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Published: December 27th 2006
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The family that adopted me
Poor little Natalie, alone on Christmas, but I was warmly welcomed by (clockwise from bottom): Claudia, Maite, Sonia, (me), Betty. I mentioned in an earlier entry that I loved the people of Paraguay and now I have perfect proof to show how wonderful they are.
Saturday, when I arrived in Encarnacion, ready to see the missions, I spent a couple hours taking care of minor errands in the cute downtown, whose commercial center consists mainly of two streets. Along one street, I came across a travel agency. Though I'd already decided to do the Jesuit ruins on my own, I peeked in to check on some details. Somehow, the directions I had gotten before - just get off the bus at the cross between Trinidad and the highway, then walk 300 meters - seemed a little vague. The ones for Jesus, a mission site that I didn't get to visit, were even less clear - get off at the cross between the road to Jesus (wow, the road to Jesus...sounds like a difficult one to find, no?) and the highway (by the way, highway is a gross overstatement), and hope that a taxi comes around to take you the 7km to the ruins.
The young woman at the travel agency, Sonia, (25 years old), was about as clueless as
Funky Christmas Decoration
All over Paraguay, I saw Christmas decorations made from plastic soda bottles, very creative! I was, but cheerfully made three separate phone calls to get details and more details. We talked for a couple of minutes about my travels, with my favorite comment included - ´You're from the US? Wow, but your Spanish is so good!' God, I love those words.
Anyway, Sonia asked me what I was doing the next day, so far from my family, for Christmas Eve. I said I had no plans and assumed I would be stuck in my hotel reading while the whole of Paraguay celebrated (almost all Paraguayans are Roman Catholics). A look of motherly concern crossed her face and, grabbing a piece of paper, she took down my name and hotel address, then wrote her home and cell phone numbers on another sheet to give to me. I was invited for Christmas Eve dinner!
I thanked Sonia profusely but as I waited forever at the money change place (because they had dropped my order on the floor...), I wondered if I should go...Of course, I would prefer not to be alone, and of course an opportunity to meet new people and experience a Paraguayan Christmas was a chance I should take. But I felt
Christmas Day
A sidra bottle, puddles of rain...leftovers from last night. bad intruding on her family...So for the rest of Saturday I weighed the options and, Nochebuena morning, decided, why not. She wouldn't have invited me if she didn't want me there...right?
Everything turned out so great!! Around 7:30 she came to pick me up in an SUV (sooo many SUVs in Paraguay!) driven by her husband, Walter (Paraguayo--Sonia, by the way, is actually Argentine, but she moved to Encarnacion, then fell in love and stayed), her 11-year-old niece, Maite, and her 8-month-old son, Facundo (Facu), who was bubbling over with energy.
We drove a few minutes out of the center, into some curvier streets with gated houses and leafy trees. Walter pulled into the driveway of a beautiful house, complete with huge patio, tiny swimming pool, and a classy, modern decor. Some of the other guests were already sitting out on the patio. Everyone in Paraguay sits outside. It's one of my favorite things here. Each house has some patio or porch, with shade, where they place a table and chairs or sometimes just chairs. This is the central point for chatting it up with the nieghbors, eating, chilling. Usually the table sits right in front of the kitchen or living room door and through the (always open) doorway you can see a little television positioned just right for viewing from outside. Feels very tropical.
Anyway, at that point I met Sonia's two older sisters, Claudia and Betty, and we started chatting out there, the sisters and Walter and I. No one spoke any English, it was fabulous Spanish practice, especially juggling the various accents (Claudia lives on the Argentine side of the River Parana, in Posadas, to add to the Paraguayan-Argentine mix we already had). We drank sidra (cider) from a pineapple shell, through a common straw, and that sidra was passed around all night. Later in the evening, some of Walter's friends filtered in and out to say Merry Christmas, then it was just the family (7 of them because Facu was sleeping) and me. It was a beautiful, intimate dinner, with food to feed 15 families, and conversation that showed 1) a genuine interest in and respect for me and 2) a close family bond. I felt really privileged to be there, to be treated so well (they even made me chicken while the rest ate an asado of pork, lamb, beef) and they put the chipa guazu (a kind of casserole made from hard corn grains) right in front of me, yum!
After dinner, I wasn't allowed to help clean up. In general, the two kids - Maite and her brother, Fernando, were asked to do everything, from clearing the table to picking the muscic to bringing a new bottle of sidra, everything. They gladly obliged. I think the age heirarchy here is alive and well. Old people never have to lift a finger if someone younger is around! We chatted some more outside but they got cold in the breeze (the rain had cooled things down to about 75, I would say...and these tropical Paraguayans can't handle that!), plus the incessant explosions of fireworks from neighbors' yards had us all jumping out of our skin, covering our ears every 5 minutes. We moved indoors, just a few minutes before midnight.
The changeover from Christmas Eve to Christmas here is treated like we treat New Year's. We counted down, out loud in the the 10's, then at midnight clinked sidra glasses and kissed everyone (it's two kisses in Paraguay, one on each cheek). Along with the general toast, Sonia added that she was happy I came, and that she doesn't invite everyone she meets! (haha, I hope not)...She said she wanted me to come because she thought I was such an 'amorosa' person - loving, sweet. Awwww. Next came the presents, one for each person, in a colorful gift bag. Even one for me!! I got a bottle of sidra (which I will lug around Bolivia on my loooong bus rides until I arrive at a place where I can find someone to share with) and a bar of white chocolate. Sonia and Walter left with Facu to go say Merry Christmas to Walter's parents, so I hung out with the others, watching some Brazilian dancers on TV and chatting. It felt so nice to be integrated into the family like that, I really am grateful to them all. Around 2, we went for a drive, past the red and green Xmas lights of the central plaza, around the people already meeting friends to go dancing, and finally to my hotel, where I kissed and hugged everyone goodbye, then opened the gate with sidra, chocolate, and email addresses in hand.
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Elvira
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Lovely story
This story is so sweet. They are very nice and generous people and I am glad that the Christmas Eve turned out to be so special for you. These are the kind of things that will stay in your memory forever.