Reverse Culture Shock or My Final Blog Post (probably...)

Snow!

It’s been nearly two weeks since I have been back in the states after finishing my Peace Corps service.  This is likely to be my last blog post, but who knows, maybe something else will come up.

I got off the plane in Indianapolis in Chaco sandals and t-shirt… not the best clothing for Indianapolis on the day before Christmas Eve.  I dug some wool socks and a raincoat out of my suitcases and sprinted to the car with my Dad.  There was lots of snow on the ground. It was COLD.  Christmas and New Years are always socially and culturally intense times of year, so its only now, after the holidays that I am really beginning to adjust to being back in the States.

Christmas Eve with my family (photo taken with my new fansy-shmancy phone).

Christmas Day meal.

Playing Settlers of Catan.

There have been more than a few conversations where I felt like the topic was totally incomprehensible (mostly regarding social media and B level news stories) or utterly unimportant (mostly overwrought concerns regarding germs and catching colds).  After a few minor social faux pas, I have been trying to be more careful; just because my initial response to something is to view it as extraneous or irrelevant doesn’t mean it IS so.  Perhaps I need to give the topic the same gravity and consideration I gave the topics discussed in my community in Paraguay.

My Paraguayan snow man. Notice the tereré, belt, and PCPY hat. 

My first really fuerte moment of “reverse culture shock” was in the grocery store the day after Christmas.  I had been sent on an errand to pick up leeks and I got really overwhelmed in the produce section of the supermarket.  I still can’t pinpoint what rattled me so much, but it started when I was staring wide eyed at the greens section, and the sprinkler system turned on.  I jumped back in alarm only to find myself face to face with pineapples. Pineapples were the main crop in my community in Paraguay; they become ripe in the height of summer. But here I was, stuck between not only the pineapples, but mustard greens, oranges, lettuce, avocados and Brussels sprouts.  There was snow outside and yet all this diverse food available without any regard to its growing season or how far away from Indiana it must have started its journey.  This, and the utter, incomprehensible scale of the supermarket, flabbergasted me. I finally managed to grab the leeks and leave while unsuccessfully attempting to dodge the checkout clerk’s insistence on small talk and holiday greetings.  The whole thing was a very uncomfortable experience.  My plan now is to shop at Bloomingfoods and work my way up (although, why would I ever want to go anywhere else)!

Three of my most helpful “reintegration to American culture” activities have been:

• 1. Dancing! On my third night back (and every Wednesday since), I went to the weekly contra dance held by the Bloomington Old-Time Music & Dance Group.   I have been dancing with them off and on since high school (I show up after about 45 seconds in the video I linked to. Can you spot me?) .  Everything from the bluegrass and old time music to some of the gender bending, role switching dancers, was a wonderful reminder of so many of the things I love about the Midwest and Bloomington in particular.  I also went to a swing dance class held by my friend Josh at Rachael’s Café.  Dancing with him and the other students helped me realize that I haven’t lost any of my partner dancing skills in the past two years, and have probably (somehow) gotten better.

My new dance shoes!

• 2. IU Basketball!  A few days after Christmas, I went to an IU Men’s Basketball home game.  I have been going to games since I was just a townie kid, so everything, from the crowds, to the band, to the cheerleading was just so comfortingly familiar.  Plus, the Hoosiers are having an amazing season.

Hoosier Basketball game.

• 3. Food! My Dad has slowly been making some of my favorite foods that I have gone without for the past several years.  Flank steak, lemon veal, Brussels sprouts sautéed in butter, asparagus, fingerling potatoes, spicy green beans, barbecued salmon, curry, turkaleeky soup, etc.  Also, to reacquaint me with the other end of comida Americana my cousin David took me on a fast food crawl.  We went to several fast food joints around town, the highlights being Taco Bell quesadillas, soda, 5 Guys Cajun style French fries, and more soda.

Christmas meal: turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, stuffing, asparagus, and crescent roll. 

My mother, at my Bienvenido Hape, trying to enjoy maté.

I am spending most of my time searching for jobs.  Ideally I would like to work for the Federal Government on the East coast in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or New York.  I’m also looking at some grad schools, but I’m hesitant to go back to school unless I am very enthusiastic about the program.  Plus, despite my intelligence, I tend to do very poorly on tests.  I haven’t taken the GRE and I am frankly afraid to do so.  I said this in an earlier post, but if anyone has leads on jobs on the East coast, please let me know.

Me, looking dapper on New Years Eve.
Note: the earrings are Paraguayan ñandutí.

Farewell for now.  I hope my blog has been interesting, useful, and entertaining.  I’m always eager to talk about my Peace Corps experience to anyone who will listen.  If you are a prospective Volunteer, don’t hesitate to contact me (just leave a comment on any of the blog posts).  I’ll probably have more insight for prospective Volunteers who are heading to Latin America, agriculture Volunteers, or LGBT Volunteers.  I’ll be especially excited to talk to you if you’re lucky enough to be heading to the wonderful and unique country of Paraguay.

It's good to be home.

