Feliz Navidad!

I'm pretty sure we explained what was going on to Berta before hand but, it is what it is...
(Here´s a little translation, "eso que es" means, "what is this".) Enjoy.


Merry Christmas,
Craig and Krista

History of Paraguay... Part 1 "Stick a Flag in it."

  Well dear readers, I promised you a discourse on Paraguayan history, and you'll probably end up getting more than you paid for.  

  I started my research at the library of the Mennonite Seminary close by my house.  Unfortunately, this soon turned sour because it seemed that, at the seminary at least, nothing had happened in Paraguay since a Mr. Werner Redekopp chronicled a few details back in 1962.  Suspecting that perhaps things had happened in this country since that book was published fourty-six years ago (and no, I was not going to read Gilbert Franz's "Reise durch Paraguay" and consider it objective history), I asked around at a couple friends' homes and finally discovered "Historia del Paragauy" published by the esteemed Oceano Group.  Really, I know nothing about them, but it seems from their fine cover art that this Spanish firm knows its Paraguayan history. (If there was one thing that I learned after two years as a Goshen College History major, it is that you should always, always judge a book by its cover.)  On with the history:

The Guaraní

  Surprisingly, (at least to the European adventurers) Paraguay did exist, at least in its geographic form, before the Europeans started showing up at the beginning of the 16th century.  There is some debate as to how long humans have lived in South America, but the majority of evidence suggests that people have been leaving things buried in the Paraguayan soil for anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000 years.  Three major cultural groups or periods are suggested to have existed prior to 1500 AD, and the latter of these three, the Guaraní, are the people that the Spanish encountered when they started to show up without a dinner invitation.

  The Guaraní that inhabited Paraguay (in fact, they were all over central-South America) were a very organized society, with a combination of agriculture, gathering, hunting, and communal living helping to sustain a decent population.  That and polygamy.  The people had extensive knowledge of the "natural science" of their surroundings, and books chronicling their healing remedies exist in Paraguay to this day.  The Guaraní were also polytheistic, holding belief in a number of gods that would control different parts of the natural cycles.  (There are actually parallels of Judeo-Christian stories within the Guaraní religious lore, but they are more likely attributable to the influence of Catholic missionaries blending the old, for example, creation stories, with the new Christian version.)        

(Modern Guaraní warriors... the club really is named after the people)

  

  But, "without a doubt" say the folks at Oceano Group, the lasting impact of the Guaraní culture on this history of Paraguay is the contribution of the Guaraní language (I would like to insert the "that and polygamy" phrase again here... you will understand when you read the next installment).  From my time in Paraguay, I have read a number of different statistics that indicate how many people still speak this ancient tongue, but suffice to say that the lowest estimate that I have so far encountered said that 87.5% of Paraguays are fluent in Guaraní, with other estimates ranging as high as 99%.  This explains, dear reader, why I can tell you, "Che aipota tembi'u heta tereí". "I want good food."  I learn the basic survival needs first.

The Spanish

  Ah, the Spanish.  I'm sure many a young Mennonite got lost during sixth grade in daydreams of adventuring with Cortez, Pizarro and the other conquistadores to the New World in search of glory and gold.   Of course, to later learn that they basically killed, enslaved, or robbed everyone they met may have thrown something of a moral wrench into the dream, but it was a fine one nonetheless while it lasted.

  When speaking of the Spanish explorers who ended up near Paraguay, the story seems to be somewhat repetitve, which is nice when trying to write summaries 500 years or so later.  Basically, an explorer (for example, Sebastián Gaboto) gets a mandate from Carlos V, King of Spain, to go and take possesion of the land in what is now South America for the Spanish crown.  You know, stick a flag in the ground, build a fort, "civilize" the people you find, and Presto! the land is yours.  However, upon arrival, our explorer catches gold fever and tries to set out on some wild expedition into the interior of South America to look for treasure.  

  Unfortunately, one of these wild goose chases did turn up something under the leadership of Alejo García (credited with "discovering" Paraguay).  Mr. García managed to get the foothills of the Andes and pillage an Inca village.  He brought back some shiny metal, and then there was no stopping the Gold Rush of the mid-1500s.  

  However, another common theme of the Spanish adventures was that whatever explorer did manage to make some sort of name for himself inevitably wound up dying at the hands of an angry indigenous mob (Mr. García learned this lesson in 1525).  It may have had something to do with the killing, the enslaving, or the robbing.  Perhaps two of the three or the whole package.  It is hard to say, some folks get angrier easier than others.  But it is sufficient to note that no one who came, at least for the first while, ended up hanging around very long.    

