South America

¿El Nuevo Chávez?

Now that I’m back language training in Washington, D.C., I’m spending a considerable amount of time studying Spanish.  In fact, it seems as if lately the only writing I’ve done has been in Spanish.  Although I’m making progress with my language study, I am still at the intermediate level.  I have a good grasp of complex Spanish vocabulary, but my grammar is still very poor.  Every day I will write a short summary of a news article in Spanish for class, and after I correct it, I’ll post it for you to read.  If you know Spanish, you will probably dissect it and realize just how poor I am in Spanish.  If you don’t know Spanish, you may be able to get the gist of the article by noting the over-reliance on English cognates.  Either way, I hope you get something out of it.  As long as I’m writing these summaries, I might as well post them for you to enjoy or to edit.
 
This first summary discusses an article I read in The Economist last week.  The article talks about Father Lugo, a former Catholic cleric who is a possible presidential contender.  Paraguayan presidential elections will be held in 2008.  The Economist article I cited is located at http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8670481.
 

¿El Nuevo Chávez?

 

Próximo año la gente de Paraguay ha a elegir un nuevo presidente.  Padre Lugo, un clérigo católica trabajaron en San Pedro, un área de Paraguay muy pobre, recientemente dejó el clero y entró los políticos a hacerle el nueve presidente de Paraguay.  Todavía el no declaró su candidatura oficialmente, pero algunos partidos de la oposición política desean a hacerle su candidato en el próximo elección presidencial.  Muchos paraguayos le gustan, así que es posible era el próximo presidente de Paraguay.  Porque Padre Lugo admira el presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, y el Paraguay, algunas piensen que si Padre Lugo era el nueve presidente, el sistema político y económico de Paraguay transformeré mucho.

A little bit of Paraguay in Korea

Tonight I attended the grand opening of an exhibit at the Gallery Bellarte in Seoul featuring paintings by Paraguayan artist Ernan Miranda.  My family will be heading to Paraguay next year for two years, so I was excited to join the festivities and catch a glimpse of Paraguayan art and culture right here in Korea.  The crowd included a mixture of Korean and foreign dignitaries.  I met the Paraguayan Ambassador to Korea and his deputy, both of whom are very cordial gentlemen who talked to me for a bit about Paraguay.  We briefly talked about my upcoming trip to Paraguay.  Both asked me if I played soccer.  Um, not really, I thought, but of course  I tapdanced around that question by saying that I haven’t played for a long, long (long) time.  Perhaps I’ll have to buy a pair of cleats and learn quickly how to play the game–when I get to Paraguay.  I hope that I have an opportunity to meet them again.  We could very likely cross paths again in Korea or in Paraguay.  Paraguay is not a large country.
 
The paintings were exquisite, bright, colorful, and filled with eye-catching scenes of everyday life.  Fruit, especially a solitary papaya, played a prominent theme in some of the paintings.  The images seemed to rise from the canvas in almost a third dimension, tempting the onlooker to reach out and grab them from the air.  Mr. Miranda is indeed a master painter.  I’m happy to see that Paraguayan art and culture has made its way from South America to a place not often associated with Latin American culture.  Paraguay has a small Korean community, many of whom are expatriates whom moved there to seek prosperity following the Korean War.  Korea does not have many Paraguayan expats beyond the Paraguayan Embassy.  However, exhibits such as Mr. Miranda’s will help the two countries better understand one another and forge a stronger relationship between the two cultures.
 
Blog Notes:  Today my family and I will venture to Jeju Island for three days.  I will probably be offline during this time and will write again when I return about our adventures.  Dear Reader, please have a wonderful, labor-free Labor Day weekend.

Viva el Paraguay!

If you frequently surf the Internet or have watched television in recent days, you probably know by now that the Football (soccer) World Cup began today in Germany.  Even if you’re not a big fan of soccer and are just mildly curious about the sport, you probably still have a favorite team you’re rooting for to win the cup.  If you’re American, it’s probably the American team; if you’re Korean, you are no doubt rooting for Korea to win it all.  I’m not a soccer fanatic, but I do enjoy following the sport during the World Cup.  News about soccer and the World Cup are plentiful here in South Korea because Korea, along with Japan, co-hosted the event in 2002.  I’m in a bit of dilemma this year, because my host country, South Korea, my national team, the United States, and my upcoming host country, Paraguay, all qualified to compete in this year’s World Cup. 
 
So which team should I root for to win the World Cup?  Most definitely NOT Brazil, which I believe will win yet another World Cup again this year.  I’m rooting for Paraguay, which unfortunately is down 1-0 to England as I write.  Why Paraguay?  Because I love an underdog, and I love to see a small country like Paraguay (population 6.1 million) achieve greatness.  Still, Paraguay has a very tough road ahead of it.  While I hope it wins the Cup, it’s more realistic to root for the Paraguayos to advance beyond their pool (Group B).  Of course, I would be thrilled to see the United States or Korea also reach the World Cup finals, but in the final game, if Paraguay were a contender, I would be rooting for Paraguay to win it all.  Viva el Paraguay!