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Published: September 25th 2008
Saludos from Paraguay! It has been another few weeks since my last post, so I figured it was about time to continue my riveting, suspense-filled account of life as a Paraguasian (I have been told that I am, in fact, a Paraguayo now, but I still find it amusing to use butchered terminology). Again, I would like to thank many of you for your emails/messages/comments/thoughts/prayers/…they are much appreciated. I have been doing my best to respond to emails, so hopefully you have heard from me if you wrote, and I apologize if I have not been able to get back to you yet. I do enjoy hearing about what is going on in your lives, so do stay in contact and keep me updated if possible. Also, thank you to those who have informed me of email changes. That being said, on with the blog post. Since my last point I have not done anything incredibly exciting or out of the ordinary, but have continued my acclimation to the city/culture/lifestyle.
Summary of this week’s post
-Quyquyhó (long account (4 paragraphs), be warned)
-Shoulder separation
-Birthday Parties
-Work update/Spanish studies
-Wrap up
-Spanish Vocabulary
I am now almost six weeks
into my time here in Paraguay and have yet to do much traveling, but during the weekend of September 12-14, I did get out of Villeta for a few days. I wasn’t exactly sure where I was going or why I was going, but I knew I was going somewhere. I was told that I would be going to a place called Quyquyhó with my brothers and their band. I knew that they were going to play music at some point in the weekend, but that was literally all I knew about the trip. I was told that we would be leaving on some sort of coach bus around midnight on Friday, so I took a nap from about 10:00 until midnight. I woke up and was ready to go, but I then realized we were running on Paraguayan time and we would not be leaving for awhile. So not knowing exactly when we were leaving, I waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, around 2 something in the morning we got in the cars and went to some random meeting place where the bus was going to pick us up. Once we got there, I’m pretty sure we waited about
another hour and were not picked up until about 3:30 am. When the bus got there we loaded all the bands stuff onto the bus (I felt kind of like a groupie of the band as I am not in the band, yet, but travel with them) and boarded the bus. My confusion continued as I walked to the back of a bus full of people that I didn’t know. I figured that the best way to deal with this situation was sleeping, so I immediately went to sleep while my brothers and friends talked and tried to keep me awake. For some reason, they seemed really excited and shocked that I wanted to sleep in the middle of the night (again, I was just like, whatever, I have no idea what’s going on, leave me alone). Oh yeah, my brothers really didn’t know any more than I did, so it was not like I didn’t try to ask questions about what the heck was going on. At some point in the voyage, while I was sleeping, the terrain started getting really bumpy. For about the last hour of the trip we traveled on dirt/gravel roads that seemed a bit
rough for a coach bus, but that didn’t seem to bother the driver.
Finally, at some point in the morning (possibly 8 or 9 am), we arrived at some place out in the country that looked like a farm. As I got off the bus in a very dazed and confused state I realized that I was in a pretty beautiful place. Surrounding me were wide open green fields, mountains/hills, various interesting plants including cocotero (coconut) and mandarin orange trees, various farm animals wandering every-which-way, and a whole bunch of people that I didn’t know. At that point I just thought, whatever, it’s beautiful here, eventually I’ll figure out what I’m doing here. We brought all of our stuff up to the house and eventually hooked up the speakers and got some music going. Then, while the rest of the rather large party was setting up for something (still did not know what), my brothers, friends, and I walked down the road, bought some beer, and played cards in the sun. Not exactly how I am accustomed to drinking on a Saturday morning, (there was a lack of flip cup, beer pong, beer bongs, a short bus, etc) but
it was relaxing (oh, and for those of you who were wondering and who know me, there was not a lack of Badger red). Eventually we headed back up to the place where the festivities were going to take place. Finally, around 2:00 in the afternoon I sort of figured out what we were doing there. The group that we came with was a collection of Nursing and Obstetrician students from the National University of Asuncion. The purpose of the weekend was a sort of health outreach program to the community of Quyquyhó. Therefore, although I had not had the slightest idea why I was in this strange place, I had just happened upon something that was of some interest to me. What the students were doing in Quyquyhó was very similar to what I am working on in the city of Villeta, so it was interesting to see how they were approaching the task. The presentations began around mid-afternoon and included a variety of introductions, traditional dances, music, (from my brother’s band) and some other things that I really didn’t understand. Eventually, they broke off into a variety of smaller educational stations for people to choose from and attend
at their leisure. This continued until around 6:00 pm, with the rest of the programs planned for the following morning. We packed up and got back on the bus, again headed for who knew where.
