Happy Birthday, San Juan

Now that the best month of the year is almost over, here's what I've been up to down here in South America. My cohort has officially hit 9 months in country, which means I am 1/3 of the way through Peace Corps service. Sorry, what?

June in Paraguay is best known for La Fiesta de San Juan (or San Juan Ára in Guaraní). This celebration commemorates the birth of Saint John the Baptist on June 24 and blends Catholic traditions introduced during the Spanish colonial period with Guaraní culture and local customs. While the celebration has its roots in Spanish evangelization, Paraguayans made it their own by incorporating local ingredients such as mandioca (cassava or yuca) and corn instead of the wheat commonly used in traditional Spanish dishes. Fire is the central symbol of the festival, representing purification, renewal, and the burning away of sorrow and misfortune.

Although San Juan officially falls on June 24, only the larger cities tend to hold their celebrations on that date. Smaller, more rural communities (such as my own) often celebrate during the preceding weeks so that people can also attend the larger festivities later in the month.

On June 5, I found myself at Digna E., the larger of my two elementary schools, helping serve traditional San Juan foods to students and their families for five hours. The menu included empanadas made with mandioca flour, kavure (traditional chipa dough wrapped around a stick and roasted over hot coals), and payaguá mascada, a fried patty made from mandioca, ground beef, and vegetables. We were all decked out in our Paraguay national team remeras (jerseys) since PY was playing its last "friendly" game before the World Cup began.

The students also played traditional games such as "pin the tail on the pig" to win prizes. The more famous San Juan activities—which involve fire and are generally intended for older participants—were understandably absent, since the oldest students are only 12 years old. These traditions include walking across hot coals, climbing a greased pole, soccer with a flaming ball, and the burning of Judas Kái, a doll filled with fireworks that symbolizes the rejection of betrayal and corruption. I'm hoping to see some of these traditions at my local church's San Juan celebration next week.

My friend Ziggy also celebrated her birthday this month, so I hopped over to her site for the day. We had a few mini parties with her profes at the high school and her hilarious host tías (aunts) before hosting 20 people at her house, joined by Kai and Nico. We made homemade pizza and enjoyed a lovely night with lots of whiscola (whiskey mixed with coke). The next morning, Kai and I caught a bus to Asunción to watch Paraguay's first World Cup match, which just so happened to be against the United States. A huge group of volunteers was there, including members from C8 and C9. The energy was so high, and it was amazing seeing the city prepare with decorations and excitement. A group of us from C10 watched the game on a giant projector screen in the middle of the street that had been closed off specifically for the game. Although we unfortunately lost 4-1, the singular goal that PY scored was so incredible, filled with fireworks and all.

The next day, Ziggy, Sophie (a volunteer from the C8 cohort), and I had a big joint birthday celebration. My friend Sam made us personalized birthday sashes, and we ate a delicious sushi dinner overlooking the capital city's skyline. Back at the hotel, we were greeted by the sweetest surprise party, complete with dulce de leche cake. What a fun way to continue the birthday celebrations, because, as I'm sure you're all aware, my birthday is not just one day; it's an entire month of fun!

Back at site, I was finally able to start my huerta (school garden) with the primer ciclo students (1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders). After acquiring 32 used tires, I spent a full day filling them with dirt and attempting to have the students help me, with varying levels of success. Generally, they enjoyed throwing compost and dirt at each other or finding gross bugs more than actually helping to load the ruedas (tires). After many delays due to travel, weather, and procrastination, it felt incredible to finally complete the biggest step of this process. But boy was I tired and sore—my hamstrings were screaming at me for the next five days.

The next week, Nico came to help plant my huerta en cubierta (garden in containers), which also felt amazing. Now we just have to wait, weed, and water and hope that the vegetables grow and don't die in a freeze, since it is very much winter here in the Southern Hemisphere. I also helped to prepare the huerta at my smaller elementary school, but it was much chiller since most of the garden beds had been made already, so the 3rd-6th graders only had to weed a bit before planting our first plants—green onions!

My friend Fati's family are all musicians, so she invited me to an event in which her friends' band was playing, a traditional South American equestrian event called a jineteada. The horse show involves fast-paced Guaraní folk music while the riders show off their horses by galloping in complicated patterns and athletic maneuvers. Another very fun Paraguayan cultural event I had no idea about!

This past week we had an exposition for Trabajo y Tecnología, which are the classes and teachers I work with on Tuesdays. Since winter break is quickly approaching, we held a cierre (closure) event to commemorate the work the students had completed so far this year. It was lovely to see my alumnos so proud of their projects, and now starts the segundo etapa (second step)—planting yet another huerta! But this time with the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.

Before heading down to Encarnación on the southern border for Kai's birthday, my friend Jorgelina (with the Little Free Library) hosted a little San Juan celebration. I got to make kavure for the first time, and it was just a lovely, chill, and cozy night. In Encarn, my friends and I watched Paraguay's last group stage match against Australia. Though no goals were scored, it meant that PY was through to the elimination round—vamos la Albirroja!

We celebrated Kai by eating Japanese food, a night on the town, and visiting his very rural site, which is actually the same one I visited for my Long Field Practice trip all the way back in October. It was very strange being back and seeing how he had made the site his own. Due to some miscommunication, bad weather, and road closures, the girls and I ended up walking 4 miles from James' site (another C10 volunteer who lives close to Kai) to Trinidad, the nearby larger town in a crazy lightning storm and pouring rain. From there we got on a bus back to Encarn and spent the rest of the night getting warm again.

So that has been June in Paraguay! It's crazy that the only two months I have yet to experience in this country are July and August, and then we will officially complete one year. I'm trucking along with my routine but excited for the two weeks off of school we get for winter break. Stay tuned for next time, and send me your warm thoughts. 💚💚💚