Random Parts

Before we left the states for our Peace Corps service in Paraguay, a friend gave me some good advice. She told me to really look, take note, and jot down some of the random, everyday things we noticed in our new surroundings, because as we began to acculturate, they would become commonplace. So, taking her advice, here are a few random notes from the field, (please excuse my weird “stream of consciousness” ramblings…): 

We have seen up to 5 people riding on a moto at a time, including a baby and the family dog.

Events in our town are advertised by a truck, with a three foot tall speaker, driving through neighborhoods with the repeated announcement blaring.

Whether door to door or on buses, vendors on foot sell a variety of wares for your convenience. These items might include, but aren’t limited to: pineapples; bedding; car antennas; kitchen utensils; cup of coke or water from a bottle that’s been reused; fans; lottery tickets; cell phone chargers and covers; chipa, (delicious Paraguayan bread); toys; windshield wipers; pots and pans; CDs “pirata”, (yes, they even admit they are pirated!); Jehovah Witnesses and LDS selling their faith; candy and gum; clothes; sunglasses; towels; beer, served through the window of the bus at the bus stop, (they advertise it as “kamby” or milk, in Guarani); cow heads, stomachs, and assorted organs.

Gas is called “Nafta” and is sold in recycled soda bottles at a small despensa in our town. The different grades of gas are color coded, and make for a visually attractive roadside stand.

The manes of horses are roached or cut straight off, including forelocks.

When it rains in this subtropical climate, it is a mystery as to whether the liquid dripping down your back is rain or your own sweat.

A serrated knife is a tool for all purposes, from sawing small branches, to making holes in leather, to cutting through plastic bottles, and yes, even slicing a tomato. ”With the same knife?” you ask. Of course!

Many items in Paraguay are “re-purposed” when they can no longer be used for their original purpose. A burned out florescent light bulb is no exception. It gets wired to a long piece of bamboo, positioned near the house and becomes a TV antennae.

If you dip a recently killed chicken into boiling water, the feathers come off much more easily.

I learned how to ride a bike, no, really. Riding a bike in Arazape is a completely different experience. I have honed my skills in: dodging cows, pigs, dogs, horses, chickens, and motos; dodging cow, pig, dog, horse and chicken manure; shifting gears to go up and down hills on dirt trails while navigating rocks, ruts, and pot holes; and riding on cobblestone roads while balancing ever so slightly above the seat- you get the picture…..

We have a new pet- He is silent during the day, (invisible too, as we have yet to discover where he sleeps), and exits our front door every night to fill up on unsuspecting bugs in the night. We just happened to notice this huge kururu, (toad), one night. He just minds his own business and we mind ours. Please submit your suggestions, as he is yet to be named

Sugar is a highly prized commodity here in Paraguay. It is added generously to juice, sliced fruit, and the morning cocido. They start young with this habit- at least 3 heaping teaspoons of the prized granular white stuff is added to the milk in a baby’s bottle.

The wood used to build fences and gates is so hard and durable that it is also used to make the hinges for the gates.

 

When an ant bites you, (and it will- seems like they have an affinity for Norte meat), you will experience four phases: First- it hurts! For such a tiny insect, it sure carries a mean punch; Second- the bitten area becomes a tiny pustule of infection; Third- it itches and you will scratch like crazy until; Fourth- you create a little sore that takes about a week to heal.

The Paraguayan kids are similar to kids in the states- same big smiles, same sense of curiosity and wonder, same desire to learn, same dirty feet. 

Whether handing a bowl of soup over the fence; inviting us over for dinner, terere, or to celebrate a 90^th birthday; waving and yelling saludos in the streets; or listening patiently and laughing with us at our slowly progressing language skills, the people in this community have been welcoming and wonderful.

Enough randomness for one night- Hey, I just realized absolutely nothing itches today! Now that was random!

Who Spilled the Beans?

Poroto, Kumanda, Beans!

