tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58467462231948825972024-03-13T18:08:16.084-03:00Maya VivaThe post-graduation life of a twenty-something.Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-14663946512080810972012-08-12T12:54:00.000-04:002012-08-12T12:54:19.463-04:00My last days in Paraguay.I had my last days at the Escuela Agrícola this week and am now waiting in Asunción until my flight Monday night back to the states. I still have some work to finish up for my internship, but I mostly feel like my time here was very enlightening and I am ready to move on.
The half-birthday/farewell party group.
On Thursday we celebrated Amos' 4.5 years old birthday, which turned into a Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-47155280436892660592012-08-07T21:11:00.000-04:002012-08-07T21:11:03.826-04:00Escuela Agrícola FotosMayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-57000382341636773002012-08-06T10:08:00.000-04:002012-08-06T10:08:44.190-04:00Sugar Cane, Networking, and Employment!I have been sick the last week or so, in bed and being taken care of by my good friends Michelle (Peace Corps) and Jorge (agriculture school teacher). It was not fun, but I am better now!
Before I got sick I spent a hot, exhausting day in the chacra- the sugar cane fields. The school owns a couple of hectares of sugar cane that they sell to a local sugar mill and is basically a cash crop to Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-28693612884012171132012-07-22T15:49:00.000-04:002012-07-22T15:51:54.205-04:00Young EntrepreneursFundacion Paraguaya is a partner of the international education organization Junior Achievement, which works to teach entrepreneurial and business skills to youth around the world. They work throughout Paraguay and have three groups at the Agricultural School. The school focuses on creating rural entrepreneurs, not just teaching students how to be productive farmers. This sets them apart from Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-75884729390658454062012-07-05T08:55:00.000-04:002012-07-05T08:55:09.951-04:00Fiestas!Last week was the traditional Fiesta de San Juan. It was unclear to me exactly what was being celebrated, a patron saint or some sort of solstice tradition passed down from the Spanish, but celebrar we did! The escuela had a San Juan party organized by some of the students. There were lots of traditional foods, most of which included mandioca flour, cheese, and salt in some combination, such as Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-24015866161098441342012-07-02T22:27:00.000-04:002012-07-02T22:27:25.421-04:00Organic: To be or Not to be?Last Tuesday I went with four of the marketing students to Asunción to sell our products at a market called Agroshopping and in a wealthy neighborhood in front of Fundación Paraguaya's main offices. (An exhausting day as we left the school at 3am and the first group got back at 6pm, the second at 11pm.) The market the school targets is definitely the wealthy Paraguayans in Asunción. Agroshopping Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-12902794726457866852012-06-24T17:19:00.004-04:002012-06-29T08:55:40.468-04:00Intro Pictures
Here are some photos from my first couple of weeks at la Escuela Agrícola San Francisco de Asis.
My room.
My office! On sunny days I like to sit in that chair on the balcony to work.
The cutest baby goat you ever did see!
The farm is in the northern part of Paraguay called El Chaco. It is a desert - very flat with few trees, freezing in the winter and Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-1964050389931904562012-06-24T16:49:00.002-04:002012-06-29T08:54:17.611-04:00Paraguayan PoliticsHere is the story of the current political situation in
Paraguay. I have compiled my own research and conversations with staff from the
school to try and give a comprehensive picture. On Friday, June 22nd
the Paraguayan Congress impeached the country’s president, Fernando Lugo who
was elected in 2008. Lugo was part of the movement in Latin America toward
left-leaning presidents and is seen as a Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-37019092931586521592012-06-22T21:19:00.000-04:002012-06-29T08:55:49.320-04:00Farm chores and Political chaosMuch has happened in the past four days!
I have been on a rotation of the different parts of the school in order to see them all before I start my own projects. This has been a great way to learn more about the school's model as well as meet more of the students and staff. First and second year students go through all the rotations as well, spending a month at each section and then choosing one Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-85042474148607033552012-06-18T22:22:00.003-04:002012-06-29T08:55:49.323-04:00La Escuela Agrícola San Francisco de AsisI have arrived at the agriculture school where I will be working for the next two months! It is a three year program for students from ages 15 to 18, the majority of which are from campesino families around Paraguay. There are also students from Ecuador(!!), Argentina, Haiti, Bolivia, and maybe more but I am not sure. It is a boarding school so the wake-up bell rings at 5:45am, breakfast is at Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5846746223194882597.post-38606385347791169782012-06-17T13:36:00.000-04:002012-06-17T13:36:34.628-04:00La Vida Paraguaya ComienzaAs many of you know I am spending this summer after graduating from University of the Pacific working at Fundación Paraguaya. This organization was founded by a Paraguayan alumnus from Pacific and works with three initiatives - microfinance, entrepreneurial education, and sustainable agricultural education. I will be working at the San Francisco Sustainable Agricultural School about an hour (by Mayahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03637064432938097986noreply@blogger.com1