I can’t believe I’ve already been at site for about a month. I remember my first ten days here feeling like an eternity, and now I can’t believe that I’ve been here for 26 days. So, what have I done in my 26 days here? I’ve worn plenty of socks with flip-flops (super fashionable, I know), successfully made an idiot of myself in Santani numerous times (and more to come! Sweet!), gotten into the habit of flossing daily, worked on my house a bit, and have terere-ed with a bunch of people. So, aside from working on my house, it doesn’t really seem like I’m doing a whole lot of work. I can assure you, I did not join the Peace Corps or come to Paraguay to just hang out and wear socks with flip-flops for two years, as fun as that may be. As a health volunteer, we promote sustainable development – that is, we teach individuals in the community the skills and tools needed to lead healthier lifestyles. We do not arrive, do a project in 3 months, and then leave. We teach so that once we leave our sites after completing service, the community members can continue to use the skills we’ve taught them. It might not seem like real work, but in order to build trust and confidence in the community, I need to take advantage of the first few months here to get to know individuals in my community. Part of this involves completing the community census with at least 50 households. The census is used to help identify the most pressing issues in the community that need to be addressed. Some of the questions in the census are a bit personal pertaining to health and hygiene, so getting to know people is very important before I dive into the task of completing the census. I will hopefully have all of this done by the end of July/beginning of August and can then figure out what projects I can do in my community. I already know there is an interest in getting a modern bathroom commission started, as well as another commission for a garden project. I have also spoken with the director of the escuela about English classes and the World Map project, which I am super excited about.
Anyways… like I said above, I’ve been working on my house a bit. I need your help with something and would really appreciate your responses. I need to paint my house as well as the rooms inside. What color should I paint the house? There is a rose bush in front that I want to leave. Keep that in mind. Here are pics of my house!
Yay! My house!
Bedroom 1
Kitchen looking out toward the side window from the front door
Kitchen looking out toward the front yard/front door from the back door
Bedroom 2
Comment please with your vote for house/room colors!
Love,
Carden xoxo
House: white with green trim, to go with rose bush and tile roof.
ReplyDeleteBed Rooms: Sage (greyish) green, to cover up inevitable water damage and bit and because it is peaceful.
Kitchen: cheerful yellow, because it is, well, cheerful
But first, install basic plumbing and power. Otherwise you will need to repaint to cover up the damage done by the plumbing and electrical work. Where are you living meanwhile? Did I tell you I was asked about going to Paraguay next? (We can discuss via private email.)
xoxox. Keep us posted!
Haha, my suggestions were going to be about the same as Julieta's. Except maybe a jade green for one bedroom and more of a bright, bluish turquoise-y color for the other. Miss you!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
The greens sound cute!!! Definitely yellow for the kitchen and maybe even a light mint green for one of two rooms. Maybe leave one room white or an eggshell, you don't want too many colors! As for the exterior I think blue shutters would look cute, or maybe even pink?
ReplyDeleteGreen and yellow, I like that. Except we don't really have "shades" of colors here. It's just amazingly bright, almost neon green. I was thinking green for the outside of my house, that seems to be the color of choice in my community.
ReplyDelete