"Are YOU my host mom!?"

"Are YOU my host mom!?" I remember when I was younger, I would always play board games on the floor of my Grandma Nussbaum's living room with my cousins. One of my favorite games was one that was called "Are YOU my mother?" where the game pieces were little chicks that had magnets, and you had to find your "mother" to whom you connected to (North-South poles).

Now that you've heard my life story :) what connection is there to Paraguay!? Well... some of you know already that for some time, I've really wanted to live with a Paraguayan family. Being surrounded in this German-subculture, where I live, I don't feel like I'm really experiencing Paraguay. Or at least what the average person's life is like.So I talked to some people, and prayed about it (whether or not it would be best for me) and I'm supposed to move next Sunday! The catch: I don't know who I'm going to live with. If you know anything about me, you know that I'm organized and I like to KNOW what's going on (although I'm starting to relax about that a bit). But I have options: Opt 1: A young family, around the age of 25, with an 8 month old daughter. Opt2: (who hasn't confirmed for sure if they can host me yet) A family that is a little older and... that's all I know about them. Both of the families are rreally nice, and I don't think I can go wrong. I'm supposed to find out whether the older family can host me, this sunday, so I'll make the decision then. I'll keep you posted!

P.S. Today I had a new experience on my bus ride to work. Have you ever had a man with a two-foot machete sit behind you? Actually there were two of them. One behind me, and one across the isle, in front. Surely they were just going to work, cutting grass or bushes, etc. and no one else on the bus seemed to give it a second thought. But it was another reminder that I'm not in the US (as if the cachaca music and chipa venders hadn't already done so!)

Election Responses-world wide...

Well this week was interesting, following the election results and seeing the different reactions- both in Paraguay and hearing about the overwhelming support for Obama in the US. (Personally, I'm so thankful that Obama was elected, and for the first time in my life, I don't have to be embarrassed for our president. Granted, he's not in office yet, but I think he represents a lot of hope for change and he's intelligent, level headed, and humble... all aspects of a good president.

Hearing from Krista and Craig, it's interesting hearing the different responses people have. They've told me that some were moved to tears when they heard Obama was elected; they were filled with so much hope. While my experience was a bit different. For the Paraguayans that are following my blog (I always have to wonder WHO it is... haha) correct me if I'm wrong, but those who I work with are predominately Mennonites from the colonies, of whom many are supporters of the Colorado party (which would be the equivalent of our Republican party). Because of this, it seemed like there was some skepticism about Obama's election, because he's young, inexperienced, etc (or maybe they're just skeptical about politic in general, there's reason to be). Anyway, it's interesting to see how different the responses were here in Paraguay. And although it maybe my ignorant young self, I was so surprised to see how closely others follow American politics around the world. Wow- I need to step it up. :)

On thursday I went to a school program with a couple girls from the CD (Lorena and Claudia). There were traditional dances (unfortunately not the bottle dances, where they balance bottles on their heads), and a crowning of king and queen of the high school. Here are a few pictures from that...

And this is just a picture on my way to work.
Have a good week! Til next sunday! :)