Paraguay

I am doing a lot better here now that I have my own space!  I’ve been in my own apartment for about a week and a half now.  I’ve even been able to cook… well once.  It turns out the plug for electric oven I bought does not fit into the outlet.  I’ve bought 2 different adaptors already, but can’t find one that works.  Most of the electronics in Paraguay are imported, so sometimes the plugs don’t work.  That one meal I got to cook though was really good 🙂  I made barbeque chicken wraps.  I had to go to 3 stores here to find real bbq sauce and tortillas (pita bread).

There’s a farmer’s market here every Tuesday where I buy fresh fruits and vegetables.  The ones at the grocery store are usually pretty rotten, so I’m glad I found a place that has fresh options.  It’s a relief that I can choose my own food now.

As for work, I am making some slow, and questionably sustainable progress.  I do actually have things to do for November, which is a nice change!  I am no longer working at the cooperative where I was assigned because there wasn’t anything for me to do there.  Any project ideas I suggested were either met by too many obstacles from people who were supposed to be helping me, or just immediately shot down.

I am now doing some part-time work for the Paraguayan government- in their commerce department!  They set me up to do 8 sales and marketing presentations at different cooperatives here.  So far, I’ve done sales presentations at 2 of them, and it went great!  About 20 people showed up at each one.  While I’m so happy that I finally feel useful here for now, what’s going to happen after these are finished in November?  Still no long-term plans here…

I’ve been trying so hard to find opportunities here and it is really starting to get me down.  I’ve been to every networking event I can find and have communicated with 14 organizations now.  I still don’t understand why I was invited to come to Paraguay when there is clearly no need or desire for my help.  Everyone I talk to here keeps telling me to be patient and that projects will just come my way… obviously not a match for my go-getter personality.  People keep telling me that I’m still new and it’s ONLY been 3 months in Asuncion, while my response is “yes it’s already been 3 WHOLE MONTHS here!”  How long is it going to take?  I’m pretty sure now that Peace Corps Paraguay was not a good match for me, but I’m not yet sure what I will do about it…

I went to an entrepreneurship conference here on Friday, where people from Paraguay and other South American countries shared examples of incubator projects.  This one really famous guy here, Joseph, has a lot of hair salon’s in Paraguay.  At every Paraguayan event I’ve been to, the audience just sits and listens to lectures, but there is no interaction or participation.  Naturally this was what I was expecting until Joseph selected me out of the audience to come up on stage!  I have a feeling he picked me because he liked my hair :).  I was so nervous, but he just asked me questions about whether I thought he could achieve his dreams.

Hope all of you are having a nice weekend, wherever you are!

Yours Truly, Julie G

After about 6 hours of paperwork, I finally got my own apartment!  So far, I love it :).  I wish I could attach photos, but haven’t been able to find the cord that connects my camera to my computer… the one thing I forgot.  But trust me, it’s great!

Now that I have my place, I need to get settled in.  I finally have a project to work on!  Today, I went around to about 10 stores to get the best deal on air conditioning and electric ovens.  While this may sound tedious, I had so much fun!  I learned a bunch of new Spanish words today, and got to practice my negotiating skills.  In the end, I ended up getting a deal for buying both of them together that was almost $100 cheaper than the original offer (about 4,000 guaranies less)!  The only thing is, they were supposed to be delivered over an hour ago.  I just called and apparently they are still on their way.

Tomorrow I am planning to focus my search on sheets, a pillow, an extra mattress for friends to sleep on, and cleaning supplies.  I’m so glad I finally have something to do here, even if it’s just for me.  I also can’t wait to start cooking my type of food.  My new landlady lives right next door, and she is about my age, maybe younger.  When I have everything set up, I’m planning to invite her and her husband over for dinner.

I’m feeling so much better here now!!!  Now if I could only find some business related projects to do…

Yours Truly, Julie G