Paraguay Verde

            As I start to approach the 5-month mark in Paraguay my thoughts of late have been mainly focused on interpreting how Paraguayans view themselves as a nation a part of the larger world. A huge component of that stems from the relative size of Paraguay in relation to the rest of the world. In my junior year of college I studied abroad in China. Something that struck me as remarkable was the scale of China’s population. With 1.3 billion people and 160 cities with over a million people China is the most populous country in the world with India as a close second followed third by the United States whose population is just over 300 million people. As an American I was overwhelmed by the size of China’s population and marveled at how a country with a population 5 times the size of America could survive on relatively the same amount of land. The entire continent of South America has roughly 375 million people of that number only 6.4 million live in Paraguay making it 9^th most populated independent country on the continent only ahead of Uruguay, Guyana, and Suriname I guess it makes sense that for people to have less understanding concerning how big the world is in relation to themselves.

            In recent weeks I have started to get a better sense of what constitutes international exposure in Paraguay. Given its landlocked location it is easy to understand that the country is isolated. By what strikes me is how people view distances and what their opinions of what constitutes far away. The fact that I came here from America is almost an unfathomable concept in the eyes of a number of people I talk to. Younger children in particular frequently ask me how long would it take to bus to America. When I explain that you cannot take a bus direct from Paraguay to America I often receive blank stares and confusion. A trip that takes 4 hours by bus is considered a long journey to many people, and given the general lack of opportunity and the cost of flying most Paraguayans have never been on a plane or even seen one up close. The other day I myself marveled when I saw a plane flying overhead not because I have never seen one before, but because it was only the second or third time I had seen one since I arrived. When you throw numbers like thousands of kilometers, or billions of people I notice a distinct lack of understanding particularly with youth. For many people scale is limited to the boundaries of Paraguay, South Western Brazil, Argentina specifically Buenos Aires, and Uruguay. The economy of the county is primarily dependent on regional trade and while big agrobusiness has broadened those limitations slightly, still when you talk to the average Paraguayan outside of the major cities in particular those boundaries appear to be a sort of end of the world.

            This trend, however, goes beyond the area of international boundaries, but also includes distances within the country itself. Anytime I have to walk to town, a distance of 1.6 km, or ride my bike to the lake, about 4.5 km, people always seem to marvel that I not only can walk that distance but also do it without thinking twice about it. Granted if I had a motorcycle my opinion about those distances might change as well, but walking 3 km a day is really not that much given the size of the town and the relative distances I need to travel to get things. I think the reason that I am writing about this topic now stemmed from something that happened to me this past Monday. Peace Corps was putting on its first annual environmental youth leadership camp called Paraguay Verde in the small town of Tobati located roughly an hour from Asunción and a 10 minute bus ride from one of the main international highways. In order to get to the location of the camp we had to hop on the local bus and ride it to the entrance of the campgrounds where registration was. After witnessing the 3^rd consecutive bus that was overflowed with people we decided to hoof it. The owner of the restaurant we were waiting at looked at us like we were mad when we asked how long it would take to walk? He replied by saying it was way too far, a 30-minute walk minimum. When I hear the term long walk I don’t think 30 minutes I think 3 hours or more, but I would venture to guess that the restaurant owner had never even thought to walk that distance let alone actually do it, which struck me as amazing.

Planting Trees

            Needless to say the walk wasn’t that bad. I knew that mainly because the kids I was with weren’t overtly complaining. As for the camp itself it was Peace Corps Paraguay’s first attempt to connect youth from all over Paraguay with other youth under the umbrella of environmental action and activism. The camp was held in a protected area called Encampamento (Camp) Jack Norment named after an American missionary who suffered an untimely death. To be honest, I was skeptical about how the camp would run given it was the first attempt by the environmental sector to do one of these, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the kids seemed to react to the presentations and the information offered. Large concepts like global warming and recycling materials might have gone over the heads of many of the 50 plus youth on hand, but they weren't completely alien concepts to anyone, which was amazing to see. The camp provided many opportunities for the participants to practice their public speaking and presentation skills when they were asked to present a map of their individual communities and what resources existed within. Each group of kids also had to create a project plan of an environmentally themed idea that they would like to implement in their communities. We also had the opportunity to help plant 100 native tree varieties, which got the kids really motivated to do more of that when they return to their communities. ABC Color, one of the national newspapers, also wrote an article about the camp that you could read if you follow this link: http://www.abc.com.py/nota/lideres-ambientales-se-reunen/

            The fact that a national newspaper covered the story of a youth camp in Paraguay was pretty amazing, and seemed to get the kids really excited. For me, it showed how much pull and influence Peace Corps has in Paraguay. The reputation and the continuous cycle of sending volunteers since 1967 has really made Peace Corps and it’s programming a very noteworthy entity in public policy and lifestyle. The camp received so much national attention because of its focus on youth. Paraguay is a very young country with a median age only 21.6 years and roughly with 28.5% of the population under the age of 15,  youth development programs are pillars of further development within the country both with Peace Corps and the Paraguayan government. This camp therefore got a lot of national attention, which I am sure sets it up very well for the future.

