Chillin' in Chatsworth

The snow storm is over and we probably have about 7 inches on the ground. It's 18 degrees and the wind is pushing those 7 inches into substantial drifts. Church has been cancelled and we are stranded here on the farm...Kyle, too.





Here is our front porch complete with Tom's Weber grill. In fact, he grilled last night in the height of the storm! Then Kyle's dad and brother decided to pay us a visit on their 4-wheeler (a 3 mile trip from town!).




Yesterday was commencement. My advisee from Thailand, Daow, finished her masters degree. It was a great occasion! She will now return to Bangkok after being away from her family for more than 2 years!







Here we are in outside in the snow storm.

Chillin' in Chile

Next stop on our trip was Chile. We took a 2+ hour flight from Asunsion, Paraguay to Santiago, Chile. It was a clear day and you could see the flat green lands of Argentina before arriving at the Andes mountains. I considered telling the pilots to ascend a bit more because I thought the plane would scrape its belly on those towering Andes.


Spent one night in Santiago at a classic 70s style hotel. It was on Avenida Libertador which was like Chicago's Michigan Ave or NY City's Broadway. The hotel has no apparent parking so I had to dash in and get directions for a garage. It was all quite challenging, but Tom and Dan told me to calm down, we're on vacation, reminding me that this little glitch wasn't the end of the world. Soon we were in the Bellavista neighborhood eating dinner at an Argentine steak house.

Santiago is quite a big city and we weren't expecting that. And what made it extra challenging was that the street names change even though you never made a turn. One street we traveled changed names 5 times!! Somehow, though, we navigated our way out of the city and into the Andes mountains for our next night.


Stayed at a beautiful resort in a little cabin about 1.5 hours outside of Santiago. The Andes are some of the highest mountains in the world soaring as high as 22,000 feet! You can click on these photos for a closer look. The snow capped mountains were wonderful.





Here is Tom in front of our cabin in the moutains. We loved this stop on our trip.








Hike to a waterfall in the Andes.









Here is Dan on the zip line crossing from one side of the Maipo River to the other.








The next day we drove out of the mountains and down through the Central Valley which is the country's main agicultural region. We saw large-scale farms raising corn, grapes, veggies, etc. Somehow we passed by numerous Chilean wineries and didn't even stop! After 3+ hours we arrived at Pichilemu, a surfing town on the black sand coast. This area is renowned for its great surfing. The water temperature was a crisp 55 degrees.



Dan and I signed up for surfing lessons. We didn't know it but our teacher, Ramon Navarro, is the number 1 professional surfer in the entire country!!! I googled him and sure enough there he was being interviewed on You.tube and surfing in the very area we visited!! We had to wear full wet suits to go surfing. The mere act of putting on and taking off a wet suit is eventful enough, and that doesn't even include the surfing!



Here is Dan with Ramon. Dan did a lot better than I did. I asked Dan what he and Ramon talked about when they were having their lesson. Dan said that he talked about how to get up on the board and balance yourself. Ramon mostly talked to me about how I shouldn't worry, that I was safe with him, and that I should relax and have fun. Hum.




Dan the surfer dude.

Visiting Karen in Paraguay

At last the road dried up so Karen could take us to her little town of Monte Rosario. We drove an hour from Villarrica on asphalt and another hour on dirt/mud before making the 4 km hike. On our walk we passed an entire family who was cutting sugar cane. Only the ones who were too little to work sat waiting in the shade on a blanket. It was a toasty walk for us, and I couldn't imagine being out there cutting cane!




Karen showed us several demonstration fields that she's planted on her own. Tom was impressed to see her thriving corn field. After the corn reaches a certain height or stage she will add in the green manures to fortify the soil and help the corn grow.





The host mom greeted us with hugs and kisses. A little sweat and mud didn't bother her! They invited us over for terere which is drunk communal style...you can see Dan partaking in the picture. He drank and ate all that was offered to him. Karen's family invited us to eat lunch with them which was rice, broth, and a chicken leg...and boiled sweet potato on the side! It was all tasty, especially after that hot walk.



