We go deep

Wow, ok so it has totally been a long time since i´ve updated this and i totally need to let ya´ll know what it is down here in paraguay.

So my site is Paraguarí, Paraguay. it is the capital city of my state, which means it is a grand city of 30,000 people. haha. i work at an elementary school and a high school which is on the outskirts of the city next to this huuuuuge hill. when i first got here i called it a mountain, but apparently it is just a hill. but to all those hoosiers out there, u would know what i´m saying if u saw it! like the view from my neighborhood is majestic and one that dreams are made of. i love getting up every morning and just seeing the sunrise from my house. i am trying to get my camera fixed so i can get some pics up here for you guys.

so i mainly try to work with the high school, but hey everybody wants ya boy to work! so i´m all over the place. i teach like 7 english classes, give classes on the environment, self esteem, leadership and write letters to the governor and mayor. so i am busy!!!! like peace corps needs to up my pay! hahaha.

my housing situation is real simple. my room does not have a door, just a sheet hanging there keeping everyone from seeing my goodies. i have no privacy because ppl just walk in my room when they want and that´s how it is. i bath with hot water in a bucket every night because we don´t have running water. and that´s how i´m living. my family is real poor but they have a lot of love for me and worry about me a lot. they think i am super weird and i accidentally told them that michael jordan is retarded yesterday instead of retired. so u know, speaking spanish is still a struggle.

i have 1 really good paraguayan friend here. his name is domingo. he is the ONLY person here who knows that i am gay and we are just bestest of friends. he speaks english very well and because of this my spanish is suffering because i speak too much to him!

i started a really cool project with my seniors called personal diaries. i totally ripped the idea from freedom writers but i´m glad i did. its a great idea!!!! to just getting to know the kids. so how it works is the kids write in their diaries once a week and then turn them in to me so that i can respond to their entries and that way we are learning about each other. i was reading the journals last night and just some of the stories are really heart breaking. like i love these kids to death and they have a lot of the same worries as the kids back in the states. like some don´t have fathers, or think that their parents don´t love them, or they will never find love. but there is one specific story i wish to share with u guys:

my site is real different because it is situated right across the street from a paraguayan military base so a lot of my students are cadets or kids of soldiers. but the way they are in paraguay, the soldiers do NOT get paid very well, like they are POOOOOOR! but there are benefits with being in the military like medical benefits, housing and learning a new trade. so i am friends with a lot of the soldiers, or i´d like to think i am. and the other night one of my soldier friends told me that he smokes crack cocaine on occassion. and that just really broke my heart. like it made me sooooo sad. but at the same time it gave me a chance to share with him because my dad is addicted to crack. i told him how his addiction ruined our family and his life. i didn´t have a father because of his addiction. and i told him if he could find a way he should stop and that i would be here to support him. and that´s all i could really say. a lot of these cadets come from broken homes from all over paraguay. seriously that school has become my life and doing everything to help those kids. and at the very least i am there to just listen to what they have to say. i think that´s what a lot of young people are lacking is just someone to just listen to them. listen to their problems and not judge them. and this ladies and gentlemen is my project.

i miss the states real bad right now! like living here makes me realize how much social freedoms we actually do have. like yeah we still have our problems back home and its not perfect but damn do we have it good. i just miss our culture and variety of food, and the music, and the parties. and everything. but i´m here for the long haul and i´m determined to make my life work down here. hell, u can´t have the good without having the bad. i´m going through a rough patch right now, but i know i can make it through.

holla at ya boy!
Stephen.