Home, Sweet Home

I am here and I am safe.  I am also very much at home.  The culture of Paraguay is almost exactly what I expected.  The climate is warm and is going to be very hot, as I expected.  The people are welcoming and kind which I also expected. 

I am living in a room that it sort of detached from my host family’s house, with its own bathroom, which is nice for privacy.  I have made myself at home and have hung up pictures of friends above my head and have put my clothes away and filled my bed stand with my things.  It feels nice to unpack.

 

These are the pictures and notes or letters that I have hung in my room.
 Feel free to send me things to add to it!

 

My host mother’s name is Mercedes.  She is a petite woman with a big smile and a nice warmth about her.  I think that in order to win her over, I will need to help out around the house, which is no problem whatsoever.  She makes beautiful embroideries, and although I haven’t tried any for myself, my host sisters say that she can cook really well.  I hope I will learn to cook some Paraguayan cuisine from her.

My host father’s name is Francisco.  He is also petite and happy and kind to me.  He just 15 days ago had knee surgery and is working in spite of the fact that he is not supposed to be for another few weeks.  He makes beautiful things out of wood.  Above my head when I sleep is one of his pieces of art.  It is simple, yet gorgeous.  He also made the living room table and a couple of end tables.  I am very impressed with his work.

I have three host sisters, Janet, Laura, and Celeste.  Janet is 27, Laura is 23, if I remember correctly, and Celeste is 22, if I remember correctly.  Laura and Janet are also very kind to me, and they speak a little English which makes it easier to communicate with them. I don’t remember hearing what they do for work.   All three enjoy shopping, so I foresee some trips to the mall in my future.  Celeste speaks English really, really well, so it is very easy to communicate with the family when she is around because she acts as a translator.  If I understood what she said her job was correctly, she works with children of the German Mennonite colonies, teaching Spanish and German.

I also have a host brother, Daniel.   He is an artist like his father, but he works with metal.  His pieces are really quite nice.  I hope to take some of it home.  He is quiet, and at first I thought he didn’t like me, but I don’t think that’s the case.  I think he is just shy, and Celeste says he is different because he is an artist.  (Her words not mine.)

My entire host family gets off of work around 5:00, so I don’t think I’ll see any of them besides Celeste, who comes home around 1:00 in the afternoon.  I am here alone, with the dog, who didn’t like me very much when I arrived.  I think now, though, we are on good terms. 

I’ll be working in the school run by the Mennonite church that I’ll be attending.  They teach preschool to third grade kids now, and plan on getting one more grade each year that they are open and running, up to 9^th grade.  Right now, the school is relatively new.  The school day is from 7:00 to noon, I believe, but they offer a daycare of sorts to kids who have working parents. 

I visited the school today.  I really enjoy working with kids.  They say that maybe I will be teaching English with the help of the teachers who are already there.  I am super excited about that possibility.  Most kids speak too quickly for me to understand, but they are patient and kind and are excited to help me learn.  I don’t feel so embarrassed when I work with kids, because they are so willing to forgive my mistakes.

 

I hope that I will learn the language quickly.  Kids on the street sound like noise to me.  I have no clue what’s going on in most situations.  I think that with some hard work, though, I will soon be at home in this language.  I’ve noticed that people are impressed with the amount of Spanish that I know now, which is miniscule.  I think it’s just really appreciated when people use what they know of the language in situations like this. 

I’m not living in the heart of the city, but I could see the really tall buildings from where we walked with the kids at school today.  Where I live it feels more like a small town.  The streets are made of dirt or gravel and the houses are made of cement or brick with tin or clay roofs.  The people are friendly, but I still feel like I stick out like a sore thumb with my height, inability to speak the language, and painfully white skin. 

 

I think from now on, I will try to blog every week or so.  I also won’t give such a day-by-day account of what’s going on in my life.  Thanks for being patient with me. 

 

My adress here is as follows:

 

Tte. Cañete Miño 1706 esquina  Profesora Silvia Enciso

Codogo Postal 1751
Asuncion, Paraguay

 

I believe anyone who would like to may use it.  I have heard that mail, especially packages, can take a very long time to get here, up to two months.  Send things at your own risk.

Love,

Sarah

This is a picture from everyone in RJ.
 From right to left: Steph (England), Nick (England), Sam (Paraguay!), Kristen (South Africa), Anya (South Africa), Me, Abby (South Africa), Nat (South Africa), and Joe (England).