We have been in Paraguay for just shy of two weeks now and we are starting to learn the community and meet many of the people. One of the most apparent (and significant) personality traits we have witnessed in the people of Paraguay is an overwhelming sense of personal contentment and happiness despite living amidst harsh conditions and extreme poverty. I hope that I can convey some of this sentiment in the following summary of week 1.
Each morning we start the day by co-teaching "Jardin" (Pre-School). As the school year just began last week (picture of first day on right), we are still in the first phase of classes where the kids only stay for 1 hour. As time passes, the school day gradually gets longer until it is 4-hours long. I help in the 4 and 5 year old class and Chelsey is the 3 and 4 year old class. Right now we are still getting the kids comfortable and, for the most part, playing games.
In the afternoon on Monday (March 4) a lady showed up at our house around lunchtime. She was poor and did not have enough money for medicine for her son. All we understood from her story was that he had not eaten for months. The Sisters have access to some medicines as they run the centro de salud (explained below) and so they we went in search of the medicine at the centro. We packed in the car with this woman, her granddaughter and one of the sisters. While in the car we discovered it was the little girl's 4th birthday. We found the medicine and drove the 3-4 miles to the hospital in the center of town. While at the hospital, the little girl kept asking for water... only later did we find out that the grandmother and the granddaughter (remember, just turned 4 years old) had walked the 4 miles that morning to visit the Sisters. What a reality check... kids in the US have cake and presents. This 4 year old walked 4 miles was thirsty, utterly without presents and still happy and fun as we played for an hour at the hospital. Anyhow, the sick gentleman was worse off than we expected. He had cancer and was emaciated. He had not eaten for months.
Later in the day we went across the river with Sister Susanah to Posadas. We really did not know the purpose of the trip but were anxious to visit Argentina. There is only one way to get to Posadas and it is across a very long 2 lane bridge. There is always a significant line so I expected it might take a little while but I was not prepared for 3 miles in 3.5 hours!! It was crazy. I have pledged not to return unless we go early because it just is not worth it going across the bridge. We have since learned that the exchange rate is so favorable, people go there and shop. Our friend, Gladys, went on Sunday and waited for over 6 hours on the bridge.
On Tuesday (March 4) we visited the centro de salud in the afternoon. The Centro is one of the Sister's primary missions here and I am sure that we will post much more about it once we start working there more often. It is located in the neighborhood under the bridge ("barrio debajo del puente") and provides medical care to very very poor families. We will be assisting in staffing the Centro on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The real medical professionals are nurses employed by the Centro and doctors from Encarnacion that volunteer to spend a few hours assisting. On Tuesday, our time at the Centro was cut short, however, because we agreed to accompany Sister Marianna to visit a poor woman and her 7 boys (I am not great at math but I think the chances of that happening are slim). We did not really understand the visit...we thought it was just to develop a relationship with this woman and her family but we were gravely mistaken.
Now that we know the backstory, we can provide you with a little background information that we have since learned. The family speaks very little spanish. They communicate primarily in Guaraní, which is the tribal language here. It is an official language of Paraguay (the only country in South America with two official languages). The Sister that we went with does not speak Guaraní so Delma, a nurse at the Centre and a member of youth group, translate. The youth group has been assisting this family for sometime now. The original house on the site was probably 80 square feet for a family of 8. There was a fire in the middle of the house (to cook on) and the nearest water is a very dirty stream a hundred yards away. The bathroom is outside and only identifiable because a sheet hangs in the tree to provide privacy. Chickens, dogs and children are everywhere. The kids wear nothing but shorts and the ground is covered with rotting food, waste, homemade contraceptives and trash. Approximately 4 months ago the youth group raised money and built an addition on to the house so that the total square footage approached 200 square feet. I have never seen such deplorable living conditions. There were three beds in the house (for 8 people) and a pillow outside which a little boy was laying on when we arrived.
The purpose of our trip was not to visit but, rather, to deconstruct the house that had been built a few months earlier and load it in a truck so that the materials could move with the family. The woman had lived on the land for 15 years but was being kicked off (we believe the owner of the land decided he was going to use it). This is very surprising to me as the house is miles down a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere/jungle. Anyhow, we spent the afternoon deconstructing the home. At one point, I found a tarantula within feet of where the bed had been in the house. The others assisting us said they are not uncommon and that they will kill a person within 2 hours if not treated. All I could think about was that these kids were walking around without shoes and were sleeping within feet of this spider.
On Wednesday (March 5) we visited the "gentes debajo del puente" (people under the bridge). This was my favorite thing we have done so far. Again, we learned the backstory after we visited (this is proving to always be the case). There were 4 sets of railroad tracks next to the river, running under the bridge to Argentina (discussed above and pictured to the right). Each tracks was on a different tier of ground. The tracks were abandoned and people built shanties on each tier. What has resulted is a neighborhood consisting of 4 tiers of shanties/homes. By my estimate, 4-10 homes share a water tap. Bathrooms exist in each house but there is no plumbing (I leave that to your imagination). Chickens and dogs roam everywhere. Despite these conditions, people are happy. I honestly do not think they believe themselves to be poor. The value system just seems different. They might know that they lack material goods but they do not see themselves as poor. They are content and welcoming.
