Paraguay

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! 

Pre-China Trip Clutter

Much as I try, life always seems too cluttered.  I sit here tonight typing amidst a pile of things to do to prepare for our trip to Shanghai, China on Saturday.  Every time life seems to cool down, it suddenly shifts into high gear and becomes too hectic.  One of these days I would really like to jump off this crazy merry-go-round.  My new mantra is “Vive el Paraguay!”  I’ve heard that Paraguay, my next assigned location, offers a much slower pace of life than Korea does.  As my predecessor told me by e-mail (we’ve been in contact), “bring lots of reading material [to Paraguay].”  Somehow I wish that were true.  I’ll believe it when it happens, after I’ve made it through four books in four weeks.  I’m sure I will somehow find a way to make myself too busy to chill out–even in Paraguay.  It’s in my nature to do more than I have time to do.

I am really looking forward my first trip outside Korea since I arrived early last year.  First I have to wade through annoying trip planning.  Perhaps the worst part of any trip is the advance planning and preparation.  It’s more than suitcase packing.  It’s the little things like making sure your medical insurance covers you in exotic locations and putting together a photo album for the family back home.  It’s the plane tickets, passports, visas, bill paying, activity planning, transportation arrangements, electricity conversion, emergency planning, cash reserves build up, closure at work, fridge emptying–you name it.  Anyone who’s planned a multi-week trip away from home can relate to the grind of pre-trip planning and preparation.

China isn’t actually going to be a vacation for me.  I will work in Shanghai for about two weeks while my family is on vacation.  Fortunately, I can take time out on the weekends to have some fun.  On Sunday I will visit Thames Town, a new, unbelievable development reminiscent of Merry Ol’ England located in the suburbs of Shanghai.  The following weekend my wife, son, and I will take a short trip to Xi’an, home to the famous terracotta warriors.  As we have spent most of our time in the eastern half of China, I’m looking forward to seeing the Chinese Interior for the first time.  I don’t know how much time I will have to write during my journey in China, but I will post as frequently as I can.  Photos will follow when I return to Korea.