That has to be my favorite word used in Paraguay, criatura. Literally it means ¨creature¨ but here they use it in reference to little kids and babies like Lucas, the son of a church couple who had his first birthday last week or my baby ¨cousin¨ who has monster cheeks they call ¨cachetes¨.
Can you remember when you where just a little criatura? Pretty carefree wasn’t it? I can still vividly recall neighborhood water balloon fights, craving driven candy hunts, secret club formations and competitions on who could run/ride/lift/jump faster/more/higher. I don’t think I’ve grown out of those last two and depending on who you ask some might say I haven’t grown out of any. But the point is life was free of stress. The number one thing on your mind was either how awesome it would be if the Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joes joined forces or where the heck did mom hide the soda this time.
This is a pretty accurate analogy of my life in Paraguay. Not that I sit around all day thinking of all the materials I need to build a super-top-secret-underground-tunnel-fort (those metal tube slides are impossible to find here) it’s just that I’m enjoying what I’m doing here. As of yet I teach about 4 different English classes every week which adds up to about 12 hours of in class time which I’ve come to enjoy tremendously. The majority of my out of class time I spend prepping and making lesson plans.
Beyond teaching I’m becoming more involved with the family by helping out with dishes and cooking, accompanying them on town errands and giving up my room for overnight guests. Church life has also become a solid part of my life in Paraguay. Every Saturday night we have a young adults service followed by a huge hangout afterwards where we play fútbol and vole. Sundays are just an extension of Saturday with Sunday morning culto (service) at 9, a relaxing afternoon and more hanging out and sport playing later that night. The support I'm recieving from the family, young adults and church is outstanding and I really can't imagine what Paraguay would be like without them.
Can you remember when you where just a little criatura? Pretty carefree wasn’t it? I can still vividly recall neighborhood water balloon fights, craving driven candy hunts, secret club formations and competitions on who could run/ride/lift/jump faster/more/higher. I don’t think I’ve grown out of those last two and depending on who you ask some might say I haven’t grown out of any. But the point is life was free of stress. The number one thing on your mind was either how awesome it would be if the Ninja Turtles and G.I. Joes joined forces or where the heck did mom hide the soda this time.
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7 comments:
Is "vole" short for voleibol, or is it a sport with which I'm not familiar?
In any case, I'm glad to hear things are going well. (To make things even better, we should start a metal tube slide blackmarket between Brazil and Paraguay.)
As much as I love my new situation and new church, I really miss all the volleyball.
I´m could tell last week how much a part of they young people you are there, they just love having you.
Becca
its funny you should mention trying to find where mom hid the soda...because i remember one such time being at your cousin lindsey's house and we were on a frantic mission of the same sort. must be a family thing :)
I´m thinking the grapes picture needs some explaination! :) Maybe another picture would be better with your mouth wide open trying to eat them and María scolding you saying, "Tylor!!!" :) Glad to hear you´re enjoying things.
I kinda think the Ninja Turtles did join forces with the G.I. Joes once. Or maybe it was with Spiderman or the BattleToads or something...
Great summary of your life in M.R. Alyonso. I envy you and the grape vine (I suppose at your house, that has two meanings, what with everyone from the community dropping by all the time. I mean the cool refreshing tart green grapes). Marcos was surprised how tranquillo you are all the time. He doesn't know how you do it with the grape vine in your house (this time, it's the OTHER grape vine I'm talking about).
such a great experience you seem to be having!
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