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.

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?

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!

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.

Indian Dance

Last week I received an invitation by email to a night of classical and folk Indian dance. This occurs once a year in Asuncion, when the Indian ambassador, who is stationed in Buenos Aires, makes his visit to Paraguay. The embassy and the Indian community here go all out for the visit and are an excuse for me to get a bit of culture into my week, as well as some good food (as they also bring an Indian chef to the Hilton to prepare a week of “Indian food fest”). Having gone last year I was positive that I would take the time to go watch the dance this year. It is an excuse to step a bit out of Paraguay for a few hours. The steps leading to the venue sported colored rice designs. Candles flickered in the foyer. Waiters circled with Indian treats and drinks. Soon we were herded into the auditorium where traditional music and dance awaited us. With a steady rhythm pounding and a flute floating above, the night’s entertainment began. I sat enthralled by the women’s ability to control their bodies. Isolating body parts, holding awkward poses without falling, telling a story in their movement. I was able to escape my existence for a few hours as I became immersed in the dance and music on offer, a change from the traditional Paraguayan folkdance to a polka.

Election Day

Sunday was election day all around Paraguay. Cities and town were voting for their new mayor. The past weeks and months have been full of heavy campaigning for the vote. After asking several people I have found out some interesting tidbits about election day, at least here in Asuncion. Typically schools function as the voting places, even ASA managed to host the neighborhood vote (which meant we were informed that we would not be allowed on campus after 2pm on Saturday). I head through various people that a lot of effort is put into minimizing the congregation of people during the weekend of the election – groups were not allowed to actively campaign after Thursday (which has made for much quieter streets this weekend as recently I have been passed by at least one large vehicle bearing election propaganda and blaring music and advertisements every time I have walked around). Bars and restaurants are supposed to close down earlier this weekend (was it just Saturday, just Sunday, or both days? I really don’t know – the more answers I got the more questions I had!). When I went into the grocery store on Sunday the entire alcohol section was closed off with a sign notifying patrons that by law the store was not allowed to sell alcohol on the day of the election. It seems that they have made several attempts to keep things from getting out of control or bloody (perhaps a reflection of how unsettling changes of power in the country have been in the past – usually accomplished by killing the person currently in the position of power). All I know for sure is that Asuncion, and the other towns in Paraguay, should have a new mayor soon and that there is plethora of advertising plastered along the streets.

A run with security

Getting picked up for a run before I usually wake up for school just seems wrong. Especially since Asuncion is not a city that rises early on the weekends. I know, I know, we had to start earlier than normal as this year, for the bicentennial, they decided to have a marathon in addition to the traditional half-marathon and 10km runs. Have to give those poor people enough time to run all the way out to the airport and back (making use of all of the paved roads in Asuncion). The early morning, tranquil feel makes it all the more surprising when we get to the start and see just how much security has been organized for the event. What? It is just a run. And there has never been this much security before. There is a helicopter flying circles overhead. On the top of every building around the square are armed guards who look ready to use their rifles. There are three buses of policemen checking in and being set up in places, although at least some of them end up along the course to help control traffic. Enough of the armed guards stay to line the last 50 meters of the course though. What is going on?
As we line up in our designated starting area (marathon in the front with their red shirts, 10km (that’s me) in the middle in white, the blue shirted half marathoners bringing up the rear…look…it’s the Paraguayan flag!) I’m reminded that everything that goes on this year has something to do with the bicentennial. This run included. They’ve managed to get President Lugo to come out to give a speech and blow the opening horn. The President of the Republic of Paraguay. Just 100 meters or so from where I wait to begin my run. No wonder there is so much security! It also reminds me of just how small this country is if the president is the guest of honor at an early morning race. The run definitely has a different feel this year.
Can you pick the president out?
He's in the middle , of course, wearing glasses.

There is a bigger turnout and I enjoy the mix of Paraguayan colors as we wind our way for 6km through the downtown area (I believe we used every single paved road…happily avoiding the cobblestone ones). I’m distracted enough by the sites and people that I am almost surprised when I hit the half way mark. Turn out to be my fastest run in over a year (thanks in part I think to running in South Africa which was a good 1,500 meters higher up than Asuncion) and a different experience than I had expected. You never know what to expect when you show up at event here.

