“One day your story will be told. Are you satisfied with the way it’s being written? If not, what are you going to do about it?” – WW
May 3, 2014
Seriously, at what other time in my life will these activities be considered normal except during this life in PY: burning my bathroom trash (tissue isn’t flushable here), making sausage with intestines from a freshly killed pig, cleaning cow manure from my porch several times a week, having calves or roosters (or during a recent heavy rainstorm, the neighbor’s bull!) stroll through my front door when I’m not preoccupied, never having to iron because I simply walk out in my wrinkly clothes and – Presto!- by the time I reach my destination the humidity has made me presentable, regularly sweeping large spiders from the walls in my house and knowing when tarantula season begins, buying homemade cheese from a neighbor every week, growing passionfruits and sponges in the garden, randomly showing up at neighbors’ homes unannounced and always being welcomed as if it was their best surprise of the week, doing all laundry by hand in a basin on the floor, harvesting peanuts with a family after meeting them just once, getting 3 dozen bee stings at once and thinking it’s just another day at the hive, not questioning which cut of meat is in your stew because it’s better if you don’t know, meeting preparations that always entail looking up key words in other languages, planning a trip based on the bus schedule and the subsequent long hot bus rides to get ANYwhere, where waiting an hour or two for a bus is no big deal and when it doesn’t show because it broke down but you’re told the next one is in an hour you think ‘only an hour? Oh good, that’s not bad at all!’ and you actually mean it, saying hello to everyone you pass whether or not you know them, and so much more. Some days leave me bewildered, others with a smile too big for my face. But everyday I try to be grateful for each experience, each teacher that comes my way, for this opportunity doing these crazy, wonderful things. It’s a good life.
Beautiful poisonous catepillar. Just another example of amazingness here in PY.
Somewhere in Paraguay 
Hey kiddo it sounds like a lifetime adventure. We miss you, but wish you the best. Enjoy every moment.
D
Thanks, D. Miss you too! Hope all is well on your end and you are enjoying warmer climes these days too. Hugs.
You are quite the resilient one- While most things you encounter would rise fear in many, you have certainly found peace in the sometimes chaos yet mostly beauty in the life that you lead- Love this about you.
Thanks, Joe. I’ve learned a lot about myself since arriving in PY. Whether we decide our experiences are ‘good’ or ‘bad’, positive or negative, is 100% perspective. Life is so much nicer when you seek the joy and wonder and lesson in each moment.
Hopefully the drop in on neighbors and welcoming can be exported. You can leave the pig intestines and the bull in the living room where you found them. Think of you often with a big smile.
Barbara – I certainly would love to bring home the custom of dropping in on neighbors. I LOVE that about this country. I’ll very much look forward to connecting with you when I return and sharing smiles and stories. Hugs.