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Published: August 26th 2008
For those of you who do not know, I will be spending the next nine months doing volunteer work in a small city in Paraguay called Villeta. I am volunteering through a catholic affiliated organization called VIDES+USA. I hope to become fluent in the Spanish language while helping deal with health related issues that the people of the city are struggling with.
I arrived at the airport in the capital city of Asunción on August 14, 2008 after over 30 hours of traveling. During my travels I had layovers of 7 hours (Newark, NJ) and 8 hours (Sao Paulo, Brazil). While in Brazil all of the announcements at the airport were made in Portuguese, so when my plane was delayed for about an hour and a half, I had no idea why. In fact, I still have no idea why. When I arrived in Asuncion I got off the plane expecting to see a big airport, as it is the capital. Was I ever wrong. There were only three VISA checkpoints to enter the country and two luggage carrousels in the whole airport. I anxiously waited for my luggage, but kind of expected it to be lost somewhere in transit.
Truth. My luggage was lost, somewhere between Baltimore, MD, Newark, NJ, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Asunción, Paraguay. Luckily for me, the attendant at the luggage desk spoke English and she helped me fill out a form to try and get my luggage back. After being told I would probably get it sometime the next day, I walked out to try and find the people who were picking me up. As I walked out into the airport I saw two sisters waiting right by the door. Thus began my Spanish emersion as they began continuously talking to me. Although I really didn't know many of the words they were using, I was happy to have made my connection halfway across the world.
It just so happened that I arrived the night before the presidential inauguration. Because of this, there were literally police and military personnel on every corner of the city, all nonchalantly holding pretty intimidating looking guns. As we drove through the city I saw ads for many familiar brands such as Coke and Budweiser, but also many brands I had never heard of. After a few stops, my night came to an end at the residence of the
sisters, La Obra Social. I slept there the first night because my host family was out of town for the night.
I woke up early the next morning to get ready to head to Asunción for the presidential inauguration, a bit of sightseeing, and hopefully to find my luggage. Faced with the challenge of using an electric shower for the first time in my life, I was terrified. Once I got over the fact that I was supposed to use water and electricity simultaneously, I attempted to shower. It turned out that I had nothing to worry about as I could not figure out how to turn on the electricity, so I took a freezing cold shower. After this I met up with my new friend named Julian, who had picked me up with the sisters the night before. We left the sisters residence and picked up two of his friends, Hernaldo and Guido, before heading to Asunción.
Upon arriving in the city we parked the car and headed to the place where the inauguration was taking place. We walked through hoards of people and military personnel to try and get a view of the stage, but were
unable to see much beyond a lot of very comical protesters (just like the U.S.). While walking through the crowd we ran in to my host family, The Aguileras. After a quick talk with them we walked around the city a bit and grabbed a quick lunch of empanadas, a pastry type food filled with meat and eggs. After lunch, while walking back to the car, we purchased some yerba mate. Yerbe mate are the fine leaves for a tea-type drink called tereré. Most Paraguayans drink tereré everyday, and often multiple times in a single day. There is one communal cup that holds the leaves and a filtered straw, which prevents you from sucking up the leaves. One person in the group has the water jug and fills the cup, then passes it to another person. This person drinks the tereré and then passes the cup back to be refilled. The cup is continuously refilled and passed around until everyone has had enough. The yerba mate is often combined with mint or lemongrass to give the tereré a taste that is quite refreshing on a hot day. The practice of sharing cups is quite common in Paraguay and is done
at the dinner table, in the bars, and pretty much everywhere else. Being a microbiology major, this practice seems a bit strange and unhealthy to me, but I’ve come to realize that there are many things in Paraguay that would be considered a little strange in the United States. Therefore, when I note such differences I don’t think they’re strange but are, rather, interesting.
We then went back to the airport where, thankfully, I was able to get my suitcases. After driving around a little more we headed back to Villeta, which is about 20 miles from Asunción.
Around 5:00 p.m. (or 17:00 hours as they go by military time here) my family arrived at the sister’s residence to take me to my new home. Armed with my two suitcases, duffle bag, and backpack, which, were if not for all of the gifts that I had packed, may have seemed a bit excessive, I arrived at my new home. Upon my arrival I was showed to my room, which is not connected to the rest of the house. I live in a pool house type building (minus the pool) complete with my own private bathroom. In terms of
a living situation, I don’t feel I could have hoped for a better place. I spent the next few hours unpacking my stuff, under the watchful eyes of my new siblings, and getting introduced to many family members that stopped by to say hi.