  Finally though, after a couple disasterous preliminary expeditions, the Spanish did manage to make it up the Paraguayan river and set up a fort under the leadership of Juan de Salazar de Espinosa.  They christened the new domecile "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción" in 1537. 

Look for the second installment of "History of Paraguay": "Polygamy vs. the Cow Head"

Mango Hunting, Now with Video Evidence...

Krista, searching for Mangoes again with our host Berta.

Right of Weight

  Upon arriving in Paraguay, it seemed that there was no real order to the flow of traffic here.  Often, there did not seem to be any visible street signs, and the few traffic lights that I noticed seemed either to be turned off, or with such a weak light as to be rendered unnoticable.

However, upon close observation, there is an unspoken order here that is, in fact, very logical.  The hierarchy that exists will be laid forth for you here.  I have deemed it, "The Right of Weight":

1) If you are a semi pulling one or more trailers, you need not stop at any lights, signs, or intersections.

2) Drivers of light trucks and buses need only make sure that semis are not barreling through the intersection.

3) Personal four-wheeled vehicles need to watch out for the two categories above, but need not worry about motorcycles.  (Note: within this category exists plenty of sub-categories based upon size and, inversely, condition of the vehicle.)

4) Motorcyles need to pay good heed to the above three classes of transportation lest they end up underneath of any one of the three, or several at the same time.  However, free reign is given to terrorize pedestrians.

5) Pedestrians at no time should expect to be given the right of way.  The pedestrian has dominion only over his/herself and any smaller specimens of the same class.  

   5a. (It was at first thought that pedestrians had the upper hand over the street dogs.  However, this is an exception to the hierarchy.  Generally, the street dogs are smaller, but will not move out of the way of the pedestrian.  They simply lay in the middle of the sidewalk daring you to step on them.  Their general hygiene is such that seldom do the pedestrians take the opportunity to assert their dominance and instead defer to the proud specimen that is the street dog.)

Black Friday.

 (Post actually written last Friday)

  So I read the news today from the States, and it reminded me of getting packed for Paraguay.

  A couple months back, when I was deciding what all to take with me for a year in South America, I laid out all of my clothing on the bed.  Now, I generally tell myself and others when preparing for trips that, at least when it comes to clothing, you need to lay everything out that you want to take, immediately cut the pile in half, and take only that.

  I organized what I wanted to bring with me, then cut it in half.  Now I am in Paraguay, and I realize that I should have cut it in half again, at least.

  To give a better idea of my actual closet down here, I will make a list:

8 t-shirts

5 dress shirts (for teaching)

3 pairs of pants

2 pairs of athletic shorts

some socks and underwear.

  That is obviously not an exhaustive list.  But hopefully it made you gasp at how little it was.  The point is, I should have no more than 4 t-shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and a pair of shorts.  I wear sandals basically all of the time, so bringing so many pairs of socks was a waste of luggage space.

  The reason for me suggesting the new 1/4 packing rule is that Krista and I have learned two things about the clothing reality here in Paraguay.

1) The washing machines are small, and we have to rinse things by hand, so letting a bunch of laundry pile up is not advisable.  I'll let Krista fill you in more on that process some time.

2) People just get by with less here.

  That last point brings me back to the news from the States as I was browsing the Internet today.  I had nearly forgotten that Black Friday existed.  Apparently though, CNN thought it important enough to be the headline in front of some attacks that are happening in India.  NEWS:  AMERICANS SPEND MONEY.

  People here spend money too.  The monetary system here in Paraguay is based around the Guaraní.  Currently, One US dollar equals about 5,000 Guaraní.  The net effect of this exchange rate is that it tests the math skills of any penny-pinching North American.  Everything seems REALLY expensive, even though it is usually close to the same price.  "2,300 Gs. to ride the bus?!? Outrageous!"

50,000 Gs. = about $10

 The economy of Paraguay is based largely on the sale of agricultural products and the exporting of natural resources.  It actually happens to be the world's largest exporter of hydro-electric power, thanks to the massive Itaipu dam which you can see in the picture here.  Also, the powers that know tell me that Paraguay produces a decent amount of cow-related products for its relative land area.

  The problem with an agriculture based economy, as some of you budding Adam Smiths might know, is that your country's market will depend a lot on world food prices.  Right now, prices are high, and Paraguay is doing well, but a stable guarantee, it is not. 

