tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-318647642024-03-23T11:06:36.644-07:00"An Island Surrounded by Land": Adventures in ParaguayA chronicled account of the happenings in Chris and Marisa's lives during their two-year, three-month stint with the Peace Corps in Paraguay, South America.
Disclaimer: Nothing written here should be interpreted as official or unofficial Peace Corps literature or as sanctioned by the Peace Corps or the U.S. government in any way. We have chosen to write about our experiences online in order to update family and friends. These are the views solely belonging to Chris and Marissa.Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-55093974746375347012008-03-02T18:01:00.014-07:002008-03-02T19:30:44.732-07:00Photos of Late<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREoWRJ0SH1w5JSqRYTluJFzDIZYZAy5r3E1zXHDl0k1B_QI7jbgubsYb9VECDYwvIbyvyuf-nOuLJV1Dflbg1dvRg7hR9TYxRmxYEoSUcDy2XDLBIYw4IqT_XMm10x-31PniNSA/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+007.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREoWRJ0SH1w5JSqRYTluJFzDIZYZAy5r3E1zXHDl0k1B_QI7jbgubsYb9VECDYwvIbyvyuf-nOuLJV1Dflbg1dvRg7hR9TYxRmxYEoSUcDy2XDLBIYw4IqT_XMm10x-31PniNSA/s320/Igauzu+Falls+007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173336686187862498" /></a><br />Basking Beauty of the Rio Iguazu<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhMz7QT5VjJXne_ucmhg75hlIzNcTxO_CZVYx_pogH2_F-Nm4Iw4Va4UfgtUy2xRe48BT3Cj6q-2cknyFiTzbXOwYouKflJQ2TI09jDGkdvuhHdfBtuYHQbPTdplGISBwMmiAZA/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+091.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173328285231831506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmhMz7QT5VjJXne_ucmhg75hlIzNcTxO_CZVYx_pogH2_F-Nm4Iw4Va4UfgtUy2xRe48BT3Cj6q-2cknyFiTzbXOwYouKflJQ2TI09jDGkdvuhHdfBtuYHQbPTdplGISBwMmiAZA/s320/Igauzu+Falls+091.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Mini Bear<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK48zjVjzY_puFsBMCCcSbgc-L4Rs_moLVs1hcmMxzTJes4mEEzvgKFrc2XUcqlOY9b74r4udsRwLoXDD6dlng-Qhh2CmgI3ZAYtOKGlG_FlR7J02Hsq2Pp0s5dojcHjyYAGG7uA/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+081.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173327533612554690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK48zjVjzY_puFsBMCCcSbgc-L4Rs_moLVs1hcmMxzTJes4mEEzvgKFrc2XUcqlOY9b74r4udsRwLoXDD6dlng-Qhh2CmgI3ZAYtOKGlG_FlR7J02Hsq2Pp0s5dojcHjyYAGG7uA/s320/Igauzu+Falls+081.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A Menacing Capuchin Double-Threat<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOlE0SVMQRQnFXwtzx91RtjkoqsZSdS5od4IsiHdyMGhtX6iw_cv8eWCGcOKTiBdsFtiDB6No7ushhLScIWIa31RjPzpRzqbgHIz-P_N_EOAhPRkpacts4jro2-5ggs_dvTcpYA/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+087.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173326769108375986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfOlE0SVMQRQnFXwtzx91RtjkoqsZSdS5od4IsiHdyMGhtX6iw_cv8eWCGcOKTiBdsFtiDB6No7ushhLScIWIa31RjPzpRzqbgHIz-P_N_EOAhPRkpacts4jro2-5ggs_dvTcpYA/s320/Igauzu+Falls+087.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5jEXy3rGoOCZf6UcvK9L-irxErFAFmiDr_6o4HoekF2fugfp_b5pHzUiKiHF7b8b9U3M_ELnRtIRCQlEB9QOtfX6rdrV1usSnB_xriTlN6GsWEY2QmkW_9g5I8VE5s7L9mk0uQ/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+048.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173325510682958242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5jEXy3rGoOCZf6UcvK9L-irxErFAFmiDr_6o4HoekF2fugfp_b5pHzUiKiHF7b8b9U3M_ELnRtIRCQlEB9QOtfX6rdrV1usSnB_xriTlN6GsWEY2QmkW_9g5I8VE5s7L9mk0uQ/s320/Igauzu+Falls+048.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />A Bird's Eye View<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQTI5tvRZiXeczIlNj8A_GsfKvBdXZIiIXWW3M2TTa0ONxY1C6ayuaRuluz7qMEioIF1xAWv3lj6MHJp2l6M_KUvwDUFMAdpOf2ohPq64iZrtB4ETAMU8iSSaUzfKBpjI5RFqZg/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+045.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173324948042242450" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQTI5tvRZiXeczIlNj8A_GsfKvBdXZIiIXWW3M2TTa0ONxY1C6ayuaRuluz7qMEioIF1xAWv3lj6MHJp2l6M_KUvwDUFMAdpOf2ohPq64iZrtB4ETAMU8iSSaUzfKBpjI5RFqZg/s320/Igauzu+Falls+045.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Before the Baptism Under the Falls (Yes, we did go on that boat under those falls in the picture below this one, and we got soaked!!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc2hQm-fFJmiKq5HMrXOuDPhvanPWXwaARxQLqYHdD0w0pif1ijxzn2aeRvmknR7k04h8oMabPTOT0W2yN_hixf9c1RHGvH4Z_ITGBO9yl8H1CNpTX91B9MEBISX-hLJNPHBDmQ/s1600-h/Igauzu+Falls+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173324226487736706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc2hQm-fFJmiKq5HMrXOuDPhvanPWXwaARxQLqYHdD0w0pif1ijxzn2aeRvmknR7k04h8oMabPTOT0W2yN_hixf9c1RHGvH4Z_ITGBO9yl8H1CNpTX91B9MEBISX-hLJNPHBDmQ/s320/Igauzu+Falls+039.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Iguazu Falls, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKyyjTrbe_lr7l60SUgjcfmTg8IZZcCCkxwdx_MUvEauzZuEULNHQgsbq6eeIi_lIdZUJoED19HWub-lEbtgNOO7x6wxLxZ_xepZfHVikAfB2wmBDMN0scWX_TAI_Bwj1glywug/s1600-h/carnaval+050.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173322676004542834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKyyjTrbe_lr7l60SUgjcfmTg8IZZcCCkxwdx_MUvEauzZuEULNHQgsbq6eeIi_lIdZUJoED19HWub-lEbtgNOO7x6wxLxZ_xepZfHVikAfB2wmBDMN0scWX_TAI_Bwj1glywug/s320/carnaval+050.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMWbLgtqnW_hziHrZ3QOazOdaTOqlOQPHh7WF1tTR4v9n64xNnNxaQPJ0_g_PoqN6mJogRH3p68J0EH68xYFXTg67C1OQIQnRSmSJxHjSXaWYlop267ixVkuZkGQ-yYy05MlY4Q/s1600-h/carnaval+057.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173321061096839522" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtMWbLgtqnW_hziHrZ3QOazOdaTOqlOQPHh7WF1tTR4v9n64xNnNxaQPJ0_g_PoqN6mJogRH3p68J0EH68xYFXTg67C1OQIQnRSmSJxHjSXaWYlop267ixVkuZkGQ-yYy05MlY4Q/s320/carnaval+057.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Carnaval Villarica 2008<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48iThkDfkxGKEuP0cz7nPbjMkaz7bKtoSkIsxzfojp1kMY2D1hl6Np7qRxEFz2qgZwSyrmPkzb8MI1_YZ367018s_sgFluJtfjEJdDsUEOiMF0MZM9KE7USxYd4nyxep11LElYA/s1600-h/carnaval+039.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173315207056415058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48iThkDfkxGKEuP0cz7nPbjMkaz7bKtoSkIsxzfojp1kMY2D1hl6Np7qRxEFz2qgZwSyrmPkzb8MI1_YZ367018s_sgFluJtfjEJdDsUEOiMF0MZM9KE7USxYd4nyxep11LElYA/s320/carnaval+039.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Eye-Reddening Foam FightsMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-38787765658905994802008-01-02T12:39:00.000-07:002008-01-02T14:09:51.252-07:00Happy New Year 2008!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIX0irMFmCrTQTf8Sv2RmcuVkKLXDSqoTX6p7ZJqJhLfsor8M5LgoaeOl5jSNpvWG_hNu79iUkIcMMeCky_ZU8uGGJGy7zQV7HC_U-_TQa3-RVd03W0VsAQqiEz51YYKMny6bHsQ/s1600-h/xmas+021.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIX0irMFmCrTQTf8Sv2RmcuVkKLXDSqoTX6p7ZJqJhLfsor8M5LgoaeOl5jSNpvWG_hNu79iUkIcMMeCky_ZU8uGGJGy7zQV7HC_U-_TQa3-RVd03W0VsAQqiEz51YYKMny6bHsQ/s320/xmas+021.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150989313545028898" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcxqfEjU1wOJPzfiXDJrv40HBXfwPfY8zWd2mfsra1YLaagfWKpKdsUZToGuKYsZd9Q9FGGYZ7r0iB7UNNVaF_PGxBEoIzrLHw6nASAK03uFBAuHJ0zTxYO7huyNwXOL8EcoHpQ/s1600-h/100_1290.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmcxqfEjU1wOJPzfiXDJrv40HBXfwPfY8zWd2mfsra1YLaagfWKpKdsUZToGuKYsZd9Q9FGGYZ7r0iB7UNNVaF_PGxBEoIzrLHw6nASAK03uFBAuHJ0zTxYO7huyNwXOL8EcoHpQ/s320/100_1290.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150987866141050130" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePWWUdqlYWOhAnjBoDi66ECcCItjELzcW1gFS1jU9g6vC13nD7wO6CEtkviTYb6Kpa2lErWZDO0Tg8_QgnVXsovZhg-Ma3vCVykGF3AOJRlO_NaHiPswcljRvOknCz8peZ1zwQQ/s1600-h/100_1301.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePWWUdqlYWOhAnjBoDi66ECcCItjELzcW1gFS1jU9g6vC13nD7wO6CEtkviTYb6Kpa2lErWZDO0Tg8_QgnVXsovZhg-Ma3vCVykGF3AOJRlO_NaHiPswcljRvOknCz8peZ1zwQQ/s320/100_1301.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150987440939287810" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJ8nB8rbNUsj07nEJvkGPNRsLZUl1nW04G8ihyW-MBI0G3cqvcmKg11Tpc9x51KytDSSamBHRbfl74JcKDdg-Oe0zAqEVeDUuqaTdtfylTvii7q4fQZK9wrOO91SZ9_cZZ51mfg/s1600-h/100_1300.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigJ8nB8rbNUsj07nEJvkGPNRsLZUl1nW04G8ihyW-MBI0G3cqvcmKg11Tpc9x51KytDSSamBHRbfl74JcKDdg-Oe0zAqEVeDUuqaTdtfylTvii7q4fQZK9wrOO91SZ9_cZZ51mfg/s320/100_1300.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150987020032492786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8q0D5_wJ8sJMSuKWVprHjdXLQEBfmBOSqetk_XnDq2rp7-fyUMC6pjqLQN83XLNxZVclVsmiRrMsdNrb4nygqgtf21uGhsegJf4WQloQKqnYsZiQigyVSclBZ1LAgoZ-0MwW_w/s1600-h/xmas+021.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-8q0D5_wJ8sJMSuKWVprHjdXLQEBfmBOSqetk_XnDq2rp7-fyUMC6pjqLQN83XLNxZVclVsmiRrMsdNrb4nygqgtf21uGhsegJf4WQloQKqnYsZiQigyVSclBZ1LAgoZ-0MwW_w/s320/xmas+021.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150983850346628322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHosBbb6qz1pyY1SzoTvol3Vf2JUJFUBVB-VL0xPLhKILCYyQ32PgCbZAG2FcswkHj6-7bWw98RkPYIIFSqNaemfIQ7STAgP_jk6A-1V-x7LtMxCqrju9fOUelUA7LfHyOG5f7rA/s1600-h/xmas+020.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHosBbb6qz1pyY1SzoTvol3Vf2JUJFUBVB-VL0xPLhKILCYyQ32PgCbZAG2FcswkHj6-7bWw98RkPYIIFSqNaemfIQ7STAgP_jk6A-1V-x7LtMxCqrju9fOUelUA7LfHyOG5f7rA/s320/xmas+020.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150983390785127634" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmRY-4Q9f-siYx2LaG8TX1BMSP2s91uXj9eYZQdYejKQv32iJ4iCCqNeI2efRhRPz0O-41e8ru-_Oya3jgpYorvbT36yui2_rTCq4t8xGFJsHd1gG5TnKQVqoP1P-r-00-Bn2Kg/s1600-h/xmas+012.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimmRY-4Q9f-siYx2LaG8TX1BMSP2s91uXj9eYZQdYejKQv32iJ4iCCqNeI2efRhRPz0O-41e8ru-_Oya3jgpYorvbT36yui2_rTCq4t8xGFJsHd1gG5TnKQVqoP1P-r-00-Bn2Kg/s320/xmas+012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5150982987058201794" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It's been a LONG time coming for me to update the blog. I apologize for lack thereof. I will try to do an accounting of the last three months or so, going backwards.<br /><br />First of all, we spent New Year's eve in Asuncion looking for a restaurant that was open. We had planned a nice dinner with friends at the nicest restaurant we've been to thus far. It was closed. Not only was it closed, so were all the other restaurants that we knew of as well. In fact, there were no restaurants open. We did find one-a Peruvian restaurant on the other side of town. Then after dinner, we wanted to ring in the New Year amongst revellers in a bar or club with maybe some dancing perhaps. Nothing doing until after midnite. Apparently everything is closed on New Year's eve with the exception of some clubs, bars, and discos which only open after midnite. We rang in the New Year on the roof of our hotel, watching many of several private fireworks displays going off around us. The whole time the bomb siren was ringing. Yesterday, New Year's day, we experienced a strange phenomena. We were in search of an open supermarket, which brought us to one of two of Asuncion's largest, nicest malls--Shopping Del Sol. We discovered the market was closed, but the mall was open-- and with air conditioning we decided on a brief respite from the heat. To our surprise, not a single store was open, but there was the mall anyway-- still filled with people walking around as if they were shopping. What the...? <br /><br />Umm yes, we went home from November 14th to December 2, and it was great. We stopped off in Santiago, Chile for a day-long layover we had on the first leg of our trip, and had a great, expensive time and look forward to going back. We spent one week in Flagstaff; one in Cincinnati, and we saw all manner of family and friends. We were in culture shock, but had an awesome time. It was great to feel cold weather, clothes from the washing machine, carpet, and eat sushi and turkay again. It was hard getting back and adjusting. We are back in the saddle again now though. The only big surprises when we got back were the two black widow spiders that I found had set up shop in the house and the ring of black mold growing in the shower. Other than that, our house emerged relatively unscathed and minus one machete. Oh yeah, and the 4 leaks that sprung in our plastic water line...<br /><br />We spent Christmas in our community with our married Peace Corps friends, Adam and Angela, who came to join in the festivities with a freshly killed baby pig which we bought from our neighbors. Adam did the killing, Chris and Adam shaved it, and I even helped gut it! We ate lots of yummy grilled baby pork, pineapple, chipa guazu, and fresh peach pie. We had a great time shooting off fireworks and drinking sangria and homemade eggnog with our friends. It even rained just in time for the eve and cooled off nicely. Then, Christmas day, we were surprised with the news of my sister-in-law, Jamie's engagement to her boyfriend Byron. Chris and I are both happy and excited, and all I can say is...TOLD YOU SO!!! ;o)<br /><br />Pre-vacation, we worked very hard on our demonstration plot. We have sesame, melon, corn, beans, peanuts, castor bean, and a couple green manures for seed. Hoeing in the heat is hard, hard work, and weeds grow almost instantly due to the intense periods of rain and heat. I hate hoeing! <br /><br />To be honest, I don't remember much of what was going on before around November. We started to do some work with bees, and have tried to capture our own wild hive, but have been unsuccessful with getting the hive to stay once transferred. I think it's largely due to fact that we haven't found the queen yet, which is not an easy feat. We'll get it right sooner or later.