Really, a couple of funny things have happened. I would like to say they all have something to do with cross cultural experience. In reality, at least half of them are just mistakes on my part. Here are a few highlights:
1) On our second day in Paraguay, I decided we should take a long walk around the neighborhood to get oriented. We walked about 10 blocks down Avenida Espana, turned left and managed to end up on Avenida Mariscal Lopez (a major thoroughfare). I was excited, surely we would see good stuff now. After all, as we drove down the street the day before on the way out of the airport, the president's house and the plaza Gobierno whizzed by. After about an hour on the Avenida, we stopped a lady to ask for directions back to where we were staying, Gral Santos. She gave us a puzzled look (which I thought was due to my poor Spanish) and promptly informed us (in English that was much better than my Spanish...embarrassing) that Gral Santos was way too far away for us to walk and she would have to call her son to come pick us up and take us there. On the bright side, both she and her son now have a 'silly American' story to laugh over.
2) A few days after arriving, we were picking up the language quickly (though sporadically) and when someone explained that Siempre meant always, I was excited. Ever on the look out for a mnemonic device, I immediately realized that the my training as an Army brat would come in handy. Siempre Fidelis is the Marine corps motto, it means 'Always Faithful' so I could remember it easily (you would think). I got confused looks for about 2 days before I realized my 'mnemonic device' had gotten its wires crossed and I was instinctively saying Fidelis every time I meant to say always....doh!
3) While driving home with the Mareco family one night, Cristobal asked me what sentry means. I explained it means a guard in the military. He looked very confused and asked again, and I tried explaining a different way. After we went back and forth a half dozen times he wrote down what he wanted explained, Centre. What is the difference between a Center and a Centre? Ahh, now I know the answer to that, but how would I explain, in my limited Spanish, that during the American Revolution Benjamin Franklin arbitrarily changed the spelling of English words to be different from Great Britain? Honestly, it was not my most eloquent moment, I probably sounded like my 4 year old trying to explain a story she had been read, but I think he got the gist.
4) Finally, my most embarrassing faux pas; we were visiting the President of the Disciples of Christ Church in Paraguay (of course something REALLY embarrassing has to happen when you are meeting the president of something). She was very nice and her husband was talking to me in rapid fire Spanish (he later explained that a cultural difference between the USA and Paraguay is that the US attempts to prevent problems, Paraguay lets the problems roll and learns from them). The few words I picked out were Paraguay, Guarani, Habla, and etc.
Now, I my Spanish is currently at a 'barely adequate' level...I can discuss what I need to discuss in my profession, I can carry on a basic conversation, but it's so much easier if people talk to me like I am stupid...and slow, it helps to talk very very slow. So, with the few words here and there that I picked out of the question, I discerned that I was being asked if I spoke any Guarani (an indigenous language spoken by virtually everyone in Paraguay). Of course, I replied, 'No, nada'. It was one of those everyone froze, crickets chirping moments. They were all staring at me in shock, the President of the church was standing bent over in the process of pouring refreshments, frozen in time. Finally, Cristobal, a pastor whose church I have been attending and whose family has graciously taken us under their wing, explained...He had asked if I liked Paraguay and the people of Paraguay.
I couldn't help it...I laughed, really loud. Leave it to me to say something so outrageous, even accidentally. So I explained, I thought he had asked if I spoke Guarani and that I like Paraguay and the people of Paraguay and everyone unfroze and we had a very very pleasant visit.
There have been other, whoopsies and uh oh's, but I just wanted to give you a taste. Entering any new culture is going to have a few hiccups, add in a language barrier and you are likely to have some funny conversations. That's part of the joy and adventure of life outside of your comfort zone.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Saturday, May 17, 2014
On the ground in Paraguay
It is fall here in Paraguay, and for the last week and a half we have been staying in a guest house of the Lutheran Church here in Asuncion. It seems to house mostly college students studying at one of the many universities here in the Capital. It has been a bit difficult to have 3 small children in such close quarters with people who need to study. Trying to keep them quiet at night, or between 12:00 and 3:00 for the mandatory resting/studying/sleeping times, has led us all to some frazzled nerves.