Here in Parguay, almost every kokue, or small farmed plot, has four main staples: corn, mandioca, sugar cane or pasto, (cattle feed), and beans. Recently, we had the opportunity to help with the bean harvest. As the weather has been extremely dry this year, we all worked together to get the beans out of the field before their pods cracked and the land reclaimed them.

So, off we went at about 6:00am, with our hats and long sleeved shirts, knowing the temperature would rise above 100 degrees before we returned, feed sacks slung over one shoulder, and carrying termos of cold water for terere, (Did I forget to mention the machete? It comes on every trip and is used for everything from removing stickers from pant legs, to hacking at snakes, to punishing a dog- flat side only, of course!).

After a 1 mile walk, we arrived at the bean section of the kokue, were assigned a row, and started picking the beans, by hand. The goal was to fill as many 50 pound feed sacks with bean pods, (dry only- small red bean variety), as we could before it got too hot to work in the sun.

It wasn’t all work though. We spent time laughing, teasing each other about our “bean picking styles”, (heads down with butts up is the norm, sitting will get you a razin’), and of course sharing terere midway through the morning. 

Each day I was able to fill my 50-pound sack of pods, but I was never quite able to balance and carry it on my head as the other woman did. I did try though, and in the process provided lots of entertainment for the others watching my attempts. Fortunately, we did not have to carry our harvest back to the house- an ox cart and a moto took on that task.

The second part of the harvest took place at home. The bean pods were spread out on a tarp, and put in the sun for a day, then, were cracked by hand. 

We spent lots of time sitting in a circle, talking, (mostly listening in our case), and watching the piles of beans grow! 

The family ended up with enough beans to eat for the entire year, plus enough for seed for the next growing season.

On the third day of harvest, I was told that one of the sacks was for Mark and me. Suerte! It yielded 4 ½ , 2 liter bottles full of beans, probably enough to get us though our 2 years of service!

Club de Libros!

I had heard that there were very few books available to kids in Paraguay. It turned out to be true, at least in the town where we are serving. Our town doesn’t have a library- even the school “library” is just a place to house the few textbooks kids use in the classroom.

What, kids without books? It seems like something we take for granted in the states. Luckily we preplanned, before leaving for Paraguay. We were given some books in Spanish by our kids, (cool- from our kids in the US to our kids in Paraguay!), and brought some others with us as well.

One day, I gave it a test run- Would the kids here be interested in books? With their many farm chores and active lifestyles, would sitting and listening or reading in their free time be something they would chose to do? So…. I brought three children’s books, (all of our books are in Spanish), outside, sat under a tree, and began to read, ( a great way to practice my Spanish, too). Before I knew it, I had two kids glued to my sides, listening, pointing to the pictures, trying to see what might be on the next page!

The next day one little boy kept asking about my dog. I kept explaining to him that I didn’t have a dog here, yet he persisted. I figure out that he wanted my book about dogs! So, we brought it out, commenced to reading, and continued to read almost daily.

To take our reading sessions to the next level, I asked an 11 year-old girl if she thought kids would be interested in a book club, or “Club de Libros.” She was all over this idea! Before I knew it we were selecting books to read, planning activities, visiting homes to invite kids, and making carrot cake and apple juice for snack!

Last Saturday we held our first meeting of the “Club de Libros.”

 

 We invited 10 kids, and 16 arrived, half an hour early, (unheard of in Paraguay- everyone arrives late!). While kids arrived, they looked at books independently.



We started with a quick ice breaker where everyone said their names and a topic they liked. Mark, Yeni, and I each read a short book about trees, (the theme Yeni chose), aloud. The kids then drew and colored pictures of trees, (which I bound and added to our book collection).




 Next, everyone read independently or read to the younger kids.



 For every book read, each kid got a “bead”, (section of cut up straw), to add to their necklace, (piece of yarn).  This was followed by an active game of Frisbee, and then finally our homemade carrot cake for snack!

