Well looky who we have here. It’s me! Yes I know. It’s been a long time. But I got so frustrated! I had an amazing trip to the Pantanel, the worlds largest wetland that stretches into Paraguay. I had stories to tell and pictures to share, including canoeing with giant otters and the 18 hour bus ride on a dirt road in a storm where we almost got stranded for three days in the mud….

These are things I wanted to share! But the blog would not NOT let me upload pictures! Several times. So I gave up and put more energy in my other blog, http://www.pedalandplow.wordpress.com

But I’m back. And wanted to share some more thoughts. Some of these including but not limited to:
1. I got a job in Paraguay and am staying another year! Lots of reasons for this, some make more sense than others, we’ll see how the heavens and I play them out.
2. I finished my time with my community. Two years goes by sooooo fast and soooooo slow. My two best friends are a 61 year old beauty named Na Beti and an 19 year old amazing woman named Gladys. I feel so blessed to be able to say that. I also have a complete new family, complete with aunts and uncles, and cousins little and big. So blessed to have them open their lives for me and with me. As most volunteers feel, I’m not actually sure how much I accomplished from a work/ contribution perspective. It changes day to day that feeling. But the relationships I made are real and worth it all.
3. I’m in Argentina! My work year begins in January and Mom and Fred are here with me to help take this one out with a bang. They spent five days with me and my community , mom impressing everyone with her ability to chop wood and pluck chickens. And now here we are, exploring the seven colored mountains, a moon scape nearly twelve thousand feet high and filled with statuesque cactus, and sleepy little towns where the culture blends Argentina and Bolivia with their shared culture of the Andes. Not too bad. It’s so nice to share time with my mamita- and see that our Spanishes finishes what the other one lacks! Although remove thy doubt, yes, my mother still speaks better than I do.

Ok. A wee bit of a bog for you. I’m going to see if this page now lets me put on some pictures. I’ll post it regardless.

Deciding to stay was not an easy decision, I miss a lot, but I miss all of the yous more than anything. The shining saving grace is that I will have Better access and am going to try really hard to be better at communicating this year. You do the same?

Love love!