Situated in the Southern Cone of South America, Paraguay is a relatively quiet country. Not too many people know much about it. But over the past year, as I boated on the beautiful Paraguayan River in the spring, listened to Paraguayan music ringing from local busses, and talked with friends through a mixture of languages within the same sentence over the past year, I´ve picked up on some of the country´s facts that few know. Enjoy!

Top Ten Little Known Facts about Paraguay:

1. Paraguay is one of two countries in South America that is land locked. The other country that has no oceanic border is the neighboring country of Bolivia.

2. Paraguay has the largest navy in the world for a country that has no direct port to the ocean.

3. Paraguay's flag has different symbols on each side. One side shows the national coat of arms while the other side shows treasury's seal. The only other country whose flag is different on each side is Moldova.

4. Paraguay has two official languages: Spanish and the indigenous language, Guaraní. The language, Guaraní is called an onomatopoeic language, meaning that the vocal sounds mimic the actual sound of the verb or noun. In everyday conversations, a mixture of Spanish and Guaraní is called “Jopará” is common. It’s spoken widely among close friends and family in familiar settings.

5. Paraguay boasts the home of the largest hydro-electric dam in the world, called “Itapú,” meaning “sound of stone.” The dam, situated on the Paraná River, is shared with Brazil.

6. The New York Times article, published November 11, 2009 gave a ranking to each country, according to the level of corruption perceived. Paraguay ranked 3^rd most corrupt in the world.

7. On August 15, 2008, Fernando Lugo made history by becoming the first Roman Catholic bishop ever to become president. Shortly after taking office, Lugo confessed to fathering at least three children, while he carried out his responsibilities as bishop.

8. 8. In the late 1860s, Argentina, Bolivia, and Brazil teamed up against Paraguay in the war called the Triple-Alliance. The war resulted in more deaths than in another other conflict in South America, killing two-thirds of Paraguay's male population.

9. Yet the melodies and lyrics of the Paraguayan harp stir up feelings of pride for their customs and homeland. The Paraguayan harp, with 38 strings, is greatly loved in the country for playing traditional Paraguayan music.

10. 10. The popular, handmade lace, called “ñanduti,” is a combination of traditional Guaraní and 16^th century needle work. Ñandutis are sold in stores, markets, and street corners in every major city and sometimes along major highways connecting far reaching parts of the country.

So next time Paraguay comes up in the conversation, don´t hesitate to jump in a share some of these facts that help make Paraguay the “heart of South America” that it´s known as!

As I flip through my mental photos of my past year in Paraguay, there's one photo that will always appear as vivid as the moment I took it.

In this picture, a stranger might see an older woman hanging up some meager clothes on the line to dry. If they're observant, they might wonder about her bright smile that lights up the night.

But to me, there's much more to it than that. This photo tells about a Paraguayan woman, best known as my host mom, Enca. It tells about her hard work. It tells about her dedication to her only daughter and the joy of her first grandchild.

Enca Torres grew up in the campo, or countryside outside of Asunción. As the oldest daughter growing up on a small farm, she had no choice but to model hard work and perseverance. This is shown in the photo, simply by the time of day it was taken: evening. Often, Enca rose before sunrise to boil water for the Paraguayan tea, tereré. She would work all day, even through the sweltering afternoon heat, through the siesta and would not rest until late at night, after her last stitch was sewn.

The dedication to her only daughter, Marcela, was very apparent, every minute of the time I spent with them. In the photo, it’s shown through Enca’s washing of the baby clothes for her daughter, Marcela. I came to live with Enca´s family during the nine months of Marcela´s pregnancy. There was never a dull moment in the house with this kind of excitement going on! Enca always made sure that her daughter was eating right. This usually meant not to eat a sweet spread, called dulce de leche right after something salty or drink water with stew; to prevent getting sick of course!

Enca’s first grandchild was born just a week before my departure to the states. In all of my time spent with my host mom, I had never seen her more energized, enthusiastic and full of delight as I remember when her grandchild, Maximiliano, was born. Because Enca didn’t have the blessing from her family when her daughter was born, it was now that she could fully experience the joy of a new birth. This deep joy seemed to seep out from each wrinkle around her eyes and mouth when she smiled.

