Fuerza Albirroja

As many of you may know, they're having the qualifying matches for World Cup 2010. Paraguay is, like most Latin American countries, a futbol-crazed nation which puts everything behind their team when there is a chance to compete. On Sunday they were playing the Brazilians. With a result of 2-0 Paraguay, the dailies here had reason to proclaim that that Paraguay se hace "dueño y señor" con su victoria. A sunny day, as you can see, just fabulous for a futbol match! In the red photo Guille, his friend Diego, and I are underneath a huge red banner which they pull over the fans when Paraguay scores. Paraguay the owner and master of Brazil? Well, at least on Sunday.













Also, I recently made acquaintance with a man who wants to donate to some institution the library of his grandfather, Viriato Diáz-Peréz. Diáz-Peréz moved to Paraguay in about 1906 and was soon after appointed Director of the National Archive. He became friends with such luminaries as President Ayala and Eloy Fariña Nuñez, and Josephina Plá, a famous poet, wrote a biography about his life. I believe that UC-Davis owns many of his personal papers, but there remain about 5000 books in his home. His grandson now wants to donate them, but is justifiable worried about donating them to a Paraguayan institution. Unfortunately, many collections have been destroyed over the years, as valuable documents or books are pilfered. As they always say about theft, it is suspected that employees are the most culpable for the crime. It was really nice to see the collection, and I hope that we can find a secure location here in Paraguay which will be able to keep the books (and perhaps papers) safe. A vexing problem: no one wants to send the cultural patrimony of Paraguay abroad, but there are only a few locations here in Paraguay that are secure enough to convince a donor that their stuff will be safe.

Lately, I have been doing similar work: meeting people, discussing what various institutions have on their wish list, and assessing the general state of information access and provision here in Asunción. I am going to try and raise some money and get some projects underway, or at least on someone's calendar, as well as get a group together to discuss the state of things. I guess that it's called a conference! Mostly, I am poking my nose around and trying to make somewhat of a scene. But, aren't libraries (and librarians) supposed to be quiet?

Memories To Move On

If this is supposed to be only a travel journal, I've missed the mark with this entry. It certainly waxes philosophical. I wrote this a while ago but figured that I should post it despite the privacy violation it presents for me. The photo at the end of the post is of my coworkers and I.

As I was relaxing in my posh apartment just before leaving on this trip, it was impossible not to think about growing up. Watching a program on television, there was at the end of the episode a cheesy montage of this prominent character leaving town. I realized that it was appropriate for me, too. My life so far has been a series of good adventures and extended trips away from home, and from all of them I’ve learned a ton. I knew that I would be witnessing my own montage when I left DC. There were thoughts of friends, achievement in school and work, and endless memories of becoming an adult in the city. And the phenomenal woman who persuaded me to capriciously move across the nation? I left her, perhaps for the last time, to come to Paraguay. What I realize is that such change is what constitutes our lives, in the end. We accumulate memories of events occurring in time, and this becomes our essence, our constitution as a person. What we do and have done becomes who we are, in the present tense.

Two things make this a difficult realization for me. First, I suffer from some insecurity about choices I made as a teenager, and second, I hardly believe that people actually get to make decisions about what they will do and who they will be. A very recent example of this came up in the days before leaving for Paraguay: in a conversation about leaving my life in DC, it occurred to me that while I was “making the decision,” a procession of events and my underlying desire to go abroad had brought it on. Someone had seemingly made the decision for me. I am more at ease believing this is the case. Whoever made the decision or however it came to pass, it was simply an event in my life, something that introduced change and opened new doors.

My life in DC for now ended, and if my memories are unaccompanied by nostalgia they will mean more. Good memories shouldn't be accompanied by nostalgia, because that emotion is a longing to have something back, to live it again the way that it was. Feelings of nostalgia only get me in trouble. I watched my montage—saw the places and people that I loved—and considered it a period of life rather than a period being left behind. I understood that I created these memories by living life and passing though time. Recognizing the montage and coming to terms with it enabled me to create the events that will comprise a new one.

Moto Country

After my adventure into the Paraguayan countryside, I am happy to say that I feel more acquainted with the country as a whole. I went toward the northern half of the country following the Rio Paraguay, to a very old city called Concepción, and then to a city on the Brazilian border called Pedro Juan Caballero. Concepción was quite different than Asuncion, especially in that the pobreza of the country is more evident. The border town was similar, though, and it is quite a dynamic city. They speak three languages pretty much interchangeably – Spanish, Guaraní, and Portuguese – which made for an interesting lingual atmosphere. I went across the border to Brazil one of the evenings and ended up at a great pizza place, where I dined outdoors.

Went to see a few museums and libraries and such, also. In Pedro Juan I talked with the librarian working at the municipal library, which I was elated to see, and ended up meeting the next day with the Jefe de Cultura for the city. He was very interesting, and treated me to lunch at the supermarket nearby, where he knew just about all of the patrons and workers. He has a project with a member of Rotary International to install computers and the Internet to the library there, which would be a great advance. They have a pretty good structure, but the donor wants it up to par before he will donate. In the next few months I hope to offer help to similar projects.

I also went to a National Park near Pedro Juan. As you can see from the photos, they have several busts – impeccably white – which memorialize the deaths of soldiers in the War of the Triple Alliance. Francisco Solano López, the leader of Paraguayan army died here and ended the conflict. It really was a terrible war, and some question whether he should be such an extraordinary martyr; in every city there is a street that bears his name. A very humble, and thus powerful, monument. Definitely worth seeing if you’re in northern Paraguay sometime; otherwise here are some pics. Don't you like my unkempt look?

I learned on this trip that you really have to be backpacking to be backpacking, as I missed some of the comforts of the house and the routine that I have in Asunción. I got more into the rhthym of it after the first few nights, though, and found so nice hotels in each city. The place that I stayed the first night was pretty dumpy, but a taxista brought me to the place – I took one instead of walking because you never know how big a city is from the bus terminal. I checked into a place called Hotel Center the next day, which was more suitable for international travelers. The place in Pedro Juan Caballero was not even roughing it; they had breakfast and everything. I would have gotten more used to it after a couple of days, as you start to learn where and when to eat, to take a hotel where they have free water, and that you can bargain a bit with the bus lines. Isn't this great: delivering the "soup of the day" por moto.