oh yeah... i forgot. the day after we swore in we made the nations largest newspaper, ABC Color. check out the link for the article, in spanish. note... los hombres are sporting mustaches and other wonderful asortments of manly facial hair. enjoy.
http://www.abc.com.py/2008-12-06/articulos/476047/nuevos-voluntarios-en-el-cuerpo-de-paz
Friday, December 26, 2008
hola... and Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Peace to you and yours.
so ive just had the strangest christmas that ive ever experienced. first of all its hot. really hot. and i had no idea what was going on. christmas eve came by and i sat around for most of the day. then i figured out that the big celebration is a christmas eve dinner (traditionally held at midnight, but we ate at around 10). so we had a bunch of overly salted meat, mandio, chipa guasu and potato salad. it was a pretty good meal, but not like i´m used to. not like home.
things just didnt seem right. being here where i had no idea what was happening, not really feeling part of the family or the community. but christmas is over, and it wasnt that bad. my friend doug and i both traveled to a third volunteers site yesterday (christmas) and stayed the evening with him, and had another dinner with the host familiy that he lived with for the first 4 months when he was in country. then we woke up at 4 o´clock this morning in order to catch a bus into one of the closer larger towns where we are meeting up with 2 other volunteers to spend some time hanging out, bank, lunch, maybe buy a few things... i´m in need of a fan.
anyway, so we´ve been in site for just over 2 weeks, and overall things are going well. tranquillopa. basically everyone i´ve met in my new community has been more than willing to offer me a seat in their terere circle and offer food, beer, and conversation. i´m at the point where i´m ready to move on to living with another family, all i need to do is ask one of the other families in the community if i can stay with them for a few weeks, which i´m assuming wont be much of a problem. i´m looking foward to continuing to meet the people in my community and also to begin working with them. i havent been doing much ´work´for the first 2 weeks, and i´m anxious to get out and work with the farmers out in their fields. another reason i would like to move with another family, bc the host father im staying with now has a tractor, and hasnt done much manual labor out in the fields, and i dont feel like im getting an accurate representation of what kind of work people in my community are doing.
still looking into my housing options. we´ll see how this works out, but right now there are 2 possible casitas that i could rent, i just need to do some more work communicating my interest in renting one of them and talking with the people who own them.
i´m sure there is much more that i´m leaving out (like everything that ive been experiencing-feeling-thinking-doing-learning-speaking-drinking-eating...) which is basically my life for the first 2 and 1-2 weeks in my new home. but i dont know how to put them into words. what do i say to explain it... and whatever i say will most likely have little meaning. little context. little understanding because i dont understand what is happening myself. when you understand 10 percent of the words being spoken to you, you tend to be lost.. trying to follow along, but eventually you stop trying, resort back to thinking ´what the hell is going on´(inglespe). its hard. but its also very rewarding and wonderful when you meet those people who are willing to sit and speak with you, trying to help you learn and understand them. offering you food. sipping the wonderfully cold terere on a day that is hakuterei. so once again, ups and downs, strikes and gutters.
it is nice to speak with the friends i have made, ambue volunteriokuera, who are going through similar experiences. even when you think youre the only one whos going through it, you realize that your not, becasue there are 29 other people having the same struggles, same hardships, same joys and difficulites and feelings and emotions. wonderful people really.
The man arises from unsatisfaction
The little ones having gotten the best of him
When the sun decided enough was enough.
He doesn´t understand much these days,
These long and lonely days
He sits. Listens. Hears the words
Yet the meaning excapes him. It tires him.
He planted a tree in the rind of a pineapple
To pass the time.
Waiting to see if his life will spring up
Or rot in this very same earth.
Outside the mango tree is swollen with its passion.
One by one they drop, like the dreams of children.
The red dust can blind you. It disperses in the air
With each passing moto, each shoeless child
Who runs up the street to buy more cana
Sends it flying. To blind someone. Maybe themselves.
The world can be a very lonely place,
As the trees know. He takes comfort in them.
Knowing that even the lonliest tree is holding on,
Tightly to others, unseen, but grasping.
The old senoras sweep the same dust.
What are they sweeping if not memories.
