World Cup

June and July were filled with the colors of red, white and blue, and the chants of 'Albirroja' across Paraguay as the national team competed in the World Cup in South Africa. And I chanted and cheer right alongside my Paraguayan friends throughout the experience. I had the opportunity to not only watch or listen to each of Paraguays games, I also had the opportunity to celebrate across the country.



In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, advertisements and songs for the games dominated the TV and radio in Paraguay. Some of the songs got so popular that I even learned all the lyrics. The popular Latin singer Shakira sang a song called 'Waka Waka' that got stuck in my head and the heads of thousands of Paraguayans for weeks. They all knew the song so well that I got my 5th grade garden class to sing the whole thing for me one day. Here's a little video for your enjoyment.



Game 1: Paraguay v. Italy
1:1
The first match was against Italy, the World Cup Champion Team of 2006. I was traveling back from visiting Uruguay for the week the afternoon of the game. Unfortunately, my flight was slightly delayed that day and I arrived in Asuncion at 12:30pm and the game started at 1:30pm. So most of the city was already shut down for the afternoon, that also meant the buses stopped running. So with about 20 other Paraguayans I listened to a small radio at a bus stop in front of the airport terminal for the nearly 3 hours. It was assumed that Paraguay would lose this first match to Italy, but we held in there to end with a tie at 1:1.

Game 2: Paraguay v. Slovakia
2:0
Luckily I was able to watch the second game Paraguay. My site mate Liam set up his projector at the local firehouse where he lives to enjoy the game on the big screen with the firemen. The only unfortunate side of this game was the 7am start time. I drank lots of mate to help me wakeup. Paraguay played a great game and ended up beating Slovakia 2:0. To celebrate the win, the firemen blared their sirens and took a victory lap around town as we sat on top of the trucks waving to all the people who had also stepped outside to celebrate.


The 'Big Screen'

National anthem

Let the celebration begin!

Riding around town on the back of a firetruck=great Peace Corps memory

Game 3: Paraguay v. New Zealand
0:0
I also watched this game at the local fire station on the 'big screen'. In order for Paraguay to qualify for the round of 16, they needed to at least tie with New Zealand. New Zealand tried their hardest to score, but it was to no avail. Paraguay pulled out a tie at 0:0, and headed on to the round of 16 as the top qualifying team from their group. Great job boys!

Game 4: Paraguay v. Japan
0:0 at the end of time
5:3 Penalty shoot-out
Round of 16. After 6 months of living in our communities, all the environmental volunteers from my group with one invited member from our communities gathered in small town two hours north of Asuncion at a agriculture high school to share experiences and knowledge between volunteers and community members. While our schedule was very full for the three day retreat, the organizers made sure there was time to enjoy the Paraguay v. Japan game. Volunteers and Paraguayans gathered together to watch our boys play a great game against Japan. After an hour and a half of regular play time and an another half an hour in extra, Paraguay and Japan took to the field for a shoot-out. You could feel that the entire country was on pins and needles, praying that their team makes it on to the quarterfinals. And after 5 beautiful penalty shoots, Paraguay wins! Here is a short celebration video I took as the 5th and final penalty shot was being made.


Game 5: Paraguay v. Spain
0:1
Quarterfinals. The day before the Saturday afternoon game, my friend Maggie from college arrives in Paraguay to visit me for three weeks. So to take advantage of the trip into Asuncion, I decide that we stay and watch the game in downtown Asuncion with a group of other volunteers. The city was beautifully decorated in red, white and blue that day, and I didn't see a single person in the city not wearing a Paraguayan jersey. While Paraguay tried their hardest to get past Spain's defense to score, the Spaniards were able to score in the last ten minutes of the game. The streets of Asuncion went silent... Paraguayans, male and female, were struck deeply by the loss. Tears were shed in the streets, plazas, and homes across Paraguay as the last few minutes of the game ticked away and then were gone. I felt Paraguayan in those moments. I cried. However, Paraguayans can find away to celebrate almost any experience. The entire country was proud to see how far their team had gone and after a half an hour or so of morning, chants were loudly sung in the streets while flags waved over head.






However, this was not the end of my World Cup experience in Paraguay. I enjoyed watching the Semifinal and Final matches in Ayolas. Spain ended up winning the 2010 World Cup, although I was rooting for the Netherlands (Go Robert!). And two weeks later, I had the opportunity to meet Paraguays most famous soccer player Roque Santa Cruz in the Asuncion airport while I was saying my goodbyes to Maggie. What a good day to have my camera!