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