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August 31 The Chaco and the MennonitesMy family humored me and let me take them on a two-day adventure to the Chaco, Paraguay's western rural area. We drove on Friday afternoon to Filadelfia, a town about five hours northwest of Asuncion not far off the Trans-Chaco Highway. I'll write more about the adventure tomorrow, but let me leave with you some background on this place one could call "the wild west" of South America.
Filadelfia, as is many towns in that part of Paraguay, was founded by the Mennonites, a Christian denomination, in the 1930's. The Mennonites, who emigrated from Prussia (now a part of Germany) to Russia in the 1760's and 1770's, migrated en masse to Paraguay in 1929 (as well as the United States and Canada) following persecution and explusion from the Soviet Union. The Paraguayan government granted several large land parcels to the Mennonites, particularly in the Chaco, where the government hoped to solidify Paraguay's hold on a large section of the country with few people. Life was very difficult for the early Mennonites as they domesticated the wild Chaco -- a fairly inhospitable place with little rainfall and poor soil. Several indigenous groups -- Guaranis and others -- lived as hunterers and gatherers in the Chaco, and many resisted encroachment by their new neighbors. The Mennonites and indigenous continue to co-exist, and many indigenous now work for Mennonite enterprises. After years of fighting poor agriculture conditions and surviving threats from the indigenous and poisonous, the Mennonites shaped this part of Paraguay into what is now the country's breadbasket. Mennonite families live on large, square estancias parceled out between former Mennonite colonias such as Filadelfia now incorporated as Paraguayan towns. The area has a large network of unpaved roads criss-crossing the Chaco maintained by the Mennonites.
The Mennonite's "Cooperativa" is one of Paraguay's largest business operations. Each year, the "Cooperativa" produces much of Paraguay's meat and dairy products as well as foodstuffs (the "Cooperativa" also exports some of its products overseas, particularly beef and peanut oil). The "Cooperativa" also provides the area with a multitude of services, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, hospitals, pharmacies, and shopping centers. If ever there were an example of monopoly, the "Cooperativa" would be it. The enterprise's operation and logistics network is nothing short of amazing. It provides feed for animals, trucks raw milk to milk factories, turns milk and other foodstuffs into processed goods, and ships it to markets. I was amazed to see how comprehensive and efficient the Mennonites' "Cooperativa" is in helping Mennonites -- and many indigenous -- earn a living and providing them with a quality of life much better than would be possible if they didn't work together to survive and flourish.
The Mennonite culture in this area is interesting. We saw many tall, blond people of Germanic descent walking the streets. "Plattdeutsch," an old variant of German, is the common language, although Spanish and Guarani are also prevalent. I noticed a cultural divide between the Mennonites and the non-Mennonites (mostly indigenous) in the communities we visited, including Filadelfia, Colonia Neuland, and Loma Plata. I noted a cultural divide between the Mennonites, who seemed to be more affluent, and other Paraguayans. As a result, the two groups seemed to frequent different locations (e.g. different restaurants and grocery stores). While not overt, it was not difficult for an outsider like me to pick up on this cultural separation. August 28 The piano comethOur piano was delivered today. Initially ordered late last year, the piano has taken a full nine months to arrive in Paraguay. We bought it in the United States and had it shipped to Paraguay. It first went to Miami, where it languished in storage for months while we got into a heated exchange with the person in charge here who refused to ship it through an alternate method -- as part of a supply shipment instead of a household goods shipment -- because we dared to question their judgment (they have since moved on, gracias a Dios). The piano then went by slow boat to Buenos Aires, where it again waited in storage until the rains came and raised the water level high enough to allow a barge bring the piano upriver to Asuncion. Ah, such is life in a place like Paraguay. But now it's here in our house safe and sound, and all is well. The piano actually made it intact and none the worse for wear -- not bad for having gone through quite an odyssey. I think it just needs a tuning.
My wife and son will begin taking piano lessons. Music in the house will be a welcome change. I bought a guitar -- the best hand-crafted $50.00 guitar you can buy -- and plan to buy a harp. Yes, a harp. Paraguayan harps are amazing. I vowed to learn both and found a teacher who could teach me both harp and piano. I don't have any time for this, really, but I have to do it. I have to do something to break the monotony of the same-old, same-old. The last instrument I played is a guitar I tried and failed to learn when I was a teenager. My wife and son have never learned an instrument. If we pull this off and make music, we may just be able to have our own family group a la the Partridge Family. August 26 Politics, Paraguayan styleIn case you're wondering why life has been so crazy this year, let me recap for you politics a la Paraguay. Today's events in the Senate spurred me to break the ice and write something about the political situation here. I've tried to avoid it, but it never ceases to amaze me what can happen in this country. I can neither confirm nor deny that what is written below is completely true or false, but it's a snapshot of what has played out in the press since late last year.
A former Catholic bishop who resigned from the clergy (Fernando Lugo) ran for president of Paraguay this year against a female former education minister (Blanca Ovelar) backed by the former president (Nicanor Duarte Frutos) with a six percent approval rating, and a former general (Lino Oviedo) released from jail just before the election. (Oviedo was in imprisoned for his alleged coup attempt in 1996 and alleged involvement in the assassination of former vice president Luis Argana.) Persistent rumors fueled by the press conjecture that former president Duarte and Oviedo struck a deal to let Oviedo out of jail in exchange for dividing the opposition vote and putting Colorado presidential candidate Ovelar in office as president.
