Pondering in Paraguay

Pondering in Paraguay
Questions, Comments, and Connections on my crazy new life abroad

Monday, March 1, 2010

A typical day or an atypical day in Paraguay?

After leaving Naranjasys and experiencing different towns within Paraguay I have been given a more well-rounded perspective of this county. I am currently staying with another volunteer in a rural town outside of Colmena. However, I am now challenged with the question of what should I expect to encounter on my daily life here. How can you differentiate between a typical day and an atypical day in Paraguay? For instance, today I woke up to the noise of a saw from the construction workshop behind the house, spoke on a local radio station, built a fence out of bamboo (to protect the vegetable garden from the sheep), and then walked 3 miles in the heat of the day back to the house. Should I expect this random chain of events to occur again in my future here in South America? I have also met a slew of other volunteers on this trip with interesting stories. They left me wondering the likelihood of these random events occurring in my life, as it did them. Will I be struck by lightning; Will Peace Corps then provide me with Ibuprofen when I tell them of this crazy phenomenon, Will I buy a horse and learn to care for it from a how-to book; Will I then decided to enter that horse in local races and bet money on it; Will I be able to classify twelve different types of mandioca; Will I eat with the Japanese but drink Terere with the Paraguayans; Will I be evacuated from my site because of forecasted flooding? The questions are endless. As of today, I have one month down and twenty-six left. I have sufficient time to define the meaning of "typical," by the Paraguayan standards.

4 comments:

  1. Sam,
    You have to go by what I say every morning "one day at a time".
    Stay safe and I'm thinking of you.
    Love,
    Amy

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  2. SAM!!! where to I fly in to visit you?? Im seriously going to come!! Miss you!!!

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  3. It's Michelle--
    Sammy-- your writing is delightful-- I am sitting in my office hours here in the tower at the b-school drinking in your words-- I had no idea you are as entertaining on the page as you are in person. You should make your experiences into a book when you get back. I miss you... things from where I sit are a bit bleak, I miss you, such a bright, shining star in my gray sky! I love you Sammy

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  4. Andrew and CourtneyMarch 8, 2010 at 6:01 PM

    Hi Sam!!!
    So good to hear from you! Well, like Amy said...take one day at a time. We can't believe you are already over a month in! We love you

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