moving on

Just to let you know, the blog is moving, for what will hopefully be the last time, to a more generic name. If you are receiving my posts by e-mail you will have to resubscribe on the top right hand side of the new site. Hopefully you will continue to enjoy my takes on living overseas on Traveling Texan Teacher http://travelingtexanteacher.blogspot.com/. You can expect a post to go up of my initial impressions in the next few days so you can use it as a test of resubscribing. Let me know if you have any trouble.

Ciao Paraguay

It is hard to believe that I've already finished two years in Paraguay. To believe that I got on a plane at the end of June and may very well never return to what has been home. So as I say farewell to the country I just keep thinking of the top ten things that I'll miss from my South American sojurn.

10. Fireworks going off three to four nights a week and lighting up the sky. They may be noisy but they always bring a smile to my face.
9. Where else could you get wolf whistled at by a guy driving a horse cart hauling cardboard?
8. Unusual traditions that provide great photo opportunities, even if you can't understand exactly how they started.
7. Unexpected architecture in the middle of what seems to be a residential area.
6. Stealing tastes of ice cream from friends as we enjoy an ice cream break, after all there is practically a shop on every corner.
5. Natural fruit juice made out of any fruit you can imagine, and a few you've never heard of before.
4. How every year I've been there Paraguay has found a reason to decorate with red, white and blue to show their patriotic spirit. First it was the world cup, then the bicentennial.
3. The lapacho trees that turn the sky, and the ground, pink.
2. Hot crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, my favorite travel food...chipa!
1. Friends and coworkers who became my family away from home.

Come take a walk with me

I thought you might be interested in taking a walk with me and enjoying some of what I pass on a daily basis during my 20 minute walk to and from school.

It is 7 am and I know I need to be getting out of the house as soon as possible if I want to make it to school by 7:30. The other schools around here must start earlier than us because as I unlock the gate the swings are squeaking across the street and kids are filing into the school. I'm always a bit amused by the bright green and blue paint job the Villa Mora school has done. It definitely makes it noticeable! I only have to pass 3 houses before I make it to the corner. The one of the corner seems rundown and broken, especially compared to the fancy one across the street. However the kittens and cats that are always milling about their "yard" means my attention is always in their yard trying to spot then newest addition to their cat family. Oops, I need to pay attention to the ground. This rough spot has done my ankles in more than once in two years! The old water pump (?) on the corner is my landmark when walking home that I've reached my street. After all, there is no street sign on my block.

The majority of my walk is down Legion Civil Extranjera (unless that is you're going the other way and the road starts out as Garay, making it confusing to find anything in this city!) and I do mean down. Unfortunately that means most of it is uphill on my home when I'm tired. There are a lot of small businesses along the way. On the corner a group of three: hair salon, clothing store and what used to be an antique store then changed into a book store and is now something new which I haven't figured out yet. A small store selling school supplies half a block down gets plenty of business from the students across the street. It is beside one of my favorite houses. A very modern, and somewhat out of place, white two story house. On the corner one of the houses has a small shrine built into their wall. An antique store, a newly renovated children's store and a bright purple accessory store complete the block on the side that I walk. The bright green women's only gym across the street is next to what is my favorite tree the whole walk. The apartment building on the left is where I turn if I'm heading to the mall and agroshopping. For school it is straight ahead until the road dead ends. Pass by the ivy covered walls that stretch an entire block and then I've arrived at the next private school - Santa Clara. I know how late I am by if the doors have already been locked, and by how many parents are standing outside socializing. That brings me to Mariscal Lopez, a busy street where I always get struck waiting to cross the street. It gives me a chance to see what the headlines are in the paper, to check out the progress being made on the bank they're building on the corner and to see what new high school events are being advertised by the painted walls. Besides, I know I'm a third of the way done with my walk.

