Besides this project that took place in the afternoon, I got involved in another one in the morning, an idea that surged and came about during my stay, and in which I immediately participated in an active manner. It was a strong experience that confronted my reality “raw and naked” in a social context full of contradictions. An authentic and human relationship face to face with a forgotten neighborhood adolescent.
“Profe, what time do I see you tomorrow, at 6?”, “Profe Martina, can I go to Italy with you? '' or when she would see me arrive and run towards me to hug me. It was her and me, in our mornings of “sharing.” All of this made me reflect over the value, singularity, dignity and equality of every human being and how much, including a small “brick”, can make a difference and leave a mark in the life of a child.
During a few weekends, the days I had free time, due to my “professional deformation” and my innate curiosity, I explored the surroundings using public transportation (a true adventure in the “colectivo”: A bus without stops or schedules), I dedicated myself to visiting towns, eating with the locals in the market, making small purchases in craft shops, entering and sneaking in “factories” and local realities, having like that the possibility of a wider and complete vision not only of the project, but also of the country itself.
Observing (and not only looking) allowed me to contextualize and learn more about the context in which I lived and worked.
“Paraguay is improvisation and every day is an adventure”, Miguel would tell me. And I would respond with a smile on my lips and a laugh: “I have noticed that!”
My days wer days of life, not wasted, and instead I lived them plentifully in the present.
In Paraguay, from the Guaraní language, paraguayo means “he ocean that goes towards the wate,” I bring home: enrichment and interior evolution; knowledge of new people, cultures, traditions and geographic contexts; value of time and of waiting; human warmth; ability to trust others; improvisation and not just planning; astonishmen; capacity to experiment the unknown with curiosity and not with fear; daily gratitude; faith ; human value and not material; habit of giving a new life to things by recycling; meaning of belonging in a community; conscious of how much can be given and receiving an exchange of love; helping for pleasure and not for obligation; discovering that my way of confronting daily life is just one of the many possibilities; knowledge of new perspectives; ability to continue the sun’s course, natures rhythm and vitality; recognixzing the singularity and value of what happens throughout each day, without the necessity of filling out everything with programmed activities; conscientious that my ability to adapt to change to new situations; perception that difficult moments can be compensated with justthe satisfaction of overcoming them; my “me” in a new aspect; living and being completely in the present and not in future projections; disconnect to the digital world; ability to to dedicate moments of authentic exchanges to an empathetic listening; caturing the essence of placed and people and knowing how to make it mine; freedom of being myself.
I remember every day of these months, and I have the feeling of living far away for a whole year. It wasn’t just an experience, it was a piece of life.
The day I had to return to Italy, I asked myself how I would manage without the children, teachers, my paraguayan family, without the people of the neighborhood. It was then that I realized that what had enriched my life could no tbe a lack of something.
“Nothing is small if it is made out of love”
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