¿De que pais son ustedes?

First I would like to make clear that spell cheack is more like spell check en Español therefore I apologize for my spelling errors.

It´s been a long and intense past couple of days since we arrived. Ashley, the other volunteer, and I have been constantly busy that I don´t think we´ve had time to even think about home. I´m trying to think about what Ashley and I did Thursday, our first day,  but we can´t even figure that out. On Friday we went on a small retreat with the other people that work at the Sisters of the Good Shepherd site where we´re staying. We went to this city called Cultimo-a summer city, where all the people from Asuncion go when it gets hot since there´s a huge lake there. We went and it was absolutely beautfiul! Since it´s spring here the flowes are begining to bloom and the house we saw in Cultimo look like the ones I´ve seen in the Mediterranean.

The retreat we went on was great because it allowed us to bond with the other people that we´ll be working with. I swear ever since we got on the plane in NY, all we´ve been doing is laughing! So many funny things have happened, but I have not laughed as much like we did on the retreat. The other people on the retreat began to teach us Guarani-the indegenous language here that EVERYONE speaks. I began to speak some words and I ended up saying something vulgar,which then made everyone laugh. Drinking maté is pretty cool too. Basically there´s this one cup with a bombilla, something that looks like a big metal straw. You warm up your water, put in a thermo, put tea leaves in the wooden cup, and sip. The tea you drink is meant to share with everyone. You drink, then pass the wooden cup around. It´s a really nice experience where you sit down, relax, share your maté, and talk with people. Most importantly before I forget I must say that everyone we have met has been extremely loving and hospitable! We´ve barely been eating at our house since the community memebers are constantly inviting us to go to their homes or go out and do things with them. Whenever I mention something about missing home, they always respond, ¨We will give you so much love and comfort you won´t miss home.¨ With this this type of TLC I don´t think I want to come home! Just kidding! One of the first questions people constantly ask us is if we´re vegitartians. It´s extrememely funny. I guess some of the past volunteers were vegitarians and Paraguayans love thier steak and so do I! =)

There´s so much to learn and do. Right now I´m really trying to learn Guarani. It´s important to know the language because when Paraguay was under the dictatorship, people weren´t allowed to speak it. Now it´s national pride to be able to speak Guarani and people just love you the much more when you do. I´ve also been learning about their politics which is complicated, but little by little I´ll learn.

This week we´re visiting the different sites the sisters have and I guess we´ll be working soon. Today is the first day Ashely and I feel overwhelmed. When in doubt drink some wine! Ciao!