Amanda's Year In Paraguay

(I´m sorry this was posted so late, the wifi at the camp was terrible)      3 days of flying sounds tiring, but it's easier said than done. The journey started on Wednesday the 24th when my mom and I checked into Denver International Airport to go to Miami, Florida. We flew together and arrived that night and stayed at a hotel. In the morning, we went back to MIA and after a lot of misdirection, checked in my suitcase and went through security. We had to wait 5 hours until my departure, so we spent the time eating and walking around. About an hour before the departure, we met up with the other students from the United States: Lydia from Texas, Ethan from Wisconsin, and Beatrice from North Carolina.      We finally boarded and I said goodbye to my mom. The flight was 8.5 hours of calm and quiet where we spent our time watching TV. For dinner, we got to pick between chicken or pasta. I chose pasta. Me being the insomniac that I am, didn't sleep but instead re...

     Today, I finally got my placement (as in my host family). It's a family of 4 living in Lambaré, Paraguay, which is just south of Asunción. My family is made up of my host mother, host father, older host sister, older host brother (who doesn't live at home), and 3 dogs.      They live in a suburban area 10 kilometers from Asunci ón and  5 kilometers from the school I'll be attending. The school is Colegio Politécnico Johannes Gutenberg (sounds fancy).     I have already sent an email to them and I hope to hear back soon. To be honest, I was starting to get really worried that I wouldn't have a family before my arrival. I know that it's common for people to be placed a week or 2 before their arrival, but it was nerve wracking to say the least. I'm just thankful that I got a placement and that they seem like a nice family.     I can't wait to see them in person in 2 weeks!!!

      Yesterday, I made apple pie. I used the extra pie dough from the pumpkin pie (the recipe I used made 2 batches) and made my own filling. I even made a lattice! Even though much of the filling's juice leaked out, the pie was still moist and tasty!     My family loved it and I can't wait to share it with my host family.

          Since it's a given that I'll cook for my host family at least a few times, my mom and I started practicing recipes. Today, I made pumpkin pie completely from scratch (cooking the squash and making the dough) and Chilean carbonada. Chilean carbonada is a soup made with ground beef, onion, bell peppers, potatoes, pasta, mixed vegetables, and egg. Since baking isn't my forte, it was a bit of a challenge. But, I had fun and the pie turned out delicious. We finished the whole thing in one night!     I have a few other foods that I want to try to make, and I have left over pie dough. I hope to make apple pie, chili, porotos chilenos, pasta casserole, pan de pascua, and roscas as well. Many of these are Chilean foods, as I want to share both of my cultures with my host family.     I still have no information about my host family, but I've gotten my flight plan and tickets.     Happy 4th of July!!

         My name is Amanda Thomas and in August, I will be leaving Colorado to study abroad with AFS in Paraguay for a year (10 months). I will be spending my Junior year of high school in Paraguay, where I will live with a host family, will attend high school, and will learn about the amazing culture there while sharing my own.     I have wanted to travel abroad since I was 5 or 6 years old. My mom came to the United States as an AFS exchange student from Chile when she was in high school. Since then, my family has been involved with AFS and it has always been my dream to study abroad as well. Even outside of traveling as an exchange student, I have always wanted to travel the world and experience as much as I can. We live in this huge, complex, unique, and beautiful world; and I want to see as much of it as I can. From this experience, I hope to gain memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life and become more open-minded about different pe...