Ellen in Paraguay

Did you know…

Paraguay and Brazil share the largest hydro-electric plant in the world?

It is called Itaipu, which means “the singing rock” in the Guarani tongue. It was built in the 70’s during the Strossner dictatorship, flooding thousands of hectares of land and relocating many people from their homes, but also promising huge economic advantages. The dam has 20 turbines, of which only one is needed to provide 95% of Paraguay’s electricity. The output from the other nine is sold to Paraguay in order to pay their debt to the Brazilian government which funded the whole project, or eaten up by government officials or others at the top of the ladder with the right connections. In some ways Itaipu is a bit of a sore spot for many Paraguayans, or at least the ones who recognize that the whole country could be greatly profiting from the dam, but because of the corruption are instead paying outrageous monthly electricity bills.

Itaipu, one of the seven wonders of the modern world, was only one of the places we visited this past weekend on a field trip ninth and tenth grade classes. We also saw Yguasu “big water” waterfalls. There is a story that Woodrow Wilson (my brother thinks it was him, may have been a different president), upon seeing these falls, remarked “poor Niagara.” It is indeed quite a sight, even with the small amount of water, because of the quantity of falls arranged in a beautiful landscape and all the big rocks and lush tropical growth. I was even more impressed by Salto Monday (pronounced mon-dai-ew, with a really nasally accent on the “ew”, meaning “neighbourhood river”), which is an extremely powerful, fast-moving waterfall, I think it said it had the most output per second of any waterfall in South America. There used to be another waterfall even higher and more powerful than Monday, but it was flooded with the building of the dam.

Two of the nights we slept on the bus, but one night we stayed at a most beautiful campground…completely free! In addition to the kitchens and BBQ spits and cabins furnished with mattresses, there was even bike riding, horseback riding and wagon rides the next morning. What made me a little sad that it was one of six nature reservations built by the Itaipu corporation, which when one thinks about the amount of money that is running through their hands, the free camping is like giving away penny candies, an obvious attempt to win favour with the people that they have hoodwinked.

Another important place is the tres fronteras, where the borders of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet and each has built a large monument displaying the colours of its flag. The first day we visited the Brazilian side, well-kempt and complete with a gift shop, fancy restaurant, and special tourist photo spots. Across the river you could see the large luxurious hotels in Argentina. The second day we went to the Paraguayan landmark, and I was struck by the obvious difference in the sites, which were supposed to represent unity and friendship between the countries. The Paraguayan one didn’t even have a road leading up to it, just a path cut through the trees. I would have been nervous had I not been with such a large group, for it seemed such an abandoned place, the run-down structure with graffiti all over it. Furthermore, the stairs were falling apart and at one point would lead an unobservant visitor straight over the steep edge. But once we got down to the river, I realized that out of the three, I would choose the Paraguayan side any day. There were no touristy gimmicks to distract, and the lack of boundaries really allowed us to enjoy the beauty of the grand rivers. At the same time, it makes me sad that Paraguay really doesn’t get a lot of credit for its beauty, and the people are not benefiting from the resources with which the country has been blessed.

It was definitely a very interesting school trip…I learned a lot about political history, upcoming elections, contraband, average income, the cost of electricity, and the working hours of the ladies who sell chipa, and favourite Paraguayan snack. I only hope the students learned as much as I did.

I am over at Karen and Oscar’s house, on a wonderful summer day, along with Peter and Larissa. We just finished eating lunch outside on the picnic table, and afterwards as we were cleaning up and Peter and Jason were at the table helping the boys with their homework, I remarked to Karen that her kitchen was so full of life (i.e. loud and busy).
Yesterday was also a beautiful day, and a group of young people from the church decided it would be fun to walk to a big hill called Cerro Lambaré and eat a picnic lunch at the top. As we were starting around the last bend, the three Paraguayan boys and my brother decided to be adventurous and make their way straight up through the bushes instead of by the road. One offered to carry my heavy backpack with all the pop in it, but I like practicing carrying heavy backpacks in case I go backpacking in the mountains someday, so I politely declined. A few minutes later as Emi, Larissa, Jason and I continued on, immersed in conversation, we were interrupted by a yelling guy, pointing a gun at us and demanding to hand over our cell phones. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a cell phone to satisfy him but I don’t think he believed us. The episode seemed to take a very long time, with me throwing my back pack on the ground and not knowing what else to do, but it probably took less that 3 minutes, finishing with a spiteful comment directed at Jason that ¨here in Paraguay we don’t like Yankees.¨ I ran the rest of the way to the top of the hill to tell the boys, and also found there a group of guys with motorbikes who took us on a search for the culprit, but we never found him. The police also came after awhile, but were completely ambivalent to the situation, probably knowing that this happens all the time and that the chance we would find the thief or get anything back was almost hopeless.
In the end we lost a pack back full of picnic items such as pop, cheese, sandwich meat, and ketchup, as well as Larissa’s little sister’s camera that she got for her birthday (sorry Lindsay, we’ll get you a new one), her driver’s license and credit card, and some money. Oh yes, and my house keys, so we had to saw off the lock on our house. I also lost what little trust I might have had in the Paraguayan police, and a little bit of dignity by being robbed by some little drunk kid with what was almost certainly not a real pistol, and who probably wouldn’t even be able to appreciate most of the things he stole that meant so much to us. Thankfully, I have not lost my desire to be in Paraguay, nor my freedom to be able to walk down the street without fear. There could be many regrets, things that could have been done to prevent the situation, but in the end we need to try to take the good out of the situation and learn from it, just like Auntie Annette told Larissa. I feel like yesterday was a time of bonding that we will never forget, and in the end we were able to talk about the good things we learned, and even laugh at it. Pastor Pedro came and helped us all afternoon to fill out a report at the police station, and bought us all empanadas. Haha, I forgot to write that Oscar and Karen were travelling that weekend, the first time that they had left the boys for whom I felt responsible, so that added just a little bit to the stressfulness of the situation. Anyways, I have been reminded of how important people and lives are in comparison to our possessions. I received a reminder that we need to be careful and stick together, but also that we have to trust that God is taking care of us no matter what. I was scared that Larissa’s mom was going to want her to go home or that my mom wouldn’t want us to travel anymore, but I guess our mothers are wise enough to know that no matter where one is, simply to live is to be taking a risk. Confidence in God and freedom in his promises of protection are better than fear, and living a full life is better than existing in a false security.