If it is raining I know the next stretch is bound to be the worst. The water rushes down to "stream" and if I'm not careful I could lose my shoe trying to wade through the water. They're doing construction to fix that, but I doubt I'll see it finished before I leave. Don't forget to wave and greet the guard by the House of Ties (you never know if you might need his help). Check the clocks on the English school and see if any of them are working today (the answer is usually no). Pass by some condos facing a couple of run down factories surrounded by chain link fences. The brightly painted wall of a nursery school that doesn't run anymore always makes me smile. Then comes the bright blue pottery barn knockoff store. There is always a bright yellow motorcycle parked in the corner and the contrast of colors always catches my eye. The comes the darker blue corner store where it is certain that I'll either be stared out while walking by, talked about, or both. I'm always a bit surprised that the building facade/restoration office doesn't have a nicer looking office. Next to that is my favorite door of the entire walk; it seems like it could be an entrance to a secret garden! Oddly this is next door to an industrial steel furniture business, and you can bet more cat whistles will come from behind that steel fence! Across the street are some nice houses, the white one and yellow one always catch my eye. Just beyond the steel shop is a high fashion boutique, and looking in the windows always makes me slow down my walk. Then on to the decorated Via Agusta, an events center which holds many parties and quinces on the weekend. The guard house on the corner reminds to stop and make sure I'm not going to get run over as I cross the busiest street in this neighborhood.

Almost there! Just another 7 minutes to get to school...and this is usually the point where I break a sweat and just wish I was there! A greenery lined section of sidewalk lies next, usually covered with blooming flowers. The university San Carlos lies across the street, although I don't see students in the morning the place is buzzing when I walk home in the afternoon. The come a few fancy houses, the rock wall I can't even see over. Of course they're across from a dirty rundown wall guarding ??? with homemade glass bottle protection cemented on top. The street dead ends at another huge house being built. Although the white one on the corner always captures my attention because of the rhea they have fenced into a small (small!) garden who just runs around in circles.

Finally, I can see the gate to the school. Just need to cross one more road and I'll be there. Walk through the mangoes (called that because of the mango trees) then past all the other classrooms to get to my room on the far side of campus. I'll turn on my air conditioner first thing and try to cool off before my students start trickling into the room. I've got nine hours before I'll have to repeat my walk in the opposite direction.

Piki voley

Piki voley is an odd game. It reminds me of when I was little and my soccer coach took us to the tennis court to play a game over the net. In fact it is extremely similar. The setup - a short, low to the ground net and a square playing court on each side. The rules, or at least whet I've been able to figure out....

(1)service is a volley over the net
(2)whoever won the last point serves
(3)3 touches total on your side of the net, you must alternate who touches it
(4)you can have fewer than 3 touches but not more
(5)the ball can bounce once before you receive it (although I don't think it has to)
(6)no bounces allowed after the first touch on your side of the net
(7)game to....?? whatever you decide?

I do know this game can entertain my students for an entire lunch period, every day, and even make them late to class. It is enjoyed by the students that they put a small court in the main courtyard of the school. I have to admit it is kind of nice to have a name for something I've played on several occasions, even if it is unique to this country.

Mbaracayu

Last week we had about 20 girls come and visit our school from an all's girl school in the forest region of Paraguay. The school is run by a foundation called Mbaracayu. What they have done is created a secondary boarding school for girls who live in a remote region in the hopes that they will with education they will help their communities develop, and that it will aid them in stopping the cycle of becoming mothers themselves around the age of 14. It was interesting to talk to a few of the girls (somewhat of a challenge with my limited Spanish and their limited Spanish - they are much more comfortable with Guarani) and hear them share what sort of opportunities the choice they made to continue to school has provided. This video shares a bit of a glimpse of the school for those of you interested.

sidewalks

I can't believe I'm really sitting here thinking I'm going to write about sidewalks. Have I become that desperate for a topic? No, really, I'm sure there are plenty of other things I could share, but I have to admit I spend a surprising amount of time thinking about sidewalks. This is probably because I get most places by walking, and due to the sometimes rough nature of the sidewalks here I spend the majority of that time looking down at the ground to try to save my ankles. So at least 40 minutes of my day is spent starting down at the sidewalks of this city. Put that way, perhaps it makes sense I'm going to share some of my observations from all of that time. What is interesting to me is that while almost every road has a sidewalk on each side, the sidewalks clearly belong to a house and not to the city or whoever deals with roads. Why do I say clearly? You only have to look down one block and see 4 or 5 different sidewalk styles to realize that they must belong to the house. Which explains why you can get a nice smooth sidewalk for 20 steps and then step onto a section which is broken, uneven and almost a pile of rubble. It explains why there are some sidewalks with fancy designs, others done in tile, and some with constant patterns that catch your eye. Since the sidewalk must go with the house, then it also makes sense that the owners of the house are responsible for their sidewalk getting/staying clean. Which is why most of them are free of leaves, flowers and other trash while there are occasional areas where it seems as if nothing has been cleared off in weeks. (It is very common for me to see women out sweeping the sidewalks as I walk to school in the morning.)I wonder what else I'll notice as I continue to walk?

