There is nothing like a good chair

I’m always a little intimidated when I sit down to write a new blog entry. I really have no idea where to begin and because my life here moves one day at a time like everyone else it seems a lot less eventful than it may seem to someone else. All complaining aside, I’ve tried to organize this entry into a few different categories...


Paraguayan culture:

When it comes to Paraguayans there are two really interesting yet contradictory observations I’ve made. One is that if you’re are a guest in somebody’s home they may as well start jumping through hoops to make sure that you have not only the nicest chair of the bunch but are also the best located within the group. It’s quite amazing. Even if I approach a group of elderly, someone is bound to get up out of their seat immediately and offer me their chair. I can politely reject because of the absurdity of an elderly offering me their chair but I’ve learned that it’s really no use. You are going to sit in that chair…because they for damn sure aren’t going to let you stand.

Now on the other hand, the Paraguay bus system is completely the opposite situation. Busses here are frequently one big “quilombo”/big mess. The seats are brutally close to each other and people frequently bring ridiculously large objects on the bus with them. Because automobiles aren’t too common, some of the more interesting things I’ve seen on busses are as follows: a bag of live chickens (10-12), enough groceries to equal an afternoon at Sam’s, a modest 3 piece furniture set. The point of telling you all this is to highlight the utter mess a bus can be. Almost never have I seen anybody move to the window seat so that the next person to come along can have easy access to the aisle seat. And almost never have I seen an aisle seat person get up out of their chair to let a window seat person out. So what do they do then? They make the window seat person to a funky little dance to get by two legs that are ever to politely scooted to side.

(An important note here is that “yes” I did think of the possibility that the guest in a house observation applies to me being an American/Foreigner but that is simple not true. It applies to all guests)

Ok, moving on. I think I can finally say that I do indeed have a favorite thing about the culture down here…and that would be the elaborate use of the “thumbs up”. Giving somebody the thumbs up here can be used in just about any situation. It’s most commonly used when passing by someone to signify “what up”. But it also doubles as a good morning/good afternoon, can mean “nice work!”, can be given to cure an awkward silence, can be given enthusiastically to say something like “how you livin my man”, can be given as a polite way to tell someone “I see you’re there but to be honest I don’t feel like having a five minute conversation about the weather or how the American has 5 Paraguayan girlfriends that he’s secretly not telling anyone about, it can mean “pretty nice day out, no?”, can be given with a mouth full of food to mean “the food is delicious”, or even “I don’t have the slightest clue what you just said in Guarani but here’s a thumbs up instead of a response”.

That’s about it for now but I’d really love to expand upon this list at a later date.

Shifting topics into the kitchen-- Despite most meals here being a very informal dining experience, Paraguayans love to put table cloths on the table before eating. I’ve come to realize that this has little to do with a nice looking table but much more to do with having a readily available giant napkin with which you can raise at any given moment to clean off a sauce covered face. Talk about the most redneck thing you could possibly do! I must admit that I haven’t yet introduced a clean, yet thoroughly stained, table cloth to my face yet… but it is has without a doubt become one of my major goals over the next two years.

*this is hardly something everyone does but none the less has been confirmed as an acceptable way to clean hands and face in Paraguay

There are also two inventions that have made their way to Paraguay that have most certainly never made their way into my life in the states. The first is something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, a super duper amazing ceiling fan that ISN’T terribly loud. That’s right, Paraguayan fans put us in the Stone Age. They are incredibly compact, quiet and blistering fast. If you put yourself under the right fan you might even muster the courage to attempt an afternoon nap in 100 degree heat.

The other invention they have mastered down here is the lawn chair. And it makes sense…considering the most definitive part of Paraguayan culture is to sit in front of your house drinking terere with your neighbors. These chairs may seem like normal metal chairs with rubber stands providing a support system, but upon plopping down in one for your first terere session you quickly realize that we in the U.S. have had lawn chairs wrong for a very long time now. The most fundamental difference in the chairs down here has something to do with the perfect angle of the arm rests. Also important is the slight upward angle it puts your legs and the slight lean it provides for your back. It truly is chair heaven.

In fact, chairs and fans are so superior here that it’s got me wondering how the U.S. could possibly be so behind with regards to these two things. My only conclusion is that air conditioning companies along with an underground chiropractors union are doing some serious lobbying in Washington in order to prevent innovation in these two crucial industries.

While on the theme of comparing the U.S with Paraguay…Twice now I’ve been to the doctor, (sorry for not telling you mom but I know how you worry) and twice I’ve had quite impressive experiences. The first was when I smashed my foot into a metal bar and it just would not stop bleeding. Therefore, I went to the health center and literally 20 minutes later I walked out with two stitches and a prescription for an antibiotic. The two stitches added up to a grand total of 5 measly bucks and week’s worth of antibiotics were another $9.

My other incident was when I was terribly congested and hacking up a lung from all the cigarettes I’ve been smoking. (Just kidding, at least about the cigs) Anyway, so went to the health center again to get checked out by the doctor and get hooked up by the drug dealer in the pharmacy on my way out. When it was all said and done, I was supplied with two prescriptions that cost a total of $1 whole dollar. When I inquired how they can possible afford to sell their drugs so cheap that looked at me with a puzzled face. “Well because the government provides them practically for free.” Would you imagine that…free preventative medicine. Three days later I was practically back at 100%.