Karen has a veggie garden right outside her house. Since my visit in May she's done a lot to fortify the surrounding fence from those hungry chickens. Dan enjoyed all the animals at the homestead - chickens and chicks, pigs (one was already dubbed "the Christmas Pig"), cows, Lassie and Lassie (all dogs are called Lassie), cats, and Karen's horse which Dan mounted...but the horse didn't go. That might have been a good thing.


One interesting creature in Villarrica is the cayabara, the largest rodent in the world. These buck toothed, short-legged 100+ pound babes are native to South America's floodplains and humid forests, you know, just like the city park in Villarrica! Karen knew this would be of great interest to Dan and so, after three trips to the park we finally encountered one!



Dan said he wants to go back and spend a week with Karen and help her in her fields, enjoy the animals, and hang out with her family. She has such a hard-working, giving family who can make anyone feel a part of the family.






In house-keeping news, I delivered several airline tickets to Karen who, in turn, was to deliver them to her Peace Corps pals at the Thanksgiving feast. It was a great trip and we can't wait to see her at Christmas!


Here is a short video clip of Dan crossing the log into Karen's community. Click the play button twice to start.

There goes VW Bug # 46!!

Greetings from Villarrica, Paraguay! Dan has been punch-bugging us for the last 3 days (he´s up to 46). Who wudda thunk there would be Volkswagon "punch bugs" down here!!??

It is the rainy season here, no doubt about it. That hasn´t stopped us from having a great time. Karen narrowly made it out of her site during a huge rainstorm before the buses stopped running. Once again (like in May), we met at the bus terminal during a tiny shower!

Everything so far (food, South American wine, highways, you know...the basics etc.) has been great. The rain has kept us from visiting Karen´s community, but we´re going to make a concerted effort to get there tomorrow. In the meantime we've been visiting Villarrica, eating well, playing cards, and visiting with Karen!

Today we started down her road to just check out the conditions...it became obvious that we should turn back when, all of the sudden, a white VW bug went slipping by which sent us into gales of laughter only to be followed by Dan´s report that...there goes number 40!
Having lots of fun getting caught up with Karen. She is one tough but sweet cookie!

Arrived in Santiago de Chile

Had 2 great flights and now we are in Santiago for a few hours before going to Paraguay this afternoon. Dan enjoyed the big plane, movies, etc. It is beautiful here. The mountains are amazing. This airport is much nicer than Sao Paulo, Brazil. Very modern and appealing. Next stop, Asuncion, Paraguay!

Getting Ready for South America

We leave to visit Karen in Paraguay on Friday, November 16th! We'll spend half the trip with Karen and then we'll visit Chile for the other half. Dan will miss 3 days of school (which he doesn't mind) and 8 days of basketball (which he minds a lot). I think Shadow will probably take up residence with Duke and Homer during our absence.

Harvest 2007

The fall 2007 harvest is complete. You can see the progression of the farming season beginning with the picture to the left. The corn is about 4-5 inches tall.







This picture, taken August 1st, has 8' tall corn. Both July and August each had about 7" of rain.






Here is Tom in the combine harvesting the corn. Incidently, Jeanne, this portion of the field of corn belongs to Tom. Yours is further west.


And for you bloggers who can't get enough, I've posted a short video clip of what it looks like to be in the combine during corn harvest. Just click on the play button.

Harvest Central

There is so little storage available for corn that grain elevators are starting to pile it up outside. I'll post a picture of that next time.

Farmer attire has changed from the days of yore (or at least of Tom's dad). As you can see, Tom sports collared shirts, shorts, and Red Wing boots. A thoroughly modern farmer.

If you were in the cab with him you'd probably bask in the coolness of the airconditioning while listening to a Cubs or Bears game on the radio. Newly installed in the combine is a GPS unit to track every bushel of corn or soybeans.

Lastly is the annual Threshermen's Bluegrass Festival. Autumn ain't complete without a little shit-kickin' music to stir your soul.

Harvest Update 1

Took this picture with phone in my camera. If you click on the picture you can see Tom in the red International Harvester with Andrew following along in the tractor and 2 wagons. The dog and I arrived just in time to deliver a diet soda and some sunflower seeds before they moved to the field next door.

