Stargazing

June 28, 2009

A warm front came in today. Strong, warm winds from the north that made you put a jacket on but then take it off. I took a long walk, stopped at a friend’s house on the way back, then laid out on a wall on the side of my porch to admire the Milky Way. I didn’t see any shooting stars tonight, but I picked out the Little Dipper, or Ursa Minor, and what I believe is the Southern Cross. No mosquitoes were biting me, and the wind blew threw the mango, grapefruit and palm trees as the crickets sounded. Todo tranquilo. Now I’m listening to CD of Guaranias by candlelight and fluorescent light. They are all slow ballads with Paraguayan harp, and are sang in Guarani or in Spanish, or in Spanish with Guarani words and vice versa. The feeling I get from listening to it is similar to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. My radio is officially broken, so I rely completely on my computer for entertainment now. I don’t miss having a TV most of the time because the only thing that’s on is soap operas and the news. However, it would have been nice to learn more about the overthrow of power in Honduras. If I hadn’t been at my friend’s house this evening I wouldn’t have learned until days later.

Tomorrow I’ll be sending out an email to family and friends to raise some funds for Ahecha Paraguay, a Peace Corps project that teaches kids how to take photographs. The thing is that the national exhibit is happening now and many kids whose photos are in the exhibit can’t come to see their own work because they can’t afford hotel, travel and food expenses. In order for our young artists to revel in the glory of their work and to spend some time in their own nation’s capital (some have never been there, or if they have, very few times), we need your support. No contribution is too small, especially because we are talking in Guarani currency! Please, make your contributions before July 24th. Thank you!!!

Also, my muni’s library is in the process of receiving more books from the Spanish Embassy, but even after that receipt, they won’t have that many. The current collection is outdated and the volumes are few. I daresay that most people in my town don’t know that there’s a library at all. For those that do know of it, they don’t utilize the materials. The school library at the local Catholic school is heads and shoulders better than the municipal library. It should be the reverse. Consequently, if you have any contacts for obtaining books in Spanish, please let me know! My email address is Harmey2002@yahoo.com.