Initiation Day

Yesterday was a big initiation day. First, I became Paraguayan. On my way to buy groceries for my offical initiation, I accidentally entered into the ranks of Paraguayans who have been burned by motos. Motercycles here are $500-$600 and you can set up monthly payment plans, so they’re a really good transportation option for people who don’t make a ton of money. There are actually more of these family vehicles than cars. Usually the 2 or 3 kids sit in front and the parents will wrap their arms around from behind. Therefore, nearly everyone has had a moto burn. It’s the type of thing that usually only happens once, though, because you tend to learn your lesson. In the states, parents warn their kids about touching hot stoves. In Paraguay, I’d imagine warnings abound about not touching hot motos. Unfortunately, I missed that lesson and now have a 2 inch seeping burn. But hey, I’ve joined the ranks.

Anyway, I got my groceries and went over to Laura’s house for my first attempt at co-hostessing a surprise birthday party for our friend, Joel. Actually, it was my first attempt at cooking in Paraguay. I didn’t think about the foolishness of combining the two events (cooking and doing it for large number of people) until I was in the grocery store and I realized that I wouldn’t have the same ingredients. Hm. We were going to have a penne carbonera, of sorts. Well, I’d just put in things that sounded like they’d go well together. They had the basics- milk, pasta, cheese, and bacon. It was when I got to Laura’s that I learned the Spanish equivalent for the English phrase, I’ve bitten off more than I can chew (Yo abarque mas de lo que aprieto, for those of you who are curious). You see, Paraguayans don’t measure with ounces, cups, tea spoons, or tablespoons. Hm. I had always been taught that exact measurements were pretty important with baking. Well, I certainly didn’t have the “run to Dairy Queen and pick up an ice cream cake” option, so I eyeballed everything and hoped for the best. Boiling chocolate pudding over the stove for the first time and beating my own whipped cream was also somewhat nerve racking, but what could I do? If the brownies didn’t turn out, I’d need the pudding and whipped cream to mask their taste in my Death by Chocolate. I had already dug my hole pretty deep, after all. Many deep breaths and over 2 hours later, we sat down to eat. It was actually pretty good. After the meal, Laura leaned across our large dinner table to congratulate me and tell me I had passed the test. I didn’t know I was being tested at the time, but she told me that this had been an initiation, of sorts; if they liked my food, I was going to be accepted into their friendship circle. I guess I’m in. I’m so excited! I really enjoy this group. They’re a bunch of young teachers from the school where I teach English. Laura’s South African, but she married a Paraguayan while she was over here as an exchange student and now they have 4 kids. All of the others are in their early twenties. I think God knew how much I would appreciate being initiated, so He covered my cooking with extra grace.

OK, so back to unofficial initiation- the burn. My little sister, Noemi, just came in to ask if I’d like a really good natural remedy for my leg. I said yes, assuming that she was much more experienced in treating Paraguayan moto burns than was I. When she left to go get the remedy, though, I began to have doubts. Natural healers around here prescribe some pretty interesting cures. Earlier today, I heard of a woman being instructed to tie two frogs to her open wound. Supposedly, the infection would be transferred to the frogs, and she’d be healed as soon as the frogs died. After the frogs died and she didn’t get better, she went to a medical doctor who ended up extracting several spoonfuls of maggots out of her leg. I was recalling all of this while my little sister was outside fetching my remedy. When she returned from the front yard holding something green, I nearly hit the roof. I was so thankful when I realized it was a leaf, but still wondered what I had gotten myself into. She proceeded to cut it open and pour its sap onto my burn. She said it was a very, very good remedy. It was aloe vera! Yeah. She took me outside their front door to see the live plant. And here I had thought it was just landscaping. Oh no, my host family has an aloe plant growing outside our front door and I’m supposed to go and get fresh aloe as often as I’d like until the burn heals. Are any of you that cool?