We drove a short way down the road to another farm house where all 30 some of us were supposed to shower, have dinner, and find some place to sleep. We figured we would be the last to shower as we were guys and there were about 25 girls, so we decided to play some fútbol (read: soccer) to pass the time. We had played about 3 games earlier in the day and, somehow, the team with the American won all of them (I told them it was because we are far superior futbolistas than South Americans, which they did not seem to like). During the game in the evening my brother had a breakaway against my team. I guess my instincts from American football checked in because I chased him down from behind and tackled him. It may have been against the rules of South American futbol, but it was undoubtedly a clean hit by American football terms. I guess you could say
that I paid the price for this tackle as I fell directly on the point of my shoulder and immediately knew something was not right (more on this to come later in the post). Afterwards we showered, bought some beer, and settled in to enjoy the night’s festivities. There was more traditional dancing, a bunch of speeches, and more music from my brother’s band. I kind of just wandered around and took the whole scene in. For dinner we had fresh cerdo (pork that had been killed and butchered only hours before) complete with the head on a platter, mandioca, sopa paraguayo (a cornbread type food served at almost every gathering), salad, and some sort of cake. I really enjoyed the night as I got to talk to many new people, many of who were very intrigued my Americanness. It is always funny when people learn that I am American because they tend to try and impress me with the few English phrases that they know, even if they do not really fit the situation. Speaking of English, I recently agreed to help a high school student with her English studies, so I will start my ‘tutoring’ next week.
The following day, after a slightly uncomfortable night of sleep on the bus (note, was still having shoulder pain), we spent the morning walking around the farms and taking pictures. In the early afternoon we joined a pickup volleyball game and played for about 2 hours (should not have done that). I really enjoyed this as I have spent many days of the past two summers playing volleyball at The Stadium Bar in Madison and really miss this. The health outreach program ended by mid-afternoon and we eventually headed home. It had been a weekend of confusion and little sleep, but was nonetheless fun and allowed me to experience some Paraguayan firsts, including; eating fresh pork and mandarin oranges off the tree, seeing some of rural Paraguay, playing my first volleyball in Paraguay, and a road trip without the slightest idea of the destination or the purpose.
So now, the story with my shoulder. Upon my return from the weekend, I could tell something was definitely not right with my left shoulder. I took a bunch of Ibuprofen, but this did not seem to ease the pain. Therefore, on Monday I decided to go to a rehab therapy clinic
to get it looked at. I was kind of unsure of what to expect the medical facilities to be like, but I figured it was better to have it looked at than not. The nurse looked at my arm, tested my range of motion and strength, and said there was ligament damage. Although I was a little unsure of this diagnosis as there seemed to be one point of extreme discomfort, I went with it anyway. She said that it could be dealt with using ultrasound, heat, and therapeutic massage. After receiving this treatment, I had no idea how much to expect to pay. I was absolutely shocked when they charged me 6,000 Guaraní, the equivalent of $1.50 U.S. They don’t use insurance here and everything is pay up front with cash. I went back to the clinic for two more days of this treatment, and although I enjoyed the massages (have never in my life paid for a professional massage), I could tell that it wasn’t doing anything. On Thursday, September 18, I decided to have my shoulder x-rayed. I had it x-rayed at the very overcrowded, understaffed local hospital and paid a grand total of 22,000 Guaraní. I
didn’t expect it to be like an American hospital and it definitely wasn’t. The way that my patient information was taken was most strange. I gave a lady my driver’s license to get my name and birth date, yet my name on the x-ray still somehow ended up as “Mateo Coltis.” The whole experience made me thankful that I haven’t had any serious traumatic experience yet (knock on wood), because I’m not sure how comfortable I am with the medical facilities.
Sure enough, I had been correct. The x-ray showed that my left clavicle was separated. I was told that the only treatment for this was immobilization for 8 days and lots of ibuprofen. I went to the pharmacy and bought a series of ace bandage type materials and had my shoulder wrapped at the rehab therapy clinic. I was told that I needed to keep these bandages on 24 hours a day, including in the shower. Although unhappy about this, I accepted that is was the best option for now. I was surprised that the attending nurse very willingly gave me her cell phone number and told me to call her if I needed any help. This was
very nice of her and something that I would never expect to happen in the United States. I spent the next 5 days restricting my movement and taking extremely awkward showers with a towel wrapped around my upper body (note, now my non-hot showers were being significantly extended as I was doing everything with one hand, which I was really happy about). I eventually realized that this method of bandaging was not really restricting my movement completely and that there seemed to be a bump on my left shoulder that was not present on my right one. On Tuesday, September 23, I finally decided that enough was enough and that I was going to see a doctor in Asuncion. I had my shoulder x-rayed again and discovered pretty much the same thing, that it was still separated. Shockingly, I went to a public hospital and was charged absolutely nothing (besides the x-ray cost) for the doctor’s services. I was told that the best treatment was to use a type of orthopedic brace that would significantly restrict movement for about a month. It was too late to purchase one that night, so I was told that it would be no problem
to get one the following morning. Reassured that this was the best I could do at that moment, we went home. I arrived at work this morning, September 24, expecting to go and purchase the new brace. False. I was then told that it didn’t fit into the plans for the day and that I would have to wait for tomorrow. This made me kind of unhappy as it just highlighted the fact that, at this point, I can never make clear cut, understandable plans that I know will work out. Therefore, I am sitting here now hoping to get the brace tomorrow. I figure I will eventually get the brace, wear it for about a month, and then begin rehab therapy to strengthen the ligaments and muscles. The whole situation has been pretty frustrating as it is keeping me from doing some of the things that make me the happiest and give me a break when I am frustrated (lifting and running), but there is really nothing I can do about it. As of now, I’m just trying to move forward and remain as positive as I can. My mom said it best when she told me, “you’re being
tested right now.”
