Tereré is a very typical drink here in Paraguay during the summer. And by typical, I mean almost everyone drinks it, and many times a day. It isn’t just a tasty beverage; it’s an important social aspect of Paraguayan culture. People will sit for hours catching up with neighbors and family over pitchers of Tereré.
So what is it, exactly? It is a drink made from yerba mate. There is the guampa (cup) and the bombilla (straw) and then a pitcher/thermos of water that you need to drink it. You put the yerba in the guampa, and then you add just a little bit of water and sip it through a straw. The straw is made of metal and is made so that none of the yerba slips through into your mouth. It’s delicious. And full of caffeine, so I literally need to stop myself when drinking so I don’t have too much. Before you drink it, it is recommended to eat a Tereré Rupa (bed for terere), because the caffeine can give you the shakes (in the same way coffee can if you haven’t eaten anything).
In the pitcher, you can add medicinal herbs to help you with things such as indigestion, diarrhea, pain, etc.
When the drink is served cold it is called Tereré, and when hot it is Mate. It is found all over Paraguay, and in some parts of Argentina and Brazil. When in a group, there is the person who made the Tereré, and they are sort of the “leader”. By that, I mean that they fill up the water for each person and you hand it back to them once you have finished your turn.
Some rules of Tereré (I have not learned them all yet…)
-Never mess with the bombilla. If you touch it or move it, it is seen as an insult to the person who made the drink
-Drink all the liquid before you hand it back. It’s only a couple sips, so that is easy.
-The “leader” (I feel like there is a word for this person but I am blanking) will always hand you the guampa with the straw facing you.
-It is passed around in a circle. You don’t get 2 cups in a row
-if you say thank you after you drink it, they assume you don’t want any more
-don’t have chapstick or anything on when you drink it, since it gets on the straw and then its gross to pass around
-and my personal favorite, don’t drink terere and eat watermelon together. Your stomach will explode.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Miscellaneous Things
1. In addition to avoiding cow poop and burning trash while walking, be cautious when walking underneath mango trees. Those mangoes have no mercy when they fall
2. I’m pretty terrible at volleyball, but hopefully playing a few days a week will help me out (The trainees in nueva esperanza play all the time)
3. Little kids don’t understand the fact that I can’t understand them when they speak 100 mph, and then laugh at me every time I ask them to repeat what they said
4. The mosquito net I sleep under blocks a lot of the fan air, so it feels like I am falling asleep in a sauna
5. Guarani is really difficult to learn. Mostly because half of the sounds are gutteral/nasal, and so us Americans sound like fools when we speak. A little sample: Mba’éichapa (Hello/How are you), nahaniri (no), Moõguapa nde (where are you from) Mba’épe remba’apo nde (where do you do). Yeah. Gibberish.
6. It’s pretty unbelievable the amount of time us trainees can talk about how terrible the dry white bread is here, and how much we miss chipotle. And how our host families don’t seem to understand that we don’t eat an entire cow in one sitting (our lunch portions are ridiculous).
7. Funniest t-shirt to date: my neighbor wearing one that read “Will sell wife for beer”. After I told him what it said, everyone laughed, and I haven’t seen him wear it since.
8. It is not uncommon to see a two-person moto going down the street. With 4 people on it. Including a newborn baby. And no one is wearing a helmet.
9. The other day I realized I hadn’t seen Michi (the cat) in a couple of days, so I asked my host mom about him. Her response? “I don’t know; he was probably killed by a dog. I’m going to get a new cat next week so we have something to kill the rats”. I hope you’re still out there Michi, but if not, RIP.
10. I heard Whitney Houston died the recently… overdose? I found out two days after it happened, so unlike me! I guess it’s time I become accustomed to having no idea what is going on in the celebrity world… Also – bachelor and pretty little liars updates, people! Haha but seriously…
2. I’m pretty terrible at volleyball, but hopefully playing a few days a week will help me out (The trainees in nueva esperanza play all the time)
3. Little kids don’t understand the fact that I can’t understand them when they speak 100 mph, and then laugh at me every time I ask them to repeat what they said
4. The mosquito net I sleep under blocks a lot of the fan air, so it feels like I am falling asleep in a sauna
5. Guarani is really difficult to learn. Mostly because half of the sounds are gutteral/nasal, and so us Americans sound like fools when we speak. A little sample: Mba’éichapa (Hello/How are you), nahaniri (no), Moõguapa nde (where are you from) Mba’épe remba’apo nde (where do you do). Yeah. Gibberish.
