another week and lots of blisters!

I went to a youth activity with the young single adults which included a tour of a wimpy but interesting stuffed animal museum and got a snapshot of Paraguay's world-famous anteaters... I really think they should have a national movement to reintroduce more anteaters...there are miles of open countryside overrun by ginormous anthills and not just any ants but scary fire ants that will devour you alive if you try to disturb their home. These anteaters are their only known predator and yet humans have been treating them like pests for the past few hundred years. Pretty smart huh...


This is me dancing, don't ask what I'm trying to do, but I thought it was a funny picture. I lent my camera to one of the girls in group and rather than go around and take pictures of the animals like she said she would, she decided to stick around and snap pictures of me getting my groove on...















This is me an my new friend...Dora. That's my bike's name. Dora. In honor of Dora the Explorer. We went on a journey all around Itaugua to gather pictures of places that use the word Ñandutí in their business names. One of the businesses is 3 kilometers out of town and so we rode down in 100 degree weather to get the pic and then had ice cream that basically steamed away before getting to our stomachs. Typical Paraguay. This is Alba my cultural guide these days. we met at a ñandutí workshop and she has been a great friend ever since. 15 years old, evangelical Christian and really interested in learning about the world around her and especially taken with the idea of being friends with an American.


This is the road sign introducing you to the urban center of Itauguá where I currently reside. Don't pay too close attention to the sweat ringing my armpits...it's a good thing you can't see my back in this picture!!








Finally we have my group of students from the latest Career Workshop that I taught on the 1st. All of these youth are looking to apply for loans from the Perpetual Education Fund and one of the requirements is attendance at a Career Workshop to help orient them towards careers that they can put into practice in their communities once they finish schooling. It was BY FAR the BEST group I've ever taught and I loved every minute of it. It's interesting to be teaching people your same age but they were the most attentive, kind, and interested group of students I've ever had and we had a great time.















Then we have my journey by foot on the famous Pilgrimage to Caacupe. In Paraguay, they celebrate the Virgin of Caacupe (just like the Virgin of Guadelupe in Mexico) and every year people walk from all corners of the country to visit her and seek a miracle or wish. This little girl was dressed up like the Virgin with her blue cloack and crown and so I had to get a picture. Rather than shying away like I would have expected, her whole family encouraged her to smile for the camera and cooed over the resulting snapshot. I wish I could have given them a copy right there, but I found them in line for the bathroom and we didn't exactly have a chance to exchange information.




















This is our group of Pilgrims.
I tried to get a shot of the MASSES of people walking along the side of the road, but there was no way to get a good indication of the journey.

This is me in front of the Basilica after fighting our way through the crowds to get within 300 feet of the stage. They closed the church and moved Mass outside under the canopy...the virgin is on the right on the pedestal. I had envisioned a large life-size statue, but the foot and a half image was the center of all the fuss. That statue is actually a replica that they take out to put nearer to the crowds. On the other side of the stage (that you can't see in the photo) is the real image guarded behind bullet-proof glass.



















So, this week was full of crazy days and cultural activities. As you can see from the photos, I made a successful pilgrimage from Itaugua (well we actually took a bus for the first 10 kilometers and then walked the rest of the way from Ypacarai) to Caacupe...walking more than 5 hours starting at 8 at night we finally got into Caacupe at 1:30 in the morning to find hundreds of thousands of people sleeping out, selling all sorts of food and replicas of the virgin of Caacupe and others sleeping out on mats made from sugar cane. It was incredible to walk inside a fluid mass of pilgrims. According to the legend, an indian was being chased by a rival tribe and stopped at the church to pray for protection from the Virgin and she appeared to him and saved his life and ever since people have made the pilgrimage to the site to plead for miracles or to be healed or whatever else. In order to have their wish granted, they have to show sacrifice and so you have to walk from your hometown to Caacupe, some people do it on their knees to show their devotion, others do it backwards or carrying weights or all sorts of variations. The tradition is somewhat more lax these days in that you don't have to start from your hometown but come from the nearest town, Ypacarai in our case which still meant a 25 kilometer walk uphill. 5 hours of walking took its toll on my feet and I was exhausted but it was a great experience. We packed ourselves into a bus for the ride home and I got into my apartment a little before 4:30 in the morning, slept for an hour and then jumped up to go to a Saturday activity with the young adults in the stake. We went to a private zoo/recreation place with a small pool and nature tour. I got burnt across my shoulders but loved getting a dip in the pool. I was frustrated with the leadership though because they had told all the youth that the Church rules state going to the pool means wearing knee-length shorts and a t-shirt. The guys had been told to wear shirts too. So, many of the girls opted not to get into the pool. I had brought my tankini with board shorts and got a lot of dirty looks like I was setting a bad example for the other girls but I told them that it was NOT church doctrine not to own or wear bathing suits!! No, we don't wear bikinis and nasty stuff, but a one-piece or tankini is more than acceptable. I get frustrated with the Church outside of the States sometimes because they take their own interpretations of things and assume that it is doctrine...well I guess that's not just out of the States but it's a lot easier to maintain due to the distance.

In other news, a professor Warner Woodworth from BYU came down to give a fireside for the youth and it was great to see a familiar face and talk about development. He works in the Marriot School and would be involved in my education in the MPA program should I end up going back to BYU for grad school. He was talking to the leaders of the Employment Resource Center to get them to submit proposals for development in Paraguay and he would help get funding. Sinthia got really excited and said that she and I already had our project (I have been talking about the idea of building a cultural center and textile tourist museum here in Itaugua and she wants to combine that with a youth center) and that way I would stay in Paraguay. She is bent on me staying in Paraguay...preferably to marry her wayward brother and put him back on track but as a single gringa even if not with her brother.

Next week I will be Argentina visiting an old friend Mimi who works with the ERS internships and was my main contact and adopted intern "mom" while I was in Argentina. She lives in Salt Lake but was born in Rosario Argentina and is going back to her homeland for the first time in more than 25 years. She invited me to accompany her along the trip and I am taking advantage of the opportunity to get away from the heat for a few days and also review my visa. I'm super excited to get down there and also catch up with some old friends in Buenos Aires.

Christmas decorations are going up all around the country though it's definitely not going to be the same without a good snowpack. I hope all is going well, hope to hear from you all soon, lots of love