Titles are going to be difficult to come up with

I think I should post more often. Not much happens every day, so I haven’t been taking notes, but by the end of the week I find I have a lot to say.

It’s hard to believe that this time last year I was already on my way home from Paraguay. How did I only stay for two weeks? Did I make the most of it? Obviously it was enough to make an impression if I’ve wanted to come back since then. Maybe my mentality is different this time knowing I’ll be here for a while, because if I went back home today I wouldn’t yearn as much as last year. I don’t mean to sound like I am not happy; quite the contrary. I think this time it’s sort of like the difference between infatuation and love. I was infatuated before, and now I have made the decision to love Paraguay. Maybe I’m maturing.

I have also begun to acclimate better to the language. I’ve never felt strange here, like an outsider. The closest has been when someone would say something funny that I don’t get, and I’m the only one not laughing. It’s hard to fake comprehension when you’ve got the only different reaction. But I understand a lot more, and while I can’t speak that much more Spanish, I can’t speak that much English either. Words fail me constantly. I like using bigger, classier words when I speak English, but my Spanish is that of a child who is just learning. Kinda frustrating. I have to keep reminding myself that I’ve only been here for two weeks.

It’s easy to love the children who love me. There are two who love me probably more than any other two children love me with the exception of my nephew. Whenever they see me, they run to me and give me a hug. One of them even put her nose into my shirt, breathed in, and said with a grand smile that I smell wonderful. It was kind of strange, but I’ll take it as a compliment. What’s harder is loving the children who mouth off to me. I’m convinced, too, that God made kids cute so you’d like them when they’re unlikable, and the cuter the kid is, the more unlikable they are at times. It’s just a working theory, but I have a lot of empirical proof. There’s one girl who is adorable but probably the most frustrating and sometimes spiteful child I’ve been with in class. Maybe it’s a sign of spiritual maturity or something, but instead of being angry with her I am moved to pray for her. I still have this idealistic attitude that maybe *I* can be the one who encourages some of these kids to change. Jason says he likes that about me so far, and I sort of hope I can keep that attitude. I *have*, however, realized that I will not have a problem with discipline. That is to say I will not be afraid to discipline. As cute as they are, they’re also frustrating and know how to push buttons.

Finally for today, this morning Jason, Rey, and I went to a place called Areguá. It’s a city known for its strawberries and its hand-worked clay pottery and figurines. You can find about anything you can think of there worked from clay. Animals, cartoon characters, Superman, pottery, lamps, even naked things that were quite unmentionable. Most prominently, not surprisingly, were the Catholic pieces, especially Nativity scenes. If the day had been nicer, photos would have been prettier, but I did take a few.

The way home was a rainy one, and I’ll let the video explain what happens when it rains a lot here. A light sprinkle doesn’t do this, but a normal, good rain makes itself abundantly evident.

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