The previous post was me venting. This one is my “official” post for today.
The people of Paraguay are some really hospitable folk. The family JC and I stayed with seemed really happy to have us. At church that night they were all coming up to us, greeting us, and welcoming us into their church family. That particular night was a smaller reunion (generally it was for the members only, but there were some kids there too) specifically to speak about tithing and afterwards we shared snacks brought by several of the sisters. But instead of getting a plate and going through a line, we stayed in our seats and the food was brought to us. Each one was very happy to share their food with JC and I (as well as everyone else, but they all wanted us to try their Paraguayan delicacies). They kept it coming too. We didn’t need to eat dinner that night for all of the snacks we had at church. It was a really nice time of getting to know the people.
They love sharing. Things don’t necessarily belong to them, they’re just using things until someone else needs them. I was talking with a couple ladies, and one of them said to the other “That’s a nice bracelet, where did you get it?” The other one replied, “I made it. Do you want it?” Before the answer even came, the bracelet was coming off the wrist. That’s how they are. We brought the children fancy pencils, and several of them gave me one of their pencils as a trade. I came home with a beaded bracelet, a small eraser, two pencils, a sticker, and a small geometry ruler. It’s not about the things there, it’s about the giving. I didn’t even ask for those things, they just gave them to me. And they were small children!
Something that is very Paraguayan is mate in the cold times and tereré when it’s hot out. People will be sitting in groups talking, and someone will begin serving the tea drink. The host pours the tereré into the guampa and passes it around. When a person finishes the cup, it goes back to the host for a refill and then gets passed to the next person. This continues until the people are gone or no one wants any more. The same guampa and bombilla (a straw with a filter) are used by everyone, and no one gives it a second thought. Today I shared some at work, and some people were too squeamish to try some because of it! Paraguayans just have the mindset that everything is shared. If they have it and you need it, it’s yours. I’m hoping to adopt that mindset for myself. Nothing’s really mine anyway, right? I just get to use it for now.
Ellen rents a house from a lady who lives in the front of the lot. She’d never met us, and she doesn’t go to the church so she doesn’t really have a reason to care who we are. One morning, JC and I went to Ellen’s before any of the girls were up yet, so we waited on the patio. Before long, her landlady had invited us in for breakfast, and we sat at her table drinking coffee and eating rolls with guava marmalade while she told us about her sons, her class (she’s a teacher), and her life. She gave us a tour of her home before we went back to Ellen’s. It was like she had known us since we were small.
If you want to visit someone, just go! More than once we stopped by the “office” of a lady from church just to hang out. She didn’t stop working necessarily (although Rey usually did, but he just likes to talk), but she welcomed us in and showed us around and even invited us bowling, though we didn’t end up going. One day a teacher was trying to find the house of a guy from church, and Ellen and I walked him to the house. We were barely through the gate when three more seats opened up in the circle for us, and we sat and talked and drank tereré. I was there for probably an hour just talking with people I hadn’t really met well. They just have time for you if you stop by. It’s really very cool.
I think the impact of the people on me is taking its toll, because I’m sitting at home going crazy for some Paraguayans to visit. I really could live there; I think my heart is Paraguayan.
-j
I'm Jason, and I like to write.