Riding the Bus More Than John Madden, Swinophobia and Fun with Electric Fly Swatters

When the idea of joining the Peace Corps was floating around in my head years ago, I always had this image of Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves. I pictured myself living in a hut, cut off from the world, and spending months trying to build a friendly relationship with some natives who can’t understand anything I’m saying. As it turns out, I’m not really living in a hut, but those other two images weren’t too far off.

I haven’t had to crawl around on the ground while wearing buffalo hides to explain that a herd of buffalo is headed this way, like Costner did, but I have had to play some strange games of charades to fill in the gaps of my vocabulary. And as the name of my sector, (Urban Youth Development), would suggest, I am not exactly living miles away from civilization like most volunteer sectors here. Concepcion is one of the furthest PC sites from the capital, (and consequently, the office), so us Northerners can sometimes feel a bit isolated from the goings on in the Central Department. Since the trip is so time consuming and expensive, most volunteers from the Concepcion Department generally only travel down to the capital once every four to six weeks. But recently, I have racked up some serious mileage, (or “kilometerage,” I suppose), going back and forth to the capital.

During my first trip back, I took the opportunity see some friends from my training group, swing by the office, visit my training host family, and to pick up some mail. My parents sent me a package (thanks again, guys), which I was excited to snag from the mail room. When I got there, however, I was informed that I would have to go to UPS to pick it up. The UPS office is pretty close to where I was staying, so I walked over there with a friend. The receptionist told me that my box had been held at customs for what she referred to as “unknown reasons,” and that I would need to head down to the airport to get it. So I splurged for a taxi, and went down to the airport. After waiting for the afternoon, I was told that the guy that needed to sign something had gone home, and to try again tomorrow. I came back Saturday, and was told he didn’t show up. I came back Monday, and waited all day for some guy to go through my stuff. The same palpable ennui of a DMV fills the atmosphere of the customs house in Asuncion. Biblically-long story short, I got my box and headed over to the bus stop. If you are reading this as a future PC Paraguay volunteer, take my advice: Never send anything that customs agents with covetous eyes might like.

After spending the whole day waiting at the airport, we still had a few hours to burn before my bus left. So, another volunteer, the recently-aquired heavy cardboard box, and I went to see a movie that night while we waited for our midnight bus back to Concepcion. In the summer here, I went to the movies in the capital to escape the heat. During that last trip, I went to escape the cold. We aren’t actually into the winter months here yet, but we went through an arctic-like cold period. I don’t think the temperature is as low as it feels, but houses here just aren’t sealed up like they are in other places. When I went to visit my family in Guarambare during the trip, I quickly remembered that the windows in my room are just holes in the wall without any glass. I slept with my sleeping bag and three comforters. I wasn’t completely surprised when I got back to my site to find that most of my family here had severe colds and other sicknesses, since my house here in Concepcion is equally as insulated.

After my enthralling “package acquisition expedition” weekend, I got a call from our PCMO that the decision had recently been made to give flu shots to all volunteers now that there have been cases of that pesky Swine Flu, and that we must receive them in the coming week. I had already left, so that meant I would be in Concepcion for three days, then heading back to Asuncion the following weekend.

When the PC drove to our sites last month to deliver our bikes, they also dropped off some sort of very intense anti-flu medication that is only to be taken in the event of coming down with the flu. Supposedly it is one of those last-case scenario type meds because of some nasty side-effects. Us volunteers are pretty cut off from what’s going on in the world, so when I heard there was some epidemic called “Swine Flu,” all I could think of was that part in the movie Willow where the evil queen turns Val Kilmer and associates into pigs. Then I realized the seriousness of what’s going on on my way back to Concepcion. Many of the employees in the bus terminal in the capital were wearing those surgeon masks.

Now that I am back from Asuncion, (and hopefully not going back until the July 4th party at the embassy), I have had time to focus on work. I recently set up an activity with a local high school that I hope to develop further with other schools. This particular high school has a class taught by a doctor, and is intended for students that are interested in studying medicine. In the spirit of creating self-sustaining projects and involving more people in activities, I am training the students of this class in various topics for charlas, and they will then accompany me to other high schools and elementary schools to give the charlas to younger students. I started with self-esteem, and am planning on progressing to peer-counseling, sexual education and drug awareness. So far the students I am training have really enjoyed the work and are excited about the topics we have worked on.

My family and I here have quickly become very close. One of the things that takes a little while longer to develop when you are learning a new language is the subtleties associated with tones. Now that I have picked up on their sarcastic / joking tones, we have a great time together. When I showed them the electric fly swatter that was included in my package, they thought it was one of the greatest things they had ever seen. We spent what must have been a couple of hours running around the house killing mosquitos, and it is now one of their favorite pastimes.

Jerry, my canine stalker friend, has become even more attached recently. A couple of weeks ago he followed me into a store, and I had a tough time making him understand that he needed to wait outside. Loky, the slightly smaller dog that loves climbing in and out of my window, was disappointed to see that my host dad installed some wooded planks across the opening. It has not deterred him, though, as now he simply squeezes himself through a hole in such a way that would impress even the most skilled contortionists.

Tagged as: Asuncion, Customs, Electric Fly Swatter, John Madden, Mail, Swine Flu, UPS