Newtown Peace Corps Volunteer Celebrating One Year In Paraguay

By John Voket

The candid accounts of Sara Klopfenstein may sometimes disguise what appears to be a growing familiarity and understanding of the people and cultures of a tiny South American nation. According to her personal blog website, the Newtowner will be celebrating her first anniversary of service to the Peace Corps, which is itself celebrating 40 years of international outreach and goodwill in 2007.

Nearly one year ago, on September 28, Ms Klopfenstein departed the comforts of the United States to serve as a crop extensionist, according to her mom, Joanne, who works in the Newtown Social Services office. Both she and her husband, John, a local realtor, have visited their daughter to experience the rustic beauty and simplicity of a culture that appears to have little interest in many of the advances that most modern American household take for granted.

Ms Klopfenstein is situated for the most part in the village of Jerovia, a two-hour vegetable truck ride from the closest city of Buena Vista. According to her mom, Sara is primarily responsible for helping native people in her village develop sustainable agricultural practices.

“She is trying to show them how to grow their crops longer and better,” Joanne Klopfenstein told The Bee recently.

Her daughter has also taken the initiative to mount a dental hygiene project aimed at the local children. Dentist offices from the Newtown area have donated supplies that have been shipped down to the country, she said.

With precious little time to send e-mails or make even more rare phone calls, Ms Klopfenstein decided to put her experiences up on the Internet for all to see at a personal site: sarainpy.blogspot.com. The commentary is reflective of her candid observations along with numerous strange and new experiences she encounters nearly every day.

On August 24, she mentions the dental project: “I never really thought about it, but its kind of weird to think that I had to teach full grown adults how to brush their teeth. Just one of those things I think about sometimes. I came in on the mandioca truck again. I was invited to sit up front again…”

The latest posting mentions her impending anniversary.

“Well, September 28th I will complete one full year in this strange country some call Paraguay — an island surrounded by land, as it’s described in travel guides,” she writes. “I describe it as the land of instant coffee, the country of barefoot 5-year-olds running gayly with machetes, a place where the national bread is a root vegetable, similar to a potato, where emaciated dogs roam the streets looking for the freshest pile of cow [dung] to snack on, where cana liquor costs 40 cents a pint, and a land where confused roosters cock-a-doodle-do at all hours of the day and night. But, this strange place has been has been my home for nearly a year, and it will be for another year [and] 3 months…”

Her mother said Sara is extremely proud of her one-room house, which boasts of one light bulb, a small gas stove, refrigerator, and mosquito-netted single bed.

“There is no heat and no indoor plumbing, but it is only a short walk for water to take a bucket shower or to brush your teeth,” Joanne Klopfenstein said. “The outhouse is enclosed for privacy and is located behind her garden, which provides a good amount of her food. She has chickens for eggs and plans on raising a pig.”

Ms Klopfenstein jokes on the site about some of the important things she has learned while living in a small mountain village where most of the homes consist of single rooms with fire pits in the center.

“There’s no limit to how many times an article of clothing (underwear included), can be patched or mended,” she writes. And, “…12 hours of sleep is not enough. One must nap after lunch as well, sometimes up to four hours. On rainy days you may sleep after breakfast as well.”

Up to the point of her arrival, it appears the Paraguayans had little interest in the dental supplies and care packages coming in from Newtown. But apparently one particular item caught the eye of postal handlers.

Ms Klopfenstein’s September 10 posting reads: “I got your two packages mom. Thank you. This time the whoopie cushion arrived safely. The mail people actually stole the first whoopie cushion my mom sent me. So strange. Who wants a whoopie cushion? Besides me.”

The blog also features pictures including her Paraguayan family members, her own pets, as well as other domesticated and exotic animals that populate the mountainous region where Ms Klopfenstein resides.

In a recent e-mail to The Newtown Bee, Ms Klopfenstein related that she is eager to acquire music CDs because her mp3 player broke in early August. A posting around that time reflects her relatively simple needs.

“I have started a list of things you could send me, if you are ever feeling generous enough to send me a care package,” she wrote. “It would be greatly appreciated. So here’s my list: cinnamon toast crunch, tooth whitening strips (maté stains your teeth worse than coffee), magazines (any, the trashier the better), candy, CDs (anything, my iPod broke, my radio broke, my CD player works. sometimes.), nag champa incense, Egyptian goddess perfume ( if you dont know what it is, you wont find it).”

Besides writing about her adventures on the blog, Ms Klopfenstein has also begun a radio show that occurs on Sunday. Her mom said the program, broadcast in the native language, is produced by a group of Peace Corps volunteers.

“Sara has to travel by truck into the city on Saturday because that’s the last time she can get a ride,” Joanne Klopfenstein said. “Then she gets back in the truck and heads back to the mountain village on Monday morning.”