6. It’s pretty unbelievable the amount of time us trainees can talk about how terrible the dry white bread is here, and how much we miss chipotle. And how our host families don’t seem to understand that we don’t eat an entire cow in one sitting (our lunch portions are ridiculous).
7. Funniest t-shirt to date: my neighbor wearing one that read “Will sell wife for beer”. After I told him what it said, everyone laughed, and I haven’t seen him wear it since.
8. It is not uncommon to see a two-person moto going down the street. With 4 people on it. Including a newborn baby. And no one is wearing a helmet.
9. The other day I realized I hadn’t seen Michi (the cat) in a couple of days, so I asked my host mom about him. Her response? “I don’t know; he was probably killed by a dog. I’m going to get a new cat next week so we have something to kill the rats”. I hope you’re still out there Michi, but if not, RIP.
10. I heard Whitney Houston died the recently… overdose? I found out two days after it happened, so unlike me! I guess it’s time I become accustomed to having no idea what is going on in the celebrity world… Also – bachelor and pretty little liars updates, people! Haha but seriously…
More Paraguay Observations
Lesson Learned: When you have a lot to catch people up on, write the blog post on your laptop, save, and bring to the internet café. Apologies if the last one was way too long and scatter brained. Hopefully I will get better at this…
Bueno… more observations (and another fairly long post… lo siento)
Animals – in my house, the pets are treated similar to that in the US. By that, I mean they are not kicked or beaten, they stay within the compound when no one is around, and the dog wears a collar… I even saw one person walking their dog on a leash! I have heard in many areas of Paraguay they are not treated as nicely, so I was glad to see that Vovi and Michi (my dog and cat) have a nice life here. Also, there are farm animals all over the place. When walking down the road, it is very likely to see cows and chickens roaming. There was one time when the cow was completely blocking the road, and when I took a picture all the Paraguayans I was with thought it was HILARIOUS that I found that noteworthy.
Walking – so far, my host mom and I have taken a 45 min-1 hr walk every night. We go with her friend Perla and they speak Guaraní most of the time while I just look around. I must say, I have become quite good at dodging cow crap and burning garbage on the roads. We also learned a shortcut from Guarambaré (our training location) to Nueva Esperanza (my home village) that is great! Or was, at least, until I wore nicer sandals to training, walked home in them, and ended up limping the last 10 minutes after developing 4 HUGE blisters on my feet. I then proceeded to park myself on my bed for the next 15 hours.
Integration – In all honestly, in a little more than a week here in Paraguay I feel more integrated that I ever did studying abroad in Spain. Part of it is definitely the occasion – I am here to become a member of Paraguayan society and live this life every day, where as while I was abroad I simply used Spain as a home base during my jaunt across Europe. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love Basque culture and the people there, it is just that I have immersed myself much more fully here. It also helps to be so disconnected. In Spain, I would immediately come home from class and get on my computer to talk with everyone at home. Here, I come home and am forced to talk with my host mom and neighbors for hours until I go to bed. I am already thinking way more in Spanish, and will find myself writing in spanglish in my journal. I love it!
Food – I am missing the variety of veggies, big time. Sometimes I will get a cabbage/tomato salad in my lunch, but not always. It’s usually meat and carbs, and red meat at that. I am going to start buying more veggies to share with my host mom and hopefully show her how delicious they are! Also, my host mom is the greatest at letting me help out! When making a typical Paraguayan dish, she always let’s me watch and help her, so that is great!
Training Group – My training group, G38 (G stands for Guarambare), is full of some seriously awesome people. We come from all different walks of life, yet are all able to bond over the simple fact that we are all here in Paraguay, and in it together. On Valentine’s day it was one volunteer’s birthday. To celebrate, we rented out a place that had a soccer field and volleyball courts, drank beers, ate cake, and just had a blast. The people in Nueva Esperanza (13 ppl) were alone in Guarambare on Thursday since the other group had training in their site. We spent most of the day sharing stories and laughing. At lunch, we all crammed into a table and then made a pact to make it the full 27 months. Cheesy? Yes, but I really hope we all make it!
Hopefully I will post some pics soon... the internet cafe here sucks
Bueno… more observations (and another fairly long post… lo siento)
Animals – in my house, the pets are treated similar to that in the US. By that, I mean they are not kicked or beaten, they stay within the compound when no one is around, and the dog wears a collar… I even saw one person walking their dog on a leash! I have heard in many areas of Paraguay they are not treated as nicely, so I was glad to see that Vovi and Michi (my dog and cat) have a nice life here. Also, there are farm animals all over the place. When walking down the road, it is very likely to see cows and chickens roaming. There was one time when the cow was completely blocking the road, and when I took a picture all the Paraguayans I was with thought it was HILARIOUS that I found that noteworthy.
