ahhhh...finally this computer lets me post something...

Hola Amigos,
Finally this computer let´s me post something...its tempermental...the other day it kept on kicking me off my gmail, so I couldn´t read my emails. And the past 2 days it has been kicking me off blogspot everytime I log in SO ANNOYING!
Moving on...I just came back from the retreat center again, this week we were sending off women for their first retreat. This week I actually knew a few people which was nice :) They practiced their bad English on me, and I practiced my improving Spanish. I learned how to say how are you in Guarani, but now I forget it lol...I need to write everything down or else I forget. I did write down the names of the food they had though... butifarra, mbeju,gascoa, and empanandas.Wilma asked me how we say empanadas in English...and I was like ahhh empanadas! lol Today, I took a much needed long walk, which was very nice, and insanely hot! They need more trees here! I was looking for the oficina de cambio, office to change my money. But I didn´t find it and I got tired and insanely thirsty. I either didn´t understand this taxi cab driver who gave me directions or he led me astray...either way it was nice to take a long walk. Paraguayans are very nice and helpful people. One lady asked me where a certain bus went and of course I had no idea, but she was very friendly and nice when I told her no se. Of course there were a couple gross older men eyeing me in that gross way, but I think gross older men are universal... I paid a dolar for a bottle of water, which doesn´t sound like much, but since I had no guarani, I paid too much but it was all I had and I didn´t want to give the guy nothing so I told him to take it oh well.
Today, somewhat ironically is teachers day so everyone had school off.Including Wilma but she had to work at the office for part of the day. I still feel like people don´t work or go to school as much as we do. They wake up earlier and start everything earlier at 7 am, but they are home by 12-12:30 maybe 1 till 3ish... and the girls in the house don´t go back to school that is only like 5 hours of work or school. Wilma sometimes go back to the office or has a random meeting, but still I don´t know how they get everything done?! Yesterday, the girls got out even earlier and at the schools they give the teachers presents and put on presentations the day before, which is nice but our teachers actually work on teachers day. Tomorrow is another holdiday...labor day. Everyone has off labor day and bbq´s similiar to the us :) I´m looking foward to that, but once again how to they get shit done?! lol Yesterday, I also met some of Wilma´s students they were painting an advertisement for a fundraising event next week on the side wall of the school. They were high schoolers, but mostly shy to practice their English with me. Except one boy, oh who was black, 18, skinny, and tall. He had really pretty curly hair, clearly mixed but black and like I said everyone is mixed here. He asked me a lot of questions about NYC and what music I like, and of course if I had a boyfriend stuff... I don´t know why everyone asks me that, whats the fixation?I don´t really want one, let alone need one. Very rarely have I felt spark, chemistry, that je ne say quoix (which i know butchered in my spelling)but you know what I mean that like magnetic kinetic connection with someone. And I need that I can´t settle for luke warm...whatever it is phermones I dunno I think it worth waiting for.Anyway, I tried to reply mostly in Spanish. For some reason the event was called Pac Man like the video game...I asked them why and they i dunno just because.It was cute they painted the pac man image on the wall. Um what else...I think the icecream is better here, Jasmine and I went down to street to a lil bodega like place and got icecream i got fruilla(strawberry) and i was amazing!
I´ve been on the job search and so far nada...i might put an add online for tutoring in the mean time.The school year started in Feb so maybe I came too late...we´ll see I´m hopeful and having a little faith...that things will work out. I´m going to give it 3 months though. Even faith needs a little deadline lol. And I know a lot of you are non religeous, but my faith has led me to a couple beautiful places in the world Italy and Alaska, both of those trips were free by the way...So, I really do believe God, Jesus, an angel someone up there is looking out for me. And I am grateful :) I think whatever greater being led me here to this house with this loving family too. Even Wilma told me she gets a lot of emails about teaching english and moving here and she ignores them, but there was something about me...Today she asked me how I was feeling, happy, sad, excited, missing home, likin paraguay. And it was hard for me to explain because I feel all those emotions and more any given day any given time. Sometimes, I feel all those things all at once. I guess I just feel emotional period...lol It´s very peaceful here sometimes I like to sit on the back patio, and listen to the birds, and watch the flowers, and feel the breeze, and the rustling of leaves. This afternoon I did that with Tia Julia while the sun was setting, at that moment I didn´t want to be anywhere else in the world. At that moment I was completely present. Last week I felt more out of me body, kind of in disbelief that I was actually here, and longing for home and the familiar. Now, I want to see more, explore more, taste more, learn more. My curiosity of this country and its people, my people has only grown more and more.
On the car ride home today I was thinking about my life. I was thinking about everything I´ve been through that has led me to this point, this place, this day. And I was thinking how different my life would have been so far, if I was raised here. Who would I be? How would I act? Would my personality be very different? Would I even know English? Would I be married with kids? Where would I live? Would I be happy? What would I want? Who would be my friends? The whole entire course of my life changed because of what my birth mom and mom decided to do with their lives. And I am grateful to both of them for the opportunities I was given, but now that I am down here I really just wonder...who I would have become. There is that whole argument over nature versus nature in the development of a child to adulthood. I think both play an important part in human development. I would like to think a good part of who I am would be the same if I had lived here the past 20 years. My love of art and beauty and nature in paintings, design, jewerly, fashion, and architecture. My love of babies and children, and sun and water, and sweets :)My calmness and kindness I hope would be the same as well. But no one will ever really know...and that´s ok, because generally I like who I am now.I think I´m done with my rambling thoughts now :) And I´m trying to make an effort to get to bed earlier, so I can wake up earlier...
xoxo
Glady

