Settling in at Site

Hello, happy holidays, and welcome back! I am currently finishing my 3rd week at site, but first let's catch up on how I got here!

Training is over, so now I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer! The last 2 weeks of training were filled with exams - medical, security, tech, and Guaraní in which I scored intermediate-high.

For Thanksgiving, the country director, Terry, invited us to his lovely house in Asunción to celebrate with a huge potluck for 40 people. Terry prepared 2 turkeys, Danel, the assistant country director, made some delicious barbecue, and all the invitees brought a homemade side dish - I made roasted garlic cauliflower, and it was a big hit. The next day was spent back at El Bosque (the forest park that we planted trees at during the first month of training) for a relaxing pool day to take a break from the crazy heat - no snow here!

During the final week, we got the chance to dance Paraguayan dances while wearing traditional clothing, as well as hear a Paraguayan harp performance - yes it's different from a normal harp. The whole day was so fun, educational, and exciting. We also had a sweet "goodbye party" with all the host families in Costa Alegre, in which each trainee prepared a gift to thank the families for all they do for us. The families each said some words about us, which was the start of about 3 days of tears for me. The day before swear-in (December 3rd, which just so happened to be my half birthday), we visited the Peace Corps office in Asunción for the first time. The office is where we will come for all future medical and administrative needs during our two years of service, so we got to tour the facility and meet many new PC staff. And when I got home, my host parents had bought a little slice of cake to make a half-birthday wish on - the sweetest, most thoughtful gesture that reminded me of home.

Swear-in was an incredible and emotional event. We heard speeches from multiple Peace Corps officials and some inspiring words from two members of our cohort. After a beautiful ceremony in which we took two different oaths to uphold our duties to both the Peace Corps itself and to "serve alongside the people of Paraguay…with an open heart and open mind", we said goodbye to our host families who had housed and cared for us for the past 3 months. Tears were shed, promises to visit were made, and in a chaos of empanadas and pieces of cake, we hopped in a Bolt (a cheaper version of Uber) with all our luggage and were whisked off to Asunción for the night. We celebrated the start of service with delicious Korean food for dinner and a night on the town, accompanied by members of previous cohorts like C6, C8, and C9.

The next day, Friday, December 5th, the 33 of us who had grown so close scattered to different parts of the country. Although most of us had a travel buddy or two to accompany them for the ride, we were on our own once we got to the site. My friend Ziggy and I caught a 3.5-hour bus from Asunción to Villarrica, and hopped off at our respective sites. My sweet host mom met me right at the bus stop, so I didn't have to walk the half mile home with 5 very heavy bags.

The first weekend in site just so happened to also be my town's patron saint festival. While it was an insane and somewhat overwhelming weekend, it was a great opportunity to "show face" in the community. My very first night, we attended the birthday party of the interim directora of the main elementary school I will be working with, and stayed up until 2 am. The next night was the actual party for our patron saint - the Virgin del Rosario - complete with 3 different live bands and lots and lots of dancing. Owen was there, and it was great to see him again before he ended his service. Sonia, my host mom, said that she was going to dance until sunrise, and I laughed it off, thinking she was joking. I made it to about 4 am before I got too tired, but she did not get back home until 7:30 am, holding up her promise. Then on Sunday, Mbocayaty hosted a torrín (rodeo), which was, in fact, my first rodeo. But boy was I unprepared - the toreros (bullfighters) not only used red capes (muletas) to cause the bull to charge like in Spain, but also mounted the bull, completing crazy tricks like handstands and flips off the bull's back. All in all a wild night, and it was my 4th night in a row staying up past 2 am.

But after those crazy first few days, life has become a lot more tranquilo. My host cousin, Walter, has been showing me new parts of town on walks while telling me about the history and nature in Mbocayaty. The sunsets here are amazing, and I have really enjoyed exploring the different neighborhoods and finding new running routes (yay!). Most of Sonia's friends are fellow profes and directoras which is great for me to meet and get to know the people that I will be working with come February. I'm hoping that people will start to recognize my face when I'm walking and running around, but as of now, I have yet to be invited into a stranger's house. Because Sonia is so well-known in the community, most people already know who I am, but are unfamiliar with the Peace Corps, the U.S., or the work I will do here. But I have attended birthday parties, pool parties, asados (barbecues), a rezo (basically a funeral, but commemorating the anniversary of the death of a loved one) and spent ample time people-watching. Baking has become a very fun way to talk about and show American culture, and so far I have made brownies and chocolate chip cookies, which were both gone in about 2 hours, and I have plans to make more goodies.

In addition, Owen gifted me his bike, which I was able to ride to Ziggy's site for a day. It was a lovely day of socialization and getting to know her beautiful town! And last week, Nico, Ziggy, and I took a day trip to summit Paraguay's tallest "peak" - Tres Kandu - standing at a whole 2,762 feet above sea level. It was a steep but gorgeous hike and a nice break away from our sites. Elva and Vicente, my host parents from Costa Alegre, also paid me a surprise visit last Friday, which was so fun and sweet.

Probably the most exciting update is that I already have a house to move into come February! Volunteers are required to live with families for the first two months at site, after which we have the option to live independently. Sonia and Juan (my ex-host dad) found an adorable little casita about 6 blocks from my host family's house and are fixing it up for me to live in! It is currently not in the best shape and needs a lot of work, but they are putting in a lot of care and effort, which is kind and appreciated. And hopefully, I will get to pick out which color it gets painted!

And that brings me to the holidays, my first time celebrating Christmas (or Hanukkah) and New Year's without my family. In Paraguay, the actual day of Navidad celebration is December 24th, in which most families host a big dinner, light fireworks, and stay up until midnight. Christmas Day is spent at home with family, but presents are not exchanged. Sonia's sister, Blanca, and her family, who live in Buenos Aires, and brother, Johnny, stayed with us for the week and also joined in on Christmas activities like baking loaf after loaf of pan de navidad (essentially brioche with dried fruit or chocolate chips inside) or on runs and walks. We spent the 25th sleeping in, eating leftovers, and playing so many games of cards - my cousin and tíos are now avid 7's players.

All in all, life at site has been much slower than training, and it's been amazing to have the time to call friends and family, catch up on sleep, and have completely self-motivated days. I am still trying to practice my Guaraní, meet new people, and have started planning my English classes that I will (hopefully) start to teach in January, after the new year. As I said above, Sonia is an amazing ally to have because while she is my host mom, she is going to be a coworker (i.e., counterpart) too. For example, in training, we were told that the best way to get the word out about an event you're planning is to post it to your WhatsApp story so that it can be seen by all your contacts. But at this point, I have very few people's numbers from Mbocayaty, at least compared to a local. I did not even have to ask Sonia to help me spread the word though, she just outright offered to post my info to her story, which just shows her kindness and thoughtfulness.

These English classes will hopefully be yet another form of integration - meeting the interested kids and families who I will be working with for these entire 2 years. And a great way to start the school year already knowing some familiar faces :) I'm so excited to start teaching as that was one of the main reasons I chose the Peace Corps and was assigned to this site.

It's wild that I have been at site now for a whole three weeks (and in Paraguay for 3 months!), but I am settling in, getting adjusted to a new routine, and very happy. I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas - I miss you dearly 💚💚💚