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Thursday, January 12, 2017

Vaginas used to scare me.  They were a taboo thing that men never stopped talking about, and women never started talking about.  Thus, when I first decided I wanted to be a doctor, I was open to any specialty but OB/GYN.  It was not until many years later, while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer, that one of my colleagues planted the seed, or fertilized the egg, if you will.  One night she looked at me and said “you should really consider becoming an OB/GYN.”  I looked at her and laughed.  She explained that many times when women go to the OB/GYN, it is an unpleasant experience. There is not much that can be done about the paper clothes, scooting for what seems like 9 miles to the edge of the table, the cold metal speculum and so forth, but having a doctor that makes you feel comfortable makes the difference.  My colleague told me that I have a gift; people feel comfortable with me, they open up to me, and they feel like they can tell me anything.
Later, I was reading the book Half the Sky Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn.  The book is filled with horrific stories of the mistreatment of women worldwide, but one particular story broke my heart.  A young Ethiopian girl, Mahabouba, was sold and married off to an older man.  She endured beatings and rapes, became pregnant, suffered through an obstructed labor, and developed a rectovaginal and vesicovaginal fistula following the loss of her baby.  Her husband left her to die on the outskirts of the village, but through some miracle, she made her way to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital. She was partially repaired, left with a colostomy, and is working as a nurse’s aide. As I read this young girl’s story my jaw clenched, my heart pounded, and my hands shook.  I was infuriated that she was treated so inhumanely because of her gender, but I was inspired by Mahabouba’s strength and perseverance; with all the odds stacked against her she was able to not only survive, but thrive.  As I finished the story, I knew being an OB/GYN and a women’s health advocate was what I wanted to do, what I needed to do, and what I was meant to do when I grew up.   
Ever since I was a little girl, I have done everything in my power to achieve my goals.  When I was five, my first life goal was to rock red cowboy boots (and I did). Luckily, as I grew, my goals also matured.  I worked diligently to gain acceptance into my dream college, the University of Notre Dame, I fought several rejections before I was accepted to serve as a rural health Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, and I am on my way to achieving my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor.  My passion within the medical field is women’s health.  While serving in Paraguay, many of my projects revolved around women’s empowerment in a male dominated society and sexual health education.  After my experiences in the Peace Corps, I was positive I wanted to be an OB/GYN.  During my first year of medical school, I was the president of the Women’s Health Club.  We hosted guest speakers who taught us about careers in OB/GYN and did a variety of activities including a production of the Vagina Monologues.  We donated the proceeds to a local women’s shelter.  Once third year rotations started, I anxiously awaited my OB/GYN rotation.  Colleagues advised me to keep an open mind during rotations so I humored them, but I knew what I wanted to do.  I caught three babies, scrubbed in on my first C-section, observed a D&C following a miscarriage, and assisted on an exploratory pelvic laparoscopy on the first day of my OB/GYN rotation.  I left the hospital energized and excited after a 14 hour shift knowing, without a doubt, that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

 I love the rapid pace and diversity of the field, and I am motivated to pursue a career as an OB/GYN.  I am willing and eager to learn.  I am fearless and adaptable; throw me into any situation and I will calmly figure out how to succeed.  I work well with others; I have traveled and worked in five countries, where cultural interactions and language barriers were never a (major) problem.  My passion, drive, and strengths make me an excellent candidate for your residency program.

Monday, July 27, 2015

My Latest Rant

Hello everyone!  I'm obviously not in Paraguay anymore, but I miss writing, and I have had a lot on my mind lately so I thought I'd start blogging again.

Quick update on my life because this blog is about me after all :)  I'm just starting my third year of medical school.  I'm in the last week of my surgery rotation, and it has been absolutely amazing.  I am hooked, but I am looking forward to the rest of my rotations.  I have to take the surgery exam at the end of the week so I should be studying for that, but this is what's been on my mind lately...

Relationships.  It seems to be all anyone cares about these days.  Don't get me wrong.  I've spent plenty of nights crying about stupid boys (because they are all stupid...and women, we're all crazy) wondering what I did wrong, or why doesn't he like me (hell, I even threw some shes in there just for shits and giggles), or why doesn't he call me back, or why do I keep falling for guys that cheat on me?  I obviously have a type.  Why, Why, Why...and it usually eventually ends up at "Why am I not good enough?"  I went through that cycle for years.  Then one day, relatively recently, I woke up and had several revelations.  First of all, I am good enough.  I'm pretty freaking awesome, and that's good enough for me.  Second of all, I have never experienced a relationship that brought anywhere near as much happiness as tears, frustration, drama, anger, mistrust etc, so why am I all butt hurt that none of them lasted?  Third of all, why on Earth, and when did society start putting so much pressure on being in a relationship?  It's one of the first questions friends and family, heck, even strangers ask you. Are you married? Are you dating anyone?  Why aren't you dating anyone, you're a catch?  (Fuck, I don't know, probably because I'm crazy.) Don't worry, you just haven't met him yet.  Why is it so important for me to meet him? Why can't I just be me, and why can't everyone just be happy that I'm just me.  I'm healthy. I'm working towards my goals.  I'm working hard, I'm making gains, and I'm living the dream.  I came into this world alone, and I'll leave this world alone so why does everyone think it is so imperative that we must spend our time on Earth married to one person?

