In my adventure : 38

Jazz plays in the background of my adventure of sunshine
Yellow butterflies drink sweet nectar in my adventure of flowers
Chords sound in a hesitant rhythm in my adventure of the guitar
Muscles ache and wind rushes by in my adventure de corriendo
The ambrosia of the Paraguayan Gods is tasted in my adventure of terere
Letters written, books read, stories told in my adventure of words
Tears are frequent, laughter more so in my adventure of emotions
The second hand unmercifully trudges on in my adventure of deadlines

Malo Educacion : 37

Malo Educacion

Teach your children while they are still young
Fill them with thoughts of equality and kindness.
Malo educacion surrounds me each day
And I am frightened.
Rude hollering, harsh touches
"Just leave me alone!"
The women stand by and watch.
They don't mind,
They permit it,
And dare I sat
They teach it.
What a shame that they forgot
To educate their young.

Teach your children while they are still young
Fill them with desires to learn and to teach.
Malo educación surrounds me each day
And I am frightened.
Backwards school, ignorant teachers
Don't they want to learn?
The teachers stand by and watch.
They don;t mind,
They like it,
And dar I say
They cause it.
What a shame that their nation
Cannot educate their young.

-
---
Robin C. Oleata
March 17, 1994
Caaguazu, Paraguay
---
-

I am walking : 36

I am walking

Alone

Down a red dirt road.

My eyes are closed,

Yet I keep walking;

And every few feet

I stumble

And sometimes fall

Upon a rock I cannot see

Because I am blinded

By language and opinions

My culture and my sex.

Why do I continue

Down this road?

Where is it

That I hope to be going?

And why do I allow myself

to become bruised?

My knees and hands are

bleeding from the falls.

I have no one but myself

To pick me up and tend to my wounds.

But, I know why I continue

Down this road

My hands stretched out in front of me

Singing a song and smiling.

It is because each day

My eyes open up a little more

And I am able to see more

of the beauty 

that surrounds me

Today I did not stumble

Upon those rocks

Half as much as I used to.

I know the road leads nowhere.

It is not the destination I desire,

But the knowledge of the journey.

I long for the day

When my eyes will at last 

be wide open

seeing all.

But until then,

I will continue to fall.

It is all part of the journey.

-

---

Robin Cathleen Oleata

April 8, 1994

Caaguazu, Paraguay

---

-

Robin the Butterfly : 30

A Song : 19

I'm a little Indian Girl
No one knows my name
I'm a little Indian Girl
No one knows my name
I'm sitting in the street alone
Yet dancing in my mind
In my mind I can dance with the flowers
With the ladybugs
and caterpillars
They carry me around
I wear a daisy crown
The flowers love me
and call me
by my name

Commentary:  A few months before I left for Paraguay my mom bought me a beautiful classical guitar. I brought it with me to Paraguay, a very good idea, as it gave me something to do.  It was also a bit embarrassing as people assumed I was awesome if I brought my guitar along and they kept asking me to play (like at my birthday party) but really I was just a beginner.  This is my first attempt at song writing.  It seems my own isolation made me think of the poor street children I use to see in Mexico City...

Some Memories : 16

Commentary:  This page shows a butterfly I found dead on the ground and taped its wings onto the page.  Butterflies had a lot of symbolic significance for me at this time in my life.  I felt I was in my cocoon, developing myself to emerge later, magnificent!  There are some quotes on this page that I collected throughout my stay, funny things people say.  The list on the bottom is also a slow list made throughout my stay.  It lists the names of all the poems I wrote while in Paraguay.  At this point in my stay, only the first poem has been written.  I probably wrote most things on this page a few months down the line.

Pora Jasy...A Poem : 12

Pora Jasy

Last night I saw the moon for the first time.

Pora.

Beautiful.

I can't believe they are the same.

Is that face staring down at me

The same as that in the land of confusion?

This is the land of warm breezes,

Terere days, and new stars.

Yet I know these two faces are one;

Both make me feel the same:

Happy to be alive,

Thirsty for each moment,

Yet sad.

Each lunar phase whose beams I breath

Is a brilliant tide that will never again live.

Each day is for me to live, love, and learn.

Don't allow your time to be wasted;

Don't allow the moon to lament