January 14
It’s been awhile since I last wrote, but that doesn’t mean life has been dull out in the campo. So far I have taught two more families how to make peanut butter, I harvested honey, baked more soy bread that I could ever dream of, baked soy cookies, and made many pitchers of soy juice.
The picture of the children holding gifts (below) is from the 3 Kings day celebration held at our church (January 7). The youth and women’s committees raised money to provide snacks for all the area children and they received toy donations from another organization. The celebration had an added benefit because the snack had soy in the ingredients and part of my job was to take pictures of the event so we can make a CD and send it to Tio Tom (the organization that gifted the soy machine to the community—vaca mechanic literally mechanical cow). I was overwhelmed with gratitude to be apart of such a hardworking, organized community. The ladies and I spent many hours kneading the dough for the 44 loaves of soy bread, mixing the ingredients for the soy sugar cookies, and blending the piña with the soy milk. Everyone chatted away as we sliced the bread and placed slices of ham and cheese between the buttered slices.
The celebration included two traditional Paraguayan dances and then we distributed the snacks and finally the much anticipated gifts—toy cars for the boys and Barbie-like dolls for the girls.
My garden is just beginning. Little plants are shooting up from the ground and are well protected by the mulch and shade structure I built. I am treating it like an experiment, because most think I’m crazy for trying to start a garden now. I want vegetables so bad that I’m willing to try. It didn’t cost very much for all the seeds so I’m not out very much if it’s less than successful. If it is then the Paraguayans will see that with a little extra work it’s possible to have vegetables growing even in the summer heat. The worst pest is going to be the insects which have already started to eat my little seedlings. I better pull out my garden book and work on some venenos caseros (homemade pesticides).
Today, I’m going to make yogurt. Several families have shown interest and it’s easy enough to make. Besides, I LOVE yogurt and you can’t buy around here unless you make the trek into town 22km away.
January 15, 2010
The yogurt was a success even if it was on the soupy side. Most of the yogurt here is drinkable so that might have something to do with it. I got another batch started with Professor Lilian and this time I added a lot more yogurt so hopefully it will be thinker. I’m in need of some thermometers (in Celcius) because all I have right now is the one my Mom gave me before I left. I’m really glad I brought it along. I have them test the temperature with their fingers, but I don’t have enough experience in yogurt making to know how precise it really needs to be.
Right now a quarter hectares worth of peanuts are drying on the patio. I can’t wait to make more peanut butter.
H1N1 shots are in and that means another long trip into the Peace Corps office. I don’t mind all that much because I just read and write. It also is an opportunity to use free internet and to check for packages.
Lunch is about ready---bean salad! My favorite!
As always I appreciate your letters and emails. I have successfully been receiving mail at the post office in site.
That address is:
Raquel Graham
Correo J.E. O’Leary Alto Parana
C.P. 7480 Alto Parana
Barrio Villa del Carmen
Paraguay, South America
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
December 26, 2009
December 26, 2009
I’m sure you are curious about Christmas in Paraguay. The big celebration is held on Christmas Eve. I helped the women cook. I was disappointed that the food was not any different than typical Paraguayan fair, but I guess I really shouldn’t have been expecting any different. We shelled corn for the chipaguasu and chipa, ground up beef to fill the empanadas and chopped up fruit as small as we could for the delicious fruit salad.
Although I have seen a few Christmas trees around here, it’s not uncommon to find a evergreen display. I’m not sure the actual term for it and it’s not made out of evergreen bows, but it’s basically a nativity with any trinket they have to add to the scene. I can’t do it justice with words so I’ve included a picture for you. Notice the chipa hanging from the greenery.
I missed all of you greatly as the music blasted from oversized music system installed in the trunks of ordinary cars. Fireworks here are all about the noise--the louder the explosion the better. At quarter till midnight everyone surrounded the nativity while Ña Vinda led us in a prayer and then the countdown ended with more fireworks, felizidades, and kisses on the cheeks.
Christmas day was a blast. After a quick breakfast of cocido and oatmeal with homemade plum marmalade I walked down the street to the Dominquez family. They had family in from Asunción and the oldest nephew could speak English well, having studied it for 4 years. We sat around drinking terere while exchanging differences in Paraguayan and American culture. The entire family came together for lunch—cucumber, onion, tomato salad, pork off the bone, and of course mandi’o. After figuring out where there was signal I connected with Jeremy’s family and sent some text messages to mine.
Normally when it’s been raining or is seriously threatening rain everything gets put on hold. No so with Christmas day. The boys and I walked the few kilometers to Rio Monday for some 500 and 3 on 3 ultimate Frisbee. The boys learned quickly and we’re laying out in the sand and water for the disk. I won a few times in 500, but preferred to hang back because I didn’t want to get tackled like the guys were in a habit of doing to each other. The ultimate girls know how much I love 500 and I am sure they’re surprised to find that I didn’t do any tackling of my own. Technically, the game should be called po (5) because we count up to 5 in Guarani for the game (carry over from training and it certainly worked for learning my numbers).
December 28, 2009
Yesterday I went fishing. I was laying in my hammock (thank you Grandma Graham) reading when I noticed a bunch of my neighbors traipsing through the pasture with fishing poles. They asked if I would like to go fishing. Of course I did! That was until I realized we would be fishing for minnows. Our system wasn’t designed to try for bigger fish. I pulled earthworms from an 8oz Piri soda bottle and fed them onto my fish hook attached to a thin bamboo pole. Most of the time I stood in the water just off shore and watched as little minnows devoured my bait. I caught about 4 fish that would nicely fit in a fish tank they were that small. It didn’t matter, they were added to the line of fish. Tired of sticking my fingers in the slimy ball of worms I sat on the row boat and helped bail water. It was patched with pits of rag and had a half dozen little minnows swimming or floating in the bottom (the days catch). One poor victim had been caught through the eye and was swimming with its eye completely hanging outside of its head. We caught quit a few fish in the many hours we were there.