Now before I get to far, I don't want everyone to think I am bashing relationships.  I'm not.  I know a lot of people that are in very functional, healthy and happy relationships, and I am so happy for these people.  I love seeing happy couples together.  I love seeing the love radiate from their eyes and through their smile.  Seeing a truly happy couple instantaneously makes me happy.  If that happens for me one day, I will also be happy, but if it doesn't, I don't see that as a reason to be unhappy.  Many people do, and that is the problem I have.  Society has put so much importance on finding your match that the majority of people spend their single lives miserable, putting themselves down thinking they aren't good enough, they aren't pretty enough, they aren't skinny enough, they aren't curvy enough, whatever, just because they haven't met their match.  I hear from friends nearly every day through phone calls, messages, or facebook posts that come up on my newsfeed about how miserable they are because they don't have a boyfriend or a girlfriend and it just breaks my heart.  Everyone has their own unique qualities, talent, personality, and radiance, and I believe everyone would shine a lot more if we valued individuals over couples.

Whewww, I'll get off my soap box now.  Thanks to all of you who made it to the end.  I feel truly lucky that I finally came to peace with being single, and I hope others can also find peace and happiness within themselves and among their loved ones.  Also, I don't know when I started sounding so cheesy.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

The Finale. A Whole lot of Jumble Trying to Sum up Two Years

I never wrote my final, close of service, returning home blog entry.  I was overwhelmed by the thought of it.  I didn't, and still don't, know what to say.  How do I sum up all the experiences, emotions, and life lessons of the past two years into one entry?  I can't, but I've been home for 8 months or so now, and I can write about some of the feelings I'm still dealing with and memories I still remember vividly.

Paraguay changed and continues to change my life.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about, miss, and long to be back in that crazy, ass backwards country.  I believe my experiences and interactions in Paraguay made me a better, stronger person.  I've never felt such real, raw, unconditional love anywhere else in my life.  Paraguayans know how to love, and they aren't afraid to say it or show it.  It's refreshing, and I wish we were able to express ourselves the same in the USA.  I had so many great experiences that fill me with joy and never cease to bring a big ol smile to my face every time I think of them.  However, there's a second side to every story.  My whole service wasn't filled with love, rainbows, and unicorns.  I endured quite a bit of maliciousness, disrespect, betrayal, and hatred.  So much so, that after a year in country, I was ready to throw in the towel, pack up my bags and come home.  I still feel haunted by these memories.  Everyday, still, its a struggle to overcome the damage that they've caused.  Part of me feels as though Paraguay was just a dream.  At times, it feels so abstract and far away, yet so real and so close at other times.

I miss sitting around drinking terere with my friends.  I miss the simplicity of life.  I miss being the donkey in the fish bowl.  I miss being the most interesting part of someone's day.  I miss the beautiful red, dirt roads.  I miss speaking Spanish.  I miss the Guarani grunts.  I miss partying until 5am with my friends.  I miss feeling special.  I miss feeling loved.  I miss my friends.  I miss my family.  I miss my Bailey girl.  I can't believe I'm about to admit this, but I miss the long bus rides, and I miss pooping in latrines.  I miss throwing my food scraps to the chickens.

I've compiled a short list of memories...some of the good, the bad, and the ugly, in no particular order, from my service.
-The day I met my host family.  My host mom came to pick me up, kissed me on the neck (because she couldn't reach my cheeks), slapped my ass, grabbed my hand, walked me home, and then served me the most delicious mango I've ever eaten.
-The day I picked out my Bailey girl from a litter of adorable puppies.  I miss that monster everyday.
-Getting charged by a bull during my future site visit.
-Unloading a bed, stove, and essential household items on to my "host father's" (I've disowned him) front lawn while telling him I'd leave as soon as I had a place to go after he kicked me out of his house.
-How bad I was at bucket bathing
-Pooping in a bucket in my living room for 2 days because the owner of my house decided to lay cement in my bathroom the day that I moved in.
-That one time I started a fire in my oven while making brownies...then ate the brownies anyway
-Starting the women's soccer team and playing in the only game we ever played
-The first time I ate raw sugar cane.  Marcio took me way out into the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere, and I was scared he was going to murder me when I saw him grab a machete.  I was pleasantly surprised when he just used it to cut me down some sugar cane.
-Carnaval.  Being pulled out of the stands during my favorite song to dance with two gorgeous twins in the parade
-Meeting and falling in love with the man I was supposed to marry only to have everything spiral so wildly out of control and leave me heartbroken.
-Summer camps with Danielle and the kiddos in mine and her communities
-Eating watermelons one half at a time during the unbearable summer heat
-Starring in a comedy show
-The super successful HIV/AIDS workshop I put on for youth.
-My patients at the Hogar, and that one time I was teaching yoga with a giant hole in my spandex pants exposing my bare booty.
-Vomiting out of bus/car windows because of intestinal parasites
-That one time Ruben asked me about "that fat girl that used to come around," and I had to inform him that was me 20 lbs ago
-So many nights of Kaoroke.
-Returning home from a long ass weekend. longing to take a nap, only to find my house had been emptied, and I no longer had a bed to nap on.
-Thanksgiving at my house last year

