The Incredible Diversity of Paraguayan Sidewalks

(Note: Please excuse the quality of the photographs in this post. I have an iPhone 7 for a camera, and very little skill in using it.)

(That aside, let us get to the post.)

 

One interesting thing about Paraguay is the incredible diversity of the sidewalks here. 

The system is different, you see. Instead of the government owning part of your front yard so that they can put in nice off-white squares of cement, every homeowner is responsible for their own sidewalk. It comes with the house.

So, you'll get wonderful beautiful sidewalks like this one with the black swirly design:

... as well as less beautiful ones.

Not everyone can afford to put in a nice sidewalk, and that shows. Asuncion is a diverse place—almost shockingly so, sometimes, when you see sleek modern duplexes next to houses that probably haven't seen better days. 

That's the way the city works. Lower-class people buy some cheap land on the edges of the city and build a small house. Then the population grows, and the city borders grow along with it. What used to be a cheap plot of land is now much higher in value, and since the people who move there are more wealthy, their houses reflect that.

The people who were there from the start—the "originals," if you will—either sell their land or stay. If they sell, they've made a profit, and they move to the edge of the city and start over. 

They don't have to, though, and many don't. So if you take a walk down a given street in Asunción, you'll see a remarkable disparity in neighbors. 

All this to say: the sidewalks are very different. Really cool, sometimes, but they'll keep you on your toes. 

Look at this one. It's a fish.

Homes and businesses get remarkably creative with their sidewalks. Designs like the fish are quite common, and every sidewalk is unique—I think I've seen one or two that are boring, but even those have the virtue of their mundanity being uncommon.

When you're trying to take a walk, though, you realize something else about these sidewalks:

...they aren't really set up for, y'know, walking. 

Every pedestrian really has to stay on their toes. No zoning out as you leisurely stroll along, no, you've got to watch your feet and stay vigilant. Otherwise, you'll trip and faceplant on the lovely red tiles. 

There are no height regulations. Each person makes their own sidewalk, and they don't pay much attention to the continuity of the walking experience. It's ART, guys. 

(If you think that the ledge in the picture was bad, it's not the biggest one we've seen. One was probably two and a half feet tall, and you pretty much had to climb up on your hands and knees. Talk about a tripping hazard, right?)

Even the pretty ones have this problem. One sidewalk we passed actually had poor continuity with itself, somehow—it was clearly designed to be one sidewalk, but still had a two-foot step down, and then another step up immediately afterward. And, you had to jump over the stairs if you were anyone but the homeowner.

 

These are Paraguayan sidewalks, people. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly, but always interesting. 

Sidewalks in the US, on the other hand, are pretty much the opposite. They're always boring; white squares of concrete, evenly laid out three feet away from the street. If there's a step, it's spraypainted neon orange so that you don't trip on it. 

Both of these come with pros and cons. The pros of the Paraguayan way are: a. they're interesting, b. they have a lot of potential, and c. they make you pay a lot more attention to your surroundings. 

The cons, of course, are that if you don't pay a lot more attention then you might trip and break your neck. 

Pros for the United States? Practicality, ease of construction, and handicap accessibility. Cons: they're really boring. 

I was trying to decide which way I liked better, and I couldn't make up my mind. Paraguayan sidewalks can be annoying, sure, but they've got so much more personality. And sidewalks back home? Functional, but boring. 

It's a trade-off. Practicality at the expense of flavor; self-expression at the expense of usefulness. Which one will you choose? 

In the US, we've chosen safety. And that does make life a lot easier. 

But I think we've lost something. Why can't our sidewalks have cool swirly designs? Why can't we put red and black diamond tiles down instead of white cement, or maybe some flower tessellations?

Why does our environment have to be boring to be safe? 

And perhaps the lesson here is more than sidewalks. Too often, we mistake interestingness for impracticality. We always go with the safer option for fear of sticking out. 

We present Christianity as a bland vanilla religion, because we want to look "good." 

No. God called you. Jesus died for you, with all your quirks and mannerisms and passions. You're definitely sinful, but sanctification doesn't mean that you have to get rid of everything that makes you unique. 

Christianity isn't a religion for "normal people." It's a religion for real people. 

Don't try to hide your identity behind a simple white concrete wall. Jesus didn't come for the perfect people who have everything together—he came for you, me, and your neighbor down the street who drives a motorcycle and blasts rock music.

Everyone in the church is different. But we're brought together by a common reason: the grace and majesty of Christ. 

And if the world sees that, then it'll be shocked at how powerful the grace of Christ is. 

So be yourself, eh? It sounds like a Disney slogan, but it's true. 

If we can show the world who we really are and who God really is, then that's a far better witness than any perfect fake Christian could ever have.