--Some Spanish. Feeling better about this these days, though fluency still feels far off.
--A little Guarani, the Indigenous language here. I think it is really hard. Not as easy as one, two, three (petei, mokoi, mbohapi...). The word I like best is vacapipo-po, the word for ball. It is a great demonstration of the mix of culture here. Some words in Guarani pre-date the Spanish presence, while others were created after. This one was created after, and has a Spanish root in the “vaca” part, meaning cow. Because balls were originally made of leather. The “po-po” part imitates the sound of bouncing. So the word loosely translated means “made of cow bounce-bounce.” There’s language for you.
--A bit about how to relate to people who seem really different from me. So many of the people that seem dear to me now are not the sort of people I would just have an automatic connection with. This makes me wonder how many great people I miss out on at home just because we don’t click right away. Like Claudia, my intense and extremely optimistic professor who is one of my biggest fans and blessings. Or Keith, a fellow American who is a gregarious, goofy, loud red-head who can talk a mile a minute but is also gracious and loves to help people.
--About my own heart. Probably true of any intense experience dealing with people—sometimes I am amazed by how quickly and how deeply I can care for people. At the same time I am ashamed of how just as quickly my heart can shrink harden in judgment, fear, or just exhaustion. I see the best and worst of my personality and my character. Sometimes all of your flaws seem to be laid bare, all of your shortcomings glaringly apparent. But sometimes you catch glimpses in yourself of what you would someday like to be.
--About what we are good at. I think we all have natural, innate talents that are inherent in our character or developed in us our whole lives. There are things that we work hard at mastering in our studies and careers. There are still other abilities that are given to us in times and situations of need. I have seen a lot of the later in myself and others these days—thrown into unusual situations where we have to find ways to adapt and make something work.
--About much and about little. It is easy to see what is lacking in this country. Money, industry, decent public schools, medical care.... The problems are large, complex, and deeply rooted in the history of the country and the continent. But Paraguayans in general have an amazing ability to make things stretch and to carry on, just doing what they have to do. They are also free from many of the burdens that us Americans place on ourselves. Family is more central. It is not uncommon for extended families to live together, and for single children to stay with their parents into their thirties, because it is economically impossible to do anything else. But this is also because they are close and want to remain close. Much of what we would consider to be “poverty” is in reality an adequate life. However, it must also be understood that a great number of evils are born out of the depths of poverty—an unjust poverty that should not exist. I have grown accustomed to seeing a level of poverty here, on a daily basis, that I have rarely encountered in the United States. In the lives of the street kids, in the stories of the residents of the Hogar, on the bus, everywhere I look. It is particularly bad among the Indigenous populations. The pain and the anger created by this situation run deep in the peoples of South America.
--About my own culture. I did not realize how very American I am until I came here. There are things I love about the Paraguayan way of life. People are more tranquilo—relaxed and low-key. I don’t see people getting mad here the way that people do in the United States. And while there is a lot of activity here in the city, resting is also a big priority. There is also a fun-loving or playful quality that is inherent in nearly all interactions—in families, between friends, and in business. Sometimes I think this is great while other times it registers as “unprofessional” or “inefficient.” It turns out the Protestant work ethic has not spread everywhere.
--About corruption. Paraguay is the third most corrupt country in the world. I had an interesting encounter with corruption today at the border between Argentina and Paraguay. Upon our return trip the Paraguayan border guard called us into the office because there was a “problem” with our visas. It became apparent that he just wanted us to give him some money to put the (very necessary) stamp on our passports. My first reaction was to fight him, as it was a ludicrous situation. But through previous experiences, I had seen that this doesn’t really work in Paraguay. So I backed down from this approach and followed Jon’s lead in playing dumb. I made him repeat things I already understood. I used my dictionary to look up words I already knew. We called Claudia and asked him to explain it to her so we could understand better. We basically behaved like idiots who were too daft to understand the subtle intricacies of bribery. So he let us go, rather rudely, but we were happy to get out. This made me realize how easy it would be to just contribute to the corrupt system. How giving him a few dollars would save time and energy, especially if you couldn’t play the “ignorant foreigner” routine. Very frustrating.
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