In the next week or so I'll take some pictures on a real camera and share them.

Stan's Stupendous Peppers & Tom's Terrific Tomatoes

Stan's hot peppers made for some tasty salsa this summer. And Tom brought me ripe tomatoes to make a batch of Aunt Ollie's Hungarian spaghetti sauce. I don't think the recipe is very Hungarian, except for the fact that Aunt Ollie was Hungarian. My plump, grandmotherly butcher highly recommended the salsiccia sausage to mix with ground beef for the meatballs.

Tom gave the pond a treatment today. The pond floats and kayaks are all put away in anticipation for some ice skating in a few months! Dan has been helping Tom repair the combine.
Aunt Ollie's Hungarian Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs Recipe
Sauce
4 T olive oil
2 medium onions chopped
4 small garlic cloves chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
64 oz fresh tomatoes (cut off tops, squeeze out seeds, par boil to remove skins, chop until your hands hurt)
12 oz can tomato paste
some wine or water to thicken sauce to taste
2 t crushed sweet basil
1 t tyme
4 t sugar
3-4 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 c fresh chopped parsley

Saute the onions, pepper, and garlic in oil for about 5 min on medium/low heat. Add fresh tomatoes and cover, bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 min covered. Meanwhile, add 5 spices together. Then add spices, paste, and add water or wine to obtain desired thickness. Simmer partially covered for a few hours.

Meatballs
2 lbs ground beef
1-2 lbs Italian sausage (salsiccia or hot, your choice) (remove skin)
2 eggs
1/2 t pepper
2 chopped cloves garlic
1/2 c fresh chopped parsley
heavy sprinkling parmesan cheese
2 slices bread (whatever you have on hand)

In large mixing bowl, mix everything together with your hands. Wet the bread slices and add them, too. Make sure all is thoroughly blended. If you have patience, let the mixture stand for 20 minutes.

Make meatballs (about 2" diameter) and place in oven pan lined with aluminium foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. When done, remove meatballs with a fork and spoon (scraping off any fat) before putting into sauce. Serve with noodles or freeze in meal-size containers.

Sub Primes...and Nebraska

Same corn field, same farmer, different dates.









Tom Terrific is jetting out to Mountain View, California tomorrow to see the kids for the weekend. He's especially interested in touring A's internship site, Google.

While watching the corn grow from the porch this evening, I asked Tom if he's comfortable leaving for the weekend. Well, he said, I'm a little worried about the market and sub primes. (Sub primes, I thought, what in the WORLD are sub primes???) Instead, I replied confidently to Tom, "Oh, yes, the sub primes...I've been worried sick about them!" Tom paused and finally said, "The market is as nervous as a hypochondriac without any symptoms."


I visited Marta in Nebraska. Nebraska is a great state. Agriculturally it's all about irrigation, hay, and grazing. Marta invited me to ride her brand new bike. I said, what will I do when I get to campus and have to leave it? Do you have a lock/chain I can use? She said, Oh no, we never chain our bikes in Nebraska. Marta's friend, who runs the local brewery, built her house out in the great plains of Nebraska. She is one happy camper with a new house and 5 acres.

My dad and mom would never believe it, but the wind doesn't seem to blow in July and August.








There still is nothing like a boy and his dog.

Hancock, NY - Dad's 80th Birthday

We had a ball celebrating my dad's 80th birthday. Both sides of the family were there, and we all stayed at the Hancock House Hotel.

The best lines of the party were as follows:

Funniest comment:

Aunt Harriet - "I will not give up control." (referring to her role as the matriarch of the Guild family. She's 81.)

Most thoughtful comment:

O'Brian - "Uncle George was like a father to me when I was a kid."

Most uncomfortable line:

Dan - "Mom, my prime rib looks strange."

Niagara Falls

Did you know that Canadians celebrate Canada Day, the creation of their federal government (1867), on July 1st? Neither did we, hence our surprise to the throngs of people at the falls that day. But crowds or not, Niagara Falls is a must see from both natural and cultural perspectives. Natural because of the sheer volume of water that pours over the falls. Cultural because of the diverse tourists. It's like social studies and science classes all in one.

