Clever!

I went down town this weekend to the artisanal market in the hopes of finishing up the last of my Christmas shopping. I looked around at the leather goods, wooden bowls, embroidered clothes and jewelry but nothing caught my eye. In the end I returned home with only two new photographs to speak of. These pictures show what I think is quite clever, the kind of second hand use of things that I love to see people do. As you can see the men in this area have come up with a cheap way to play checkers. All it took was a bit of paint to put the board on the concrete slabs that were already there along with enough bottle caps in two colors to make up the two playing pieces. A few steps further on I actually saw two men playing, only they had collected yellow and red twist off lids for their playing pieces. Clever!

Virgin of Caacupe

Today is a national holiday. The holy day of the Virgin of Caacupe which also happens to be the feast of the Immaculate Conception. I have been gathering a vague idea of what this holiday means to Paraguayans over the past week. My Spanish tutor shared a bit of the history and told me that she will taking a bus to a town close to Caacupe where she and her family will make a one to two hour pilgrimage on foot to Caacupe. This is something that it seems a large part of the population chooses to do on this day. Why? What is the story? From what I have been able to piece together there was a Guarani Indian being chased when he hid behind a tree. Praying to the Virgin Mary he promised that if they would pass him by unnoticed he would carve an image of her. Which, of course, is exactly what happened. The man then carved a statue of the virgin (or two depending on the story) one of which is in the cathedral of Caacupe. Paraguayans see this as a true miracle story and believe fervently in the Virgin of Caacupe. As for me, I’d be interested in going to Caacupe (perhaps on the 8th of December next year) and experiencing some of the national belief myself. In the meantime I will try to sort out more of the story (although I have little hope in actually covering the one true story as is so rare in much of Catholic history).

See here for an account of Caacupe.

How much?

After four and a half months in Paraguay I still find myself struggling with the money. It is not that I don’t understand how much people are telling me, although I have to admit at times I’m not sure I understand, and at others I think I must be wrong because it is just to cheap. No, my problem comes when I actually try to pull out the money to pay. I’ve got the bills down fine. There’s the green 100 mil bill (worth approximately $20) with a picture of the dam on the back. A purplish 50 mil, the blue 20 mil, the brown 10 mil and the red 5 mil. The different colors help to keep it all straight, and the numbers are pretty easy to see. I might not know who the people are on the front side yet (except for the name which is written on it) and I might have trouble keeping small change as no one ever wants to give you change except at the grocery store. No my problem comes from trying to use the coins. There are coins worth 1 mil, 500, 100 and 50 Guarani. That should be four different coins. Not to hard, you think. Not so true when there is two different versions of almost all of the coins. One gold and one silver 500. The same for the 100 and 50. Add in the different thicknesses and you start to see how sorting out coins by touch can be hard. Oh, and did I mention that the silver 50 is almost exactly the same size as the silver 1 mil? Is it any wonder that I get confused? Usually I just end up paying with bills and not worrying about the change, which as you can imagine makes it pile up. The alternative is the pile of coins it takes to pay for something when I decide to actually dig it all out. I wonder if I’ll get it all figured out by the end of two years?

A shopping ???

I’m not quite sure what to call it. It is not exactly a shopping basket, nor is it really a shopping trolley (cart). Although at times it functions as either one. I think perhaps I should call it a shopping…trasket. You’re probably thinking, what are you talking about? I have to tell you that the shopping trasket is one of the more clever things I’ve seen here in Paraguay. It is perfect for when you are just running in to pick up some groceries and end up with a few more than are comfortable to carry over your arm, yet fewer than you really want to deal with a trolley for. It is basically a shopping basket on wheels. Often there are two handles – one which lets you carry it over your arm as you would with a normal basket, and a longer flip up one which allows you to pull the trasket along behind you on its wheels. One of my friends raves about them for the simple reason that they work for a person of any height. Are you shorter? That just means that your trasket will be a bit farther behind you. Are you taller than the average Paraguayan? No worries, the handle will still be long enough for you to hold comfortably. I’m telling you, this is a gadget (can you can it a gadget?) that I’d love to see adopted in other places. In addition to its versatility in handles you also have to appreciate a smaller wheeled container which doesn’t clog up narrow aisles and makes it quite simple to pass the shopper who is stopped studying the racks. You can stick with your shopping cart or basket if you want, me, I’m going to grab a shopping trasket as I go into the store.

