Winter is approaching, though you might not know it. It´s still hot in the sun, we still wear flipflops, and there are no geese flying north (or south). But it suddenly got cold. The kind of cold that puts me to bed at 6:30, huddled in my sleeping bag, and drinking steaming maté. But it feels good, too, like fall. And fall always feels like new beginnings to me, when school starts, and the air is so fresh and biting. I actually find myself following the sun instead of the shade, something I haven´t done in the eight months I´ve been in Paraguay. Eight months. I´m sometimes amazed that I can actually communicate in a language that, just a few months ago, sounded like gobbledygook. Exactly like that.

I (and my camera) were invited to a one-year-old´s birthday party last week. We drank thick hot chocolate, like in the movie, and I watched the Paraguayan version of a piñata. All the kids hover under a big sand-filled baloon, and the mom pops it open with a knife. Then some plastic toys fall out. They love it, but only because they don´t know any better. Anyhow, at the birthday party, I overheard a Señora talking about how her husband was planting stevia. So, through her, I snagged an invitation to go work in the field with the men, something I haven´t gotten to do much of because of culturally-defined gender roles. After the party, I asked the guys, and they told me to come over at 7am the next morning to go planting. So I rolled out of bed at ten til 7, and went over to the house. Most of the guys had already left, and I soon realized that I was meant to help the Señora cook breakfast in the kitchen, so we could bring it out to the men. Of course. But I enjoyed spending an hour drinking coffee (1 part cofee...8 parts sugar...seriously) by the fire and helping to make tortillas, which I scarfed down. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. We bundled up our goodies and went back to the field, where I finally got to help.

I´ve always heard that it´s your connections that get you places, and I´ve believed it, but I´m seeing here how important connections really are. Just from running into the right people, and speaking their language, I´ve had so many offers of assistance. The other day, when I biked to my pueblo to make photocopies, word got around that I was in town, and I got a call from the the mining company who I visited on a fieldtrip with the high schoolers. They are an international company with gold stock in Canada, and I ended up spending hours at their office talking to the bossman, who speaks perfect English. Having heard about the environmental fair I was planning, they offered not only to donate 150 tree plants, but to pay for an expert to come and test ten different water sites in my district with groups of students, so it will be an educational experience. I´m psyched! And then they gave me a ride home in their fancy 4-wheel drive truck. I have friends in high places...

As for the environmental fair, I was unsure of how it would turn out, since my Paraguayan students took charge of it (as it should be). I did get to start a bucket brigade to pass tree plants, which may be one of my best contributions to Paraguay thus far. I had four of my volunteer friends come to my site to help out, and then sleep in my tiny house. We had a huge turnout, and even on the coldest night I´ve yet had in Paraguay. They made me get up and give an impromptu speech, which was fun. The next day, some of my high schoolers came to my house with bottles of wine and coke as a thank you. They know me too well. The fair definately opened eyes, and a teacher even assigned a report about how to deal with the problem of garbage. It´s a small step, but in the right direction. It also opened my eyes about how the education system works here (or doesn´t work) and how much support and guidance I need to give.

But sometimes Emilia needs Emily time. After my friends left, I spent the next couple days most working around the house and my garden. My neighbor and I went into the woods, and she helped me identify plants I wanted to use to make homemade pesticides. Bugs have been eating my greens, so I made three different stinky plant concoctions to combat them. I love making venenos caseros. It´s like I have a little apothecary, used for purposes of war. But all in the name of love, of course.

Alright, gotta go catch my bus. My English classes and cooking/nutrition class start this week, so I have some preparation to do. Until next time, keep a good song in your head...