As the Holidays are nearing the excitement is growing. People are putting up their Nativity scenes (pesebre)and decorating their houses and trees with lights and decorations. Food preparations are being made and the fireworks are being bought.
All over the world Christmas is celebrated differently. Being here in Paraguay, not only do I get to learn and experience about this style but I also get to learn about the cultures and styles of Christmas all around the world from the friends that I have made here.
In Paraguay, the usual activity starts on the 22nd of December. You wake up very early (4 or 5 am) and go to the 'salon' get your hair cut and mini styled, then the day starts. You will go to the supermarket and buy all of the fruit, veggies, meat, sodas and other drinks, and decorations for later in the week/ day. After going home you have to set up you nativity scene, all the decorations and begin to prepare the food which takes around 24 hours to fully cook and prepare for serving. They get little sleep in the 3 days before Christmas because of all the preparations and on Christmas the real party begins. There are fireworks, lots of food and people that come from all over the country to visit family and distant friends.
New Years is spent the same way. Everyone will go into the capital city though to watch the fireworks and to celebrate the New Year.
It has been a great experience so far and I can't wait to tell you about the rest of my Holidays.
Without snow - celebration is odd, but I can't say that I miss having to put on 20 layers of clothes before I step outside.. I'm loving the idea of wearing shorts and a tank top all the time - no matter what the season is (Summer just officially started yesterday).
Peace & Love always,
Vivian
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Graduation!
First stop - school. Considering the title of this post... you guessed it! Graduated. I was the only one in my class that got a perfect score on the english test. I was so proud. The other tests were a little more difficult but because I passed the final project - I will receive a graduation certificate on December 15th.
My final project (assigned by my teacher) was about communications. Communication through the cell phone, radio, and most importantly the internet. Basically I had to debate and discuss the pro's and con's of these "devices" and how people today rely too much on the usage of them. It was really interesting to see the different points of views.
Besides school, I have been looking into different projects to do during the summer. Last Saturday, I visited a monastery. While this sounds strange - this monastery holds lunch time activities for the poor children of Lambare. There are a large group of houses or shacks if you will, outside of this monastery. The people who live there have decided that for whatever reason, they don't want to work. Instead they work in other ways and end up having many children that they cannot support. Seems pretty terrible right? Well, luckily for these kids - every Saturday, the priests hold a lunch. The kids all eat lunch together and then they have games that are organized for them. They can use the fields and the soccer balls and any other equipment. They can use the showers and cleaning supplies.
So - my 2 of my friends and I went last weekend to help out. We ate lunch with the kids and then played with them for awhile commencing in Juice and cookies with the priests of the church. We got to talk about why they would want to study to be monks and the answers were quite surprising. I hope to go back soon!
Besides the daily trip to the ice cream shop and then the pool - its too hot to do much else. I look at the status' of people on Facebook and they all say something about the cold - or have pictures of them all bundled up. The normal temperature here now is above 100* so the thought of doing something productive just makes me want to sit down. You can literally get a tan from walking down the street and I have- it's crazy.
If you would like to see the pictures of the things that I have talked about - just go check out my facebook! They are also all on Orkut (but I don't know if you know what that is)
Peace & Love,
Vivian
My final project (assigned by my teacher) was about communications. Communication through the cell phone, radio, and most importantly the internet. Basically I had to debate and discuss the pro's and con's of these "devices" and how people today rely too much on the usage of them. It was really interesting to see the different points of views.
Besides school, I have been looking into different projects to do during the summer. Last Saturday, I visited a monastery. While this sounds strange - this monastery holds lunch time activities for the poor children of Lambare. There are a large group of houses or shacks if you will, outside of this monastery. The people who live there have decided that for whatever reason, they don't want to work. Instead they work in other ways and end up having many children that they cannot support. Seems pretty terrible right? Well, luckily for these kids - every Saturday, the priests hold a lunch. The kids all eat lunch together and then they have games that are organized for them. They can use the fields and the soccer balls and any other equipment. They can use the showers and cleaning supplies.
So - my 2 of my friends and I went last weekend to help out. We ate lunch with the kids and then played with them for awhile commencing in Juice and cookies with the priests of the church. We got to talk about why they would want to study to be monks and the answers were quite surprising. I hope to go back soon!