It's getting hot down here

It’s getting hot down here, not that this is any real surprise. After all one of the big draws of Paraguay for me was that I would be moving back to a country that was predominantly warm and sunny. The heat definitely suits me more than the cold. The real sign for me that summer was truly coming here was when all of the street corner vendors start displaying pool floats and blow up pools. At times they seem to call to me saying “you know you need a way to cool of once you’re back at your house.” Most of the well off (and middle class) families have some sort of pool in their backyard. Most of the time the pool is just big enough to cool off in not the sort you would do any exercise in. Sadly that is the one thing our house doesn’t have. The way we’ve been debating the blow up pools lately, it wouldn’t surprise me if we end up with one our back porch though. In the meantime I’m stuck trying to figure out how to talk about the seasons. I know this is summer, or soon to be, but at the same time I’m considering the approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and wondering how they can really take place in a season that is not fall or winter. Talking to folks back home just makes me even more confused, is my upcoming break from school the summer break or winter break? It will be summer here, but I’ll be returning to visit winter for a good part of it. How to keep it all straight in my head? Perhaps I’ll just stick with saying it’s hot down here.

White ribbon campaign

White ribbons for hope. I am starting to see them all over the areas of Asuncion that I walk in. It started out with white strips of fabric and plastic tied onto car antennae and luggage racks. It expanded to grace the gates and doors of houses around the town. Now it has expanded to include white ribbon stickers, bracelets, stickers stating “together for a safer Paraguay”, and posters proclaiming “White Ribbon campaign for peace in Paraguay”. I have even seen my students out on the street by school asking if they could attach a ribbon onto the cars stopped at the stoplight. What is this all for, and why are my students involved? Sadly, a few weeks ago a man was kidnapped here. He happens to be the uncle to several of the students at school and part of one of the largest families that I’ve been exposed to through the school (yes, this is exactly the type of students I teach). What is going to happen? Who knows – it is a situation which leaves many people feeling helpless. There is no telling what will happen. I have no idea if they are attempting to pay the ransom, or if they could even gather enough money if they wanted. The most that the majority of us can do is hope. Hope for a good outcome. Hope that things turn out in a way that won’t traumatize the family any more. For my part I am trying to give all of the nephews I teach (they all seem to be boys in the high school) the most normal continuation of life as they deal with this turmoil. Students and teachers have banded together for this campaign of hope, as a show of solidarity for the family. There isn’t much more I can do, except to remember to hope each time I see a flutter of white in the air.

(Please don’t worry about me….as far as I can tell something like this only happens once every couple of years, besides teachers don’t make enough money to be worthwhile!)

Scarily Crazy

You wouldn’t think that Halloween would be a big deal in a country that doesn’t exactly celebrate it, but today I am telling you that my school goes absolutely crazy about Halloween, scarily crazy. I had no idea that the American School would so wholeheartedly adopt this crazy American celebration, after all the American population of the school is only about 5%. When the hallways outside the elementary classrooms began to get decorated with smiling spiders, ghosts galore and witches, I began to wonder. When some of the elementary teachers shared that there was actually an informal competition between the class moms for the hallway decorations I suspected that it would get a bit over the top in that area. And sure enough for the last two weeks you’ve had to dodge hanging decorations to get to the classrooms in that part of the school. Then about a week ago decorations stated going up around the school. One day the courtyard area had streamers, ghosts and pumpkins. The next day there was a giant wooden “Happy Halloween” sign above the guard house. The following I saw giant ghosts peeking out from behind trees and hanging upside down out of the branches. After that came a blow up Frankenstein to greet visitors to campus and scary mask/wraiths along the sidewalk. It got to the point where I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see what else would go up. And I didn’t even see the school when it got to its most decorated as I didn’t return for the Halloween party on Friday evening. While I’m pleased to have actually had something that felt a bit like Halloween I have to question the over the top way in which it was done. A few of the cleaning and maintenance staff tried to ask teachers what the point was, why they went so crazy for the holiday, and frankly none of us could come up with an answer beyond “because they can.” Looking at it through their eyes we could see how difficult it could be to watch the celebration when you know there are so many other things that the money could go to. Is it worth it? I really can’t say. All I can say for sure is that ASA goes scarily crazy over Halloween.