Gathering them in this sand that has been their life´s work,
Has kept them occupied, and shown them that
Even as the dust is swept away, their memories remain.
They linger here, for all to see.
And the man, he only now is just beginning to see
That it wasn´t the sand after all.
much peace and love
kth
so ive just had the strangest christmas that ive ever experienced. first of all its hot. really hot. and i had no idea what was going on. christmas eve came by and i sat around for most of the day. then i figured out that the big celebration is a christmas eve dinner (traditionally held at midnight, but we ate at around 10). so we had a bunch of overly salted meat, mandio, chipa guasu and potato salad. it was a pretty good meal, but not like i´m used to. not like home.
things just didnt seem right. being here where i had no idea what was happening, not really feeling part of the family or the community. but christmas is over, and it wasnt that bad. my friend doug and i both traveled to a third volunteers site yesterday (christmas) and stayed the evening with him, and had another dinner with the host familiy that he lived with for the first 4 months when he was in country. then we woke up at 4 o´clock this morning in order to catch a bus into one of the closer larger towns where we are meeting up with 2 other volunteers to spend some time hanging out, bank, lunch, maybe buy a few things... i´m in need of a fan.
anyway, so we´ve been in site for just over 2 weeks, and overall things are going well. tranquillopa. basically everyone i´ve met in my new community has been more than willing to offer me a seat in their terere circle and offer food, beer, and conversation. i´m at the point where i´m ready to move on to living with another family, all i need to do is ask one of the other families in the community if i can stay with them for a few weeks, which i´m assuming wont be much of a problem. i´m looking foward to continuing to meet the people in my community and also to begin working with them. i havent been doing much ´work´for the first 2 weeks, and i´m anxious to get out and work with the farmers out in their fields. another reason i would like to move with another family, bc the host father im staying with now has a tractor, and hasnt done much manual labor out in the fields, and i dont feel like im getting an accurate representation of what kind of work people in my community are doing.
still looking into my housing options. we´ll see how this works out, but right now there are 2 possible casitas that i could rent, i just need to do some more work communicating my interest in renting one of them and talking with the people who own them.
i´m sure there is much more that i´m leaving out (like everything that ive been experiencing-feeling-thinking-doing-learning-speaking-drinking-eating...) which is basically my life for the first 2 and 1-2 weeks in my new home. but i dont know how to put them into words. what do i say to explain it... and whatever i say will most likely have little meaning. little context. little understanding because i dont understand what is happening myself. when you understand 10 percent of the words being spoken to you, you tend to be lost.. trying to follow along, but eventually you stop trying, resort back to thinking ´what the hell is going on´(inglespe). its hard. but its also very rewarding and wonderful when you meet those people who are willing to sit and speak with you, trying to help you learn and understand them. offering you food. sipping the wonderfully cold terere on a day that is hakuterei. so once again, ups and downs, strikes and gutters.
it is nice to speak with the friends i have made, ambue volunteriokuera, who are going through similar experiences. even when you think youre the only one whos going through it, you realize that your not, becasue there are 29 other people having the same struggles, same hardships, same joys and difficulites and feelings and emotions. wonderful people really.
The man arises from unsatisfaction
The little ones having gotten the best of him
When the sun decided enough was enough.
He doesn´t understand much these days,
These long and lonely days
He sits. Listens. Hears the words
Yet the meaning excapes him. It tires him.
He planted a tree in the rind of a pineapple
To pass the time.
Waiting to see if his life will spring up
Or rot in this very same earth.
Outside the mango tree is swollen with its passion.
One by one they drop, like the dreams of children.
The red dust can blind you. It disperses in the air
With each passing moto, each shoeless child
Who runs up the street to buy more cana
Sends it flying. To blind someone. Maybe themselves.
The world can be a very lonely place,
As the trees know. He takes comfort in them.
Knowing that even the lonliest tree is holding on,
Tightly to others, unseen, but grasping.
The old senoras sweep the same dust.
What are they sweeping if not memories.
Gathering them in this sand that has been their life´s work,
Has kept them occupied, and shown them that
Even as the dust is swept away, their memories remain.
They linger here, for all to see.
