You, too, could be nailing pancakes to the wall

This is the long-awaited day when I find out where my site is, where I will live for the next two years. It´s Christmas come early. I rolled out of bed and stumbled to the latrine, kicking puppies and chickens out of the way. Then I tried the yogurt that I had sitting through the night, and found that it was perfectly curdled. I got some goat milk (the most delicious ever) from a neighbor, so I´ve been experimenting with goat yogurt, as well. After I drank my morning cocido, Christina, Nate, and Kieth came by, and off we went to the bus stop. The morning buses are always crowded with people and baskets of eggs, veggies, chickens, whatever people are bringing to market. It can be a challenge to get on and off the bus before it starts moving again.

It´s an exciting time. Training is coming to a close. Tomorrow, we all go to our respective sites for a 5-day visit in order to check things out and set up a place to stay when we first get there. I´m feeling better about my language. Yesterday I worked in the kokue (field) with my mom. We were weeding the corn, cassava, and peanut plants, and I could actually understand what she was saying. We may have had our first real conversation! She´s very difficult to understand, so she always has her kids translate for her. Her older daughters who live in Buenos Aires and are about my age are coming to visit soon, so that will be fun.

Last week, I was gone on Long Field Practice. Five of us trainees went to visit a current volunteer to practice our language and technical skills. I stayed with a really sweet family and slept with them (mom, dad, 5-year old, and 8-month old) in their one-room house. I got along with the mom, who´s 27, really well, and it was nice to see that I really can have Paraguayan friends here. We worked in the fields with various farmers and did a presentation (in Guarani) on a specific green manure, complete with a skit. It was fabulous.

On Saturday, there was an international music festival in a town about a half hour from where I live. It started at 8:30pm, and showcased singers, dancers, and musicians from Paraguay, Aregentina, Japan, and some other countries I didn´t catch. It ended at 3:30 in the morning, and becauses buses don´t start running until 4:30am, we walked for a ways. I finally got home when the roosters were crowing and the sky was turning pink. My parents had already been up for an hour, milked the cows, and were drinking their cocido by the fire.

In preparation for leaving for our sites, I´ve been hearing all sorts of stories about volunteers who go crazy. One woman, so the story goes, was found completely naked in her house, nailing pancakes to the wall. Another woman got so angry at a cow for eating her underwear that she stabbed the cow. We´ll see.