Walking – so far, my host mom and I have taken a 45 min-1 hr walk every night. We go with her friend Perla and they speak Guaraní most of the time while I just look around. I must say, I have become quite good at dodging cow crap and burning garbage on the roads. We also learned a shortcut from Guarambaré (our training location) to Nueva Esperanza (my home village) that is great! Or was, at least, until I wore nicer sandals to training, walked home in them, and ended up limping the last 10 minutes after developing 4 HUGE blisters on my feet. I then proceeded to park myself on my bed for the next 15 hours.
Integration – In all honestly, in a little more than a week here in Paraguay I feel more integrated that I ever did studying abroad in Spain. Part of it is definitely the occasion – I am here to become a member of Paraguayan society and live this life every day, where as while I was abroad I simply used Spain as a home base during my jaunt across Europe. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love Basque culture and the people there, it is just that I have immersed myself much more fully here. It also helps to be so disconnected. In Spain, I would immediately come home from class and get on my computer to talk with everyone at home. Here, I come home and am forced to talk with my host mom and neighbors for hours until I go to bed. I am already thinking way more in Spanish, and will find myself writing in spanglish in my journal. I love it!
Food – I am missing the variety of veggies, big time. Sometimes I will get a cabbage/tomato salad in my lunch, but not always. It’s usually meat and carbs, and red meat at that. I am going to start buying more veggies to share with my host mom and hopefully show her how delicious they are! Also, my host mom is the greatest at letting me help out! When making a typical Paraguayan dish, she always let’s me watch and help her, so that is great!
Training Group – My training group, G38 (G stands for Guarambare), is full of some seriously awesome people. We come from all different walks of life, yet are all able to bond over the simple fact that we are all here in Paraguay, and in it together. On Valentine’s day it was one volunteer’s birthday. To celebrate, we rented out a place that had a soccer field and volleyball courts, drank beers, ate cake, and just had a blast. The people in Nueva Esperanza (13 ppl) were alone in Guarambare on Thursday since the other group had training in their site. We spent most of the day sharing stories and laughing. At lunch, we all crammed into a table and then made a pact to make it the full 27 months. Cheesy? Yes, but I really hope we all make it!
Hopefully I will post some pics soon... the internet cafe here sucks
Monday, February 13, 2012
IM IN PARAGUAY!!!
Well hello folks! I am finally in Paraguay and so far I absolutely love it here. Lots of updates to share, so I will try to be brief.
Staging - I got to Miami on the 7th and was the first of my group to arrive. Thankfully, my hotel room was ready so I went there, napped, and got my last internet fix. Then as people started to roll in, a bunch of us went to dinner at a fun cuban place across the street. After, we went to Bayside, an area of Miami, for a few drinks and to relax. It was a great place to get to know some people and relax before the real stuff begins. On the 8th, the day was full of orientation. Ice breakers, safety talk, the norm. And then late on the 8th we left! There was an overnight flight to Buenos Aires, a looooong layover, and we finally got to Asuncion around 4:30 here (3 hours ahead of Chicago). Side note: we all looked like freaks with all our luggage, and one of my bags broke and so I was forced to buy one in the airpot. Great start.
First impressions - Paraguay is beautiful! Very green, trees everywhere, and a little hilly in some spots. So far everyone I have met from the country has been very patient with my spanish and is doing everything they can to help me adjust. Its hot here, but not unbearable (thankfully, my hair hasnt completely exploded yet).
Favorite parts of culture - TERERE! I will likely dedicate a full post to this at some point, but for now, it is a cold herbal tea made of Yerba and medicinal herbs. it is a HUGE part of the culture, as is you do this every day, many times a day. There is one cup and once straw and you sit around the main person. they will fill it up, pass it to you to drink, you drink it all, and then it goes back to the main person to be refilled. its delicious. There are a lot of rules that go along with it, but I will share that another time. I also love how friendly it is. When sitting on the porch drinking terere, you say hello to everyone who passes. Just very nice people so far.
Host Family - Initially I thought I was going to be living with a big family, but turns out it is just my mom and me in the house. She has 2 sons and a daughter, but all live elsewhere. She used to have her nieces and nephews live with her, but they recently moved to Argentina to live with their parents. My mom, Lidu, mostly takes care of the house, but she also has a used clothing business that she runs out of the back. There is also Vovi (the dog) and Michi (the cat).