And the man, he only now is just beginning to see
That it wasn´t the sand after all.
much peace and love
kth
Monday, December 8, 2008
pcv
so its offical. we swore in at the embassy on friday. been hanging out in asuncion for the past few days, and tomorrow i'll be heading out to my new home for the next 2 years. a little nervous, excited, dont know what in the world is going to happen in the coming months.
i lost my camera. so that sucks. maybe it will show up somehow someway. but doubtful. so i wont have any photos to of my first 3 months in paraguay (or after that unless i get a new one). but i'm sure i'll be able to get pictures from other volunteers. the wonders of the internet.
thats all i have for now. hope all is going well.
chao chao
k
i lost my camera. so that sucks. maybe it will show up somehow someway. but doubtful. so i wont have any photos to of my first 3 months in paraguay (or after that unless i get a new one). but i'm sure i'll be able to get pictures from other volunteers. the wonders of the internet.
thats all i have for now. hope all is going well.
chao chao
k
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
strikes and gutters, ups and downs
strikes and gutters dude, ups and downs. the dude was right.. thats what its all about. high highs, low lows. and everygoshdarnthiniginbetween. woke up friday morning... drinking mate with my new family that i had only just met, and the grandfather comes out of the house carrying a pig by the hind legs. he tells me to come over (at least thats what i think he said) so i get up and come over, hold the legs, and he does the deed. castration. butter knife. the pig seemed fine afterwards. i didnt really know what to do.say.think.
just returning from my future site visit... 5 days in the place that will be my new home. i´m in the middle of the country, probably half way between asuncion and ciudad del este (that probably doesnt mean anything to almost everybody). in the hills of paraguay. topography! i have a beautiful view of the sunset out the back of my future house, a little brick one room, tin roofed house. with an unfinished michi room on the one side, and in the back there is a ´kitchen´that has coco tree walls and a grass roof. i want to take the grass roof off and make a porch on the one side of the house. shade. beautiful view. i also have plans for a nice big garden and a demo plot (for abonos verdes (green manures) and i want to plant them in curves becasue there is a little slope). we´ll see how it happens... i have a lot of time to work on the place, cause we have to live with families for the first 3 months in site.
strike... walking to the new plaza (park) and swinging with all the kids in the community. gutter... getting the chive and feeling like shit for half the time. strikes and gutters. spares too.
language. its still really hard. not understanding anything when there are a group of natives speaking around you and only understanding about half (if that)of what is being said when it is being directed at you. but its coming. you know it is. it has to, doesnt it? beacuse if it doesnt, then what can you hope to do? doesnt the body, the mind have to adapt?
a lot time times it doesnt feel like it.
but i think it is... everyone tells me it does, it will... so i guess i have to put trust in that.... what else is there to do?
strike. eating the most amazaing-godsent-golden-pearl of a mango. strike. playing fútbol with my host brothers last night. strike. stars. beautiful skys. the most beautiful stars ive ever seen. gutter. not knowing anything thats going on... not understanding what people are talking about... thinking, do i even exist here?
2 more weeks of training.. then its time for the move. new home. new life.
día de gracias este jueves. hope everyone has a great time.
peace and love to all those who come across... love you guys
What are you throwing? strikes. gutters. do you even bowl?
keith
just returning from my future site visit... 5 days in the place that will be my new home. i´m in the middle of the country, probably half way between asuncion and ciudad del este (that probably doesnt mean anything to almost everybody). in the hills of paraguay. topography! i have a beautiful view of the sunset out the back of my future house, a little brick one room, tin roofed house. with an unfinished michi room on the one side, and in the back there is a ´kitchen´that has coco tree walls and a grass roof. i want to take the grass roof off and make a porch on the one side of the house. shade. beautiful view. i also have plans for a nice big garden and a demo plot (for abonos verdes (green manures) and i want to plant them in curves becasue there is a little slope). we´ll see how it happens... i have a lot of time to work on the place, cause we have to live with families for the first 3 months in site.
strike... walking to the new plaza (park) and swinging with all the kids in the community. gutter... getting the chive and feeling like shit for half the time. strikes and gutters. spares too.
