Marianna Castiaux In Paraguay

I think you will all enjoy, find funny and informative this blog by Natalia. It is probably the best blog out there on paraguay. http://www.guidetoparaguay.com/blog.html

A Brownie troop from Southern California is learning about my experience here in Paraguay and about Paraguians. I have been cooresponding with their Leader who is preparing for an event with other troops in which each troop picks a different country to represent. I signed up for World Wise Schools, a program through Peace Corps that places volunteers in contact with teachers, leaders, as a pen pal cultural exchange program. I love this idea! My response to the wonderful package I got, filled of pictures and letters from the girls is bellow. I just recieved your wonderful package. how happy was i when i opened it to see the many drawings and letters for me!!......................... as for your letter, i would be so pleased if your girls picked paraguay for your project. as you may know one of the goals of peace corps is cultural exchange. this would be wonderful if a group of girls and their families in california knew about this wonderful country and how far it has come from the oppr...

It has been a while since my last post. I can not express all that has happened since the 21st of Nov. One of the most memorable was walking eleven hours all night to Caacupe for a Catholic Pilgramage, on Dec 8th with all my agroforesters and my host cousin, host brother of Lauren and host sister of Leah. Throughout the night we munched on Tippys, O shaped cookies that taste like an animal cracker, ate chipa and drank guarana soda ( has lots of caffienee). We started off at 6pm and arrived around 6 but took about an hour in breaks. we were extremely exhausted as it is the furthest ive walked. all of us exhausted at sunrise in caacupe, crashed with all of the other pilgrams on the park floor. Dirty waking up at 730, Julia, Brain, Leah and I found a switzerland coffee shop and had amazing german rye bread with german ham and cheese and great capuchinos with sides of chocolate. Overjoyed with our food we overly thanked our host for the best food we have had in paraguay. But this joy w...

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...