Stopping by Pilar on my way to celibrate Dia de Gracias with the other nortes in Encarnation. Here´s three images I want to share with you.
1)Owl vs. Lizard - This morning walking out to the routa to catch my bus to Pilar I looked up just in time to see a burrowing owl taking off, following its flight path I saw that it got up to chase a teju guasu off, which one could assume would be all to happy to head into the owl´s burrow and gorge on eggs or fledglings. Not a particually good story, but it made me happy to see it (Its only the 2nd teju guasu I´ve seen)
2)Karaja at our house - Yesterday a karaja (note the scientific name, Alouatta caraya, keeping in mind the spanish pronounce their y´s as j´s. I´ve heard that Guarani is the second most used language in scientific names, after latin of course. I´d don´t know if this is true, but here´s one example) moved into the trees in my host families yard. It was still there this morning. I´ve been watching it with the kids. The highlights have been, a)He pooped (the kids really liked that) b)He scrached his butt (kids also really liked that) c)He´s been eating mbokaja fruits. Once again nothing too exciting, but still I´ve never lived around monkeys before.
3)Kupi´i - Yesterday I helped my host mom take some cattle out to woods/feild and on the way back we were totally enswarmed with kupi´i, which I belive are some type of termite. I got a pic I´ll post when I get the chance.
I guess I decided to tell ya´ll these things just because they are the sort of thing that, while maybe not everyday, aren´t uncommon here, but would never happen back in the USA. or at least they never happened to me.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
1 Year in Paraguay
As of September 24th I have now been in Paraguay for over one year. I had always imagined that by this time I would be speaking near fluently, Ha. Those dreams died out months ago, but this weekend I will have opportunity to reflect on how far I've come. As the seasons come and go so do new trainee groups (Here in PC Paraguay we refer to them as G's due to the fact that our training community is called Guarambare, for example my group was the 31st to train in Guarambare so we are called G31) This weekend the newest group, our sister G (because we're both ag sector groups) will be taking their first foray out into the 'real world'. All of us that can will be hosting a trainee for the weekend to show them a 'real' peace corps experience. I hope to put mine to work, revising hives with the bee committee and also doing a wild hive capture with an aspiring beekeeper named Carlamino. Other planed highlights include drinking lots of terere and me catching up on the latest American news from a native.
In other news it's the planting season and I've been desperately trying to secure some land of my own, both for demonstration of some of the techniques and plants I try promoting and for my own auto-consumption. It seems I've been able to get two plots one for each of my aims. One will be a smaller plot right next to the road in the centerish area of 'town' (my demo plot) and the other will be much bigger and not so close (my personal watermelon supply plot). Once I actually get something in the ground I'll have a bit more to report.
I think it's the little things which really give life its great flavor; here are a couple of little things which make me happy
1. Humming bird nest: I'm not sure if I've already mentioned that Paraguayans have an extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and from my point of view it seems like every weed here is a 'poha' (medicinal herb), most of which have some sort of vague medicinal property but mostly (to me anyway) are just used to flavor terere. With that out of the way, on to the meat of this little note. Last time I was in Asuncion me and my buddy Caleb stopped by one of the hundred of poha stores to see what was selling and we noticed that they sold humming birds nests. We thought, even hoped, that this was another terere delivered poha, but it turns out that what you're supposed to do is burn it, then take the ashes and put them on a cotton ball, heat this up somehow and then put it in your ear to cure an ear ache. I still want to drink some terere with a humming birds nest in it though.
2. Pique: In Guarani its called Tũ, and its a common problem here in Paraguay. Well generally they're not a problem, sorta like a foot pimple. You take them out with a needle, its fun almost. For some people it becomes a bragging right thing, like "I had 4 pique on one foot all at the same time" "That's nothing, I had 4 pique in just one toe", and in that vein I tell my story. A couple of weeks ago I noticed a pique on my little toe and took it out, thinking that was the end of that, but my toe kept getting more and more sore and was starting to swell a bit and was a nice pink color. I assumed that the pique I had taken out had gotten infected and once that puppy started hurting real bad I was on the verge of going in to Asuncion to get some medical help, when my family asked me why I was hobbling around I showed them my toe and the informed me that its as in fact, not infected but that I had missed a second pique right next to the fist one. They took it out for me amidst much stoic grimacing on my part. For me it was a great bonding moment with my host family and, at least to me, super Paraguayan. And finally, here's what gives me bragging rights for this story, it seems that the reason it hurt so bad was that the swelling was displacing my toenail, which now that the swelling has subsided, will be falling off any day now.