Everyone seemed to enjoy our first “Club de Libros”, so we decided to make it a weekly event, every Saturday morning at 9:00am, (if you’re available, stop by!), next theme chosen, “Animals.” It was so much fun for me to see interest and enthusiasm these kids had for books- I’m not sure about their reading levels at this point how much they were actually “reading”, but it doesn’t matter- they were enjoying books!

Maybe a library project is something the community might be interested in pursuing…. Something to consider as a part of our service here?

A Place to Hang Our Hats

We have our own house! A week ago today, we grabbed our backpacks and a few boxes, (in other words, all of our possessions), and walked to the house we will be renting for the next two years. We were so fortunate to find this three bedroom house, completely furnished, with an inside kitchen and bathroom for a mere 300,000 guaranis  per month, ($65.30 US)! An added bonus is the florescent green paint- everyone in town knows where this house is- just look for the glowing green!

 Our Kitcen

It has been so nice to have a little more privacy; to be able to fix our own meals and eat when we want to; spread out a little; and develop a new hobby. Hmmmm, what was that new chord, again?!

In addition, we have a fenced yard to protect our garden from the animals that roam the streets, and have already started two compost piles, (the formerly mentioned animals are regular contributors to this project).  

 

We have started to clear a space for our garden, though won't begin planting until March. In the mean time, Mark prepares to sharpen his machete and hoe on our back patio.

 

We’ve had visits from neighbors, who have generously presented us with gifts: a painted sombrero, (check it out on our kitchen wall); a sack of mandioca, (a staple in Paraguay); a plastic bag that held a chick with half of its feathers missing, (yes, it was and still is alive!); and a flour sack that held a full-grown hen. Two chickens, no feed, no cage. What did we do? We built a cage from wood, screen, and door parts from around the house, made a waterer out of a soda bottle, and fed them some left over rice. Somehow, the hen escaped from the shed sometime during the night, (prior to the completion of the cage). Yes, that’s right, the nice hen with feathers flew the coop. At that point we were left with little Peky, (pronounced Paku, which means little/immature in Guarani), who seemed right at home in his new abode. The following night we were presented with three more chickens!

 

"Peky"

So there you have it- a nice place to hang our hats, plenty of space to grow veggies, friendly, generous neighbors, and a growing chicken farm. Who could ask for more?!

Got Milk?

It is common for a family to have 1 to 7 milking cows on small family farm here in Paraguay. I purposely didn’t say dairy cows because they are all purpose- for meat or milk, a mixture of Brahama and ?  It’s been interesting to observe the process, which goes like this:

1. At about 2:00pm all of the calves are brought in from the street, put into a pen and tied to a tree or fence. All calves have a rope tied around their necks, which drags behind them throughout the day. The calves spend the day munching on chopped sugar cane and grass, and drinking water to which salt is added.

2. At 8:00am the following morning, the cows are brought into the pen and tied near their calves.

3. One cow’s back legs are tied or hobbled, with rope. Her calf is then led over and guided by hand to suck on each teat, causing the milk to start flowing.

4. The calf is then quickly retied and the cow is milked by hand.

5. When the cow is finished being milked, the rope is removed from her back legs. The cow and calf are released together to graze/ nurse for about five hours before the calves are brought in, again.

The seven cows on this particular farm, give about five gallons of milk, total, each morning. With the exception of a little milk for the morning cocido, (mate, lots of sugar, and milk), all of the milk is made into cheese. The five gallons of milk is enough to make one large cube of cheese, (see a previous blog for this process), which is used for home consumption or sold. I was told that the cheese brings in more “plata” than the milk does, besides, I haven’t seen anyone drink a glass of milk since we’ve been in Paraguay.

Quite a different process than in the states- maybe a more appropriate title for this post would have been “Got Cheese?”

Plant a Tree!