<br /><br />Right now, work is slow. School is out for summer break, and we are working on our field a lot, and our weekly radio show. We are planning to have a summer camp for the students around the beginning of February. February also brings Carnaval, which we will plan on going to either in Encarnacion, which is supposed to be really fun, or in Villarica--a much closer and probably cheaper option.<br /><br />2008 will see us traveling a whole lot more. We have vacations planned to go see Igauzu Falls in Argentina, a possible trip to Bolivia or the Brazilian Pantanal for Chris' birthday in April, and then Jim and Sally will be down to visit in July! This year's gonna fly by, and we have lots to do.<br /><br />We wish you all a great start to a new year! One of my resolutions is to try and update the blog more often. Thanks to my little bro, Hillary, I can do that now on the comfort of our own laptop. Thanks again dude! Life's much sweeter here with the occasional movie, game, and more music.<br /><br />Chau chau (as the locals say, when saying goodbye on the phone) with love from Paraguay to all our family and friends.<br /><br />The UpdikesMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-4754575927279009922007-09-25T12:53:00.000-07:002007-10-12T12:38:49.855-07:00Reflecting On One Year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMgcaKQ-AzHfA_tzSjJnlPSDlRlrpbD0xQuNA6_1OmUI-nKzjgylkkwrZ1Er3OxpD4bo_b0d27Jq9QS67mGPu4hQ3Aj6fKsEo2kqdywXaYIOreNq90C3W98xso_uU_NIV3Qxa8A/s1600-h/updike+047.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMgcaKQ-AzHfA_tzSjJnlPSDlRlrpbD0xQuNA6_1OmUI-nKzjgylkkwrZ1Er3OxpD4bo_b0d27Jq9QS67mGPu4hQ3Aj6fKsEo2kqdywXaYIOreNq90C3W98xso_uU_NIV3Qxa8A/s320/updike+047.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120536735034660786" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqa_OrkHj6yngdkzbXLOY3RaPSjE0OBYF5niGgDFOU1pOu_nWroUVp2Oa2xHvPFCoc416O2s4G3Y_xsTQFhTtzYSW9k2EO5F5DrsGXfihOLupJv9_-_YK5U3i_aQFh2W_cPyrNgA/s1600-h/updike+036.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqa_OrkHj6yngdkzbXLOY3RaPSjE0OBYF5niGgDFOU1pOu_nWroUVp2Oa2xHvPFCoc416O2s4G3Y_xsTQFhTtzYSW9k2EO5F5DrsGXfihOLupJv9_-_YK5U3i_aQFh2W_cPyrNgA/s320/updike+036.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120533921831081890" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OFG9FdE2ofP6yqIkDB8Gr9320L8uIsaHJjmocBLfXi1Nk_i7Wt6duMSstEFyRA6sFTQo-AvAfhb4j71gE7zqPymfdvy09xvwR6WFO89F-1IZaGrx1boJdY4Lfodv2gGFu8rdaQ/s1600-h/updike+044.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1OFG9FdE2ofP6yqIkDB8Gr9320L8uIsaHJjmocBLfXi1Nk_i7Wt6duMSstEFyRA6sFTQo-AvAfhb4j71gE7zqPymfdvy09xvwR6WFO89F-1IZaGrx1boJdY4Lfodv2gGFu8rdaQ/s320/updike+044.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120532405707626386" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKE2eIUEInObo-_XOWeJMNFr_13V7RJDtO7qmjiFRcBptZkeV97eNMHVQQMnx7wQpl-DaksSSkYZTIbNga7VV1spGQGAFuOei5iSmXckoEzoODQsVtMJud1pPpuj4XvhwL2J0Wg/s1600-h/updike+009.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKE2eIUEInObo-_XOWeJMNFr_13V7RJDtO7qmjiFRcBptZkeV97eNMHVQQMnx7wQpl-DaksSSkYZTIbNga7VV1spGQGAFuOei5iSmXckoEzoODQsVtMJud1pPpuj4XvhwL2J0Wg/s320/updike+009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120531344850704258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyg5b53OlaOOffXG8HEv7AhJ9-yTZvWYuzoN10IgkglOnubOTQZFjjXxwfR_ITr0s_9iJKojVMbfIRGEfDh7vddef-v6Zr1Fl8sa_elSGjNqWVFnFe6kwF6zPIn7tYCu6xf08eA/s1600-h/updike+006.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyg5b53OlaOOffXG8HEv7AhJ9-yTZvWYuzoN10IgkglOnubOTQZFjjXxwfR_ITr0s_9iJKojVMbfIRGEfDh7vddef-v6Zr1Fl8sa_elSGjNqWVFnFe6kwF6zPIn7tYCu6xf08eA/s320/updike+006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120530576051558258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouMLpD-P6BG4saojoT9-Q8Xj8u8g5fnMfg5hAtwhUKtT1O9ncvMMieT1myBxhze-Vl42DInXmZ3Ojp_yEwxnyxsLgP4PhZ2fbg-49N05ERVYrQdOVlNjdYVr3DPZsuFmdmya_EA/s1600-h/updike+039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouMLpD-P6BG4saojoT9-Q8Xj8u8g5fnMfg5hAtwhUKtT1O9ncvMMieT1myBxhze-Vl42DInXmZ3Ojp_yEwxnyxsLgP4PhZ2fbg-49N05ERVYrQdOVlNjdYVr3DPZsuFmdmya_EA/s320/updike+039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120529777187641186" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Chris and I went to the ´botanical´garden in Asuncion. Okay, think more like a large park with a zoo, natural history museum, and 100-hectare nature reserve. (Okay people, it´s a developing country--discard all pre-conceived notions of the aforementioned places. It´s not like the places at home). I had already made up my mind previously that I would avoid the zoo like the plague. We paid the entrance fee to the garden and walked up to the museum. The museum was okay. Just a bunch of taxedermied animals, animals in jars, and a large collection of indigenous artifacts. Afterwards, we edged towards the zoo, which Chris was adamant on seeing. It was a disaster. After seeing series upon series of ill-housed, unhappy, and frustrated exotic birds, large cats, and other mammals, we arrived at the tapir enclosure. The tapirs were housed with an extremely large white crane-like bird with a black head and bill (there were almost no information placards on the animals, so I have no idea what it was). The ¨caretakers¨came to feed the tapirs and one man proceeded to hit the bird with a large, bulky leather glove on the bill repeatedly after the bird proceeded towards him and the exit gate. As this happened, his companion cackled with delight. I couldn´t take it and completely lost it. I had been bawling previously, but this was the last straw. I´m almost glad, for I would have reached the elephant and rhino exhibits, and that surely could have been far worse.<br /><br />After leaving the zoo, composing myself, and boarding the bus, we headed back towards the hotel. Unexpectedly on the way, we passed the Ycua Bolanos grocery store. This was the site of a massive fire a few years back in which some 400 people perished. A fire had broken out, and the owner had locked the customers in to prevent looting. Last year while we were trainees, the sentencing verdict passed on the owner. He got off of on 5 years, which was reduced to 3 due to 2 years already having been served or something like that. As a result widespread rioting and protests shook up part of Asuncion. It was sad to see the empty black hulk where so many died. It was covered with memorials and the victims´names. <br /><br />To top that, we passed by Plaza Uruguaya, which is situated by the hotel which we frequent. There, some 100+ native peoples from the Chaco region of Paraguay are camped out (and have been since the winter), as they have been displaced. Not sure on exact details, but they are essentially landless due to some sort of government dealings and negotiations. It´s really humbling to see truly poor people washing clothes on the street, cooking over fires, showering on the sidewalk, living in black plastic lean-to´s; going about all their daily motions all on public display in a public square. It´s difficult for me to see urban poverty versus poverty in the countryside (campo). In many ways they are alike, but at least the people in the campo have a little bit of land to build a house or have a garden or farm. Not so for the city homeless. And of course there are very little or no services to help the poor. As many times as I see it, I can´t get used to it. There is such a startling class divide here in Paraguay.<br /><br />We finished our day by going to one of latin america´s most beloved past times: a club soccer game. The two teams that have a very strong and old rivalry are Cerro Porteño and Olimpia. We did not go to one of those games as they have the tendency to become extremely violent, often ending in rioting. People are known to fight each other, throwing bags of urine, swinging belts with buckles; throwing and shooting nails, rocks, cement, and anything that can possible vist bodily harm on another. Nevertheless, we did witness a little bit of violence at the game we went to which was Olimpia vs. 12 of October. It was relatively tame, fun, and exciting. The guards took Chris´ belt away, and the cops in riot gear waited patiently at the top of the bleachers waiting for any mass violence. The only remarkable thing that happened is that an Olimpista (Olimpia fan) tried to spear a supposed Cerro Porteño fan for allegedly trying to rob him. The large noisy crowd of Olimpistas seated directly to my left started to move and sway and I turned to see a man approach another with a sharpened flagpole. The situation was diffused shortly thereafter, and everyone went back to cheering for the game. There wasn´t even beer sales at this game. People are just passionate about soccer in this country.<br /><br />That all happened in August. As of now, Chris and I are officially farmers. We are cultivating a piece of land in front of our house about the size of 1/2 hecater. It´s hard work, but we´re planting peanuts, melon, corn, beans, and cassava in association with abonos verdes (plants that fix nitrogen) to show farmers an alternative (and better) way of land management. We are also planting sesame and tartago to demonstrate cultivation of these crops as a possible source of supplemental income. Tartago is used in making industrial oils and is also a source of biofuel. The government is not offering credit to grow cotton this year, and farmers need to be looking at alternated sources of income. We hope by showing them these plots, it will encourge interest and show how easy it is to actually do. Paraguayan farmers do not want to take risks and try it on their own land and are skeptical if you just inform them by mouth. They need to feel it and see it with their own hands before they have buy-in.<br /><br />Tomorrow we will be getting a future volunteer in training to come and visit us. Wow. I still remember when we were in training and we went and visited our volunteers, Justin and Amanda, who have also become friends. Now they are leaving in December as they finish their service and we are hosting our own trainee.<br /><br />Chris and I have grown immensely. We are different people now than when we left. I am forever changed and if nothing else comes out of this, Chris and I both agree that we are better citizens of the world for it. We have learned about ourselves, each other, other cultures, other parts of the world, and this experience is so uniquely different from anything we could ever do at home. We are better people now no matter what happens from here on out. Even though this experience is rife with frustration, lack of hope, and impatience some days, I am truly grateful to have been given this experience.Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-44230306678429284532007-08-28T18:09:00.000-07:002007-08-28T20:14:19.586-07:00Brief Hiatus....We ARE Alive! (And Kicking Too..)So, of course the first thing you´ll hear me say is that I want to apologize for not having updated the blog since July, and I realize that while the hiatus may have been brief for me, (who does the majority of the blogging around here), it may have felt like longer for our devoted readers. Time just flies sometimes. And while I don´t want to make excuses, I´ll just tell you how it is. Coming to town, whether it be Caaguazu or Asuncion, is a little bit of a time vacuum. Which is not to say that time doesn´t exist in these places, but rather, the hours fly by like minutes. We´ll come in to town and I´ll sit in front of the computer. I´ll start calling people, checking e-mails, and before you know it we´ve passed 4 hours on the internet. The worst part of it all is that after one of these episodes, I feel like I have not accomplished one thing that I´ve set out to do. And then the guilt sets in. It´s even worse when we´re in Asuncion at the office. Inevitably all your friends come in and want to chat, eat lunch, go out for a beer, go shopping, eat ice cream, etc., etc. They want to know how you´re doing, and the feeling is reciprocal, which is why you get even less stuff done when you´re in the office. As if it´s not bad enough! Somtimes, you actually have legitimate business in the office. Things like finding books, information for a project, photocopies to make, meetings to attend, and forms to fill out. By gosh, on these days I literally dread going to the office. This is how it´s pretty much been the last month or so. We´ve been in to town a lot lately for things which required our presence. For example, we just celebrated the 40th anniverssary of Peace Corps in Paraguay. There was a big to-do about it and we received a decent amount of press from it. The Peace Corps director, Ron Tschetter, and his wife Nancy, schlepped all the way down from the states with a bunch of suits from D.C. to commemorate the event. There were about 2 days of activities, including an informal barbecue, and then a formal, dressy event where the ambassador spoke and all the suits looked important and photos were taken and we had a reception and photo exhibition spanning the 40 years of Peace Corps here in Paraguay. Nice, but for the most part, most of the volunteers were hung-over due to a house-party fundraiser held the night before. I happily bartended, which was great damage control for me. Others were not so lucky.<br /><br />Right now, I am taking full advantage of the internet services offered at the design and management workshop which we are currently attending, while Chris is off happily learning Paraguayan card games (most often used as betting and drinking tools) so that he may better "integrate" in our community. Nice one, honey.