Of course I knew what was for dinner I just didn’t know how we were going to be eating these tiny fishes. I soon found out. We had lost power earlier that morning and by dinner time it still wasn’t on. Ña Vinda gutted all 22 of her little fishes in the waning light. I decided to pull out my headlamp and that sped things along. Next, I helped squeeze limes into a dish with salt. Ña Vinda added some water and let the fish soak in the liquid while heating the oil in the frying pan over the open fire. She tossed those little puppies in and waited until the popping sounds slowed and we had ourselves a fish dinner. Yep, heads and fins still attached. I was skeptical at first, but after tasting the crispy white flesh I agreed that they were indeed rico (delicious in Spanish) and proceeded to eat 9 or 10 of them along with mandi’o of course. I even ate the fin of one because I thought Kai Andres told me it was delicious too. It actually tasted pretty good and I’m sure you think I’m crazy. I took a picture of the remains just to prove that I did indeed eat them.
Today, I spent over an hour teaching English to Ña Asunción’s family. Armando and Anna are very bright and eager to learn and are great at helping me with my Spanish and Guaraní so it’s a win-win situation.
Time to go see if I can get my garden started in the next few days. I have the seeds I just don’t have the place…yet.
I’m sure you are curious about Christmas in Paraguay. The big celebration is held on Christmas Eve. I helped the women cook. I was disappointed that the food was not any different than typical Paraguayan fair, but I guess I really shouldn’t have been expecting any different. We shelled corn for the chipaguasu and chipa, ground up beef to fill the empanadas and chopped up fruit as small as we could for the delicious fruit salad.
Although I have seen a few Christmas trees around here, it’s not uncommon to find a evergreen display. I’m not sure the actual term for it and it’s not made out of evergreen bows, but it’s basically a nativity with any trinket they have to add to the scene. I can’t do it justice with words so I’ve included a picture for you. Notice the chipa hanging from the greenery.
I missed all of you greatly as the music blasted from oversized music system installed in the trunks of ordinary cars. Fireworks here are all about the noise--the louder the explosion the better. At quarter till midnight everyone surrounded the nativity while Ña Vinda led us in a prayer and then the countdown ended with more fireworks, felizidades, and kisses on the cheeks.
Christmas day was a blast. After a quick breakfast of cocido and oatmeal with homemade plum marmalade I walked down the street to the Dominquez family. They had family in from Asunción and the oldest nephew could speak English well, having studied it for 4 years. We sat around drinking terere while exchanging differences in Paraguayan and American culture. The entire family came together for lunch—cucumber, onion, tomato salad, pork off the bone, and of course mandi’o. After figuring out where there was signal I connected with Jeremy’s family and sent some text messages to mine.
Normally when it’s been raining or is seriously threatening rain everything gets put on hold. No so with Christmas day. The boys and I walked the few kilometers to Rio Monday for some 500 and 3 on 3 ultimate Frisbee. The boys learned quickly and we’re laying out in the sand and water for the disk. I won a few times in 500, but preferred to hang back because I didn’t want to get tackled like the guys were in a habit of doing to each other. The ultimate girls know how much I love 500 and I am sure they’re surprised to find that I didn’t do any tackling of my own. Technically, the game should be called po (5) because we count up to 5 in Guarani for the game (carry over from training and it certainly worked for learning my numbers).
December 28, 2009
Yesterday I went fishing. I was laying in my hammock (thank you Grandma Graham) reading when I noticed a bunch of my neighbors traipsing through the pasture with fishing poles. They asked if I would like to go fishing. Of course I did! That was until I realized we would be fishing for minnows. Our system wasn’t designed to try for bigger fish. I pulled earthworms from an 8oz Piri soda bottle and fed them onto my fish hook attached to a thin bamboo pole. Most of the time I stood in the water just off shore and watched as little minnows devoured my bait. I caught about 4 fish that would nicely fit in a fish tank they were that small. It didn’t matter, they were added to the line of fish. Tired of sticking my fingers in the slimy ball of worms I sat on the row boat and helped bail water. It was patched with pits of rag and had a half dozen little minnows swimming or floating in the bottom (the days catch). One poor victim had been caught through the eye and was swimming with its eye completely hanging outside of its head. We caught quit a few fish in the many hours we were there.
Of course I knew what was for dinner I just didn’t know how we were going to be eating these tiny fishes. I soon found out. We had lost power earlier that morning and by dinner time it still wasn’t on. Ña Vinda gutted all 22 of her little fishes in the waning light. I decided to pull out my headlamp and that sped things along. Next, I helped squeeze limes into a dish with salt. Ña Vinda added some water and let the fish soak in the liquid while heating the oil in the frying pan over the open fire. She tossed those little puppies in and waited until the popping sounds slowed and we had ourselves a fish dinner. Yep, heads and fins still attached. I was skeptical at first, but after tasting the crispy white flesh I agreed that they were indeed rico (delicious in Spanish) and proceeded to eat 9 or 10 of them along with mandi’o of course. I even ate the fin of one because I thought Kai Andres told me it was delicious too. It actually tasted pretty good and I’m sure you think I’m crazy. I took a picture of the remains just to prove that I did indeed eat them.
Today, I spent over an hour teaching English to Ña Asunción’s family. Armando and Anna are very bright and eager to learn and are great at helping me with my Spanish and Guaraní so it’s a win-win situation.
Time to go see if I can get my garden started in the next few days. I have the seeds I just don’t have the place…yet.
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