The list could go on forever, but hopefully those ones are enjoyable enough for you all to read :)  And I know, I didn't mention many names.  So here's where I'd like to do a few shout outs to people I could not have survived my service without: obviously my mom and dad (my real, American parents).  Thank you for supporting me during my service, I know you didn't like me being gone, and hated seeing the tears streaming down my face so often.  Lyn: probably the sole reason I didn't leave mid service.  She helped me SOOOO much during my service, and I am so grateful to her.  Julia: my talking about cute boys buddy.  Danielle: my closest neighbor for a while...and my summer camp buddy!  Sarah: my San Ignacio soul mate.  Spencer: Always bringing a smile to my face.  And my Paraguayan host family was absolutely amazing.  I still talk to them on a regular basis, and I love them and miss them dearly.  My Paraguayan friends Luis, Nol, Fran, and Juana were the light at the end of my tunnel.  They always took me on adventures and are the reasons for almost all of my joyful memories.

I endured a lot of pain, but I also endured a lot of joy.  With everything that happened, if I was given the opportunity to go back in time, I would still join the Peace Corps. I may be damaged, but aren't we all?  I know I'm better, and I'm stronger, and I have a ton of interesting stories up my sleeves :)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Bittersweet

The HIV/AIDS Taller (p.s. Taller means workshop) I started talking about/planning over a year ago FINALLY happened., and it was a HUGE success!!  I'm pretty impressed with myself that I pulled the whole thing off with only one night of stress dreams.  There were 10 volunteers from my district that participated, and each volunteer brought several youth from his/her community.  A volunteer friend Spencer and I came up with the schedule/activities for the taller, and then we divided the work up among volunteers.  Our topics included self esteem, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, and then we had a presentation from a Paraguayan living with HIV.  I was in charge of logistical things such as the pre/post test, the opening ice breaker, the HIV/AIDS portion of the taller, and then the final evaluations.  The day before the taller Spencer, Sarah, and I went shopping for the taller.  Best Day Ever.  We went to the local grocery store, Torito, to stock up on snacks.  We must have been a hoot to watch trying to figure out how to feed 30 people over the following day and a half.  We finally pulled up at the register with a shopping cart overflowing with juice boxes, cookies, crackers, fruit, toilet paper and soap (we have to promote good hygiene as well!).  I was able to talk the cash register lady into allowing us to take the shopping cart to the retreat center to drop off the snacks; however, we didn't even make it outside before the men started being all machista and wouldn't let us continue.  As women, we are clearly incapable of pushing a heavy shopping cart.  So a truck pulls up and we load everything into the back, and then the three of us climb up front with the driver.  We may or may not have ripped a motorcycle seat in our attempt to shut the truck's door.  We dropped the food off at the retreat center, finished putting together the informational packets for the youth, and set up the auditorium we would be using at the hospital.  Sarah came over that night and we made sweet potato burgers which were BOMB! If I was ever planning on getting married, my future husband would be one lucky man; however, luckily for all men I've decided to save them from having to spend the rest of their life with my crazy ass.  Friday night I barely slept.  Saturday morning, I gathered my things and left around 7am.  I arrived at the retreat center and started registering all the youth as they arrived.  The volunteers led all the activities in the morning, we broke for lunch, and then we headed to the hospital for the afternoon portion.  We had Oscar give his presentation about living with HIV first because he was in a hurry to get back to the capital, then one of my hospital friends who is an obstetrician/ the STI/HIV/AIDS specialist at the hospital came to help us present about the most common STI's in addition to HIV/AIDS.  Then we did a condom demonstration, played some more games and called it a day.  Sarah and I stayed to clean up, return the projector I had borrowed, and take everything back to my house.  We stayed at my house until about 6:00pm then headed back over to the retreat center.  We all had dinner together and then we told the youth they could go out around the city as long as a volunteer was with them, and everyone had to be home by 10:00pm.  I went out with a few volunteers and a few youth.  We walked around the city, went into some shops, and then stopped for ice cream.  Everyone obeyed (thankfully) and returned around 10 pm.  We had a few trouble makers that tried to sneak out, but for the most part everyone behaved nicely.  In the morning we had breakfast and then we had the youth break into their community groups to come up with work plans.  Each group presented.  During the presentations I received a text message from my neighbor (the one I always buy chicken from) asking me if I was at home.  And I said no why, whats up?  (thinking it was really strange that he was messaging me).  And he said well your door is open.  And I said that's really strange, will you close it for me, and I'll be home within the hour.  So we finished up the presentations, handed out certificates to each youth., cleaned up the center, and we all headed out.