Rodrigo, Denis, Me, Noelia upon getting our participation certificates

            I took three kids to the camp, Rodrigo, Denis, and Noelia, all of who are members of the youth group formed by Mike and all of who were hand selected by their teachers as great students eager to participate with Peace Corps Volunteers. All of them had been to other camps put on by Peace Corps, so they were accustomed to they way things worked, how to speak in front of large groups of people, and participate in all the activities. Needless to say that made my job a heck of a lot easier, and by the end of the third day we had come out of the camp with a better sense of the resources available to the youth group from Peace Corps, non-governmental organizations, and government ministries particularly the ministry of tourism. As for the potential projects that come out of the camp we will have to wait and see, but the kids seem really motivated to do a trash pickup project in the center of town under the pretext of raising trash awareness and how people dispose their garbage.

            On the agenda for me now that the camp is over are a couple of days to rest and think about getting my house underway. School started today, but it rained a bit today and as everyone back home will remember the first day of school is kind of a joke anyway especially here when it rains. Hopefully I’ll get moving soon, but I am in now hurry everything is tranquillo for the time being and I like it that way.

Carnival, Plaza Clean Up, and Working with Kids

          This past weekend I attended my first Carnival celebration in the city of Encarnación, which is at the southern end of Paraguay right on the boarder with Argentina. It is arguably the most famous and largest Carnival in Paraguay and arguable the largest outside of Brazil, so needless to say it was a lot of fun. Carnival and Mardi Gras both signify the beginning of lent in areas with high Catholic populations the difference being one has French influence and the other Spanish/Portuguese.  To the average person the most obvious things they have in common is a huge party accompanied with lots of lights, scantily clad women in brightly colored costumes, and plenty of corporate sponsorships. Getting to Encarnación was a bit of a trek that took around 6 hours altogether on a bus that looked straight out of the 1950s. Thankfully we only needed to stop once to repair the aging wonder that I am pretty sure was sold second hand from Brazil given all the Portuguese written inside. It was honestly a miracle that the trip only took 6 hours given the technical difficulties and the inferior technology, but when you average what seems like 100mph on the down hill portion I guess it is not that strange.

          Encarnación itself has to date been my favorite Paraguayan city. While it is only the 10^th largest in Paraguay with roughly 93,000 people it has a big city feel and amenities, like huge super markets and plenty of place to eat, without the hustle and bustle of Asuncion or Cuidad del Este. It is also known for its sandy beach that sits right across from the Argentine city of Posadas Of course the white sand beach does not occur naturally on the banks of the Paraná River, but is shipped un from neighboring countries that are lucky enough to have sand. The water was bathtub warm, but only went up to my knees at the deepest part of the enclosed swimming area. Paraguayans as a whole rarely know how to swim and as a result most of the beaches would be better described as wading pools. If someone tried to cross the barrier they were quickly yelled at and told that they weren’t allowed to go over. As a person who knows how to swim I was very tempted to try my luck and see if the lifeguard would come after me if I swam over the buoys, but I was afraid that had the potential to cause the lifeguard to reveal that he himself couldn’t swim or get caught and promptly escorted to the nearest police station, so I decided not to press my luck and enjoy the wading instead.

            I remember as kid being super eager to learn how to swim and play in the deep end of the pool. In Paraguay it is a shock to see someone actually in the water let alone swimming where their feet cannot touch the bottom. I recently spent some time at the local lake and have noticed on several occasions’ large cars full of people packed to capacity drive all the way to a lake or a place to swim, spend 15 minutes there, and load up their car to go home after briefly slashing themselves with water. A day at the lake or the beach in America to me means loading up the car full of towels, food, sunscreen, water, drinks, and swimming toys with the intention of spending the whole day there. I am always amazed when I see huge groups of people come all the way to the beach for less then a half an hour and leave. A lot of it might have to do with the general lack of swimming ability, but a lot of it also could be a cultural norm regarding people’s relationship with the water itself. Yesterday I went swimming with the youth group I have been working with and a lot of them mentioned the potential to get bitten or attacked by an animal as the reason Paraguayans don’t like to swim far from shore or the deep parts. I would normally chalk that sentiment up to kids being scared if I hadn’t previously heard the same things from adults. Whatever the reason I always have enjoy swimming even if I cannot go deeper than my knees.

