(no subject)
So, its my last week here in Paraguay!
Although Im stupidly excited about coming home, Im also gonna miss this crazy place a lot.
When I decided to come here, I looked everywhere for some kind of guide book or lonely planet guide. But, Paraguay is such a secluded and unvisited place, that even they didnt do one. The only information I could find was a book called "At The Tomb of the Inflatable Pig" by John Gimlette. I tried reading it but found it strange and in the end, gave up. But I do remember him saying that people only ever come to Paraguay with a reason, but when they leave they love it, and now I understand what he meant.
Paraguay is a country with no purpose, playing no role in anything. Its stubborn, stuck in its ways, quirky and full of the friendliest people Ive ever met (also the most perverted...). Only a mere few hundred others come here each year, mostly on business, and I feel quite proud that Ive been able to experience a place like this (not without the help of my mum and paul, of course (ta!)..) which others just simply overlook because its so unknown and overshadowed by the supposedly more lively countries of South America. But infact Paraguay is the most unique place Ive been to, if not a place I´d go on holiday!
Its so full of quirky things that are utterly pointless and will never catch on in any "normal" country. Like Terrere! Paraguayans are devoted to their Terrere; they spend hours just relaxing, sat on the street with their friends, passing around their Terrere. Everybody carries around their huge leather flasks and little mugs with silver spoons, which are sold everywhere in hundreds of designs that you can have your name engraved onto.
To any non-Paraguayan, its nonsense and a difficult concept to grasp: why would we spend so much time and money on chosing a Flask? Why carry around such a heavy, bulky object that will evidently leak all over the place? Why not just buy a bottle of water?! But its things like this that make Paraguay what it is.
While I didnt think Id be getting upset about leaving Paraguay, Im certainly not looking forward to leaving all of my babies - Im worrying about Friday (my last day at Casa Cuna) more than anything else.
Since being here Ive had troubles with my "family", been down about missing home and certainly had bad experiences with other things (being threatened with a knife being one of them! Pickpocketing, hospitals, the list goes on...), but my 2 year olds buddies at Casa Cuna have always been there for me, keeping my spirits up by supplying me with my daily hugs and kisses.
Ive done my fair share of wiping snotty noses, changing the smelliest nappies ever and wiping up sick. Ive been called a whore hundreds of times (sometimes I worry its the only word they know), been slapped, bitten and had toys thrown at me. But I still love each one of them (even the naughty ones) and will be sad to leave them.
On my birthday I got a card off my Grandma and Granda, in which my Grandma told me not to get too attatched because it will cause them upset when I leave. I know this is nonsense - children forget things so easily and will not bat an eyelid when Im not there on Monday. But Im also kinda worrying about it - there are 3 children there that I have favourited above the others. They call me Mama and constantly want cuddles and come straight to me when they wake up, and its these ones Im particularly upset about leaving. Theyre the quiet ones who dont get much attention cos theyre not naughty, they just blend into the background. I want to bring them home with me and Im pretty sure I can fit them into my backpack!
Still on the subject of Casa Cuna, last week I was ready to walk out. Ava bit Johnathon, as they often do. The Tias alyways make the bitten kid bite back, so as usual, Tia Carmen held Avas arm while Johnathon bit her. They noticed he had done it hard and that it was bleeding underneath the skin, so they made him do it again! They have these huge blocks of ice here (for their Terrere flasks, obviously! Theyre about the size of a bottle of water), so they put one on her arm to stop it bruising. Meanwhile, Lucas was playing up and wouldnt sit still, so Tia Karon decided to hold him down and hit him in the mouth with the ice over and over again until his lip was bleeding. He was obviously distressed and wouldnt stop crying, so they held his wet and bloody face in the sand before laughing and asking me to take a photo.
It upset me to see them treating a 2 year old like his and I didnt know what to do with myself. We had been told before coming here that we may see things we dont like but that we should just ignore them and not interfere - we are afterall in a different culture. I used my best judgement and did just that, but still felt awful for ignoring it and letting it happen. However, Lucas was back to his cheeky self an hour or so later, running around calling everybody a whore.
One thing Im not going to miss is being harrassed constantly, be it by pervy old men or people selling things on the street.
We were told at the briefing that we would be stared at because of our skin colour and that we are noticebly foreign, yet nothing prepared us for the amount of stares, hissing and attention we would get. Just walking down the street people stop and stare openly, having never seen an English person before. Add to that the seedy salesmen flogging "Real Gucci sunglasses!!", "Original Chanel bags!!" and other crap, the men sitting on street corners asking if we want change everytime we walk past, and the pervy men who hiss at us (this is their way of getting our attention, I suppose a Paraguayan wolf whistle. But not because I am attractive you understand, merely because of my pale skin, light hair and obviously western clothes!), I will be glad to be back in England where I am just an average person walking down the street!
My plans for this week are to spend as much time as I can at Casa Cuna with my babies, and as little time as I can trapped in the house with Fanny and family (things have become much worse there - I am constantly being harrased by Juan, my "brother", wanting to massage me and kiss me, while he isnt watching porn on the computer in full view in the living room!). Friday I think we are all going for a meal together, and Saturday I am staying in the hotel, as I need to leave for the airport at 3am! Also I have to pay my taxes upon leaving the country! God knows why.
I hope everyone is well and getting in the Christmas spirit! Cant wait to get back to all that cold weather and tacky tinsle!
