Safada

I remember the first time I sipped Yerba Mate. It was back in the States actually, in the home of my friend Jackie whose family is of Paraguayo descent. Her brother offered me this wood like cup with a metal pipe. He poured water into it as what look like tea leaves floated around. It was strange. I was no older than 18, maybe even 16. It might have been that same day we spoke about her Paraguayo heritage as she mentioned speaking Guarani. I must have been 16 because at the time I could not even process South Americans not speaking Spanish or Portugese. There were Native Americans that were not from the United States? What a concept.

It was both a reflection of the poor public school system and my own inability at the time to think critically. This may be one of the most distinct times I recall being completely ignorant to Latin American history. For so many years New York State and U.S. History had been drilled into my head while I lived amongst a community of people from all over Latin America and the Caribbean. Essentially I knew almost nothing about their cultures aside from the foods their grandmothers fed me and the languages/ dialects in which their parents disciplined their children. Needless to say it was always a treat when someone was willing to humble me by their life experiences.This though is not about the poor global education we provide our students. I introduced this post with a distant memory of my friend Jackie because she has been on my mind throughout this enire journey. Claro que si Argentina y Paraguay are completely different countries but the two share a large amount of history, some cultural practices such as Mate, and of course an immigration story.

To be very clear, I never knew the exact reasons why Jackie's parents migrated to the States. Paraguayos were not very common in my community either so the only interactions I had to the narrative were through her. All I really gathered was that her mother was deeply involved with the Paraguayo- American community and her and her brother were two of the most brilliant and talented high school students I knew. Then I came to Argentina where the two most commonly discussed immigrant groups were Bolivianos y Paraguayos, both commonly associated with their indigenous culture. I learned the stereotypical jobs they did in Buenos Aires before I learned the capitals of each country. My Facebook timeline began to incorporate more anti-immigrant propaganda as I began to add more Argentines. One night over a family dinner, a local friend then explained to me the War of Triple Alliance, Guerra de la Triple Alianza, or the Paraguayan War. Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay fought again Paraguay's 19th century dictator, Lopez, for roughly five- six years. There were regimes of twelve year old Paraguayo boys defending the honor of the dictator. Hundreds of thousands of boys and men were killed sending Paraguay into a population crisis. The entire race of people were almost exterminated. Sure that was the mid 19th century but let's be honest, how does one expect an already small country to handle a crisis like that especially after war?

Recently I had the chance to catch up with this old friend of mine after a number of years of social media spectating. Around the same time I announced my plans for Argentina, Jackie had also announced her PeaceCorps plans to go back to Paraguay in February 2017. We had not spoken directly in a while so I had imagined this to be a bittersweet experience for her since the last time she went to her family's home for a summer, she loved it. Paraguayan American who speaks perfect Spanish and Guarani makes a two year commitment to go back to her roots and serve those who share her ancestors. Picture perfect right? Well, those plans were cancelled for a number of reasons and Jackie did not seem too hung up about not going back to Paraguay either. I had admitted to her that she was a major inspiration to me during my time here as she was an example of the dream almost any immigrant parents have for their children. She was a thriving college graduate heading to graduate school on a full scholarship. All while her mother worked every and any job she Paraguayos are simultaneously stereotyped as your fruit and veggies vendor as well as lazy and unemployed. Though I don't need her existence to affirm that this is a lie, Jackie reminds me of the parents that had to endure these judgements to ensure prosperity for their children. People are crossing boarders and crossing waters for a reason.

That is not all that had changed over time. To my surprise my former young atheist friend found Christ this past year, something I would have never expected. She shared with me the power of prayer that overtaken her during a phone call with another Divinity student friend. She shared with me about seeing God in her dream and the obstacles that had soon made her a believer. Her testimony moved me to tears. While I begin the downhill trek of my time abroad, Jackie begins her own personal journey with faith. Part of this journey looks like asking her friends to take her to their special places of worship and connecting with folks about their denomination. Eventually we began to talk about Lutheranism."I just want a tradition that is cool with science, homosexuality, and premarital sex." If you did not know what my friend base looks like, this is a great example. We agreed to keep up this conversation and talk more about God and the world. I look forward to her formation. 

Thank God for the richness that comes with my hometown, the blessings of friendships I developed as a child, and the wealth I gain in knowledge because of them. This is an odd conversation to reflect on and probably one of my more discombobulated posts. I guess this is one of those moments when things come into full circle and I am still trying to process it. Today I am learning.

#ReclaimMissionary