Happy Birthday Paraguay

On Sunday, May 15, Paraguay turned 200 years old. The entire weekend, or perhaps I need to say extended weekend as the government passed a movement to make Monday a national holiday for the bicentennial, was dedicated to celebrating this mile marker. The past month or so I noticed that Asuncion was starting to get dressed up for the bicentennial. Red, white and blue were getting hung on buildings all over the place (although perhaps not with quite the enthusiasm as last year for the world cup), flags were on sale on the street corners, stickers could be noticed on windows of buildings and cars alike. An entire program was set to go on over the weekend including numerous parades, music, ballet and such. I have to admit that I only managed to get myself downtown for a small portion of the going ons - namely the military parade. But what fun it was to watch the military procession and listen to those watchers cheer and comment on the groups that passed. You could feel the pride everyone had to be part of the country. The exclaimed over the groups that had their faces painted for camouflage or were wearing bush stealth outfits. Claps whenever a group of all women passed (one set of nurses with a red cross on their sleeve, one group from the navy, and finally a group of women carrying guns). Loud cheers when the reservists, any person who had previously served in the military (and by definition here could still be called up if the need arose), entered the street. Especially for the 102 year old man holding on while standing in the back of truck. Curiosity when a group from a different country marched by (Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and others). Excitement to see the tanks and heavy equipment. Distraction when the planes and helicopters flew overhead. Bouncing to the music when a band passed by. And of course, ohhing and awing over the mounted groups and the decorated horses. Despite the rain delay everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. I have to admit that my favorite memory of the weekend happened because of the 30 minute rain delay. Some of the big wigs from the military where standing in trucks when the rain started to pour down. They didn't stay there long, but instead climbed down to escape someplace a little drier. Which is how I found myself sharing my umbrella with a 3 star colonel. (Ummm...this is a bit unreal!)What to do, but hold the umbrella a little bit higher? I had a nice 35 minute chat with Jorge, and then everyone was lead back out to the street for the start of the parade (which of course took at least another 10-15 minutes).

Congratulations Paraguay on 200 years! Happy Bicentennial!

[Traveling Tale] Recoleta Cemetery

Semana Santa (Holy Week) was while my mom was here visiting. A week off of school meant, of course, a trip to somewhere. After several failed attempts to sort out a new destination for me, I decided that we would just spend the week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Even though I had been there twice before, I have to admit that having someone with me, and the amount of time we had, meant I still got to see (and notice) all sorts of new things. One of the things that really stood out to me was when we went to Recoleta to see Evita's grave. Now don't get me wrong, it is kind of interesting to see where important people are buried, but I am much more interested in the strange beauty that a cemetery holds. This time though, I kept getting distracted by the door knockers I saw on mausoleums. Door knockers. On a mausoleum. As if you would want to knock to see if someone is in there. No thank you. I don't want to know if someone would actually answer a knock to the door. Does this not seem like a somewhat strange addition to a family mausoleum? I certainly hope I won't ever experience a spirit answering my knock. But I tell you, there were numerous vaults sporting this graceful addition. Creepy!