Unexpected Opportunities

Almost a month ago I headed downtown to go pick up my race packet for a run I had registered for. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going having just been told the cross streets of where the race expo was. Street names which meant nothing to me. Even if I had spent 10 minutes pouring over a map and finding the streets (the one map I have of Asuncion doesn’t have anything resembling a street guide, and you need to realize that quite often streets change names as they cross over another major road making it that much more difficult to find a location on a map) I still wouldn’t have known anything about where we were heading besides the physical location. Well, it turns out that the expo was happening at the old train station in the middle of downtown, the train station that I have never before seen open. The train station that housed perhaps four trains (at most) although I think it was closer to two that ran on the one track that cut through Paraguay. (Interesting history this…you can read more although it is all in Spanish)

I was more excited to get to explore the old station with its custom wood line barriers than I was to pick up my race information. The station is a simple, yellow building with the high partly open roof that you would expect of a station. There are only two lines which enter the station so you wouldn’t call it big anywhere but here. However, you can touch a little bit of Paraguayan history in the building. One of the old engines is at an end of the building with very little to keep you from clambering aboard to get a feel for the iron machine. On each of the tracks two cabins sit parked where you can get a feel for the style the rich travelled in. A bar room in each, leather covered seats, the ornateness still limited by the dimensions of any railway car. Down a narrow hallway you can poke your head into some of the sleeper compartments (how far did the train go anyways? From what I can remember they were just short round trip journeys…but perhaps short isn’t ever a good description for a train journey) and check out the light fixtures, the bed and the “facilities.” It definitely makes me feel like I’m being introduced to a piece of a very different past. Touching this piece of Paraguayan history is made all the more interesting because currently there are no trains running in the country (that is right, even the bimonthly steam train trip between Asuncion and Aregua is currently stopped) making one wonder how much business the train station ever saw.

There is something in the air

There is something in the air, and I’m talking literally here. I don’t know what it is exactly. I’d say it was smoke from people burning for heat if it were winter. Wait a minute. It is winter. But I still don’t think that is what it is as the past week has been up in the 90s every day. No need for extra heat with sun like that. Perhaps it is an excess of dust in the sky? We haven’t had any rain in quite a while. Or perhaps there is some sort of large scale fire or industry that I don’t know anything about. All I know is that the air hasn’t been the easiest to breathe, but it has made for a gorgeous red sun. Only problem is that the sun has been red the entire day. In the morning walking to school, bright red sun. When I go for lunch, still red overhead. Walking home from school in the early evening, a lower more vibrant red. It is a bit eerie really. While I enjoy the color I wish I knew what was causing it or that at least a good rain storm would come along and clear out the air a bit.

A trip to the ballet

Wandering around the mall our eyes were caught by a poster on one of the shop windows. Ballet this weekend. This is one of the first times we’ve managed to find out about a cultural event earlier than the day of the event. We decide we should try to go. A talk with a saleswoman in the store reveals she doesn’t have any idea where we can buy tickets. Back to the poster. It has a phone number, which during the three days we try calling no one answers. It says something about it being the ballet for Universidad del Norte, contains an address for a bookstore, and is being held at the Municipal Theater. Out running errands with Kim the next day I manage to find the bookstore on the map just two blocks before the street. (A success of its own type.) We stop by, talk to a few people, and they say yes you could have bought the tickets here…only the bookstore is closed. It is after 12 on a Saturday. We go a bit farther downtown and decide we might as well stop at the theater and see if tickets can be bought there. By the time we find the front door we are pretty sure it is not going to work. Even though they are setting up inside the doors are not open and you can’t get to the ticket office. There is a woman outside that asks us if we want a ticket for the special performance which begins in 20 minutes (really? But there is no one here!) Plans for the rest of the day prevent us from taking the opportunity. Apparently even knowing that an event is happening doesn’t make it any easier to actually get to it.