language. its still really hard. not understanding anything when there are a group of natives speaking around you and only understanding about half (if that)of what is being said when it is being directed at you. but its coming. you know it is. it has to, doesnt it? beacuse if it doesnt, then what can you hope to do? doesnt the body, the mind have to adapt?
a lot time times it doesnt feel like it.
but i think it is... everyone tells me it does, it will... so i guess i have to put trust in that.... what else is there to do?
strike. eating the most amazaing-godsent-golden-pearl of a mango. strike. playing fútbol with my host brothers last night. strike. stars. beautiful skys. the most beautiful stars ive ever seen. gutter. not knowing anything thats going on... not understanding what people are talking about... thinking, do i even exist here?
2 more weeks of training.. then its time for the move. new home. new life.
día de gracias este jueves. hope everyone has a great time.
peace and love to all those who come across... love you guys
What are you throwing? strikes. gutters. do you even bowl?
keith
Sunday, November 16, 2008
ndaikuaai
ndaikuaai... no se... i dont know
sometimes, when the sun sets on this beautiful world, you find yourself wondering what it is that brought you here, all the little things that fell into place and all the things the fell out of place, and you cant help but smile. good wood. cuts that have been made, choices that were chosen, things not done. all have their place. and we go on. keeping on with the life that we´ve made, the life that´s been made... and smiling is what natually occurs, because you know, deep down and on the surface, that to smile is to live. living, we smile. smiling, we live. the smile of a child that youve come to love. how that can make everything youre thinking and doing come to an abrupt stop, becasue the purity and the innocence are so very real... steeped in love. it is as if your whole body is overcome by the warmness of that breeze you long to feel on your skin, tickling each and every hair, making you feel so very alive. ha nde repensa, ko ha´e vida, ko ha´e amor, ko ha´e la mundo. and you think, this is life, this is love, this is the world. trusting, worlds can seem so intermingled, so immersed, that all you can do, because your body will do no other, is smile. there can be no other option presented because there simply are no other options. obeying the law that your body has accepted, you trust. we were born into bodies and into laws... some we break, some we bend, some we simply disregard beause for us they have no meaning. and some we obey, because being bodies, we must.
ko wednesday we find out were we´re going to be living for the next two years, and then the next day we travel to that very place to spend a few days. its a pretty intense time right now. so many things going on, i have to give a charla on tuesday in guaraní. we´re all pretty excited about the prospect of finding out our site, and at the same time its like ´dios mío man´we´re gonna be out on our freakin own in like dos semanas. crazy times.
we just got back on thursday from our ´long field practice´or a 5 day excursion to the site of a current volunteer. i have this weird feeling of ikatu vertigo right now... strangeness. i was sick for the first 2 days of the long field, so that blew. but then i took some meds and now i feel iporaterei. the community that we went to was beautiful... set in the mountains (or large hills) of paraguay. worked some language, worked some bees, planted some curves de nivel in the kokue of a farmer, worked with a farmers comite in their community garden and gave a charla on venenos caseros... overall it was a good time.
vertigo.trust.smile.obey.shatter.
peace
k
sometimes, when the sun sets on this beautiful world, you find yourself wondering what it is that brought you here, all the little things that fell into place and all the things the fell out of place, and you cant help but smile. good wood. cuts that have been made, choices that were chosen, things not done. all have their place. and we go on. keeping on with the life that we´ve made, the life that´s been made... and smiling is what natually occurs, because you know, deep down and on the surface, that to smile is to live. living, we smile. smiling, we live. the smile of a child that youve come to love. how that can make everything youre thinking and doing come to an abrupt stop, becasue the purity and the innocence are so very real... steeped in love. it is as if your whole body is overcome by the warmness of that breeze you long to feel on your skin, tickling each and every hair, making you feel so very alive. ha nde repensa, ko ha´e vida, ko ha´e amor, ko ha´e la mundo. and you think, this is life, this is love, this is the world. trusting, worlds can seem so intermingled, so immersed, that all you can do, because your body will do no other, is smile. there can be no other option presented because there simply are no other options. obeying the law that your body has accepted, you trust. we were born into bodies and into laws... some we break, some we bend, some we simply disregard beause for us they have no meaning. and some we obey, because being bodies, we must.
