What do people do to pass the time when not working for fun?
There are two things you should know about Paraguay in order to understand this answer. First, terere is a sort of cold, loose leaf tea and second that tranquilo means all is well, pretty much at least. From what I've seen so far, the people here live a tranquilo lifestyle, sitting in the front of their house in a semicircle looking out towards the street and passing terere. Things go by very slowly here, especially from the perspective of a hustlin' and bustlin' Chicagoan. Some people have their telenovelas that they watch, but in terms of socializing there's a lot of sitting, laughing, and terering involved. I suppose some people drink as well, but I think the more party lifestyle really only exists in the capital city, Asuncion. Someone can correct me or add information in the comment if I'm mistaken.
What's a traditional meal for them there?
I'm happy to say that I've really loved the vast majority of Paraguayan food. A traditional meal could possibly be some sort of noodle dish or hot soup, usually with beef and sometimes with chicken. You will definitely always have mandi'o (yuca) or bread on the table and possibly some tang. The lucky ones (like Jason and I) live with families that cook with a lot of vegetables. Some volunteers have found their diets completely lacking in this food group. Some families eat salads; I've seen two kinds here. Salads with tomatoes, lettuce, onion, salt, vinegar, and sunflower oil (YUM! There is no olive oil here), or a coleslaw type with mayonnaise. Traditional breakfasts only include bread and a milk based drink (like cafe con leche or milk with yerba). To summarize the food: carbohydrate-dominated, fried, salty, filling, yummy, lots-o-mayonnaise, meaty goodness.
What different "senses of identity" are there among the people?
There is a great sense of national pride here. People love their country and are proud to identify as Paraguayans. I also hear a lot of people say, “en el campo,” to describe the lifestyle of those who live far out in the very rural parts of Paraguay. This makes me think that there are three types of identifies, very similar to those in the states: rural (farming lifestyle, often poor, often speak only Guarani), urban (more dense living environments, not sure if they have chickens – overall I don't know much about this style of living), and suburbanish (houses are more spread out and people definitely have lots of animals, can be a diversity of wealth). Lastly, Paraguayans frequently side with one of two football teams: Olympia (black and white) or Sero (blue and red). People LOVE their soccer here. I own a red and blue shirt and my Olympia-adoring family hates it. But it's all in jest, even though they really do love their relative soccer teams.
Did I just read an article about Paraguay regulating and selling marijuana?
I have heard nothing about this. I'll keep you updated.
How far do you have to walk to go shopping?
Just a few blocks. I live in a more urbanized area, so I am surrounded by shopping opportunities. There is no such thing as a Wal-mart here, but there are lots of hardware stores and small tiendas. Jason and I have zero problems getting what we need.
What are things that are readily available in the states and not in Paraguay?
Real, delicious dark chocolate – scratch that – just some regular delicious chocolate. Their chocolate is horrible and they have no idea what deliciousness they're missing out on. American-style coffee. There's mostly instant here and the coffee drinkers seem super unhappy. Diversity of cheese. You will not readily find cheddar, goat cheese, or other staples of the American diet. They primarily use queso Paraguaya or sandwich cheese, but nothing really inspiring to my palate. Like I said, olive oil. But, they have sunflower oil and it is yum-tacular. Hot peppers. Paraguayan food is not spicy, therefore trainees with fiery tongues have found it hard to adapt. Whenever they can they buy hot sauce and put it on everything. Septic systems that can handle tp. Yep, we throw our toilet paper in the trash. It's really not as stinky as you would think.
And on that note I'll be gone for most of next week, so I will probably not update for a bit. Happy early November!
Maria hacking away at weeds with a machete.
Sara digging a space for one of our wee trees.
I can dig too!
Sara and I standing proud over one of the two trees that we planted on the grounds of the local agriculture high school. The school is free and includes room and board. Seniors spend their final year working on projects, like building fish ponds, maintaining a garden, or raising pigs.
Miguel and Megan working together on the tree seed memory game.
7 members of the 21-member agriculture group in G-43. Go team go!
Enjoy some butt-ball.
You are teaching us so much. Thanks for sharing. I'll see what kind of treats I can send you guys so you can share with your family.
ReplyDelete