Placement!!!

I finally received my official invitation to go to Paraguay in the Municipal Services Development program!!! Yea.

Of course I’m not quite done yet, I have to redo my dental evaluation, but that shouldn’t be too hard.

I will admit that at first I was a little confused and upset about being in the Municipal Services Development program; I was originally nominated to work with Non-Governmental Organizations. In South America there is often a lot of corruption with the local governments, which I know I will not deal well with. I also just don’t like dealing with the government in general because bureaucracy is so inefficient, which is another pet peeve of mine. However after a while I realized why they had selected me for the program. In Paraguay, volunteers are required to know Spanish and learn Guaraní. In fact, a large number of the rural population speaks only Guaraní or a Guaraní /Spanish blend. I’m very disappointed that my new language won’t be useful outside of Paraguay and the surrounding areas, but it will certainly be a challenge, which I am looking forward to.

Overall, I still really really wish they would have placed me somewhere in southeast asia, but I’ll make the best of the location I’ve been given. I’ll get over to that part of the world eventually. It will just take a little more time than I would like.