As I noted before, my family’s last name is Aguilera. The fathers name is Jose Luis and he is some sort of manager at a company in town (I know that is a very vague description, but because of the language barrier, I have yet to figure out more). The mother, Alice, is a teacher at a school in town. The oldest son, also named Jose Luis (his nickname is Luichi), is 17 years old. His brother, Juan, is 13 years old. The youngest member of the family is my new sister, Luz, who is 10 years old. Also, there is a live-in maid named Maria who, as I have learned in the first week, does almost all of the housekeeping tasks for the family. This includes making meals, doing dishes, washing laundry, cleaning everything, etc. I am definitely not used to having someone attend to my each and every need and, I must say,
it is kind of annoying. Basically, I’m not allowed to do anything for myself, which includes preparing food. Therefore, I only eat when food is prepared for me or when I go to a store and by something for myself. There is literally no snack food in the house, which is quite an adjustment for me but will probably prove beneficial in the end. I definitely have to adjust to a less independent lifestyle, which comes with becoming part of a family in a foreign country, but I am hoping to be allowed to do more for myself as the family gets to know me better.
As I settled down that night my head was spinning as a result of all of the Spanish I had tried, often unsuccessfully, to comprehend throughout the day. I started learning Spanish in sixth grade and continued until the end of my third semester in college. Therefore, I have had a lot of grammatical instruction, but little experience with use of the language. One of my main goals is to become fluent in Spanish as I believe it is an important skill to possess if I continue my plan to pursue a career
in healthcare. I expect to be thoroughly frustrated and confused for quite a while, but it is something that I feel I need to experience if I am to become fluent.
I spent the next few days getting accustomed to the city and meeting many new people. On Saturday I played basketball at a local park and then went to a fiesta with my brother, aunt, and a couple of new friends. What they call fiestas, we in the United States would simply call going to a bar or dance club. Instead of the large number of drink selections that one may find at a bar in the United States, there were only two beers to choose from. There was Brahma, a major national beer of Paraguay, and Budweiser (which I would NEVER drink). Also, much of the music played throughout the night was very electric-sounding, with a large amount of it being techno music. The fiestas in Paraguay do not have a set ending time and often go until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. I can not even to begin to imagine what a disaster it would be in the United States if bars remained open until
this time.
On Sunday I attended a celebration for Diá de los ninos at La Obra Social, the school where the sisters reside and do their work. Though I did not understand the significance of the holiday, the party had a very carnival like atmosphere. There was live music, clowns, dancing, food, and prizes for the children. The children seemed to really enjoy the party, which was very nice to see. That night I attended my first Spanish mass and was extremely lost. Although I understand the basic mass format from attending mass in the United States, it was still very challenging to follow what the priest and readers were saying. I expect that, with time, I will feel less confused.
Monday, the 18th of August, was my first day of work at La Obra Social. Although I arrived in Paraguay with idea that I was going to be doing healthcare/health education related work, I really had no idea what I was actually going to be doing. I sat down with Sor Luisa, (Sister Luisa in English) the sister that I have been in contact with for about 2 months, to figure out what my work and daily
routine would be. I was really glad to be doing this, as I was a little anxious not knowing what I would be working on for quite some time. I must admit, defining my role and what I hoped to achieve was quite difficult because of the language barrier, but we did the best we could.
Basically, I have been given quite a large, vague task. I have been asked to put together basic educational material on hygiene, nutrition, parasites, alcoholism, drug addiction, and smoking. The purpose of the materials will be to educate groups of people that have had little or no guidance in these areas and inform them of many consequences related to certain lifestyle choices they make. The fun doesn’t stop there. La Obra Social runs its own local radio station, and yes, you guess correctly, I am going to have my own show on the station. I will use the educational materials that I put together for a series of broadcasts to reach a large amount of the local population. Not going to lie, with my limited Spanish-speaking skills at this moment, I am scared to death for these broadcasts. I am hoping that I will be able to work on both my material and the Spanish language for a few months before doing a radio show. Finally, I have been asked to make house visits around the community to talk with people about the various issues that I will be working on. Again, until I am more confident with my language skills, this task will have to wait. On top of the work that I have been assigned, Sor Luisa wants me to focus on improving my Spanish while assimilating into my host family and the community. Although my work seems challenging, I am excited to have the opportunity to work in the community with the goal of improving overall health and well-being. If anyone has any advice/input/ideas that they think may help me in my work, please don’t hesitate to email me at mwcaldis@gmail.com.