ko wednesday we find out were we´re going to be living for the next two years, and then the next day we travel to that very place to spend a few days. its a pretty intense time right now. so many things going on, i have to give a charla on tuesday in guaraní. we´re all pretty excited about the prospect of finding out our site, and at the same time its like ´dios mío man´we´re gonna be out on our freakin own in like dos semanas. crazy times.
we just got back on thursday from our ´long field practice´or a 5 day excursion to the site of a current volunteer. i have this weird feeling of ikatu vertigo right now... strangeness. i was sick for the first 2 days of the long field, so that blew. but then i took some meds and now i feel iporaterei. the community that we went to was beautiful... set in the mountains (or large hills) of paraguay. worked some language, worked some bees, planted some curves de nivel in the kokue of a farmer, worked with a farmers comite in their community garden and gave a charla on venenos caseros... overall it was a good time.
vertigo.trust.smile.obey.shatter.
peace
k
Monday, November 3, 2008
so i´ve been pretty lax on updating my blog... mostly its been becasue when i come into town and get on the internet i end up not feeling like writing anything... but i guess today is a bit different (although i still dont really feel like it, i´m going to write anyway). so i think this is offically our 6th week in paraguay, and overall things are going pretty darn well. training has its ups and downs, and there have been a few days where i felt like shit, but for the most part i´m doing good. the downs for me usually come with something related with the language, becasue learning a new language is really freaking hard. i´ve got a new respect for people who do attept to learn a new language, and being the person that nobody understands and that gets laughed at for their horrific pronunciation has definatley made me so much more aware of how difficult of a process it is.
we went on our ´technical overnight´last weekend, and we got to see a part of paraguay that has mountains! which we were all super excited about. it was such a beautiful part of the country... i am left wondering if that is where i´m going to be living for the next two years, becasue we think that one of us is going to be a follow up volunteer at that site... we´ll find out where our sites are going to be in about 2 weeks.
man i really dont fell like writing much on this blog... part of it i think is that i´ve already been at the internet cafe for 2 hours and i kinda feel like going home. its already past 8 oclock and i´ve got to get a bus back to my town then walk about a half hour to my house. and i´m really hungry. ive been eating way more meat that i would like (which is none in case you were wondering) but over the past few days its been even more because there was a celebration for my little brothers first communion, and we had a good bit of meat after that. also sundays are a day for hanging out with family, relaxing, and having a good time... so my family cooked a big meal on sunday and i had meat... then more meat from the leftovers. it hasnt really bothered me that much until now.. but i´m kinda getting sick of it. i just want to eat some good veggies. or just less meat. anyway.
today was the first time i explored this little town that we come to to use the internet... and its bigger than i thought. apparently there is a lake here with little allegators living in it... so i´m gonna have to go check that out sometime soon.
the election is tomorrow... and we´re all rooting for obama to win. i dont think i know anyone in the peace corps who is hoping that mccain wins. interesting huh??
okay... im tired and i need to go home and eat and work on some guarani homework... peace to all you folks who are reading this...i hope yourre all enjoying life!!!
take care
jajotopata
k
we went on our ´technical overnight´last weekend, and we got to see a part of paraguay that has mountains! which we were all super excited about. it was such a beautiful part of the country... i am left wondering if that is where i´m going to be living for the next two years, becasue we think that one of us is going to be a follow up volunteer at that site... we´ll find out where our sites are going to be in about 2 weeks.
man i really dont fell like writing much on this blog... part of it i think is that i´ve already been at the internet cafe for 2 hours and i kinda feel like going home. its already past 8 oclock and i´ve got to get a bus back to my town then walk about a half hour to my house. and i´m really hungry. ive been eating way more meat that i would like (which is none in case you were wondering) but over the past few days its been even more because there was a celebration for my little brothers first communion, and we had a good bit of meat after that. also sundays are a day for hanging out with family, relaxing, and having a good time... so my family cooked a big meal on sunday and i had meat... then more meat from the leftovers. it hasnt really bothered me that much until now.. but i´m kinda getting sick of it. i just want to eat some good veggies. or just less meat. anyway.
