Maté

Yesterday I was once again blessed with the opportunity to get to know another woman’s story. It has been a while that I have been wanting to write this blog, but I didn’t have the time, got caught up with work, and forgot about the wonderful feeling I get when one of the artisan’s shares their story with me, until yesterday. What I’ve been wanting to write about lately is the amazing opportunity I get to communicate with my friends, artisans, strangers, etc., over maté or tereré. To refresh your memories mate/terere is tea where the tea leaves are put in a cup called a wampa, then there’s a metal straw called a bombilla, and last there’s a thermos where the server either pours cold or hot water in the wampa and you drink from it. You can be in a group of 5 people and each person drinks from the same cup. I know that in our culture that doesn’t seem too hygienic, but it is a beautiful experience.

I decided to make my blog a journal entry of mine where one day I was feeling very inspired. I feel like it describes my feelings perfectly. My disclaimer is that it’s a little sentimental, but my honest feelings.  I really haven’t been able to write anything else that comes close to what I feel.

March 30^th Wednesday

Today I began to write my newest blog (see how long I’ve been wanting to write about this). It’s about the spirituality of mate/terere. The most beautiful moments have been over mate/terere. Whether I was resolving an issue, laughing, conversing, sad, or giving advice, it has all been through this act of sharing. Lately being with the people and only the people, being a friend to them, a person whom they can confide in, gives me so much energy and happiness. I’ve been feeling more spiritual, more present, not worrying so much about material things, friends, and relationships. I haven’t been getting caught up in the pettiness of before. I’ve been on this “thirst” as Mother Teresa would say, for spirituality that I started reading her book. I want to quote some things from her book: “I cannot help them, because I do not have anything, but I go to bring them joy.” Then there’s the following, “The Sister’s are to cling to perfect poverty-poverty of the cross-nothing but God…love should be the word, the fire, that will make them live the life to its full. If the nuns are very poor, they will be free to love only God-to serve him only-to be only his.” I’ve been stripped away from a lot of things I’m use to, and I think its like Ashley said, that it’s more about being put in total isolation. At the same time living on the stipend and making much more simple choices has led me to change significantly. I’ve grown so much. I’ve learned to be a person for others, to be present, and know what it is like to fully give myself to my job and the people. I learned today that conversation could be a prayer—that’s where I find my spirituality. I love the people and I wish I could always be with them. As I interpret what I write and analyze the quote of MT, especially the passage about clinging to God and being only his, I realize I see God in the people, the people are God. It is through them that I find peace. Where I am now is beautiful and I am very thankful for that experience. If I find God, I hope it is at this time. How I have grown and where I am today is completely different to where I was last year.

“ Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love…the smaller the thing, the greater must be our love.” 

5 Months South of the Equator

Sorry we haven’t checked in a while, but the Paraguayan community is still around. Ashley and I are doing well, but practically melting in this HEAT!

We finished the work year in December and the “Obra Social” where we work closed down for a couple of weeks, and recently we just opened again. Ashley and I are super excited to start work because with the new work year, we now have the opportunity to create our own programs. We are going to begin teaching English, sports, and start a choir.

As we start this 2011 on the right foot, we have also reflected a great deal on the “new year” we began in September. For me personally the conversation Ashley and I had was really funny, because we realized that although we believed we did not feel vulnerable and lonely, like everything Julie told us we were going to feel during international orientation, we experienced all of those feelings! Looking back now, Ashley and I are in much better place and I know we are going to continue growing from this experience.

Throughout my time here in Paraguay I understand how important community is for the volunteer`s experience. Ashley and I are each other`s biggest support when we encounter problems--whether they are with friends/family back home, cultural, language barriers, job etc. From the beginning we have always been open with each other and we constantly express and reflect on the problems we are facing and what we can do to solve these issues. Because we have done that from the very beginning, it has helped us to trust and feel comfortable around each other. When you hit rock bottom in a foreign country, with limited access to your friends and family, it is great to know that the other person living with you in your house is a good friend that completely understands you. It makes the experience a lot more beautiful!

By the way, I forgot to mention that we have a new community member—Nala Mala Martinez, our new puppy the Sisters rescued from the streets. Nala is also very supportive and loves us unconditionally!

Beyond the community within our homes, there is also a much larger community that we have gotten to know. In the neighborhood we live in, everyone knows each other as well as the different problems that each family faces. Unfortunately, there is a family in our neighborhood that struggles with numerous problems and the most affected are the children. It’s difficult to see what the children in this family go through and wanting to help, but knowing that you can only do so much. However, the community has stepped in to do whatever they can to help this family. They see them struggle and together they help take care of their kids by giving them clothes or food and even giving them guidance. It’s not just one family that helps, but all the families in their neighborhood look out for them.

As the community looks out for each other, they also look out for Ashley and I. We tend to go to their homes and sit under a mango tree while drinking tereré (cold maté) for hours, laughing, playing the guitar-singing, and talking. The conversations we have with the community members are really helpful for our wellbeing. When we are struggling with a certain issue they will always listen to us. They will also advise us about what to do or not to do, what is safe or what is not, and give us insight into the culture so that we can take care of ourselves.

The best part about bonding with the community besides the great advice they give us is COOKING! During vacation we spent a couple nights cooking at a friend’s house. Everyone chipped in with different ingredients and we cooked dinner at night and it was a great way to bond with them. There are also these 3 sisters that we have become very close to and last night we finished a cooking lesson with them. We cooked for hours in our very hot kitchen, but it was so much fun as we learned how to make a new Paraguayan dish and showed them pictures of our families and friends.

There have been many challenges we have faced, but what makes the experience amazing and beautiful are the moments where Ashley and I support each other, or when we witness the community coming together to help the families in the neighborhood, or even the simple moments we have while cooking with our new friends. There is something truly beautiful about being somewhere completely unknown, yet, being able to have people in your life that are caring and supportive.