Climate Change

It is blog action day again, the one day a year that bloggers unite to write about a topic of concern. This year I've been asked to write about climate change. With all of the recent news stories about tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and such it is hard to ignore the disastrous affects that climate change is having on lives around the world. This is truly a topic which concerns us all. The deeper question for me is always to try to figure out how does this really affect me - and what steps does that mean I can and should take to help do my part? Here in Paraguay I'm not sure that climate change is a big concern. There don't seem to be any emissions control on vehicles, liter is clearly a big problem, recycling has just begun to be talked about and spread (our students are trying to reach out to other schools to get them interested in recycling programs, although there are the horse cart men who dig through the trash for recyclables - more on that at a later date), clean water is still not available for everyone even in Asuncion leading to greater use of bottled water...I couldn't even tell you if any changes in climate have affected crop growing in Paraguay at all. I just don't see the immediate results here. So what are the affects? Personally, I think it is in the idea of places that I want to travel to having a limited shelf life - will I get to the Galapagos Islands before they are to far destroyed to admit visitors? Will weather patterns make it difficult to enjoy the time off to travel I do get? Those are the thoughts which lead me to consider what I can do personally that might make a difference. My lifestyle doesn't lend itself to saying I'll try not to take gas guzzling flights, but that doesn't mean that I can't do some small things. I can continue to walk the 20-40 minutes it takes to get to almost any of my destinations in Asuncion, instead of calling a taxi, or explore the bus system. I can continue to "Agroshop" on Tuesdays - local farmers with products (possible organic) available 6 blocks from house. I can make sure all that paper I'm throwing away at school goes into the recycle box instead of into the trash can. I can embrace reusable plastic containers over plastic bags for packing lunch and snacks. I am sure there are many other things I can be doing in the belief that the only thing that makes any big change is all of the little people making small changes. I encourage you to think about what steps you could take to help combat the problems brought about by the climate changes in our world.

Crossing the border

“Pardon me, can you tell me how to get a bus to Posadas?” I can’t believe I’m asking how to take a bus to another country for the day. “Just cross the street and get on any bus labeled Posadas-Encarnation.” Really, it’s that easy? Turns out, yes. You can take what amounts to a city bus from Encarnation, Paraguay to Posadas, Argentina. Just make sure you get off twice – once at the Paraguayan border and once at the Argentinean border (don’t ask me why all those people didn’t get off the bus, trust me its better to get your passport stamped). Oh – and take all your stuff because you might not be getting on the same bus you got off if it has driven on before you get done. They don’t wait for you. But the good news is even if it is a different bus you won’t need to buy a new ticket (after all there isn’t exactly anywhere else you could have come from). Did I mention the Argentina immigration officials will have difficulty believing this is your first entry into Argentina? They’re probably wondering why start with Posadas? It is not that it is an unpleasant town, it is just that it is a border river town. The highlight is a bricked walkway running beside the river and the good food you can find across the street (personally I recommend the pumpkin ravioli). Still you can tell you’re in a different country (a 20 minute bus ride away). People seem a little better off, the buses are newer…Be warned though that the town takes a 3 hour siesta around 2 pm. You might want to wait to eat until then otherwise you won’t be able to find anything to do except wander around town looking at the closed shop doors. But it is true – you can take the city bus to another country, and it will only cost you $1.

Small Pond

I might teach some of the big fish in this town, but in the grand scheme of things I have to say that Asuncion is a small pond. I feel that I can say that with some authority. The reason? Anywhere that teachers are matter of factly included in events which also include multiple of ambassadors, government officials and even Miss Paraguay, the pool of individuals cannot be that large. This is exactly the kind of event I found myself at last Thursday. The first of October the South Korean embassy celebrated Foundation Day for South Korea (actually on the third, it commemorates the founding of the first state of the Korean nation). I went for the food, to be perfectly honest, but found myself intrigued by the people watching and the entertainment. In some ways I wish I had had a guide to point out who people were as I wandered about the back yard, past the pool and tennis court to the food tents which were by the waterwheel. The one person who was easily identified was Miss Paraguay, thanks to her crown and sash. After a bite to eat we were informed that the young girls would be performing a fan dance for us. These girls, who attend a Korean School on Saturday to ensure that they do not lose the Korean culture, were actually quite good. In their green and pink national costumes they turned, circled and waved through the dance. All in all an enjoyable evening for me which was nothing like I had ever expected to experience in Asuncion.