As a conservation and environmental education volunteer, one of the goals of my service is to raise awareness about deforestation in Paraguay, and encourage reforestation or to simply plant more trees with the people in my community, using locally available trees and seeds. Before attempting to teach others, I wanted to do a little experimenting on my own. Here is a snapshot of the process we used to create our own little backyard, vivero, or tree nursery.

1. Mark and I, during our daily two-hour walks in our community, began to identify local trees and identify potential, “mother trees.” Mother trees are exceptional trees of a specific variety from which we might collect seeds.

2. We collected seeds from 3 different trees, including: one native, (Timbo); one popular in this area for shade, (Chivato); and one ornamental, (Lluvia de Oro).

3. We worked with our host family to correctly identify the tree varieties, then removed the seeds from their protective pods.

4. Next, we treated the seeds with boiling water, (4 minutes), and soaking with cold water, (10 hours), so   the seeds would germinate more rapidly.

 5. While the seeds were soaking, we made macetas, (homemade planters), out of plastic soda bottles.

 6. We planted the seeds and Mark made a medio sombra, (shade), for the seedlings to protect them from the blistering Paraguayan sun.

7. Our tree “plantitas” sprouted and continue to grow under the watchful eye of Lorenzo, our 5 year-old host brother. He waters them daily with a regadera, (watering can), made from a plastic soda bottle. He also loves to use his balde and pala, (bucket and shovel), that Mark made for him out of plastic from the maceta project, (notice the recycling theme going on, here?), to spread ashes around the perimeter of our tiny vivero to deter ants.

8. Today, we transplanted the larger trees into bigger, individual macetas made from old newspapers.

We have have been learning lots about growing local trees, creating tools from available materials, and working with our host family!

An Intimate Cultural Experience

Last week we were invited to a family gathering, thinking it was just for a visit. We talked with people and were were shown around the house and garden. From a distance, I noticed a small table covered in a white table cloth, including: a candle; a vase with flowers from the yard; a ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary; a glass of water; a small silver tin; a small, white cardboard box with plastic flowers attached to the top; and a glass jar with a peach label containing something I couldn’t quite make out.

Before long a priest arrived on a moto and everyone gathered near the table. The priest conducted a ceremony with participation and reflections from the group in attendance, including readings and songs. I came to realize, despite the language barrier, that we had been invited to a very personal gathering to share in the cultural practice of celebrating the life of a “lost child.”

Toward the end of the ceremony, the tiny fetus was taken from the glass jar with the peach label, placed in the white box, and buried near a shrine outside the family home. The mother of the miscarried child, with red, teary eyes helped serve refreshments to everyone. Her brother put a big arm around her shoulders and said something that made her smile. Everyone ate, talked and visited, before we set out down the dirt trail toward home. 

As we walked, I reflected on the ceremony and how this caring community of people came to support the young woman during her time of loss.

I wanted to share this cultural experience because it made me think. Is this practice unique to Paraguay? Close friends in the states, who have experienced a miscarriage, have shared that it can be a lonely experience- that people don’t talk about it because it makes them feel uncomfortable or that at times people make insensitive comments. The gathering we attended was warm and supportive to the young mother, though I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t admit that the fetus in the jar part was a little unnerving to me….

The whole experience made me wonder if some type of recognition of loss, following a miscarriage, would be comforting for moms in the states, too. I guess this is a matter so personal that it would vary with each individual….

I was grateful to have been invited to join in this experience- a ritual very different from what I am accustomed to, yet it made so much sense at the same time. In addition, it was just another example of how open and welcoming Paraguayans have been during our short time here. 

Where's the Poop?

One of the goals of our service here in Paraguay is soil recuperation, or adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil to increase crop production. Currently, I am working with a family to create an abonera, (organic compost box), to supplement the family garden. We have been feeding this hungry compost pile lots of leaves, cow poop, kitchen scraps, (what doesn't get fed to the pigs),  and other organic matter we find around the farm. Since most families plant their gardens in March, the timing should be perfect with a ready supply of compost.

