One of the concerns that Josh and I spoke about at length before coming on this trip was the language barrier.  In Paraguay, they have two official languages: Spanish and Guaraní.  Josh was concerned because he doesn´t speak either.  I had some concern because, while I once was fairly good at Spanish, I had not used the language much in a long time.

Happily, both Josh and I have been able to communicate.  On our first morning here, Josh learned that sports is a great language to communicate.  Marcelo, who has become Josh´s friend and personal translator, got Josh playing soccer with some of the boys.  Since then, he has had friends with him regularly.  He is frequently seen laughing and playing with other boys, some his age, some younger and some older.  He has done incredibly well at learning some basic phrases to communicate, and at using Marcelo to help him speak to others.  He has also been great at blending into the group dynamics of our team.

I have been really pleased that my Spanish has been steadily coming back.  My vocabulary is still somewhat limited, and I am sure that I slaughter some of the grammar, but I am usually able to communicate, even when there is no translator present.  I do have to frequently call over a translator to help me remember a word, or to translate what someone is saying to me, but I am able to talk and be understood.  When others are patient and speak slowly, I can usually figure out what they are saying as well.

Not only that, but I am even learning a few phrases in Guaraní, and some of their grammar rules.  I know the difference between saying that I am going somewhere alone, inviting one person to come with me, and inviting several people to go with me.  Now, I can´t communicate in the language yet, but it is a start.  Yesterday, we went and talked with an older man.  The conversation quickly turned to Guaraní, and I was totally lost.  I had to rely on my friends Alex (Alé) and David.  Ocassionally, the man would direct a question at me, and Alé would have to bring me up to speed on what they were talking about.

Overall, we are communicating quite well, and are still having a good time.  The week is now more than half over.  I am tired, but it still seems to be passing quickly.