Tomorrow we are supposed to be moving to Friendship Mission tomorrow. There is an elementary school housed there, so I assume lots of kid noises during the day won't be a problem. Then, at night, there is only one other family that we have to worry about disturbing, the Marecos.
The Marecos family has been awesome here...inviting us to dinner and even taking us to celebrate Mother's day with their family. Maria (mother to Augustine, Facundo, and Flores, wife to Cristobal) even baked the most delicious cake for Anya's birthday. They have been very gracious and friendly.
There have been ups and downs. For the first 2-3 days, we had a banking snafu. And there was (and still is) some cultural adjustments to be made, but I am very proud of how well the kids are taking it.
Look back here soon for posts on silly mistakes we have made, and hard lessons learned.
Tomorrow we are supposed to be moving to Friendship Mission tomorrow. There is an elementary school housed there, so I assume lots of kid noises during the day won't be a problem. Then, at night, there is only one other family that we have to worry about disturbing, the Marecos.
The Marecos family has been awesome here...inviting us to dinner and even taking us to celebrate Mother's day with their family. Maria (mother to Augustine, Facundo, and Flores, wife to Cristobal) even baked the most delicious cake for Anya's birthday. They have been very gracious and friendly.
There have been ups and downs. For the first 2-3 days, we had a banking snafu. And there was (and still is) some cultural adjustments to be made, but I am very proud of how well the kids are taking it.
Look back here soon for posts on silly mistakes we have made, and hard lessons learned.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Up and down, up and down
Moving to Paraguay with 3 kids under the age of 10 is either the pinnacle of my awesomeness, or the depths of my idiocy. Honestly, I think it's probably going to end up a tally in the awesome column, but at varying (you know, about 20 times a day) moments, it definitely feels like it belongs in the idiocy field. I love my life. I love my family, friends, church, homeschool co-op, town, state, car, house, stuff. I love it all, and I am just going.
When I went to school to study Anthropology I had visions of Indiana Jones-esque adventures in Amazonian jungles and German castles. Then, I actually studied Anthropology and did field work and I realized that mostly I would be doing paperwork. That's ok, though, because I love people and Anthropology is, at the heart, the study of people. This opportunity to work and live in Paraguay was something I could never have imagined. It's amazing, a blessing wilder than I ever thought to dream of.
So, I am happy, ecstatic, to be going. Somehow, though, in my imaginings I can't picture the day to day with kiddos. What will it be like; I remember being in Mexico and seeing how differently children were treated. I feel fairly certain that parenting in Paraguay will be different than in North Carolina. If nothing else, I am enormously aware that we will be the 'they' in this we/they dichotomy, the outsiders, the (sort of) representatives of our country....that's a lot of responsibility rattling around in my parenting mind.
So, that's why my mood, my thoughts, my preparedness, and my energy are on what seems to be an eternal roller coaster. Up and down, round and round, and where it stops...who knows. One thing is for sure, ready or not, this time next week we will be in South America; our new home.
When I went to school to study Anthropology I had visions of Indiana Jones-esque adventures in Amazonian jungles and German castles. Then, I actually studied Anthropology and did field work and I realized that mostly I would be doing paperwork. That's ok, though, because I love people and Anthropology is, at the heart, the study of people. This opportunity to work and live in Paraguay was something I could never have imagined. It's amazing, a blessing wilder than I ever thought to dream of.
So, I am happy, ecstatic, to be going. Somehow, though, in my imaginings I can't picture the day to day with kiddos. What will it be like; I remember being in Mexico and seeing how differently children were treated. I feel fairly certain that parenting in Paraguay will be different than in North Carolina. If nothing else, I am enormously aware that we will be the 'they' in this we/they dichotomy, the outsiders, the (sort of) representatives of our country....that's a lot of responsibility rattling around in my parenting mind.
So, that's why my mood, my thoughts, my preparedness, and my energy are on what seems to be an eternal roller coaster. Up and down, round and round, and where it stops...who knows. One thing is for sure, ready or not, this time next week we will be in South America; our new home.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Busy Beavers...
