Friday, May 29, 2009

Finally...Paraguay!!!!

I made it to paraguay! after lots of time in an airplane and various airports. There are 18 people in the G-30 group.

My host family is mama sixta and papa donald they are both 59. no kids that live at home. her daughter is 29 and is also Elizabeth. Paraguayan people are very upfront and like to anounce the obvious. like you´re tall, you´re black. so i was very excited when i met my mama she said i was muy bonita. they own the local store so i helped out last night. she had me counting money and every person who walked in i was introduced to. papa donald works in asuncion selling and recycling paper. He doesn´t get home till about 10pm so i didn´t meet him until today. i went to bed last night at 7:30it had been a long day. when we arrived at 11:00 am it felt like midnight. i was very tired. its been raining sense we got here. the roads are all red dirt so i am glad i brought my hiking boots and rain pants so i am not getting too dirty.

The guarani language is going to be difficult to learn... but my spanish is already better. the next 3 months are going to be long!! and packed with a lot to do. the training is going to be intense. but i am very excited. i am in the ´honey moon´stage. hopefully the culture shock isn´t too bad.

The food is good. Last night we ate empanadas filled with beef and egg. sixta made them for a customer and she made a few extra for me. i went to beed soon after at about 7:30 i was very tired. when i was changing for bed she knocked on my door and had coffee ready to drink. she set me down at the kitchen table put the telenovela on and went back to the shop. they are open till 8. i quickly poored the coffee in the sink, and then saw rice at the bottom so not sure if she used a dirty cup or what?! then went to bed. the house has running water and electricity. warmish water. very large house. all the ammenities. stove, refigarator, etc.

OHHH....they have a cat. that looks exactly like Lexi. i almost cried. except its kinda dirty and not sure about petting it looks like it may have fleas. they also have chickens, a dog, and lots of fruit, and vegi plants around.

well i need to run. but i´ll keep you updated. there is an internet cafe down the street from the training building where i´ll be once a week.

love and miss you all!!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Address For now

My address for at least the first three months will be....

Elizabeth Tippy PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
162 Chaco Boreal c/Mcal. Lopez
Asuncion 1580, Paraguay
South America

Monday, May 4, 2009

It's about that time

So I packed my bags about a month and a half ago. And day by day little things get added. The bags are almost full and I still haven't packed socks, underwear, pj's, tops, and toiletries. Even though on airlines you can have 50 lbs for each bag the Peace Corps give their own specifications. 80 lbs total with 50 lbs max for one bag. I am defiantly going to have to reorganize my bags. a.k.a. git rid of lots of stuff!

My flight will leave Redmond at 10:30 am on the 26th and I arrive in Miami at 10:15 pm. It's going to be one long day! On the 27th I will check in for training at 8 am it starts at 9. At 3 we leave for the airport to go to Paraguay!

The pre-service training will be 11 weeks on intense training in language, community development, personal adaptation, technical job orientation, Volunteer safety, security, and health. The training center is in a town called Guarambare, which is about an hour from the capital, Asuncion. I am not sure how many new volunteers there will be in my group, maybe 10.

I get more and more excited every day! Only 22 more days until my adventure! When I have an address I'll post it! Wish me Luck!!!