Christmas Round 2

Its a few days past Christmas and I can hardly believe that I spent another Christmas in Ka’a Jovai. I swore I wouldn’t be in site after I was so miserable last year, but it’s amazing what a whole year can do. Spending it with a different family and having a house packed with Americans sure changes the story.

I have been planning for Christmas since my first green beans fruited and I was gifted a large Libby style pumpkin. I promptly put them away in the freezer. As the date got closer, my refrigerator got fuller. I was gifted several pounds of fresh Paraguayan cheese, liters of beans, a dozen eggs, and a live chicken. Great kindness was shown to me by the same gentleman who gifted me the eggs. Sandia or watermelon and Christmas are synonymous here. You can bear the Paraguayan heat any day if you can dig into a sweet, juicy watermelon. Last year watermelons were everywhere. I could eat watermelon with one family and then walk to another family and eat more. Since it is not allowed to be mixed with terere, I ended up drinking more water in sandia form than strained through yerba. I didn’t think 1 dozen eggs would satisfy 8 people so I made the 2 k walk to buy 18 more eggs. I was bemoaning the fact that I didn’t have any watermelon to Don Ignicio and he told me there was plenty just 5 K from here. The next day, the kind man and his nephew road over on their motos to bring me four of the largest watermelons I had ever seen. I was so excited. Thankfully, Teresa and I had just finished making scones and baking bread which I gifted back to him

Five friends travelled out to my site in spite of the scattered showers on Christmas Eve. One walked 5K and Teresa came from the far southwestern corner of Paraguay a few days early to help with the food buying and preparing. The married couple brought a tent and four slept on the floor. Teresa and I claimed my bed. I borrowed a bunk bed from my neighbor, but it wouldn’t fit through my door, but tranquilopa there is always a place to sleep. Teresa and I had fixed spaghetti and garlic bread for our weary guests (Tk and Jenny came the farthest having just flown in from Costa Rica that morning. They arrived in Asuncion by 7am and came straight out). This isn’t your ordinary spaghetti dinner. It was fresh herb flavored tomato sauce and spicy sausage. Fresh baked bread topped with real butter, more herbs from my garden and the aged Paraguayan cheese. Homemade has a new meaning here. Thanks to the Romaine lettuce seeds from my Dad, we also served a colorful salad.

Christmas Eve dinner was Chipotle chicken fajitas. Ña Lourdes showed me how to kill the chicken and I tried to wring its neck, but alas it was a tough old hen and Lourdes even had a bit of trouble. I plucked all the feathers and helped to cut it up. The chicken was full of eggs, or rather the yolks that were still forming. I threw all the random parts in the pot too—heart, gizzard, liver. I did turn down the feet. I didn’t think that would go well in a fajita.

Christmas Day we shared with my Paraguayan family. Three tables were lined up together under the shade of the citrus trees and loads of food was placed in the center. Cheesy corn Sopa, rice salad, potato salad, clerico (fruit salad soaked in soda and wine), mandio, and coal roasted beef were the Paraguayan contributions. Lemon-herb marinated chicken, garlic roasted green beans and lima beans, pumpkin pie, and salad were the American additions. A prayer was said and everyone feasted. My Paraguayan family must think that all Americans like spicy food. The salad had a Hungarian wax pepper tossed in and Marcelo (cousin) started talking about how spicy the chicken fajitas from the night before were. He was sweating and we were unfazed as we shook extra Tabasco sauce over our plates.

Around 6pm it was finally cool enough to walk to Rio Monday. A whole gang of us sauntered down the red, rutted road. I called out Felizidades to everyone and thought how strange they must think it is to suddenly have so many Americans walking down the street. We arrived at the river and after much begging Teresa talked me into jumping in with her. Jenny jumped shortly after. The current was swift and it took a lot of strength to get back, but that didn’t stop us from jumping over and over again. The water was refreshing and it was amusing to watch the expressions of the Paraguayans since everyone I know is afraid of water over their head since they can’t swim. After the last jump, I joined the game of Po (guarani version of 500) and promptly coated myself in sand when I dove into a sand hill. Walking back was exfoliating.

Dinner was biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs. Leah and Alejandra made the biscuits while TK used the drippings from the Christmas chicken to make his specialty. Of course it was spicy with the addition of the spicy sausage. Several rounds of card Monopoly were played after dinner. After losing all afternoon, I was finally able to win. It’s so much better than regular board game Monopoly. It has plenty of strategy in that it reminds me of Settlers of Catan, but it moves quickly and doesn’t require money.

Everyone except for Dan, Leah, and Alejandra left on Sunday, but not before the cinnamon roll breakfast and real coffee. My old host family down the street was able to give them rides to O’Leary. After having a really random pop-pops war with the kids, I returned to my company for a relaxing Sunday. I like a Christmas that lasts multiple days. Presents are unnecessary with the presence of friends and family.

Rained out

Being rained OUT of site was a new one for me. In the midst of the unexpected extra time, I realized just how much of a blessing in disguise it was to be stuck in O’Leary. It also helped that my PCV neighbor Mike’s host family has plenty of room. Through the course of the extra day, I stumbled upon a lady who is active in reforestation work. Less than a week ago my contact/host dad, Javier, approached me with the idea of replanting trees in the well pilfered remnants of forest. I said I would check into it, but had not put a whole lot of thought into it because I was not sure I could keep up with another project. But lately, I had been obsessed with the Chivato tree that grows here. Its vivid red-orange blossoms stand out against the rich green leaves. While biking with Mike to his English class, I noticed (it’s hard not to notice this tree) a Chivato tree with fallen seed pods. While picking up seeds, the lady at the store across the street approached me. She informed me of a woman down the street that often sells plantitas. And that’s how I met Ña Chichi, an energetic grandmother who travels to Itapu (about 1 ½ hrs east) to request free trees and thus far has reforested some 7 hectares. I returned to my site the next day with a beautiful little Chivato plantita and the promise of an invite the next time she makes the trip.