The Adventure Continues

Paraguay is much more developed than I was expecting. There are many indications of poverty, but the Paraguayans generally are concerned with putting out a good image. I am living with a family that is relatively well off so my image is definitely skewed, but from what I see, they dress well and are all addicted to their BlackBerry phones. They watch the Paraguayan equivalent of Dancing With the Stars, get braces, drink Miller Genuine Draft, and have wireless internet. There are shopping malls similar to those in the US and they watch American movies. Once inside one of the discotheques, it feels much more like Las Vegas than an obscure country. That being said, there are many things that are different from the US:
-They can't flush their toilet paper down the toilet
-They don't shut doors as hard as Americans (something I didn't realize we do)

-They share everything: drinks, food, clothes, cars, the flu… Everything is just passed around the group for all to enjoy.

-Public schools are only 4 hours a day from Kindergarten through high school. There are also options to have night school or school just on Sundays for those high school students who work during the day. After high school they can go to Facultad (University) to specialize in something. Most are 4-6 year programs and general ed is not required. With Facultad completed, grad school is not necessary.
-In school they learn that there are only 6 continents: North America and South America are not separate continents, rather one “America”.

-Girls don't shave their legs above their knees

-They aren't very concerned about their health. There is a giant Phillip Morris building in the center of town and most people smoke. They eat super fatty meat and add tons of sugar and salt to everything. They consider going for a light walk good exercise and spend most of their time sitting. Yet somehow they are all very slim.

-The food is very fresh and unprocessed. And very cheap.

-“Spicy” here is not very spicy at all

-There are many more cross-eyed people and disabled children
-They don't wear seatbelts and cops don't care how many people you have in the back seat
-Most of the roads aren't lined, stop signs are few and far between, and people cut each other off all the time – I am way too scared to drive here. The streets are also littered with stray dogs, people who want to clean your windshield, and prostitutes.

-There are many more unkempt and abandoned buildings and streets

A dinner of rice, salad, and corozoncitos – chicken hearts. I ate not 1, but 12 of them. Since then I have also eaten cow tongue and cow intestine. (For the record, of those, cow tongue is the tastiest.)

Yanine’s friend, Jose, took me on a tour of the highlights of Asuncion. First stop was the market where they sell everything imaginable at ridiculously low prices. Lots of knock off clothes and sunglasses, pirated movies, electronics, fruits, herbs, meats, and fabrics. They don't refrigerate the meat and the vegetables aren't washed. There is a general layer of dirt on everything but no one seems to mind.

We then went out to lunch at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant right on the river. We ate fresh fish and watched the fishermen who just dangle a string in the water and pull up (no fishing rod or net involved).

The tour continued with a trip to the Botanical Gardens, Zoo, and Natural History Museum.

  And then on to Cerro Lambaré, a hill overlooking all of Asuncion. Since the city is very flat, you can see for miles kilometers.  

The night ended with a motorcycle tour of all the downtown buildings including the Pantheon, Legislative building, Futbol Association, Palacio de los Lopez, airport, and several other notable buildings. (Don't worry mom, I wasn't actually driving the motorcycle.)

  Lupe, Yanine, Marcia, and Maira are the 4 people I spend the most time with here. 

  Bianca and Yanine in our colorful living room. Note Prince, our little poodle, who absolutely loathes me and tries to bite me every chance she gets.  

The bedroom that I share with Maira. Unfortunately I spent a lot of time in here last week because I was hit with the flu for 3 days. They are not at all concerned with the spread of germs here and continue to share everything even when they are sick. Hence 7 of us all came down with symptoms.

 Bianca, my youngest sister, just turned 15. At midnight, a mariachi band came to the house to celebrate.

 It turned into a loud, dance party!

 Unfortunately, I had already gone to bed before midnight because I was still sick. I got up for the celebration but it turns out a trumpet blaring in your ear is the worst cure for a pounding headache. What would have been a very lively celebration was dampened by the flu, but it was still a fun experience to watch.

 This is the usual crowd that comes over to our house several times a weeks. Big dinners continue to be a common routine.

 

 Lupe, Karen, and me snuck into a country club on the river for a day of taking in the sun. Although Paraguay is landlocked there are still plenty of gorgeous places along the river.

 I am enjoying working with the kids at the preschool. One of the teachers has taken me under her wing and is even starting to give me Spanish lessons during the kids' nap time.

The 2 years are the cutest but the hardest to understand since they mumble and have speech impediments still. The entire school only has about 40 kids so I have gotten to know the chiquititos pretty well already.