I spent the next few days of work attempting to find a subject to start with. Because some of the topics seem very broad, I decided to start with nutrition as I felt like it was slightly more of a focused topic than the others. My basic strategy for writing the material has been to do some research, write a section in English, and then translate it into Spanish. Also, I have tried to focus on using fairly simple vocabulary that would be easy for many people to understand. As of now, I have written about 5 pages of basic nutritional information in Spanish, which, I’ll admit, has been frustrating at times. However, I will also admit that I feel good about the work because I am being challenged and am learning a lot in the process.
One question that I had been asked before I left the states and had wondered about myself was what the exercise facilities would be like. On Monday night I went to the gym with my friend Julian and my brother Luichi. Although it was a far cry from the athletic facilities in the United States, I was ecstatic to find a place where I would be able to lift throughout my time in Villeta. I am now in the routine of going to the gym about 5 times a week and have also found a good place to run. It is nice to have a few friends to work out with as I definitely miss my lifting buddies from school and home.
On Friday, the 22nd of August, I spent my day at work shadowing Doctora Olga, the doctor that comes to La Obra Social once a week. Families with children sign up every Thursday for Friday appointments with the doctor. The appointments consist of a basic dialogue about the child’s problem, a quick examination of the patient, (most often listening for chest problems) and then recommendations from the doctor about follow-up visits with specialists or necessary prescriptions. It seemed like most of the children were struggling with respiratory illnesses. Following the dialogues between the mothers and Doctora Olga was difficult for me as many of the mothers were of Guaraní Indian descent. Therefore, as much as I was already struggling with Spanish, my life was further complicated by the frequent use of the other national language of Paraguay, Guaraní. I definitely know that I do not plan on learning much of this language until I feel better about my Spanish. I will spend every Friday with Doctora Olga, hopefully being able to help more as my comprehension improves.
I spent the weekend relaxing and reflecting on my first week in my temporary, new home. I have very mixed feeling right now as I am still adjusting to life halfway across the world from my family, friends, and all those that I know and love. It is definitely strange knowing that I will be out of the United States for the good part of a year, but it is something that I believe will really help me grow as a person. I do feel that I have been placed in a great living situation and will be happy with my new family. Also, it is nice to have some coworkers that are close to my age as I feel I have people that I can relate to.
That’s all I’ve got for now but I hope to post on this blog about once every-other week, maybe more frequently if time permits. Again, feel free to email me and stay in contact over the next nine months, I’d love to hear from any of you. Also, feel free to send the link to my blog to anyone who you think may be interested in reading about my experiences. If there is anything you would specifically like to hear about or see pictures of, let me know and I will try to make it happen. Hope all is well on the home front. I leave you with my first week’s analysis of differences between Paraguay and the United States, as well as a few Spanish words/terms if you wish to join me in my quest to become fluent.
-MWC
Differences between the United States and Paraguay
-Electric showers (Luke warm at best)
-Shared glasses, bottles, and cans
-Much more laid back and less worried about time
-Often drink hot milk instead of cold
-Customary to kiss girls on both cheeks whenever you encounter each other
-Customary to shake men’s hands whenever you encounter each other
-Loud, obnoxious techno dance music at the bars/fiestas/clubs
-The seasons are reversed
-All cell phones are pay as you go
-Instead of the sweet 16, the fifteenth birthday, called the Quince anos, is more celebrated
-The main meal of the day is at lunch instead of dinner
-All clothes are air dried
-What they call fiestas, we would consider simply going to the bar and dancing
Spanish vocabulary for those of you who want to expand your horizons
- ¿Qué tal? = how are things
- en serio = seriously
- una hincha = a sports fan
- la dirección = the address
- un rato = a little
- casi = almost
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Emily
non-member comment
Great Blog!
Matt, what a thorough and interesting blog! I especially like the list of differences. I hope you have a great time and learn a ton. --Emily (Johnson)