Besides the daily trip to the ice cream shop and then the pool - its too hot to do much else. I look at the status' of people on Facebook and they all say something about the cold - or have pictures of them all bundled up. The normal temperature here now is above 100* so the thought of doing something productive just makes me want to sit down. You can literally get a tan from walking down the street and I have- it's crazy.
If you would like to see the pictures of the things that I have talked about - just go check out my facebook! They are also all on Orkut (but I don't know if you know what that is)
Peace & Love,
Vivian
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Dos Meses
I cannot believe that two months have gone by so fast. It is getting warmer in Paraguay. Spring has finally kicked in and in another month or so, Summer will begin. While this sounds nice and relaxing (as the thoughts of summer are peaceful in the mind.. especially after months of cold weather, jackets and hot cocoa) I am afraid that the inescapable heat brings no pleasant thoughts to my mind. Exactly a week ago, I was complaining of the cold. Of course - it's not actually that cold. Maybe 20*Celsius at low.. but it is a different cold. It will rain and be a little windy, and there is no escaping it.
I love the winters in DC. You can walk around in the snow and play outside until you are completely frozen and then just walk inside a nice warm house and drink some warm cider and bamn! you're warm again. Here (there is no snow) but there is also no place warm to go. No houses have heat and very few have air conditioning. It can be very miserable when you walk to school and come home and you are cold and wet, to find that your room and house and sheets are also cold and wet. So is the shower, food and water.
But then, when it's hot outside the next day - and you go to school and walk home and it's 40*Celsius (100* F)(give or take) you are so happy that there is a cool shower and cold sheets and food and water. The very thought of something warm touching you... all you want to do is jump into a pool of ice water. So - thats what I do! Not quite ice water, but my friend has a giant covered/ shaded pool.. she is a very dear friend :)
In the next couple of weeks, the mango trees will have produced plentiful fruit and I will be the happiest girl in the world. Seriously, I cannot wait to have fresh fruit for breakfast.
School is still going great. Just two weeks ago, my class went on their "end of the year trip" to Brazil. We only went to the very outskirts - where Paraguay and Brazil meet at the power plant called Itaipu. This power plant provides electricity for Paraugay, Argentina and Brazil. It was amazing!
I am still in my ballet class which is great, and I am meeting new people every day.
I will keep you posted! If you would like to find me on skype - my email is polkadotbug@gmail.com - I would love to talk to you!
Peace & Love
Vivian
About the Pictures: The first is of my fiend Julia (from Fairbanks, Alaska). We are eating lomito at a local shop.
Second: This is my house!
Third: This is the dog that I rescued when I first arrived in Paraguay. His name is Coca (like Coca Cola)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Bienvenida Primavera
This means : Welcome Spring! Tomorrow starts the first day of Spring here in Paraguay!
Since my last post not much has happened. Oh, wait - I started school... is that big? Yep - I began school a little over 2 weeks ago at Colegio Julio Correa. It is only about 10 minutes walking from my house and it is a good school. The teachers speak to me (very slowly) and so do the students. They love to help me improve my spanish and I have even been able to help them in English class. I have been taking rapid notes as the teachers here don't write anything on the board - what they do is stand at the front and read from a text book and you are excepted to follow along. It can be quite frustrating but my sister and he friends help me a lot.
I have also signed up for a ballet class. So I go there everyday for an hour and two hours on Friday. It has been a great experience going and meeting new Paraguayan people. I am a little behind as they have all been studying it for years, but I think I will catch up in no time.
Yesterday the AFS Luque people got together and we all went up to a city called Atrya. It is a Guarani word. Basically it is about and hour and a half away from my home. It was so beautiful there and we got to climb up a mountain area and there was a view that was just magnificent.
Not much else has happened. I am getting even more settled in my life here. School, dance class, and homework are taking up all my time.
I hope this letter finds you all well! I would love to hear from you!
