Heart of a Lion.

I want to point out an interesting aspect about being a volunteer and having some of my best friends in Peace Corps throughout the world, Michelle in Panama on a remote tropical island with no electricity or running water, Brooke in a small beach town in Ecuador with not many resources not at

 Her fingertips, Toby with internet in his apartment in Kavarna on the Black Sea, the Rock & Roll Capital of Bulgaria with murals of Billy Idol and AC/DC in the city, and the newest edition, Roger in Mali in West Africa, one of the poorest nations in the world, who will most likely be living in a mud hut.  When I talk to my friends in each of these countries, there is one thing that never changes, we all go through the same frustrations, difficult cultural adaptations, missing home and friends, and the roller coaster ride of emotions that volunteers seem to know so well.  We understand each other in ways no one will ever be able to understand unless you are a Peace Corps Volunteer.  One thing is for certain, we can all have some sort of contact with each other and home, and know that at the end of two years, we can return to our comfort zones back in the states to everything we know.  In the Peace Corps, we are considered professionals who are well respected and as I pointed out in the past blog, sometimes lose part of our identity to integrate into our culture, but nonetheless, people seek upon us as our knowledge is different and accepted in ways, which would never really occur in the U.S. 

            Thinking about the way we are accepted into other countries and loved by the locals and reading current events in the U.S. led me to reflect on the Immigration issues brewing.

            This has always been an important issue to me as it is so misunderstood and until recently, added along racial profiling under the terminology of “immigration reform.”  Hearing the news of this brought tears to my eyes as I think of the many innocent people, the majority from Latin American countries, migrating to the U.S. in hopes of creating a better life for themselves, and possibly their families.  Many immigrants come to work in extremely harsh conditions, such as in the agriculture industry, bent over for hours picking strawberries, risking pesticide poisoning, almost no access to health care, sometimes even no access to running water or proper sanitation, even food.  Many may say, they came here by choice.  I agree, I came to another country by choice as well, the difference, I am here on part of the U.S. government as a professional, and the underlying privilege which is often disregarded, that I was born and live in the U.S.  Because of this, many people want to know you, they believe you, no matter how little money they have, there is always a offering of food or something for you.  This makes my life easier as it is a struggle to try to grasp the language, understand the different cultural norms, be in another country in general, especially when you are far from everything you know, especially your support system, family & friends. 

            I could never imagine immigrating to the U.S., getting the most physically demanding jobs, struggling with a new language, adapting to a new culture, being away from family and friends, and top of this all, being incredibly discriminated against.  The way people even talk about illegal immigrants, which mostly happen to be from Mexico and Central America, and how stupid they are, even how they don’t deserve anything sickens me. Think about it, these people are often learning at least their second language, and dealing with a whole new culture, one where most families will not open up their arms and doors to these outsiders to share a meal with them.

            It hurts to hear here in Paraguay how often people ask me about racism in the U.S.  Mainly because of the sort of media shown here, people ask me if we still hang African Americans, and they see on the news the way illegal immigrants are always sent to jail just for trying to work.  It is really unfortunate that this is a common view, that we, as in people from the United States are extremely racist.  Understanding the power and privilege the U.S. wields, as a country, we should strive to create a good example, not one based on being racist, creating unjustified wars, violent and tortuous, or everyone being rich, but a place that is just to all.

            The name of the blog is entitled “Heart of a Lion” based on the Kid Cudi song, because I feel that this encapsulates what must be endured by immigrants, especially in a society in which racism is becoming more institutionalized day by day.  I urge everyone to think and take action to stop the politicians acting irrationally and educate people around you because everyone deserves the right to a better life, and especially to be treated equally.

I dedicate this blog to any person who has immigrated to the U.S., or tried to live in another country, especially my mom who has endured more racism, and discrimination than many people will ever know or have to go through.

This posting is ESPECIALLY not connected to the U.S. government, but my own views.

The View from my apartment over the river.