            After the beach it was time to get ready for Carnival itself. If I could take away 2 things from my experience it is first, getting blasted in the ear with spray can foam is unpleasant, and second no matter how cool the parade is at first by the time the same float rolls past for the 3^rd time it starts to get old. The way the Carnival festivities were set up was 2 long sets of bleachers on either side of a small road with the parade rolling through the middle. I can honestly say I have never quite seen anything like it and I would definitely encourage people to put going to a Carnival on their life bucket list especially if you don’t mind loud music and beautiful women. My trip back to O’Leary was done on a mini bus that looked like it had been stolen from an airport. I was unlucky enough to be in a cramped seat with a very heavyset woman sitting next to me. By the time I made the walk back home I had finally regained feeling in my legs and was beyond tired as a result of the weekend festivities. As I write this I am still feeling the after effects of my trip, but it was well worth it and I don’t regret a minute.

            My week to this point and the upcoming weeks are going to be hectic. For starters, Monday and Tuesday I spent the entire mourning cleaning the plaza in the center of town with Mike and his youth group called Jóven Emprendedores (Youth Entreprenuers). This was a particular challenge because not only are there no people paid to manage or clean the plaza, it is also missing several key features of parks including garbage cans and signs that don’t have graffiti. One of the most irritating parts of the cleanup aside from the sweltering heat and the blisters obtained from raking was the manner in which the waste was disposed of. The municipality was supposed to come and pick up the yard waste and garbage we collected from the park at the end of each day. After the first day the group had filled easily over 15 bags of waste. Those bags are still sitting in the middle of the park with the additional of garbage put there from people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. Dogs have gotten into this garbage as well leading to a free for all for the eatable refuse. The most frustrating part of this is that the garbage collectors ignored the bags that were in the center of the plaza and instead choose to only collect the garbage bags that were placed on the peripheries not because they didn’t see the bags in the middle but because of pure laziness. This is extremely frustrating to see not just because the people who were suppose to be doing their jobs failed to do so but more so because a group of 15 kids had more motivation to improve their own community then the adults did.

            Hopefully the problem will get resolved soon, but I am not going to get my hopes up. We also took the time to paint a couple of murals on the wall to give the park the finishing touches and cover up graffiti with a few inspirational messages promoting protecting our environment and the youth group itself. Hopefully those messages will persuade people not to trash the park again, but rather take care of it. I had the arduous task of penciling the letters for one of the murals and I have to say it looks pretty good despite it taking 4 hours to complete in the scorching sun while sitting on my ass. The plan is to finish painting the whole thing in the next couple of days, so we will have to wait and see how it turns out, but no matter how dirty the park might get over the next few weeks it was still really inspiring to see all these kids step up and demonstrate how much they care about their community and how it looks even if that sentiment isn’t shared by their peers or other adults.

            This past Valentines Day also set my personal record for most hugs and kisses in 1 day. In order to promote the youth group Mike came up with the idea to do a project called abrazos gratis (free hugs) day where we walk around the community and offer free hugs. If the person accepted the hug they were given a small sack of candy and the satisfaction of receiving hugs from a bunch of kids and 2 Peace Corps Volunteers. I think we must have given out over 1000 hugs total amongst the 15 of us and close to 200 pieces of candy. The facial reactions of some of the people when they saw a group of kids holding up a sign that said abrazos gratis with a basket full of candy were pretty priceless. Most people were good sports, however there were a few whose reactions were very apprehensive particularly when a grown man (Mike and I) asked if they would like a free hug. Some of the best answers to our inquires were I don’t have any money” “Only a hug?” and several offers of cash despite the vibrant sign that led the entourage around the community. For sure a first time experience for everyone involved, but the kids and the hug recipients all seemed to enjoy it and it was great publicity for the youth group.