**Highlights of the taller: A 32 year old mother of 2/health education teacher in one of the local schools told us this taller was the FIRST time she had ever learned to correctly put on a condom! Wow.
**One of the volunteers that attended texted me the following day saying her youth were already doing charlas in their community with the information they learned!  So amazing!

Anyways so Sarah and I walk back to my house and we get here and my door is literally jerry-rigged up to keep it closed.  I had a padlock keeping my door locked, and the whole contraption was forced off.  I walk in and it looks like a tornado blew through my house.  My suitcases were open with contents everywhere and my whole closet was on my floor.  I remained surprisingly calm for the situation and started looking around a bit.  At first, the only things I noticed were gone were my mattress and my fan, and I saw a yogurt cup just chilling in my closet.  The first thought that crossed my mind was Oh, my silly friends playing a prank on me, but then the more I looked around the more I realized was missing, and it wasn't my friends (or at least I hope it wasn't my friends).  I was missing everything ranging from my mattress to make up to clothes (they even took clothes out of my dirty clothes hamper) to my external harddrive to my medications.  Total possessions stolen amounting to about $1500.  They took a little bit of everything.  I called Peace Corps and let them know.  Then I went to talk to some of my neighbors.  None of them saw or heard anything...mainly because none of them were around that night.  There was a pilgrimage to one of the nearby campos where most everyone walked the night before.  Then I headed to the police station to file a report.  The officer took down my information, a list of what was missing, and my phone number.  He texted me later calling me beautiful and sending me kisses to inform me the other officers were on their way to my house.  Three officers showed up.  Two of them were actually asking me questions/writing stuff down while the third was just looking at all of my photos on the wall.  One of my friends came by and stayed with  me while the police were there, and then he invited me over to his house.  We went to his house and immediately started drinking wine in a big group with his family members.  Seemed like the most logical thing to do at the time.  We drank for a while and then we ended up at this volleyball court that was way too intense for me to handle, and then we wound up at another friends house.  I headed home around 8pm to clean up the disaster that was my house and go to bed.  I slept on my floor for 2 nights, but now I have a sad mattress that was lent to me by the Hogar.  I bought a new fan which didn't work when I got it home, but I exchanged it for a new one so I'm making my way back...slowly.  I've basically just been sleeping all day everyday...but I ran out of sleeping pills last night so we'll see if I'm able to sleep tonight.

In other news.  I'm still dancing on the hospital dance team that we formed recently.  Our first show is this weekend...in my old community.  My life is a joke.  It's going to be ridiculous.  Sarah and I are the only 2 girls who don't have a man partner so we just kind of randomly dance by ourselves and look extra ummm special...and we don't even have matching outfits.  It's gonna be interesting.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Fun Times

Holis!!!  I'm still doing most of the same work/projects do I decided to compile some short anecdotal stories of what has been happening in my life recently.  So here goes...

Spandey Adventures
I wear spandex pants all the time because they are so comfortable and its so acceptable here.  So a few weeks ago I put on my spandex and went to workout at the plaza.  I finished my workout then headed to the Hogar to do yoga with my mental patients.  About half way through the yoga routine, I'm in downward facing dog, and Elba exclaims "Casey, wait you have a hole in your pants!"  Really?  Yes!  As she proceeds to get up out of her spot and come over to me and point out the hole in the bum of my pants.  I feel back there, and there is a very good sized hole back there.  Mind you, I'm not wearing underwear because who wears underwear with spandex? So she comes over to me and is all up in my butt trying to touch the hole...and I'm dancing around her trying to get her away from my butt.  So then the "mom" of the house gives me this sheet to wrap around myself.  I wrap myself up, and she takes my pants and sewed them up for me, gave them back, and we continued with our yoga.

Eggs
The other day I was really hungry and wanted to make eggs for dinner.  I walked to the little store next door and I bought 1 egg.  I would have bought more, but there was only 1 left.  Who leaves 1 egg?  But, I got a kick out of buying 1 solo egg.

