Marianna Castiaux In Paraguay

My site is called Monte Alto. I am going to be a second volunteer at this site (well sorta, Karen was 1 km away). My primary project will be working with a women´s group. They sell vegetables at the closest town, 6 km away, on saturdays ( today, which is why i have internet access today as i am with them). The town is called SAN JOSE DE LOS ARROYOS and has a wikipedia page!! look it up! I am happy with my site selection. I wanted to work with women and wanted access (a bus) out of site. I am only three hours from ascuncion in time....in space, i am as far as pluto. Working with the Women´s group includes: continuing with Karen´s work on injertos, grafting of citrus trees and making, expanding gardens ( huertas) for them to sell vegetables. Secondary project working on nuturition in the schools and with families. ( wow i am lucky, i keep saying how lucky my APCD put me in this community cause of these projects. the women have expressed these desires and they correlate to mine) I have a...

I made it back. The adventure began with a six hour drive to the campo, cramed in a 4x 4 with two of our guarani teachers, Joti and Fatima, our teach professor and couragous driver Leo, and the four of us: Brian, Lauren, Julia and I. The other 4x4 had the other four of us and Delfina ( guarani teacher) as well as a driver. We bashed our heads on the roofs, windows, each other as we drove through campo paraguaya. After passing through a few fenses, a few rough spots, we made it to the first site where we dropped off our first group. On wards, to the middle of deforested rainforest converted into Eucalipus Forest that SHELL had put up to burn coal and since SHELL has left paraguay is now a source of wood and owned by POMPEO? where many of the locals in Neils town work. Neil is a Peace Corps Volunteer, who lives with a farming community. We stopped at his house and had of course, Terere (cold mate), in a circle. life is very slow paced and it reminds me of college life, forming circles, ...

hmm... so paraguians like fried food, lots of salt and lots of sugar.they dont like anything spicy or that has flavor ( american view). so picture mandio ( yuca) fried with lots of salt or just boiled. when we do get the occasional lettuce it is either ...in salad form with tons of salt and few tomatoes, or fried in batter. or i get just batter fried. the meat is the weridest thing ever. bits of it in sauce, soup or bones with meat and fat on it over pàsta. I swear ill never eat meat again in my life. Coming from being a vegetarian on and off for the last 5 years to Paraguaian meat is a giant leap of you are what you eat to swallow and dont think about it, to now finally rejecting it. ( hey the dogs get fed!) Soy is now a new product in paraguay and A LOT cheaper for the families and with tons of protein... but even in america it is hard to make the switch. Paraguians dont eat breakfast so by the time lunch rolls around I am so hungry that I shove food down fast and dont realize ...

My Family and Home Here in Paraguay Picture a road of red dirt, with evidence of ox carts and motorcycle tires. Walking along pass a harvested sugar cane field, which is across a wooden hut with lots of cows in front. Make a left on a small road that leads to a house and the despensa - a small store on side of my Peace Corps friend Rosa house. Walk down now a foot path that passes yet another house, pass the giant four ox eating leftover sugar cane, chickens and chicks whom hide under the mom when you walk by. You have arrived at my host families house. Instead of going into my front door, you always go in the back door where the patio - outdoor kitchen /hang out and do landry area. There are five small dogs, my host mom cooking over a fire with a big black pot and five puppies on a blanket near the back outdoor hall that leads to a storage area. You then take off your shoes, walk in and look into the indoor kitchen on your right to make sure your plate and mug and thermas of cochido...

training is boot camp, i mean literally every step of the way we have something to do, i breathe in and by the time i breath out there is another new thing to go, see, talk about, study for , or go to yet another boring workshop on peace corps policies. love my agroforestry group. we spend our days laughing at our actions ,playing hacky sac and more laughing in class with our professor as we try and learn guarani which is extrem gibberish to any outsider.there is 29 yr old Leah with a masters in geology, from new mexico,26years old Sherry or Rosa ( went to school in colorado) as paraguans call her ( no one can pronounced Sherry so they changed her name) then julia from florida, then Jacobo( jake in english) who speaks amazingly and is from phenoix, arizona ,and is in the master international program, laaura is from atlanta,georga, 24? Brian is a very tall red head who did the peace corps in nepal and is 32? is from michagan and is also in the mastersinternational program, H or Heather ...

Marianna Castiaux PCV Cuerpo de Paz 162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. Lopez Asuncion 1580 , Paraguay South America technically i am a PCT (peace corps trainee for the next three months) so if you are going to send me anything in the next three months put PCT not PCV. Any packages should be sent by courier service: fedex, UPS, DHL, or US postal service or express mail only. Nothing valuable or money, as packages are sometimes open and stolen. Nothing over $200 as it goes to customs and stays there (forever?). Supposedly a package arrives in five days through a courier service, but can be delayed for weeks or months. An estimated 80% of letters arrive :) but still write me!! Airmail normally takes two to three weeks to and from Paraguay, surface mail takes months. It is recommended to number your letters as they may arrive at the same time or out of order. I would love it if you wrote me! Thank you!!!! Marianna

Hi Everyone! This will soon be the site for my many stories of the Peace Corps in Paraguay. Looking forward M