So, we got our official date, our plane reservations are confirmed, and after waiting over a year, everything became very real very quickly. All in all, things have been better and worse than I expected.
The hardest and most unforeseen problem we have faced hasn't been what to take, or which bags to use, it has been the people we are leaving behind. We prepared, of course, for the reality of leaving them. What we didn't prepare for was the tsunami of last minute meetings, parties, farewell dos and etc.
In one way it has been amazingly comforting to have so many people want so badly to get their last greetings in. In another way, though, it has been terribly frustrating. People have their own lives to live, and we have to somehow mesh hectic schedules. During routine times, this is accomplished easily enough. With only around a week left to pack, get our house in order, give the grandparents enough time to last them a year or more with out the wee ones, and all the last minute minutia...well, finding time to squeeze in a few dozen fare-thee-wells has been frustrating to say the least.
My days are filled with packing, cleaning, more packing, wondering just HOW I managed to collect so much stuff that needs to be shipped off to the local charity shop, packing, trying to find where, in the chaos, I laid down the bundle of important documents to take with us, and, then, another box to pack. Then there is the packing.
Hmm, I suppose we all know what has been foremost in my mind of late.
The farewells and parties have had another downside; in that my wee ones seem to suddenly realize they won't see cousins and friends for a long time. There have been a few tearful moments at these times. There has been some erosion of careful preparations to prevent emotional trauma to little travelers. There have been some gut wrenching decisions about who to see when and frustration at not being able to do everything we would like.
Still, on the flip side, these tears and frustrations only occur when there exists a slew of well wishers and loving friends who have taken time out of their lives to spend a moment with us. All in all, I suppose it is better to sob our way through the week than for it to pass with little or no notice.
The hardest and most unforeseen problem we have faced hasn't been what to take, or which bags to use, it has been the people we are leaving behind. We prepared, of course, for the reality of leaving them. What we didn't prepare for was the tsunami of last minute meetings, parties, farewell dos and etc.
In one way it has been amazingly comforting to have so many people want so badly to get their last greetings in. In another way, though, it has been terribly frustrating. People have their own lives to live, and we have to somehow mesh hectic schedules. During routine times, this is accomplished easily enough. With only around a week left to pack, get our house in order, give the grandparents enough time to last them a year or more with out the wee ones, and all the last minute minutia...well, finding time to squeeze in a few dozen fare-thee-wells has been frustrating to say the least.
My days are filled with packing, cleaning, more packing, wondering just HOW I managed to collect so much stuff that needs to be shipped off to the local charity shop, packing, trying to find where, in the chaos, I laid down the bundle of important documents to take with us, and, then, another box to pack. Then there is the packing.
Hmm, I suppose we all know what has been foremost in my mind of late.
The farewells and parties have had another downside; in that my wee ones seem to suddenly realize they won't see cousins and friends for a long time. There have been a few tearful moments at these times. There has been some erosion of careful preparations to prevent emotional trauma to little travelers. There have been some gut wrenching decisions about who to see when and frustration at not being able to do everything we would like.
Still, on the flip side, these tears and frustrations only occur when there exists a slew of well wishers and loving friends who have taken time out of their lives to spend a moment with us. All in all, I suppose it is better to sob our way through the week than for it to pass with little or no notice.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
This is no game...
...but there are kind of games involved. So, with our departure from the US looming on the horizon, I have been kicking into high gear with preparations. Today, the task was to pack one of the big checked bags with items that we 'definitely' want to take. In this instance, it was our board games.
I have kind of gotten a lot of flack about taking our games; but you have to understand, we use our games in homeschooling, for family game night, as boredom busters, etc. Also, I remember trying to find a simple book in English while in Merida, Mx (a pretty touristy town with a lot of ex-pats from the US, UK, CA, etc.) and how difficult and expensive that was. I can only imagine how difficult it may be to find games in English in Paraguay.
So anyway, I decided today was the day we needed to pack up the games. This wasn't as simple as it sounds. Space is at a premium in our luggage, so superfluous boxes had to go. That meant bagging up every bit and piece from every game we own (only about 20 +/-), pulling out all the game board, laying those flat in the luggage and then arranging a bunch of 3D baggies of junk on top and doing it all in the most space saving way possible.