Jesuit ruins

Take a bumpy bus ride into the farm country, passing “urban zone” signs where only one farmhouse and a field of cows is visible, and you will be on your way to the Jesuit Reductions of Trinidad and Jesus. These two UNESCO world heritage sites give a glimpse into the role the Jesuits played in introducing the region to Spanish rule and the Catholic Church. Located in the middle of farm country, the most you would say is that they are peaceful spots, the sort of place I would go to escape from the hustle of a city. But in their day they were home to over 6,000 Guarani, along with 3-4 priests. The settlements seem to take a standard format, even if the architecture of the two churches is different. There is, of course, a large church calling your attention as soon as you approach the site – you can never forget these were religious sites. But you will also find school rooms, artisan workshops and housing for those higher up in the local culture along with fields and irrigation. These were self sufficient communities which just happened to also send back a great amount of crafts and wealth to Spain.

The skill of the Guarani craftspeople is visible in the stone carvings which decorated the church, some now stacked on shelves at Trinidad, others still gracing the walls behind the altar a silent testimony to the musical ability of these people. The immenseness of the project to build the church becomes evident when you see the baptismal fount and pulpit carved out of enormous blocks of stone, and when the provisional church in and of itself impressive is pointed out as being built a just a temporary measure until the main church was finished. A tall tower served as a connection in between Trinidad and Jesus, allowing communication by mirror, bell and fire – even though Jesus is an unfinished mission. Begun as the Jesuits were losing favor and never finished due to the Jesuit withdrawal, today it sits in a peaceful spot off a dirt and cobblestone road. Rising out of the fields the church remains seem to make a statement about the strength of Catholicism in the country. With the half columns standing within the shell of the church it is clear that the time of glory for the Jesuits has passed in Paraguay, but there is also no denying the impact that was made on the country in both the religious and political arena.

Boogie Woogie

One of the things I love about working at a school is that sometimes you get to see performances or hear speakers that are amazing, and that you wouldn't normally run into on your own. A few weeks we were told our schedules would be rearranged a bit because we were going to having a short concert and lecture about the boogie woogie genre of music. Turns out we were being given a lesson by one of the best boogie woogie piano players in the world - Axel Zwingenberger from Germany. All I can say is that his fingers flew over the keys! I had a difficult time staying still, and some of our students even got up to dance a bit. I'm still not sure what a boogie woogie player from Germany was going in Paraguay, but I'm glad he chose to stop in Asuncion and included the school among his stops. What a foot tapping, clapping good time. Enjoy a bit of it below:

In the paper

I had to laugh a bit when shortly after I arrived at school on Monday someone excitedly came up to tell me that my picture was in the paper. What?!? Oh yeah, that’s right. When I was at the school “Extravaganza” a parent-alumni-teacher celebration a woman asked if she could take a picture of me and two of my friends and then had us write down our names. Turns out the newspapers in Asuncion still have a society page (or entire section) and we were at the front of it on Sunday. This will tell you a bit about the type of circle our parents are in. Especially when I tell you that they also appeared at our school picnic the week before (during which my roommate was also photographed and put in – she’s now been in the paper twice having been in Paraguay less than two months). The whole thing just seems a bit odd to me. It seems that we were the token foreigners to be included to give an idea of how “international” our school is. I can’t say I ever would have thought I’d be in the society pages, which just goes to show that you should never say never. At least I had a fairly enjoyable evening with a mini Chinese buffet and a DJ to dance to after 1 am. I’m beginning to think that I will never be able to predict what will come next.

Football fever

“Are you going to watch the game, Ms?” was a question I heard several times this past week. Each time I had to stop and think a minute before I realized what my students were talking about was the match between Paraguay and Bolivia. The national team was playing as part of the World Cup qualifying and it has become clear to me that this country gets behind their team. As I was walking around today I noticed the red and white stripes of the Paraguayan national team jersey swaying on a line at almost every main intersection. “Buy here, support your team today,” they seemed to whisper to me. I walked into the grocery store only to notice that every single cashier was bedecked in red and white instead of their normal uniform polo. Out on the street cars flew past with small Paraguayan flags sticking up from a window. A few enthusiastic individuals had huge flags completely over their cars, making it seem as if they were just waiting for an excuse to use the cap to fly away. Even some of the guard stands were sporting the red, white and blue stripes of the Paraguayan flag. Clearly there is much love and pride for the football team here (and don’t even doubt for a moment that I’m speaking of what North Americans would call soccer). I had to laugh when an email went out on Friday saying that the school extravaganza that is going on tonight will be starting a bit earlier than planned so that you can come “watch the game on the big screen.” An acknowledgment that the only way to get people to a competing event is to draw them in with match. I’m still not sure if I’ll watch the game, although I have no doubt I’ll hear of the result soon enough. And I still don’t have my own red and white striped jersey. I have a feeling it is just a matter of time before I give in and buy one, around the same time I manage to score tickets to watch the team play (hopefully).

