteers to represent teeth. Laughter filled the air as I pulled out my “floss” and flossed between the kids with the purple jump rope. We had scattered learning checks by asking questions. The reward was a mirror for the children to see their pretty smiles.

Another fellow agriculture Volunteer, Amelia, read a short story about Sylvia and how she cares for her teeth. She asked a few more questions to award the final mirrors and then we presented the Colgate certificates with charts to mark when they brushed and flossed. I passed out the dental supplies while Professor Victoria read each participants name. The kids were all smiles as they carried their bag of loot home. The next day, my 5-year-old neighbor, Dalila, sang to me the entire song that began the presentation:

Me cepillo los dientes

Cada dia,

Cada dia

Despues de comer y antes de dormir

Toda mi vida

Toda mi vida

(sung to the tune of Farajaka. Thank you Amanda Baranowski)

Typing class ceremony

Today (January 25) was a busy yet relaxed ay all wrapped up in one. It was the certificate ceremony for the students that finished the typing course that began last October. I have an amazing community and without everyone pulling together it would have been a different story.

Yesterday, once the power finally returned around 11:30am, I jumped up from the terere circle at Kai Andres and Ña Marina’s house and headed for Ña Asuncion’s to make soy milk. I needed the soy milk for the cupcakes I wanted to make. Even if I wasn’t happy about the power outage it was for the best in the long run because it gave me a chance to ask Kai Fernando to mow my lawn. Abuela Naty made faces of disgust while exclaiming how feo my yard was and telling me who to ask to cut it.

While pasteurizing the soy milk I made lemon bars. Alejandra and Diana arrived just in time to help with the cupcakes. Alejandra squeezed a half a liter of lime juice and also kneaded bread in preparation for tomorrow. My boss, agriculture technical trainer, and volunteer coordinator, Gloria, Homi, and John, respectively, were joining me for lunch and the ceremony at 5:00pm.

At 6:30pm, yesterday, I walked across the street to join Ña Asuncion and some other mothers to marinate the 100 pieces of chicken. It’s amazing what soy sauce, lemon juice, fresh chopped garlic, and lime juice can do to chicken in one night. After I returned I finished baking bread and flat bread.

This morning I finished hoeing my garden and around 9:30am Diana and her sister Lorena came over to finish the cupcakes. While they topped them with Chantilly and colored sugar I finished making lunch—Mango/passion fruit juice, Guacamole, and tubule (a Middle Eastern dish made with cracked wheat, tomatoes, garlic, lime juice, and lots of parsley. It’s very refreshing for these hot humid days.) to go with the bean burgers I prepped yesterday.

Gloria, Homi, and John arrived around 12:30pm followed shortly after by Alejandra. We feasted under the shade of the orange tree.

Ña Asuncion, true to her words of not to worry, covered all the details of cooking the chicken and chipaguasu in the tatakuaa (brick oven) while I sipped terere with my company and completed the questionnaire regarding my 1 year of service in site.

Around 4:00pm I joined my other neighbors, Mavel, Lara, and their grandmother to make 8 liters of passion fruit juice.

The ceremony finally began around 6:00pm, but it was worth the wait because Kai Javier (my host Dad who is now the secretary for the mayor of O’Leary), the Mayor, and the Director of the High school and grade school all showed up. I was so happy to have so many guests in attendance. I did not have to do much talking since Mayor Amado took over by talking about the importance of getting the entire community involved in forming committees in order to improve everyone’s life. He talked about improving the roads, water, and electricity. At first I was worried it was turning into anything but a ceremony for the students, but after everyone spoke their piece, Mayor Amado, Prof. Edgar, Prof. and Secretary Javier, and congratulated all twenty students individually while Prof. Javier announced their names to the audience.

The food was devoured in a matter of minutes. I didn’t even get a cupcake or lemon bar, but I didn’t care because I was happy that everyone else was enjoying themselves.

After saying goodbye to all my guests and snapping a few more pictures with my students I retreated to my hammock to reflect on my day and the past year while the dropping sun painted the sky in vivid orange-pink hues.