La Escuela Agricola San Fransisco de Asis

For the past five weeks I have been living in Paraguay and have been volunteering at La Escuela Agricola San Fransisco de Asis. All I've really shared so far is my struggle against nature (frogs, dogs, snakes, centipedes, etc) at the school. So I thought I'd better tell a little more about where I've been and what I've been doing this summer. So here are a ton of pictures with some explanations of the school in between. Let me tell a little about the school first though. It is an agricultural school about an hour outside of Asuncion, Paraguay. I think that they claim to be the first self-sustaining school in the world...or at least one of the first. I think they are the first to actually make the idea work. So basically a self-sustaining school is just like what it sounds. A school that doesn't rely on outside money to be able to run. The students at the school work in a trade in this case agriculture and running a hotel and store and their work for the school pays for their school to survive as well as helping them train in useful skills. They have one week of traditional high school classes and one week working on the farm, in the hotel, or in the store. They switch back and forth every week. The school was purchased by La Fundacion Paraguaya (an NGO) five years ago from some Catholic Monks. They purchased it, got it up and running and now it requires no financial help from outside sources. The kids do have to pay tuition of about 20 dollars a month which also includes housing and food but those who can't afford that either can get scholarships or can work off that 20 dollars by volunteering to work on weekends. So anyway I have been volunteering at the school teaching health classes as part of my practicum experience for my Public Health graduate program. Despite all the run ins with wild animals and other trials it has, in the end, been a wonderful experience. The students at the school (there are about 150 of them) for the most part are fantastic, hard working kids. The school is meant to serve kids from lower income agricultural families and help them learn to make their family farms more productive. But not all the kids are from agricultural backgrounds or are planning on working in agriculture. Some are just there to get a better education. They say that the education there is more like what the kids would receive at a typical private school which tend to be much better then the public schools here...but these kids wouldn't normally be able to afford a private school education. It is a pretty great idea actually because you get students who really want to learn and better their lives because they have to work for it. It is such a great way to help people help themselves. The beautiful gardens. They grow produce to use in the food that the students eat as well as to sell in Asuncion.

I love the evenings at the school. It is such a beautiful time of night.

Because they bought the school from some Catholic Monks there is all this funky Catholic artwork on and in the buildings. The school was built I think in the 1960's which should help explain the style. I actually think that the murals and statues and stuff are cool.

This is what I like to call Tim Burton's Jesus statue. I think it is weird and yet cool.

One of my favorite students milking the cows. They don't do it by hand but it isn't as automated as I'm sure it is in the US...actually I don't know for sure as I don't frequent dairies in the US, but it didn't seem fast and efficient enough for the American way. Watching cows get milked makes me like milk even less...there are just too many different substances coming from the cow in too close of a proximity for me.

Some of the boys getting the food ready for the cows. They don't grow hay here instead they have Cameroon grass which they have to chop up so that the cows can eat it as it is really big and tough. We do feed cows hay in the States, right?...hay and grain and corn and stuff, yes?...I don't know, I'm a sheep girl. Whatever.

Some of the students just relaxing before lunch.

Okay, okay, I couldn't have a post about the school and not have a frog picture. I didn't do this to this poor frog...it was just a freak accident. I just happened to see it a few days later and thought it was gruesomely funny. Wrong place, wrong time I guess.

The kids prepare all the food too. They only have one lady that helps them. They actually do a good job considering that they are high school kids, have a limited kitchen (like they don't have an oven), and that they have a very limited food budget.

Some of the second year students and I after class. I'm the blond one. A couple of my favorite kids...they are fun kids.

Just a pretty lane at the school.

Me with some of the first year students. Obviously the person taking the picture did not have a lot of picture taking experience as they cut off half of the class.

Doing an activity in my class.

Tomas, the boy at the right in the front is a first year student although he is 20 years old. Even though the school can be basically free to attend some of the families, like his family, can't afford to have the students away because these kids are supporting (at least in part) their families...so it isn't just the cost of going to school...it is also sometimes the cost of not having the student bringing in money for the family. That's why Tomas had to wait until he was older until something changed in his family situation so he could go to school.

Making cocido at like 6 in the morning. It is a smoky and complicated process but it tastes delicious so I'm glad they do it. I think it is made with milk, yerba mate, sugar, and a little charcol. Sounds gross but it is pretty dang good. Try it sometime if you can...but it is only good if it is pretty hot.

The courtyard on campus.

One last pretty picture of sunset at the school.