It took HOURS, and when all was said and done, the games are taking up almost the entire 62 inch piece of luggage. To be honest, I am torn. How badly do we need these games? Do we need ALL of them? Do we want them more than other things like loveys and blankets? Ok, ok, we have already packed the blankets, but still, how important are the games?
Well, for right now, they are pretty important. Games are a big part of our culture as a family. My first Christmas as a single mom, I started stock piling games to play together as a family. I may have had the only 7 and 4 year old who could play chess by themselves with out a helicopter parent telling them which pieces could move where. We LOVE games. So, unless something more pressing comes along, our largest piece of luggage will remain crammed with die, cards, tokens, and markers. And we will anxious look forward to cracking open a board and christening our new apartment a home.
I have kind of gotten a lot of flack about taking our games; but you have to understand, we use our games in homeschooling, for family game night, as boredom busters, etc. Also, I remember trying to find a simple book in English while in Merida, Mx (a pretty touristy town with a lot of ex-pats from the US, UK, CA, etc.) and how difficult and expensive that was. I can only imagine how difficult it may be to find games in English in Paraguay.
So anyway, I decided today was the day we needed to pack up the games. This wasn't as simple as it sounds. Space is at a premium in our luggage, so superfluous boxes had to go. That meant bagging up every bit and piece from every game we own (only about 20 +/-), pulling out all the game board, laying those flat in the luggage and then arranging a bunch of 3D baggies of junk on top and doing it all in the most space saving way possible.
It took HOURS, and when all was said and done, the games are taking up almost the entire 62 inch piece of luggage. To be honest, I am torn. How badly do we need these games? Do we need ALL of them? Do we want them more than other things like loveys and blankets? Ok, ok, we have already packed the blankets, but still, how important are the games?
Well, for right now, they are pretty important. Games are a big part of our culture as a family. My first Christmas as a single mom, I started stock piling games to play together as a family. I may have had the only 7 and 4 year old who could play chess by themselves with out a helicopter parent telling them which pieces could move where. We LOVE games. So, unless something more pressing comes along, our largest piece of luggage will remain crammed with die, cards, tokens, and markers. And we will anxious look forward to cracking open a board and christening our new apartment a home.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
The Modern Missionary
I received some wonderful news recently. In 4 week my family and I will be drinking terere in Paraguay. I was so excited when I found out we were finally going, I was shaking. Not only do we have a date, but there were some last minute changes to what, exactly, we would be doing while in Paraguay. We will not be working with Campamento Jack Norment, as we originally planned. Instead, we will be working and living in Asuncion with the Mision de Amistad (Friendship Mission) and Comite de Iglesias Para Ayuda de Emergencia (CIPAE) (commonly called, the Inter Church Committee).
There has been some mixed reaction to the changes. My family and friends were very comfortable with the idea of me rusticating I a camp, but living in the capital city isn't nearly as popular an idea. However, I am not phased by the changes one bit. There are several reasons why I am unconcerned.
1) I am trying to do whatever God wants and go wherever He leads. Already he has made this change more wonderful and amazing than I could ever have dreamed. If he has taken my one tiny step and propelled us this far forward, I would have to be crazy to refuse to just keep on following him.
2) Going to Paraguay, even agreeing to be a Missionary, has never been about me. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly benefits I hope to enjoy about the situation; but, the real reason I am going is to be of service to others. There are some unfortunate legacies to overcome as a Missionary. The wounds left on the collective psyche by imperialism are still struggling to heal. For that reason I don't particularly care whether I am working at a camp, or in a mission in the city. My job, as I see it, is to accompany the people of Paraguay, wherever and however they want me to.
So, this is a time of joy and excitement, but also of responsibility and thoughtfulness. I ask you to pray for my children and I, that we are able to follow where God leads and live Christ-like lives wherever we end up.
There has been some mixed reaction to the changes. My family and friends were very comfortable with the idea of me rusticating I a camp, but living in the capital city isn't nearly as popular an idea. However, I am not phased by the changes one bit. There are several reasons why I am unconcerned.