Later that day when we’re running more errands in the mall we pass the small stand that sells tickets for random events around town. I say random, because they don’t ever seem to have posters or a listing up, and it all seems to depend upon you happening to know that something is going on. We decide to ask about the ballet tickets. Turns out they aren’t selling them either, however there is going to be a different ballet in town next weekend if we’re interested in that. Yes! Tickets in hand we are pleased that we’ve managed to find out about an event over a week ahead of time and already bought tickets. The night of the ballet we’re not really sure what to expect. None of the four of us that are going have ever been to the Municipal Theater. We show up at 7:45 for an 8:00 performance only to find a long line of people waiting at the doors, all holding tickets. Turns out so far they are only letting in the people who have special invitations right now. One benefit of going places with embassy personal is that they know people, and so somehow we follow a group of people in the side door. We’re in, having never had to actually show our ticket. Not that that means that there are any seats left at all in the theater. Major confusion in my mind. How can they sell tickets for and then not even have any seats left for the people that bought them. I guess one of my mistakes was assuming that buying a ticket would get me a seat, or even get me in the door (as I am sure that some of the people outside didn’t make it in). Right before the lights go out a man comes out carrying a stack of plastic chairs and maybe a third of the people standing manage to grab one to put in the aisles. The rest of us sit on the stairs or find a handy wall to lean against. Luckily for us, we manage to get three seats when a special guest doesn’t show up (also an advantage to being with a pregnant lady) so we aren’t going to be standing the whole night. Once the show begins I forget about the craziness of getting into the theater and sit back to enjoy the first bit of culture that I’ve enjoyed since arriving in Paraguay. We watch pairs of dancers from all over Latin America take the stage for their individual dances – from Brazil and Chile to Mexico and Ecuador, a mix of classical ballet and modern dance. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and my bit of culture…but I’m not sure the entire theater experience has made me all that likely to try it again anytime soon, assuming I could find tickets to anything else.

playback

Living overseas I often head off to events not knowing what to expect or what exactly I’m getting myself into. Tuesday night was no exception. For a week my 10th grade students have been pestering me, “Ms C are you going to playback?” Playback? What in the world is that? I know part of their interest is the need for each of them to sell their tickets, after all this is a fundraiser for the sophomore class. But still, what is it? Words here and there tell me it is something about dance, or remaking a music video…in any case it should be a nice change from another fashion show or asado.

My friends and I show up at 7:30 for a show whose ticket said 7:00. We only have to wait another 15 minutes before the show starts (am I starting to adjust to Paraguayan time?). Soon enough the lights go down and the curtain rises at the Centro Paraguayo Japones. On stage is a group of black clad, teased hair girls. Above them on the screen is a video showing the same start. What continues on stage is their recreation of the dance video playing overhead. Ahh…that is what they mean by calling it “playback.” A group of five students from my school emerge next and proceed to dance to a hip hop mix. Perhaps what has occurred is a mix of playback and dance competition (although how you compare the two I’m not really sure). Next was my favorite, and the eventual winner, a playback which began with a conductor orchestrating three groups of dances around the stage. Add to the night a group of girls dressed in satin flight attendant costumes, another group which danced with barrels, a large group of women at work and a somewhat fireman inspired theme and you have an evening’s entertainment which is difficult to describe. I had to take some video to be able to fully convey the experience. In any case it was not my typical evening. I went to see what it was all about and ended up with quite the show! I’m left only be able to say so that is an ASA playback.

bus strike

There was a two day bus strike this week, and while all reports say that it ended up with some violence and many people upset I have to admit that I didn’t see much of a an effect, unless you count friends saying that the streets were much more crowded. Accounts say that 100 buses were seriously damaged and numerous people hurt. From what I can figure out this is not because people were upset the buses weren’t running, but because not all of the buses were on strike. Apparently the city buses around Asuncion are run by several companies and at least one of these companies did not participate in the strike. That would explain why I still saw some buses in the streets, and perhaps why I didn’t really notice there was a strike. From what I can figure out the bus drivers went on strike Thursday demanding a 15% wage increase and also requesting that the bus fair go up to 2,100Gs. That is approximately 50¢. What has been my biggest surprise is how little the strike seemed to affect my life. All of the workers made it to school and we didn’t even think about our maid not being able to get here until after she had come and gone for the day. There have perhaps been a few less people standing on the side of the street waiting for buses, and I have to wonder how much of an effect it had on businesses that depend on people who use public transportation here. I am also waiting to hear if there has been any change in the bus system thanks to this strike.

The Classico

A lot has been happening recently, I just haven't been able to find the time to write about it. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on some of it this month.

A few weeks back I took the opportunity to have a “typical” Asuncion experience. Friends that are leaving at the end of the year wanted to go to the Classico – the biggest football rivalry in Asuncion, and the game that they say everyone needs to go to at least once. I figured I would take the opportunity to go with them and see what this Olimpia vs. Cerro rivalry is all about. It turns out that you can’t actually buy tickets at the stadium on game day. No worry, there are plenty of people trying to sell them on the streets. It took two men to come up with the 9 tickets we needed but there wasn’t too much of a mark up and we did have tickets in hand.

