WhatsApp and Peace Corps

 ***The following blog post is a reflection of my personal beliefs or at least what I have been able to ascertain while living in Paraguay and in no way reflects the views of the U.S. Peace Corps or the United State Government. Cheers!***

While you’re away it’s important to stay into with folks back home. Family, friends, a girlfriend/boyfriend all will want to touch base from time to time and check in on their little darling/homie/lover. It is crucial for them to download an amazing app call WhatsApp!

Totally free and usually pretty reliable in terms on signal. I can purchase the smallest internet package (25 MBs) for 24 hours using my phone and call whoever I want for as long as I want! If you use the regular modem that PC gives you these calls will eat up your data so fast BUT if you buy these internet packages and use them instead you can hit your limit of 25MBs and continue to talk because... WHO CARES?! It kind of feels like stealing but hey we’re all good samaritans, right?

Happy trails! 

Advice for aspiring Peace Corps Volunteers from a PCV about COS!

 ***The following blog post is a reflection of my personal beliefs or at least what I have been able to ascertain while living in Paraguay and in no way reflects the views of the U.S. Peace Corps or the United State Government. Cheers!***

I bought my ticket home yesterday and it feels surreal. I have just twenty-four days left in Paraguay. I have spent a good chuck of time here at this point and I will miss this country and the friends I have made here so dearly. This experience has humbled me and given me a lot to think about. A lot more than I could ever share here. I'll just attempt to scratch the surface and offer a bit of advice for those of you about to start the application process, those mid-way though, those excepted, or those on their way soon.

Don't chicken out!
I went back and forth when it was time to hit the road and nearly backed out to take a job in the wood shop that my neighbor operates. Nothing against wood, but that would have been a HUGE mistake. I have learned more about myself, other humans, and how we bump into each other than I ever would have working in the shop. Having said that...

The job won't save you.
What I mean is that you're not going to come away from this with all the answers. Maybe a few, but in all likelihood, you'll probably just be asking better questions. You may have even more questions! However, you will know what kind of person you are. Your strengths, weakness, and become keenly self-aware, which can be hard at first but will, overall, make you a healthier person and better human being. This information will also help you become a progressively better volunteer, community member, and friend. Which leads me to my next tip/point/jont.

Do something EVERYDAY.
This may seem basic, but the will to put yourself out in the community can be hard to summon up some days. Here, in Paraguay, people use the rain as an excuse to call off school, work, or any other activity and chill super hard. While it is tempting to use a cultural norm like this as an excuse for a reprieve, it is important to set a good example to other people and make yourself seen or go visit someone and chill hard with them. Then you can lay down that night in your little bed and sleep well knowing that "you're doing it, baby!"

I could go on but I think those are good ones so I'll leave it for now. If anything else comes to mind I'll update this for sure. Feel free to leave a question in the comments or whathaveyou.

Politics, History, and Celebrations

***The following blog post is a reflection of my personal beliefs or at least what I have been able to ascertain while living in Paraguay and in no way reflects the views of the U.S. Peace Corps or the United State Government. Cheers!***

I’m sitting in my little casita drinking instant coffee, listening to Nick Drake and rain falling outside my window. ¿Que falta? It has been a very eventful few days here in San Bernardino. Yesterday was voting day for municipal elections and my community majority elected a “Liberal” Intendente who will function as mayor. This is significant because, historically, the opposing “Colorado Party” has more or less dominated politics throughout the country with fear tactics in the old days and with favors and nepotism in the modern era. It is, at first, bewildering to an outsider that the Colorado Party still has a great deal of support in Paraguay because it was the party of the late Dictator Alfredo Stroessner. He was of the last true South American dictators and held power for over thirty-five years until 1989 when he was ousted by Andrés Rodríguez, a close friend and high ranking military leader throughout Stroessner’s many terms. In fact, of all the 20^th century Latin American leaders, Stroessner’s extended stay in office was only second in duration to Fidel Castro.

The period is said to be one of stability and reasonable economic prosperity but at the cost of basic human rights. Every 90 days, a “State of Siege” was declared which effectively created a climate of Martial Law. However, there was substantial growth and development in the 1970s with the construction of hydroelectric dams, which afforded Paraguayans with cheap energy, but little was spent on public works. This is evident even today, walking in the capital of Asunción you can see how poorly most of the infrastructure has been maintained. The structures erected during the regime, easy to pick out due to the aesthetically nauseating architectural style that the ‘60s and ‘70s are known for, now loom over the city like Alfredo’s ghost…Boo! Indeed, even the minimum services taken for granted in developed countries like waste management and sanitation are virtually non-existent in most parts of the Country. Trash is burned, buried, or hopefully recycled into something useful around the house. But I digress…

My host family was so excited because they had done a lot of legwork to help this cause for change. I gave Nunilla, my landlord's mom-in-law with whom I share the property I live on, a hug and she told me “we’ve won the battle but not the war”. The big sea change will be a party shift in the presidency. No matter the outcome, I hope that whoever assumes power will spend on health and education because those areas are very much lacking in most of the country.

I spoke with Nunilla’s husband yesterday at length about the political climate and local issues and he agree to help me with my CNA or Community Needs Assessment. The idea is to analyze the community in which you are living politically, economically, socially, etc. and find a way to use the resources at your disposal to address needs in your community. It is pretty involved and I hope to do a thorough job.

