Back to School

  School started back up February 1^st and I’m back on my Monday through Wednesday 8-4 schedule. As of late I am a much more experienced Paraguayan and finally have my bearings. I have little trouble with the bus now and know the route like the back of my hand. Though it is still an inconsistent system (there are no bus stops here, you just hop on or off anywhere along the route, there is no set schedule, and sometimes the driver just decides he doesn’t want to stop for you) so the commute takes somewhere between 55 minutes and an hour and a half and there is no way to predict which. I have learned to get on the bus at a stoplight so I can jump on even if the driver doesn’t stop for me. If I am lucky, I spend the first 15 minutes of the ride hanging out the front door (I mean that very literally). If I am not lucky, I spend those minutes wedged body to body between other people in the entryway of the bus that couldn’t possibly fit more people in it. Half an hour into the ride, everyone gets off at the same stop and I am the only person left on the bus. For the ride home, I melt in the ridiculously hot heat in the bus that is far from air-conditioned. I’ve never sweat more in my life while just sitting there. Luckily I get on when the bus is empty so I have a seat even when it fills up. Though it may have come out sounding on the contrary, I enjoy these rides.

(please note that this is not actually a full bus. This is after it has cleared out quite significantly. It's too chaotic to capture the crammed moment. I estimate-counted ~120 people on my 15 row bus one morning.)

The kids at the preschool are cuter than ever and I am much more comfortable at work now. My Spanish has worked its way beyond 2-year-old level so I no longer feel less intelligent than my students and am more confident in teaching them things and giving them orders. They still don’t understand English very well, but we’re taking baby steps and it’s very cute to watch their progress. They are growing up so fast! It will definitely be sad to part with the little chicklets.

 

 (Snacktime! Teachers: Aida, Berta, and Marisol with me... missing about 15 students in the picture.)

(Dulce, my student/host second-cousin)

I had two dates for Valentine’s Day this year. One boy hardly talks but he couldn’t stop saying my name all day. The other told me that he loves me in two languages. There was a lot of cuddling and we dined together. Their combined age was 20 years younger than my own.

 

(Mathu, date #1. Age: 2. My best student at learning English. Also the best shimmier in the class.)

 (Maximo, date #2. Age: 1 and 2 months. Youngest in the class. Attached at my hip.)

Janine, my oldest host sister, just turned 23. We had a house party again with friends, family, barbecuing, and Miller High Life (“It’s Miller Time” is everyone’s favorite slogan) – the typical Velazquez family Paraguayan fiesta that I have come to love. We finished the party off with some solid beer pong and flip cup playing, the newest family tradition.

 (Jani's actually birthday night "small dinner gathering)

 (Beer pong in the kitchen)

 (Showing the Solo cup love)

 (Karen and Pele, the newlyweds, played against each other and got very competitive. Rings were taken off and thrown in the middle of the table. Hilarious.)

 (in anticipation of Mustache March)

 

(Flip cup lineup)

I started trying to teach my host family English…it didn’t go over so well. They say they want to learn, but when it actually involves work and thinking, they are much less inclined and give up easily. I tried many fun methods and thought I was a pretty darn good teacher for having zero experience, but they had less faith in me. Exercise class didn’t go over well either. They quit before we even started. I have been cooking for the family more though and have been more successful with that. Tacos were a huge hit. They got even those who usually skip meals to go back for seconds. It had become a regular family menu item. They had also never had pesto before, so I whipped some up. It got mixed reactions… Olive oil is a rare ingredient for them.

  

The weather here is best described as stickily hot with fits of torrential downpours. I have mixed feelings about the rain and have had fun dancing in it but also had to grudgingly trek through the muddy, flooded streets in it. It causes a brief break in the accumulating heat, which is nice, but the roof leaks and gets all of our stuff wet. Give/take. Our newest group activity is pool hunting. Every weekend we go out in search of someone who will invite us to his or her swimming pool to pass the hot days. We have been very successful and have managed to go to a different pool every weekend. I’ve added swimming to the list of things I am trying to teach my host sisters.

 

I have finally reached a breakthrough in my Spanish development! I started having dreams in Spanish! Better late than never. Let’s hope I don’t lose all of this when I go back to the US. My return is sneaking up on me fast. I am not quite ready to leave yet because there is still so much I want to do. But at the same time I miss my old lifestyle and it will be nice to get back to my normal life.

Things that I miss the most:

Salad

Running/being able to run because it’s not too hot

Un-mosquito-infestedness

Fitted sheets

Eating dinner on a regular basis and at a normal hour

Costumes

Sadly I didn’t make it to Rio to celebrate Carnaval, but I made plans to go to Paraguay’s biggest Carnaval celebration with Jose. We headed to Villarica, a town 2 hours away, to watch one of the the Carnaval parades. Scantily dressed girls with feathers and glitter danced down the street as thousands of people watched from the grandstands. There was music, drinking, and giant foam fights.  The next day we headed to another town, Villa Florida, for a relaxing day on the “beach.” I am very spoiled having lived in Santa Barbara/California in general, so the beach was a little disappointing. The blistering trek through the hot desert sand to get to the brown river water that was full of fish that nipped at your body made for a less than superb beach experience. From there we headed another 3 hours away to Encarnacion, the main Carnaval city. This is where the main parade is and tons of people had gathered on the newly renovated beach in anticipation. But literally 5 minutes upon our arrival in Encarnacion, Jose got a call about a family emergency, so we had to turn right back around after only a half hour stop on the beach. I was very sad about having not experienced the real party, but it just gives me an excuse to come back and go another year!

 (Foam fights should be utilized much more in the US!)

 (Each float had a theme. Though all the girls from each theme essentially wore the same outfit...or lack thereof)

 (The difference: some had more feathers)

 (Thousands of people watching from the bleachers)

 (Butt implants are very common and I'm pretty sure that 95% of the girls in the parade had them)

 

(Colorful and full of organized dancing)

(Playa Paraiso in Villa Florida...not quite California)

 (The beach in Encarnacion still completely packed at 10pm)