So I have talked about this before
already but today's Hurricane Pwnage storm reminded me again. So today the rain gods unleashed a wall of water that lasted from about
11 am to 7 pm. It is particularly discouraging as I had just finished
digging and seeding my home garden... sigh...., Well have to do that
all over. But the focus of this post is to talk about power outages.
So with the impending storm I went to unplug all of my electronics
just in case there was some sort of surge (common practice here),
move my things to avoid getting soaked (water gets in at the windows
and certain holes in the roofing and prepare my kerosine lantern for
later in the night. It was in this process that I realized how normal
it was for me. The storm had not even started, yet I knew for sure
the power would go out and probably would not return until late at
night or the next day. Each family has its routine for storms and
moving belongings or covering them and strategically placing candles
are common place.
Thinking about all this I couldn't help
but compare power outages here to those in the US. A power outage in
the US practically paralysis a US home. We think that we cant do anything. but here where electronics are
not common and food is cooked on a wood burning stove a power outage
is just a minor inconvenience. Here, when the power goes out people
grumble complain and sit around indoors in a circle but that is
pretty much what they would be doing with power anyway. For me a
power outage is annoying because I cant listen to music on my
computer and its hard to see around my house. On the other hand its a
good excuse to use my kerosine lantern which is awesome, fun to use
and really useful when there is no power. I prepped my dinner by its
light tonight.
Its funny to think in a lot of ways, Paraguayans are far more prepared for true survival than we are.
I would agree with your last statement, but wouldn't you also agree that the way we're brought up in the US is completely different from how Paraguayans are brought up? And therefore unfair to compare? Fortunately for us, we were born with certain privileges, and so for many of us, we've never experienced that side of real life struggles before, but are we to blame for where we grew up?
ReplyDeleteBut I do agree that in a crises, Paraguayans would be far more prepared than us to survive because of their circumstances and how and where they were brought up.
But what's intriguing? ... idk how to describe it .. is in reality, we're much better at surviving than they are. Maybe we're just privileged, but regardless, we're educated, we're constantly inventing new technology to help us survive (even if it makes people uber lazy - but I'm talking about the more serious side to it) - medicine, machines to help the disabled live their lives, new forms of communication, etc. Aren't we the epitome of survival? Epitome is too strong of a word - but we are survivors nonetheless :)
Just my two cents :)
hello there, i found this blog while looking at the agroshopping pics i was looking on google, i am paraguayan, 28 years old and i work with cattle. I've been in USA (K.S.U. for 2 months studying english), i actually live in Asuncion, and when i work with the cattle in the farm i experience something of what the blog owner does.
ReplyDeleteThat being said (in a bad english), in response to Chia, i think what he meant is that people here are more prepared for a situation more like a zombie apocalipsis, or something like "Revolution".
Moving on, i like this blog but you should also put the beautiful part of our city Asuncion, maybe specify where the community you are is, because you know, if i read a blog that is only power outages and that house ill think the whole country is like that.