| | Packing up to leave the village was a whirlwind of prep and then BAM, we were gone. Waking up was same as usual, but in no time at all we were packing and cleaning, eating breakfast and preparing lunch. We barely got the plates off the table before we were instructed that in was time to go, now. It was odd since the whole trip had been more focused on Paraguay time, a more relaxed pace of life, and the ease of openness. Instead, as we hurried to do final clean up we were shoved headfirst into the American concept of time, that time is money, and we were on a tight schedule. I think just adjusting to the pace of life, and accepting the fact that just being there is something was a major accomplishment. You didn't need to do all the time, you could just be.
I learned that communication doesn't necessarily mean full understanding, and that one smile is all it takes to make a one kid's day. I learned that I can survive in a lot worse environment then I'm used to, that I'll be okay, and I don't need a shower every day. Yet, one somewhere in those five days would have been nice. I learned that a group of people working as a team can accomplish a lot more than a group of people working as individuals. There is so much more this trip has taught be and opened me up to in life. I'm thankful for every bit of it, the ups and the downs, for they have forced me to grow into a better individual.
| "Who need the gym? The kids here are an adorable mess. They'll use you as a jungle gym and beg to hold hands, be picked up, or spun around. Its an all inclusive workout."
 The trip continued with lessons and general chaos, each day spilling into the next in an endless flow of memories. Its hard now to pull out individual events for individual days, its all a cacophony of sound and color in one roller coaster of an adventure. It pushed my limits on my comfort levels, and I feel its made me grow as a person. I think that living like we did would not be as difficult of an adjustment if we did it again. I think that each time the language would get a little easier and the connections stronger.
As far as work in the future, I think that Guayakí as a company would be very interesting to work for. Especially if you got to be like Nelson, and traveled to visit the villages where the mate is grown. For being a company of only twenty-three employees, they make themselves seem like a much larger operation, yet maintain that small town feel. Traveling and working with people is something so fantastic. I loved being able to learn, and adapt, and just be. A job that would allow me the freedom to travel would be fantastic. A book we read before the trip, The Shaman's Apprentice, sparked a little love of ethnobotany in all of us. To be able to live with the indigenous people, learning from what they know about the land would be incredible. The sad part is, that much of this tradition has been lost over time. Western medicines and practices have taken over, and it becomes increasingly harder to find the shaman's of the old world. The people we were living with were one of these cultures, they have lost touch with their sense of what each plant around them is truly capable of.
One of the most interesting, and publicly humiliating tasks we got to complete was part of their mate planting process. After 8,000 little mate plants were taken into the jungle by large truck and by person, the planting began. The plants are loaded into nokó's, or head baskets, which the women carry on their heads, dropping plants in the hole's the men dug early. They get planted in uneven rows, barely distinguishable from the rest of the jungle because they don't clear cut the land. We all were given one of these nokó's and trekked off with our cumbersome load to do our share. The boys received the biggest laughs as they too had to participate in what is considered the women's work. All in all it was a very unique day.
"I feel like I was dropped into the cover of National Geographic"
 Throughout the trip we've all worked to become closer as one unit. Morissette pushes us to work together, to make sure no one is left with behind or with the majority of the work. This said, we're all struggling in our own way with living in the camp. Whether its the language barrier to getting up and making camp, everyone has there own obstacles. For me its a little of each, you have to ask for help when you need it because life gets so much easier when you do.
Its a lesson I learned fast, but also struggled with. When your having a bad day its hard to reach out, but its much better when you do. From day one, I knew understanding the Spanish and attempting to speak it myself was going to be my biggest challenge. I worried I wasn't going to be able to accomplish much in the village because I'd never understand them, and they'd understand me. I learned that with the kids it didn't matter, a smile was all they needed and they'd run off giggling. As far as communicating with Mario, our only Spanish speaking guide and the others, Gilberto, Hector and Morissette we're more then happy to help out when needed. It was a balance of I need help, and I'd like to work this out on my own which taught me greater self advocacy.
 Arriving in Asuncíon at night is unsettling. We can't see any of the city except for the brightly lit shops illuminating the run down shacks next door. It seems to be a hodgepodge of new, old, rich, and poor. Its hard to get a grasp on the real city that late and sleep deprived though.
The morning brings shopping and pandemonium, as we walk through the streets shopping, looking at graffiti and taking it all in. We're introduced to the mate culture. Literally EVERYONE drinks mate, from the policeman on the street corner to the young girl tucked between her parents.
I'm really just anxious to get to the Aché to see what its going to be like. The day in the city seems never ending, and we're all taxed as we check out of the Superseis, some odd Vons-esqe store, and head back to the Acunsíon Palace Hotel. The next day we're up early and ready to go, the excitement is palpable as we speed through the roads of the city on our way.
Its an intense welcoming. After eight hours on the road we finally arrive. Kids swarm our safari van, their innocent eyes peering in. The parents are warier, hanging back and staring stoically from their homes. In the fading light I can make out simple wood homes, many people, and trash. Its a sad sight. The dark drops on us quickly and soon we're unloading and making camp only by the light of our flashlights and headlamps. I'm exhausted, but we manage to make a simple dinner of bread, cheese, and meat, washed down with more mate before we all head off to bed.
Camp is very different in the light of the morning. We eat yet more bread and dulce de leche, a type of caramel spread, for breakfast. The day's plan is to settle in, already children line the fence we have separating Guayakí's property from the rest of the village. We're like an exhibit at the zoo, the children watching to see what the new exciting animals are going to do. If we wander outside of our fence line children grab at our hands, attempt to climb our legs, and beg to be picked up. They can't get enough of us, and its overwhelming. We each have our own personal entourage. The week looks to be very promising.
 Settling in for me was settling into the seat of a Copa Airlines flight at 6 a.m. Most of the group never went to be the night before so we've all rolled into LAX sleep deprived and less then enthused to be carrying out man sized packs on our backs in the line for our boarding passes. But we're getting somewhere, and that's what is important. We look like a bit of a ragtag bunch as we get through security and onto our flight.
Although we've all gone to school together, we've yet to have that 'trip bonding' to really unite us as a team, but it's soon to come. I'm excited for the planes take off and to finally see what Asuncíon is like, and more importantly the Aché Village. The bugs are worrisome, and if any of our bags get lost in the shuffle of planes from Panama to Paraguay we're not in great shape. We've all packed in a few tents and cooking gear among the seven of us, and its necessary for the comfort and survival of our little troop. My worries are unnecessary though as we land safely in Paraguay after two luckily uneventful flights.
Our guide Mario or 'Super Mario' picks us up after we manage to make it through customs with all of our gear and a large box of solar panels. Its late, the streets are foreign and our van looks like it drove up out of the last Indiana Jones movie. The adventure has begun.
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