What a Sight – My New Site

So much has  happened since I last posted.  I had these great hopes that I’d be writing to you all on a weekly basis but here we are in September!  I will continue to add some posts in rapid succession to get you caught up on what’s a-happening here.

The main thing — the first thing I want to tell you —  is that the Peace Corps assigned to me a site that is truly wonderful, and is just the right sort of place to spend my two years.  Remember when I wrote about the Long Field Practice trip to Villarrica held during training?  I met and stayed with those lovely people, the Monges Family (see blog post “Beautiful People). During that time, our Peace Corps language professor, Aurelio, suggested we make an afternoon jaunt, a side trip to a charming little [tooltip text=”pueblo” gravity=”nw”]little village[/tooltip]– Yataity.  To pronounce the name, try this thang with yo’ mouth:  Say “Jah,” then “tie” then with the corner of your mouth turned downward, lower teeth exposed, make the sound “tuh”….saying: “Ja-tie-tuh”.

We drove about 8 kilometers out of Villarrica, took a side road off the main route to find this jewel, and I was immediately agog.  The cobblestone streets were lined with manicured lawns,  (mostly maintained by all the local cows and horses who amble along, grazing wherever they please!) swept clean sidewalks, colorful houses and storefronts.  I couldn’t stop grinning.  How did I not know that places like this exist in Paraguay?  Turns out, sweet spots like Yataity can be found throughout this country.

So, while we walked through town, we learned that this little pueblo is known for its fine fabric called Ao Po’i and detailed, handmade [tooltip text=”bordado” gravity=”nw”]embroidery[/tooltip].  In fact, Yataity is known as “La Cuna de Ao Po’i” — the Cradle of Ao Po’i – in all of Paraguay.  Our first stop was the Instituto Paraguayo de Artisanias, where visitors can stop in to watch an artisan as she cleans and spins cotton, then makes yards of fabric on a roughhewn loom.  Afterwards, we shopped.  We ducked into one little store after the other and I looked to see what beautiful embroidered blouse I’d like to buy.  I came upon a sharp looking attractive, sophisticated woman, Doña Celia, at the artisan cooperative.  I introduced myself and we began a great conversation about the creativity of the people in her community.  I noticed some embroidered pillow shams and began asking about the sizes of pillowcases, how they compare to the pillows we use in the states and we got into a discussion about my work in interior decor in the past.  My excitement grew as she spread onto the countertop multiple lovely items of embroidery in every color combination.  As you can imagine, I was dancing in place as we talked about the intricate handwork.  Eventually, my group was calling to me that it was time to leave.  On a parting note, Doña Celia took my hands in hers and suggested I considering living in Yataity!  I told her it sounded like a grand idea that I would explore and double-kissed our goodbye, saying “Chau Chau.”

Later, in my site selection interview with the [tooltip text=”Peace Corps” gravity=”nw”]hereinafter referred to as “PC”[/tooltip] Sector Directors, I mentioned that I’d love to live in a place like Yataity, where lovely things are made by hand, a place located near a larger cultural community like Villarrica where orchestral concerts and art exhibits abound.  I knew that PC worked many months in preparation for specific sites to assign to our group of 24 trainees, so I shouldn’t/wouldn’t name my site or ask specifically for a particular one, just suggest a situation I liked.  Living in a place like Yataity would bring me full circle to a life somewhat similar to my life growing up in Texas with all the Kinard women, grandmother Allie, Aunts Fannie, Mattie, Amy, my mother, Gladys, where handiwork and artistic endeavors were a daily activity.  I could utilize my past work experience in business and organizational development, marketing, sales, and strategic planning.  I continued to smile at the thoughts.

In early August, we had a grand celebration at our Peace Corps Training Center as our sites were assigned.  Before the presentation began, I gave our Sector Director a big hug and double-kisses.  She whispered “Jane, you’re going to love your site assignment!”  My name was called and I was handed the official folder of information on where I’d be living for the next two years.  It said “Yataity”.  I danced a jig, gave everyone within reach those double-kiss hugs and thought to myself “You’re definitely going to have to learn how to pronounce the name of this place!”