In other news it's the planting season and I've been desperately trying to secure some land of my own, both for demonstration of some of the techniques and plants I try promoting and for my own auto-consumption. It seems I've been able to get two plots one for each of my aims. One will be a smaller plot right next to the road in the centerish area of 'town' (my demo plot) and the other will be much bigger and not so close (my personal watermelon supply plot). Once I actually get something in the ground I'll have a bit more to report.
I think it's the little things which really give life its great flavor; here are a couple of little things which make me happy
1. Humming bird nest: I'm not sure if I've already mentioned that Paraguayans have an extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and from my point of view it seems like every weed here is a 'poha' (medicinal herb), most of which have some sort of vague medicinal property but mostly (to me anyway) are just used to flavor terere. With that out of the way, on to the meat of this little note. Last time I was in Asuncion me and my buddy Caleb stopped by one of the hundred of poha stores to see what was selling and we noticed that they sold humming birds nests. We thought, even hoped, that this was another terere delivered poha, but it turns out that what you're supposed to do is burn it, then take the ashes and put them on a cotton ball, heat this up somehow and then put it in your ear to cure an ear ache. I still want to drink some terere with a humming birds nest in it though.
2. Pique: In Guarani its called Tũ, and its a common problem here in Paraguay. Well generally they're not a problem, sorta like a foot pimple. You take them out with a needle, its fun almost. For some people it becomes a bragging right thing, like "I had 4 pique on one foot all at the same time" "That's nothing, I had 4 pique in just one toe", and in that vein I tell my story. A couple of weeks ago I noticed a pique on my little toe and took it out, thinking that was the end of that, but my toe kept getting more and more sore and was starting to swell a bit and was a nice pink color. I assumed that the pique I had taken out had gotten infected and once that puppy started hurting real bad I was on the verge of going in to Asuncion to get some medical help, when my family asked me why I was hobbling around I showed them my toe and the informed me that its as in fact, not infected but that I had missed a second pique right next to the fist one. They took it out for me amidst much stoic grimacing on my part. For me it was a great bonding moment with my host family and, at least to me, super Paraguayan. And finally, here's what gives me bragging rights for this story, it seems that the reason it hurt so bad was that the swelling was displacing my toenail, which now that the swelling has subsided, will be falling off any day now.
Monday, July 5, 2010
IST
In Service Training. For this we all went up to a little agricultural high school in the chaco about 40km outside of Asucion. We all (at least tried) to bring a contact from our communities to come with us and learn about farm management techniques. My contacts name was Juan de rosa Riveara, and we had a great time. Looks like I´m gonna be planting some abonos verdes (green manueres) with him come spring. Also I think we´re gonna get a plan going to grow some avena negra (black oats) for seed next year. It´s a good winter cow forage, and the government gave them seed for this year, won´t be giving them more seeds for next year, so we need to set up a sustanible system were people grow some for seed.
San Juan
San Juan is a holiday here and i think in other spanish speaking countries too. I don´t know why or what it is celebrating, but I do know what they do. In my commuity we drank much wine and soda, made chipa asasdor, kicked around flaming balls, and got chased by a flaming cow skull. (see pics) Great fun! Other things that are done around Paraguay for San Juan: walking on coals, kids trying to climb a greased pole (with goodies on top), burning an effigy of someone, sack races, ´´lick the skillet´´ (I have no idea), and I´m sure there are other games played as well
Fouth Party
Not to much to say here. There was a party at the embasy (actually on the 2nd, a friday). Mostly I just played Eucher. (a midwestern card game)
- Stuff I´ve seen chickens eat: Soap, Styrafoam
- Animals I¨ve seen: Rhea (Ñandu guasu) from a bus window, but still pretty cool and Apere´a, a tailless rodent that lives in the feilds, sorta like a guinea pig
- Rural sayings we use but don´t really understand that now I do: Pissing match. I watched two dogs pissing on the same spot one right after the other for like 5 minutes. One of them was growling the whole time and the other one would wipe his feet, like dogs are wont to do, right in the other one´s face, real slow like. It was clearly an insulting maneuver.
ALSO NEW PHOTOS ARE AVAIABLE AT http://s632.photobucket.com/home/stevenpy
(should I bother sorting these fotos into albums or not?)
In Service Training. For this we all went up to a little agricultural high school in the chaco about 40km outside of Asucion. We all (at least tried) to bring a contact from our communities to come with us and learn about farm management techniques. My contacts name was Juan de rosa Riveara, and we had a great time. Looks like I´m gonna be planting some abonos verdes (green manueres) with him come spring. Also I think we´re gonna get a plan going to grow some avena negra (black oats) for seed next year. It´s a good winter cow forage, and the government gave them seed for this year, won´t be giving them more seeds for next year, so we need to set up a sustanible system were people grow some for seed.