            

Fuerza Albirroja!!!

Here in South America, winter has been entered upon. Although most must assume that winter is not “real” here in Paraguay since it is one of the tropical countries, let me assure you Paraguay is a subtropical country, and it has been ever so hard to leave my bolsa de dormir (sleeping bag) since the start of July due to the coldness.

July started with a trip to Asuncion, the Capital and into the Chaco to a self sufficient agricultural high school is located for a 4 day training. This school was amazing because they produced their own food and created their own income through selling the goods created at the school. This was during the World Cup, so needless to say, training had to be stopped mid-training to watch Paraguay play.

Being in Paraguay during the World Cup was really amazing. Paraguay was one of only 6 Peace Corps countries that qualified, and as they made it into the Semi-quarter finals besides Ghana. So, basically Paraguay was going crazy. School was basically cancelled on the days that Paraguay was playing, and most businesses shut down to watch the game. As goals were scored, I could hear fireworks, horns, and screams of joy erupting all over the town. As soon as the game was over and Paraguay had either won, or tied but was to advance, many rushed out of their homes into their cars covered in Paraguay flags, wearing their soccer jerseys, to parade up and down the streets blasting music, yelling for joy, and many, celebrating by drinking beer while doing all the other things. Things were exciting needless to say, and you really felt left out if you weren’t wearing some article of clothing related to Paraguayan soccer.

The main plaza in Asuncion on game day.

Needless to say, it was exciting time here as there was Paraguayan pride to be found everywhere throughout the country. It was an exciting time as Paraguay is usually an unknown country in the heart of South America, but the World Cup and the Paraguayan National Team really did start to put Paraguay on a map as many were surprised to see such a small country advance so far. Who knows, maybe Paraguay will win next World Cup in Brazil, 2014!

Watching the Semi-Finals in Asuncion

Beyond this, the coldness has coincided perfectly with the teacher strike and the 2-week winter vacation. The week before the vacation was to begin, teachers went on strike due to low salaries, this occurs often here, as it has been the third one this year. However, this cancelled school for that week, and is said to go for another 45 days. This was also besides the winter vacation. Now, besides the strike, the Ministry of Education and Culture gave another week of vacation off because it has been so cold.

You might think Paraguay being cold is a joke, but in the past few weeks, the temperature dropped to 30 degrees one night. I know that this temperature is weak and nothing really in comparison to the winter temps in Lake Tahoe, but imagine this…30 degrees in a country where heaters only exist in the wealthiest houses in the country, fireplaces are more rare, where the houses are built to endure the heat, so they are all cement or plywood buildings with single pane windows if there are windows, and cement or tile floors, with many holes for open air to come into your house. So basically I never left my sleeping bag, which is equipped for 25 degrees. Best and most useful present my mom and dad have ever given me. I lived in long underwear with another pair of pants over, record was up to 4 shirts with a heavy jacket on that was worn inside and outside as the temperatures are the same. Needless to say, it was also painful to take showers or even go to the bathroom. I laid in bed seeing my breath as I was breathing. Beyond this, I happened to get a horrible cold so was stranded in my sleeping bag too sick to leave, and listened to lots of music.
Besides the cold factor, washing my clothes was not really an option either. Besides the fact my hands would freeze off from leaving them under the cold running water to hand scrub all my clothes because washers and dryers are few and far inbetween, due to the humidity, clothes would never dry without the sun and would only get moldy and get that awesome musty smell I love my clothes to smell of. Laundry just makes my life so much more difficult sometimes, but hey, it is relaxing to wash my clothes outside on a nice day.

I talk about the weather often because this country for sure has some extremes, which are even more prevalent as every building you walk into is not equipped with air conditioning or heat. I becoming better, harder, faster, stronger….or maybe just more comfortable with whatever happens, happens. It shows me what I, or humans in general can endure and how much of that is lost back home, or maybe how much I wish Lake Tahoe was here in the summer and my fireplace in my room these past few weeks.