today was the first time i explored this little town that we come to to use the internet... and its bigger than i thought. apparently there is a lake here with little allegators living in it... so i´m gonna have to go check that out sometime soon.
the election is tomorrow... and we´re all rooting for obama to win. i dont think i know anyone in the peace corps who is hoping that mccain wins. interesting huh??
okay... im tired and i need to go home and eat and work on some guarani homework... peace to all you folks who are reading this...i hope yourre all enjoying life!!!
take care
jajotopata
k
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
well here i am
why hello to those who might come across this blog. i´ve now been in paraguay for about 2 1/2 weeks, and this is really the first time i have had to write. so where do i begin... i just got back from a visit with a current volunteer, which was really interesting. basically the idea was for us to get a look at what some current volunteers are doing, how they live in the campo, what life is like.. that sort of thing. her house was pretty sweet. a one room wooded house with a grass roof that was built by the first volunteer who stayed at that site maybe 5 or 6 yars ago... unfortunatly (or maybe it is a good thing) peace corps paraguay has stopped placing volunteers at sites that do not have housing, so i wont have to bulid my own house... but we´ll see what my site looks like in a few months and perhaps i´ll be able to do some renovations, garden building, composting, composting toilet perhaps.... we all have these ideas and then the question is will we actually do them... time will tell.
so the trip was good. my language is still very basic. i am in the process (a long one) of learning guarani (and spanish) but for the most part its guarani. Mba´eichapa. cherera keith. aiko paraguaipe. (how are you? my name is keith. i live in paraguay)
the food here is okay. i´m eating meat simply because 1) i lack communication skills to adaquetly communicate my desires and 2) most people, or families i should say, eat a good bit of meat, and it has made it easier to fit in. its nice to know that when i have my own place i´ll be albe to cook what i want most of the time... there is a lot of fruit here, and december is going to be awesome... piña, mango, naranja, mandarine, pomello.. its going to be delicious
my beard is gone. and i may or may not look 12, not sure. its not too bad, but i´ll definitly be growing it out in a few months times ( i hope) when i get out to my site (which i have no clue where it will be)
i went into asuncion for the first time last week, which was an interesting experience. i got to see some of the government buildings and some of the downtown area (i think... not too sure because i really had no idea where i was). the city is right on the rio paraguay and these government buildings are right along the river... but right behind the buildings (directly next to the river) are some neigborhoods of slums... it was really interesting to see the stark contrast between these two areas.
so paraguay is a hotbed for religous missionaries. the country is over 90% catholic, but there is a huge influence of mormons, jehovahs witnesses, and other demoninations that are trying to convert people to their religion. i constantly have this question in my mind (and i must preface this by saying that i couldnt possibly know what is going on in other peoples minds, and that my perspective is what i would call heavily infused with north american ideas and preferences)... the question is why do so many people convert to religions that are the religions of people who have been their very own opressors. i cant answer it, but it is constantly on my mind...
i´m in the process of making a didjeridoo out of bamboo. i just have to add a mouthpiece of beeswax (that i bought in asuncion) and i should be good to go.
its also pretty fricken hot here, but nothing like its going to be in a few months. its the beginning of spring so its going to be really hot in november, december, january, february... summer here on the otherside of the world.
oh yeah, one last thing. i feel compelled to mention sports, just because its fitting... there my be some people out there reading this that will understand... i checked espn when i got to the internet cafe and saw that the phllies are one game away from the world series, and that penn state is number 3 in the country. everyone says it, and i know it has nothing whatsoever to do with me (how selfabsorbed could we be to think that it has anything to do with me). i wasnt really surprised to find it out... next time i check it might be the world seris and penn state will have played michigan (will they finally win??) and perhaps ohio state. anyway... just ramblings now.
i´m out.