Shock: Culture, Food, and the Potential International Appeal of Tereré

In Ann Arbor, on an industrially awesome swing.

After being out of the US for 20 months, I went on a two-week vacation to the States, spending a week in Bloomington, IN and a week in Ann Arbor, MI.  I head back to lovely Paraguay in a few days.

A few things about current American culture that I have learned about during my vacation:

• Instigram
• Siri
• Indiana's political mess, locally and statewide
• Occupy as explained to me by participants (not just news sites)
• Groupon (still unclear on this one)
• Dubstep
• Flexing
• The sad state of Wisconsin

Also, I forgot what its like to be surrounded by people who are JUST like me (family). For example, when we went out to eat at restaurants, we all ended up ordering the same dish… this happened three times, in three different restaurants.

In Bloomington, on my way to Contra Dance.

Aside from getting confused about where to put leftovers and empty containers, I have also been surprised by how much time people spend indoors.  In the US, our houses are much more enclosed than houses in Paraguay.  This is absolutely necessary due to the differences in climate and occupations (most people don’t have a bunch of farm animals to attend to).  But the stark divided between Indoors and Outdoors was something that I had not been cognitive of before living outside of the US.

One of the greater challenges I faced during my vacation was my inability to tune out other peoples conversations.  In Paraguay, because I actively have to work to understand Spanish or Guarani, it is easy to tune out other peoples conversations when on the bus or in a store.  But in the US, I can’t just opt-out of overhearing and comprehending a conversation I have no interest in.  I don’t WANT to know about some stranger's awkward faux pas with a coworker, but I have no choice in the matter.  It makes my brain a much nosier place.

The last cultural shock thing I’ll mention is about the difference in scale.  Walking around Lowe's, Target and Kroger's completely blew my mind. They are just so BIG and full of stuff.  It was really overwhelming and not in a good way.  Walking around a Supper 6 in Asuncion after being in site for a month can sometimes be trying, but it doesn't feel as needlessly massive as these other stores.

Flank steak with my Dad's homemade hot sause, local green beans with spicy mustered sause, and local new potatoes. Yum. 

OH, one more thing: FOOD.  Dang I love food in the USA.  I have been eating well and often in the US!  I had delicious home cooked meals made by my Dad.  He basically cooked all the foods that I have been really missing (mushrooms, flank steak, mixed greens, potatoes, etc.), and my friends Emily and Micah have been taking me to some of the incredible restaurants that Ann Arbor has to offer…. including South Indian food! Yum!  However in between my various delicious flavorful meals, I have been drinking plenty of tereré.  To my delight my family and Micah and Emily have been joining in as well… just in time for summer in the States.

In a few days I head back to Paraguay where winter has apparently arrived with a vengeance.  Guess Ill be switching from tereré to mate ….

Thermos Assumptions

A few weeks ago, my family left Paraguay after a three week visit. Being able to spend the holidays together was wonderful. I am happy that in the future, when I talk about Paraguay and my experience here, they will truly have an understanding of what I am saying.

Now. On to Tereré.

Thanks to my friend Teresa loaning us her tereré thermos (my Dad is holding it in the photo above), I was able to get my family quite devoted to the fantastically refreshing drink of the Paraguayan Summer. Also, thanks to the thermos, I felt super Paraguayan. This point was driven home, when a group of four American tourists spotted us with the thermos on a bus to Iguazu Falls (technically in Argentina, but right on the boarder of Paraguay and Brail), and started talking in English about it. They assumed we couldn’t understand them!

One of the women not so subtly pointed to the thermos and said “look! That’s for drinking mate.”

My mother over heard this and decided she was thirst for some tereré so we started serving ourselves. The tourists watched us serve and pass the guampa back and forth and started discussing mate.

“Do you think its tastes any good?” one girl said.

“It has drugs in it you know” another says.

“Really? Wow. What kind of drugs? I wonder how ad

dictive it is” says the first girl.

“You got to watch out for things like that” says a friend.

“I bet they are real addicted” says another.

All four turn and watch us drink away.

At this point, tired of suppressing my laughter and tired of pretending I didn’t notice them staring at us, I start talking to my mother in English while watching the tourists out of the corner of my eye.

There eyes go wide as it dawns on them that we have understood anything they have said. They look abashed and say nothing for the rest of the ride.

What was interesting about all of this, is that it was the first time (that I’m aware of) that I have been mistaken for a South American… and it was all due to the tereré thermos. To be at ease using something so iconic of the region was enough to trump my other extranjero features (skin color, Chaco sandals, hair cut). In fact they must have mistaken my whole L.L.Bean clad family for South Americans.

Granted, like any slightly caffeinated drink, it can be addictive… but honestly. They were a little quick to judge something they clearly have no knowledge of. Also, I can understand the assumption that no one will understand English in campo Paraguay; I make that assumption everyday. Infrequently a Paraguayan English teachers or a Mormon convert will prove me wrong, and will strike up a conversation. But making the assumption that no one understands English while visiting one of the biggest tourists attraction in South America is just naive.

I plan on buying my very own thermos next week.