I thought I was going to die...

Not literally die...lol...but die, the computer wasn´t working all day and I thought I was going to die!!! My main connection to the outside world! Lol but somehow it was fixed and all is well again :)phew...I had a new bread yesterday called chipa, its kind of like cornbread but better ;)mmmmm. I went shopping with Wilma yesterday, well grocery shopping and the place basically looked like our supermarkets with different stuff in it...hehe. My observation of paraguayans is that they basically look like latino people anywhere...all different shapes, sizes, colors...Some look really white and fair, others dark and native american looking. Most are somewhere in the middle...tan with dark features, which is not suprising since 90% of the population is mestizo (a mix of spanish and guarani). Basically, the conquistadors abondaned their catholic morals and did as many guarani women as they could...However, as with most nations where the Europeans invaded, the ideal is fair and rubio (blond).In the book that I´m reading, which is getting better and better. There is a saying in Gaurani..." kyra, moroti ha haguepa" to describe a desirable woman...it means, fat, white and with thick hair. I thought this was kind of sad and funny, because let me tell you i have seen no natural blondes here! Thick hair and big butts yes lol. Thick eyebrows also seem to run ranpid, which makes sense why I have frida kahlo-esk eyebrows. I however, pluck them to look normal lol. This morning I woke up, to the sound of a fly buzzing above my head that would not leave the room! And a splitting headache, which took awhile to go away. So, I was not very productive I had to go back to bed after lunch and nap, then it finally went away but then I felt groggy and the heat didn´t help.When I woke I was also suprised to see a man outside my window, turned out to be the gardner. Luckily, i was clothed but in tiny tank top. During the day its usually girl time with Leis and Julia who I speak span-glish too. Yesterday, I took a walk around town and took more pics, but then my camera died...and i´m not sure how to plug it into the adapter to charge. I also burned my hair, straightening the wattage is stronger here i guess. I have yet to visit wilma´s class...i think i said this everything and everyone moves slowly down here, which is nice but kind of annoying. I forget how much of a city girl I am till I leave the city for an extended amount of time...I´m in suburban hell!Slash heavan they really do have such a relaxed time. I´m just not doing much yet, so I´m bored and when I finish my book, oy vey! Oh speaking of oy vey i don´t think there are many jewish people down here, and I think it would be hard because they eat a lot of `pork! Oh I saw on the news that there is a pork flu in ny and mexico, sorry guys!be safe! The pork here is good :) I have also not seen any black people, or asians...though I am told there are a lot of chinese, japanese, and koreans, maybe they have their own nieghborhoods. I´ll investigate. So, to defeat my bordem i am starting a to do list of things I want and need to do...ie, get a freakin job (the story of my post collegiate life!ugh)change my freakin money which i still haven´t done! I havent spent a cent, which is nice but I feel so dependent which is a bad feeling for someone who is used to be fiercely independent. Plus i dont the family to pay for everything. They are seriously so nice to me! I also have to figure out the buses, maybe buy a cell phone, and call home a few people including mom who I need to talk to. I am def going to the international phoning place tomorrow. Oh and I have to call this lady about work...Oh and on totally random note i´ve managed to get 6 mosquito bites all on the right side of my body...my right leg, hip,and arm...isn´t that odd?!I´m going to put some bugspray on me right now actually! lol So, I´m missing you all and nyc, but i´m starting to feel more comfortable in my surroundings. oh and call me! to say hi on the house phone :) it works maria called me the other day and we had a nice convo, it was nice to hear a familiar voice.
hugs and kisses,
glady

y mas fotos :)

I thought these mugs were funny...hhhmmm for some reason its not letting me put more photos...annoying...oh well...dammit I totally have more photos, maybe I have to do another blog to post them. Oh and I figured out how to change the time on this too, it was completely off and in case you didn´t know I am actually in the same time zone! Yay :) I just had another new fruit mamoun, its long and green on the outside, inside its orange with a lot of green seeds in the middle that look like fish eggs. It actually tastes familiar, sweet but not too sweet...I think I might get more...

mas fotos...