<br /><br />We´ve also experienced a lull in our work in the community. It´s still winter, and has been cold off and on, which always lowers the frequency and intensity of agricultural activity. But it´s on the way to warmer weather and should pick up some. Right now is a great time to garden and this is how we´ve been spending our time fulfilling the agricultural portion of my commitments. More time has been spent in school lately, and we are right now working to improve the garbage management situation in the three local schools. For now, they throw garbage into a shallow "pit" and burn it. Sometimes when the kids are out of school, and sometimes when the wind blows away from the classroom. Either way, it´s a horrible situation, and we take every opportunity to inform people (usually housewives and children) that burning plastic and other synthetic materials is terrible for your health. We give formal lessons in the classrooms about the specific health effects of burning plastic on various organs of the body and the like. We are working with one teacher in particular to implement a management program which would seperate the school garbage into 3 classes: organic (for compost), paper (which can safely be burned), and plastics, glass, metal and anything else you can´t burn or won´t burn--to be safely buried in a DEEP pit. It´s a bit challenging to educate adults about things like this because they flat-out don´t believe you. We´ve been laughed-off, shrugged-off, and been told that we´re straight up lying. Children though, we think we have a better chance with them. It´s hard with them because they lack a good, basic understanding of science a lot of times, and of course if burning plastic isn´t producing any tangible damage for the moment, why should they believe you? You can´t really try to explain these ideas using science. If you wanted to, you´d have to basically go back and teach them biology, chemistry, and other things of which they have little or no grasp, which would complicate matters. You just have to hope that they kinda take your word for it.<br /><br />Which brings me back to why we have a really hard time with work sometimes. Why should anyone believe or trust or want to understand us?? We are essentially playing at being poor. We try to live at their level, but poor as we might feel, we will NEVER know how it feels to live poor, what it´s like to be under-educated, live without adequate healthcare, live under-nourished, or any of the other million things that they are that I have the good fortune of probably never being. We will finish our service, return to our rich country, attend rich graduate schools, secure good jobs, travel, buy houses, do so many other things that will never in a million years, be accessible to probably 99% of the people that live in the campo. I just pretend that I live humbly. Am I? Not really. I am certainly living what is considered below the poverty line by U.S. income standards, but definitely not here. We are the rich of the poor people in my community. No, not the rich of the poor. We´re just rich period. And I don´t blame them one bit for not trusting, not wanting to work, not wanting to understand us. I probably wouldn´t if I were them. We have a darn hard time speaking their native tongue and I want them to change farming practices which have been in use for decades when I can´t even convey my ideas clearly? Not only am I a woman, I am young, I am American, I am seen as being rich, I have never farmed--hell, this is my first time with a vegetable garden!, and I wonder why they don´t want to take me seriously when I offer up ways to improve farming and agriculture in their community? For sure, I´d laugh at me too if I were them. They probably wonder "Who does she think she is?" But that can´t stop me. I´m mainly here to show them things that they already have and that are working for them, and say "Hey, this is what you do have, and it could really work for you well if you just do this a little differently or think of it this way." I am not going to revolutionize the way my community grows crops, but I can get a few families to have a better garden. A garden with more variety and more vegetables, so that maybe their diets are better and then maybe their children like to garden, and so on and so on. I will not reform the schools near my community, but I can reach some of the students and teachers about the importance of critical thinking, and show them that school is not one big memorization lesson. And I probably cannot bring running water to the entire community, but I can try to help Paraguayans realize that they are their own best resource for goals they want to achieve, and that they don´t always need to ask an outside entity for money and assistance with the goals they want to achieve. For this I am here, and am grateful most days. We are also having a blast, making friends, sharing in peoples´lives, learning a new language, working on a marriage, living in a really laid-back culture, and becoming connected to a different part of the world I thought I´d never know. I really love this country... most of the time.Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-63436360811046764742007-07-13T11:14:00.000-07:002007-07-13T11:18:52.468-07:00Everyone Needs A Place To Poop, Pt.II-Happiness<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YM9BnRynadLjK1ltq85q_TIsWaEL7nrbiwkUqvc8g3XE_dmgQ_oNpQL6pqY0EHFvGmdZZAcaaTFmHt4cAHGQRk2KbtVZk8LK5Bj_yUi9oLlW4SYtTb-Q2FBispZl6MbPBIkddA/s1600-h/updike+002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YM9BnRynadLjK1ltq85q_TIsWaEL7nrbiwkUqvc8g3XE_dmgQ_oNpQL6pqY0EHFvGmdZZAcaaTFmHt4cAHGQRk2KbtVZk8LK5Bj_yUi9oLlW4SYtTb-Q2FBispZl6MbPBIkddA/s320/updike+002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086747551401765522" /></a>Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-11445004418150360742007-05-26T07:23:00.000-07:002007-05-26T08:52:55.797-07:00Finally Moved! (And Other Stories...)The Traveling Sofa Salesman<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_OAd6vpjtA_B-mVGROec82ZMnHWtEAVPF2R8ROFLx_tz6cfJvpwOxHr_HvA6QfUxx0OdZ8UFtvJPVXH9p6dMnprJI7emwc7r_N31wPXjnSrtAn2mzIXx1SajEOzWkVfR_oZEtIA/s1600-h/updikes+005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_OAd6vpjtA_B-mVGROec82ZMnHWtEAVPF2R8ROFLx_tz6cfJvpwOxHr_HvA6QfUxx0OdZ8UFtvJPVXH9p6dMnprJI7emwc7r_N31wPXjnSrtAn2mzIXx1SajEOzWkVfR_oZEtIA/s320/updikes+005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068896829733774994" /></a><br /><br />A Ghostly Morning Outside Our House<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYkw1lF9OOg9NEC1NUKLy8FYsv5YiSqJVQvM3bolRJ3ZeibP-d_Yj9z7yigrWG2HhMuztjH21H9gHas_LLCXzdRj6S1fElklJ6_ixT2YLoRxENyNYdCExfWR5daH-1Lzzwo4zYQ/s1600-h/updikes+006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYkw1lF9OOg9NEC1NUKLy8FYsv5YiSqJVQvM3bolRJ3ZeibP-d_Yj9z7yigrWG2HhMuztjH21H9gHas_LLCXzdRj6S1fElklJ6_ixT2YLoRxENyNYdCExfWR5daH-1Lzzwo4zYQ/s320/updikes+006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068896434596783746" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vwWZfxng8IfwbvlO2PQ7SizLYSBrxPc2KecHCQuttGFbdg2A3eClCKGwoLk8xtg6W4OMlrSF_kIONgV6H2zYj7C9LJ74lO-auus-M2F__AhCvdl9BQn-hBS0Btd7MyotOCUN4A/s1600-h/updikes+013.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4vwWZfxng8IfwbvlO2PQ7SizLYSBrxPc2KecHCQuttGFbdg2A3eClCKGwoLk8xtg6W4OMlrSF_kIONgV6H2zYj7C9LJ74lO-auus-M2F__AhCvdl9BQn-hBS0Btd7MyotOCUN4A/s320/updikes+013.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068895094566987378" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAqwbBnK0qdlzlf1Ql7hLCecmZxnPg7UDwka1u3OBNCq1XGr11qZC36r2zdgUXUhSu9G1vy-gOqfsm9H82w8Q1Hql7L_VH_AgXlh27-qelnNj-OH7b_EIiYw9Wmt9KNYvtJAEqw/s1600-h/updikes+010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAqwbBnK0qdlzlf1Ql7hLCecmZxnPg7UDwka1u3OBNCq1XGr11qZC36r2zdgUXUhSu9G1vy-gOqfsm9H82w8Q1Hql7L_VH_AgXlh27-qelnNj-OH7b_EIiYw9Wmt9KNYvtJAEqw/s320/updikes+010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068891156081976930" /></a><br />*Note: The house IS looking a bit white trash. We still have to paint, plant grass around the house, bring in the laundry, and deconstrtuct Chris´wood working bench in front. Add the hammock and a few chairs out front and it will look much better! Don´t be afraid.<br /><br />We moved a week ago, halleluiah!!! It´s already been one long, nice week of tranquility, no chickens, no neighbors, and beautiful vistas. Thank you to our wonderful neighbor, Karai Taito, for hauling our table, fridge, stove, bookshelf and other crap up the hill in his ox-drawn cart. So glad we have friends in the community!! Chris and I are working on the house little by little every day. We started cleaning up the space for our garden yesterday, and we are going to buy seeds today. Oh happiness!! Little time until we have a veritable cornucopia of fresh vegetables and herbs. This is what we have been slaving away for...a little slice of campo heaven. And that is not all, my friends. Our work is starting to get underway very nicely. For those of you who have not heard, Chris and I are helping to establish a committee of farmers in the neighboring community of Yataity. There are about a dozen of the more hardworking farmers in this committee, and our first project is to start growing vegatables in a donated hectare of land which belongs to the president of the group. Our goal is to grow tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, and beets to sell at a Saturday farmer´s market at the neighboring pueblo of Yhu, about 7 k. away. This does not sound astonishing in and of itself, but the clincher is that we are running this group to do everything organically, without benefit of chemicals, and also trying to get the members to employ soil conserving techniques and in effect better the soil AS they are using it, rather than stripping it bare. If this is a success, we can start looking for other markets, such as Asuncion or Caaguazu, and increase production. The members are also interested in finding alternatives to cotton growing such as growing sesame or sugar cane for biofuel. Gracias a Dios!! We are aiding them in getting them information and bringing people with experience to give lectures on these topics. We are also starting to plan our work at the school in San Miguel. We will be doing the school garden and a vivero with the students, teachers, and hopefully the parents. We have been giving charlas (little lectures) on building compost piles and making organic pesticides. At our house we are also busy planning our own demonstration plot to show the community. We have more or less a hectare of land to work with, and we want to use just about everything we´ve learned to show how to manage the land better. We are going to use erosion-control techniques (curvas de nivel), grow abonos verdes, and use agroforestry systems to show the people a more efficient use of their land. The problems in the community are that people think that they have too little land if it´s less then say, around 5 hectares. They also think they we don´t know anything because we were not farmers in our former lives, we are young, we are american, we don´t yet speak fluent Guarani, and we haven´t SHOWN them anything yet. We can talk all we want, but until we have something to show, it´s hard to have buy-in from the locals. On top of all this, our new American fellow-volunteers are nice and we especially enjoy Roberto´s company. He is laid-back, funny, and very very nice. I am especially looking forward to doing some cross-sector health work with him, like reproductive health workshops and building latrines and such.<br />It´s so exciting and refreshing to feel like you are starting to finally emabark on what it is we came here for in the first place: which was to help people.<br /><br />On that note, we had an even quicker high last weekend when we went to the Mana concert in Asuncion. We had bought tickets, but apparently didn´t need them after all. I think there were in the neigborhood of about 60 to 70 thousand people who came to the biggest soccer stadium in all of Paraguay, El Estadio Defensores Del Chaco, and it was A M A Z I N G!! We showed up a tad late, not expecting them to start on time, as is usually customary for a show, especially of this size. The band had already started playing as we ran up to the entrance. There was chaos and cops in full riot gear all around the entry ways. I expected the worst, and in fact, the pòlice had to use rubber bullets on the crowd just before we showed up because the mob had torn down a gate. Chris and looked for the entry for people with ´grass´seats, but instead ended up pushing and shoving our way through a sea of people, while being pressed up against the shields of the police in riot gear, and being hurried through to the inside of the stadium. No one even took our tickets or bothered to see them. I think it was such a big turnout, that it would have been impossible to admit people in an organized fashion, and lots of people did not make it in. It was a rush, just getting through that and finally entering the stadium and seeing all the people there. The concert was amazing and I sat on Chris´ shoulders a lot of the time, which afforded me a spectacular view. It had been raining all day, but seemed to stop just for the duration of the concert. Many of our fellow volunteers also went and all agreed that it was an awesome night. The sad part was that about 6,000 fake tickets were sold to a sold-out show!<br /><br />Okay, last thing. So once upon a time, we had a neighbor named Gordo, who started using our wood that we bought to build our house, to build his other house down another road in our community. Gordo probably thought that we would not even notice that our wood was missing because we had so much of it and that we have lots of money anyway, so we can just buy more, no problem (NOT the case). As luck would have it, Chris noticed our pretty redwood on his new house and confronted Gordo about it. Gordo just stared at the ground and thought that the problem would go away if he ignored it long enough. Being the reasonable human that Chris is, he offered for Gordo to return the wood, pay for it, or work it off so we wouldn´t have to involve anyone else in the matter and he could handle it like a man, pride in tact. No dice. Eventually, as a month passed by, Chris grew impatient and angry. Finally when confronted by the owner of the land and Chris together, Gordo fessed up and offered to pay for the wood, though he had no money at the time. Too late. The owner of the land told Gordo that he and his wife and two daughters had to move out ASAP becuase he violated his trust and does not want dishonest people living on his land and working for him. This story is all too sad because Gordo has a family and even though Gordo is indeed very poor, you should not steal from anyone. Even if your neighbors look like rich ´nortes´. The old neighbors have indeed moved, and hopefully we will have nice new ones who will not steal from us.