We walked with the Sisters for a couple hours and just visited with the families. Chelsey and I made a little friend (above left). I also made friends with a kid named Victor (below). He was pushing around a broken bike which I was able to fix for him. It took a little while and Chelsey and the Sisters visited with his mom while I tinkered. He was SO, SO excited when we got it working. His mom disappeared into the house and came outside with a tub of water, a bar of soap and a nicely folded towel so that I could wash the grease off my hands. I could not get over how welcoming and gracious everyone was despite the living conditions.
On Thursday (March 6) we had a two hour Paraguayan History session with a local professor. I will not try to reteach the course but I will say that Paraguay has had a very unique history which has led to a totally diverse population. There is a huge Eastern European contingent here which has led to some interesting looking Guarani children with bright blonde hair. :-)
Friday (March 7) afternoon we had our first religious formation session with the Sisters. This will be a weekly event so that we can be sure we are taking the time to reflect on our
experiences. In the evening we went to have dinner and spend the night at the house of our newest Paraguayan friend, Virginia. She is the teacher of the 4 to 5 year old class at the school and was nice enough to invite Chelsey and I into her home for the evening. First, she has two awesome kids (Facundo and Alejandra). Second, she is an awesome cook. On Friday night she made us empanadas, pizza and paella for dinner. Third, she took us to do fun things in Encarnacion. After the amazing meal we went and bought ice cream and then went to the Coastanera (a really nice boardwalk and beach each on the river - photo above) to hang out and enjoy the evening. Ice cream shops are a bit different here. You go to a place like Baskin Robbins and literally buy an empty 1 Kilogram bucket and then you can choose whatever flavors you like to fill the bucket...awesome. The plan was to stay the night with Virginia and her kids and then go to the zoo early on Saturday (February 8) but bad storms hit the area and it poured all day on Saturday so instead of the zoo we chilled at Virginia's house, ate couple home-cooked meals and played with her kids (below). We are going to take a rain check on the zoo.
Sundays with the sisters are totally relaxing. Mass is at 8:00 AM and then all that is on the schedule for the whole day are meals. Chelsey and I hung out at the house, went on a nice walk around the barrio and started working on the "Moto" (scooter) in the garage. The sisters want us to use it to get around the barrio. No complaints from us... we just have to find a mechanic to get the thing in working condition again.
Anyhow, it has been a wild ride and we are only two weeks deep.
Each morning we start the day by co-teaching "Jardin" (Pre-School). As the school year just began last week (picture of first day on right), we are still in the first phase of classes where the kids only stay for 1 hour. As time passes, the school day gradually gets longer until it is 4-hours long. I help in the 4 and 5 year old class and Chelsey is the 3 and 4 year old class. Right now we are still getting the kids comfortable and, for the most part, playing games.
In the afternoon on Monday (March 4) a lady showed up at our house around lunchtime. She was poor and did not have enough money for medicine for her son. All we understood from her story was that he had not eaten for months. The Sisters have access to some medicines as they run the centro de salud (explained below) and so they we went in search of the medicine at the centro. We packed in the car with this woman, her granddaughter and one of the sisters. While in the car we discovered it was the little girl's 4th birthday. We found the medicine and drove the 3-4 miles to the hospital in the center of town. While at the hospital, the little girl kept asking for water... only later did we find out that the grandmother and the granddaughter (remember, just turned 4 years old) had walked the 4 miles that morning to visit the Sisters. What a reality check... kids in the US have cake and presents. This 4 year old walked 4 miles was thirsty, utterly without presents and still happy and fun as we played for an hour at the hospital. Anyhow, the sick gentleman was worse off than we expected. He had cancer and was emaciated. He had not eaten for months.
Later in the day we went across the river with Sister Susanah to Posadas. We really did not know the purpose of the trip but were anxious to visit Argentina. There is only one way to get to Posadas and it is across a very long 2 lane bridge. There is always a significant line so I expected it might take a little while but I was not prepared for 3 miles in 3.5 hours!! It was crazy. I have pledged not to return unless we go early because it just is not worth it going across the bridge. We have since learned that the exchange rate is so favorable, people go there and shop. Our friend, Gladys, went on Sunday and waited for over 6 hours on the bridge.
On Tuesday (March 4) we visited the centro de salud in the afternoon. The Centro is one of the Sister's primary missions here and I am sure that we will post much more about it once we start working there more often. It is located in the neighborhood under the bridge ("barrio debajo del puente") and provides medical care to very very poor families. We will be assisting in staffing the Centro on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The real medical professionals are nurses employed by the Centro and doctors from Encarnacion that volunteer to spend a few hours assisting. On Tuesday, our time at the Centro was cut short, however, because we agreed to accompany Sister Marianna to visit a poor woman and her 7 boys (I am not great at math but I think the chances of that happening are slim). We did not really understand the visit...we thought it was just to develop a relationship with this woman and her family but we were gravely mistaken.