We entered the stadium a full hour before game time, to find that the stands were already almost full. We finally found seats close to the line of riot police that separated the Cerro and Olimpia fans. (Two lines of police with an empty section of seating between them). I did mention this is the biggest rivalry in the Paraguayan league, didn’t I? To the left of us there was a sea of black and white – the Olimpia fans – and to the right it was all red and blue – the Cerro fans. We were technically sitting in the Cerro section so I guess that means we were cheering for them if we wanted to cheer for anyone. (Never mind that we had all carefully chosen to wear colors not associated with either team.) The junior teams were playing but you could tell that everyone was just waiting for the real game. In the meantime I could take the time to appreciate the view out of the stadium, as we were up high enough to see the river beyond it, and shake my head at the amount of fan support each team had.

Soon enough it was game time. The officials walked out on the field and things got quiet. The announcer introduced the Olimpia team and as they stepped an entire half of the stadium erupted. Cheering, chanting, unfurling huge flags that cover an entire section of bleachers, and throwing white streamers onto the field. At one point it seemed as if the sky was a solid snake of white. And now the Cerro enter the field. The opposite side of the stadium is suddenly going crazy. Red and blue smoke pour forth, balloons are being waved, and I watch an enormous flag get unrolled over the heads of almost one fourth the stadium (How do they do that? I still don’t understand.). I began to realize that we had come as much to watch the fans as to watch the game. Perhaps that was a good thing, as it ended up as a zero – zero tie, with very few exciting moments. Although I might have missed some of the better moments when I was distracted by the crowd. We slipped out a few minutes before the end of the game to avoid the crowd and the possible craziness, however the scoreless result seemed to have kept things fairly calm. There is a part of me that wishes one of the teams would have scored just so I could have seen how their fans would react. (At least I’m not like one of my friends who has now been to three games in that stadium and not seen a single score.) In any event, it was definitely an experience.

For more about the history of this rivalry check out this FIFA article.

A different kind of run

As I bent down to tie my shoe and then collected my timing chip it started to sink in that this was going to be a different kind of run. Everyone around me was wearing the black tank of the race, most of them paired with dark shorts - all designed to have them blend in more. Yes, blend in - because this is not an ordinary race, it's the Asuncion Night Run. As I crack my glow stick to make it shine and wrap it around my wrist, I see that I can get sprayed by Off - probably a good idea as we're running around the botanical garden. Oh - and there I can get a longer glow stick - fun! Perhaps it will work as an arm band as I'm not sure I can handle having it flap around my neck.

As the countdown gets close to the start I test my headlamp (part of our entrance package) and make sure it is well positioned on my forehead (although it turns out it doesn't stay up very well when you're sweating and running). 5 -4-3-2-1...the runners count down to the clock and then a flurry of fireworks explode overhead signaling the start of the race. And we're off. Its packed pretty tightly to begin with, but I'm surprised at how quickly the runners get stretched out. And by just how necessary the headlamp is for lighting a circle of ground ahead of me so I can jump over tree roots and avoid the holes. When I feel confident enough to look up briefly its an eerie sight to see a long line of bobbing lights in the dark. If I didn't know better I might suspect a gathering of extraterrestrials in the woods. Instead I turn my head down again and focus on a patch of ground just a few steps ahead catching a glimpse of a couple of other circles of light ahead of me and think about what an experience this has turned out to be. A much more solitary, glowing experience than I ever expected.

First Impressions (or second)

It seems funny to think about first impressions 6 months after first arriving but I felt as if that was exactly what I was getting when I flew into Asuncion in January. Perhaps a bit of time back at home and in Buenos Aires was enough to open my eyes. Flying in all I could think was green. There sure are a lot of trees in Asuncion. It really is quite a green city. My taxi driver was complaining about the traffic at 1:30 in the afternoon and while I have to admit there was some it still only took 30 minutes to get me home. I know its worse around 5:00 but you have to realize that nowhere in the city has more than two lanes in one direction. So the amount of traffic can’t begin to compare with the eight lanes of congestion you get in other cities. Asuncion really is a sleepy sort of capital city.

Houses are set close to the road; the idea of a front yard is not very practices. Houses jut up just past the sidewalk and the space is left for green in the more private backyards. I’m not sure if I would say there are individual lots, space is well used here and it seems that one building grows out of the walls of its neighbors – only wall color giving an indication as to where one ends and the next begins. What other differences will I notice as I continue to look around the city with my eyes actually opened now, instead of just focusing on my survival?