Adventure of a Lifetime

[Dizz]

In high school, I was tired of being an average, ordinary student. I was fascinated by the large number of exchange students from all over the world at my school in California. I made friends with people from France, Finland and Germany. Near spring break, there was an exchange student booth set up by the library. The AFS student told me they had summer programs as well as school-year lengths of visits. That summer program sounded perfect. I didn’t want to miss out on a whole school year of being just an average student.

I brought home the information without much hope of my mom considering it. She not only considered it, she thought it was a great idea! In the application, I checked off every Spanish speaking country on there in fear of all the available slots would be filled. This is a time when those Spanish classes would come in handy. . American Field Service is the first and largest group to sponsor exchange students. Their goal is to send students as ambassadors to other countries to improve foreign relations. I became an Ambassador that May.

I received my packet of information and I found out that I was chosen to go to Paraguay. Which, I found out, is in the center of South America. I read that I would be staying as part of a family with a teenage girl my age, a 10 year old boy and a 4 year old girl. I packed for cold weather and headed off to Miami for the orientation. They taught us some traditions, some things to avoid and some history. I did find out that the country had just removed out a tortuous dictator in a coup d’etat. Well, I wasn’t going to let a little thing like a government collapsing stop me from seeing the world.

I arrived Pilar, Paraguay in a classic dual propeller airplane. The flight was uneventful and I disembarked. I turned around and one of those antique propellers was shooting bright flames out of its engine. I was unsettled and amazed that the dull crowd waiting for the plane was unfazed. I turned my attention to my hosts. I was greeted by a short man with black hair, Eusebio Olmedo, my host father. He was a kindly man, in his mid forties. We didn’t talk much on the way to his house, since my Spanish was limited. We drove through muddy roads and swampy fields. We passed through a colonial town with stucco buildings and neat neighborhoods. I loved the plaza with a Catholic church on one side. We coasted down the road from the plaza and arrived at a nice home at the end of town.

The family ran out to meet me. They were a normal, happy looking family. The older daughter, named Shirley, was a pretty girl to whom I took to instantly. She told me all about the family business when I got settled. Eusebio worked constantly running his life insurance agency. Grandfather and her younger brother Juan had a shop across the street. In that shop, they built custom sized coffins for the citizens of this friendly village. Mother had her own role in sewing death shrouds and knotting ropes to go with them. “The ropes,” she told me, “keep the dead from walking away,” in her native Spanish tongue. It occurred to me that this family had a very efficient system of income and they would always have the business to live comfortably.

I went to school with Shirley for the next few weeks and discovered a whole new way of attending classes. The students stayed in one room, while the teachers exchanged classes. It seemed to be a big time saver. Her class set up fiestas every weekend to raise money. They advertised on the local radio and packed the town gym with hundreds of young people.

Near the end of my stay, I had the opportunity to visit the Iguazu Falls and Itaipu Dam with other exchange students like myself. It was breathtaking and amazing, even through a downpour. The grand thundering falls were framed by narrow trickles along a sheer, crescent shaped cliff. The weather cleared up enough to enjoy the famous Itaipu Dam. I had a tour of the largest hydropower plant in the world. I never felt so small as when I saw those places.

I started my journey home after saying goodbye to my new friends. I thought a lot on the flight home about the new world I discovered. The people of Paraguay have a wonderful attitude toward living. They share tea in the morning and shut down business in the afternoon for a siesta. They believe in sharing their histories, trying out new dances and are inventive in using their resources. I decided that was a good way of living. I learned to adapt to new ideas, new food and new surprises. After an adventure like this, I can never be average again.

[G#Gill]

What a wonderful experience, Dizz. You will treasure that for the rest of your life ! Even if you have other adventures, you will always remember and savour that very first one ! Good luck to you :-6

[CARLA]

You write beautifully, I felt as if I was there with you. What a wonderful experience to have and cherish for the rest of your life. :-6

[Dizz]

Thanks. That trip was 16 years ago now. It had it's drawbacks, but overall I think it was positive. I wrote that essay for a college writing class that I'm taking. I had a hard time deciding which events to include and have the story still make sense.

[Dizz]

I wanted to add... If you have any questions about my essay, please ask! I like to talk about it.

I'm hoping I got a good grade for that essay, what do you think it would be?

[along-for-the-ride]

Thanks for sharing.

It is a great opportunity to live outside your home country for awhile. I lived in Germany years ago and I do cherish the memories. Makes our world seem smaller somehow.

[Nomad]

They sent a young innocent girl to a viscous unstable dictatorship in the midst of collapse and being over run by guerillas and if that wasnt enough you had to stay with coffin makers ?

:eek: