There are moments here in Paraguay where I become overwhelmed with hope. It is an emotion that hits hard and I start to tear. Today after receiving a notice in my mail box that i had to go to the post office to pick up a package (that means its big or they decided to keep it to make you charge $ for it), i found myself questioning What package could this be? After being lost and luckily finding yet another overly helpful paraguayan that basically WALKED me to the front door of the post office, I found a package waiting for me with many boxes of girl scout cookies. I thought to myself, why am i becoming emotional over cookies????? this is ridiculous! i could of done something better with the money, orrrrrrrr could i?? i thought what better way to show support for a brand new girls soccer team then to send them cookies ALL the way from the states. someone in the states, and in fact a whole group of girls, cares about a small team, still without their own soccerball in paraguay (we have started a fundraiser!! 30 cents a ticket and you could win a cake made by my sister! Right now we are using a borrowed soccerball). I talked to my boss today and she is also extremely happy for this project. i think it is wonderful to be apart of an organization that really only cares WHAT THE COMMUNITY WANTS.. this is the true essense of help, and of peace corps. i have never been apart of an organization or job that i truely respect like peace corps. i never felt like i wanted more to succeed in my job putting in 100, for results that sometimes i cant see. Mabel actually running after the soccer ball at the last practice was something.. could this be a new found self confidence or is that pushing it? what other organization can you think of that says with the hell with it, you were agroforestry, washington is paying for you to do a project but the community really wants their girls to have a comite and soccer team, so throw out that idea and go with empowering young women.
i wrote the girls leader in southern california a response:
I received your wonderful box of cookies and am soo happy. My girls this week have to clean a new bigger field for us to practice on. this is not fun for them because cleaning involves moving cow poop and bones, cutting the grass with machetes, etc and it will be wonderful to surprise them with a treat (two boxes, i am going to ration them!) I was thinking that maybe i could send you a photo of the girls and the cookies, wouldnt that be something nice for your girls to see? I also realized how special it is that the boxes themselves each display a different photo of girls in action. these photos, (i can not wait to give away the boxes!) each of them display a different example of how in america our young girls are empowered in many ways. Especially the box with the girls playing soccer, i might keep this one and add it to my wall.
Additionally i would like to give you access to my photos on snapfish because i took photos of the girls drawings that they sent and put them on my kitchen/ classroom walls.......................................
so i am happy, hopeful and feeling very optomistic. Tomorrow, i am going to be at the ministry department here in asuncion, for a social mixer with the other volunteers in paraguay. this includes JICA (japans peace corps) and Koika (koreas). We will be playing kickball. After that its AHENDU : I hear you in guarani, which is a night in which peace corps magical talent shines....
lots of hope, happiness and perhaps a professional developement worker in the making... signing off with peace
marianna
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