All nice and tucked in

Well I’m finally in the place that I’ll be calling home for the next two years… and I’m nice and settled in. I haven’t really done much since I got here. Basically, I walk around like a chicken with its head cut off (which I can say I’ve actually seen now) looking for conversation with one of my new neighbors. Every person I pass I salute with a passionate salutation in Guarani. From there it’s really a guessing game. Many things could occur. The person could respond back smiling, they cross their eyes and think “who in the hell was that person that thinks they’re my new best friend”, they could say something in Guarani to kind of put me to the test, or they could give me the “come here” wave and say “veni un poco”. The “veni un poco” (come here for a minute) and the Guarani test are the two reasons I’m walking around in the first place; to let me face be known to my new community and hope that the person is curious enough to initiate a conversation. Then I get to do this schpeel about what I’m doing here. Usually before I get to explaining that I’m with Cuerpo de Paz, they ask if I’m a Mormon missionary. I don’t know much about their presence here in Paraguay but it certainly seems to be very well known. So immediately after explaining that I’m not a missionary, very few Americans are Mormons, and that my mission has nothing do with religion, I usually receive the following questions; “So you’re not a Mormon missionary but you are a Mormon right?”- ….no I’m not a Mormon -“O but you believe in the Virgin Mary right?” I’m still juggling the answers to the latter.

It’s also important to note the hand gesture that accompanies the “veni un poco”. It’s actually the exact inverse of how an American would face their palm up and move their fingers toward them. A Paraguayan flips there hand over, with their palm to the ground, and moves their fingers back and forth ever so slightly. To me, this looks a little bit like an extended arm having a hand seizure. Therefore, even though I’ve been here for a few months now, I still do a double every time somebody is waving me toward them.

But the very best part of meeting new people is when I get meet someone really old. It’s the elderly that absolutely eat up the idea of a “Norte” speaking Guarani. With a few simple sentences I can make “una vieja” light up light a Christmas tree. And the best part is, when you string a few simple sentences together they walk the whole way home laughing and telling people that the new Mormon missionary speaks fluent Guarani…would you fancy that.

I have to admit that sometimes when I’m walking around I just take a step back and say to myself “Where the hell are you and what are doing here?” It has become incredibly surreal to me that this will be my home for the next two years. With that said, I do feel like I’m incredible lucky to be working in this town and with the cooperative in it. The coop is going to be an amazing opportunity to learn about organics/fair-trade/global trade etc. I’ve also gone and met the Principals of the two schools in the area.

The first school maintains a huge garden with every kind of vegetable you could dream of. The Principal told me that the reason for doing the garden is to show the community and to spread the word to farmers that they don’t need a huge plot of land in order to feed themselves. What they need is to be is smart in the way they manage the land. I’m actually really excited to learn about that stuff…at the school and from local farmers.

It was super funny when I visited that school because the Principal who was taking me around was a rather large woman and the instant she met me she locked her arm in mine and we went strolling around the school (where all the kids are playing various games/sports) and was introducing me as her new boyfriend to all the girls. Every time she would introduce me to a new group she’d laugh and laugh and say something like “Can you believe this is young American is dating a fat Paraguayan like me?” It was truly a trip.

But that story brings up a good point, which is; Paraguayan’s are ridiculously blunt when talking about the way they look, or the way you look. Almost every overweight person I’ve met has blatantly acknowledged that fact in a joking manner. Also, if you have a defining feature, that feature automatically becomes you’re nickname. For example, if you have a big nose, look like monkey, sweat a lot…that’s you’re nickname. “Hey big nose, what are you doing tonight?”

Getting back to the schools; At the other school there is some serious potential for an amazing project. The Principal wants to put together an orchestra (that’s right, and orchestra), prepare a show, and take the show on the road to surrounding schools…all in the name of promoting the power of music. (ARE YOU SERIOUS!) If you know me at all, you know this would be an absolute dream to make this happen. Anyway, he said he’s been planning this out for a while now but he was missing somebody to teach the kids guitar and some singing. Despite my limited knowledge in both those respects…that’s my new job! You see, we discussed the idea having the orchestra play a mix of Paraguayan songs and classic rock songs. The idea being that it’s much easier to promote and have fun when you let them play the songs they know and love. Therefore, it will be my job to lead the rock part. There’s obviously a ton of logistical things to figure out but it’s obviously “vale la pena” (worth it). In order to get the kids excited about the idea, I told him that the first thing we should do is get the movie “School of Rock” and show it to the kids. (School of Rock is a movie about a substitute teacher who turns his class into a rock band and they end up competing in a talent show) Therefore, I’m off to Asuncion this week to track down the movie and get the ball rolling.

Other projects I’m getting involved in; In the name of goodwill my host dad for the time being has decided that were going to help a struggling family friend of his expand his garden. I also spoke with the President of the coop about English classes for the coop employees and additional classes for the community members. We also talked about how the coop needs a website, so I’m in charge of that and also translating all the information so the website is in both English and Spanish. Lastly, I asked him to help me find the next family I stay with…I want to make sure it’s with a sugar cane farmer. That way, I can work on the farm and learn the life of a “campesino” and start to understand what I really means for a farm to be organic (which is more than just “non-chemical”)

How about a little bit about my living situation? Well, right now I’m truly living in middle class Paraguay. The family I’m staying with is a middle aged couple with both their kids working in the big cities of Paraguay. They run a few different businesses out of their home. The first is a sort of mini grocery/pharmacy. People in the surrounding houses come to their house to buy their bread, soap, empanadas, beer, eggs etc. Then, behind this “dispensa” they have a rather large open room which has a few tables. At those tables they serve lunch to anybody that wants to come in. So it’s kind of like a restaurant except they only have one meal prepared each day, as opposed to a menu. A fresh salad, fresh juice, and a fantastic home-made desert accompany every meal. (They use lime juice for salad dressing, delicious and healthy) Paying in Guaranis it costs a Paraguayan about $2 for this meal. The third part of the business is basically a catering/delivery service. You can phone in orders and have them delivered hot to your door.
Obviously, this is a lot more work than two people can handle, therefore, they have 4 additional people working for them; three women in the kitchen and a delivery guy. I absolutely love hanging out with the three women in the kitchen. They also think most things I say in Guarani are hysterical; either because it’s ridiculously wrong or the utter shock factor of an American speaking their language. Oftentimes I hang out with them while they’re cooking because they teach me a lot about not only Guarani but how to cook. And they also think it’s a riot that a man would take an interest in cooking. One day when they were really busy I offered to help dice tomatoes and they reacted like I’d just offered to fly them to the moon. Not only did they crack up at the notion of a man preparing food but also that I possess the incredible skill of “dicing”. When I took that first tomato in my hand they all gathered round and were secretly praying for me to screw it up(which I’m not sure is possible). When I completed the mission they began saying to each other in Guarani “how intelligent, how hard working”. Honestly, on the average day I get far too much credit.

In essence, I get to eat like a king. I have tons of privacy because they have no kids and are very respective, I have a full size bed (like a large couch cushion), and a floor fan. The only down side it that I’ve been getting ridiculously bit up by mosquitoes.

I guess you could say everything is going really well. Of course, I have times when I’m “down” too but who really wants to hear about that depressing crap. Really, I just miss friends, family and “normalcy” sometimes. Come visit!


That’s it for now. Nos vemos.