<br /><br />And hopefully the poison that was thrown down the neighbors well will not filter down to our artesian well, rendering our water undrinkable. I HOPE! But, that´s another story for another day. Just another day in the campo! Hee hee! In all seriousness, this type of behavior is not all that common, and campo life is more or less very ´tranquilo´. <br /><br />Thanks for reading our blog.<br /><br />-UpdikesMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-42918904076574345402007-04-16T14:41:00.000-07:002007-04-16T16:11:22.847-07:00Easter, Paranoia, and Chris' Birthday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDUu059j5NYuVmLa5pzvjLQpReLiPfG2Op-J5B8dKlWQheMw15fxqF3TgfkPAzNTA9GctQTwH4tnDbraOj3UXjKXgtm46lvaoNlMRSMJA2gCLCjQ4DIbIADpHp5IdBAwj453yxQ/s1600-h/updikes+054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDUu059j5NYuVmLa5pzvjLQpReLiPfG2Op-J5B8dKlWQheMw15fxqF3TgfkPAzNTA9GctQTwH4tnDbraOj3UXjKXgtm46lvaoNlMRSMJA2gCLCjQ4DIbIADpHp5IdBAwj453yxQ/s320/updikes+054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5054165246572822610" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98hEWQOXAo8zuYVGhIj6av43k3Su_l1hnlYRS8ea9tsadYFvwIHWXUgAKsFP3_NCfVB37qG2jIyUdMulQXjr_UhTDIeWQZFqHDYHzbT86UJ9DgWfdy3_HjW6RGLHlnETdunNKqw/s1600-h/updikes+091.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98hEWQOXAo8zuYVGhIj6av43k3Su_l1hnlYRS8ea9tsadYFvwIHWXUgAKsFP3_NCfVB37qG2jIyUdMulQXjr_UhTDIeWQZFqHDYHzbT86UJ9DgWfdy3_HjW6RGLHlnETdunNKqw/s320/updikes+091.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5054164726881779778" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MmfoWzFskpSJpi00gOr_2-fsxwpqlCYwFaGnOKW41taDe_9_eXPA3kAYcOmKmuchvEYP6PdiDMVb-wl-Ednpkz08CI7Q7AaPoklDLlF1emTSrhx8FHzYwoFhI05HuPX_wAbQ3g/s1600-h/updikes+090.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3MmfoWzFskpSJpi00gOr_2-fsxwpqlCYwFaGnOKW41taDe_9_eXPA3kAYcOmKmuchvEYP6PdiDMVb-wl-Ednpkz08CI7Q7AaPoklDLlF1emTSrhx8FHzYwoFhI05HuPX_wAbQ3g/s320/updikes+090.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5054163790578909234" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJGsGpDkVu0vq-qsM5vkVNcBY8xyqtbBIDcpcwLzmLi46jXjpxeMOo6o3poPqZxLZUughKlroJXD_Z1enZ-YPwTLBsYfK_DFz53jjZ0ZUl5dItlIncL5iK2rJ4p90ZhO7TWgGiQ/s1600-h/updikes+063.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjJGsGpDkVu0vq-qsM5vkVNcBY8xyqtbBIDcpcwLzmLi46jXjpxeMOo6o3poPqZxLZUughKlroJXD_Z1enZ-YPwTLBsYfK_DFz53jjZ0ZUl5dItlIncL5iK2rJ4p90ZhO7TWgGiQ/s320/updikes+063.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5054162119836631074" /></a><br />So we're momentarily in Asuncion, after having finished 4 days of language training. Chris celebrated his birthday aptly, along with a bunch of other volunteers who have birtdays this month. Rather, he spent the first part of his actual birthDAY hungover, which is how we know Chris celebrated right.<br /><br />House news: we have a roof, door, windows and electric to go still before we can move in. We feel better now though, knowing that others in our group still haven't even started their houses. Hope to be in by 1st week of May. Man, this thing is getting obscenely expensive...<br /><br />Being here has gotten me to realize how I think Americans can be overly paranoid about germs. For instance, we wash everything in our house such as pots, pans, dishes, kitchen rags, hands fresh from the nasty latrine, and sometimes clothes with the same bar soap and sponge. I don't have antibacterial soap for my hands and I don't have liquid dish soap for my dishes. We cut raw meat and butcher whole live chickens using the same plastic cutting board and knives and we don't even have hot water and it's all fine. My friend back home wears disposable surgery gloves when she handles any kind of raw meat! (Raquel...) I use bleach once in a while to sanitize thoroughly, but other than that there's not a whole lot you can do. I mean, you have to go visit people and share terere (tea) with them out of the same guampa and bombilla or risk offending them. And you don't know what their well looks like or if they wash their hands or their dishes. We don't have Lysol antibacterial kitchen spray or any other fancy stuff for the bathroom. I mean, you can buy it in the city but it's expensive and I think people would think you were odd if you had this mad collection of soaps and stuff. I guess what I'm getting at is that I think soap companies in other parts of the world pretty much make a killing off of taking basic soap and adding more chemicals; making it different colors, scents, and textures. I dunno. Just an observsation of mine. And I'm not a dirty person, anybody who knows me knows that I like a very clean house. Maybe it's just that I've gotten to used to it here and when I move back home I'll revert to my usual cleaning arsenal of products.<br /><br />Easter came and went with so much as a person attending church. Semana Santa (Holy Week) is celebrated here with the making of chipa (bagel-like bread (only in texture), made with the campo cheese, anis seeds, pig grease and cornmeal). We were given so much of it by our nice community members that we still have like 5 kilos in our fridge, but at least the cat likes it. Anyway, chipa is made on a Wednesday (always), followed by the last supper and volleyball and beer swilling Thursday, and then on Good Friday no one is allowed to work and all you do is sit around and eat the chipa you made on Wednesday and eat oranges and drink a mate-based beverage called Cocido. Chris and I worked every day though, including Easter. On Easter day everyone that came from the city leaves to go back and the buses are incredibly full and we didn't even have church services because we don't have a full time father at the the Catholic chapel; and in fact he only comes once a month. But no one does anything on Easter Sunday. I pretty much felt like a dumb-ass trying to tell them what happens in our country for a typical Easter. And then I realized how absolutely ridiculous the concept of the Easter Bunny and hiding eggs and buying candy for your spoiled kids sounds in order the celebrate the fact that Christ has risen.<br /><br />Hope you all enjoyed your Easter turkeys and hams!!<br /><br />~MarissaMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-4582217653693240342007-03-24T11:14:00.000-07:002007-03-24T11:52:40.299-07:00Making Headway<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_vPCnzu_jJ7wW_4LSMaq4qe65oupsWwVFUcrZzyEu9X1eyd1zzo90v-UNoCxUaMfh6YjSge50DuPHLZtFCedRX6frSKfXM9XtT5kHMgwrN18dSPumdD_m9nMZOeNYdvGIPi7hw/s1600-h/updike+005.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl_vPCnzu_jJ7wW_4LSMaq4qe65oupsWwVFUcrZzyEu9X1eyd1zzo90v-UNoCxUaMfh6YjSge50DuPHLZtFCedRX6frSKfXM9XtT5kHMgwrN18dSPumdD_m9nMZOeNYdvGIPi7hw/s320/updike+005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045565786777061218" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWE1syJv2OqBkAhHsJ8u8gSrjxDzxX72yxVrzbL-80fQ-GZmf6tmGOvF0312skYvxFE7SpZ3L9Pu281rVPTE7_AnfPJtOHITRdiQnT25-HuOMPhKkmQTyMYn8WZK77crgo7RvOw/s1600-h/updike+001.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWE1syJv2OqBkAhHsJ8u8gSrjxDzxX72yxVrzbL-80fQ-GZmf6tmGOvF0312skYvxFE7SpZ3L9Pu281rVPTE7_AnfPJtOHITRdiQnT25-HuOMPhKkmQTyMYn8WZK77crgo7RvOw/s320/updike+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045564811819485010" /></a><br />So, what´s going on with the house? A lot. We had a professional albañil, Felipe, come out and help us for four days with everything--he´s an animal! At no cost to us, thanks to the landowners! We have the structure for the roof up and just about everything else done so that we can start with the walls, which should go quickly. We still have a little bit left to do with the brickwork for the bañadera (shower), and to pour the concrete floor. So far everything´s going along nicely and we can hopefully finish soon. We are still however, missing a door, the rest of the straw for the roof and also someone to do the roof, hardware to make windows and some plumbing stuff and also a seat for the latrine, which I will make this week--provided we have enough brick! Looking a little skimpy on the brick... We still need enough electric cable and accessories to hook-up electric plus labor so that´s going to cost us a pretty penny, but probably won´t be done until we get paid next month anyways. And then, we have to paint the house so it won´t grow fungus or get eaten by pests. Still lots of work to be done.<br /><br />Right now Chris and I have come for fortifications and suppplies to Caaguazu. We were all out of food and needed more nails and stuff for the house. We are both doing well and have become stronger from work and have both lost the weight that we gained in training. We don´t eat much meat, and have been existing on lentils, beans, flour tortillas, eggs, mandioca, vegetables (if available), rice, pasta, and some fruit. We did luck out today when we went to market and found a nice assortment of carrots, cucumbers, starfruit, passionfruit, custard apple, and a huge beautiful brazilian mango for cheap! Some days I hate the market because it´s hot and busy and claustrophobic and everyone wants your money, but today was great.<br /><br />Otherwise, the weather has cooled down a little bit and we are enjoying it. Last week brought temperatures cold enough to wear a hooded sweatshirt for part of the day and we were soaking up every minute. The heat has comeback somewhat now, but it´s still considerably cooler as fall is soon to be upon us. Chris and I will be going back to our training community during the second week in April for a week of language training and we will then be celebrating Chris´ birthday in company with many others friends who also have April birthdays. This will be the next time that we will be in touch with everyone.Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-19869844146641887042007-03-05T14:05:00.000-07:002007-03-05T15:12:34.379-07:00Everyone needs a place to poop!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr8SK2xhyphenhyphen_EgRJ1-sHFb0DSBexSaObOoyxXJalyxpgCaKAffzdCpp4uWbQz0SrbOE1ZmWpVLTELaW_RECjVv32S4LmqRC6LrZvJ0svtnFUnwCJYrYPanv3nYZtM_fpGnsvnAvmg/s1600-h/Updikes+237.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr8SK2xhyphenhyphen_EgRJ1-sHFb0DSBexSaObOoyxXJalyxpgCaKAffzdCpp4uWbQz0SrbOE1ZmWpVLTELaW_RECjVv32S4LmqRC6LrZvJ0svtnFUnwCJYrYPanv3nYZtM_fpGnsvnAvmg/s320/Updikes+237.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038561968505842402" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCjnqBDgJdrayP71P2Bv2bvYQLAgmpnnGqo5jl-QBprHXTAd2kR1YmVDVRJHW1w9AWDkiLNeVDoIrip_HjXv0EaS43XrmdVfpXwiSq1vMgCnsoCWBDbZKs6IpF02S_LOvbNq8Bw/s1600-h/Updikes+191.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCjnqBDgJdrayP71P2Bv2bvYQLAgmpnnGqo5jl-QBprHXTAd2kR1YmVDVRJHW1w9AWDkiLNeVDoIrip_HjXv0EaS43XrmdVfpXwiSq1vMgCnsoCWBDbZKs6IpF02S_LOvbNq8Bw/s320/Updikes+191.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038561143872121554" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihduz0Nh29Xr9tLmSh7NK8jAMswEBwWNh7javZ6xuOJFd0JGqqBR6NBBa2FXtLDQBnBudueha5PW7YGXhyphenhyphensH5Dxm_OHme2f48MgH-RwVbCxYotGSWxnXDWRccWx1oho4Ap_XhyoQ/s1600-h/Updikes+242.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihduz0Nh29Xr9tLmSh7NK8jAMswEBwWNh7javZ6xuOJFd0JGqqBR6NBBa2FXtLDQBnBudueha5PW7YGXhyphenhyphensH5Dxm_OHme2f48MgH-RwVbCxYotGSWxnXDWRccWx1oho4Ap_XhyoQ/s320/Updikes+242.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038560722965326530" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXb4PPJf3wWAkK77WKX3mTb52hvjD9UXEqSltwIvdKcQwylb4BybozR0g6_ghAJFBSn3kUx9PrfHfO1U1wo6p8d6-mltUfwkckVROlFC3NFnjlmjSOHGHZrmO-YHmRt9ASzP0Ew/s1600-h/Updikes+240.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXb4PPJf3wWAkK77WKX3mTb52hvjD9UXEqSltwIvdKcQwylb4BybozR0g6_ghAJFBSn3kUx9PrfHfO1U1wo6p8d6-mltUfwkckVROlFC3NFnjlmjSOHGHZrmO-YHmRt9ASzP0Ew/s320/Updikes+240.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038560138849774258" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsf4htop3qLnNkCxMCV6HLk8D23Ol1VbczXSBxg_VXwXvAxZqzyehxNFKmjVVt92L11s8IPINBrKKXvrhc9NH-z2Xb_zWUd4BzGXPlQWmVaadwl7eqTW7lvPHGpf0YZysD1012Q/s1600-h/Updikes+239.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsf4htop3qLnNkCxMCV6HLk8D23Ol1VbczXSBxg_VXwXvAxZqzyehxNFKmjVVt92L11s8IPINBrKKXvrhc9NH-z2Xb_zWUd4BzGXPlQWmVaadwl7eqTW7lvPHGpf0YZysD1012Q/s320/Updikes+239.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038558442337692322" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AF3Gql_cUOq_t5TXQAYqxDD5e5FHpWM8uzYoELd5IaryR_a1QD1KrlkwS40G8kYK00HNM7DbQaoy09qBr_yQ4Q-ZlaHbb7dJeSRAVlb5JplV-hRUZZhb8aZD_CysnJWAU5XalA/s1600-h/Updikes+235.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AF3Gql_cUOq_t5TXQAYqxDD5e5FHpWM8uzYoELd5IaryR_a1QD1KrlkwS40G8kYK00HNM7DbQaoy09qBr_yQ4Q-ZlaHbb7dJeSRAVlb5JplV-hRUZZhb8aZD_CysnJWAU5XalA/s320/Updikes+235.