Monumento Natural Cerro Koi

For a few months now I've been bugging a friend to take me out to see something she mentioned in passing. Last weekend our schedules finally worked out and we managed to spend a day in Aregua, a lake side town which is know for its pottery and the Strawberry Festival. However neither of those two things were what interested me this trip. No, I was sitting up in anticipation in the back of her off road vehicle as we bumped up the uneven road, following a policeman on his motorcycle (just an extra measure of safety), to the hillside of Cerro Koi (which means two hills in Guarani). Despite everything she had told me I didn't really know what to expect. I just knew that I was going to see an extremely rare geological formation which only exists in three parts of the world (Paraguay, Canada and South Africa). How to put it? After over over an hour on the internet I still can't give you a proper name for the formation, nor could I tell you where in those other two countries the formation is found. There is a definite lack of information out there. So, instead, you'll be stuck with what I learned there, but mind you, I don't have any way of substantiating what was told to me. The natural monument is composed of two hills (hence the name) which are extinct volcanoes. As the lava was cooling just the right conditions were met to produce a sandstone formation of what looks like tiered hexagonally shaped rods all piled on top of each other. The hill that we had access to by foot, was significantly mined. In fact the guard told us that originally pieces of the sandstone were broken off and used to cobblestone the streets in Asunción and Luque. I am a bit confused because I had assumed that the rods would be going up and down, however they were laying on their side. Did the volcano fall over? Or is this the natural lay? We couldn't get close enough to see the rods in the second hill so I don't know if they went a different way. However I was able to get close enough to the exposed hillside to appreciate the precise formations that nature is able to create! After marveling at the seemingly impossible formation we then followed the guard up and around to the top of part of the hill. A great chance to get a feel for just how large Lake Ypacarai is and to look over the countryside around Aregua.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about going to see this geo-morphological phenomenon is that so few people seem to know about despite it being declared a protected area in 1993. In fact when I went to school on Monday people were curious as to where I had gone to see such a different sight. I find it sad that people who are interested in exploring a country don't know about, and have trouble finding out about, things that are only an hour away. For those of you interested, the entrance to the Monumento Natural Cerro Koi is marked by an sign to your right about 1 km out of Aregua on the branch road to Capiatá. It is well worth a trip to check out!

Bus rides

My mom is here visiting for a while, which means I've been revisiting some of the places that are worth exploring in Paraguay. It also means that we've been taking a lot of bus rides, which reminds me of what I like about riding a bus. While I might not get a good night's sleep while spending the hours between 1 and 6 in the morning on a bus, the daytime rides to provide a great perspective to observe bits of daily Paraguayan life. I'm amused by what you might see while driving by - overfilled motorcycles, trucks filled with logs beyond expectation, the bright colors of sponsored little stores on the side of the road, stretches of green scenery which show the true beauty of the countryside, plenty of pigs and cows...I could keep going. However, my favorite part of riding in a long distance bus is the chipa. Chipa is a Paraguayan bread made out of cornmeal. Oven baked it has a crisp outside and an almost gooey chewy inside. When it is hot it is one of my favorite snacks. After several more trips on the bus I still hold that the best chipa I've had in country is what I've bought from the man who comes on to the bus between Encarnacion and Asuncion. He climbs up to the upper level of the bus with his full basket of warm chipa, chirping "chipa, chipa, chipa"and you can bet that I will be digging in my bag to find some change. He slowly makes his way up the aisle, selling something to almost every row of seats, and once he finishes the bus stops again to let him off 15-10 km down the road, where I suppose he will wait to board a bus headed in the opposite direction. In the meantime I'll keep staring out the window happily chewing on my chipa.

Tourism video

As part of everything else that is going on for the bicentinial (I got invited to march in a parade with teachers, students and their families today) the Paraguayan tourism department has published a new video promoting tourism to Paraguay. I have to admit I haven't seen over half of the things in this video but it will give you some very pretty views of the country.

Little smiles

One of the things that brings me a smile to my face consistently is taking a really good look at the warning signs along the road. How shall I say it? They lack the sophistication I am used to seeing in a sign and often make me want to laugh. If you take a look at the "watch for children crossing in a school zone" sign it is hard to not think that the two school children are pregnant. Really? That is the image we want to project to the public? And that is the best we can do? Although I suspect the answer to that last question might be yes. After all, the cross walk sign is not a whole lot better. If you take a close look at it the man appears to be made up of several circles for hands and head, and rectangles for all the rest of the parts of his body. With two triangles thrown on at the end to give an illusion of feet. I'm not so sure what I think of their signs, but I will definitely keep looking at them just to see what else they have managed to come up with!

It says a lot

The first week we were back at school we took 10 minutes out of one day to do a flag raising ceremony with the entire school. All of the students out in the front yard from pre-K to grade 12. This was one of the special events the school had planned in keeping with celebrating the bicentennial. They wanted as many of the students and staff dressed alike as possible and so asked us to wear the albiroja - the red and white striped jersey of the Paraguayan national football team. This is what I find amusing about the whole thing. Where else could you ask every student to wear a national team jersey and they would all have it? We had perhaps 10% of the students and staff not in the jersey, and some of those I know own it and just forgot. What does it say about a country that almost everyone in it, native or foreign, owns a version of the football jersey? Does it give you an idea of just how important football is in this country? I can't blame the Paraguayan department for making that call - after all almost everyone was sporting the red and white stripes as the flag went up.