On being a baseball mother...

Here's a swell photo (taken by my pal Ann) of Dan getting ready to make a play at first base.
I've never liked watching sports, and baseball was always the worst because it takes so long. Plus when the game is tied you never know when it will end. I'm usually just content for one of the teams to make the tie-breaking run.
Then it became apparent that baseball was going to be Dan's favorite sport. Ugh. To cope, I knew I had to do 2 things: not wear a wrist watch to his games and learn to keep a score book. Oh, and I also learned to eat sunflower seeds (discretely, of course).
On the up side, baseball has been great for my social life. As parents we all experience the boys' peaks and valleys together. At the risk of sounding like a sap, we are like a big family. Life is good.

Rooster Farm

Dan's baseball team travels to one community where the ball field is next to a cock farm. Amidst the umpires' calls of "safe" or "out," is constant the sound of "cock-a-doodle-do" by about 30 roosters.

They each live about 3 feet off the ground in a steel barrel and are tied to posts. Looks about fun as a calf being raised for veal. Of course, my mind goes straight to the gutter when wondering about the purpose of such enterprises (blood sports).

Can you imagine the guy who operates this farm? He probably prides himself on selling big, loud roosters. I'm sure farmers' wives are so glad when then their husband comes home with a new rooster. "Yup, he was the loudest one of the bunch, honey!"

Yellowish-colored Corn on the Hill

As a native New Yorker, I still find this grain farming gig somewhat puzzling.

Tom sat on the front porch the other day pondering his brother’s corn field. He said, “do you see the yellowish colored corn there on the hillside?” First of all, who has ever seen a hill in Illinois, much less in this section of his brother’s corn field? I did, however, finally see a slightly discolored bit of corn. He got out the farm notebook where he records when and what types of seeds he plants in each field.

This brings up another problem: seeds. In New York we call them corn seeds. Just like tomato seeds, green bean seeds, etc. In Illinois they are called seed corn. To further complicate matters, there are several kinds of seed corn in his brother’s field, and each type has a different number. His farm notebook indicated that the yellowish corn had been seed corn number 8920…funny, he remarked, he would have guessed that the yellow patch would have been 9107, not 8920!

Farmer out standing in his field

And now, the rest of the Paraguay story...

Here are some photos from my trip. I think you can click on individual pictures to get a closer view.
The horse and buggy photo is from Villarrica which is Karen's go-to city of about 25,000 people. To get to Villarrica she walks 1 hour and then takes a 2.5 hour bus ride on dirt and asphalt roads. Villarrica is a charming city. All the basic comforts are available - a grand supermarket, bus service, hotels, schools, hospital, post office, internet cafes, etc. Karen prefers this to Asuncion because it is closer and more laid back.

The day we rode on the bus to her community, Monte Rosario, we arrived 20 minutes early only to find the bus already full. This meant that we, too, had to stand. So we stood 20 minutes while the bus continued to fill up. Then the bus started rolling, we continued to stand for about the first hour or hour and a half of the ride. Usually the busses aren't so packed, but since it had rained 4 inches the busses were not able to run. So we stood until enough people got off and we could sit down.

The second picture is of Karen standing with 2 backpacks on the road to Monte Rosario. The pack on her back was the one I brought from home filled with everything from guitar strings, duct tape, 15 CDs from Betsy, 2 books from Dan, spice cookies from her mom, and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 from the Chandelle Winery in Sonoma, CA! It is a 5 km walk which takes about 1 hour. As you can see, the country side is lush green of trees, plots of crops, and open fields. The mountain in the background is the second highest in the country, and Karen's house is at the foot of that mountain.

The next picture is Karen's red house with her horse "mowing" her lawn. She put up a barbed wire fence (she hauled the barbed wire 5 km and it easily weighed more than 50 lbs). You can also see her little garden which needs additional reinforcements because the chickens like to get in it. The mountain is behind the trees. Inside the house is a gas stove (but she ran out of gas and the replacement tank is being hampered by rainy weather). She has electricity for lights (2 inside and 1 on the porch). She has a bureau for her clothes, several tables, 2 chairs, and a bed with a mosquito net (as you can see in the next photo).

