Throughout my service I have done some running, but nothing too serious. At the end of September, my host sister invited me to run a 10 kilometer race that her university was organizing. I hadn't been running lately and I figured I had a month to do a little "training”. Things didn't go quite as I planned. There were a few days of rain which makes the roads too muddy to run on and then I took a trip to Asuncion for some meetings and a training so I ended up only running about four times the week before the race. I didn't have any doubts about being able to finish, but I wasn't sure how well I would do. According to the information I received, the race was supposed to be on Saturday the 26th of October. So early Saturday morning I got on a bus and headed to Villarica, where the race was going to be. I wasn't exactly sure where the park was so I asked the bus driver's assistant. He said not to worry just sit back down and he’d let me know when to get off. After leaving Villarica and passing though the next little town I was pretty sure we had missed it. I got up and asked the guy again and said oh yeah…we missed it. Fortunately, at that moment there was a bus coming down the highway heading back into Villarica and I was able to catch it. When I got off at the park where I thought the race was supposed to be it seemed a little weird that there was no one there. I called my host sister and she said the race had been rescheduled for the following day…I didn’t get the text she sent. The part that made me even more frustrated was that I had talked to her the day before and she didn't mention anything. In the end it worked out because I was able to go the final day of praying for my friend's father-in-law.
Here in Paraguay when someone dies they pray for them every day for nine days. On the final day they have a big lunch and then pray. The other eight days they just serve soda and candy and cookies after praying. They pray for nine days when the person dies. They pray again for nine days six months after the death and then again on the one year anniversary. After that they pray every year on the anniversary of their death.
After being very frustrated about making an unnecessary trip to Villarica I felt better about everything when I ended up winning the women's category of the race. I wasn't going to mention there were only about 18 participants in the entire race and three of those were women, but I guess I will. It doesn't say any of that on my first place trophy. The overall winner won 1 million Guaraníes, which is about $250. Now that I know the prize, I'll train harder for next year.
While I am very excited to meet the new group of volunteers who are in training, it also means that I will have to say goodbye to the other volunteers who are finishing their service and heading back to the US. The majority of them will be leaving in the beginning of December, but a few of them have chosen to end their service a month early, and unfortunately, my neighbor Brook is one of them. On November 3rd she had a going away party and invited her whole town. She asked me if I would help make cakes and then lead some kids' games at the party. I headed out Saturday late morning after my book club. I told Brook I would help her, rain or shine, with her party and as luck would have it, it was pouring rain. I thought about waiting for the rain to let up, but it didn't look like it would happen any time soon. I knew that either way it would be a wet and muddy ride so I put my things in a bunch of plastic bags and headed out. I got some crazy looks, but it was actually better because the mud was so wet it wasn't sticky and made walking easier. Also, the rain helped rinse me off as I went.
I would have been able to avoid the rain, but I had my book club in the morning. Not even thinking about Halloween, we decorated masks we made the week before from paper-mached balloons. There were only three girls there and they only came because I passed their house on the way to the library and they happened to be playing outside. I think there were two reasons for the low attendance. One, because there were some dark clouds looming over head and also, the 2nd of November is the day of the dead and everyone went to the cemetery. They go and clean up the graves, pray, and give out candy to all the kids. After arriving at Brook’s the rain stopped (figures) and we spent the afternoon making lots of cakes which we frosted on Sunday morning. In total, we had eight cakes we could serve. A couple of the thin ones we layered together and one was eaten by the dog. When things were were ready for the party, the neighbors invited us to go swimming in the lagoon, which is basically a large puddle filled by the recent rain. At the party we played Simon says, had an egg toss competition, had a piñata, Brook raffled off some of her things, and then we had cake. I was really sad to say bye to Brook, but as she pointed out, now I get the be the "wise" one who helps out the next volunteer. It's all part of the cycle of Peace Corps. I'm excited to find out who will be my new neighbor.
Mask making at book club
Playing in the lagoon
Piñata and egg toss
There is about a month left of school before summer break and the students will soon be taking their finals. So this past week I did my last recycled art sessions. The 9th graders made recycled paper and the 7th graders made cups from wine bottles. Also, one of the classes I was working with in the garden planted tree seeds. We made biodegradable pots from old newspapers. A personal project I just started is building a flower bed in front of my house. My timing isn't great because it is getting hot and isn't much fun to be out digging, but fortunately, early in the morning it is cool enough to work semi-comfortably. I am using old bottles, that I found in an empty lot near my house, as the border.
Making paper with 9th graders
Cutting glass bottles with 7th graders
My flower bed in progress