In other news, I recently discovered a jaguar tooth! I found it in the lake after a run. I’m not one hundred percent sure if it is legal to possess these things, but I’m sorry it had been there for a while. It is absolutely amazing to hold in your hands and imagine the beast from whence it came. It is as large as my thumb and I think it is only one of the bottom set. How the hell did human’s come to conquer this planet when creatures like this used to roam free and prey upon our ancestors. Pretty wild.

Finally, I will be celebrating my twenty fourth birthday of the 25^th of this month and then heading out the following day to Guarambare to spend thanksgiving with my first host family, la familia Sanchez Mendenez, and celebrate dear Lorena’s seventeenth birthday. I am planning it as a surprise with her mom so I’m really excited. Lorena and I were really close during my first few months in PY and it is such a privilege to be close enough to be apart of their family milestones and repay the kindness and love they showed me when I could barely communicate.

Pre-Service Update

In four days I'll be hopping on American Airlines flight 1509 from Baltimore to Miami and then from there on down to Paraguay! It's hard to believe after all this time spent anticipating my move south to PY that wheels are finally in motion. I have been in touch with a few very helpful current volunteers who are already in-country and thus able to give me great advice regarding packing, training, and tips to prepare for my job as a Community Economic Development volunteer. I'm very grateful to these gentlemen, Adrian and Joshua, for taking time out of their days to give me some insight into exactly what it's like to live in this developing nation and how they were received in their community as volunteers.

I'm Still Alive...

It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year since I created this blog with the intention of regaling the masses with my trials and triumphs of peace corps service in Praraguay. Clearly, I haven't made good on this effort and now I intend to try my hand once more at blogging. I find that writing, for me, usually happens in more tranquil times because you barely have a moment to look up when the action-packed parts of life are in full swing. Transitions, growth, acclimation are all processes that would be beneficial to analyze for me, but Así es la vida. However, I will do my best to recount the highlights even though I'm sure I will forget to include many things.

I have been in country since March of 2015 and will remain here until June 0f 2017. I have already learned a lot about Paraguayan culture as well as a bit about Guaraní culture. Like any place, there are all kinds of people in this country and nationality has little to do with a person's sense of humor or core beliefs. There are families here that I have great laughs with and who make me feel as though I'd never left home or perhaps just arrived back at my house in Baltimore. Then there are members of the community who are very guarded and suspicious of me. In the states I also had both kinds of neighbors. I've learned that you can't be friends with everyone. Not everyone is your type of person.

While the relaxed nature of the people here is frustrating at times when a deadline is approaching it is also very refreshing in a kt of ways. It seems to me that people here take life a day at a time. I try to do the same and spend my ample free time playing music, reading, journaling, and visiting the sites of other volunteers. At times, all volunteers can feel ineffective or unappreciated in our communities. It truly is amazing work that we are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do, but with the great highs that come from success there are also lows during extended periods of downtime. Most volunteers are very driven people who arrived with little knowledge of what to expect and high hopes to make change so these inevitable periods with little work are hard for people. I've learned not to be too hard on myself and try to make peace with the ebb and flow here. Exercise and visiting people in your community really helps.

Obviously, the language can be frustrating too. In Paraguay, most people speak both Spanish and Guaraní. I have mastered cnversational Spanish and can understand the majority of what everyone says, but the Guarani still evades me. I have a few greetings and phrases that I use but most people only talk to me in Spanish here so it is hard to learn the native Guaraní. Usually it is reverted to discuss something that people don't want me to listen in on. I know that people want to include me in conversation when the speak strictly in Spanish without Guaraní mixed in. Some people are impressed by my Spanish and other have only witnessed me fumbling around for simple words. It is frustrating when at time I can speak quite well and other times I sound like a caveman. It usually depends on whether I sense that the person I'm speaking with actually cares about what i have to say.
I find that when I meet some one who has an level of interest in me that I speak much better and conversation is stimulating for both parties. It is surprising how little people ask me about my life at home or the united states. I feel that this may be a combination of not wanting to ask a "stupid question" and the idea of a persons place in the world. It is rare to speak with a young person here who has a serious desire to travel or explore the world in anyway. It is as if we are on an island and the thought of leaving isn't on the table. Global politics or current events are not on the news here unless it is a scandalous subject matter. We kind of live in a bubble, but inside this bubble the sense of community is strong. I have learned to laugh at myself when I frequently ask "stupid questions" here. There is a lot I don't know.

Well, I'd hate to burn up all my internet so I guess I leave it at that for now but I will make a consorted effort to continue checking in here. This blogging thing is rad.

My first blog

Well, I'll make this short and sweet since I am new to the world of blogging. My name is Joseph McLane Mayhew and I have been accepted to serve in the Peace Corps as a Community Economic Development Volunteer in Paraguay.The purpose of this blog is to provide friends and family with an easy way to check in on me after I depart for South America in March.

Luckily, my dad, sister, a friend, and I are taking a trip to Ireland soon for the holidays so I will use that opportunity to get this blog up and running. I look forward to documenting my travels and the adventures that await me. I am certainly very blessed. Cheers!