Argentina, Abuelas, and American Authors

Right now we are in Aregentina, doing a whirlwind trip to three cities: Cordoba, Rosario, and Buenos Aires. In general Argentina is much more developed than Paraguay, and feels more like Europe than South America. It is a fun break, although the accent is really different. All the Y sounds are SH sounds in Argentina, and the intonation is more sing-songy like Italian. In Cordoba we did some shopping and visited a town in the mountains. It was beautiful. So great to get out of the city. Although the town was a bit odd--very German inspired and touristy. As if the whole town had decided to pretend to be in Germany instead of Argentina. There was polka music playing from loudspeakers around town, and all the signs were made of carved wood. Strange and hilarious.

At the moment we are in Rosario, staying with Jon´s friend Federico. He is lovely, as is his grandmother Che-Che. (No one knows why they call her that, but everyone does.) We are all staying in her house near downtown, where Fede and his brother live as well. The location is great, but their hospitality is even better. The day we arrived in Rosario Che-Che had gone to her sister´s funeral. But we wouldn´t have know it based on her kindness and attention to us. It has been great to get to know his family and this city. I could definitely live here for a while. It is smaller than Cordoba, but with a lot of culture and great trees. Seriously. And lots of parks and cool public spaces, which Paraguay is lacking. Other highlights include finding two J.D. Salinger books, which will be really refreshing to read in Paraguay. I was so excited. We also visited Fede´s favorite dance club. It was huge. No one goes out until about 1 or 2 in the morning, and there were thousands of people. Literally packed. Hardly room enough to move in some places. A bit scary and definitely outside of my comfort zone, but also a lot of fun. We felt like we were in some sort of 80s music video.

It is great to be here. Refreshing to be around culture--music, art, books. And I blend right in because there are a lot more fair-skinned people. It is nice to be ignored in public--I have missed it. Katie says everyone here kind of dresses like me too, which I take as a compliment. The clothes are definitely better here. I have bought two pairs of shoes already. While I love it here, I think it will be hard to go back to Paraguay. It is a more difficult sort of life there, but I know it is good for me. Plus I miss all my Paraguayan amigos.

Okay, I have to go eat hamburguesas now with Che-Che and Feders and the gang. Hasta Luego.

A Brief Announcement...

Hello All!

Some of you already know, but I thought I should post it here to. The word needs to get out, and I unfortunately cannot make hundreds of long distance phone calls to tell everyone I would like to tell. So anyways...I have decided to stay in South America for a while longer. I'm not sure how long yet--I will keep you posted on that little detail. I'm thinking until december-ish, but we'll see. I have a lot of details to work out still, but I know that I will be living with my friend Marlene downtown. There are a lot of social work opportunities here too, so I can either work or volunteer a lot. I am excited, but also a little terrified to be without all of my American friends here. :*(

Okay, back to regular blogging now!

Más!

So much to say and so little time on the intenet....Where to start....?

The Chaco: Plains to the North of Asuncion. Thousands of miles of dry, flat landscape, and it totally made me homesick. The terrain is completely different and so are the people. We visited Filadelfia, a small town where three distinct culture coexist: the Latinos, the Indians, and the Mennonites. The Mennonites in Paraguay are very insular. They have their own churches, schools, and businesses, and sometimes speak only German. Because we are white, everyone tried to speak to us in German. So strange to suddenly hear German in South America. A bit surreal and disorienting, actually. The Chaco is also full of weird-o animals, the likes of which I have never seen before in person or otherwise. Also very surreal. I need to find out what they are called so I can find some pictures for you... Another fun fact for you, our hotel had an amazing motto: "Hotel Florida, where the suffocating heat of the Chaco is converted into pleasure." I'm not sure what the conversion rate is on that, but I would like to know.

Claudia: She is the director of the Spanish program that Jon and I are doing. I don´t think I have mentioned her in depth before. She is great. Very enthusiastic, a bit overwhelming sometimes, but a great cheerleader. Just what I need in South America. She has done so much for me here, in terms of making arrangements for me and trying to find things that I might be interested in. She studied in the U.S. and speaks English very well. She also adopted certain American traits, like being crazy busy all the time. Which is probably why I have also been crazy busy for my time in Paraguay. Her husband is a doctor who spends much of his time working at emergency clinics. They have four small kids, two of which are adopted twins. Claudia also has four sisters that live in Asuncion. Her sister Raquel is my age and a lot of fun. They are an amazing family.

