My life has is officially a series of awkward events strung together. Luckily everyone here is so welcoming and friendly that it doesn’t stay awkward for too long….
So here’s what I’m up to:
So here’s what I’m up to:
On Monday morning I went to the escuela (K-9) to introduce myself to everyone there. Here’s what happened:
Before school starts, all the students and professors group together to say a prayer, sing their national anthem, and then do some general announcements. This was all being done in Spanish, and I was so thankful I could understand everything that was going on. THEN, the directora of the escuela goes up to the front and starts speaking Guarani. So I’m trying real hard to listen, and I realize she’s talking about ME! So I’m listening and listening and luckily I understand the cue when it’s time for me to go up and talk, but I was so flustered because I planned what I was going to say in Spanish but then she presented me in Guarani! (Not really a huge deal, but at 7am without coffee… I was pretty concerned!) So what did I do? SIN VERGUENZA (no shame) I started saying random things in Guarani about myself (like that I like dogs…) and then I switched over to Spanish to finish the rest of my little speech, actually explaining who I was and what I was all about.
I spent the rest of the morning observing all the classes. I had to walk around the school by myself, pick a classroom, awkwardly try to enter it and locate the professor, introduce myself again, and then I could sit back and watch their class.
So YAY! Everyone knows me now right?
No, not exactly. The escuela is broken up into two shifts. Half of the school attends classes in the morning, and the other half has afternoon classes. So I had to do the same thing all over again with the afternoon kiddos. Also, the colegio (9-12) takes place in the afternoon as well. Another little hitch, for the older grades, they have multiple different teachers that teach different subjects and only some come in on certain days. I’m still working on meeting all the profes.
So I decided to go into the colegio one afternoon and here’s what happened:
I introduced myself to the profesores who were teaching that afternoon, letting them know I studied biology and I’m in the health sector. I went into one of the classes with a literature teacher and after a bit, the other teacher came and got me saying he needed me for something science related. COOL! Then I found out one of the teachers was sick and he wanted me to “sub” their psychology class. Oh boy. Since I was in the colegio, all of them had done lots of work with the previous volunteer, and none of them were shy with me. They had perfected some phrases in English like “Can I go to the bathroom” and “What’s your name” and kept repeating those over and over again. In all, I pretty much sat there while they answered questions out of their books and chatted with the students, exchanging some Guarani for English. But I felt like a boss “subbing” a class on my first day in the colegio.
So this is what I’ve been up to. I’ve also awkwardly entered the Puesto de Salud (health post) and did the same thing. I’ve been going to church every night since my town is celebrating their day of their Saint all week and hugging and sharing the peace with as many people as possible. My job right now is just to meet as many people as I can (and hopefully remember some names!) and try to understand how everything works here.
So basically I’m still not saving the world or changing the lives of Paraguayans everywhere, but I am slowly starting to feel like a part of this amazing community of Curupayty.
Even though this post was filled with awkward moments, let me leave you with an embarrassing story as well because, why not?
My Tio Rey (Uncle Rey) walked out to the kitchen wearing a shirt from the colegio de Luque. Luque is a city in Paraguay, and I know that because one of my friends went out to Luque to buy a guitar with her family. Apparently that’s where they make guitars and you can get them for a good price. Anyway, I thought I was sooooo cool because I knew that fact about Luque, so I decided to show off a bit and use some Guarani too. What I tried to say was “Oh Luque, they make nice guitars there!” Unfortunately, what I ended up saying was “Aye Luque! They make great cats there!” Everybody was at first super confused and just stared at me like I was (more of a) freak (than usual). Then, they realized my mistake…. “mbaraka” is guitar and “mbaraka’ja” is cat. Oops. This pursued in laughter. Lots of Laughter. As usual.
Before school starts, all the students and professors group together to say a prayer, sing their national anthem, and then do some general announcements. This was all being done in Spanish, and I was so thankful I could understand everything that was going on. THEN, the directora of the escuela goes up to the front and starts speaking Guarani. So I’m trying real hard to listen, and I realize she’s talking about ME! So I’m listening and listening and luckily I understand the cue when it’s time for me to go up and talk, but I was so flustered because I planned what I was going to say in Spanish but then she presented me in Guarani! (Not really a huge deal, but at 7am without coffee… I was pretty concerned!) So what did I do? SIN VERGUENZA (no shame) I started saying random things in Guarani about myself (like that I like dogs…) and then I switched over to Spanish to finish the rest of my little speech, actually explaining who I was and what I was all about.
I spent the rest of the morning observing all the classes. I had to walk around the school by myself, pick a classroom, awkwardly try to enter it and locate the professor, introduce myself again, and then I could sit back and watch their class.
So YAY! Everyone knows me now right?
No, not exactly. The escuela is broken up into two shifts. Half of the school attends classes in the morning, and the other half has afternoon classes. So I had to do the same thing all over again with the afternoon kiddos. Also, the colegio (9-12) takes place in the afternoon as well. Another little hitch, for the older grades, they have multiple different teachers that teach different subjects and only some come in on certain days. I’m still working on meeting all the profes.
So I decided to go into the colegio one afternoon and here’s what happened:
I introduced myself to the profesores who were teaching that afternoon, letting them know I studied biology and I’m in the health sector. I went into one of the classes with a literature teacher and after a bit, the other teacher came and got me saying he needed me for something science related. COOL! Then I found out one of the teachers was sick and he wanted me to “sub” their psychology class. Oh boy. Since I was in the colegio, all of them had done lots of work with the previous volunteer, and none of them were shy with me. They had perfected some phrases in English like “Can I go to the bathroom” and “What’s your name” and kept repeating those over and over again. In all, I pretty much sat there while they answered questions out of their books and chatted with the students, exchanging some Guarani for English. But I felt like a boss “subbing” a class on my first day in the colegio.
So this is what I’ve been up to. I’ve also awkwardly entered the Puesto de Salud (health post) and did the same thing. I’ve been going to church every night since my town is celebrating their day of their Saint all week and hugging and sharing the peace with as many people as possible. My job right now is just to meet as many people as I can (and hopefully remember some names!) and try to understand how everything works here.
So basically I’m still not saving the world or changing the lives of Paraguayans everywhere, but I am slowly starting to feel like a part of this amazing community of Curupayty.
Even though this post was filled with awkward moments, let me leave you with an embarrassing story as well because, why not?
My Tio Rey (Uncle Rey) walked out to the kitchen wearing a shirt from the colegio de Luque. Luque is a city in Paraguay, and I know that because one of my friends went out to Luque to buy a guitar with her family. Apparently that’s where they make guitars and you can get them for a good price. Anyway, I thought I was sooooo cool because I knew that fact about Luque, so I decided to show off a bit and use some Guarani too. What I tried to say was “Oh Luque, they make nice guitars there!” Unfortunately, what I ended up saying was “Aye Luque! They make great cats there!” Everybody was at first super confused and just stared at me like I was (more of a) freak (than usual). Then, they realized my mistake…. “mbaraka” is guitar and “mbaraka’ja” is cat. Oops. This pursued in laughter. Lots of Laughter. As usual.