A taste of the culture to come

8/29. Saturday.

Today we got dropped off by one of our sponsors in a southern part (though we had no idea at the time) of Chicago. And by we I refer to my country group, consisting of four other young adults from all corners of North America, who all are bound for Paraguay (like me) September 20 or thereabouts. And when I say dropped off, it sounds rather pleasant, like we might go for a stroll in the park, or have a picnic, or go see one of Chicago’s famous museums. But rather we were blindfolded and told we needed to find our own way back to our current, month-long place of residence. It sounds rather harsh, and the storyteller inside of me would like to play it up this way, but there were no tense moments. We had a map, we had a cell phone (with key phone numbers) and we had most of the day to meander back to our JPUSA home.

We were left in a Hispanic neighborhood (which was appropriate. Paraguay, right?) and we ended up going to a Hispanic flea market for the first hour or so while we were "lost." I smiled (note: not a figure of speech) with the familiar sights and sounds as it transported me back to the markets in Guatemala. The language that people spoke was strangely comfortable, or at least it gave me a sense of satisfaction that I could pull pieces out of conversation and make sense of them.

After buying a much needed bar of soap at the flea market, we headed south in search of a Mexican restaurant. Success was quickly found five blocks later tucked between a panaderia (bakery) and Jerry’s (Hispanic) Grocery store. Here the waitress spoke only Spanish, so I was given an opportunity to practice my mildly conversational Spanish. The correct order was taken, and only minor hiccups occurred, so I’ll chalk it down for success.

These two experiences left me somewhat sentimental of my summer in Guatemala and filled me with hope for my time in Paraguay. I enjoyed spending my time in this Latin neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago. While the dosage of culture was small, the anticipation for Paraguay was incredible this morning, but slightly smaller now, as time has already somewhat dulled my memories and feelings of this Saturday excursion.