[I talked to a few people after the game, they were quick to inform me Paraguay won 1-0 but they were a bit disgusted that they could only win by one goal. At least it was a win!]

This is the southern hemisphere

For the most part, I don’t really realize that I am in the southern hemisphere now. Sure, sure, I know that the water is suppose to swirl the other way when it goes down the drain, but honestly I can’t say I ever watch the water whirl down the toilet bowl. I did think that I might get to see some of the constellations I learned while living in Australia that aren’t visible from the northern hemisphere (the southern cross being the one I know I could pick out) only I don’t seem to the stars very much. I’m not sure if it is because there are too many lights in the city, because the stars aren’t visible or just because I’m not looking up at night. So it is kind of a relief to get the occasional reminder that this is below the equator. And that reminder has come out in full bloom this week. We are entering spring here in all the color and fragrance that means. If it weren’t for all the plants flowering I’d say we skipped right from winter to summer (it reached 91 degrees today, I’m not sure what that means for the summer to come). As it is I’m fully enjoying the trees covered in pink – the lapacho tree is the Paraguayan national tree, and after they burst into full bloom this week I can understand why. The walk to school has definitely gotten prettier, and I’m hoping all the flowers will stay around a bit longer to keep adding color to my day.

Welcome to Paraguay, have some hand sanitizer

My first real introduction to the swine flu frenzy has been in Paraguay. Sure I’ve read about it other places, but this is the first country I’ve landed in which seems to have numerous cases and the paranoia that goes along with that. Arriving in Asuncion my director met me in the airport carrying a surgical mask while most of those around him were wearing one. It turns out that you couldn’t enter the airport without sporting a mask…just in case someone coming off a plane was contagious with the swine flu. On our first excursions around town the faculty liaison apologized for not putting any hand sanitizer into our welcome packages, explaining that the stores were completely out of it. Around the same time I found out that the Paraguayan national schools were delaying the start of school by two weeks for fear of too many students coming sick and passing on the illness. Not so our school. ASA started right on time, not that any of us were to worried. I was amused to have two boxes of Kleenex delivered to my room the day before classes started along with a jug of hand sanitizer, only to have a bottle three times as large delivered two days later (do they really think my students and I would use that much that quick?). Whatever. I’m willing to play the game, and have put it all out on my desk where my students have easy access to it throughout the day. Perhaps my biggest surprise in all of this was talking with my students the first day of school. I asked them to tell me a few interesting things about themselves, prompting them with “what did you do over the break?” if they got stuck for ideas. Several of them told me they “were in quarantine with their family because my sister/brother was sick.” While another shared that he had “had the swine flu, but don’t worry I’m over it and not contagious anymore.” Huh. I guess that should be enough to make it more real for me. At least it hasn’t turned out to be as fatal as health officials were initially expecting. Welcome to Paraguay, here is your mask and hand sanitizer.