San Juan
San Juan is a holiday here and i think in other spanish speaking countries too. I don´t know why or what it is celebrating, but I do know what they do. In my commuity we drank much wine and soda, made chipa asasdor, kicked around flaming balls, and got chased by a flaming cow skull. (see pics) Great fun! Other things that are done around Paraguay for San Juan: walking on coals, kids trying to climb a greased pole (with goodies on top), burning an effigy of someone, sack races, ´´lick the skillet´´ (I have no idea), and I´m sure there are other games played as well
Fouth Party
Not to much to say here. There was a party at the embasy (actually on the 2nd, a friday). Mostly I just played Eucher. (a midwestern card game)
- Stuff I´ve seen chickens eat: Soap, Styrafoam
- Animals I¨ve seen: Rhea (Ñandu guasu) from a bus window, but still pretty cool and Apere´a, a tailless rodent that lives in the feilds, sorta like a guinea pig
- Rural sayings we use but don´t really understand that now I do: Pissing match. I watched two dogs pissing on the same spot one right after the other for like 5 minutes. One of them was growling the whole time and the other one would wipe his feet, like dogs are wont to do, right in the other one´s face, real slow like. It was clearly an insulting maneuver.
ALSO NEW PHOTOS ARE AVAIABLE AT http://s632.photobucket.com/home/stevenpy
(should I bother sorting these fotos into albums or not?)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Been a long time coming
Some things I´ve been up to the last long while...
Semana Santa: This is the weeklong catholic celebration of jesus´ dead. For Paraguayans this means lots of chipa and sopa. I guess for some there´s plenty of churchyness going on, but at my house we feel the religious movies, which play round the clock on TV during Semana Santa, do the job just fine.
Waterfalls: Went to a waterfall near La Colmina. There were about 15ish of us (PCVs) and we all pliled into the bed of an old truck and rode for about 30mins, untill we could go no further. Then we had to cross some man´s property which he charges 10,000 gs a head for (about 2 bucks). After that its a steep climb down to the ´river´ (large creek) and another 10 min to a very nice waterfall. You can jump off at about 10 feet (the whole waterfall´s probably like 30 - 40 feet) into a very deep pool at the base of the waterfall. Unfortuanlly it was a little late in the season when we were there, and the water was COLD. Afterwords some of us stayed in a Japanese hotel in La Colmina (a Japanese settlement) and had some delious Japanese food. I have some pics up from the waterfall.
Garden: Finally got my garden going. Gonna have me some tomatoes, cabbage, beets, chard, basil, cilantro, hot peppers, oregano, garlic, green onions, cucumbers and radishs. If everything works out.
Current fruits I´m eating off the trees: Oranges, Mandarins and Grapefruit. Its citrus season ya´ll!
Semana Santa: This is the weeklong catholic celebration of jesus´ dead. For Paraguayans this means lots of chipa and sopa. I guess for some there´s plenty of churchyness going on, but at my house we feel the religious movies, which play round the clock on TV during Semana Santa, do the job just fine.
Waterfalls: Went to a waterfall near La Colmina. There were about 15ish of us (PCVs) and we all pliled into the bed of an old truck and rode for about 30mins, untill we could go no further. Then we had to cross some man´s property which he charges 10,000 gs a head for (about 2 bucks). After that its a steep climb down to the ´river´ (large creek) and another 10 min to a very nice waterfall. You can jump off at about 10 feet (the whole waterfall´s probably like 30 - 40 feet) into a very deep pool at the base of the waterfall. Unfortuanlly it was a little late in the season when we were there, and the water was COLD. Afterwords some of us stayed in a Japanese hotel in La Colmina (a Japanese settlement) and had some delious Japanese food. I have some pics up from the waterfall.
Garden: Finally got my garden going. Gonna have me some tomatoes, cabbage, beets, chard, basil, cilantro, hot peppers, oregano, garlic, green onions, cucumbers and radishs. If everything works out.
Current fruits I´m eating off the trees: Oranges, Mandarins and Grapefruit. Its citrus season ya´ll!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
If you didn´t already know...
Just wanted to let ya´ll know the pope gave his shout out to Guarani during easter, and, if I´m not mistaken, it was 64th out of 65. IN YOUR FACE ESPERANTO! More pics to be coming soon...
Friday, March 19, 2010
How I´m Living
I´m offically moving into to technological age. Prepare for photos and some you-tube viedos to help give you a better idea of what my life is full of.
