Concepcion

 

Pame took me to a wedding reception with her last Friday. It was a Paraguayan wedding but it wasn’t typical because the couple currently lives in New York and only had a small celebration here for the remaining family. Not too much differed from a typical wedding in the US except that long formal dresses are required. Luckily I’m able to fit into Pame’s clothes so she has been dressing me for all kinds of events.

  The wedding reception ended at 3am and then at 4am I got up to drive to Concepcion with Yanine and my host mom. Concepcion is a small town 5 hours outside of Asuncion. My host family lived there until 3 years ago when my host father had a stroke. They moved to Asuncion to receive better medical care, but still have a lot of family and friends in Concepcion. We stayed with my host grandma whose primary language was pure Guarani…I didn’t understand a thing she said.  

  In Concepcion there are no skyscrapers, no McDonalds, no shopping centers, no super markets, and there is only one traffic light. There are primarily dirt roads and everyone rides around on small motorcycles - newborns included. This is what I had imagined Paraguay to be like before I came. It is safe to play in the streets, the people are very religious, it is hotter, it is poorer, it is dustier, and it is much less common that anyone knows English. It was much more “tranquilo” than Asuncion and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to return several times before I leave.  

  This sign killed me. It was a real sign in front of an eye store. Not a single person that I talked to there understood the significance of the letters.  

  We went to the Expo in Concepcion which is a county fair. It was just like a fair in the US, complete with carnival rides, farm animals, rodeos, tents selling all kinds of trinkets and tattoos, and craft contests.  

  One country away from being a Gaucho.  

  The highlight of the Expo for me was getting to go up in an electrical truck. As I was walking around the tents someone just came up and asked if I wanted to try it. He was even more excited when they found out I was from the United States and gave a play by play of my ascent on a microphone to a whole crowd of people. Got a great view of all the fairgrounds right as the sun was starting to set.  

  Both Asuncion and Concepcion are swarming with mosquitoes. My feet are covered in annoying bites, but luckily malaria is not a problem. I’m told to look out for Dengue though…  

  Went to a cemetery in Concepcion. Although there are some bodies buried underground, most are above ground. The coffins are behind a small cubby where the family can put pictures, flowers, candles, etc.

  The drive back from Concepcion to Asuncion was gorgeous. Green plains with a hovering mist over everything, many soy and rice fields, and very few signs of civilization made it a stunning trip.  

  Got the approval that I’m fit for marriage from my family because I could cook. I prepared a meal of Honey Baked Chicken, rice, and bruschetta for them. They were appalled by the thought of putting olive oil on bread. I told them that since I tried chicken hearts the least they could do was try it, yet most of them still didn’t want to. In the end, they all enjoyed the food.  

  One of my cousins, Kevin, is a part-time model, so I went to Asuncion’s Fashion Week to watch him in action.   

  I continue to be a new American Barbie doll to my sisters here. They dress me up in fancy dresses, bleach my arm hair, braid my hair, and put all kinds of make-up on me. Thus far I have refrained from letting them wax my body, going to the tanning salon, and dying my hair blonder. Also, not a day passes when one of them isn’t wearing or using something of mine: shirts, shorts, bras, hairties, earrings, sandals, phone charger, tweezers, Sharpies…you name it. It will be a scavenger hunt to see how much I can get back when I pack to return to the US.