The first day

It might not be my first week in Paraguay, but the first week of classes seems like a much bigger step. All in all I have to say that my week went great, and I think I made a good choice coming here. I have just a few thoughts to share about the start to the school year. I am always interested in how the first day of school plays out in a new place. Ranking my four schools I have to say that this was the second most productive. In Guinea the first day was all about getting someone to scale the flagpole to run a string up it and having the students clean the classrooms. In Turkey we pretty much had an assembly and a picnic lunch before sending the kids home. In Paraguay the only difference from a normal school day came from the opening part. Apparently it is tradition in Paraguay, or at least at my school, for the seniors to party with the freshmen and stay up all night the night before school starts. In order to combat the problem of drunken students on campus the administration this year chose to send home all of the seniors after the opening assembly. An assembly which seemed to celebrate the installation of the class of 2010 as seniors. The theme this year was jailers and prisoners, with all of the seniors dressed up as the jailers and the freshmen dressed up as prisoners in black scrubs with 2013 on the back. I had to take attendance (without a roster) before anything began but as soon as my students heard some fireworks going off they started running out of the door and towards the gym. They didn’t want to miss the seniors coming. The entrance was…interesting. The 60 or so seniors piled in the back of a large truck (think more like a dump truck then a pickup truck), waving flags, blowing whistles and all in all making a ruckus. Parents line the sidewalk snapping pictures. The freshmen congregate on the sidewalk waiting for the seniors to disembark and chase them inside – a noisy and chaotic affair. I slowly made my way into the gym only to be surprised by the amount of noise 120 students can make (the sophomores and juniors are fairly quiet in this whole tradition). The seniors were making laps around the gym blowing on their whistles and popping balloons (activities which continued through most of the assembly) while the freshmen bounced in the stands screaming. Things calmed down a bit and the requisite speeches went on – the director, the principal, the senior class president, and a guest (a former teacher who had returned briefly) – then the seniors handed out a t-shirt to each of the teachers and we were off back to class. Time for me to get introduced to most of my students and give them an idea of my expectations. Now I need to get serious about learning the names of my 90 new students, never mind learning how to pronounce them correctly.

Out for a run

I was pleased when I realized on the flight into Asuncion that there were some organized run in Asuncion, or one at least. Lucky for me the half marathon that took place today also had a 10k option. In an effort to keep myself running and exercising I signed up for it online two days after arriving in country…and so I ran today. Not that that tells the whole story. I must say that I should be used to things not going quite the way I expect them to when I first arrive in a new country (I’m not sure if things actually go the way I expect once I’ve been around longer or if I just change my expectations). I went to collect my number and chip on Friday evening only to find that they had no record of me in the system. That’s funny; the charge has cleared on my credit card so I know I registered. With a bit of help from a friend (my Spanish is still nonexistent) they sorted it out and re-registered me without making me pay. Sadly it meant that I didn’t get my name on my number which meant less cheers. Oh well.

This morning my friends picked me up on the side of the main road at 7am. I have to tell you that Asuncion is pretty much dead on a Sunday morning. In fact, it was still quiet when we had finished our race and tried to go find brunch around 10:30. I guess we started so early though so that they wouldn’t have to close off the streets when traffic was really around…especially as the race pretty much just went straight up one of the main thoroughfares and then turned around and went back down it. At one point I was bit nervous about the fact that I was running down the yellow strip in the middle of the road while cars were driving by on either side of me. Huh. Always a new experience when you run a race in a different country. Happily I finished without any incident, in a time I could be happy with, and pleased to have had a chance to look at some of the neat buildings that line many of the streets here. What a way to spend the morning.

Train to nowhere

They call it the train to nowhere, although I’m not sure I’d agree. It actually goes from Asuncion to the lake town of Aregua. It is a bit odd to think that this is the national railroad of Paraguay, and that this is the only route it runs. Did I mention it only goes twice a month? If you choose to take this trip you will be riding on the only wood fed steam train still in operation today (if their claim is true). You’ll also get to ride in the original cars (thankfully with cushions added on to the wood seats)…or perhaps I should say mostly original. I know for sure that some of the windows have been replaced as a branch broke about 10 of them during our ride on Sunday. (Things never go quite as expected here.)

When we boarded the train on Sunday for our trip up to Aregua about all I knew was that we’d be going on a steam train, would get about 2 hours in the town and then would be headed back. There was so much that I just didn’t expect to be part of the experience, beyond even the window breaking and subsequent pause in the journey. It started out with some laughter as we noticed a “guard” dressed up complete with a painted on mustache. Continued with some small theater pieces given in the aisles of the cars. Confused by the appearance of joker, penguin and batman (I’m still not sure what they were doing on the train besides providing more entertainment). Surprised by the scene of people all along the tracks stopping outside to watch the train go by, wave and take photos (I’m convinced there were as many pictures taken by people watching the train pass as by those riding the train). Amused by the shock of seeing pigs in yards, my first pig sightings in three years (oh yes, that’s right, I have been in a Muslim country). Unclear as to the difference between a strawberry and frutilla when the frutilla looks just like what I’d call a strawberry (they say a strawberry is more purple…I’ll have to see for myself once the season comes). Entertained by some of the staff playing music on the way back down. Needless to say it was more that I had bargained for but a completely memorable and entertaining experience. It makes me wonder what else Paraguay has in store for me.