One of my favorite songs here, in fact, my first favorite song here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3L8t8z5O5Q&feature=related
Another song, this one with a real music video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0gGm7xl5n4&feature=related
Slow, but has people speaking Guarani. I would like to point out that at my site they speak about 2x or 3x faster. Or atleast it seems that way.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERKGyy2iD2w&feature=related
An advertisement, but shows off some nice terereing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uXByQsVzFo
And I´ve updated my photos.. only about 20 more, but its a start.
stevenpy at photobucket
-Enjoy
One of my favorite songs here, in fact, my first favorite song here...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3L8t8z5O5Q&feature=related
Another song, this one with a real music video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0gGm7xl5n4&feature=related
Slow, but has people speaking Guarani. I would like to point out that at my site they speak about 2x or 3x faster. Or atleast it seems that way.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERKGyy2iD2w&feature=related
An advertisement, but shows off some nice terereing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uXByQsVzFo
And I´ve updated my photos.. only about 20 more, but its a start.
stevenpy at photobucket
-Enjoy
Friday, February 12, 2010
Why is it that all the wild life I get to see is either dead or about to be?
The other day I was sitting around my house as usual when all the sudden we hear this chicken squawk, which is an all too frequent occurance, but this one´s diffrent somehow, more desperate, more like a last squawk. One of my host sisters gets up to go investigate, the sound coming from one of the overgrown gardens. Suddenly she´s screaming " Kuriju! Kuriju!" and everbody come running. My moms grabs a bamboo pole and we get the garden and I see a boa constrictor wrapped around a now dead chicken. Mom starts wacking it with the bamboo untill big sister arrives with the hoe and beat the poor thing to snake heaven. Biggest snake I´ve seen out in the wild, probably about 5 feet long and as thick as a mans forearm. I wish I´d gotten to see it eat the chicken rather than get is head flattened... repeatedly. They really don´t like snakes.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
not much new
Not much new to talk about. Right now I am in asuncion for to get a F1N1 flu shot. I guess maybe my biggest news is that I finally got ride a horse. And as a cherry on top I rode the horse to go look a baby goat. Very cute. The horse was fun, but a bit scary when reinaldo showed me how to gallop (which i only did for about 2 seconds before I got to freaked out). I got invited to pick watermelons the other day. That was fun. They have a wide varity of watermelon phenotypes here. They other day I ate one with yellow flesh, and there were plenty in the feild with yellow skin. My buddy even said he had one that had yellow and red/pink flesh kinda like a flame. Other than that it is just slow going trying to learn guarani.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
My New Life
Ok, well now that i´m starting to settle into my site, let me tell you all about it. The host family i´m currently living with consistes of a mother and father with at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. One of the sons is studying something in Pilar so I´m living in his old room. The other son helps out dad in the feilds. The oldest daughter is married and has 3 daughters of her own (all very cute, aged from 7ish to 3 i think), and the other 2 daughters are about 9ish and 13ish. The mom runs a little tienda selling mostly beer and wine (with cola of course) to the people who come over to hang out or play volleyball. So theres allways alot of hustle and bustle going on.
Mostly my days consist of sitting around and trying as hard as I can to understand the converstaions going on around me. I can usually pick out about 1 word a sentence. This lasts about 5 min untill im mentally exsausted and my mind starts wondering. I try studing on my own, and i´m getting pretty good at reading guarani, but listening is a whole ´nother bag. Most days I go with my sister and her husband to milk cows in the afternoon. Now this is something i´ve made noticable gains in. There´s this one cow, who I can almost milk at professional level. Thats about it. I wash my clothes every couple days.
I did get to go to the fields to harvest some corn the other day. That was fun. We had to canoe thru the swamp to get to the feilds. and I saw some howler monkeys when we were in the field. Also I ate alligator the other day. My dad and another guy showed up with this 4 foot gator, whose skull had been bashed in by an axe and they butchered it and we had ´gator asado. Not bad.
-till next time
Mostly my days consist of sitting around and trying as hard as I can to understand the converstaions going on around me. I can usually pick out about 1 word a sentence. This lasts about 5 min untill im mentally exsausted and my mind starts wondering. I try studing on my own, and i´m getting pretty good at reading guarani, but listening is a whole ´nother bag. Most days I go with my sister and her husband to milk cows in the afternoon. Now this is something i´ve made noticable gains in. There´s this one cow, who I can almost milk at professional level. Thats about it. I wash my clothes every couple days.
I did get to go to the fields to harvest some corn the other day. That was fun. We had to canoe thru the swamp to get to the feilds. and I saw some howler monkeys when we were in the field. Also I ate alligator the other day. My dad and another guy showed up with this 4 foot gator, whose skull had been bashed in by an axe and they butchered it and we had ´gator asado. Not bad.
-till next time
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Just saying Hi
Sorry don´t have much time right now gotta go catch my bus back home. Everything is going super.
Also this is now a superior address
Steven Abernathy
CC 27
Pilar, Paraguay 2800
South America
I´ll be back here soon and give a real update i swear
Also this is now a superior address
Steven Abernathy
CC 27
Pilar, Paraguay 2800
South America
I´ll be back here soon and give a real update i swear
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