k
so the trip was good. my language is still very basic. i am in the process (a long one) of learning guarani (and spanish) but for the most part its guarani. Mba´eichapa. cherera keith. aiko paraguaipe. (how are you? my name is keith. i live in paraguay)
the food here is okay. i´m eating meat simply because 1) i lack communication skills to adaquetly communicate my desires and 2) most people, or families i should say, eat a good bit of meat, and it has made it easier to fit in. its nice to know that when i have my own place i´ll be albe to cook what i want most of the time... there is a lot of fruit here, and december is going to be awesome... piña, mango, naranja, mandarine, pomello.. its going to be delicious
my beard is gone. and i may or may not look 12, not sure. its not too bad, but i´ll definitly be growing it out in a few months times ( i hope) when i get out to my site (which i have no clue where it will be)
i went into asuncion for the first time last week, which was an interesting experience. i got to see some of the government buildings and some of the downtown area (i think... not too sure because i really had no idea where i was). the city is right on the rio paraguay and these government buildings are right along the river... but right behind the buildings (directly next to the river) are some neigborhoods of slums... it was really interesting to see the stark contrast between these two areas.
so paraguay is a hotbed for religous missionaries. the country is over 90% catholic, but there is a huge influence of mormons, jehovahs witnesses, and other demoninations that are trying to convert people to their religion. i constantly have this question in my mind (and i must preface this by saying that i couldnt possibly know what is going on in other peoples minds, and that my perspective is what i would call heavily infused with north american ideas and preferences)... the question is why do so many people convert to religions that are the religions of people who have been their very own opressors. i cant answer it, but it is constantly on my mind...
i´m in the process of making a didjeridoo out of bamboo. i just have to add a mouthpiece of beeswax (that i bought in asuncion) and i should be good to go.
its also pretty fricken hot here, but nothing like its going to be in a few months. its the beginning of spring so its going to be really hot in november, december, january, february... summer here on the otherside of the world.
oh yeah, one last thing. i feel compelled to mention sports, just because its fitting... there my be some people out there reading this that will understand... i checked espn when i got to the internet cafe and saw that the phllies are one game away from the world series, and that penn state is number 3 in the country. everyone says it, and i know it has nothing whatsoever to do with me (how selfabsorbed could we be to think that it has anything to do with me). i wasnt really surprised to find it out... next time i check it might be the world seris and penn state will have played michigan (will they finally win??) and perhaps ohio state. anyway... just ramblings now.
i´m out.
k
Monday, September 22, 2008
a few hours
this will be the last post i make while in PA (and perhaps in the united states)... heading down to miami in the morning for our ~2 days of orientation. then we head down to paraguay via one stop in sao paolo, brazil.
what am i feeling? i would think that a whole range of emotions would be flooding me right now, but to tell you the truth there is a certain emptiness... a stagnant dull uneasiness that is residing for the most part in my stomach.
what am i feeling? i would think that a whole range of emotions would be flooding me right now, but to tell you the truth there is a certain emptiness... a stagnant dull uneasiness that is residing for the most part in my stomach.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
address
here is the address that I will be at (or recieving mailings at) for the first 3 months of training.
“My Name,” PCT (for trainee) (if you dont know who i am... who are you?)
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. López
Asunción 1580, Paraguay
South America
and a quick link to a bbc news report on the bees in italy... if you're interested
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7613786.stm
Peace!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
1 week
Hey all... this will be my little space on this crazy cyberworld for the next few years while I'm down in Paraguay working as a Peace Corps Volunteer. It's about a week before I head out to my staging event... 10 days before leaving for Paraguay. Just left State College yesterday, and I must say that I'm going to miss that place... it had truly become my home over the last 2 years. And missing autumn in Central PA is a bummer, but have no fear, I'll be heading down to a nice Paraguayan spring (we'll be tilted towards the sun!) while everyone back here is enjoying the beauty of the leaves changing, falling, crunching underneath feet. I've never really been as in tune with the changing of the seasons as I'm experiencing lately... I think part of it was working at Tait farm... being completely at the mercy of the weather... I expect that the work I will be engaging in over the next few years will deepen that relationship between seasons, sun, wind, rain, soil and human.
