Marianna Castiaux In Paraguay

One thing about being in Peace Corps is the ability to travel to nearbye countries and share your experience, info about Paraguay to others abroad. For example, I was asked by a Chiliean about Paraguays beaches.... I feel its important part of my peace corps experience to share my trip to Chile. Traveling is apart of our time here, and sharing our time in paraguay to everyone. Torres del Paine Park, in Southern Chile was the most beautiful place ive been to in my life without any doubt. It didnt feel like i was on earth. I traveled through neverland, wonderland, through flora ive never seen before, glaciers, ice burgs, avalanches, rock formations, glacial caverans. Some vistas I felt i could see the dinosaurs walking around. They seemed to fit with the barren glacial environment. Scrambling over painful granite rocks, stumbling down canyons of rock tore my knees and puncured my feet even through the thick hiking boots. We were sooooooooo lucky with the weather, everyone kept telling us...

HELP THE WOMEN OF MY COMMUNITY GAIN EMPOWERMENT! Development starts small, vegetable seeds allow for the women to sell veges in the market as well as incorporate vegetables in their diet. yes USA vege seeds work here MOST USEFUL SEEDS Onion Cabbage : Purple is best, green is good Tomato Celery Parsley Lettuce: All Squash Pumpkin Carrot Thanks :)

Books make up my life in the states and here in Peace Corps... TOP 5 1) Carl Sagan's "Varieties of the Scientific Experience, My personal view on the search for God" - note I loved this book so much that i am giving it to my parents to tenderly take it back to the states to sit on a shelf waiting for the next person I am going to lend it to. I now want my future house in the states to have NASA posters all over it. He was an amazing open person. This book was put together from his lectures at the Glifford Lectures, by a friend, many years after his death. 2) John Toole "Confederacy of Dunces". Either the best book ive read or the second best in peace corps. Funny and witty but nothing you would expect. Takes place in New Orleans, please book me a ticket when i get back to the states. The author sadly only wrote two books in his life before he commited sucide in his early 30s. His mom brought this book to a professor after his death. It won the pulizer prize. 3) ...

So today is my first year mark in paraguay! Its been a year today that i arrived clueless. and i am proud to say, finally after a year i have gain the insight to know how to get through to paraguayans, and how to be a good volunteer.first year the idea of running around to everyones houses in my community to say hi, or allowing my time to be "robbed" by my neighbors, sitting in on meetings, with the womens comite, trying to form and give classes for the girls, was a painful experience. it was hard tiring and boring. honestly. and now i feel like this is all easier because, well they are all my friends and its become less like work and more like YAY i get to see my friends. my time isnt being robbed or being forced to be social or babysit, instead its a time to hear the lattest gossip, share stories, and find ways to get through the cultural barrriers. My secret, the profound secret that i just just just figured out in how i can get through to my super chicas and the comite, m...

" I killed a woodpecker today with my sling shot¨ - Romancito, 4 "That little black bird, i want it for my remedy¨ Host Mom

These last few months Ive started making: dish / floor detergent with my comite and once with the community. My hope is to get them to start selling it when they go into town on saturdays with their veges. So far its still sitting on the table in the comiteś house, prepared, bottled, etc waiting for the motivation, that painful endless annoying pushing that is needed of volunteers when they have told me ¨we should sell this. this would work to sell¨. The logisitics of making it include: buying a kit in asuncion at the whole seller (a pain), bringing it back, finding a date that is good, making it with the comite, finding old soda bottles to put it in with lids! (good to have!), place and ya! Although this isnt a project i am necessarily proud of due to its sustainable reasons, its not something fun or dealing with agroforestry, the comite has somehow come across a huge amount of debt owned to the cooperative and another comite when their dulce (jelly,jams,etc) project failed, i feel t...

SO after re reading my last post I should say that my negative mindset was pushed back the other day when Agustina, my neighboor, showed me how her Lupino ( a nitrogen fixing plant) now has pretty white flowers and she is very excited about collecting the seeds and planting more for next year. She (and I) didnt know it had such pretty flowers and wants to plant it in front of her house as a decorative plant as well. Success, sorta :) Also I planted two rows of Lupino at my host families house, last month, and both lines came up remarkably straight! and sprouted beautifully. We have come to the idea of harvesting most of the plants seeds and giving it out to the community. So, in terms of helping their farm land be productive for the years to come, yayayayaay success.