Although Im stupidly excited about coming home, Im also gonna miss this crazy place a lot.
When I decided to come here, I looked everywhere for some kind of guide book or lonely planet guide. But, Paraguay is such a secluded and unvisited place, that even they didnt do one. The only information I could find was a book called "At The Tomb of the Inflatable Pig" by John Gimlette. I tried reading it but found it strange and in the end, gave up. But I do remember him saying that people only ever come to Paraguay with a reason, but when they leave they love it, and now I understand what he meant.
Paraguay is a country with no purpose, playing no role in anything. Its stubborn, stuck in its ways, quirky and full of the friendliest people Ive ever met (also the most perverted...). Only a mere few hundred others come here each year, mostly on business, and I feel quite proud that Ive been able to experience a place like this (not without the help of my mum and paul, of course (ta!)..) which others just simply overlook because its so unknown and overshadowed by the supposedly more lively countries of South America. But infact Paraguay is the most unique place Ive been to, if not a place I´d go on holiday!
Its so full of quirky things that are utterly pointless and will never catch on in any "normal" country. Like Terrere! Paraguayans are devoted to their Terrere; they spend hours just relaxing, sat on the street with their friends, passing around their Terrere. Everybody carries around their huge leather flasks and little mugs with silver spoons, which are sold everywhere in hundreds of designs that you can have your name engraved onto.
To any non-Paraguayan, its nonsense and a difficult concept to grasp: why would we spend so much time and money on chosing a Flask? Why carry around such a heavy, bulky object that will evidently leak all over the place? Why not just buy a bottle of water?! But its things like this that make Paraguay what it is.
While I didnt think Id be getting upset about leaving Paraguay, Im certainly not looking forward to leaving all of my babies - Im worrying about Friday (my last day at Casa Cuna) more than anything else.
Since being here Ive had troubles with my "family", been down about missing home and certainly had bad experiences with other things (being threatened with a knife being one of them! Pickpocketing, hospitals, the list goes on...), but my 2 year olds buddies at Casa Cuna have always been there for me, keeping my spirits up by supplying me with my daily hugs and kisses.
Ive done my fair share of wiping snotty noses, changing the smelliest nappies ever and wiping up sick. Ive been called a whore hundreds of times (sometimes I worry its the only word they know), been slapped, bitten and had toys thrown at me. But I still love each one of them (even the naughty ones) and will be sad to leave them.
On my birthday I got a card off my Grandma and Granda, in which my Grandma told me not to get too attatched because it will cause them upset when I leave. I know this is nonsense - children forget things so easily and will not bat an eyelid when Im not there on Monday. But Im also kinda worrying about it - there are 3 children there that I have favourited above the others. They call me Mama and constantly want cuddles and come straight to me when they wake up, and its these ones Im particularly upset about leaving. Theyre the quiet ones who dont get much attention cos theyre not naughty, they just blend into the background. I want to bring them home with me and Im pretty sure I can fit them into my backpack!
Still on the subject of Casa Cuna, last week I was ready to walk out. Ava bit Johnathon, as they often do. The Tias alyways make the bitten kid bite back, so as usual, Tia Carmen held Avas arm while Johnathon bit her. They noticed he had done it hard and that it was bleeding underneath the skin, so they made him do it again! They have these huge blocks of ice here (for their Terrere flasks, obviously! Theyre about the size of a bottle of water), so they put one on her arm to stop it bruising. Meanwhile, Lucas was playing up and wouldnt sit still, so Tia Karon decided to hold him down and hit him in the mouth with the ice over and over again until his lip was bleeding. He was obviously distressed and wouldnt stop crying, so they held his wet and bloody face in the sand before laughing and asking me to take a photo.
It upset me to see them treating a 2 year old like his and I didnt know what to do with myself. We had been told before coming here that we may see things we dont like but that we should just ignore them and not interfere - we are afterall in a different culture. I used my best judgement and did just that, but still felt awful for ignoring it and letting it happen. However, Lucas was back to his cheeky self an hour or so later, running around calling everybody a whore.
One thing Im not going to miss is being harrassed constantly, be it by pervy old men or people selling things on the street.
We were told at the briefing that we would be stared at because of our skin colour and that we are noticebly foreign, yet nothing prepared us for the amount of stares, hissing and attention we would get. Just walking down the street people stop and stare openly, having never seen an English person before. Add to that the seedy salesmen flogging "Real Gucci sunglasses!!", "Original Chanel bags!!" and other crap, the men sitting on street corners asking if we want change everytime we walk past, and the pervy men who hiss at us (this is their way of getting our attention, I suppose a Paraguayan wolf whistle. But not because I am attractive you understand, merely because of my pale skin, light hair and obviously western clothes!), I will be glad to be back in England where I am just an average person walking down the street!
My plans for this week are to spend as much time as I can at Casa Cuna with my babies, and as little time as I can trapped in the house with Fanny and family (things have become much worse there - I am constantly being harrased by Juan, my "brother", wanting to massage me and kiss me, while he isnt watching porn on the computer in full view in the living room!). Friday I think we are all going for a meal together, and Saturday I am staying in the hotel, as I need to leave for the airport at 3am! Also I have to pay my taxes upon leaving the country! God knows why.
I hope everyone is well and getting in the Christmas spirit! Cant wait to get back to all that cold weather and tacky tinsle!