Ben's Blog

So, it was actually a couple weeks ago that I went to the English class of one of the guys here. He goes to the CCPA, which stands for something like Centro Cultura Paraguayo Americano. Anyway, it is a place that was set up many years ago by the US Embassy in Paraguay to teach young, bright students in Paraguay about American culture and how to speak English. I really enjoyed the class. Nobody during the class was allowed to speak anything but English, and since it was an upper level intermediate class, they all spoke fairly well. They asked me a lot of questions, and even the teacher asked me some things! For instance he asked about the usage of the adjective “beautiful”, whether it could be used for a guy. Also, he asked about delineating between a male and female friend. Do you say “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”? Good questions, and understandably not readily understood. The teacher was really funny; he made the classroom a really pleasant atmosphere. They all told me that they enjoyed having me in class, and I hope to go again soon with Matt. The class is only on Saturdays, so there aren’t many more chances to go. Anyway, it’s very interesting being on the flip-side of language learning, everyone is learning the language you speak! A new experience for me.

I don't have any pictures of the class right now because I didn't bring my camera. If I go again with Matt, I will bring my camera and get a picture or two. Anyway, here are a few pictures. The first is a picture of the Hogar from the front.

This is just the house in the front of the property. Behind the house there are a couple dorms (one for the boys and one for the girls) and a mess hall with a patio area for playing volleyball and such. Apparently these other structures behind the house are quite new. The mess hall and patio were only completed about a month before a came, as far as I understand. Btw, if you look close you'll see Adan on the porch there with his arms spread out.

This is a picture in the mess hall. I have confetti in my hair because it was the evening of a celebration for Adan's little girl. They had piniatas with candy and confetti, and after they were busted and the kids took of with the candy I was suckered into a small confetti fight.

I wanted to put this picture up because I thought these little kids were...dare I say, cute. I was walking back to the dorm and they were just meandering around on the sidewalk in front of me. I stopped and brought out my camera and they just stood and stared at me while I took their picture. I showed them their picture and they really liked looking at it, and then I showed them others and they kept saying peoples names they new. When I took it away they kept on saying they wanted to see it, and I'd show them more. The boy on the left they call "rubio" because he's so white (blond) but his real name is Manuel, and the boy on the right is Santi (short for Santiago). Santi is the son of one of the girls here, Carol, who on a side-note is an amazing cook.

That's all for now. Hopefully Matt and I will be meeting up with Marlene within the next couple days. Marlene is a friend of Jana's outside the Hogar. She's going to take us around Asuncion. So, I should have some more interesting stories and pictures soon. Love y'all!!