*These prices don’t include the assistance of health insurance. For now, you can only find insurance in the capital



Work related stuff:

Things are going pretty much the same the same at the cooperative that requested my presence. I stop in for about a half hour a day to see if they need my help translating an email. My time at the cooperative mostly consists of throwing out really exaggerated greetings in Guarani, then I move on.

On a more positive note, I finally finished working on the vegetable garden I was doing with a family. A few weeks ago we planted watermelon, honeydew, cucumber, and lettuce. (After weeks of preparation) It turned about to be a really successful project. I say that only because every time I went to help them out they would work alongside me and do even more when on days I wasn’t there. Now they have this big huge garden that all the neighbors are jealous of. That jealousy is very important for two reasons. One, the family I worked with loves knowing the neighbors are jealous and in order to maintain that jealous they’ll have to keep working hard to maintain the garden. The second is because hopefully when the neighbors see this beautiful garden they’re going to ask themselves “why don’t we start growing our own vegetables, that way we can make the other neighbors jealous and we don’t have to buy vegetables anymore ”. What I’m trying to highlight here the importance of a little friendly competition amongst neighbors and how it can be a vital role in creating a more sustainable community.

On to the next project-- I can’t remember if I talked in my last blog about how I’m teaching in a school for “ninos de la calle”/ kids that spend their time wandering the streets, but if I did you can skip over the next paragraph. The reason they spend so much time in the street is because they have absolutely terrible family lives, if they have one at all. Anyway, there is nun who provides them with breakfast and lunch 5 days a week and in between meals she holds class for them. I have started teaching there one day a week. Primarily I’m teaching English, but I’ve started to change it up because for these kids English is about the last thing they need to learn. With that said, English does serve as a nice confidence builder and because of that I don’t plan to give it up completely. I also bring my guitar and play music for them and have started a vegetable with them too.

And for the most exciting news yet…….I found a group of women who have come together to sell their fruits and vegetables. I’ve been working with them for a few weeks now. If you remember from a while back, I talked about how every Saturday there is a farmers market in my town…well this group comprises that farmers market. They have this open air tent in which they bring all their crops every week but the problem is they’re not selling enough. And that’s where I come in. I’m currently putting together a marketing plan for the group so they can start taking better advantage of their fairly large/relatively affluent market. Fortunately for me, there are a ton of very obvious yet inexpensive marketing techniques they’re currently not implementing. I still have a long way to go in the way of gaining their trust so who know how long it will be till they want to really hear what I have to say. At the very least, I’ll be prepared when they are ready. As for now, I’m just trying to understand their situation better. Another unique part of this group is that they make tons of delicious products straight from their farms like: strawberry jam, homemade yogurts, specialty breads etc. I’m hoping I can help find a more “specialty market” in the capital in which they could put those products. If there were only a Whole Foods in town they’d buy up the whole damn block. What a shame.


Housing:

So for the last month I have been living with a new family. I have my own little house that’s in the back yard of a house that is smack dab in the middle of town. Because the plaza is right in front of the house, this is definitely the place to be if you want to up to date with the latest gossip. You know who is going were with whom and at what time.

The family is composed of a mother and her four kids. The kids range from 11-16. I’m actually the fourth volunteer to have lived with this family, (very rare) so the whole family is very well adapted to having an American around. My host mom is a teacher in the local high school and is an amazing conversationalist. We had tons of great chats about Paraguay/America and about her previous 6 years hosting a PC volunteer. Her stories are absolutely enthralling. Therefore, I’m trying to get her to write a book. Any publishers who might be reading this…you want this book!

Looking back, it’s been an absolutely amazing month with them, but none the less I’ll be moving 7km away in a few short weeks. My new little house is located on top of a hill and it has a view that overlooks endless amounts of coconut trees, sugar cane fields, pineapple fields and tons of other gorgeous plants. I’m super pumped to finally get out with the farmers! I’ll have the opportunity to learn a ton of agriculture and live a really quiet peaceful life. Also, the people out there speak much less Spanish so I’ll really have to step up my Guarani, which is another reason I want to move out there. I’ll still be biking into the center a few times a week to visit the friends I’ve made and for work purposes but I plan on devoting a lot time in the coming months to being a farmer and improving my Guarani.

Side notes:

Tomorrow I’m going to the Paraguay vs. Peru world cup qualifying soccer match. I’ve heard it’s going to be wild!

I’m really desperate for some good new music. If anybody wants so send me some good stuff that’s come out in the last 4 months I’d really appreciate it.

I read a fantastic book recently called “Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn.

*NOTE TO FUTURE PARAGUAY VOLUNTEERS
Paraguayans do laundry EVERY DAY. Therefore, you need not back a lot of clothes. I’ve recently put half my clothes in a bag to never be used again.

Hope everyone is well. Send emails with updates on your lives!