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because it's thanksgiving

i'll write out my thankful list. these are some of the things i wrote on my "turkey hand" drawing today. yes, we did that activity as a group today among the peace corps volunteers i'm vacationing with in mbatoví.

my paraguayan family and friends that have taken me in

my family and friends in the U.S. that have supported me and loved me from afar. especially my mom who has suffered the most from our distance.

my brother getting married this year

g-33 peace corps paraguay - we're all still here (21 of us)! no one from my original training group has left early. these are some of the most inspiring, intelligent, driven and loving people i've ever known. and i can't believe the meal we pulled off today. 

a trip to the states in january to celebrate thanksgiving/navidad/new years dos (and introducing santiago to everyone! eeeeee!)

santiago and his family

good health

time to read and take siesta

mbatoví 

tereré

a good shower and bed on vacation

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the weepies - gotta have you no amount of coffee no amount of crying no amount of whiskey no amount of wine no no no no no, nothing else will do i gotta have you, i gotta have you

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a day in the life of a peace corps volunteer

as of 4pm today, this is what i thought i would be doing tomorrow: 

7am: go to host mom's school for the morning to paint the ocean and have the students sign their names on our mural

12pm: eat lunch with ña teresa (neighbor of the school) who operates a little restaurant out of her house

1pm: continue working for the afternoon to complete mural and have school presentation

pack and get ready for thanksgivining in mbatoví

how tomorrow has changed:

8am: go to municipality to ask mayor for 280.000Gs. (50 bucks, más o menos) to cover the costs for my campers to go to a leadership conference with me in december

ask don kiko to come to my house and machete the front yard; we've had so much rain lately

laundry (si hay sol, ojala)

11am: go to host family's house for tereré and to test out making coleslaw (my host family LOVED coleslaw when i made it for july 4, so it's my contribution to my host sisters fiesta de quince; we'll do a price and how-much-does-it-make assessment with my grandmother's recipe)

check laundry

1pm: bus to neighboring farm town to paint mural

5pm read for an hour at the bus stop, aka find shade and don't burn

6pm: bus home to my site

pack for thanksgiving (break into 12-pack of brahmas prematurely?)

this is one of the ways that being a peace corps volunteer is a great gig. first of all, no day is the same. unless it's been raining for a week, in which case no one has left their houses for the week. to me it shows the power of...i don't know what word....networking/talking/socializing...but i just spent the day chatting with people. just what's going on in their lives, and it lined up two bonus opportunities for tomorrow: the pedido for the mayor and cooking lesson/cost assessment/lunch with my family. 

the best advice i'd ever give a future volunteer is the same advice that a PCPY director gave my training group after we'd been in-site for three months (often the time when volunteers hit the wtf-am-i-doing wall). she said, "whenever you have a bad day, the best thing you can do is leave your house. close the door, lock it, don't look back. go talk to that one person in your community that always lifts your spirits. drink tereré. talk about the weather. talk about their kids. but get out and talk. and that's how your world will open up to you." 

cultural integration is clutch. and probably the number-one reason i joined PC. 

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chilled white wine

to celebrate the end of this day. hard core peace corps! 

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things getting in my way.

this afternoon i'm giving a charla, or a lesson/talk, on family finances titled administrar tu dinero. the main topic is savings. why do people save money? how do we prioritize our savings? what is a savings goal? what is long term versus short term? this is one of two things keeping me from thanksgiving. tomorrow it's a clausura, closing activities, at my host mom's school. ugh. get me out of here. want. to. be. done. for. thanksgiving. swimming pool and 9 kilo turkey await...

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look who's a tar heel!

(later on in the episode marshal's wearing a KU t-shirt. is CBS playing some sort of joke? it's from S2EP06 of HIMYM - original air date october 2006. so the timing just doesn't make sense, but cool, igual.)

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raiza, the new puppy at santi's house. 

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bath, england. beautiful city. 

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love love love love love.

Moses Bridge in the Netherlands: slightly reminiscent of Richard Wilson’s permanent installation at Saatchi Gallery, incredible on its own merit.

[via]

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remash:

folded table ~ suzy lelievre

clever lil table.

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Lindsay: Is that George Michael's diamond cream? Tobias: Oh yes, well I ran out of blue and I couldn't find anything else...I think my nipples are bleeding, though I don't know if you're supposed to use quite this much...

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a couple of weekends ago in downtown asunción's ferrocarrill (train station): tattoo babylon down. this was a tattoo festival hosted by some paraguayan artists. they invited their (mostly) brazilian and argentinean colleagues for a day of inking and showcasing their art. no, i did not get any new ink.

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love this one.

NICK, IT’S A VINAIGRETTE. I’M NOT ASKING YOU TO TRY OUT FOR TOP CHEF HERE, BUT IF YOU CAN’T MAKE A SALAD DRESSING YOU MIGHT AS WELL BAN YOURSELF FROM THE KITCHEN.

JUST GRAB THE ZESTER AND THE SEA SALT AND I’LL WALK YOU THROUGH IT.

… TELL ME YOU HAVE A ZESTER.

PLEASE TELL ME YOU HAVE A ZESTER, NICK.

GET OUT OF THIS KITCHEN AND NEVER COME BACK.

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hometown glory

my hometown is laaaammme. but this song is the jam. it gives me chills.

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cold weather maggie. or unabomber maggie?

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fresh melon. fruit is such a treat here in paraguay. locally grown and delicious.

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graceinplace:

montauk scallop and oyster pan roast

i really wish this was my lunch today.

holy scallops.