Grief

Grief in Britain is a private affair. Not so in Paraguay, as I experienced when a friend's mother died recently.

Crowds of friends and acquaintances gather outside the house, awaiting the arrival of the family with the body. When they come, they are embraced and supported into the house amidst wailing and tears, for a prayer vigil lasting all night and into the morning.

Most of those in attendance aren't doing a great deal apart from standing around, but their presence and prayers are a concrete expression of solidarity with and support for the bereaved.

It's heart-rending to see emotional devastation so physically, openly and noisily expressed, yet I can't help but think it seems a healthier way to deal with loss than our repression and stoicism, both for the family and the community.

Ruins (two months late)

Dedicated readers may remember that I met some lovely Paraguayans in Vienna before arriving here (see this post). One of these friends, Estrella, came on a visit to Paraguay in March, which I have never yet got round to writing about. We managed to coincide on a visit to the Jesuit ruins at Trinidad. Estrella is a dancer and promotes Paraguayan culture in Europe, so she was taking photos in her spectacular ñanduti dress, while I wandered around unglamorously with my guidebook.

In this photo you can see some of the stone-carving which the Guarani of the reductions produced under the tutelage of the Jesuits.

This is a close-up of the angel frieze running across near the top of the previous picture. They are all playing musical instruments - here an organ and a trumpet. The instruments built by the Guarani in the Reductions were famed for their craftsmanship and precision, and were even exported to Europe.

Here is one side of a decorative pillar showing a woman with a fan. There are figures on the other three sides, but this is the best-preserved.

This carved arch at the nearby Reduction of Jesús features the papal crown, the crossed keys of Peter, a shell in the alcove representing baptism, the mburucuja (passion) flower, the fleur de lys (purity) and the leaves of the cocotero palm (for the entry into Jerusalem). There is a matching niche on the other side which has crossed swords at the top, which refer to the right of the town to defend itself with arms against the slave traders to whom many of the Guarani fell prey on the expulsion of the Jesuits.

At the nearby Ita Cajón nature reserve, you can see the quarry where the stone blocks were carved out by hand.

The quarry is now overgrown with plants and trees, including the amazing guapo'y tree, whose exposed roots tun from the top of the cliff all the way down some five or six metres to the bottom.

The characteristic verdant green and terracotta red of Paraguayan countryside.

Celebrations #1

In the last few weeks I have experienced quite a variety of Paraguayan parties.

First was the quinceañera - this is a large-scale party to celebrate a girl's 15th birthday. The 15-year-old floats around in a posh white dress (debutant-esque) and dances a "waltz" with her father and male relations to a recorded medley featuring (you guessed it) the Blue Danube among other Viennese classics, before it morphs into the Paraguayan polka. The numerous guests all have a sit-down meal (asado, naturally) and there is usually live music. Needless to say, not everyone can afford to have one, but it's significant enough that people make a big effort to do it.

Waltzing...a long way from Vienna.

Grotto of Pink

Santa Maria has one secondary school, so almost everyone who lives in the village attended it. Its 50th anniversary was therefore cause for a reunion party for ALL the students who had ever been there. It was a lovely event, and particularly novel because this kind of thing just wouldn't (/couldn't) happen in Britain, with its more mobile population. A thunderstorm hit during the party but didn't damp the mood.

On Teacher's Day, my Class 2 students and I had a picnic instead of a lesson in the garden of the Institute. You can see the quincho (outdoor, roofed-over classroom) in the background.

There was also a more official Teacher's Day event organised by the Food Technology students, with draped decorations and a cake and a Powerpoint presentation detailing the biography and all qualifications and jobs (ever) of all the teachers, followed by food and dancing.

Camping with Class 4 #2 - winter edition

Last weekend had long been designated for the second camping expedition with Peter's Class 4. We were having second thoughts following torrential rainfall on the previous evening, but the weather was beautiful on Saturday so we went ahead.

The campers

After a (sometimes rather rollercoaster) ride on three motorbikes loaded up with tents, blankets, food and two people each along the unpaved road (rendered churned-up mud in many places after the rain), we arrived at Nacho's parents' house and subsequently at our camping spot. At this point it was already getting dark - perfect conditions for putting up unfamiliar tents and conjuring a bonfire out of soggy wood.

Success! Kabure cooking on the fire.

We triumphed in the end, and were soon sitting around our blaze making kabure (chipa on a stick) over the embers. [See this post if you've forgotten about chipa]

In the early hours of the morning there was a full-on thunderstorm with liberal lashings of lightning. Our tents held up pretty well but a bit of water did seep its way in. I speculated about death by electrocution, but on the whole it was rather fun.

In the morning we went for a walk in the sunshine and ate mandarins from Nacho's parents' garden.

Nacho's nephew hooking down mandarins

Autumn

Autumn is gently making its presence known. The leaves here don't turn, which is a little disorienting, but the slanting light and crisp air in the evening is as familiar and beautiful as in Vienna, Oxford and Munich.

Of course, I'm missing the glories of spring at Worcester, but I am partial to autumn - thou hast thy music too.

More food

Continuing along the line of the papayas and avocados...

Paraguayan cheese is a vital ingredient in a lot of cooking, including chipa (see this post), and isn't usually eaten 'raw' (except occasionally in combination with honey or preserved fruit).

A friend and I walked to Itacurubi, one of the nearby villages, and visited her sister who lives on an estancia there - a kind of ranch. She showed me the presses used to make the cheese:

And here's a bonus picture of Demetria gleefully brandishing a flaming egg-tray. This comes into play when one of the cockerels gets eaten, because one of the stages of plucking and cleaning the bird is passing it through fire.

Sponges don't grow on trees... or do they?

Lemons, mandarins, passion fruit, yes. Papayas, yes. Giant avocados, yes. Sponges? Surely not!
BUT THEY DO.
You can use them for washing up, cleaning or in the bath/shower.

Mostly-peeled sponge.

A sponge GROWING ON A TREE. The things at the top are papayas.

Avocados. These are fairly small ones.