This project serves another purpose, as well. Leaves and other organic matter are considered trash and because there is no garbage service or pick up, it is burned. This creates lots of smoke in the air, particularly on hot still days. Composting this “trash” is a great alternative!

 
 Preparing the soil in the compost box



The kids are so eager to help and try new things. This little guy carried this bag of leaves, (or dry organic matter), that was just about as big as he is!




The whole family has been involved in this project! They were intrigued to feel how hot the compost actually becomes, (me, too: yeah- it's working!), and to see how the organic matter is converting into compost, (hey- the cow poop doesn't stink any more!).

We are discovering that the community has an interest in organic fertilizers through composting, so we plan to use this "abonera" as part of a demonstration when we begin to teach others. Hopefully the end result will be better veggie yields and better nutrition for our Paraguayan neighbors!

 

Well, Okay...

During our pre-service Peace Corps interview, I said I could do it, so I did. While our host prepared to walk to the kokue to harvest mandioca, Mark and I, too, got ready to go along. At this time, I was told by our hostess that I was to stay at the house with her. When I persisted, her husband said it would be better for me to work at the house, that it would be too hot for me, (a woman), in the fields. So, I did it- respected cultural norms and remained at the house to do, “women’s work,” for a little while, anyway…..

Did I mention that I pouted for a short time? Well, I did, but not for too long. I decided to get over it and get out into my community. I met a woman spinning wool and commenced with my community needs assessment questions. Her responses were entirely in Guarani, (most people speak a little Spanish, too), and to my surprise, I was able to understand enough to get some responses down!

As I continued down the dirt road to a neighboring community, I encountered a plantita and seed source gold mine! Paraiso Gigante, Yvyra’ro, Karuparu Kuru, and Yvyra Pyta, just the trees I had been looking for, as we decided to reserve a small part of our garden for a tree nursery as part of a reforestation project.

Further down the road, I heard the high-pitched hum of, “the bichos that come with the watermelons.” I was finally able to view one up close: a thick, greenish, 2 ½ inch fly-like insect with large lacey wings. I don’t know much else about them, other than there are lots of them in Arazape and that their song coincides with the ripening of the watermelons.

My attention was then captured by a hive of tiny sting-less bees, furiously tending their football sized hive, attached to a Timbo, (native Paraguayan tree), branch. The miniature honeycombs, arranged in perfect alignment, held the liquid gold produced by these ¼ inch abejas, (or kavakuera in Guarani).

After my two hour walk experiencing Arazape, (part of our daily routine), I emerged with new ideas, a breath of fresh air from the beautiful scenery surrounding me, and my attitude in check. Adjusting to new cultural and gender roles won’t be easy for me, but we’ll get it figured out. ;)

Chipa!

Paraguayans make a delicious bread, crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, called “chipa.” You can purchase chipa just about anywhere in Paraguay: on the streets; in the terminal; while on the colectivo; or from a woman carrying a large basket expertly balanced on her head.

I had the opportunity to make chipa with an expert. Being a fan of the traditional treat, I jumped at the chance. Although you may lack a tatakua’a, get your recipe card out and get ready to bake up a big batch of chipa!

1.Fill the tatakua’a with wood and start a fire, then continue to feed the fire so the bricks get hot throughout.

2. Heat ¼ pot of pig fat until it liquefies, cool; add equal parts of mandioca flour and corn flour; a big hunk of cheese; add a few cups of whey, (left over from the cheese making process); about 15 eggs and a small handful of anise seed. Mix well by hand.

3.Knead the dough, then form into rings or small buns and place on banana leaves.

 

4. After about an hour, remove any remaining wood from the tatakua’a and sweep out the ash.

5. Place the chipa in the tatakua’a and seal the oven.

6. After about 20 minutes, carefully remove the baked chipa. Ten cuidado- it’s HOT!

7. Enjoy!