Now that we know the backstory, we can provide you with a little background information that we have since learned. The family speaks very little spanish. They communicate primarily in Guaraní, which is the tribal language here. It is an official language of Paraguay (the only country in South America with two official languages). The Sister that we went with does not speak Guaraní so Delma, a nurse at the Centre and a member of youth group, translate. The youth group has been assisting this family for sometime now. The original house on the site was probably 80 square feet for a family of 8. There was a fire in the middle of the house (to cook on) and the nearest water is a very dirty stream a hundred yards away. The bathroom is outside and only identifiable because a sheet hangs in the tree to provide privacy. Chickens, dogs and children are everywhere. The kids wear nothing but shorts and the ground is covered with rotting food, waste, homemade contraceptives and trash. Approximately 4 months ago the youth group raised money and built an addition on to the house so that the total square footage approached 200 square feet. I have never seen such deplorable living conditions. There were three beds in the house (for 8 people) and a pillow outside which a little boy was laying on when we arrived.
The purpose of our trip was not to visit but, rather, to deconstruct the house that had been built a few months earlier and load it in a truck so that the materials could move with the family. The woman had lived on the land for 15 years but was being kicked off (we believe the owner of the land decided he was going to use it). This is very surprising to me as the house is miles down a dirt road, in the middle of nowhere/jungle. Anyhow, we spent the afternoon deconstructing the home. At one point, I found a tarantula within feet of where the bed had been in the house. The others assisting us said they are not uncommon and that they will kill a person within 2 hours if not treated. All I could think about was that these kids were walking around without shoes and were sleeping within feet of this spider. 
On Wednesday (March 5) we visited the "gentes debajo del puente" (people under the bridge). This was my favorite thing we have done so far. Again, we learned the backstory after we visited (this is proving to always be the case). There were 4 sets of railroad tracks next to the river, running under the bridge to Argentina (discussed above and pictured to the right). Each tracks was on a different tier of ground. The tracks were abandoned and people built shanties on each tier. What has resulted is a neighborhood consisting of 4 tiers of shanties/homes. By my estimate, 4-10 homes share a water tap. Bathrooms exist in each house but there is no plumbing (I leave that to your imagination). Chickens and dogs roam everywhere. Despite these conditions, people are happy. I honestly do not think they believe themselves to be poor. The value system just seems different. They might know that they lack material goods but they do not see themselves as poor. They are content and welcoming.
We walked with the Sisters for a couple hours and just visited with the families. Chelsey and I made a little friend (above left). I also made friends with a kid named Victor (below). He was pushing around a broken bike which I was able to fix for him. It took a little while and Chelsey and the Sisters visited with his mom while I tinkered. He was SO, SO excited when we got it working. His mom disappeared into the house and came outside with a tub of water, a bar of soap and a nicely folded towel so that I could wash the grease off my hands. I could not get over how welcoming and gracious everyone was despite the living conditions.
On Thursday (March 6) we had a two hour Paraguayan History session with a local professor. I will not try to reteach the course but I will say that Paraguay has had a very unique history which has led to a totally diverse population. There is a huge Eastern European contingent here which has led to some interesting looking Guarani children with bright blonde hair. :-)
Friday (March 7) afternoon we had our first religious formation session with the Sisters. This will be a weekly event so that we can be sure we are taking the time to reflect on ourexperiences. In the evening we went to have dinner and spend the night at the house of our newest Paraguayan friend, Virginia. She is the teacher of the 4 to 5 year old class at the school and was nice enough to invite Chelsey and I into her home for the evening. First, she has two awesome kids (Facundo and Alejandra). Second, she is an awesome cook. On Friday night she made us empanadas, pizza and paella for dinner. Third, she took us to do fun things in Encarnacion. After the amazing meal we went and bought ice cream and then went to the Coastanera (a really nice boardwalk and beach each on the river - photo above) to hang out and enjoy the evening. Ice cream shops are a bit different here. You go to a place like Baskin Robbins and literally buy an empty 1 Kilogram bucket and then you can choose whatever flavors you like to fill the bucket...awesome. The plan was to stay the night with Virginia and her kids and then go to the zoo early on Saturday (February 8) but bad storms hit the area and it poured all day on Saturday so instead of the zoo we chilled at Virginia's house, ate couple home-cooked meals and played with her kids (below). We are going to take a rain check on the zoo.
Sundays with the sisters are totally relaxing. Mass is at 8:00 AM and then all that is on the schedule for the whole day are meals. Chelsey and I hung out at the house, went on a nice walk around the barrio and started working on the "Moto" (scooter) in the garage. The sisters want us to use it to get around the barrio. No complaints from us... we just have to find a mechanic to get the thing in working condition again.
Anyhow, it has been a wild ride and we are only two weeks deep.
1 comment:
And yes, I did wear the same outfit three times last week.
Post a Comment