1) I am trying to do whatever God wants and go wherever He leads. Already he has made this change more wonderful and amazing than I could ever have dreamed. If he has taken my one tiny step and propelled us this far forward, I would have to be crazy to refuse to just keep on following him.
2) Going to Paraguay, even agreeing to be a Missionary, has never been about me. Don't get me wrong, there are certainly benefits I hope to enjoy about the situation; but, the real reason I am going is to be of service to others. There are some unfortunate legacies to overcome as a Missionary. The wounds left on the collective psyche by imperialism are still struggling to heal. For that reason I don't particularly care whether I am working at a camp, or in a mission in the city. My job, as I see it, is to accompany the people of Paraguay, wherever and however they want me to.
So, this is a time of joy and excitement, but also of responsibility and thoughtfulness. I ask you to pray for my children and I, that we are able to follow where God leads and live Christ-like lives wherever we end up.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
A minor panic attack about homeschooling
I have homeschooled my kids their entire lives. Even before I had kids, I knew I would homeschool. I was 'homeschooled' through out middle and high school (I spent one semester in public high school, at my request, and excelled academically, but was bored witless and so transferred back into my homeschool). I always attributed my academic resiliency to having been homeschooled (in reality, I was unschooled, though, I am not sure the term 'unschool' had been coined at that point). Putting my own children in public school was never a thought I entertained.
Even when I found my self suddenly a single parent, I knew I would continue to homeschool; it is a non-negotiable parental decision. When I applied with Global Ministries, I was really excited to see that they had already given 'homeschool' as an education option when they asked how you would educate your children overseas. Yay!! I didn't have to explain or convince them that homeschooling was worthwhile. There were some questions about the logistics of our family homeschooling. Things like, 'How will you find the time to homeschool AND work with the partner organization?' and ' How are you going to get the books/curriculum you need to your destination?' There were also some really encouraging comments like, 'Homeschooling, that's great, you will be able to travel easily with your kids while in Paraguay.' and 'You know, once you get in country, your kids will become trilingual, because they will easily pick up Spanish and Guarani...especially because they are homeschooled.'
Homeschooling is very important to our family, so as I have been preparing to journey to Paraguay, it is only natural that we should be considering the affect the move will have on our homeschooling. Mostly, we try to stay positive; we think of the really cool natural science topics we might be able to observe up close and personal or the neat opportunities to see different cultural events. A few weeks ago, though, I had a startling moment when I realized there was one major hiccup in our homeschooling plans.
We follow child led learning ideals in our homeschool; this means that when a child expresses an interest in a topic, as a family we facilitate opportunities for that child to indulge in learning as much as they like about that topic. This means that we have no set curriculum....we just learn whatever takes our fancy.
Generally, this type of learning is beneficial for travel. I don't have any text books to lug around, there are no heavy notebooks and school supplies needed or pointless reports to be saved, we don't need to be still and studying at a certain time with certain tools. There are two major necessities to our homeschool style, though, a computer (not a problem) and a printer (not a....wait a minute...). Yeah, a printer, we would definitely need that to print out articles and worksheets and pictures and...we NEED a printer. I love my home printer...it's great, it scans, prints, has wonderful resolution, it's easy to use and it is my best friend as a homeschool mom. Let's face it, though, printers aren't really very durable. I mean, you drop it, and you probably need to buy a new one. How, then, could I guarantee our beloved printer would arrive safely in Paraguay? The answer...I couldn't. And, since a printer is both bulky and heavy, and there was no guarantee it would arrive and do what we need it to do, it didn't make the cut of things to travel with us in our checked luggage.
Now, here I am, a homeschooling mama with three kiddos who depend heavily on themed coloring pages, copy work, word jumbles, cross word puzzles, and a plethora of other printed materials. The easiest solution seemed to be to buy a printer when we get to Paraguay. So, I did what anyone would do, I hit the internet and looked to see if my local chain store shipped to Paraguay. The brief answer to that is no. Well, maybe I should just mail myself a new printer. If I bought it and it was still in its original packaging, it should make it. Brief answer...no. Ok, let's see what major chain stores with internet sites are IN Paraguay and then when I get there I can go buy a printer and take it home. No.