“I’m so glad I know English.” “Rey said I look Paraguayan. Do you think that’s supposed to be a compliment or an insult.” “Man, I am so disappointed that our cake didn’t turn out.” “When is it going to start getting really hot?” I didn’t know where to start, so for the last minute I just wrote down some of Peter and Larissa’s conversation. My brother and cousin got here last Wednesday, and it still seems unreal to me. I have enjoyed all the visitors we have had over this year, but it is a special joy to share this experience with two of the people that are closest to me. Since they are staying with me until we all go home together in December, they will have had almost two months to become familiar with the Paraguayan lifestyle; I am thinking it will be nice to have other people me who understand what life is like here and with whom I can reminisce. They are both very serious about trying to pick up some Spanish while they are here and are coming along wonderfully…under my tutelage of course. It can be seen from Larissa’s first comment that studying Spanish has helped her appreciate some of the difficulties that a person might have in learning English. She is also having a great time with the communal way of life, sharing térere with all kinds of people, and she even suggested at lunch today that we all just eat our dessert out of the same bowl. Larissa already has been given a nickname by Oscar “La Risa” which means “the laugh” and it suits her well. I have spent much time in giggles for the last few days.

Peter probably looks even more Paraguayan after Saturday when he got a nice tan from spending two hours stranded in the middle of the Río Paraguay. We rented two boats for an hour for only $2, but they were probably worth about that much. Gaby had to spend most of the time bailing water with an old juice/worm container, while the rest of us battled with the oars that must have weighed about 20 lbs each. I felt bad because Karen prepared a beautiful outdoor lunch to which we arrived very late, very tired, very dirty, and very hungry!

Larissa tried to make an apple cake today and it didn’t turn out because our oven doesn’t work and she had to cook it in a heavy metal pot. Other than that, Peter and Larissa think all the food here is excellent, and are excited about pretty much everything we do. I like having them here, as well as Jason, just to hear the exclamations “Oh what a cool-looking house!” “what a yummy cookie!” “what a beautiful plant!” (usually it’s Jason saying that) or Larissa “what a nice street! It doesn’t have any garbage in it!” Everything is new and exciting again.

I am two days short of having spent an entire year in Paraguay. I almost forgot to write that I attended the third wedding during my time here over the weekend. This time it was a young girl studying to be a lawyer and a guy from Argentina who hasn’t had a “real” job since I’ve known him, but I wouldn’t exactly say he is lazy or anything. (Perhaps being in Paraguay has changed my perception of laziness?) David plays guitar really well and I got to know him being in the music group at church, but I also traveled with them to his home during vacations in July and it was during that time we became pretty close friends.

The ceremony and reception were both at the church, and it was wonderfully decorated for that night, especially outside. Well, it wasn’t exactly the latest fashion, but the green looked nice with the trees and the weather was perfect. I received an invitation about a month ago with my name on it and everything, but I am pretty sure that it didn’t matter much if someone had one of those or not. The delicious chicken meal was prepared by the myriads of relatives that were staying at the bride’s parents’ house during the week. It was a little sad because there were so many people there that half of them missed the entire ceremony because of transportation difficulties. Three of David’s brothers couldn’t even come because they had to stay home and take care of the pigs and their little neighbourhood store. So when I feel sad because I can’t be with my family, I sometimes think about people here who even though they live relatively near to each other, they don’t get to see each other that much.

The bad part about having another wedding is that people are always asking and teasing me about getting married. Popular sayings are “you’re going to invite me to your wedding right?” and often they will add on to that “…and pay for the plane ticket?” I am sometimes hesistant to wear makeup or do my hair nice to go to school or church, because the girls will say I am trying to impress someone. The name for a bridal shower is goodbye to the single girl, and so one lady said that at my goodbye party we’ll also have to have a despedida de soltera, since they are so certain I will find a husband as soon as I get back. Many times when people are praying for young people or teenagers, they will confess the knowledge that God is preparing a special person for them and then pray for the future spouse. I think it would be really hard to choose to remain single here, even harder than it is in North America. Well, I know they are just doing it because they love me and for a little bit of fun, but like I said, I’ve just about made it a year here quite successfully, so I guess the joke’s on them!

In first grade we just finished learning about different foods in English, and now we are taking on the word ¨­favourite.¨ By way of introduction, the class asked Jason what his favourite food is, and he replied ¨taco salad.¨ Fortunately, I had already taught them the word ¨salad.¨ Unfortunately, ¨taco¨ is also a word in Spanish, and it means the heel of a shoe. So I’m pretty sure all the first graders think our new missionary likes to eat shoe salad.