            Upcoming for me is the start of the school year next Thursday and an environmental leadership camp next Monday-Wednesday. I am a little unsure about how I am going to be integrated into the school seeing as they lack a sufficient number of teachers, and have yet to give me details about when they would like me to start working there. I am sure if history is any indication it will be one of those all of a sudden type deals that catches me off guard and gives me no time to prepare, so I am making sure I have some ideas lined up about specific things/projects I can do with the kids to prevent being blind sided. The biggest challenge in that is language. I feel fine giving a lesson or presentation in Spanish, and to be honest I could probably do it sufficiently in Guarani as well, but which language to teach in is what I am not confident about. When I ask teachers what language they teach in they normally say Spanish, but Guarani is also used depending on certain topics. For example, there are a lot of words in Guarani related to farming and cultivation of food. Therefore it is important for me to teach those topics in both languages because of their applicability in the Paraguayan agricultural system. The other challenge is reading and writing. While helping Kristin with her biweekly library days I have had the opportunity to help some kids with their reading.  A few of these kids attend the school in my barrio, and more often then not they are unable to read simple sentences. I have noticed improvement, but not enough to convince me that lessons involving writing or lots of reading will work. I am going to rely heavily on visuals and the hands on aspect of planting and maintaining a garden and hope for the best.

            Long busy days have been the norm for a while here, but hedging expectations is important, so I am still mainly focused on learning language, taking daily siestas, and fighting off dogs with sticks. I will also make a plea for letters, phone calls through Skype, packages, or emails. So thanks Mom, Dad, and Geoff for your considerations. With that being said jajotopata ‘til next time.

Site Presentation, Dog Attack, and New Home?

This past week was really eventful in the bustling Paraguayan metropolis of Juan E. O’Leary. I spent a lot of time handing out invitations to what Peace Corps calls my site presentation. Basically what that entailed was a visit from my bosses, the environmental education and conservation sector, to my site from Asunción to have a meeting explaining what the random American who has been wondering around for the past 2 months is actually suppose to be doing. What that meant for me was a lot of time walking in the staggering heat inviting people to come to my presentation that was going to be held at the local elementary school. Where I hope to work in the coming school year Thankfully I had my 10-year-old host brother Mathias in the trenches with me during the days when I was handing out the invitations. All said and done I think we walked well over 10 km inviting people to come to the presentation. I boasted that there would be soda and cookies as an added incentive for people to attend, but I knew in the back of my mind the whole time I was talking to people in my broken Guarani that if it was raining or the weather was going to be too hot nobody would show up, so I was content to resign to the reality that if more than 5 people showed up I would be happy.

Mathias

Most people when I took the time to sit down and talk to them seemed really enthusiastic, but that was when they were sitting under a tree or in a hammock drinking ice cold terere. I had one woman who I would say was slightly overweight straight hand me back the invitation saying it was going to be too hot. My interactions with people are very unique here, and to date I havn’t figured out all the subtleties. When you want to announce your presence when you walk to a house you wait at the gate, or what you can surmise is the entrance to the house, and clap until you see someone stirring from within his or her domicile. More oft than not they will invite you to come sit and drink terere, but rarely do I get the questions what do you want or why are you here? In fact, I rarely even get asked my name so I have gotten into the habit of saying what my name is when I shake their hands, but even still I find that I walk away from many of the interactions with no idea of who exactly I met or what there name is unless I ask. It isn’t like anything I am used too. Back home common curtsey is to introduce your name in the first few seconds of your conversation. It could very well be the same here and the only reason people are not telling me their names is because they know that some random American named Tomás is living here and they have no reason to ask. Still though I find it frustrating when I meet someone and come away with very little about them except for few word answers like: “its very hot today” (which it is everyday), and “there is a lot of dust here.” My responses to their questions are usually: “no I don’t have a girlfriend, no I am not against having a Paraguayan girlfriend”, and “che avya Paraguaype” (“I like Paraguay “in Guarani). After a while conversations blur together and I have a hard time remembering some of the things we talked about until I realize that I am having the same conversations over and over again with very little to distinguish one interaction from another. However, the more I think about it the more I realize that it probably a good thing that I am having any level of conversation despite how void of substance it may appear just for the pure sake of becoming more of a familiar face in the community in the eyes of the person I am talking to.

Preschool Building

On this past Wednesday we actually had to clean the school for the presentation, and seeing that nobody had set foot indie the building since school concluded at the end of November it was a good thing we did. With the help from the whole family of five we spent about 2 hours mopping floors, sweeping steps, raking leaves, and carry water from the well to the places where water was needed. Earlier in the day my family had informed me of this impending task. To that point I had no idea that we would be cleaning the school, and the lack of notice caught me a bit off guard causing a sudden schedule change that prevented me from my original plan of lounging around the local lake. I have noticed that when my family has a meeting or something pressing it always seems like it comes up at the very last minute, or the planning for it occurs the day or the night before. There seems to be a general lack of written schedules, and a lot of communication is done through word of mouth, so I decided that I would not be upset if only 5 people showed up for my event considering the way news travels here. I did my part to the best of my ability and the rest is out of my hands.

