Greetings from Paraguay!

 

Well, here it is!  The first form letter!  The news from Paraguay!  Sorry it will be a group mailing, not as personal as I want.  But, I'll try to answer individual emails to me too!  This news letter is sort of about three weeks of living and slowly adjusting to life in Asunción, the capitol city of Paraguay.

 

The city is very large (1.5 million), very loud and very fast paced.  Traffic was the first thing that really struck me.  No nice, neat orderly streets.  Most streets don't even have a center line and if there is more traffic going one way than the other, they just sort of take over the whole street.  Bigger is definitely better in this style of driving.  And what do I do but ride a bike in the middle of all this!  I spend a lot of time on the sidewalks on the bike!  And I'm definitely glad it is a mountain bike, because the streets are rough.  The sidewalks are rough.  In fact, only the main streets are paved.  The side streets are 'empedrados'(cobblestone)!  That definitely slows the traffic down on those streets, but it also tears cars apart.  Fast!

 

Like I said, its also a very loud city.  Even late at night.  Typically, people go out for dinner about 11:00 PM.  The night life, dancing and such, starts about 1:00!  At least that's what I'm told.  I haven't managed to stay up that late yet!  There is one night club about five blocks from my house, and the music is very loud.  Very late.  I figure this will all make sense when summer comes because I'm told to expect highs around 112.  But right now we're in the cooler weather of winter with highs about 75, lows about 45!  Very nice.

 

I'm definitely missing the ability to get out of town easily.  I don't have a car.  But the bus service is great.  And cheap.  I hope to make a camping trip to the National Park Ybyqui soon.  Its about 3 hours away, in some rolling hills, with lots of trees and waterfalls!  But for now, I enjoy the many parks and plazas in the city.  There is also a Botanic Garden, that is a nice nearby  getaway.

 

 The other  escape I've found from the hustle of city life, has been the music scene.  I've heard several band  and orchestra concerts, a symphony concert, and am going to the Municipal Ballet tonight.  It only costs G20,000 for the ballet ($7.00)! 

 

The money is called the Guarani, which is also the name of the indigenous people of this area and the name of their language.  Many people here speak that language in addition to Spanish!  I've learned a few words and phrases.  Its a lot like Japanese I'm told.  Which makes sense when you consider the indigenous people here would have come across the Siberian/Alaskan land bridge a long time ago!

 

The other thing that has been very interesting to adjust to is shopping.  Sometimes it is so hard to figure out what something is as you like at the can or bottle.  Many food names are not the same as they are in the Spanish language of North and Central America.  For instance, if you say frijoles (beans) here, no one knows what you mean.  They are called porotos here!  And some things you just can't find where you think you should.  Vaseline for instance.  Only at the Farmacia (Pharmacy) and behind the counter, not out for you to find for yourself!  But on the bright side, I can have all the guava jelly that I want.  I love it!  My Grandfather used to bring it back from his trips when I was a kid.  And now, here, it is the most common jelly.  Like grape jelly in the states!

 

Well, enough for now!  More newsletters will follow!  About life at my school.  And about the upcoming Vice Presidential election!  Very controversial!  Meanwhile, take care and enjoy the mountains for me!