Mi Vida Paraguaya

Hi friends!  Sorry it's been so long.  We're just about halfway done with training which is exciting, shocking, and terrifying.  Exciting because the more projects I here about and the more parts of Paraguay I see the more stoked I am for moving to my future site.  Shocking because part or me cannot believe I've only been here 5 weeks.  I feel like its been ages since I've seen my family, friends and munchkins (PS I miss you.  Write me.) I also feel like I've been living in the disgusting heat, drinking terere (more on that later) waking up to the monkeys, eating cups of salt and sugar for meals, and laughing and smiling when I have no clue what's happening forever.  Forever.  And terrifying because I have like nine million hours of class a day and opportunities to speak english up the wazoo and ice cream available within 20 feet of me at all times and in 5 weeks I might have nothing but a town store, a primary school that functions when it wants to and a bus that runs if its not raining and if the driver isn't on strike and if there was time for the driver to get his hair cut and if there are exactly two clouds in the sky.

And so it's scary...and exciting...and everything in between.  And the process for site selection is you have two interviews with the assistant peace corps director to describe what you are looking for in a site.  My first interview I was highly unprepared and basically just was like I have no idea.  I've been here a day.  What is this?  What country are we in? Ummmm yea I'll do whatever.  I basically screamed flexible.  And also dumb.

My second interview was yesterday and given that I had already visited another volunteer last week and seen more of the volunteer life (Never wrote about that but long story short it was beautiful, right near an Paraguayan style extremely modern city, the kids were just as amazing as expected and there were fajitas, crepes, Nutella, and cookies) I was a little more prepared.  As in I wrote out a list of things I thought I wanted.  Although I'm fairly confident that it will change... By tomorrow.

1) KIDS KIDS KIDS LOTS OF NEIGHBORS
2) Small community feel
3) "active" school
4) fairly easy access to larger cities
5) active group of volunteers in the area
6) speak lots of guarani
7) be a first time volunteer in site

And thats what I asked for.  So we'll see which ones I get.  But in two weeks I'll know my site for the next two years and the site you will all be touring when you visit me ( hint hint).  So wish me luck!!!

I'm going to visit another volunteer, this time in a group of 5, in a site in the southern part of the country near Argentina.  Side trip!  I'll be living with another host family so I'm excited to see if my introduction to this family will be better than my last.  "Uh, hola?? Como estas??? Es todo!"

Wish me suerte, Les quiero a todos!!