After a fifteen-hour journey
from JFK Airport
in New York, to São Paulo,
Brazil and a two-hour
connecting flight, I arrived in Asunción,
Paraguay.
Waiting for me in the airport were several members of my Paraguayan host
family. I was overjoyed to see them for the first time in nearly three years.
Although I have only been in Paraguay
for one week, there is much to share with you. First, I will share what my
living situation is like here. Then I will provide some background information
about Paraguay
that is necessary to understand what daily life is like here.
The family with which I am
staying is far larger than my family back in New Jersey. I am living with a middle-aged
couple that has four grown children: three boys and one girl. In the context of
this blog I will refer to the couple as my mom and dad, and their four children
as my brothers and sister. All of my siblings have children of their own which
range from a baby that was born two days ago, to two four-year-old twins, to an
eight-year-old. All of these people and their spouses live either in my
parents’ house or in houses that are on the same block. In addition to the
immediate family, I have several cousins that also live down the street. Every
day we all eat lunch together and hang out. In total we are about 20, including
myself. In the USA,
my family consists of just my parents, sister, and uncle. These are the people
I see on a regular basis. The rest of my relatives are from Colombia, and I
have only visited them twice. As you can see, the dynamic in my Paraguayan
family is far different than in my real family in New Jersey. In Paraguay, there really is never a
dull moment. Someone is always around. This is not meant to be a criticism of
my setup in New Jersey,
but I must admit that my Paraguayan family creates an environment that I wish I
had more of in NJ.
Believe it or not,
Paraguay and the USA differ even more than my two
families. Therefore, it is necessary to paint a picture that shows some
of the
main differences. The Republic of Paraguay is one of two landlocked
countries in South America. South of Paraguay is Argentina, to the east
is Brazil, and to the north is Bolivia. In
addition to its geography, it is important to know that Paraguay is a
bilingual country: Guaraní and Spanish are both official languages and
are
spoken by most people. Guaraní also happens to be the name of the
national
currency and the name of a group of indigenous people that have been
living in Paraguay since
before the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s. The population of
Paraguay in
2009 was estimated at 6.3 million and Asunción, its capital, is the
largest
city. Economically, Paraguay
is growing rapidly, despite the fact that it is one of the poorest
developing
countries in Latin America. In 2010, its real GDP growth was
15.3 percent, which was the largest growth in all of Latin
America and third highest growth in the world. The GDP per capita
in 2008 was approximately $3,300. If you're interested in more economic data on
Paraguay,
or any other country, check out http://www.gfmag.com/gdp-data-
These economic differences
affect daily life tremendously. Paraguay
still does not have a decent system of paved roads. Unless you are driving in
the capital or on the highway, the roads are made of dirt and/or rocks. They
are so uneven that you will ruin your car's suspension if you go more than 15
mph. As I drive through the city, there are always people at every traffic light
or intersection that try and clean your windshield or sell you fruit. I could
go on for pages just about the striking differences between Paraguay and the USA,
but instead I will integrate my American perspective of Paraguay in
each of following entries I publish on my blog.