First impressions

It is hard to believe that I’ve already been in Paraguay for five days. It doesn’t seem as if Asuncion is all that different from things that I have experienced before. I’m not sure if this is a result of having now moved around more than the last time I picked up and changed countries, if it is because I didn’t actually make it back to the US this time before leaving again, or because I really knew so little before arriving. While there have been instances when I’ve had to pause and think to myself “oh yes, you are living in a new country” such as when we passed a man juggling fire in the middle of a street one evening, I also feel as if things are a bit more familiar. Although in the past few days it has really hit home to me that I need to learn yet another new language. Until I get a handle on Spanish I will not feel self sufficient here. Most of what I have been exposed to is my new school. The American School of Asuncion has a nice campus just off of one of the busier roads in the affluent part of the city. What I do like is that it is a campus set up around green space. Students will be walking outside to get from class to class, and they are free to make use of the grassy areas as they wish (or so I’ve been told). It is clear that the school is smaller than the one I just left…there are probably fewer classrooms for K-12 here than there were for the high school in Istanbul. This just gives me hope that I really will know all of the students better, even if I don’t teach them. Sadly I’m still in a hotel, but there is hope that we might get to move into our house tomorrow (more on that later). I’m excited to see what this country holds in store for me, I have no doubt it will be another great adventure which I’ll be happy to share with you.

Another query

Much of what I learn about Paraguay comes from questions that people ask me which I can not answer at the time. Today at lunch one of the other teachers asked me where exactly Paraguay was. He didn't want to know what countries bordered it (Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia)he wanted to know where it was in terms of latitude. Frankly telling him an inch and a half below the equator didn't seem like it was going to cut it. So tonight I looked it up, the capital Asuncion is around 25 degrees South. The Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 degrees South) also passes through it. To put it a bit more into perspective I had to look at what other countries contain the Tropic of Capricorn. The answer is Chile, (the northern tip of) Argentina, Brazil, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Australia.

Map from www.mapsofworld.com

Figuring things out

I won't be moving to Asuncion for another 4 months, and yet I feel as if I've been inundated with e-mails and information from the school non-stop in the past week or so. It is so odd to realize that things are really getting sorted out. My main accomplishment, if you can call it that, is that as of this weekend I now have my housing situation for next year sorted out. Along with two other new teachers I will be taking over a house that several teachers are moving out of. It is more than a bit odd to think that I now have a house I've never seen, with two roommates I've never met. But despite that all there is a big sense of relief to know that I will have someplace to go to when I arrive in Paraguay in mid-July. The house seems nice enough from the pictures, as you can see.

Paraguayan flag

Last night someone asked me what the Paraguayan flag looked like. I had to admit that I didn't have any clue! Of course when I thought about I realized that very seldom do I know what a country's flag looks like before I ever arrive. But in the name of becoming better informed (which really means adding any little piece of information to my admittedly meager knowledge) I went to look it up. Turns out it is this:

And is one of the few countries which has a different seal on the front and back of their flag. In Paraguay's case the seal of the country and the seal of the treasury. I was kind of bummed that they weren't still using one of their provisional flags which I think is so much more unique and recognizable. Oh well.

A new destination

Come July I'll be moving to Asuncion, Paraguay to start a two year teaching contract at the American School of Asuncion. I have to admit I'm a bit overwhelmed by the way things are working out (especially the way my timing will go this July) and am curious as to what I have really gotten myself into (again). I'm not sure I can even explain how little I knew about Paraguay when I accepted my job (ummm...it's in South America, they speak Spanish...that about sums it up). Thankfully since then I have learned a bit more, and found a few things to be excited about.

(1) Paraguay is one of only two landlocked countries in South America (Bolivia is the other one). It is bordered by Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.
(2) The population of the country is less than that of Istanbul, about 6.8 million. The population of Asuncion is roughly 1.2 million. I did say I wanted something smaller.
(3) I'm moving back to a land of mangoes and papayas. Yum!
(4) Paraguay is the third largest exporter of soybeans in the world. Huh. Who knew?
(5) The majority of the population is bilingual speaking Spanish and Guarani. (I think I'll focus on learning Spanish.)
(6) There are only about 20 books printed in English about Paraguay. (I guess that's more than enough, just doesn't seem like that many...)

It should be an adventure!