Children the same the world over

This morning I walked to the supermarket under some ominous looking dark clouds. As I was walking home the rain came in torrential bucketloads so I decided to nip into our brand new MacDonald's for a hot chocolate until it eased off. Afterwards I walked home with my brolly up, but everytime I had to cross a road I had to wade through a foot of water so my jeans were soaked up to the knees. Iwandered down the hill, watching the river running alongside of me and sometimes having to plunge my way through it. As I drew nearer to my house I could hear shrieks of laughter.

I rounded a corner to see seven street kids having a wonderful time literally rolling in the gutter. They had been soaked in the storm so they figured that they could not get any wetter. They were playing in the water. I yelled at them to stay there until I came back with my camera. By then the river was more of a stream but they still had fun. After taking the pictures I rushed inside and printed a copy of each for each child. They were so excited. They told me that they come from the Chacarita and they had no photos of themselves. They could not wait to run home and show their Mums. Small things can make kids happy and water fun is one of them. I was so wet that I almost joined them.

New arrivals

There have been a few hectic days here, getting the house and garden nextdoor ready for a new teacher and two assistants who are arriving from UK over the next week or so.

On Friday Beth Bridgewater arrived to teach in Primary for two years. Leaving home and family in UK is a terrible wrench. To come to a huge, empty house was not easy for Beth, but she is now beginning to settle.

Beth is from a family which has a history of mission. Her grandfather was the founder of Wycliffe (Bible translators). It is a privilege to have Beth with us. As yet she is a little insecure about the teaching side of things so please pray for her.

Yesterday we all went to the airport to meet Jo Miller. Jo will be with us for six months as a classroom assistant. Next Sunday Zoe Eves is expected to join them from Ireland.

This morning I took Beth and Jo to the cathedral. There was an informal service. To my delight the congregation really welcomed them both and this has helped them to settle and feel happier.

One could instantly see their love for children.

As for me.... my arm is very much better and my hip is OK most of the time. We have had high humidity recently so I had a "jippy" day yesterday....... all part of the aging process, I suppose. Ha! Ha!

A good week

The past week has been generally good. I have been out and about a bit, visiting my doctor, shopping for new sandals for work and sorting out renewal of documents.
I saw my doctor on Monday about my hip. He told me that it will be about four more weeks before I am pain-free as I had torn a muscle in the fall. In fact, as he pulled me around he must have freed something which was trapped because it has been far less painful, unless I overdo things, (which I am inclined to do).

My arm is also much better. My doctor was proposing some physiotherapy but I showed him what I have been doing and what I can do. He said that I should just continue and it should get stronger in a few weeks without the need for going back and forth to physio.

I have been pushing things a bit as I love to cook. Preparing things can sometime mean that I have to take a day out afterwards as my arm aches so much, but that is small price for being independent again.

Another birthday, another year.

It is my birthday today. I always miss having close friends around on my birthday. Either I am here and they are in UK or vice versa. However, I was determined to enjoy the day.
I woke up in the early hours so I opened my present from Mags and Gwen and resolved to wear it today. It was a lovely, little, pendant with a typical Paraguayan Guampa and bombilla in filigree silver.

I then slept in late. When I finally opened my window shutters I was greeted by a sign hanging from Sharon's balcony across the road, in English, but which most Paraguayans understand. (At least it did not have my age on it!)

I invited Sharon to come out to lunch with me. We did it in style, calling a taxi and going to La Paraguayita, a well known local restaurant. There we indulged ourselves in a very typical Parguayan asado (grilled meats) lunch.Sharon, being Sharon, had brought streamers, a deflated balloon, a lollipop and a noisy blower to complete the birthday decor!

The amount of meat for two was the usual Paraguayan mountain (enough for four or five) but we took a doggy bag home with us.My day was finally made when two pupils came in with their dad and stepmother. Emmanuel rushed over to greet me first with a big "Hallo, Mrs. Van! (He had forgotten my name already, but at least he spoke English.) His older brother, then came over and he and Sharon sang "Happy Birthday" to me. I was so touched.
This afternoon I am putting my feet up and I am going to veg out in front of a DVD.

All in all, a good day and another good memory to stash away in my mind!

Historical day

Today is a historical day as several coins are being withdrawn from the market. We have all been told to take our old coins to the bank by today. Recently I disposed of a shoe box full of small coins. I used to save them and give them to kids at school who were fund raising. Now we will only have "silver" coins, 100guaranies, 500 guaranies and 1000guaranies. The notes are also gradually being changed for plastic ones.

Update on me

I continue to make good progress with regards to my arm but my hip continues to cause concern. I need to get it sorted ready to walk to work in February.

I am now able to look after myself pretty well, doing housework and cooking meals. I still need help for ironing and I could not open a tin of salmon yesterday. (I was so looking forward to a very rare treat.) Maybe I will get a salmon sandwich on my birthday.

Thanks to those who have written to encourage me. It means so much to me.

When will it end?

There seem to be floods all over the world at the moment, the worst being in Australia.

Some areas of Paraguay have also been suffering floods. This year we have had the wettest December for many years. There are normally very high temperatures with a thunderstorm about once every ten days. This summer we have had at least three or four storms per week, with torrential rain. This has kept the temperatures no higher than about 40C, with an average of around 36C. Many days we have experienced a pleasant 30C.

In Asuncion most of the rain finds its way down the hills and into the river Paraguay. There is no proper drainage system, just a few big storm drains (many of which have collapsed this year), so often streets become deep rivers.

People in the Chacarita area, living near to the river often get flooded. This year it has been nearly every day that they have had water running through their houses.

It is all a result of "La Nina", the change of currents in the oceans. Today the Meteorological office announced that we should get less rain in February, but that the unusual weather effect will last until at least May. After that if the currents change to "El Nino" again we can expect more droughts.

The crazy thing is that even though we have had torrential rains there is still not enough rain to fill the reservoirs in the Chaco. The Indians need your prayers for more rain there.