After taking a deeper looking into this photo becomes much more than an “older woman.” It takes a humanizing form to become my host mom, Enca Torres.

Some last posts on Paraguay...

Public transportation. That is one of my favorite things about Paraguay, aside from the relationships that I made over the past year I spent there. After taking the public transportation system every day, I grew to appreciate it, even love it. So, if you're down in South America, taking public transportation is a must.

On your trip to Paraguay, as you step off the plane at the Pettrirossi Airport in Asunción, Paraguay, you can kiss goodbye to the smooth subway that may have taken you to your terminal in route to the plane bound for Paraguay. You can toss your North American bus pass, and tip your hat to the idea of a bus stop- you won't be needing to wait for any bus down south! Paraguay's buses, known as colectivos, offer the biggest bang for your buck, a grocery store on wheels, and most importantly, an eye opening view into the Paraguayan culture and hospitality.

So you know what you want to see? Don't waste your time looking for a map of Paraguayan bus lines, they don't exist! Don't get too confused by the different colors and numbers, and letters that don't seem to have many connections at all. It's best to ask a local friend; their good advice won't let you down. In hindsight, that would have been the smart thing for me to do. One hot, sweaty Saturday, priding myself of my independence, I took a bus labeled "San Lorenzo," where my sister lived, just an hour away.

Once you board, you pay the 2,100 Guaranis (about 42 cents) to the driver's assistant. I did just that on that hot summer day. Although it was labeled as a direct route to my destination, three hours later, I was able to boast that I took a tour of the entire downtown, for less than 50 cents! Where else can you get that good of a deal!?

While I was bouncing around in my bus seat, countless vendors came on selling fresh fruit, hair clips, even an infomercial for a super-special belt. Why go to the grocery story when you can just board a colectivo and get everything you need? I took advantage of the opportunity, that day, and caught the eye of a man on the street corner, crowing "chipa," the name for the warm, cheesy bread he was selling. He came on board, and we exchanged the dough.

A good Paraguayan doesn't leave home without their tea, called tereré. So while the colectivo assistant is taking coins, they also serve the driver tereré. At this time of day, there weren't many people on the bus. After the last person had gotten off, the driver and his assistant offered me tereré. It was obvious to them that I was some lost gringo. So with this simple gesture of passing me the guampa, which held the tea, they offered not only to quench my thirst and give me directions, but also extended their hospitality.
In the end, I found my way to my sister's house. I could have easily gotten off that bus, and taken a shorter route. But I'm glad I didn't. The public transportation system in Paraguay opens a window of opportunity, and the possibility to see a whole new view.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! This Christmas, although Santa apparently doesn´t visit South America, he leaves it to the three wisemen who come on Jan 6th, I was still blessed with so many gifts.
1. Family- in a number of ways. I was reminded of my family at home that loves me, Craig and Krista (my brother in law ans sister) who live in Asunción this year, and my new Paraguayan family that has adopted me as their own. A couple weeks ago, I moved in with Eli, Enka, Marcela (my host sister who is pregant) and Nester (who is Marcela´s husband). They´re really sweet and I feel like I´ve learned more about the Paraguayan culture in the past few weeks, than I have in the past few months.
2. The second gift- celebration! Something I´m also finding is that Paraguayans really know how to celebrate! There´s no such thing as a quaint silent night- Christmas is a celebration! Complete with firecrackers, dancing, you name it!

I´ll be honestly, Christmas didn´t really seem like Christmas in the 100 degree weather and fire works. We had a nice dinner, and stayed up til midnight to wish everyone and their dog a merry christmas on their cell phone. My Christmas was a lot different that what I´m used to, but it was still a good experience and that I think that it will make me realize and appreciate our North American Christmas traditions even more.

Have a good New Year...

To all of you back home or where ever you are in the world- I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a very Happy New Year!