Bagels and Worms
We had a VAC meeting a few weeks ago.  I'm not really sure what VAC stands for, but it means the volunteers that are in my surrounding area.  We have a large VAC...there is about 20 of us here in Misiones.  We all met up at one of the local restaurants and discussed PC news, and what we are all up to in our sites.  Then my two friends Spencer and Sarah came over to my house to hang out.  I made homemade bagels.  They are surprisingly easy to make and they were super delicious.  I made some plain ones and a cinnamon sugar one.  While the bagels were rising I went to take a shower.  As I was showering a worm fell out of my butt.  Hello intestinal parasites (again).

Folkloric Dance
I managed to join a Paraguyan Folkloric dance team.  I'm not really sure how it happened, but it did.  We had our first practice on Monday.  Its a group of people from the hospital, my PC friend Sarah and me, and its FANTASTIC.  We arrived and the first thing the dance instructor tells us is "I'm going to play some music, and I want you all to show me your moves."  Sarah and I just looked at each other and busted out laughing.  So he puts on Paraguayan Polka music and everyone pairs off and starts polka dancing.  Sarah and I grab each other and start twirling around in circles, cracking up, and then we just started being ridiculous until he finally turns off the music.  Mind you we are practicing in the main plaza of the city...right along the main road so pretty much the entire city is watching us make fools of ourselves.  So the instructor turns off the music and doesn't say much of anything to any of us, and then proceeds to teach us the basic steps of traditional Pyn dance.  Surprisingly, Sarah and I caught on to the steps the fastest!  I was even used as an example at one point!  Go me!  Sarah and I were just super thankful that this culture has no problem laughing at each other because we were just standing off to the side laughing at everyone.  It was absolutely hilarious watching these people try to learn the basic steps.  My friend Juana kept going left every time she was supposed to go right, and she would be the only one facing the wrong way almost every time.  It was great.  Anyways we're supposed to practice every Monday, and we're going to start looking for our outfits soon, and we are aiming to perform for the first time December 1.  Don't worry there will be video evidence!





Monday, August 13, 2012

Learning to Live Again

Hey Party People!  It's been a while...and since it's 1:00 in the afternoon and I haven't done much except sleep and make a delicious lunch of roasted squash and cauliflower, I decided to make myself feel slightly more productive and fill you all in on my life.  So why have I been such a bum today?  Well, there are several reasons 1) I don't have to work on Mondays until 3:00 pm.  2) It was raining cats and dogs this morning which automatically means "go back to bed" in this country.  3) I went to Asuncion for "Ahendu" yesterday.  Ahendu means "I hear" in Guarani, and it is a music show that volunteers/and their Paraguayan friends put on every 3-4 months when a new group of volunteers arrives and swears in.  Also, yesterday there was a date auction, and I was one of the girls being auctioned so I had to go.  There was a bidding war for me between my future site mate, Jaime, and my PC wife, Lyn.  Jaime won so we'll have a free dinner at a rico restaurant one of these days!  I went in to the capital just for the day yesterday....an afternoon of dancing and sangria pitchers sandwiched between two 4 hour bus rides...hence why I was a lazy bum this morning!

But let's talk about last weekend...my 24 birthday weekend!  Some of my Paraguayan friends came over to my house on Friday night for the "previa" to my birthday.  They walked in with the sound system and a bottle of vodka because "they know I like the strong stuff."  At midnight they brought in a cake complete with a candle and they all sang to me, and then we had a major cake fight.  They left around 3:30am because I'm the grandma of the group and I was all tuckered out.  These people party until 7 or 8 in the morning, and I just can't do it...still.  I blame it on the language barrier still.  I understand what's going on, and I love hanging out with my friends, but it just tires me out more when I'm constantly thinking/interacting in my second and third languages.  Saturday, my actual birthday, my friend came and picked me up to go to another friends' house for lunch.  They made me Tallarin which is my favorite Paraguayan dish.  I napped and got ready that afternoon and everyone came over to start again around 8:00pm Saturday night.  My usual Paraguayan party team was over, and my PC wives Lyn and Julia also came over to celebrate with me.  We made caiprinhas (a drink originating from Brazil), and I introduced Paraguayans to the fabulous-ness of peppermint patty shots.  They were a little hesitant at first, because they had no idea what the chocolate sauce I was telling them to pour in their mouth was...but they all liked it after they tried it.  Then around 10:00 we headed to a dinner show that was the 13th Anniversary of something medically related.  There were all the head honchos from the hospital and a bunch of doctors and nursers and what not.  I brought a pitcher of caiprinhas in my purse because I'm classy like that.  No one said a thing to us.  That's one of the things I love about this country.  My friend Nolber is a professional dancer so I feel exceptionally "special" when I'm dancing with him, but we started the dance party and soon we had the whole place dancing with us!  There was a band playing on stage and I was chosen to go up on stage and dance with them.  The lead singer asked me my name and I said "Casey y hoy es mi cumple!" haha.  So then the whole dinner party sang Happy Birthday to me while I danced on stage so that was AWESOME.  Then we headed to the club around 3:00am, and I only made it an hour longer.  Fran drove me home around 4am, and I dove in to bed.  Overall, VERY successful birthday.  I felt very special and loved, and that's how everyone should feel on their birthday!