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038556771595414162" /></a><br />Well...since the wifey is under the weather I will do my duty to our few and loyal readers and update some more of our time here and put in a few pics for those interested. Simply put the construction of the Updike Manor is going well. I must say though that its been a frustrating yet good experience. Since I have a political science degree and thus no real skills, you can only imagine that construction is not my fortay. However, I or rather we, have decided to go it our own and venture where we have not gone before and do it all ourselves. Thats right we will build our own house and will hopefully have it all done in time to kill and roast a pig for my birthday in April. Killing pig, drinking luke warm pilsner and playing vollyball with the locals are now a few of my favorite leisure activities. I hope the house is done by then but we will see. On a related side note... I must say that Marissa is quite the skilled mason & I want to commend her publically for her excellant craftsman ship on our crapper. Its an understatement to say that this has just been a lot of work. So far we have cleared the land of weeds, tree stumps, roots and bichos (paraguayan for pests of all shape and size) dug and laid the brick for the latrine, built the concrete slap for the latrine, dug 50 something meters of trench to bring water to the construction site and planned, bought and had delivered all the "necessary" materials for the house. Now it kind of like building with legos except on a rather large scale. We not to large the house is only 6 m by 6 m and a roof of 6 by 8... Lets just say that three months of training made my hands and back a little softer than i would have prefered. Also, there is nothing like clearing jungle while the temperature is in the mid to upper nineties. Like I said this is a unique and tough expereince. I sure wish I had actually laid some concrete before we got here! But hey how many of you out there have such an intimate relationship with where you poop??? Well, I shouldn't be so chaste, I have yet to christen er yet! <br />As per our other buisness, we are quite well and have no real troubles to speak of. Like marisa said we came into Asuncion to pick up packages and have a little R & R, but as Marissa put it she got ill and has spent more of our leisure time with the toilet than with me her husband. I know what your thinking... your connecting the dots as to why i built the potty before the castle, ah yes! But no worries we get good medical care here and they will fix her up in a jiffy. As per my health nothing to speak of since the abcess. We are headed back in our time machine (or rather the bus to the campo) tomorrow and will be preparing to make the footing for the house and prepare the beams and posts. The wood should arrive by wendesday, I hope. We are going have friends come and help us for a bit so it should be a rather nice time. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the last two or so are our new cat (Marissa wanted a companion to help her team up against me) the other is of a toad who got stuck in a tomatoe can. I am begining to empathize with that toad now. Well enough for now we wish you all well and take careMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1173058717277134932007-03-04T18:23:00.000-07:002007-03-04T18:38:37.290-07:00Quick UpdateHello everyone. Yes, it´s been a while and I just wanted to quickly update this to let everyone know what we´ve been up to the last month. We finally started to build on the new land and have almost finished the latrine. It took a lot of digging in hot weather and hard work, but am excited at the prospect of using a letrine that is not crawling with maggots and smells horrible. We just need to build a seat and put up the privacy structure around it. Never thought I´d be so excited about where I go to the bathroom.<br />Right now I am ill with some sort of gastrointestinal bug that has rendered me inactive while we are here in Asuncion trying to take a break from manual labor. It is frustrating to be sick while you have come for a break and just want to relax a little and eat some different food. I feel like crap and hope that it is not a giardia infection which comes and goes and makes you sick a couple times a month. We´ll see. I´ll check in at the doctors office tomorrow. I´m just glad that the painful cramps seem to have subsided for now.<br />Other than that, just going to continue plugging away at the house building. Two of our PC friends, a married couple named Justin and Amanda, are going to come stay with us on Wedneday and help us hopefully contruct the foundation to the house. Our PC friends near us have been really good about offering their help and we are very glad to have it.<br />The heat and bugs have been getting to me lately, probably because we´ve actually been working very hard in the thick of it. Hope it cools down soon.<br /><br />Sorry no pictures for this update. I will try to get some up next time and maybe send some in e-mails. I must go rest for now as I am still sick and feel hollow inside from not eating. I hope all is well with all of our friends and family back home. Love you and miss you.<br /><br />Chau,<br />MarissaMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1170686765172088362007-02-05T06:43:00.000-07:002007-02-05T07:46:05.253-07:00Great Things<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/602402/updike%20181.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/657415/updike%20181.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/829035/updike%20174.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/983292/updike%20174.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/858010/updike%20170.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/388152/updike%20170.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Okay, so you know how I got to Caaguazu this morning so that I could be sitting here writing all you wonderful people this update? An onion truck. So, it´d been raining here all day yesterday and the roads today are somewhat iffy. In addition to the fact that the bus breaking down is a not-altogether uncommon occurence. So, some people flagged down the onion truck and we got a pretty, well-ventilated lift to town today. Much preferable to being stuck next to grandpa´s 80 year-old armpit for an hour and a half. And it was really beautiful to see the scenery NOT from behind a dirty glass window. Quicker too. Know how many of you got to say that you rode to work or school on an onion truck today? I´d venture to say, none. <br />Anway, just thought I´d get that in as it has been the highlight of my day thus far. It also blew-dry my hair straight, and man, I haven´t felt this pretty in a long time! Hee hee.<br /><br />Chris and I have started to machete the land clear for our house. Yeah, it´s pretty much like jungle where we´re gonna stick the house, so as you might imagine, there´s all these green and brown things called TREES and BUSHES and VINES in the way. And with like 99% humidity it makes us work in short, clumsy spurts. But watch a Paraguayan go at it with the machete, and he´s done like an hour´s worth of work that you would do in like 5 minutes. And THEN turns around and says, ¨facile!¨, (which means ¨easy!¨ in Spanish.) Sure, only because you´ve been practicing since you were like three! But anway, it´s fun and I feel like we´re accomplishing something. So, after the lands all cleared, we have to level it all, which I really don´t know how that´s going to hapen. And we have to move the 6 bee boxes at the edge to another location so we don´t end up getting swarmed to death while we garden or drink terere. And then we have to install a water pump into the well so we can have to water to build with, etc., etc. And then we have to build the latrine and then we can have the materials delivered and then we can start playing Legos and build our house. Chris is optimistically looking at an end date of April 15th, just in time for his birthday. I hope!!<br /><br />On the culinary side of things, I´ve been making more food items to better supplement the foodstuffs here. I made BBQ sauce which was actually pretty good, and I´ve also made banana bread which they´ve mostly never heard of, and I´ve also taken to practicing making flour tortillas, which are surprisingly easy. And which I think will officially become Chris´ new staple. <br />If you hadn´t yet heard, Chris finished making our´kitchen´table and life has become inifinitely easier suddenly. I have a surface upon which to work and it´s so nice! Chris really has done a great job, and I´m greatful that he´s innovative and likes to do projects like that. It´s so much cheaper than buying and he can make just about whatever we need. Next, it´s shelves, and then I think another bed? <br /><br />I think that a lot of people in our community are somewhat convinced that Chris and I cannot build our house out of brick. Wood homes are way more common, not only because they are cheaper, but also because everyone and their mother knows how to hang wood planks and nail them in. It´s harder with brick because you have to make sure everything is always level and plum and you should know a bit about the foundation because the weight of the house will be a lot heavier than it would be with wood. And thus, the people think we are somehow rich because we want to make a house, 6x8 meters, out of brick. I drew up the floor plans, and it LOOKS big on the paper, but it´s a modest home. I know this sounds contrary because most of the people on that street live in houses about 3x4, made of wood and straw and have like 8 people living in them. But, honestly, we´re not making a large house. The actual inside part is only 6x6 meters and consists of a bedroom, kitchen, shower, area for storage and a large sink to wash, and a small extra room for guests or whatever. <br />Chris wants to build the house himself to show the people that yes, you can learn whatever you want to learn and do-it-yourself. No, you don´t have to be a professional whose studied and no, it´s not brain surgery! We´ve received many offers of help from all kinds of our fellow volunteers, so that could be kind of fun. I hope it doesn´t turn into a big mess. And yes, while I want brick too because it´s cleaner and is better insulating than wood, but I also want to move into my house sometime this year!!<br /><br />Wish us luck! We´ll need it.....<br /><br />Love,<br />Marissa<br /><br />(Photos: The presidential palace in Asuncion, flanked by some other important pink governmental building. Yes, Chris was convinced he could walk right up to the door and speak with the prez himself, but was twice told loudly by whistle and nice soldier man to not walk towards the building. All I can say is, I told him not to! Pic #2, the view from the museum in Asuncion, which overlooks the large shanty-town community by the river. This area is dangerous and rampant with thieves. And last but not least, the photo of the site of our future house on the day we started to clean it. I think that Chris is standing in our bathroom in the photo.)Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1169093228633010162007-01-17T19:43:00.000-07:002007-01-17T21:09:49.670-07:00Getting Used To This Place...<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/450350/updikes%20010.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/347295/updikes%20010.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/624507/updikes%20004.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/352210/updikes%20004.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />(Photo above of me with Teju Guazu(Guarani)and one of our host sisters, Mabel. A large and also apparently tasty lizard which Py'ans love to kill and eat such as the one in this photo. Consequently, their numbers are also dwindling. This one happened to be rather small, and I had to say that it also had precious little meat on it. And also, photo of froggy in our bedroom.)<br /><br />I never thought in a million years that I would thank the good Lord for the time when the 'Chipa' lady would get on the bus. But, today I did. Chris and I waited for 6 (yes, 6!) hours to get on the bus which takes us from our community to the next biggest city where we catch another bus to Asuncion. And since today was really rainy and we had this brilliant idea to come to Asuncion a day early, we had to wait and stay put or else risk missing the bus. It goes like this- you sit and wait until you think you can hear the bus coming and then you run out to see what it is, (and it's usually something else) and you just wait and wait. We got into Asuncion at 8:30 tonight, which was pretty good time considering we started waiting at 10 a.m. And we hadn't eaten or drank anything since like 9 a.m., so when we were on the bus at 7 this evening, my blood sugar was dangerously on the verge of causing marital turmoil. And then the lady with the big basket of hot Chipa resting on her hip walked on the bus, and I thanked my lucky stars. I hated Chipa the first time (some sort of bread made with cornmeal, anis, campo cheese, and pig fat)I tried it. Now, I almost love it if it's hot and fresh. We also had two cups of 'cocido gaseosa' which is yerba mate leaves burned with wood charcoal and then has hot soda added to it. It actually tastes pretty good! Although, it does kind of smell like leftover cigarette butts in the rain...<br /><br />Anyway, the point is that we are becoming so accustomed to our surroundings and the culture and people and way of life that we feel pretty normal. I think it's very hard and frustrating when you first get here, but once you can navigate around the city and country and know when to go (and not to go!) to the ATM and you adjust to the heat and the extra-close personal space thing, things aren't so bad really. I think we could get used to this place. And besides, grandma and grandpa are so nice to us.<br /><br />So, this housing thing has yet to be resolved. We have found our dream house which needs a lot of work, but is ideal. The neighbors are kind of far away though, which does not help the security situation. It has 35 hectares, which is obviously more land than we need for a garden and chickens. We shall see what comes of this. If not, it's really down to building then.