Articles by mgedwards

Things are finally coming around

What a change a few days makes.  Last weekend we were in a big, empty house in Asuncion living out of suitcases with only meager household items and furniture that came with our house.  Today, we have our car.  It made all the difference in the world.  I picked it up from customs at the Port of Asuncion and had my first driving adventure in Asuncion, a mid-sized city of about 750,000 inhabitants.  (Actually, Paraguayans drive fairly sanely, quite uncommon considering that Paraguay is a developing country, and drivers in developing countries often drive notoriously bad.)  Our vehicle arrived in record time–just two weeks after our arrival.  Tomorrow, our major household shipment from Korea arrives, and I’m taking the morning off to receive the moving vans.  This weekend, our air shipment is scheduled to arrive from Virginia, although I have a sneaking suspicion that our good fortune is bound to end sooner rather than later.
 
People at work were quite aghast at how quickly our belongings came.  Many waited months for their automobiles and personal effects to arrive.  We were fortunate because our vehicle and household shipment left the U.S. in early June after sitting in crates at the Port of Miami for four months.  Still, forces of nature could have increased the transit time.  During the southern summer season (November-February), the Paraguay River, the main waterway from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Asuncion, evaporates signifcantly, lowering the water level below what can sustain cargo barges.  People moving to Asuncion between these months often find their automobiles and personal goods stuck in transit, waiting in Buenos Aires until the water of the Rio Paraguay rises again.  In our case, Mother Nature was very kind to us.  For a time, I almost felt a bit trapped between work, home, and whichever destination in between we could reach by taxi.  Now, we have our car, and I feel much better.  Asuncion does not have a subway, so one must be reliant on cars, busses, or taxis to get around time.  Ah, it feels like America.
 
Blog Notes:  Paraguay is absolutely fascinating.  I will try to post some photos soon, so please stand by.

Tragedy in Sao Paulo, Brazil

We arrived just two weeks ago in Asunción, Paraguay via a TAM Mercosur airliner inbound from Sao Paulo, Brazil. When news of today’s airline disaster in Sao Paulo reached my ears, it hit close to home. Authorities still don’t know how many people were killed or injured when the Airbus 320 airplane inbound from Porto Alegre, Brazil carrying 140-170 people skidded off the runway at Congonhas Domestic Airport and crashed into a gas station, incinerating the plane. The runway was wet, and the news is reporting that the runway was in need of repair and situated in an urban area of the city giving airplanes little room to maneuver.

Although we flew out of Sao Paulo through Guarulhos International Airport, we departed under adverse weather conditions. Our inbound flight was delayed by an hour due to fog, and we waited two hours on the tarmac to depart in our TAM Airbus jet.  These kinds of tragedies always remind me that we could have been on that plane. I’m grateful that we lived to see another day. It makes me appreciate life all the more.

Our home Internet connection went down again overnight.  I’ve heard that that is quite common here, especially after the ferocious lightning storms that frequently bombard Asunción. Connections sometimes remain unavailable for several days. Así es la vida. I am thankful for what I have.

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The Coriolis Force

We finally have home Internet access, so I can now write from home and should be able to post more frequently and prolifically.  I have many initial impressions of Paraguay to share with you over the next few days (mostly positive).  One of the first things I did when I arrived in the Southern Hemisphere was test the theory that water drains clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.  Some believe that water pouring down a drain is affected by the Coriolis Force, which pulls air clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.  The drains I tested in both hemispheres seemed to confirm this theory.  The toilet in our apartment in Virginia flowed counter-clockwise, while the sink drain in our home here in Asuncion flowed clockwise.  However, this is apparently due to how the water is introduced and the geometric structure of the drain.  The Earth’s rotation, which causes the Coriolis Force, minimally impacts water going down a drain.  So much for an interesting theory!