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.

Country Artists

Past all of the traffic of Asuncion and San Lorenzo, through the town of Ita, take a left turn onto a country road. In the middle of, well, pretty much nowhere, we pulled over in front of a house. The sign outside read Arte en Barro. We had arrived at the workshop and home of a mother daughter pair of sculptors, Juana Martha Rodas and Julia Isidrez. Here they work with just the most basic of tools – clay, their hands and a simple firing oven – to produce pieces of artwork which have been recognized internationally. They each have their own unique style (I must admit to being personally attracted to the work of the daughter, Julia Isidrez) really the first arts I’ve seen in Paraguay that I can truly say that I like. This trip was the result of admiring some of the ceramics in my principal’s office and asking repeatedly if we could take a trip out to visit the artist. I finally hit upon a day when his wife was visiting and a plan to go take us out was soon in place. An hour drive took us to this small house where we were warmly welcomed by Julia and apologetically informed that Juana was not feel well today (we did get to meet her, a small old woman with sparkles in her eyes, before we left). We were encouraged to wander through the house, picking up and touching anything we wanted. Julia proudly unveiled a few wet pieces that she was working on, informing us that some of them were an order placed by the French Ambassador’s wife. Out back we found an overhang which housed a display of their work. Among the different types of work I, of course, fell in love with a few. After much debate and effort to discern which were my truly favorite I picked out three pieces – a large bowling ball sized piece which makes me giggle each time I look at it, a bowl with two dinosaur heads as handles and a smaller round animal. I realized that I preferred a definite style of their work, but was thrilled to find that I did love it! I had no idea of how much I might spend on these three pieces and in the end walked away feeling like not only did I end up with some artwork I love but I got an amazing deal on it (as I spent less than $20 total). What a worthwhile afternoon out it turned out to be!

Water

Water. What does it mean to you? How much do you take your water for granted. When you think of water, do you think of nature's bounty...streams, rivers, oceans, rainfall? Or do you think of the miracle you get out of the tap every time you turn the faucet? Do you realize just how lucky you are to have the miracle of plumbing? Can you even imagine what it would be like to live without running water? This past weekend I had my bathroom water shut off due to a pipe leak which lead to a substantial amount of water on the kitchen floor. Even though I all the other water in the house worked, and I just had to borrow another bathroom it seemed like such a major inconvenience. Which makes me question how in the world I ever dealt with having to haul my own water from a pump for two years while living in Guinea. My daily existence involved carrying 45 pounds of water on my head for 400 meters to about half a mile (I can honestly say that carrying on top of your head is the easiest way to carry that kind of weight that kind of distance), washing dishes in a bucket, taking a bath from a bucket, praying my water was clean as I didn't want to keep drinking bleached water, considering every possible way to conserve said water (it is amazing how little water you can use in a day if you try), hoping that really was the sound of thunder because it meant I could catch rainwater to use, all while trying to ensure I consumed 5-8 liters of clean water a day to balance out the heat.

I had it easy. I had a safe water source. I had a relatively close water source. I had closed container to carry my water in. Not everyone is that lucky. Did you know that every day in Africa women and children walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water? Did you know that unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, war included? Up to 42,000 each week? Did you know that the average American uses 159 gallons of water every day? Can you even think of all the times you are using that water? That makes the 2-4 gallons I used a day seem impossible How little do you think you could manage to use for just one day? Want more scary facts? Check this out.

It is blog action day. Start thinking about water, your access to it and others access to it. Consider what it would be like to be one of those others. Imagine how different your life would be. Consider action of some form.

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[Traveler’s Tale] A flag loving country

I have finally found a country which is as proud of its flag as Texas and flies it fondly. I find it a bit ironic that the flag is probably the most similar one possible to the Texas flag. Have you figured out what country I’m talking about yet? That’s right…Chile. I spent my short Spring Break (yes, remember I am in the Southern hemisphere…but too much talk of seasons just gets me confused so perhaps I should say my September Break) in Chile and honestly I have to say what caught my attention the most was the sheer number of flags that were flying. I’m not sure if this is usual or not. It could have been in solidarity with the miners stuck underground for way too long. It could have been due to them celebrating their bicentennial. All I know is that there were many a flag flying and it reminded me of home.

Honestly I didn’t see a whole lot of Chile. I decided to spend my time in the mountains outside of Santiago, in the Cajon de Maipo. I definitely picked a beautiful setting! The odd combination of snow capped mountains with cactus growing on the lower slopes (and occasionally odd views which didn’t seem like all the scenery should possibly be able to be seen from just one point). Two waterfalls hidden along a trail. Beautiful views of the water flowing through the bottom of the canyon. Bright orange wildflowers providing a splash of color. We even had our own cute little cabin, complete with fire burning stove (which by the end of four days I learned to light). It was almost exactly what I was looking for – an escape from the city, hiking, beautiful scenery and plenty of time to sleep and play cribbage. The four days was just enough to wet my appetite to explore Chile more in the future. I am sure I will be going back at some point.

An afternoon outing

One of my goals for this year is to get out and explore pieces of Asuncion and close by towns (those within city bus service range) more. I suspect it is going to be quite a bit of asking around for things worth checking out and just going places for the experience since even the Lonely Planet guidebook only dedicates about 1 page to things to see in Asuncion and maybe 2 pages to things around Asuncion. (shame of them, I know there is more here then that!)

My first outing in fulfilling this quest was an afternoon in the town of San Lorenzo. In some ways I would hesitate to call it a town, as it is solid city from where I live to where we got off the bus. However, I am sure that at some point in its history it was a separate town that nowadays has just been consumed by Asuncion’s urban sprawl. Why San Lorenzo? I was asked that several times when people were discussing how they were going to use their weekend. I prefer to think, “Why not San Lorenzo?” I have been by the area several times in a bus and have always noticed the large cathedral sitting in the central square. Despite it being city all the way there I also knew that for some reason driving through San Lorenzo just felt different. Different enough that I wanted to go and see if I could figure out what made it that way.

We got off the bus at the main square in San Lorenzo. Easily recognizable by the cathedral looming over every other building (and yes it is a cathedral, because it turns out that San Lorenzo, despite being only about 15-20 km from Asuncion, is a different dioceses). At first it didn’t look like we’d be able to get into the church, but experience has taught me that you can’t say something is closed until you have walked completely around it. Sure enough, there was one gate open leading into the rose garden surrounding the cathedral, and since they were cleaning the church we got to spend a few minutes inside the soaring simple space. We probably enjoyed the peacefulness and sweet smells of the rose garden the most, a completely unexpected treat.

A wander around a few blocks of the town let us appreciate some of the old architecture which is lamentably not kept up. With a few coats of paint the downtown area could be quite cute. Down a side street to a green gate and we enter the park. A fitness park much like those in Asuncion, except for the duck pond in the middle (with these odd ducks that had balls above their beaks). The park stretched far enough that you could sit between the trees without hearing the traffic and feel like you really had gotten away from the city. Walking back to find the bus, we managed to walk through the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion (when you see guards, if you keep walking and look like you know what you are doing, they usually won’t stop you). It is a university that is still being built onto and has some interesting architectural features especially around its main entrance. So in a nutshell that is what there is to see San Lorenzo. A worthy half day escape from the Asuncion I frequent.

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.