First day of training in Villeta. I woke up at 630am, dressed and ate breakfast at the table with Ana and Delma. Angel was out partying late last night, so he was not awake. I believe Alma had already left for work.
For breakfast, Ana prepared cocido, a kind of tea served with milk and sugar, and rotito (sp?), which are little, hard bread sticks or rounds. Ana would float hers in the tea and eat them with a spoon, and drink the tea. So I did that, too. Then I had a piece of multigrain bread with ham and cheese.
The training center is literally a 1 minute walk from my house. The neighboring family is also hosting a trainee, Brett. So I had someone to walk to class with. Our class today was a general introduction to Peace Corps’ philosophy on training. It is based on an experimental learning cycle. This may sound like fluff, but it makes a lot of sense. Think of this as a cycle with steps 1-4. After completing step 4, you start at 1 again.
1. Experience (Activity, Doing)
2. Reflecting (Share, Discuss, React, Observe, Questions)
3. Generalizing (Infer a truth about the world based on observations)
4. Apply (Plan a more effective behavior)
The Experimental Learning Circle is a fancy way of saying learning by doing and trying again. This is how our teachers want us to experience cultural adaptation, language adjustment, everything. There is no handbook, and we´ll best get a hang of things by trying things for ourselves. I have some homework that consists of reading some case studies of successful and unsuccessful development projects.
I also took a learning style survey that indicates that I prefer Active Experimentation. I laughed a little when I read the assessment further:
“Active Experimentation indicates an individual who is active and oriented toward doing. This is someone who learns experientially. These people learn better when they are involved in activities such as projects, tasks and small group discussions. They do not like passive learning situations such as formal classes and lectures. These individuals usually tend to be extroverts.”
Here’s the percentage breakdown of training:
40% language
31% technical
11% cultural adaptation
6% safety
4% health
8% miscellaneous overlap of language/technical, language/cultural, etc.
Our class today ended with a language/cultural lesson about terere, the national drink of Paraguay. It was conducted entirely in Spanish and Guarani. We learned about a TON of medicinal plants the Paraguayans use to ease stomach aches, rheumatism, etc. And then we partook, after choosing our preferred blend of herbs.
medicinal plants for terere
Class dismissed and I returned home. Angel and his friend were sitting outside on the sidewalking sharing terere. I was somewhat surprised to see this tradition popular among young people. But it is. Then Ana and Alma came home and we had a large lunch of Chicken Milanese, salad with carrots, onions, tomatoes and beets, and manioca. Lunch is the main meal of the day.
Then while the rest of the town went to sleep or siesta, I met the other trainees living in Villeta at the cooperative, and we walked all around town…to the River Paraguay (across which is Argentina), to the main square and park, down the main road. That´s the extent of Villeta. And then we sat in the park while some school children played handball, and others were practicing marching for a parade next week. There is a national holiday celebrating the end of one of Paraguay´s wars. I will have to do more research on that…
I ended the night by going to Alma´s dads 50th birthday party. That will be a whole new blog post! So much to share. Adios. I miss you all, but know that I´m well and happy.