  All this might be theoretical and boring unlesss we stop to compare some numbers between Paraguay and the US.  

  However, the average Paraguayan, according to a 2007 estimate by the CIA World Factbook, makes roughly $4,000 dollars a year.  Think about that for a second.  $4,000 dollars a year means about $350 a month, or $90 a week, $13 a day. (Compare this with the $45,800 annually earned by your average neighbor in the States.)  Poverty, according to one count, affects 40% of the population.

  The difference between our North American economic reality and the reality here comes up a lot in the simple stuff.  I've had two Paraguayan friends ask about fast food prices and reply: "$5 for a hamburger and fries at McDonald's?  For 25.000 Guaranies (the same price after exchange) I can buy the same thing for four friends and I here."         

  It is not as if everyone down here is struggling just to make ends meet.  Truth be told, it is cheaper to live down here, in some respects.  And there are even rich people.  Really rich people.  We'll deal with that fact in another post.  But in general, like I said, people just get by with less.

PS-

  The joke that has been repeated by several Paraguayans down here to me goes like this:  "What does it mean that the U.S. is in an economic crisis? Answer: Each family can only have two cars instead of four.  What does it mean if Paraguay is in an economic crisis?  People have to stop taking the bus and walk everywhere."  I suspect the last part of the "joke" has some truth to it.  The first part probably does too, at least in terms of stereotypes.

Whew, that was long.

Central Ohio Success

  So just a quick note to boast about Ohio sports.  It seems that my leaving the country was a catalyst for everyone to start doing well.  The Columbus Crew won the MLS Cup this last Sunday (three of you may have noticed), the Buckeyes thumped on the Wolverines (really, who hasn't this year though), the Cleveland Cavs are somehow ranked #3 by ESPN (at least until Lebron leaves for the Nets...), and my youngest brother's Mount Vernon University soccer team is heading to the NAIA national tournament in California.  Congratulations Chris.

  Side note:  It appears that even catalysts like my leaving cannot help the Browns.  Is there some Cubs-like curse on them that I/they don't know about? 4-8?  Honestly?  We were supposed to be better than last year.  Instead, we mimick vacuum cleaners.  

Is Paraguay in Africa?

  

  While experiencing a bit of writer's block (or lack of writer's will- no one talks about that problem much...) over the past month, I happened to be reading over the posts that make up this blog currently.  I realized, much to my chagrin, that nothing was really put up here about Paraguay as a country.  This is a short attempt to remedy that with words and links...

  A commment that I have received in Asunción more than once is that somewhere along the line, someone down here met a North American who foolishly confided in a Paraguayan that he was pretty sure before his trip that Paraguay was in Africa.

  Well it is not.  And shame on him for exposing the shaky nature of our geographic education up north.

  In fact, Paraguay is one of only two landlocked SOUTH AMERICAN nations (the other being its northern neighbor Bolivia).  Although it is far from an ocean, water abounds here.  As you might be able to see from the best online map of the country I could find, Paraguay is surrounded by rivers of a pretty good size.  Now, we're not talking the Mississippi here, but one of them, the Rio Paraná is powerful enough to run the largest hydro-electric dam in the world, Itaipu.

  The Rio Paraguay cuts the country known as the heart of South America in to two distinct regions.  The northwestern one is known as the Chaco, and is dry as all get out and hot to boot about year 'round.  Many of you may be familiar with this place as the land that the Mennonite immigrants from Europe (see history post) turned in to an agricultural/economic miracle while simultaneously pretending that there were no idigenous inhabitants already on the land.  "Oh! Look!  Here we were trying to develop a plantation and these laborers just showed up out of nowhere!  What luck!"  (This is a slight over-simplification, again, await the history post.)

  The southeastern section of the country, home to the capital of Asunción, is still hot as a 4th of July Barbeque, but gets a decent amount of rain per year.  The country is generally considered to have a sub-tropical climate, which means that 115 degree days in the summer months of December, January, and February (no, not crazy - Southern Hemisphere, remember?) are not unheard of.     

  From the map you can see that Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina are hugging this little country.  It is the size of Montana, slightly smaller than California, and home to roughly 6 million people.  These 6 million people largely congregate in the southeastern part of the country.  The aforementioned Chaco is only home to about 2% of the population, even though it is 60% of Paraguay's land.

  There.  If you stuck out that geography lesson, you're a trooper.  And now you know that Paraguay is not in Africa.