Work-wise I'm still doing the same things as last time...but I also started working at the "Hogar" in town.  Its right next door to the hospital, and its a home for 10 rehabilitated mental patients.  There are 6 men and 4 women who are live in patients at the home, and there are 2 couples who are the "parents" who switch of staying at the house/caring for the "kids" every week.  The patients know each other as brothers and sisters although they are not related and they refer to the couples as mom and dad.  They all (minus the moms and dads) spent long periods of time internado (what is that in English...?) in the mental hospital in Asuncion and were basically forgotten by their friends/family. They are rehabilitated in that they don't need to stay in the mental hospital anymore, but they are not well enough to live on their own either. They are all older people..the youngest one is about 31 I believe.  I LOVE spending time with them.  They are a great bunch of people.  They are all special in their own way, and they always put me in a good mood.  I generally spend more time with the women because of culture norms and because the women are more lively.  Erna calls me "la muñeca" which means doll and she reads my palm.  According to her, I'm going to live to be 100 years old, I'm going to have lots of men, I'm going to be a millionaire, I'm going to have 9 children, and a lot of cows, chickens, pigs etcs. haha.  Iso is always smiling.  She just looks at me and laughs and then she says something to me in Guarani which I can never understand and then we both just laugh.  She always gives me really big hugs at really odd times...aka in the middle of aerobics.  Elba is the youngest one and she is one of the most functional.  She sells things in the hospital in the mornings so I always see her and chat with her in the hospital, and she works in the afternoons.  And then there is Teresa.  Watch out mom, Teresa, is SUPER jealous over me.  Whenever she sees me she gets really angry if I just say hello and wave...I have to go over and give her a hug and the kiss kiss.  And then she usually grabs my hand and walks around with me haha.  Apparently, I remind her of her daughter (who she is still in contact with and is able to see pretty frequently).  Teresa is always out wandering around so I always run into her and we chat.  Last time I saw her she told me I was pregnant (after she told me I also had heart problems) and literally sat there pressing my stomach for at least 5 minutes.  I said Teresa I'm not pregnant.  And she's like yes you are...see I can feel it.  And I said No I'm not honey, unless I'm carry the next baby Jesus it's not possible...and then she was like ohh well you just have an ugly body then.  I love you too, Teresa haha.  She's such a character.  But I go to the hogar on Mondays to dance an aerobics video with them, and I teach them Yoga on Wednesdays.

I have just about 8 months left in country!  Can you guys believe I've already been here for 19 months?!  I can't believe how fast the time has flown.  My going away party in the states feels like a life time ago, but like yesterday at the same time.

The new group swore in this weekend, and there will be 2 new volunteers living in San Ignacio with me which I'm really excited about!  A girl named Sara and a boy named Jaime.  And my wife, Lyn, is leaving me in September :(  I'm so sad.  She's literally probably the only reason I'm still in this country, and we talk as much, if not more, than your average married couple.  She actually told me one day, "Casey, you've proven to me that I am capable of being in a long-term, serious relationship?" I said oh really, why?  And she said well I always wondered what couples talked about for so long after seeing each other all day...I thought it would get boring.  But after being friends with you, I get it.  I spend all weekend with you and then you call me on your bus ride home with something new to tell me. haha.

Well, I have to go get ready to dance with my patients!  Have a wonderful day.  Love and miss you all oodles!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

The Beans are Done!

Greetings Earthlings!  The time has come for another update.  I've been living in my new site for about a month now, and the hospital has been keeping me very busy with lots of work, and I'm L-O-V-I-N-G it!  Here are some of the projects I'm currently working on:

