A Week in Para(dise)guay,

Being that it is summer time down here, and just about everyone is taking vacations and time off of work, I decided to use some of my vacation time to head north to Paraguay to visit my friend Jessica/Busta Blatt who is currently working there as a Peace Corps volunteer. Although traveling can be a lot of work sometimes, this particular trip was extremely refreshing and comforting because it is the first time in 5 months since I have seen anyone I know from home. It was really great to be able to share stories and reflect with someone who is having a similar cultural/volunteer exchange experience as me. It is also just nice to be around someone who really knows you.
I flew into the international airport in Asuncion where Jessica was there to greet me as I walked off the plane. We made our way into the city center to a nice air conditioned hotel where we spent the evening catching up and telling stories and sharing bits and pieces of our experiences with each other. Throughout the week Jessica took me to a couple of different places in Paraguay, first was a small town called Guarambare where she spent the first three months of her peace corps training. I got to meet her host family and Brenda, one of her good friends from the program. We were welcomed in with open arms to their home and I had the chance to drink my first terere, or cold mate, Paraguayan style as well as eat some traditional foods like sopa (a corn meal/cheese bread like dish) and of course a Paraguayan asado (bbq). This is also where I had my first real encounter with the native language Guarani. Although pretty much everyone in Paraguay can speak spanish, the majority of people also speak the native language. It is pretty incredible that the language has survived and is still such a fundamental piece of the Paraguayan culture. My spanish is getting pretty good and I am fairly confident in my ability to navigate within the small, spanish speaking country of Uruguay, but this Guarani threw me for a loop. The majority of the people actually speak what they call Jopala, or a mixture of Spanish and Guarani, which obviously makes my ability to understand and follow conversations much more difficult. One word in Guarani that I learned while I was there that I won't forget is Shivivi, which means diarrhea. I think it has something to do with the week following my trip to paraguay...
Anyway, after meeting and spending a day with Jessica's first host family, we went South to Ayolas, which is practically on the border between Argentina and Paraguay, to Jessica's official placement site for the next two years. We spent some time with another host family of hers and we also explored the city, hung out with other peace corps volunteers, made mexican food (to spice up our lives a bit... spicy food doesn't really exist here), played some Paraguayan style volleyball, went for walks, took pictures, toured the dam, took a ride in the fire truck, drank terere, and just enjoyed each other's company.
We spent the last two days back in the country's capital, Asuncion, where I had the opportunity to meet a good amount of her other volunteer friends in the program. We went out to eat, walked around the giant Paraguayan open market, and even went to the movies. For me, one of the most valuable parts of my visit is being able to meet the people that she will be working and living with for the next year, as well as get an idea of what the places look, smell, taste, and feel like. Even though I am also living in South America, each country is distinct. There are different traditions, people, foods, and cultures. Now when Jessica writes in her blog and tells me stories, I have a way easier time relating to what she is sharing with me because I had a brief glance into her life during the week that I was with her.
It was truly a blessing to be able to share a week together during our time of service. I only hope that we will meet again soon; only this time in Uruguay!