Ben, another American friend of mine in Paraguay, finished his second year of college this year, and he invited me to his college’s awards ceremony. It was my first time in a Mennonite church, as his school is a Mennonite school. About half the attendees were Paraguayan, and the other half looked like they should be speaking English. But they weren’t. They were speaking German.
I found it amusing that the only way I could understand someone who speaks German is by hearing them speak in Spanish. Fortunately the evening was conducted in Spanish, and I could even tell by their accents who was native and who wasn’t, more or less. It was hot as all getout in there. Don’t Paraguayans believe in air conditioning?! Despite the heat, we were all very excited when Ben received an award for, I think, having the highest grade point average. His wife literally jumped out of her chair and almost cried a bit. It was cute.
Days later, I can’t seem to stay away from the Germans. This past Sunday at another very large Mennonite church (they’re all over, I tell you) I saw, for the first time ever, Handel’s Messiah. I should say I experienced the Messiah. I’ve always wanted to catch it live, but I never thought I’d have to go to a foreign country to do it. On top of that, it was in German. Once again, I only understood what was going on because they put up the words in Spanish.
I have to admit I didn’t expect it to be amazing. I won’t call Paraguay lazy, but I will say they don’t do stuff the same way we do it in the States lots of the time, which causes my American “intellect” to want to show them a better way. I’m glad I was mistaken, because I thought it was fabulous. The orchestra was tight and enthusiastic, and the choir was on point. They also added a bit of a “play” as the music went on. The set design was ingenious. The same piece of wood served as the star, the manger, Christ crucified, Christ risen, and Christ the King. It was so clever and well-planned. Very, very professional, and I would have loved to stay for the second showing. And best of all, it was free! I think I would like The Messiah to become a tradition of mine during future Christmas seasons.
-j
I'm Jason, and I like to write.
I LOVEEE Handel’s Messiah. I saw it live last Christmas but when I was 6 I listened to it and a story about Handel and that’s when I first remember meeting God.