1) Educational Charlas in the hospital.  I have been giving charlas several times a week in the waiting room of the hospital.  Ruben is my community contact for these charlas.  He is in charge of the education department at the hospital.  Wednesdays we always do something related to sexual health.  So far I've talked about several of the STI's as well as family planning and birth control methods.  Fridays we always talk about something diabetes related.  Diabetes (type 2) is a HUGE problem here which breaks my heart because it can be so easily avoided and/or managed through a better diet and more exercise, but it is VERY hard to get these people to stray from their beloved traditional (yet extremely unhealthy) foods.  I have done a couple of general nutrition charlas which they don't really listen to.  They have heard it so many times before that it just kind of goes in one ear and out the other.  From now on I'm going to try presenting the information in ways that they haven't heard before and try to gather small tips to incorporate healthy habits...so if any of you have any suggestions, I will gladly listen!  I did a very successful exercise charla a few weeks ago.  I talked about the benefits of exercise and then I demonstrated about 20 exercises that are easy to do at home.  They seemed to really enjoy that one; they are always told that they need to exercise, but it is not an exercise culture here so many of them don't really know what to do, or how to start.  And starting next week we're also going to start giving charlas on Tuesdays.  This Tuesday I'm supposed to prepare something about Parasites.  I love doing the Charlas with Ruben.  He always does a nice introduction and then he lets me go and give my charla.  If I'm not making much sense (which probably happens more than I'd care to admit) he jumps in and clarifies for the audience, and then he always wraps things up really nicely at the end.

2) Composting Latrine Project.  I'm working with a woman named Julia who works at the hospital but is the regional representative for SENASA (the water company of PY) on a composting latrine project in two nearby neighborhoods.  **Quick side note about Julia.  I love her.  Every time I go to the hospital, aka every day, we always start out the morning with a mate session and talk for at least an hour.  She's one of those people who just loves to talk so I just let her go and I learn so much from her.  She always talks slowly and clearly and has all the patience in the world so it is very easy to understand her, and if I don't she has no problem explaining things to me. **  Anyway so we're working on this composting latrine project.  There are a couple of nearby neighborhoods that have really high water levels and thus cannot dig septic tanks for their bathrooms.  I visited the neighborhoods and they are very poor, probably the poorest I have seen in Paraguay so far, and they are literally a 10 minute walk from my front door in the city.  It's crazy.  Anyway, most of the homes do not have bathrooms at all, and if they do they can only dig for 1m or less and they have to move their "bathrooms" every couple of months.  So Julia has been working with these neighborhoods for some time now.  The commission is formed and the pedidos are written.  The pedidos are written for 106 families.  Julia and I have been going around the neighborhoods finding the families the most in need, and we have been going to different institutions to present the pedidos to ask for funding.  So far we have presented to one NGO here in the city, the Municipality, and the Health Commission of the hospital.  There are a few more institutions on our list that we will be visiting and asking for support.  So far we have not received any funding, but the places that we have presented are very interested in the project.  So what is a composting latrine you might ask?  Well, it is a latrine-so an outside bathroom-that is built up from the ground instead of ground level with the "septic tank" below the ground.  Since it is built up there are a few stairs out front that take you up to the toilet.  The part above ground is divided into two sections.  Once one section is filled up with waste it is closed off and let sit to compost while you use and fill up the other section.  There is a separate hole/section for pee in the toilet because pee is too acidic to be mixed in with the compost.  After the other side is filled up, the first side is taken out and can be used as compost for a garden.  So if this project is successful, 106 families will have their very own composting latrines that, if taken care of properly, will last for their whole lives.  And even better?  The Mennonites that live close by are going to be buying the compost from the families with composting latrines to use on their farms.  So this community and these families will be literally getting paid to Poop!  I think that's so cool.

3) HIV/AIDS Work: I'm working with the regional HIV/AIDS nurse/representative giving HIV/AIDS and STI presentations at the local nursing colleges.  We did our first presentation last week and it went really well!  I started out with an ice breaker called Pass the Mandioca.  There are two teams and each team has a mandioca.  They have to put it between their legs and pass it to the next person without using their hands.  Whichever team gets it to the last person the quickest without dropping the mandioca or using their hands wins.  It's a really funny race to watch and its really fun to participate in as well.  Then we brought everyone back in and did our presentation.  At the end we brought two students up front-a girl and a guy-and I talked them through the steps of how to properly use a condom and then they both demonstrated on  the mandioca.  Then I did a quick activity about condom myths.  Some of the myths are things like condoms have pores in them which small molecules such as the HIV infection can pass through.  So I filled up a condom with water to show that although condoms may have tiny pores in them, nothing passes through and they do indeed protect against STIs.  Then there is a myth that they are small.  So I disproved that one by fitting the giant mandioca inside one.  So the last myth is the one that guys like to use the most, that you can't feel the pleasure through a condom.  So I brought a male student up to the front and blind folded him then put a condom on his fingers and told him to tell me when he could feel things.  He felt it when I touched his fingers with mine and then when I licked his fingers they all went CRAZY, but he could feel it!  We are supposed to do the same presentation with another group of nursing students this coming week!
       I've received a Grant from the United States government to do a workshop training with youth about HIV/AIDS as well.  I'm working with a nearby volunteer to start planning and organizing the workshop.  We're planning on doing it in September so more news to come about that as we get the ball rolling!  We're supposed to meet with the mayor this coming week to ask for a little more funding in order to cover all of the expenses.