Former bishop Lugo won the presidency decisively in April of this year, ending 61 years of Colorado Party rule -- the longest-lived ruling party at the time. The Pope granted Lugo a waiver (dispensation) August 12 to serve as president -- an unprecedented move by the Church. Lugo was sworn in as president on August 15. Both made the headline news worldwide. August 15 was interesting, to say the least, with a slough of dignitaries ranging from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou. (Paraguay maintains diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, a.k.a. Taiwan.)
Former president Duarte won a seat in the Senate in April; however, his opponents claim that he violated the Paraguayan Constitution by running for a Senate seat while serving as president. (In Paraguay, you must resign your position before running for office. Duarte did not and continued to serve as president while running for Senator.) Duarte finally decided to resign in June, months after the election. However, opposition -- now majority -- members of the Senate boycotted several Senate sessions for the past three months in order to prevent Duarte from swearing in and joining the Senate.
In a surprise move, this morning Senate President Enrique Gonzalez Quintana -- a member of Oviedo's party, the National Union of Ethical Citizens (UNACE) -- unilaterally swore Duarte in as Senator, contrary to Senate rules and without a quorum or vote. He claimed that he was fulfilling the mandate of the National Elections Tribunal (TSJE), which designated Duarte senator-elect in April. Members of the Senate who are opposed to Duarte's confirmation convened an alternate Senate special session this afternoon to consider Gonzalez' and Duarte's fate. As of this writing, Gonzalez prevailed, and Duarte remains a Senator. We'll see what happens over the coming days in the aftermath of this crazy day. Although today was especially momentous in Paraguayan politics, it's not really much different than any other day.
Stay tuned tomorrow. I'm sure the action will continue. August 24 Are the Olympics over yet?The Beijing Olympics ended today. Interestingly, I didn't really care. I did not have much interest in these Olympics, although my wife -- who was born in China -- spent plenty of time watching the games. My son also enjoyed watching some of the events. However, even my wife did not spend as much time watching the Olympics as one might think for an Olympics hosted for the first time by her birth nation. I didn't have much interest partly because life has been so busy here, and partly because I feel quite isolated from the rest of the world in Paraguay. I thought about the Olympics when walking past the Paraguayan Olympic Committee's training facility yesterday, but only fleetingly. Likewise, I spent perhaps 15 minutes in several installments watching the games. The coverage -- Argentine cable broadcast from Buenos Aires -- wasn't very good. Once upon a time, when I was much younger, I spent untold hours watching Olympic event after Olympic event. Not anymore.
Somewhere along the way, I lost interest. I just wasn't that interested in the games this year. The most intriguing aspects of this summer's Olympics were the controversies; and even those weren't very noteworthy. Of coure, it was a tragedy that the American family was attacked by a knife-wielding Chinese. So the fireworks during the Opening Ceremony were enhanced, and the Chinese had a pretty girl lip-sync in lieu of not-so-cute one who sang the national anthem. Or the Armenian-Swedish wrestler who was stripped of his medal for unsportsman-like conduct but turn out to be right when he contested a bad call. Or the apparently underage Chinese gymnast the IOC absolved in three hours. Even the debate over medal counts didn't stir up much fury in me. The U.S. won 110 medals; the Chinese 100. The Chinese won 51 gold medals, the American 36. The IOC and the rest of the world would say that the Chinese won based on the IOC's regulations (which, obviously based on the gymnast age controversy, can be bent when necessary). Yet the American media stubbornly continued to rank the U.S. first.
None of it really matters, in the end. The Chinese staged an excellent Summer Olympics, and they will continue to be a presence in the future. The IOC will continue to make flaky decisions and annoyingly appeal to nationalist sentiments to bolster support for what is -- when you boil the games down to its essence -- really just a large collection of sporting events. Someday, the United States will host the games again, perhaps as early as 2016 in Chicago. Someday, India and Brazil will host an Olympics; someday Shanghai, China will host the Summer Olympics, and Harbin, China will host the Winter Olympics. But for now, I really want to know why I really don't care all that much anymore.
August 18 When work feels like heavenI never thought that work could be so good. I haven't had a chance to sit down in peace and quiet and work here at home for four uninterrupted hours for as long as I can remember. I didn't do much more than work, but I can't remember when working was such a pleasant thing to do. After a late night in the office on Monday, a representational event last Tuesday night, an open house at my son's school on Wednesday night, an official visit on Thursday night and Friday, and a large goodbye barbeque last night for good friends who will soon leave the country -- spending a few hours tonight with peace, quiet, and no interruptions felt like heaven. Even if I was only working. Never underestimate those precious moments that pass by so quickly. August 04 So many choicesHave you ever had a long day where you were faced with a myriad of choices but could only choose one or two of them? What would you choose to do? If you were tired, would you go to sleep if you knew you had work to do? Would you do the work or skip it and do it later? If you had many tasks to do, which one(s) would you choose to do?
I faced that choice tonight, as I often do. I felt tired after another long day at the office and wanted to go to sleep early tonight. It's only Monday, and I have a long week ahead of me. But I knew I needed to pay some bills tonight and research my next assignment. So I pushed aside the drowsiness and went to work, spending another three hours in front of the computer. My body would have preferred to rest, but here I am. I finished the work I needed to do tonight and sneaked in a little personal time here blogging my thoughts for the day. It may not be sleep, but at least it's not work. Checking inDear Reader, I was away in July for awhile. My family and I traveled to Rio de Janiero and Manaus (in the Amazon Basin), Brazil for a little over a week. Work has also been ridiculously busy. I've been working something like 70 hours per week now. I made a conscious effort to slow down this weekend and breathe a little bit. One of my goals was to go through all the photos I took on our Brazil trip and post some here for your to view, but I didn't have time (as usual). I thought I would write a bit tonight and get to work tomorrow or as soon as possible. More to come... |
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