Greetings once again from campo Paraguay, hope you brought a shady hat.
This week marked a significant moment in my time here. I’ve been in country over a year, but this is exactly one year since I first visited what is now my home – Libertad del Sur. To mark the occasion I received a new trainee, Mateo, for a visit for a few days. It was an opportunity for him to see what I’m doing and generally what it’s like to be a volunteer in a very weird situation. I suppose it was also an opportunity for me to look at it through fresh eyes as well.
He’d been in the country for only two weeks and is still getting acquainted with the language, food, customs and all of that so I was a bit concerned how he’d react to the remoteness of it all – particularly after his overnight long travels with no sleep… As he pulled up to the corner in the bus at 4 o’clock in the middle of the recently harvested wheatfields I had a flashback to when I was in that exact same spot one year ago. I remember my first impression being the sight of what looked like a 12 year old driving a huge several ton tractor in the opposite direction on a very narrow road skimming by our bus. Strange to be on the other side of those first impressions, it doesn’t seem like it’s been that long at all.
It was fun and encouraging to see how my translation skills are working out for a couple of days, and I realized how much I’ve learned since I first started trying to pronounce crazy words like ñembyahyi. He got to see a couple of the projects I’ve been working with; the garden at the school and my backyard, a couple of the viveros, shampoo and detergent making, and even got to take a trip to the local swimmin hole at PROCOSARA – the NGO working on reforestation as well as many other issues in the area. We ate well and he got to see how I stay sane with cooking and stupid songs about chipa on my guitar.
Good luck saw to it that his parting view was one of my favorites – a nearly full moon setting in an orange glow over the rolling hills under the star filled sky so bright you don’t need any flashlights to see the road. Of course, this also takes place at 3:30 in the morning after an hour walk to the bus, but it is pleasant in its special way. I know this is one of the scenes I will look back on fondly 10 years from now. As the bus pulled away with my visiting volunteer leaving me in it’s exhaust and dust I started my walk back to my house in the now moonless darker sky and I’m anxious for the dawn though enjoying the shooting stars lighting up the sky all around. I started thinking about the next year and all the goals I still want to accomplish; a world map in the school, making shelves for the school library, upgrading the school garden, plant a lot of trees and figure out what the hell I’m going to do for my master’s research! Despite the discomfort in my stomach from lack of sleep and want for more coffee, I felt energized by my walk home. While watching the first rays of light come from the east I passed one of the small woodlots with tung trees and heard the first noise of the morning – several birds chirping in the trees. There’s not enough of that here. I noticed it the rest of my walk home that there were no other spots with multiple birds nesting, the only other noises I heard were the polka music on the radio emanating from the smoky kitchens at 5 am whose residents were heating up water for the morning mate’. Finally I heard more when I returned to my house, surrounded by trees. It reminded me of all the questions the volunteers had about the deforestation and what’s left, and the status of the reserve area nearby. A former subtropical semi-deciduous rainforest now covered in recently harvested wheat and soon to be planted soy where no birds sing.
After a nap I got back to work on reapplying for a grant that will provide yerba mate trees to the community to be planted with native trees and finished that today. It could potential utilize a total of 44 hectares in agroforestry systems that will help contribute to the regional goals of environmental awareness, education, and sustainable agriculture conducive to reestablishment of biological corridors. All this will benefit the community through income generation. Or so I hope, and yes I’ve spent a fair amount of time overthinking how to explain the project over the past few days…
It’s hard to say what all will come of my time here. With now 14 months left I am wondering if I’ll be able to say that I helped to impact a change? Or will I just have a lot of stories about climbing down my well and insane quantities of beef being served at wedding fiesta hapes highlighted by celebratory pistol shots in the air? Good times to come either way…
Cheers to making arbitrary anniversary dates count for something in your life, it can take a turn at any moment so make the most of it while you got it.
As for other news:
-Yes I still have water in my well, three weeks and going strong.
- Pigs have grown large enough so that the neighbor now keeps them in the pen all the time to fatten them up. This has resulted in no pigs in my garden. Dogs however, have proved more difficult to keep out of the abonera.
- Mora berry season has come and gone, they were tasty while they lasted. I still have a big frozen bag though, and here come the peaches!
- whatever the most recent ongoing stomach issue you remember me mentioning is subsiding for the time being and I have more energy again now, thank you.
- Christine O’Donnell looks like she’d make a great Senator – thank you cnn.com in the campo

Hope you’re doing well as well
Brian

The mora berries

My back yard at 11:30 pm


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