Just as a quick overview, if you have no idea what it is that I will be doing (and if you have an interest) here we go. I will be leaving to work as a crop extension specialist (specialist might be a bit of an overstatement at this point in time) in the South American country of Paraguay. I had originally been preparing to work as a beekeeping extension specialist, so over the last few months I have been working pretty extensively with honeybees. I hope to incorporate beekeeping in the work I will be doing, as it is a wonderful skill to learn how to manage and work with honeybees, such a fascinating little creature. I found it amazing how little the bees I've worked with actually became aggressive enough to defend their home by stinging... for all the time we spend manipulating their home, stealing their hard earned food, killing them accidentally when opening and closing the hive... not to mention all the unknown stresses that human beings are imposing on them. Pretty amazing indeed... they pollinate our food, we get perhaps the most delicious food known to humanity (i've become quite a lover of honey)... all for a few stings? For all those who fear these little creatures... i tell you, interact with them and you will open yourself up to a world of beauty. And if you find that you are apprehensive about interaction, do the very least and don't end their lives... we owe them at least that much.
Tangent complete. Agriculture. That is what i will be doing for the next few years working in Paraguay. As for any other details, I couldn't begin to tell you. We will be learning both Spanish and Guarani (a language native to some groups of people living in various lands across the South American Continent). Guarani will be the main form of communication, especially for ag. volunteers working in the more rural areas of the country. I think that's all for now. Pennsylvania has been my home for the entirety of my life... and it has shaped me in ways that i am just now beginning to understand. From the rolling farmlands of my Lancaster home to the mountains and valleys of the places I have come to love in central PA, I have been shaped. we are all being shaped, the real question is if we realize it or not. If we allow the natural world to truly become part of who we are and what we believe about the world, as it must be. Or we can choose to separate ourselves from it, but up barriers that allow us to hide from the world and our place in it. Separation. So often we separate; from ourselves and the ones we love, to the food and water that is essential to our survival as individuals and as a species. Can we engage with the beauty of the natural world? Can we face the ugliness that we are creating in the ever increasingly human-dominated world? Can we find a way to fully enjoy the joys of being human beings while simultaneously integrating our lives with the land? with the world that we have taken for granted for so long? The question becomes not "can we?" but, rather, "will we?"
peace & love
keith
Just as a quick overview, if you have no idea what it is that I will be doing (and if you have an interest) here we go. I will be leaving to work as a crop extension specialist (specialist might be a bit of an overstatement at this point in time) in the South American country of Paraguay. I had originally been preparing to work as a beekeeping extension specialist, so over the last few months I have been working pretty extensively with honeybees. I hope to incorporate beekeeping in the work I will be doing, as it is a wonderful skill to learn how to manage and work with honeybees, such a fascinating little creature. I found it amazing how little the bees I've worked with actually became aggressive enough to defend their home by stinging... for all the time we spend manipulating their home, stealing their hard earned food, killing them accidentally when opening and closing the hive... not to mention all the unknown stresses that human beings are imposing on them. Pretty amazing indeed... they pollinate our food, we get perhaps the most delicious food known to humanity (i've become quite a lover of honey)... all for a few stings? For all those who fear these little creatures... i tell you, interact with them and you will open yourself up to a world of beauty. And if you find that you are apprehensive about interaction, do the very least and don't end their lives... we owe them at least that much.
Tangent complete. Agriculture. That is what i will be doing for the next few years working in Paraguay. As for any other details, I couldn't begin to tell you. We will be learning both Spanish and Guarani (a language native to some groups of people living in various lands across the South American Continent). Guarani will be the main form of communication, especially for ag. volunteers working in the more rural areas of the country. I think that's all for now. Pennsylvania has been my home for the entirety of my life... and it has shaped me in ways that i am just now beginning to understand. From the rolling farmlands of my Lancaster home to the mountains and valleys of the places I have come to love in central PA, I have been shaped. we are all being shaped, the real question is if we realize it or not. If we allow the natural world to truly become part of who we are and what we believe about the world, as it must be. Or we can choose to separate ourselves from it, but up barriers that allow us to hide from the world and our place in it. Separation. So often we separate; from ourselves and the ones we love, to the food and water that is essential to our survival as individuals and as a species. Can we engage with the beauty of the natural world? Can we face the ugliness that we are creating in the ever increasingly human-dominated world? Can we find a way to fully enjoy the joys of being human beings while simultaneously integrating our lives with the land? with the world that we have taken for granted for so long? The question becomes not "can we?" but, rather, "will we?"
peace & love
keith
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