The weather: The weather here is a bit crazy. Most of the year in Paraguay it is really hot. Really, really hot. But right now it is the winter. Sometimes it is cool and lovely. Other times it seems like summer to me. Other times it is freaking cold. Not as cold as in Kansas, but still cold. It seems worse I think because no one has heat here, and the houses are built to let air ciculate during the hot months. So the houses are as cold as it is outside. And the weather changes really quickly. Kansas can be bi-polar at times, but winters in Paraguay are worse I think. And when it gets cold everyone gets sick. It's a good thing that they give out antibiotics like candy here. (Take a deep breath, Jessica...) There are zero drug regulations and everything is really cheap. I should stock up while I can.

Solamente en Paraguay...

Only in Paraguay...is an expression I hear a lot around here. Usually when something weird happens. So the following are some random thoughts and experiences about my life here. Only in Paraguay.

--The greeting… in Paraguay it is customary to kiss on both cheeks when you greet someone. (Except men just shake each others’ hands.) Well, you don’t actually kiss, you just touch cheeks and make kissy sounds in the air. Sometimes I think this is a nice custom. Other times I think I would rather not have everyone’s face touch my face. Kind of gross, especially when it is hot. I also think it is prone to awkward slip-ups like accidental nose bumps and misplace kissy sounds. But when in Rome…

--The dancing… Latin folks are know for their love of the dance, and their ability to move in ways that (most) Americans just cannot manage. But we try and we have fun, even if we do look very white in the process.

--My ipod… makes my life better. Everyday. Like when the bus I need to catch passes me by because it is so full of people that no one else will fit. Like when I am so tired of listening to Spanish all the time that I need to hear something familiar. Like when there is a soccer match going on so the whole city is noisy and I want to study. All the time. (The ipod charger was an excellent gift—thanks Lisa and Jessica!) Here I crave music like food or water. I am listening to my ipod… right. Now.

--Text messages… in the United States I am vehemently opposed to text messaging in nearly all situations. I feel it is communication for the faint-hearted. But here in Paraguay the cell phones work differently. You pay as you go, and text messages are much cheaper than calling. So I send text messages all the time now. Usually in Spanish.

--The mullets… are very popular here. Sometimes subtle. Sometimes carefully mussed like the trendy versions in the U.S. Sometimes long and proud like a member of the NHL (quick shout-out to Nikki!). It is hilarious. Even more hilarious: Jon got a hair cut here and now he has a glorious mini-mullet of his very own. I told him to keep it because it makes him look more Paraguayan. Also, because I think it is hilarious. When he is giving me a hard time, all I have to do is mention his “waterfall” and he shuts right up. Fantastic.

--The Spanglish…it just happens. Either because we don’t know words, or the words don’t exist in the other language, or it is just easier. Especially when it is just the Americans hanging out, we slip into Spanglish very naturally. Spanish is also messing with my English a bit. We have caught ourselves saying English sentences with Spanish construction. Things like: “How many are we?”, “His friends I like.”, “Do you know Buenos Aires?” (meaning have you been there), “He didn’t present me!” (meaning he didn’t introduce me). Hilarious. But my favorite example of Spanglish, by far, came in the form of a text message. I was at Jana’s house, but she didn’t come to the door when I rang the bell. I sent here a text message to let her know that I was there. The message I received in reply was: “Un momento. Estoy naked.”

--The staring… I am (almost) used to being stared at all the time when I am in public. It turns out that I am rather white looking. Plus, I have short hair, which is unusual for Paraguayan women. Plus, my hair is a bit reddish. Plus, I am cute…just kidding. Katie and Jon can almost pass for Paraguayans because of their dark hair, but Jana and I are not so lucky. I don’t even care much about the staring, as long as it is silent. But there is a certain segment of the male population (called maleducados) that insist on honking, whistling, hollering, cat-calling, and just generally bothering women, especially foreigners. Everyday. So annoying. Fabri (my Paraguayan brother) tried to teach me how to say “What the eff are you staring at?” in Spanish. It is probably for the best that I can not seem to remember it.

--The food… in Paraguay is not so good. I have had a lot of questions about the food, so here it goes!

Baked empanadas are the “traditional” food I like the most. They eat a lot of meat and starch from what I can tell. I miss my veggies… Mandioca (yucca root) is a staple here that I have grown fond of. It’s kind of like potato, but drier and more fiberous. Not bad. I tend to eat about one square meal a day, at lunch time. In the morning and evening I have coffee and a little something, like bread with dulce de leche. They love dulce de leche. It is like caramel but better. I like it. They eat dinner much later here, around 9 or 10pm. I have not adapted to the late dinner very well—I just don’t feel like eating that late.

Other traditional foods include:
Sopa paraguaya. The solid soup which dates back to the time of Don Fernando Lopez, a famous ruler (from…I don’t remember when). Anyways, the story goes that the Don wanted a new soup to serve a special guest from another country (I don’t remember which country either….no importa). The chef attempted to make a soup with corn meal, cheese, onion, chicken broth, and other stuff, but let it cook too long, until the corn meal soaked up all the liquid and it was like a bread. Fortunately, the king and his guest liked the unusual soup, and this bread is served in every house. I can’t say I like it, but I am forced to eat it regularly by well-meaning hosts.

