three days on a donkey: September 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

The key to blogging

People say timing is everything, and they might be right but after more than a year in a country where “Otro dia” (Another day) is one of the top-ten most popular phrases – timing becomes inevitably: less important. In almost all things; not blogging. Its not only blogging it has become any sort of communication with the outside world. I know there are highly professional bloggers out there and I don’t want to make sweeping general statements about the entire “blog community” but for this PCV in PY – blogging is all about when my fingers hit the keyboard!

To blog “appropriately” in my opinion requires two important elements that if the wrong time is chosen the blog could be a bust.
1. First and most importantly one must be in a relatively good mood. This may seem silly at first – but if you were to blog with the blues – your grandmother might read your entry and become highly concerned, even if it was from a week and a half ago and your outlook on life has highly improved – its out there, on that great old WWW for all of the world to read.
2. I believe that the good mood directly affects your sense of humor – when I am crabby I am NOT funny. And really who wants to read a blog that has no humor in it…well I am sure humorless blogs are out there – but they probably have low readership and are boring. (tal vez opinion personal!)

Please be quicker to jump of a problem of a lack of #2 if you haven’t heard from me in a while. Some days I just don’t think I am funny enough to write something for all of you to read.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Field Trip to the Chaco

I had the opportunity to take a few days and head west to the Chaco Desert! It wasnt really a rest holiday from insanity but very fun and educational! I was traveling with Mila Wilmoth one of my favorite PCVs! After a few minor transportation troubles (Mila missed the bus and had to chase it in a taxi!) we were on our way to Filadelfia in the department of Boqueron in the western part of Paraguay. It was hot. It was windy. there was lots of blowing sand! There was tumble weed. The only thing that was missing was the background, "Oooh oooh wooo ooo" (Imagine a old western movie). We went to investigate the lives of the Mennonite Colony that has settled in the middle of the Chaco.
A few things were learned:

Not all Mennonites wear bonnets
or churn their butter at home
They have been paying taxes since 1940 (contrary to what Lonely Planet says)
They DONT pick cute PCV hitch-hikers
They run one tight ship - the bell rings at 7am and then again at 1130 and they start again at 2 til 6. What the bell says, goes.
When a Indigenous Tribal leader heard about starving people in Africa - he asked why there arent Mennonites in Africa? The Menno community works closely to support the indigenous tribes that live around the colony.
Most Mennonites are very white and seem to burn easily under the sun - odd since they live in the middle of a desert!
They make amazing milk, yogurt and butter! (and DULCE DE LECHE!)
The colony in the Chaco is composed of Mennonites from Russia, Germany and Canada.
For the past 300+ years they have been fleeing communisum and military service, looking for a place where they could have religion in schools and be left alone!

We had a fabulous time! Here are few of the pics!