Those are the major projects I've been working on.  I also spoken on the radio the morning of Environment Day.   That was nerve-racking.  It was really embarrassing when I had no idea what the DJ asked me and I just responded with QUE??? into the radio.  I'm working with another community contact helping her with her Mother's Club.  We're still figuring out details and trying to make it work, but I have high hopes if we can get everything figured out!

Politics
       Just a quick note on whats going in the political world of Paraguay.  The President was impeached Thursday, and the Vice President took over as President to serve out the remaining year.  Some of the surrounding countries are not currently recognizing the new government and they are calling it a coup de etat (or however you spell that) because everything happened so quickly.  But, everything is very calm in country and Peace Corps staff is monitoring everything very closely...keeping an eye out for us.  We really have a fantastic Peace Corps Paraguay staff so don't worry, I'm in good hands!
       And, my department, Misiones, finally  has a new governor!  A few months ago our governor was impeached.  While they were performing the audit there was an intervening governor.  Then there was another governor from the opposing party of the original governor after the audit was finished while they were voting for a replacement governor.  And, last weekend, they voted and elected a new governor who will take office starting in July.  Whew.

Social Life
       My work life has picked up significantly and so has my social life.  I feel go go go all week and then I get to the weekend and I still feel go go go!  But it's great.  The first weekend I was here I had some friends over and we bought a rotisserie chicken and some wine and birinight (a ridiculously cheap and delicious smirnoff ice knockoff) and broke in my new house!  Then the following day we went out to the campo to watch the Rally race through the rural communities.  It was AWESOME!  The following weekend I went with my friend Luis and some of his friends to the local nightclub.  I love going out with Luis because Paraguay is such a relationship centered country that everyone automatically thinks he's my boyfriend which keeps me from being bombarded by men who want a piece of the blonde chick.  But, he's really just my best friend so if I do see someone I'm interested in he'll help me out!  However, the weekend at the disco I got really stomach sick and I was ready to go home at 3am, right when a well off dentist (and apparently genuinely good guy according to Luis) came up to talk/dance with me.  Luis is still giving me a hard time about leaving early.  Apparently they danced until 7am the next morning.  Oooof.  Then, the following weekend I went to one of my counterpart's daughter's quincenera.  It was absolutely beautiful and a lot of fun!  I was dancing like a pro (insert here a photo/video of "what I think I looked like" compared to "what I really looked like" haha).  I don't know what got into me that night, but I was literally being thrown and spun around all over the place and I was totally keeping up.  It was so much fun.  Then this weekend was full of San Juan parties.  I'm not really sure what is celebrated for the San Juan parties, but they are CRAZY but in a good way.  I went with Lyn and Luis last night to a party in a neighborhood close by.  There were all kinds of typical Paraguayan foods...kabure, mbeju (my favorite), batiburrillo (the insides), asaditos etc etc.  Then there is always a tall greased pole with prizes at the top.  Men always try to climb it to get to the prizes and its really entertaining to watch.  Someone finally got it after attempting for at least an hour (who knows how long before I got there).  The ended up making a human totem pole to reach the prizes at the top!  And then during all of this there are flying flaming balls being kicked around everywhere.  And there is a "bull"...it's really just a person under a burlap sack with two wooden horns that they set on fire and start chasing people through the crowd.  It's really kind of crazy and Lyn and I were just trying to stay hidden because you know the Nortes would be a target!  And then there is a stuffed dummy hanging from a tree that they set on fire at some point.  This years dummy was named Lugo (the President's name who just got impeached).  And there is also a time where people walk on hot coals.  We left before they set the dummy on fire and before the fire walking, but San Juan is always an entertaining time if nothing else!
       Next weekend, depending on the state of the political crisis and whether or not we are allowed to travel to the capital, there is a 4th of July celebration at the United States embassy.  I'm planning on going, and I'm really excited about it.  I hear they have a great selection of desserts.

Random side-note
The owner of my house might be the cutest lady ever.  She lives next door, but she's been gone almost the whole time I've been here because she goes to stay with her daughter and her grandson for large chunks of time.  But she came back this weekend and she just melts my heart.  I wish she was here more often because I can see us being best friends.  I play my music pretty much all the time.  Since the houses are so close together and there is no insulation you can usually hear my music better outside my house.  Today it was playing and I asked her if my music was bothering her.  Her response?  "No, not at all, I really like it!"  She's so awesome.

All in all, things are going great down here.  Work is keeping me busy, and my friends are keeping me busy on the weekends.  I'm SO happy now, and I am LOVING life!

I miss and love you all!  I hope all is well in the states.  Send me updates!