Keeping Up With Kevin

On Monday February 22nd, 2011 I embarked on my first solo journey through part of Paraguay. My desitination was ¨Fernando de La Mora¨a small city within the larger city or capital ¨Asuncion¨ to visit Brett )an EYD volunteer and 1 year Paraguayan). I´ll admit the journey started off a little rough thanks to my host mom. The day before, Peace Corps was kind enough to lend me a cell phone to use while on my 3 day visit but failed to inform me that the phone was only for ¨emergencies¨. Unfortunately, I had already made 2 phone calls and sent a text to Brett to indroduce myself and coordinate our first meeting spot when I made this discovery. Somehow, I was able to get in touch with a PC staff member who instructed me to buy a mini-carga )temporary phone card) so that I could use the phone again when I needed it, since I could only receive calls now rather than make them. I communicated this need to my host mom and together we walked to the nearest despensa )store), but they were out. I then asked my host mom if I could borrow her phone to give Brett a quick ring to update him on my phoneless-ness. She brushed off my request and said we could buy a mini-carga in the morning before I had to meet up with Brett at 9am. SO, 8am monday morning rolls around and I´m already a little tense-anxious, yet I remember I need to buy the phone card. I asked my host mom which store I should try and she ONCE AGAIN brushes off me off insisiting ¨I don´t need one¨and ¨I´ll be fine¨. GREAT. Then, I spent the next 30-45 minutes waiting for a specific bus number )written on my detailed instructions from Brett) that didn´t exist. I finally got some ayuda )help) from a police officer who happened to be standing nearby. For those of you who know me best, I HATE to get lost, yet it happens to me ALL the time. With this being said, already furious, frazzled and now hungry...Brett must have called at least 8 times. I know he was trying to help me, but the bus was louder than the rooster-crowing competitions that take place here every morning. I could barely hear myself think, let alone hear him talking. I could make out a few instructions....¨ask the bus driver where you are....look for the college....I live close to the really huge Supermarket Selemma and the Super Real¨. I asked the bus driver where I needed to get off and he told me ¨In about 10 minutes¨-Paraguayans are awful with directions by the way but that´s another story. I watched the stores we passed by like a hawk and saw Selemma. I nearly leaped off the bus the minute it stopped and right on cue, Brett called again. I realized I got off a little too early but I still wasn´t far. Brett wasn´t too pleased but he volunteered to walk towards me until we met. About 10 minutes later, I saw him on the other side of the street and flagged him down. I eased up a little and he gave me the low down on our schedule for the day- 1.) Drop my stuff off and have a quick intro with the host family 2.) Take a bus to get acquainted with a new school, 2.) Have lunch with a friend´s family nearby, 3.) Get acquainted with another new school, 4.) Go home relax a little 5.) Go out to eat for dinner. 6.) Go to a friend´s bday party. This was pretty much how my first day went, BUT the friend´s bday party didn´t commence until around 11ish and by then it was pouring down rain and I was exhausted. Brett asked if I wanted to go and I could barely  hold my eyelids open, the next thing I knew he was out the door and said he would wake me up in the morning....what a gentleman, huh? I was too tired to care but I was a little taken aback, I´ll admit especially since he left me in the living room with the host family I had just met hours beforehand. So.....Day 2 the plan was to go talk to the mayor, but I was given the option to sleep in a little longer since this activity really didn´t relate to me much. C´mon now, of course I chose to sleep in! Brett warned me to knock before using his bathroom because ¨the shitter and quitter¨- his words not mine lol aka an old family friend who comes over just to stink up the bathroom EVERY morning may be in the process of completing his daily routine. I attempted to stifle my laugher, but Brett was serious. He said he would swing by to pick me up about 2 hours later and we would walk together to ¨Dequeni¨-the place where he works and also teaches English classes to a few students. I helped out which was pretty easy since I´m fluent in English but not yet fluent in Spanish lol. After a few hours of tutoring, we went home for lunch which wasn´t too bad....some beans and tortillas and chilled out again. Later we went to another friend´s house for dinner which was the best meal I´ve had since I ´ve been in Paraguay...a veggie tart which was delicious and fried potatoes with cheese on the side, yum! Not that my host mom isn´t a good cook, she´s great but this lady´s profession was cooking meals for other families...that´s gotta say something right? Anyways, we ended up staying there so late that we had to be driven back home because the buses weren´t running anymore, it was worth it! Day 3.......RAIN and the most rain I ´ve seen since I´ve been here these past 2 weeks. It was peaceful and lucky for us Americans when it rains really hard, Paraguayans don´t go ANYWHERE because most have to walk. I was relieved because Brett is some kind of Superman and I didn´t think I had the energy to keep up with him and all of his projects- 7 total by the way...can you imagine what a week would have been like shadowing him? Aye Aye Aye! ) Brett later confessed he was relieved also because he hasn´t had a day off in a while, I was glad he finally got one.) We ended up hanging out with the host family again and having lunch where I witnessed the 9 year old daughter wipe her face on the couch after eating. I´m sure I looked shocked, but nobody else seemed to be. I was also informed later by Brett or ¨Kevin¨as his host family calls him, there was a ¨cucaracha¨ in the queso used to make the pasta we all ate for lunch. I then informed him in return that I would not be eating any more meals at that house. We walked to the Super Real and bought the green apples I´d been trying to find....then again later for supplies to make pizza. Overall, it was a pretty good trip. I learned a lot and I definitely saw what life can be like for a volunteer- with a host family or not, busy or not, really it´s up to me and I don´t plan to try and be a superhero like Brett, but I do hope I make at least one of my projects a success....we shall see!