These include the back of the house, tia Julia, Carlos y Karine, the perrito Peco, and me at dinner :)

more

So, to update Friday night we went out to dinner at a friends of theirs resturant called Garro. The friend that own is named Laura and she goes to their church lives near them too. The food was really good. And we sat outside, well most of it is actually outdoor seating, I think because its always warm! JuanJo said it was cold...at 72 degrees! I took some pics, I´ll upload them later, uploading pics takes awhile here so. Last night we went to downtown asuncion, which feel more like a city to me. Tall buildings bright lights, I was in heaven! Hotels,streets close together people. They showed me where the american embassy is too. The architecture was a mix of modern buildings and spanish/european architecture random and colorful. The president lives like right next to it which i thought was interesting.Apparently, he was a priest and is making up for lost time, by spreading his seed around and having a million kids...Downtown is also pretty developed with a lot of new stores and resturants. The nieghborhood where wilma lives, called san jorge is more residential 1 or 2 story homes, with unpaved streets, and not that many street signs. I don´t know how people find there way if you don´t actually live here. for example, the other day when she bough jaunjose a new mattress she had to draw them a map of how to get to their house for the deliver people. Also, the main road near her, there are run down old buildings, and business right next very developed modern buildings, which are right next to construction, which is right next to a crumbling building. It´s odd to say the least. Yesterday, we also went back to the retreatment center to bring the men icecream. I tried 3 different kinds, one was called americano...which was basically white vanilla...lol.I also tried mburucuya icecream which was alright. The best was uvas though! Grape icecream is the shit. While Wilma and Carlos were chatting it up, juanjose and i tried to communicate through his very bad english and my bad spanish. We generally succedded. After that, we drove to downtown as i said and sadly i didn´t bring my camera,but i´m going to go again. I´m going to be observing wilma´s class next week, which should be fun. And i´ll def make sure to bring it! On our way home, we drove through burger king and got a few kinds of empanadas, which i thought was funny. They were really good though. I drank mine down with good old fashion sprite :) I felt a little guilty though at the main stops lights the little boys were there again trying to make money washing peoples windshields, and here we were stuffing our faces in the car. Carlos gave one of them some money though, I think he felt a little guilty too. It makes me want to take them all home with me,but like the stray dogs i can´t. My back hurts now, so i think i´m going to lie down.

fotos

This is a photo of sopa solida being made the tortilla like thing made out of maiz...


AND MY LOVE ON NYC

no se

I dont know what to title this...I feel sick, I still feel stuffed to the max from yesterday, I tried a lot of new food and Carlos and Wilma kept giving me more. I think they´re trying to fatten me up! LOL I likeed this juice made out of Mburucuya. It is a thick citrus,lemony ish flavored juice. But different, Wilma says it calms you or something. For lunch we had spaghetti with a beef gravy on top. The beef was very chewy. Dinner was steak with broth and onions. Then later on I went with Carlos and Wilma to this church gathering, at a retreat center. It was basically a party, with MORE FOOD! To send off these men that were about to begin their retreat. It was really nice full of people, food, and chatter.They have a lot of nice friends. They were all very curious about me when they found out I was American. They found out very quickly when one of the men asked me a question in Guarani and I had NO idea what he was saying.And since the food was traditional Paraguayan food I had to eat some! haha, no I did really want to try it and it smelled good, but I´m paying the price today.Crap I totally forget there names, I´ll ask Leis or Julia to write them down for me later. But there was a pork sausage, and this long white thing that was similiar to a potatoe, and then this thing made of maiz (like corn) that was kind od like a pita but not at all! lol I liked them all. Then we went into the kitchen and there was this kish like food. And Carlos loved these pieces of fatty meat in broth, with the potatoe like thing. I´ll get all the names later. I had some of the fatty meat stuff too, but then I felt like I couldn´t move anymore I was SO stuffed! Today I am taking it easy...Oh and Jasmin cooked this flat bread kinda thing too after lunch which was really good, and of course i had to eat it too.
I took picutures of all of this, sometimes I really food like I´m on another planet or I´m an alien because all of this is new and strange to me. I fell asleep watchin iCARLY en espanol with Jasmine. I´m suprised they actually have a lot of American shows that are dubbed or subtitled. Before bed I watched Mean Girls with Karine. Karine´s birthday is coming up, they´re still deciding what to do. Yesterday, Wilma painted the room I think I am moving into soon. I´m fine right here, but I think thats her plan. I really need to get a clock I usually have no idea what time it is. I feel kind of lazy and I want to do more, but I don´t want to be pushy since they are being so nice to me. I´m going to downtown Asuncion Saturday...big buildings yay! Ok I should go now...oh here is the house number... apparently they can recieve but can´t make international calling...(O21)671878 So you can call me :)I think Paraguay´s country code is 51 and you have to dial 001 first, look it up to make sure.Missing NYC and the fast paced life, but enjoying the peace and family.
besos