<br /><br />And last but not least some updates for y'all: we have news of packages that we've received recently. One is here in the office and the other two we have to retrieve at the river port tomorrow. So, that's good news. I shall write again later and report on the state of the contents of the packages. Also, Chris screamed like a little girl at the doctor's office 2 Sundays ago when we went to get his leg treated (see previous post). The doctor opened his leg with forceps and cleaned it out well and put Chris back on drugs. It is almost all healed now, and there were unfortunately no larvae to report. Darnit!<br /><br />I am going to end this a bit unbruptly as I am currently dealing with the mandioca 'plug'. (Think about it- you'll figure it out), Kevin Grady might know. Let me know what you think it might be on the comments section.<br /><br />Oh, and Happy Birthday to Hillary, Jill, and my Dad-whose birthdays are on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th respectively. I miss you and love you!!<br /><br />Peace'<br />The Updikes (err,I mean Marissa)Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1168017526897440652007-01-05T09:46:00.000-07:002007-01-05T10:18:46.920-07:00Creepy Crawlies<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/175582/Imagen%20003.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/287203/Imagen%20003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/886429/Imagen%20001.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/416647/Imagen%20001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/12178/Imagen%20006.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/289803/Imagen%20006.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Thankful for me, the site where Chris and I live has one of the lowest concentrations of mosquitoes I´ve yet experienced in Paraguay. Thankful for ME. All the bugs usually love me, and since we´ve been here, I´ve had a mouth virus, bed bugs, all sorts of infected mosquito bites which ooze pus (one which most recently which gave me a fever last week), a near eye infection, and most recently a bacterial sore throat infection from which I am recovering. So I am thoroughly surprised that Chris was plagued with whatever larvae-laying, flesh-boring insect that decided to bite one of us. Because neither of us has been anywhere without the other. Last night I pulled the scab off Chris´ wound to purge it of pus and was surprised to see the hole had become deeper (see above). Though it is no longer infected, I am now able to insert a needle about 1 cm. deep without pain. The usual protocol when handling these types of bugs is to suffocate it out by putting tape over the wound and waiting a bit for the critter to come to the surface for air. Nothing came, so I pronounce the wound bug-free. But why won´t it close then?? Where are Raquel and Patsy when I need them?<br /><br />Anyway, it´s been a rather frustrating past few days. I´ve been sick and it rained one day, which brings everything to a stand-still. Not to mention the power was out for 18 hours. Usually I look forward to this sort of thing...not when the well is powered by an electric pump and there´s no water for 18 hours and you can´t even brush teeth, drink water, shower, or cook...!!! Not then.<br /><br />Chris and I are going to build a house, look´s like. A little brick one of our very own. About 5x6 meters, with an outside latrine. We aren´t sure when construction will begin but hopefully soon. <br /><br />On the up side, we´ve been invited (rather randomly, I might add) to go help make and eat lunch at a family´s house on Sunday. We are going to make Sopa Paraguaya and empanadas. How often does it happen that when you stop in to buy a Coke, that someone just invites you in to visit and then asks you over for lunch the following Sunday? Never. That just doesn´t happen in the U.S. <br /><br />And last but not least, a photo of our current, temporary house above. It´s definitely one of the better places we could be and is located about 20 yards from our host family. Tried to send these pics and more to everyone, but haven´t been able to in gmail last couple times, so I hope these suffice and I´ll try to send them again next time and even more. <br /><br />In the mean time, we´ll keep on keepin´ on and HAPPY 2007!!<br /><br />Love,<br />MarissaMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1167403308643600102006-12-29T06:55:00.000-07:002006-12-29T07:44:57.126-07:00"Pigmeat Roasting on an Open Fire..."<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/901350/updike%20014.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/930321/updike%20014.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />So, we missed everyone terribly over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Chris and I helped butcher a pig that weighed like 130 kilos. Chris helped clean the fat off the pig and we ate at about midnight on Christmas Eve. It was nice because we were able to meet Simon´s parents and brother who had come to visit them for the holidays. (Simon and Jessica are the closest volunteers nearest to us, and they are a married couple.) Then we were all treated to some of Jessica´s fabulous pies, including pecan, apple, and pumpkin and that was the highlight for me, personally. Thank you again, Jessica!!<br /><br />The next day was pretty sad though because we had to walk the long, dusty, red road home to our little shanty and we were sad. We did laundry and ate rice and beans for dinner. I´m glad that Christmas is over and hope it´s the only one we have to be here for...<br />We are still trying to get the housing thing figured out and do not yet know whether we are going to build or rent. There is only one house that we have deemed acceptable for possible renting only because it´s close to a good family for security and has some land for growing a garden and planting trees and raising chickens. We would still have to make big improvements on this house as there is no water, no shade, and Chris can barely stand up in the doorway. But, we are still looking into building and I would love a new house made of brick. However, it´s expensive and we are afraid that it would take forever to get done, and we just cannot afford to wait three months to get out own place. I will die before then if I can´t get situated soon!<br />Otherwise, everyone here is really nice to us and we have no shortage of people who want to talk and feed us lunch. It´s of course super HOT here, nothing new. But we are going to buy a fan today to help combat the heat and that´s about all one can do, except for the occassional long walk to the stream which is too shallow to swim in anyway. There´s some pretty cool animals and insects here and the other day I found myself defending this thing that looked like an albino snake. It had eyes that were so small, I´m pretty sure they were vestigial and knew it could not see well. It had no teeth and was this pale white color. It was within an inch of being crushed by a big board held by a very small child, until I stepped in. They told me that it was a ¨bicho¨(pest, basically) and that I should not touch it. I told them that it could not see, had no teeth, and was scared and that I was going to take it away, which is what I did. I know it was a snake because I could feel it´s spine. This is what has basically happened to all the wildlife in the area. There are no monkeys, large lizards, capybara, or other large mammals left because they all have been eaten or are seen as pests. There are wild parrots here, but they are also commonly taken out of their nests for sale or to be kept as pets. It makes me really sad. I plan to do a lot of work in the school with Chris regarding animals and I hope that I can get the children to see that the animals in the environment are important too.<br /><br />I suppose I should try and wrap things up here. We have found an internet place with Skype in Caaguazu, so we can now call people when we come in to town, about every 10 days. We miss everyone and hope that everyone celebrates the New Year safely and we send hugs and love to everyone. Chris and I will be cooking over our little charcoal burner and trying to stay cool with our new fan. We will also be thinking about you all with your snow and cold weather and good food and drink. Wish we were there!!<br /><br />Jill, hope you have someone to celebrate the New Year with in Ireland, and I miss you very much!<br /><br />Also, Congratulations to Corey and his new bride, Jillian. We look forward to meeting her and hope you have safe travels when you are out and about wherever you are. Much happiness to the both of you!<br /><br />Signing off for now,<br />The UpdikesMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1166312896483921462006-12-16T15:31:00.000-07:002006-12-16T16:48:17.213-07:00It's Official!<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/178644/updikes%20045.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/698947/updikes%20045.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/457702/updikes%20026.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/450311/updikes%20026.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/378220/updikes%20022.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/1507/updikes%20022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />We may now call ourselves volunteers, being that we were sworn in yesterday at the ambassador's residence inside the embassy in Asuncion. And let me tell you, it was kind of strange.<br />So, we had a small, intimate ceremony at the actual house and lawn of the ambassador to Paraguay. Of course the house and grounds are lush and beautiful and well tended, as you may be thinking in your head. The actual swearing-in part was pretty short. There was a speech from the Country Director of PC, the Associate PC Director, and then the Ambassador spoke and also told us what kind of work the embassy is currently doing in the country. Then we read our oaths and had a small reception with food and refreshements and cake.<br />And then we took photos. The ambassador has a bunch of animals and one of his employees went and got the embassy lambs out for a photo op. So, here's this guy standing next to the ambassador with the lamb up on his hind legs, smiling.<br /><br />(Posted is a photo of Chris and I at the swearing-in by the Christmas tree on the patio. Also, the group above is my aggie group with my trainer, Tim, in the middle back row with glasses and dark, curly hair. The stunning sunset photo was taken at the top of the weirdest, creepiest hotel I've ever been to in my life!!!)<br /><br />After swearing in, we killed some time and went to the hotel where the party for us and the group that is done with their service was held. It was at this essentially abandoned hotel that was supposed to be the place to be seen back in the like, the 80's. It was CREEPY! Our first room was huge but it had rat droppings in the sink, no sheets on the bed, mold on the carpet and walls, and the light fixture was filled with yellow water, so we switched rooms. The hotel, I believe, was built under the commission of the former dictator, Stroessner, to entertain friends and dignitaries. It's situated on the river, and is this giant dilapidated wreck now. The main party area was held outside on the dance floor, next to this huge empty pool, so that was kind of weird. They managed to fill up the wading pool for us, so at least we could cool off. All in all, it was a great time and Chris and I definitely closed the party down, and had an awesome time dancing. Still, it was kind of weird to have security from the Peace Corps have to watch us while the whole thing was going down. I'm sure they think Americans are nuts. Especially because the them of the party was "superhero", but mostly just turned into a pool party with everyone in their bathing suits. I was eaten alive by some the fattest mosquitoes I have ever seen.<br /><br />So anyway, we need to get going for dinner right now. I will write more tomorrow and try to post more photos too. We miss everyone, but we honestly don't miss the hustle and bustle of having to shop for Christmas presents for everyone! <br /><br />Ciao!<br /><br />~Marissa & ChrisMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1165951402667297312006-12-12T11:42:00.000-07:002006-12-12T12:38:00.370-07:0013 Days Until Christmas...<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/1600/259298/Nick%20B%20002.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/7010/3472/320/313715/Nick%20B%20002.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />(Our buddy Bo, me, and Chris doing some beekeeping last weekend)<br /><br />And it's about 100 degrees or so at least here today, and it's so miserably hot! Not even sweating helps, but I know that everyone in Ohio is already used to this... Chris and I are tying up some loose ends, as we prepare to swear-in as official volunteers on Friday at the U.S. embassy. We will be staying in the city afterwards, enjoying some creature-comforts until we leave for the campo on Tuesday morning. We hope to be receiving a cell phone on Monday, but will not yet be sure that we can call from it for a while. We ARE however, planning to call family on Sunday (and maybe on Saturday sometime) to catch up before we leave, probably sometime in the afternooon.<br /><br />Chris and I were having a semi-horrible day today because we couldn't sleep last night. Our ceiling fan broke about 5 days ago, and no, it won't be fixed because we are leaving on Friday morning, and it's just not a priority. We thought about buying a floor fan, but imagine having to lug that around on very busy, hot public transportation while you carry other heavy bags. So, I think we'll have to suffer for a few more days. Maybe I'll just take 2 anti-histamines instead of one, so that it knocks me out and I can get some sleep.