Well well well... it's been quite a while. The past week, I've been house-hoping. Matt. 25:35? Look it up, I can really relate to that- at least more so than just when I stayed at host families during MSEC choir fesitval. It turned out that I had to wait another week longer than I had thought, in order to move in with my host family (regardless- I'm soo excited!), BUT a week before I could move in with my host family, new volunteers were going to come live at the CD- and FILL the place, leaving me homeless in Paraguay. And they told me this 5 days before I had to move out. Thankfully my co-workers are some of the greatest people ever. Just about everyone offered to open up their house for me. 

So last weekend I stayed at Magali's house, and celebrated their aunt's birthday with their whole family and decorated their christmas tree with them... being with the big, talkative, warm Santo family made me miss my own family so much... but it was good to be with them! 

Then on Monday, I made my way over to Graciela's house for the week. This week we've been making a lot of granola to sell at the co-op in Filadelfia next Saturday. So I've been helping out with that, and cooking, and washing dishes... all things that you don't realize how much you miss until you're away from them for a while. 

...That's a quick recap of what my past week has been like. I know it's not much, but on Monday, I'll be moving in with my Paraguayan host family- the "Torres" Just think- Kelsey Shue "Torres" (Or Towers, it would be in English) ...Although they're a super nice family, somehow it doesn't quite fit. I'll stick with Shue. ;) 

"Are YOU my host mom!?"

"Are YOU my host mom!?" I remember when I was younger, I would always play board games on the floor of my Grandma Nussbaum's living room with my cousins. One of my favorite games was one that was called "Are YOU my mother?" where the game pieces were little chicks that had magnets, and you had to find your "mother" to whom you connected to (North-South poles).

Now that you've heard my life story :) what connection is there to Paraguay!? Well... some of you know already that for some time, I've really wanted to live with a Paraguayan family. Being surrounded in this German-subculture, where I live, I don't feel like I'm really experiencing Paraguay. Or at least what the average person's life is like.So I talked to some people, and prayed about it (whether or not it would be best for me) and I'm supposed to move next Sunday! The catch: I don't know who I'm going to live with. If you know anything about me, you know that I'm organized and I like to KNOW what's going on (although I'm starting to relax about that a bit). But I have options: Opt 1: A young family, around the age of 25, with an 8 month old daughter. Opt2: (who hasn't confirmed for sure if they can host me yet) A family that is a little older and... that's all I know about them. Both of the families are rreally nice, and I don't think I can go wrong. I'm supposed to find out whether the older family can host me, this sunday, so I'll make the decision then. I'll keep you posted!

P.S. Today I had a new experience on my bus ride to work. Have you ever had a man with a two-foot machete sit behind you? Actually there were two of them. One behind me, and one across the isle, in front. Surely they were just going to work, cutting grass or bushes, etc. and no one else on the bus seemed to give it a second thought. But it was another reminder that I'm not in the US (as if the cachaca music and chipa venders hadn't already done so!)

Election Responses-world wide...

Well this week was interesting, following the election results and seeing the different reactions- both in Paraguay and hearing about the overwhelming support for Obama in the US. (Personally, I'm so thankful that Obama was elected, and for the first time in my life, I don't have to be embarrassed for our president. Granted, he's not in office yet, but I think he represents a lot of hope for change and he's intelligent, level headed, and humble... all aspects of a good president.

Hearing from Krista and Craig, it's interesting hearing the different responses people have. They've told me that some were moved to tears when they heard Obama was elected; they were filled with so much hope. While my experience was a bit different. For the Paraguayans that are following my blog (I always have to wonder WHO it is... haha) correct me if I'm wrong, but those who I work with are predominately Mennonites from the colonies, of whom many are supporters of the Colorado party (which would be the equivalent of our Republican party). Because of this, it seemed like there was some skepticism about Obama's election, because he's young, inexperienced, etc (or maybe they're just skeptical about politic in general, there's reason to be). Anyway, it's interesting to see how different the responses were here in Paraguay. And although it maybe my ignorant young self, I was so surprised to see how closely others follow American politics around the world. Wow- I need to step it up. :)

On thursday I went to a school program with a couple girls from the CD (Lorena and Claudia). There were traditional dances (unfortunately not the bottle dances, where they balance bottles on their heads), and a crowning of king and queen of the high school. Here are a few pictures from that...

And this is just a picture on my way to work.
Have a good week! Til next sunday! :)