Peace and Love
Vivian
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Welcome to Paradise (Paraguay)
Welcome to Luque! This sign was startling when I first saw it. This is your new home. Over the past three weeks that i have been here I have learned to ride the bus (which is crazy) and deal with the drivers who text, count change, change the radio stations, talk with friends, and drink terere - while driving the bus. It can be a little crazy but super fun. I have gotten so lost, but as long as you don´t freak out everything is fine. You learn to laugh at your mistakes and learn new things. Some of the things that you never thought would be different are. Things like milk in a bag, waking up to a rooster, a cart horse walking down the street every morning, and other things like that. It is always an adventure to try new things. Terere, lomito, carne, carne, carne that is what my diet has been so far. And lots of bread. Terere is like iced tea but made whith natural ingredients that are litereally pulled out of the ground and shoved in a cup with a cup of water and thats it! Lomito - i can´t even explain how delicious lomito is. It is sorta like a borritto with meat and vegitables and then grilled so it is even more delicous. And the meat is just meat. There are no lady like bites or small pieces everything is in bold. It is MEAT. They are solid chunks of meat severd with a side plate of rice, a chunk of french bread and a glass of juice. That is what i have for almost every meal. It is all so good and you want to eat it all - but at the same time you feel the heavyness of the meat and I have taken to going to the gym. There is nothing better than the feeling when you have just left the gym and you have a good piece of fruit.
Besides that - life here is going great. I am settling into my new family, finishing up my spanish classes and getting ready to start school next week. I can´t wait! Hope you all are doing well. Miss you so much!
Peace & Love,
Vivian
Besides that - life here is going great. I am settling into my new family, finishing up my spanish classes and getting ready to start school next week. I can´t wait! Hope you all are doing well. Miss you so much!
Peace & Love,
Vivian
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Getting Settled
It is official. No turning back. No parents to tell you to sit up straight at the table or to make your bed. You are alone in a different country. A different continent. Paraguay. This is what I realized when I woke up this morning.
Being here in Paraguay is an experience, an adventure. I have only been here for 8 days, but already I have cried more than I ever have before, wanted to go home; begged to go home and almost givin up. I have been more depressed than most people at my age. But then I realized, I was not alone. Once I got out of my shell, came out of my room, I realized that there where 23 other students in Paraguay feeling the excact same way! I got to talking to some of them and we soon found that we were alll a little depressed and we all wanted to just give up and go home, but we didn´t. A part of us wanted, needed to make it through to the finish line.
I will describe it like a roller coaster. Litterally - there is the waiting part. The excitment is building up. You see the other cars filling up and the other people coming and going and finally it is your turn. You are so excited! You get all buckled up and ready and then off you go! There are the exciting parts and the scary parts and the parts when you just want to get off, but then the car comes to a halt and you are so glad that you did it! You even want to do it again and again. I just need to get to that point.
Unfortunatly, there was a glitch in my roller coaster and we are at a stopping point for a little bit. My first family, my assigned family, didn´t work out. So I am in a temporary family. I am in the same city of Luque and in the basic same area, but a different house :)
I will try to keep my blog updated, but it is hard to find internet around and is probably better if I post only once a month or so, just so that I become more enveloped in my new life here.
Love and Miss you all so much!
Peace
Vivian
Being here in Paraguay is an experience, an adventure. I have only been here for 8 days, but already I have cried more than I ever have before, wanted to go home; begged to go home and almost givin up. I have been more depressed than most people at my age. But then I realized, I was not alone. Once I got out of my shell, came out of my room, I realized that there where 23 other students in Paraguay feeling the excact same way! I got to talking to some of them and we soon found that we were alll a little depressed and we all wanted to just give up and go home, but we didn´t. A part of us wanted, needed to make it through to the finish line.
I will describe it like a roller coaster. Litterally - there is the waiting part. The excitment is building up. You see the other cars filling up and the other people coming and going and finally it is your turn. You are so excited! You get all buckled up and ready and then off you go! There are the exciting parts and the scary parts and the parts when you just want to get off, but then the car comes to a halt and you are so glad that you did it! You even want to do it again and again. I just need to get to that point.
Unfortunatly, there was a glitch in my roller coaster and we are at a stopping point for a little bit. My first family, my assigned family, didn´t work out. So I am in a temporary family. I am in the same city of Luque and in the basic same area, but a different house :)
I will try to keep my blog updated, but it is hard to find internet around and is probably better if I post only once a month or so, just so that I become more enveloped in my new life here.
Love and Miss you all so much!