<br /><br />In other news, Chris and I have been trying to learn about building latrines and basic masonry so that we may be of aid if we are going to have to build a house. The houses in our site are little more than wooden huts with metal or straw roofs. And while this and of itself sounds charming and rustic, the fact is, that when two pieces of board do not sit together flush against each other, bugs get in. Also, straw is extremely flammable, and metal roofing (especially at a height not much tall than Chris' head) feels like an oven in the middle of an equatorial summer. The only house available for rent that we feel we can work with also does not have shade, water, or a latrine. Latrines are not hard to build, but water is another thing. If we wanted our own water source, we'd have to dig a well. Or else, we'd have to walk across to the neighbors and haul it back and forth across the road. That is, if we even have to option of renting said house. The owner, a young man of about 30, apparently built it with the intention of marrying and moving into it. However, he has yet to even have a girlfriend in his entire life, or so says my host mom. Whatever the issue, we're just afraid that if we move in, he'll find someone, end up marrying, and then want to move in before our time is up.<br />The other houses we've seen for rent are simply not do-able. Thus, we are left with the possible outcome of building our own house. We do not want to deal with taking out loans, hauling materials in from the city, or having to pay someone to build. Nor do we want to live with a host family any longer than we have to. But we'll do it if there's no choice. I haven't given up hope yet though as we haven't seen much in the neighboring community where we also have the option of living. I've even heard of families willing to actually move into different housing just so that they can make money off of the rent! We shall see what happens, and I'm sure it will be nothing less than interesting.<br /><br />Other than that, our future site is beautiful. There are gently rolling hills and lots of forested areas left. We have several arroyos (streams) where we can go cool off, and the people there are really friendly and very generous. We went to a wedding anniversary party while we were there and they have just killed a pig for the celebration. The food was good, and we even danced a bit (even if it was just to a Paraguayan polka). We see lots of potential for good work to be done both in the fields and in the schools. We will even be schooled in beekeeping once we finish our service as there are lots of people with honeybees. They are also starting to do work with piscicultura (fish farming) and there are a few very progressive farmers who want to work with me, and are open-minded. Which is nice, considering that Paraguayan culture is very machismo and often times, women just aren't tolerated--whether working alongside men in the fields or telling them how to increase production.<br /><br />I had better wrap this up for now and give someone else a chance to get on the computer. I believe we already received our Christmas present from Sally and Jim and the girls, so THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! We love you and all of our family and friends too!!!! We will be calling shortly, so be on the lookout!<br /><br />Love,<br />Marissa and ChrisMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1164550271827285522006-11-26T05:44:00.000-07:002006-12-12T11:41:55.680-07:00Our New HomeAs we've learned, our new home for the next 2 years will be in the department of Caaguazu, about 5 or hours east of Asuncion. We will be moving to our site in mid December, will have cell phone service, electricity, and running water, (I think).<br /><br />We are off to visit our new home on Wednesday and will be back on the following Monday. Wish us luck!<br /><br />Chris here, (in his debut entry):<br /><br />Greetings everyone out there! and Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone!<br /><br />We have been here in Paraguay now for just a little over two months and I sure have learned a lot! My Spanish is so-so and my Guarani is flat out terrible. We are moving soon and are to become "official" volunteers within a few weeks. Our site is a non-descript local near the bustling backwater of Yhu in the Department of Caaguazu. Caaguazu, I have been told means "forest paradise" in Guarani, but I have been assured that none of its left. Thank goodnees I sure hate trees! So for those who know Paraguay it's east from Asuncion (about 2.5 hours) to the town of Caguaazu and then north on red dirt roads. Peace Corps staff has assured me that its full of rural charm. I asked for a place way in the middle of no where and I think they met me half way. It may sound real remote to people who only have to drive five minutes to the Albertsons, but here in Paraguay I am not nearly as isolated as others. Its just a short dusty two hour Micro (bus) ride to the internet and a small grocery store. I feel blessed... other folks can't get out of there site when it rains and i have been told that I can. Marissa says there's running water but I think she doesn't know what she's talking about. There is another married couple from Texas 7 km away from us and they will help us get started in the community. They are leaving in April and have told us that we can have some of there things. They have also invited us to a BBQ X-mas eve. They will be slaughtering a 130 kilo pig. For some perspective on this, I weigh around 87 kilos. We are going to visit the site on Thursday and will post something for everyone in a week or two. <br />On another more general note...<br />I have met a ton of wonderful people here and Marissa and I are very happy. Neither of us has gotten real sick nor real depressed from culture shock. Our host family here is really wonderful! They bend over backwards to help us and are very generous with what they have, and at times they are understanding of our peculiar ways. They have made our experience here very positive and I will miss them when we go campo in a few weeks. Now I will give a short wrap up of the past weeks events. <br /><br />We went on two seperate trips last week. I went to a city to play games with children and Marissa went way down south to work with farmers. Lets just say that my experience and hers were entirely different. I really enjoyed the experience and learned a ton about working in Paraguayan schools. Marissa also enjoyed her experience but had incredibly rougher accomodations. I am thinking of a few people who will probably read this entry that would flip out if they had to endure a week of what she endured. After our foray into the Paraguayan campo/city we returned to our "suburb" outside of Asuncion for a short week of training. Last Wendensday I killed a Chicken. Thats right, I killed a chicken, with my bear hands. How barbaric, no? I can't say I enjoyed myself or that I look forward to killing more chickens but I think my new skill will suit me well in the campo. After bloody Wedensday we had a marvelous Turkey day with our new Peace Corps trainees. It was something resembling a potluck... my favorite contribution was Cincy chili. God bless the volunteer who brought it. For the Cincinnati crowd, yes, she's a westsider but who can really complain when Skylines on hand. It was delicious! Then after much delay and anticipation we got our assignment! <br />All in all we are very happy here. I will try and get more entries down in the future and I hope all of our friends and family who are reading this are doing well. Today is "Who Dey" day and I still only wear only orange and black. Although I have to say Marissa and the Paraguayans think it's a bit ridiculous at times. I am looking forward to the Monday night game against the Colts. It will be the last night before we head out to the campo. I have been assured by folks here in Paraguay that its on cable. I can't wait! Ocho cinco better not let me down. Who Dey and Love to all,<br />Chris and MarissaMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1164141682341571112006-11-21T13:26:00.000-07:002006-11-21T13:41:22.356-07:00HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!I just wanted to post something quickly for you all to read since it appears that we have a loyal following and that more and more people are starting to read this.<br /><br />Well, on Friday the 24th, we will be finding out where we will be living for the next 2 years of our life. That´s all--nothing big. We are really excited and I´m actually a little nervous.<br /><br />Until then, we have our last day of practice tomorrow where we have to give presentations which our language teachers will evaluate. I have to give mine in spanish and guarani, and it will be about composting. Thursday, our entire training group will be celebrating Thanksgiving by having a large potluck at the training headquarters. <br /><br />Chris and I have been doing well lately and we celebrated my birthday with our family at the house. Our father came home with like 12 lbs. of meat and we had an asado (which is spanish for barbecue--only the meat and the grill are a bit different. We also celebrated our younger brother (same day) Victor´s birthday-who turned 17, and my other brother´s birthday(Ariel)who turned 5 on the 16th. It was also the confirmation of my other brother, Ricardo, on the 17th, so we had about 17 people over for dinner. <br />It was a very nice day overall and my sweet mom clipped fresh roses for me out of her garden to present to me on my birthday morning.<br /><br />Everything is going well. We will be heading into the city on Sunday and will be trying to make routine calls to the family and will also update the blog and try to add pictures. We may even be able to use the Skype account before then to call home (thanks Sally!!).<br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! We are both grateful to have friends and family like you all who have supported us tremendously in our Peace Corps endeavours!!Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1162749993194326082006-11-05T10:39:00.000-07:002006-11-08T14:51:31.526-07:00The Bane of Our Existence...<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/updikes%20169.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/updikes%20169.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/updikes%20165.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/updikes%20165.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/updikes%20164.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/updikes%20164.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />is the picture of the cheese featured in the photo at the above, left. Yes, that is a picture of Queso Paraguaya, which is the common and pretty much only used cheese in these here parts. Basically it's gross country cheese that poor people make and really seem to love. I hate it and they put it in everything. Chris and I think it tastes very "animal". If you have traveled to any latin american country and had their version of campo cheese, then you know of the cheese of which I speak. And the small hard pretzel shaped biscuit things are called like 'roquitas' or something like that. I tried to eat them the first week, but have since stopped. They are served at every meal, and is the only thing available as a food for breakfast. I have consequently also stopped eating breakfast. They are anis flavored. Oh yeah, ALL the bread here is anis flavored. Even the hot dog buns that our mom buys. I brought home a loaf of whole wheat bread (thank you, wonderful Germans!!) and was told by our mom that only people on diets eat that kind of bread. (This was a reply in response to a question I asked about why people commonly do not eat what bread). The fridge in this picture is not typical, as this picture was taken after a recent cleaning. It IS usually this bare, but usually there is some sort of unknown meat part laying DIRECTLY (yes, no plate, no plastic bag- yes, saran wrap does exist here, but I´ve never actually seen it in in action.)laying on the grids.<br /><br />The other pictures are of our backyard at our house, complete with mini- landfill, and the last pic was taken earlier today at the hotel where we stayed. The Paraguayan gnomes are sending many thank you's and love to Jim! (Note: you may be able to see the silence-of-the-lambs-style cage in the background of the yard photo. This is where a pig was apparently jailed and slaughtered for a X-mas feast. Not that this is disturbing in and of itself, but if you could see the remnant bone parts littered about the inside, you might be affected.<br /><br /><br /><br />So, last night, Chris and I celebrated our 1st year anniversary by coming into Asuncion, eating at a "nice" French-influenced restaurant. The food was o.k., and the ambiance and waiter-clad-in-a-tuxedo was a really nice touch. I almost forgot I was in Paraguay, but was quickly brought back to reality once I left the confines of the air conditioning and cleanliness of the restaurant. We stayed at a nice hotel frequently used by PC volunteers, called The Alpes. How nice it was to have air conditioning, t.v. in english and a semi normal breakfast!