Living situation - I have a very chuchi (fancy) living situation. The house is split up into two sides. My host mom and the kitchen are on one, with the living room and upstairs on the other. I live in the upstairs, have a double bed, and my own bathroom. The bathroom has running and hot water, so thats very nice. There is a big patio in front where we pass the hours of the day drinking terere and people watching. It´s pretty ideal, to be honest.
Language - Thankfully, my host mom speaks spanish. While I am not at the level I was at in Spain, I get by fine and am able to converse. Guarani, on the other hand, is going to be a battle. Im not sure when I will start learning it, but the sounds are like nothing I have heard before and the few words my host mom has tried to teach me I forget almost immediately...
Food - So far the food has been good! Lots of meats and rices, fresh fuit, and the occasional salad. I will likely have a post dedicated to typical paraguayan dishes at some point, so not going to write too much here.
Training - we are in training for over 40 hours a week. so far its just basics, but we will be trained in language, technical training, medical, and safety. I haven´t had much, so again, I will elaborate once I know more.
People in G38 - G38 is my training group here, and there are 28 of us total. Ages vary as well as where we are from, but so far we seem like a pretty good group! I´m excited to get to know everyone better!
Fun Times -
-as a present, a girl in our group gave some kids little stamps you can put on your body. at the end of the hour, i had stamps all over my feet and arms, and the kids had them all over their faces. they loved them!
-yesterday a bunch of us vonteers and our host siblings played frisbee and cards for a couple hours in the afternoon
-i have been promised i can kill a chicken in the near future
-when my host sister (veronica) came to town, we hung out and drank beers with her a friend of hers. it was great to be around paraguayans my age
dorry for the long and vague post, im about out of time, and just wanted to cram as much in as possible. hope to be in touch again soon!
Staging - I got to Miami on the 7th and was the first of my group to arrive. Thankfully, my hotel room was ready so I went there, napped, and got my last internet fix. Then as people started to roll in, a bunch of us went to dinner at a fun cuban place across the street. After, we went to Bayside, an area of Miami, for a few drinks and to relax. It was a great place to get to know some people and relax before the real stuff begins. On the 8th, the day was full of orientation. Ice breakers, safety talk, the norm. And then late on the 8th we left! There was an overnight flight to Buenos Aires, a looooong layover, and we finally got to Asuncion around 4:30 here (3 hours ahead of Chicago). Side note: we all looked like freaks with all our luggage, and one of my bags broke and so I was forced to buy one in the airpot. Great start.
First impressions - Paraguay is beautiful! Very green, trees everywhere, and a little hilly in some spots. So far everyone I have met from the country has been very patient with my spanish and is doing everything they can to help me adjust. Its hot here, but not unbearable (thankfully, my hair hasnt completely exploded yet).
Favorite parts of culture - TERERE! I will likely dedicate a full post to this at some point, but for now, it is a cold herbal tea made of Yerba and medicinal herbs. it is a HUGE part of the culture, as is you do this every day, many times a day. There is one cup and once straw and you sit around the main person. they will fill it up, pass it to you to drink, you drink it all, and then it goes back to the main person to be refilled. its delicious. There are a lot of rules that go along with it, but I will share that another time. I also love how friendly it is. When sitting on the porch drinking terere, you say hello to everyone who passes. Just very nice people so far.
Host Family - Initially I thought I was going to be living with a big family, but turns out it is just my mom and me in the house. She has 2 sons and a daughter, but all live elsewhere. She used to have her nieces and nephews live with her, but they recently moved to Argentina to live with their parents. My mom, Lidu, mostly takes care of the house, but she also has a used clothing business that she runs out of the back. There is also Vovi (the dog) and Michi (the cat).
Living situation - I have a very chuchi (fancy) living situation. The house is split up into two sides. My host mom and the kitchen are on one, with the living room and upstairs on the other. I live in the upstairs, have a double bed, and my own bathroom. The bathroom has running and hot water, so thats very nice. There is a big patio in front where we pass the hours of the day drinking terere and people watching. It´s pretty ideal, to be honest.
Language - Thankfully, my host mom speaks spanish. While I am not at the level I was at in Spain, I get by fine and am able to converse. Guarani, on the other hand, is going to be a battle. Im not sure when I will start learning it, but the sounds are like nothing I have heard before and the few words my host mom has tried to teach me I forget almost immediately...