Peace
Vivian
Friday, July 31, 2009
Final Destination
I have arrived at last! After 3 days sitting on various planes and in various airports and buses, we have finaly arrived in Asuncion Paraguay.
It is always interesting to me when you see people in the airport and on your plane wearing masks, but when I boarded, there were not a few peop0le, it was everybody. Soon, we would join them and put on our mask to protect us from what excatly? When we were preparing to land, we found out that it was 17· celcius or about 50· farenheit and it was raining! Welcome home! We got off our flight and after going through customs and immagration , we excited and breathed in clean, FRESH O2 for the firt time in days. It was certainly a pleasure, even the showers (though cold) could not beat the taste of good old air :) Sorry in advance for any spelling. I am in an internet cafe and the keys are sticky ;( çp.s the paraguayan keyboard is so different! I did not think there were going to be different.
Peace & Love
Vivian
It is always interesting to me when you see people in the airport and on your plane wearing masks, but when I boarded, there were not a few peop0le, it was everybody. Soon, we would join them and put on our mask to protect us from what excatly? When we were preparing to land, we found out that it was 17· celcius or about 50· farenheit and it was raining! Welcome home! We got off our flight and after going through customs and immagration , we excited and breathed in clean, FRESH O2 for the firt time in days. It was certainly a pleasure, even the showers (though cold) could not beat the taste of good old air :) Sorry in advance for any spelling. I am in an internet cafe and the keys are sticky ;( çp.s the paraguayan keyboard is so different! I did not think there were going to be different.
Peace & Love
Vivian
Santiago, Chile
Hola Familia,
I have come halfway. Sitting here in the Chilean airport, it hits that I am here. I am going on this adventure; for real. Getting on the flight from Miami to Santiago (Chile) I was instantly amazed not only at the size of the plane but at the personal , adjustable TV's, the remote controls, big, roomy seats and did I mention all of the AFS students around me?? There are about 20 other AFS - USA people going to 10 different areas of Paraguay. After a couple of movies and airline meals, we were all ready to disembark in Chile. Now here, we spend our time reading, trying to find where our gate is and various other airport activities. In just a few hours though, we will all arrive in what is to be our new home. It is exciting and scary, but mostly overwhelming. Love you all and keep in touch!
Peace & Love,
Vivian
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
My School Information
School Name: Colegio Santa Teresita
Location: Luque, Paraguay
So this is my school information! YAY! I will leave for Miami (the departure gate) sometime around July 30th and then arrive in Paraguay on August 2nd. :)
So excited!
Peace & Love
Vivian
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Getting Ready!!!
Greetings,
I recently learned that I was accepted by AFS Paraguay Intercultural Programs. After all of the work and papers that needed to be filled out, it was done and in a month I will be leaving to start my adventure in the city of Luque.
While this still seems so far off into the future - it is becoming clear to me that this time will fly by. So much to prepare for it is almost too much. Too much in that I am so excited I cannot wait to get there.
Some say that 15 is to young to start out on such a big adventure, but then so is 16, 17, and 18. An adventure is an adventure. No matter how old you are you will always learn new things.
What I hope to get out of this year is something that will last me for the rest of my life. Of course you will appreciate the culture and the food and the language, but it's not just that. It's about getting to know your new neighbors and spending time with a new family and friends. Learning and sharing your experiences and growing in whichever way possible.
I will keep blog updates throughout my journey in Paraguay!
Peace & Love,
Vivian
I recently learned that I was accepted by AFS Paraguay Intercultural Programs. After all of the work and papers that needed to be filled out, it was done and in a month I will be leaving to start my adventure in the city of Luque.
While this still seems so far off into the future - it is becoming clear to me that this time will fly by. So much to prepare for it is almost too much. Too much in that I am so excited I cannot wait to get there.
Some say that 15 is to young to start out on such a big adventure, but then so is 16, 17, and 18. An adventure is an adventure. No matter how old you are you will always learn new things.
What I hope to get out of this year is something that will last me for the rest of my life. Of course you will appreciate the culture and the food and the language, but it's not just that. It's about getting to know your new neighbors and spending time with a new family and friends. Learning and sharing your experiences and growing in whichever way possible.
I will keep blog updates throughout my journey in Paraguay!
Peace & Love,
Vivian
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