<br /><br />So, on to our daily routine, just so that you can get a feel of what is happening in our daily lives. I get up at about 6:30, skip breakfast (due to reasons stated above)and walk about 5 minutes to get to the office where Chris trains with his environmental ed group. I get picked up in a van with some of the language teachers, and we travel to a neighboring community about 15 minutes away so that I can train with my group of crop extensionists. I proceed to sit in language class (Guarani)for four hours, trying to learn an indigenous language. There are only 4 people in that class, and because my Spanish was pretty good already, I've been learning Guarani ever since we got here. The language teachers are great, and the ratio is 1 teacher for about every 3 or 4 trainees, so it's very intense and effective. Then we have lunch and siesta for an hour and a half, and I eat lunch at my neighbors house. Her name is Dona Gladys and I am lucky to have her because my lunches are slightly healthier and tastier there, and she is a bit more conscientious when it comes to hygiene and food. After lunch, we have 4 hours of technical training which consists of lots of learning about everything from farming methods to animal care to farm planning and the economics of small farms and how everything works for a farming family here in Paraguay. I've learned so much and am eager to start our real job. We do lots of hands-on training- we have a vegetable garden, a bigger field where we are growing other crops and green manures, and baby chicken which we are raising for slaughter. Out trainer, Tim, is awesome, and has lots of experience with farming and worked in the Chaco during his peace corps service. The basic goal of my extension is to improve the nutrition of the average rural family living in the campo, to manage farmland in a more effective manner, and to maybe (if we are lucky)increase crop yields to sell for more income. We are also very concerned with overall soil health (because this is vital for good crop yields), family nutrition, and ways to raise your animals correctly so that they provide more food to feed your family. It's intense, difficult and slow work due to all sorts of cultural, financial, and social reasons, and I've been told many times that it's definitely one of the harder jobs to have here.<br />At five, I head home. Chris and I do our laundry by hand of most days. We could pay someone to do it, but we have so much clothes, it would become really expenisve and we like to save our money for other things, like calling home and using the internet. We do laundry about 2 hours, inter-mixed with some reading or homework, hanging with the family, and trying to straighten our room. Sweeping often helps keep bugs out and there is always dirt from our shoes everwhere. We eat dinner at 9, and then usually read, shower, and then go to bed. On Wednesdays, everyone travels together to the main training center to have training on security issues, medical, language, cultural stuff etc. We also get our vaccines and are able to see the doctors, etc.<br /><br />Top Ten Annoying Things on An Average Day:<br />1. Bad Food- bland mandioca, fruit juice with added sugar (makes teeth hurt), everthing is fried or with lots of added oil, or unknown cuts of extremely chewy beef or chicken<br />2. The 'burping' of the water pipes and drain in our bathroom which makes the bathroom smell like raw sewage occasionally, especially after it's rained<br />3. Cockroaches living in your bathroom<br />4. Parties that start at midnight on a weekday, and keep you up all hours. <br />5. Roosters crowing at the break of dawn<br />6. Dead or dying kittens and puppies which have been abandoned in the field of the middle of the hot-ass sidewalk<br />7. Watching the dog(s)pee on the kitchen floor and then seeing it just sit there<br />8. Lack of the ability to communicate with family and friends<br />9. Having your clean laudry which has dried outside smell like burned garbage<br />10. Seeing your own personal garbage on the ground. Surprise! This is where it goes after it leaves your bedroom! <br /><br />Okay, I'll stop griping. Everything will be lots better 4 months from now when we can live in our own house, and our family is really great and they bend over backwards for us sometimes. It´s just hard to give up autonomy that you once had.<br /><br />Chris' day is just about the same.<br /><br />Thanks again to mom and dad Jim and Sally for paying our cell phone bill. I consider it our anniversary and my birthday gift!! <br /><br />We love and miss all of you all!! We missed Halloween so much! Hope you all had a good time and will try to update this again very soon.<br /><br />Love,<br />Marissa and ChrisMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1161538443948350942006-10-22T10:31:00.000-07:002006-10-22T10:34:03.960-07:00Ben Sherman...This is an a.p.b. going out to Mr. Ben Sherman of Cincinnati (and any of Chris' other delinquent friends) to please respond to this posting with your e-mail address so that Chris may be able to e-mail you directly. Thanks, ChrisMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1161128883862439352006-10-17T16:37:00.000-07:002006-10-17T16:48:03.876-07:00Quickly......<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/Updikes%20141.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/Updikes%20141.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/Updikes%20130.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/Updikes%20130.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/Updikes%20128.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/Updikes%20128.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Here are some more pics, and I hope this satisfies everyone for a bit. The first pic is me + monkey= love. The second pic is the caiman, which is mentioned in a previous post, and the last picture is of us in our community with our friend Adam, and his brother Juan, who is an invaluable tour guide. Hope you like, and please don't send any candy, exceopt for maybe one bag of dum dums or caramel apple lollipops, which I believe will be send by our super mom, Sally. My teeth will rot out of my head if I eat any more sugar, which was not the case as of a few posts back. And, please, don't send any actual caramel apples. They will be a rotten mess when they arrive.<br /><br />Take care everyone! Miss you Dave and Jill and Ben and Hillary!!!Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1161128166348934792006-10-17T16:33:00.000-07:002006-10-17T16:36:06.360-07:00Monkey Business<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/1600/Updikes%20134.0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7010/3472/320/Updikes%20134.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The cutest and saddest thing I've seen yet.Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1161126853239152182006-10-17T15:52:00.000-07:002006-10-17T16:14:13.260-07:00In the OfficeSo, here in the Peace Corps Office in Asuncion, trying to get this thing updated because it's been so long.<br /><br />Chris and I just got back from our 'Visit a Peace Corps Volunteer' weekend. It was pretty cool. We went 4 1/2 hours to the east on a bus in the middle of nowhere. We visited another married couple who were super cool and we ate some great vegetarian food of which they mainly grow all of it in their garden. We planted sesame, saw some no-till farming in action, and talked with the families that they work with for a little bit. We also took the opportunity on Friday night to come into the city and get a hotel room (with air conditioning!) It was SO nice to be alone and sit outside and have a cold drink and feel like we were kind of on vacation.<br /><br />When we got out to the <em>campo</em> (countryside where poor people live, okay <em>poorer people) </em>I took some pictures of this monkey that lives with this little baby pig, and it was SO damn cute, but also very distressing that they kept them both leashed up on like a 2 foot piece of rope. I almost cried when I saw that, but you just have to divorce yourself of the way you think about animals in America if you want to be able to not get upset about everything you see that's animal related down here. It's very hard, and in some ways, I still deal with lots of tough emotions related to animals, even though I don't have the job I used to have anymore.<br /><br />We went to the supermarket about an hour ago and we are stoked that we got some good food. Wheat bread, peanut butter, cream cheese, fruit loops, and a nail brush. Ooh, I can't wait. All they eat down here is hard white bread or biscuits and it all has anis in it. It's so gross. They make lots of juice with carrots or pineapple or melon, but then add more sugar to it!! My body craves clean cold water and veggies and whole wheat and lean beef. I do not feel like going back to the house and having to be productive in the morning once again. <br /><br />We do have the fact that we have not yet become ill of stomach to be very thankful for. The heat has started to climb, and it's hard to believe that it's only spring. We haven't yet had the chance to find postcards, but as soon as we do, we'll send some out. We are in class 6 days a week, and there are no stores out where we live. <br /><br />Halloween is coming, and of course no one (except for the uber rich in the city) even knows what it is. It's my favorite holiday and I am going to miss it!!!!!!!<br /><br />Eat lots and candy for us and dress up and go out and party! Or at least hand out some good candy for us.....<br /><br />Hugs and kisses to you all. We'll try to call and or write more later.<br /><br />Love,<br />~Marissa & ChrisMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1160171187726300712006-10-06T14:32:00.000-07:002006-10-06T14:46:27.743-07:00Lavar La RopaSo, it´s been a little while. We two have been very busy with training and in the evenings we do things like wash clothes by hand which is extremely labor intensive. It takes like 2 hours to wash 10 articles of clothing, which makes you really appreciate your washing machine. Or, at least, it should. And THEN you can iron it afterwards so that you don´t get any parasites laying eggs under your skin from the clothes hanging outside to dry. And, Paraguayans take their appearance very seriously and they like to look neat. First time I´ve ever ironed my tee-shirts and underwear and socks. If you have a big family, as is usually the case, and you (being the mom) have to wash all the clothes for your husaband and children......well, do the math.<br /><br />Yesterday it rained buckets and was actually quite cool. The day before was HOT, like 30 celsius. Weather extremes in the spring down here are bizarre.<br /><br />Getting pretty tired of eating all the carbohydrates and chewy, greasy, fatty meat. But, you do what you can and kiss your mom when she makes things like empanadas and fruit juice. I tried to make mac-n-cheese from the box for the family, but it did NOT taste like shells and cheese or even Kraft dinner for that matter. Not a good idea. Good thing we had a bottle of hot sauce with us.<br /><br />Next Wednesday we are going to the city of Asuncion, which we have not been to yet. I am looking very forward to seeing the city and possibly eating some food that is familiar. Wendy´s, Pizza, or sushi....even Korean food sounds good even though I´ve never had it. Anything but refined carbs, pineapple soda, or chewy carne de vaca (beef). We´re going to be fat when we get back!!<br /><br />Love you all!!<br />(Miss carpet and fresh vegetables.....)<br /><br />P.S.- If you get the hankering to send us something, People magazine, Caramel apple lollipops, hot sauce for Chris, and some mechanical pencils or good pens. THANKS!!!!Marissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31864764.post-1159648909939806312006-09-30T13:20:00.000-07:002006-09-30T13:41:49.953-07:00Hola desde Paraguay!!Pues, we are writing to you from the town of Ita, where we have come to use the internet and do some shopping. It´s way too expensive to call each one of you, so we have no choice but to hope you read this.<br /><br />We arrived and so did all of our baggage, which was a most pleasant surprise. The flight was also really nice and we arrived excited but tired as it was an overnight flight. So far, everything is great. Chris and I have a very nice family consisting of our mother Jovita, father Manuel, sister Liz Claudia, and brothers Victor, Ricardo, and Arnoldo Ariel who are 18, 17, 15, and 4 respectively. Ariel is so cute and reminds me a lot of Hillary when he was that age. Our room is very nice and we are also fortunate to have a bathroom of our own. Our father is a bricklayer and our mother is a housewife. So far, we have not fallen ill. <br /><br />Peace Corps training is going well so far but has mostly consisted of orientation and administrative stuff. We went only for a half day today, and we have tomorrow off to do stuff with our family and sleep in. We will probably go to church, play games such as volleyball, eat, and catch up on homework.<br /><br />Things here that are a bit strange: There´s an electric device which heats our shower water that I´m slightly scared of, and we don´t drink any liquids with our meals until after we´re done (something about a belief that you don´t mix hot and cold food/fluids or something like that). Also, you wipe your mouth on a communal napkin or the tablecloth or nothing at all ;-). The mosquitos are not bad at all, but on the first night at our house, we did have a number of frogs inhabiting our room with us due to recent heavy rains. We are currently enjoying what is left of spring and it is not too hot YET. <br /><br />By the way, I just finished taking photos of the local Caiman population at what appears to be something along the lines of a city park with a large pond, replete with children standing in the water fishing. If you don´t know what a Caiman is, think small crocodile averaging about 4 feet in length and sometimes larger. People gather at water´s edge and like to feed the creatures whom are mostly benign. However, it is still a strange sight to see. I will try to post pictures later, but as of yet have not figured out how to download them yet.<br /><br />That about sums it up. We are both pleased so far with our decision to come here (so far), and the people are very warm and friendly. We miss you all and send our love.<br /><br />We will write again as soon as the opportunity arises.<br /><br />-Marissa and ChrisMarissa & Christopher Updikehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14282319973001638076noreply@blogger.com0