Swear-in day!!

The day has finally arrived. Today I will swear-in as an agricultural extension Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay. I’m feeling nervous and excited and still in disbelief that this has been real life. We’ve been tested in more ways than one to ensure we have the technical and language skills to start us off in our sites. Wednesday was a final “exam” of sorts as we sat under the great big mango tree at our centro’i (in Guarani you add ‘i to the ends of words to signify little – the little centro or center) in Cumbarity, the training community where I’ve been living. The exam consisted of forming teams of two people and answering questions about training in both Guarani and Spanish. Niko and I came in 3^rd place (we called ourselves Tavyrai – or crazy in Guarani) and the winners received two giant watermelons. Fruit is starting to be in startling abundance – the trees are heavy with mangoes everywhere you look and on the side of road basically anywhere you can find bigger watermelons than I’ve ever seen in my life.

Even though I was deemed to be able to converse in Guarani at an intermediately middle level, I am still wondering how the heck I’m going to communicate about anything other than the weather (Hakueterei - it is so hot) and when I brush my teeth (Che arambosa rire ajecepilla - after breakfast I brush my teeth…). I also am constantly saying something that has a double meaning and making my host family crack up laughing while I stare at them dumbly not sure exactly what part was funny. For example, if you say che haku instead of just ‘haku’ when it’s hot, that basically means you are very hot in a sexual way.

A taste of Guarani:

Che (shay) – I

Nde (nnnday) – You

Ha’e (ha’eh) – him/her/them

Che arambosa = I eat breakfast

Nde rerambosa = You eat breakfast

Ha’e orambosa = He/she/they eat breakfast

What is frustrating about the language, which I just can’t wrap my head around, is the lack of the verb “to be”. When you say che haku you’re just saying “I hot” and not “I am so hot”. Its going to take some getting used to, I kept searching for a way to say “I am” in classes and it’s just easier to give in to the simplicity. Ohh Guarani. Most people speak primarily Guarani in La Novia (my site) and they understand or speak Spanish as well. Ideally after a few months or you know, at the end of two years, I will be fluent in Guarani. It’s necessary for me to speak it to work with the community and have people see that I’m actually interested in their lives and culture. One of my technical trainers Jonathan describes it in this way – speaking Spanish with Paraguayans is like watching black and white TV, and speaking Guarani is like watching in color (maybe even 3-D!). There’s a world of a difference, even though I find myself thinking b-b-but why can’t we just speak Spanish!? It would be so much easier…

Nothing about the Peace Corps is really supposed to be easy, and as I start this journey of the next 24 months I will be reminding myself that it is through the hard times that I will learn the most. I am making a commitment tomorrow to serve the people of Paraguay and the community of La Novia, represent the United States in the best way possible, and be part of a sustainable developmental process that focuses on people and their needs.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get where I am right now – family, friends, colleagues, professors, mentors, instructors, trainers, people I’ve met traveling and couch surfing, fellow travelers, everyone. I am so grateful to have the people I do in my life and for the opportunities I’ve had and the biggest one that is right in front of me. On Monday I will be moving into my site, and for the first three months be living with different families in order to integrate. After that I will have my own little house, and will really begin my own life in Paraguay working in agricultural extension. Stay with me as I embark on this journey, and know that I am thinking of you from the heart of south America. Lot of love!