She hauls and drinks her water straight from the family well. She lives about 50 yards from her host family of about 8-10 people depending on who is home. This wonderful family has woven Karen into their daily lives. You can see her host mom in the next picture. They run a subsistence farm of about 20 hectares which, I think is about 50 acres. Those 50 acres are used for their home and to graze their 20 head of cattle, couple of pigs, 40 some chickens, etc. They grow corn, beans, mandioca (a root vegetable which you'll see in another picture), and have several fruit trees. They have a nice vegetable garden, too. The dad lost an eye as a child shooting off firecrackers, so he has a glass eye and no longer works the fields. He does carpentry work. The boys (5) work the fields and go to school. One sister goes to school and the other has finished and lives at home. Both help with running the daily household which consists of cooking, laundry, and the like. The family and Karen share a "shitter" which is an outhouse about 30 yards away. It is a hole in the ground surrounded by a wooden structure. No light. It took about 3 visits to get used to it. Good thing I practiced my deep knee bends for 3 weeks before I left!

The next picture is of Karen's host mom. She is a strong, capable woman who cooked us food the entire time I was there. Food staples include noodle based meals with some protein like beans, beef, pork. Mandioca is the ubiquitous root which is boiled and then served cold almost like a bread, but with the consistency of a potato. Quite tasty. It's also common to serve meals which are mandioca with mandioca on the side...just prepared differently. Frying in oil is also common. While I enjoyed every dish she prepared us, my favorite was the noodles with 3 chunks of beef (you can see the picture, and the mandioca is on the side).
The next picture is of a family Karen works with. Her job is to promote sustainable agriculture through soil conservation. This involves planting green manures which are really seeds. The seeds are planted among the other crops (corn, beans, etc.). The green manures grow into plants, trees or bushes which infuse essential nutrients into the soil to help primary crops thrive. On our walks to visit families, you could see where they have planted these green manures as a result of her efforts. The challenge with her job is that the community of 250 is spread out over a large area. To "call a meeting" isn't really possible unless you dove tail on Sunday after church which has great potential. Instead, she visits individual families to do her work.
She doesn't use her horse because the only way he will go is if you hit him. Karen would just as soon walk than to have to switch the horse. So she walks and walks and walks. This family in the picture was probably 1.5 mile walk (one way) from her house, over a river (walk on a log) and over many hills and dales. When we arrived we were just in time for "terere" which is a form of yerba mate that is drunk out of a communal straw and cup. Both urbanites and rural families partake in this most defining Paraguayan ritual. Even the bus driver's helper will pour terere and pass it around to the driver and 1-2 people standing near the front (whomever they may be). It is a very refreshing drink and I will be sure to enjoy it when my luggage is found in South America.
The photo of the cell phone in the tree is how Karen communicates with other volunteers. She gets limited service but can occasionally receive text messages if she hangs it from the tree. This is a great support network among volunteers. They will type short little messages in any or all 3 languages to each other. Usually she only gets service when she is in Villarrica or on the bus to Asuncion. And the Paraguayans are no different. We caught a ride with a guy driving a tractor the other day and he, too, was text messaging while he skidded us through the mud.
The last picture is of us at the Lido Restaurant in Asuncion. The Lido is quite famous and I was thrilled that we could go there. The menu item I originally asked for was not available. The waitress then said to me, "Might I suggest the horse meat with onions dish? It is very tasty." I politely declined and opted for chicken and rice.
As I said before, Karen seems quite content with her work and life in Paraguay. She has embraced the opportunity completely. And she exudes a quiet confidence that serves her well in her community. Whenever Karen walks by a house or sees someone on the path, they will stop and chat a spell. Several women in particular talked about how she is like a daughter to them and they enjoy her so much. It was such a thrill to see it with my own eyes.
If you've stuck with this posting this far, congratulations! I apologize for its length, but to do Karen justice it has to be this long. And there are other stories I haven't told because there are too many! Even if all you did was look at the pictures and skip to the end, then I've accomplished my goal of trying to share Karen's experience. Thanks for taking a peek!