Escuel Segrada Familia

When Thursday rolled around it was time for the big show. I was a bit nervous, but feeling confident that there was nothing more I could have done to prepare for the presentation. I had written a speech that was a good mix of Spanish and Guaraní, and had my family look over it before it was performed live. I arrived at the school around 2:30 with my bosses Alistair and Brian, but quickly realized that we wouldn’t be starting anytime soon despite the invitation saying we would be beginning at 3 sharp. Promptness is something that also seems to be missing here in Paraguay. When I set the time for 3 I honestly was expecting it to actually begin at 3:30, which it did so I was content. All and all I had 8 people come to the presentation excluding my bosses from Asunción and I. That number included my three year old host brother Damian and Kristin the one of the other volunteers in O’Leary. The presentation itself lasted about 45 minutes in a room that can only be described as a sweat lodge. The power to the school had gone out near the beginning of the presentation hence eliminating fan, which was naturally the only form of relief from the heat albeit a weak one. I was relieved that my speech was intelligible even though some of the pronunciations had to have sound brutal with my noticeable American accent. What followed my speech was essentially an explanation to all the people in attendance about what Peace Corps is, its history in Paraguay, and the specifics about what environmental volunteers are trained to do in their communities. Some of the topical stuff we spent a lot more time discussing if someone had an interest. For example, I started a worm compost bin in a cement bathtub that is underneath a mango tree next to the house I live in. That sparked a lot of interest because worm compost and the worms themselves can be sold for a decent profit especially if one uses the California red worms that volunteers have access to in the office in Asunción. We also talked a lot about the potential for a garden project and a library because of specific interest. When the presentation wrapped up we all shared some soda and cookies that I had bought, and some grape juice and cake with jam that a lovely woman named Augustina was nice enough to bring while we all mingled around for a bit. That was pretty much how it went down nothing too exciting, but a success in my book.

My Potential New House

One of the other priorities for the visit is to help me find options for housing. The family I live with is currently in the process of building a relatively large house right across the street form the elementary school where my presentation was and where host mom Iris is a professora. We have been in deliberation for a while about completing part of the house to make it livable by using the money all volunteers are given for site adjustment allowances. The tricky part to this point has been the inconsistencies about how much it would cost to complete, and the timeframe for finishing it. I have never built a house before let alone tried to negotiate a contract for building one in a second language, so I am sure it is going to be an adventure getting this thing off the ground, but the good news is that after talking with my bosses in Asunción they agreed that it is a good option and that the cost should be roughly 2-3 million guaranis (between $450-$650) not too bad when considering I am finishing up a house.

Damn Dog Alley

This past Saturday also marked what I would call my first near death experience in Paraguay. The house I live in was jammed to capacity this past weekend with the number of inhabitants rising to a lofty 10 people. That was enough of an excuse for me to get out the hell out of dodge and hang out with Kristin. I ended up spending most of the day there casually drinking beers while waiting for the sudden storm that hit to pass. By the time dusk rolled around I suddenly realized that it was almost dinnertime back home and I needed to haul ass to get back before it got dark. Thankfully I had my bike with me, but for anyone who has ever tried to ride a bike in the mud while in a hurry will know that the going was slow, and coupled with a stomach full of beer I wasn’t exactly progressing with significant speed. That was until I got to what I now fondly call damn dog alley, which is a small corridor of houses close to the school where no matter what hour of the day it is or your mode of transportation you will be chased and barked at incessantly by a pack of dogs of all shapes and sizes. It is always an unnerving experience making it through damn dog alley, but I figured on a bike that they would be less likely to attack or be annoying right? Well the correct answer to that question is wrong. As I made my through the corridor of terror arguably the biggest dog in the alley smelled my vulnerability and started running after my bike barking wildly and salivating. The faster I peddled the more he barked. It was by the graces of a higher power that the dog finally turned into his house and the momentum I gained from that petrifying experience was enough to propel me home. However, that extra energy exerted in my intrepid escape from the clutches of death was enough to make me quite nauseous when I arrived home haggard and perspiring like a polar bar on a tropical island. The first thing my host dad, Julio, said to me upon my arrival was naturally “come drink some beer!” It took every ounce of my being not to heave profusely on the spot in front of several onlookers, but thankfully I somehow managed to avoid that particular embarrassment. Instead I ran inside stripped off my cloths as fast as I could and laid down in front of my fan until I felt human again. I am going to have to think of some effective dog deterrents for the future, but for now I am just glad to be alive.

On the agenda for this week a lot of laundry, beating the heat and preparation for Carnival in the city of Encarnación located right on the boarder of Argentina in Southern Paraguay. It should be an interesting experience, so look for another update soon.