Food - So far the food has been good! Lots of meats and rices, fresh fuit, and the occasional salad. I will likely have a post dedicated to typical paraguayan dishes at some point, so not going to write too much here.
Training - we are in training for over 40 hours a week. so far its just basics, but we will be trained in language, technical training, medical, and safety. I haven´t had much, so again, I will elaborate once I know more.
People in G38 - G38 is my training group here, and there are 28 of us total. Ages vary as well as where we are from, but so far we seem like a pretty good group! I´m excited to get to know everyone better!
Fun Times -
-as a present, a girl in our group gave some kids little stamps you can put on your body. at the end of the hour, i had stamps all over my feet and arms, and the kids had them all over their faces. they loved them!
-yesterday a bunch of us vonteers and our host siblings played frisbee and cards for a couple hours in the afternoon
-i have been promised i can kill a chicken in the near future
-when my host sister (veronica) came to town, we hung out and drank beers with her a friend of hers. it was great to be around paraguayans my age
dorry for the long and vague post, im about out of time, and just wanted to cram as much in as possible. hope to be in touch again soon!
Monday, February 6, 2012
The waiting is finally over!
I applied to the Peace Corps in September of 2010. Had my interview and was nominated in November of '10. Medically and legally cleared to serve by April of '11. Was told in June that there wasn't a position for me that would come before the new year. Then I got a phone call that an invitation was in the mail in August of '11.
Fast forward 6 months, and here we are! I still remember getting that phone call in August like it was yesterday. I was at work and was silently freaking out. I think I went back and forth to the bathroom 10 times that hour just to make sure I was composed. I wanted to jump up and down, but I needed to keep it together. I can't believe it's finally happening! Tomorrow I am on a 7am flight out of O'Hare to Miami where I will meet the rest of G38. Then on the 8th, we have staging and I can officially call myself a Peace Corps Trainee. And on the 9th, I will land in Paraguay where I plan to spend the next 27 months of my life.
Right now I feel pretty similar to the way I did back in August - completely overwhelmed. Mostly overwhelmed with excitement, but there are of course the nerves and sadness that come with packing up your life, saying goodbyes, and not knowing what the future holds. I am so tired of answering all the questions and talking about it, I just want to be living it!
The past few weeks in Chicago have been amazing! Lots of lunches and dinners with old and new friends. A going away party with the Zaideman side and some friends. A weekend in Milwaukee. A weekend in St. Louis with the McWilliams side. And then my going away party with friends, an incredible trolley ride around downtown Chicago. Thanks to everyone who made a point to see me off or has sent me messages! They all mean the world to me and I am so thankful to have your support! Please keep in touch, and I will be sure to do the same.
I will leave you with some pics of the last few weeks! Hopefully I will be able to log on after I get to Paraguay, I am sure I will have lots of updates then!
Noonan's graduation party
Cousins at the Zaideman going away party
Weekend in MKE
Weekend in STL
Tessie and I at our favorite spot
Polo boys on the trolley!
And some of the ladies!
"You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you."
~Frederick Buechner
Fast forward 6 months, and here we are! I still remember getting that phone call in August like it was yesterday. I was at work and was silently freaking out. I think I went back and forth to the bathroom 10 times that hour just to make sure I was composed. I wanted to jump up and down, but I needed to keep it together. I can't believe it's finally happening! Tomorrow I am on a 7am flight out of O'Hare to Miami where I will meet the rest of G38. Then on the 8th, we have staging and I can officially call myself a Peace Corps Trainee. And on the 9th, I will land in Paraguay where I plan to spend the next 27 months of my life.
Right now I feel pretty similar to the way I did back in August - completely overwhelmed. Mostly overwhelmed with excitement, but there are of course the nerves and sadness that come with packing up your life, saying goodbyes, and not knowing what the future holds. I am so tired of answering all the questions and talking about it, I just want to be living it!
The past few weeks in Chicago have been amazing! Lots of lunches and dinners with old and new friends. A going away party with the Zaideman side and some friends. A weekend in Milwaukee. A weekend in St. Louis with the McWilliams side. And then my going away party with friends, an incredible trolley ride around downtown Chicago. Thanks to everyone who made a point to see me off or has sent me messages! They all mean the world to me and I am so thankful to have your support! Please keep in touch, and I will be sure to do the same.
I will leave you with some pics of the last few weeks! Hopefully I will be able to log on after I get to Paraguay, I am sure I will have lots of updates then!
"You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you."
~Frederick Buechner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)