Advertising

Advertising is something that often catches my attention here. I'm not sure if it is because I am no longer used to billboards after having lived in Turkey, or just because things seems to be a bit more outlandish and over the top (like the statue of liberty billboard, the giant coffee cup on top of a building, or the oversize boxes of chocolate candies that are their own billboard). Or perhaps it is just because I walk everywhere so I have time to really look around and notice things. I have to admit that some of the advertising seems to be extremely well placed for their target advertising. Such as the ads for the i-phone that went up just outside the school gates about a month before the phones arrived in Paraguay (target audience!). I'm not so sure about the three large Britanico billboards that are just across from the school, but they have been there since I arrived so I don't see them leaving anytime soon.

My favorite advertising in the city though is a wall that I walk by every day on my way to school. It is low cost advertising at its best. About every two weeks someone comes by and paints over what is on the wall and repaints information about what parties or events are going on soon in Asunción. The majority of the adverts are for parties held at one of the clubs (it is worth mentioning that this wall is directly across from another private school in the city). I've even managed to go by a couple of times when the repainting is being done and I can tell you that it seems as if it done by high school students for high school students. Why do I like these ads over others? Perhaps because they are brightly colored and hand done. The idea that they are advertisements for events rather than material good to buy is also a draw. Surely some of it is the frequent overhaul of the wall designs. But then it could just be because I spend significantly more time staring at the wall when I'm waiting for the light to change so I can cross the street.

Carrera de las Chicas

One of my hobbies here seems to be running in any road race that I can find out about early enough to sign up for and train for. There are several things that I don't quite understand about the whole system including how they advertise for a run, the process it takes to sign up for a run (the most recent required an online registration, going to the mall to pay the fee, showing up at the park the day before to pick up my race information, and then returning to the park less than 24 hours later for the run...surely at least one of these steps could be eliminated.) but I have to admit that the events themselves are usually well run. This morning I ran in the Carrera de las Chicas - a 5k run just for women put on by Nike. I will say that they clearly had the best advertising images and t-shirt design of all the runs I've participated in (although I'm still not sure how I feel about fluorescent orange). What is fun about this race is that since it is only for women you get a lot of people coming out that would not normally participate in a run, and I saw several mom and daughter groupings which made me smile. It was also refreshing to hear "Go Mama" "Fuerza mama" from the side as the men in the family encouraged their women (I do live in Paraguay where the women often play a supporting role to the men). All in all I have to admit it was a pleasant way to start a Sunday despite the heat and humidity, out for a run with some of the other women who have become part of my family here.

My big news

It has been a while since you've heard from, I know. I've been back two weeks from our long "summer" vacation which just happens to take place in the middle of the school year. 7 solid weeks of travelling and exploring (more on that later) didn't really leave much time for anything else. Some of you know that I decided that I was not going to renew my contract in Paraguay and would be looking to move on after finishing up my two years. As part of my vacation I spent a week in San Francisco at a job fair and yes, I ended up with a new job, a new school, and a new country for next year! In July I will be moving to New Delhi, India to work at the American Embassy School. I am not sure that I can tell you a whole lot, except that I now realize I'll be in the 7th largest country in the world, in a city with a population over 14 million. It will sure be a big change from Paraguay which has a total population of 5 million! I will be teaching high school math although I don't know specifically what yet. The math department is in starting a process to introduce a new curriculum which means that things are going to be gradually changing each year. However, the principal and the department head seem to have a clear idea of where they are going so I am not too worried.

What can I tell you about the school? It seems to have a good reputation in the international school circuit as everyone I spoke with that had heard of it had good things to say, from teachers to parents. There are around 1450 students from Kindergarten to grade 12 from 53 different countries. I believe the largest percentage is the 35% Americans, which means I should be teaching at a school that is actually international this time around. The high school has 418 students so it is about twice as larger as the school I have been teaching at but should still be small enough that I will know most of the students. There are 7 teachers in the math department and the school seems to offer the AP and the IB diploma programs. When I asked the director about staff retention I was very encouraged to hear that in the 10 years he has been there only three people have left after their initial contract was up. It looks like I'll have a great new school to start exploring another part of the world from!