I like to think creative thinking can solve any problem. I also like to think I am a creative person. Apparently, though, not creative enough to tackle this problem; not yet, at least. So, I did what I have been doing a lot lately, I let it go.
I don't know if we will find a printer in Paraguay that will plug and play with our laptop. I don't know if we DO find said printer that it will be within our budget. I don't know what we will do if we can't find a printer. But, I do know that there is a solution, and we will find it. It is pointless to panic over what something that MIGHT be a disaster; especially when there is really an equal chance that it MIGHT be an amazing blessing.
Even when I found my self suddenly a single parent, I knew I would continue to homeschool; it is a non-negotiable parental decision. When I applied with Global Ministries, I was really excited to see that they had already given 'homeschool' as an education option when they asked how you would educate your children overseas. Yay!! I didn't have to explain or convince them that homeschooling was worthwhile. There were some questions about the logistics of our family homeschooling. Things like, 'How will you find the time to homeschool AND work with the partner organization?' and ' How are you going to get the books/curriculum you need to your destination?' There were also some really encouraging comments like, 'Homeschooling, that's great, you will be able to travel easily with your kids while in Paraguay.' and 'You know, once you get in country, your kids will become trilingual, because they will easily pick up Spanish and Guarani...especially because they are homeschooled.'
Homeschooling is very important to our family, so as I have been preparing to journey to Paraguay, it is only natural that we should be considering the affect the move will have on our homeschooling. Mostly, we try to stay positive; we think of the really cool natural science topics we might be able to observe up close and personal or the neat opportunities to see different cultural events. A few weeks ago, though, I had a startling moment when I realized there was one major hiccup in our homeschooling plans.
We follow child led learning ideals in our homeschool; this means that when a child expresses an interest in a topic, as a family we facilitate opportunities for that child to indulge in learning as much as they like about that topic. This means that we have no set curriculum....we just learn whatever takes our fancy.
Generally, this type of learning is beneficial for travel. I don't have any text books to lug around, there are no heavy notebooks and school supplies needed or pointless reports to be saved, we don't need to be still and studying at a certain time with certain tools. There are two major necessities to our homeschool style, though, a computer (not a problem) and a printer (not a....wait a minute...). Yeah, a printer, we would definitely need that to print out articles and worksheets and pictures and...we NEED a printer. I love my home printer...it's great, it scans, prints, has wonderful resolution, it's easy to use and it is my best friend as a homeschool mom. Let's face it, though, printers aren't really very durable. I mean, you drop it, and you probably need to buy a new one. How, then, could I guarantee our beloved printer would arrive safely in Paraguay? The answer...I couldn't. And, since a printer is both bulky and heavy, and there was no guarantee it would arrive and do what we need it to do, it didn't make the cut of things to travel with us in our checked luggage.
Now, here I am, a homeschooling mama with three kiddos who depend heavily on themed coloring pages, copy work, word jumbles, cross word puzzles, and a plethora of other printed materials. The easiest solution seemed to be to buy a printer when we get to Paraguay. So, I did what anyone would do, I hit the internet and looked to see if my local chain store shipped to Paraguay. The brief answer to that is no. Well, maybe I should just mail myself a new printer. If I bought it and it was still in its original packaging, it should make it. Brief answer...no. Ok, let's see what major chain stores with internet sites are IN Paraguay and then when I get there I can go buy a printer and take it home. No.
I like to think creative thinking can solve any problem. I also like to think I am a creative person. Apparently, though, not creative enough to tackle this problem; not yet, at least. So, I did what I have been doing a lot lately, I let it go.
I don't know if we will find a printer in Paraguay that will plug and play with our laptop. I don't know if we DO find said printer that it will be within our budget. I don't know what we will do if we can't find a printer. But, I do know that there is a solution, and we will find it. It is pointless to panic over what something that MIGHT be a disaster; especially when there is really an equal chance that it MIGHT be an amazing blessing.
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