The subject of birthday parties in Paraguay is somewhat baffling to me. There seem to be about 3 or 4 birthday parties every week and my family seems to be invited to all of them. Take last week for example. My host mom’s birthday was on Thursday, September 18 and we hosted a large party at our house for family and friends. This was a good time and I enjoyed myself, as I have at the numerous other family birthday parties I have attended. On Saturday I was told that there was another family birthday party for my little cousin Mikaela, complete with bouncy castle. Again, I went, ate, schmoozed with some people I didn’t know but that knew me (a very common feeling for me as of now, I feel like the whole city of Villeta knows my name). On Sunday I went to mass in the evening and then returned home expecting to have dinner with the family. False. I was told (five minutes before we left) that there was a quince años birthday party for a friend of the family that we would be attending. This one was a little different in that
the guests were predominantly kids in their mid teens and there was a DJ and dancing. I am almost 23 years old and didn’t feel comfortable with the whole dancing with teenagers thing, so I spent my time drinking the Paraguayan equivalent of Boone's farm with my host parents and the parents of the birthday girl. I told them that I felt very old being there, to which the girls father responded, “don’t worry, we’ll go to a party with people our own age sometime.” All I could say was wow. I have never felt older in my life. It was definitely slightly depressing. Monday night rolled around and I had just settled in to watch Monday Night Football (yes, they do have ESPN in Paraguay, albeit, much different programming) when my family seemed to be getting ready to go somewhere. I was then told that there was yet another birthday party. I had had it at that point and just told them (politely of course) that I would rather just stay home, which they were fine with. Basically, birthday parties are kind of a big deal here. At every party I seem to be asked about differences between the parties in Paraguay and in the United States. In my head, my response is, “well, there aren’t a million parties a week in the U.S.”, but in actuality my response is, “there really are no differences.” I wouldn’t mind it so much if I was made aware of these parties in advance, but for some reason, it is just expected that I know when we are supposed to attend these parties. I would rather not have a big party for my birthday and I have made this known, but I’m pretty sure plans are already being made for my big birthday bash (yippee). For all I know, there may be another party for me to attend tonight…
A quick report on my Spanish studies and my work at the Obra Social. Because my shoulder has been immobilized (sort of) I have not been able to do much typing (aside from this post that I am typing because I don’t have my brace now). Therefore, I have gotten a start on my second topic of drug addiction, but it is going a bit slow. This is kind of bothering me as I feel like I should have accomplished more by now, but I have been told not to worry about it. I am hoping to accomplish more in the coming weeks, although we’ll see how that works out when I get my new brace. A positive that has come out of my shoulder situation is that I have been able to focus more of my time on practicing my Spanish. I have been given some elementary Spanish books with lots of short stories and Paraguayan history blurbs, so I am quickly working my way through these. The sister who gave me the books said she knows that they are fairly simple, but they have a grammar focus, so I will pick up better grammatical practice while reading them. Throughout my reading I look up words that I am unfamiliar with and make them into flash cards, so I now have quite the imposing stack of Spanish vocabulary words. Although, at times, I feel a little stupid reading kids stories about protesting vegetables who feel unappreciated, a whistling pocket in a kid’s jeans that helps him make moral decisions, and a lazy cicada, my Spanish is improving, so I will just keep trucking. Also, because I have a lot more free time now that I can’t work out, I have been watching a lot of movies in English with Spanish subtitles. This helps me because, especially with movies that I am familiar with, I am able to focus on how to say various phrases in Spanish. Also, I am able to predict what I think the Spanish subtitles will say ahead of time.
I know most of you are probably a little mad at me now after reading this epic blog, so I will wrap it up. The pictures I have included this week are from my weekend excursion to Quyquyhó and from my host mother’s birthday party (believe you me, I have quite a large number of birthday party pictures). Again, thank you for taking the time to check out my blog. Feel free to let me know if you think there is anything I can do to improve it.
Chau, Suerte!
-MWC
A few choice Spanish vocabulary selections from my flash card stack
- adiós = goodbye!, hello!, cheerio! (Spanish speakers in England must use this one frequently)
- enamorarse de = to fall in love with
- el bolsillo = the pocket
- el ron = the rum
- el recorrido = the journey
- chismoso = gossiping
- la ventaja = the advantage
- vencer = to defeat
- festejar = to wine and dine
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mom (sheila)
non-member comment
laughter
I don't think I have laughed so much as I did reading your most recent entry!! Thank you for the "pick-me-up"! Care package on the way soon!