Matte/Tedere/Cocido. Herbal drinks that are very popular here. Matte and tedere use the same herbs, but tedere is served cold. Paraguayans have special thermos and mug combos that they carry around, which include a straw with a little filter on the end so you can drink straight from the mix. They are kind of cool looking. Matte is okay, but cocido is gross. I’m glad they have coffee too, although I usually have to drink instant. (Shena and Nadine, shed a little tear for me now, please.)

life in the third world

I realize that up until now I have been writing primarily about the fun, exciting, or ridiculous aspects of life in Paraguay. But I am a social worker afterall, so now it´s Debbie Downer time. It´s necessary for me to write about these difficult things if you--my loved ones--are going to really understand life in a third world country. Even in these difficulties, though, I hope you will see that there is much joy and hope.

Here in Asuncion, all of the major intersections have street vendors of various kinds--food, candy, newspapers, window washers--who sell to the cars and buses that pass by. A large number of these street vendors are children. It was very shocking to me the first time I saw a little boy selling papers at 10am on a weekday. There are public schools in Paraguay, but they are dangerous, poor, and badly run. While children are technically required to go to school, no one enforces this law. Instead, they work from a very young age to support their families. Of course, the US was the same way for many years, and not so long ago. While flawed and imperfect, we have made strides in the protection of children, and this gives me hope for Paraguay.

Uneducated, working kids are especially prevalent among the Guarani population. As I may have explained earlier, the Guarani are the largest native population remaining in Paraguay. While their language is prominent in Paraguay, the people remain segregated from the dominant population. A large number of Guarani live in a township of sorts called the Chacorita. In reality, this is a dangerous shanty town that reminds me of the favelas of Brazil. Crime, drugs, and alcoholism are widespread. Kids have to go out and sell each day or receive punishment from alcoholic parents. The police do not go into the Chacorita because it is too dangerous. Outsiders in general do not go in the Chacorita. Part of what makes the Chacorita so shocking upon first glance is that it is located about 300 meters from the president´s house. You can walk past the brand new congressional building, between the ornate cathedral and the history museum and look down into this city next to the river. It is a completely different world.

Asuncion is full of these sorts of juxtapositions. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty. I have never seen more Mercedes in my entire life than on the streets of Asuncion. At the same time, horsedrawn buggies ride up and down the cobble stone avenues selling fruits and vegetables. The school where I take Spanish classes is a very good school, for the uppercrust of Asuncion. I hang out with the kids of senators and wealthy business owners. They are wonderful children, to be sure. So are the orphans that we visit regualrly.

We have been to two orphanages so far. One is very close to my school, located next to the women´s prison. A lot of the children are there because their mothers are being held nextdoor. Most of the women there are in prison for one of three reasons: killing their (probably abusive) husbands, having an abortion, or performing abortions. From the courtyard of the orphanage I can see the lookout tower of the prison, where an armed guard keeps watch. The turnover rate at this orphanage is high, and the average stay is about 6 months. Some kids, however, are obviously going to be there for a long time. Adoption is an expensive legal process, so it is hard for orphans to get new homes. Life there is simple, and the staff is very small--certainly not enough people to properly care for all the children who live there. The orphanage receives government funding, but the amount is very small. The kids are great. There are a lot of tough cases to be sure--behavior problems as well as physical, psychological, and emotional impairments as a result of their hard lives. But they are fun-loving and crave affection from adults. They want to be held and hugged all of the time. I have fallen in love with a boy named Roberto. My guess is that he is about four. He has some developmental delays and couldn´t walk at all when he arrived at the orphanage. Since then, though, he has had leg braces and can run around. He has the sweetest disposition. I´m pretty sure I would take him home with me if I was married.

The other orphanage we visit is about an hour outside of the city. 200 kids in one big house and a second building for the boys to live in. It is run by an amazing woman named Pati. She has five kids of her own, most of them grown. When I was there last weekend one of her sons was visiting from the city. He explained that they used to have a "normal" family, but that over the past 10 years they kept taking in more and more kids in need of a home. They had to move and completely change their lives to accomodate this large, unusual, fantastic family. It is run by a Christian family, and this home is a permanent situation for the kids living there. They can stay as long as they want, they just have to keep helping out and contributing to running the home. The kids are great, of course. They have benefited from a lot of structure and care in their daily lives, and they are invested there. They all take care of each other, and I am amazed by the warmth of their spirits. This orphanage also recieves some amount of government funding, but runs primarily on private donations. So if you are looking for a good investment, I can give you their address...