Hola everyone
I know its been a while since I've updated but that's also about how long I went without clothing. That's right, on top of everything else that went wrong or not quite right on my way to Paraguay the airline lost my bag in Chile. I guess when it comes to baggage and transferring flights the early bird loses the worm. Thank goodness I knew enough to pack some clothes in my carry on so that way I wouldn't have to literally live in the clothes on my back and had some toiletries with me as well. I guess I took Eric's advice a little too much to heart and packed really light.
My lack of clothing wasn't about to ruin my good time and we were soon on our way into the city. Its amazing how similar Asuncion is to San Pedro Sula in Honduras. They all had the same small tiendas and paved roads with dirt shoulders, Tigo and McDonalds and Pizza Hut advertisements everywhere. Plenty of motos and potholes. We got to the hotel, dropped our stuff and soon met up with a bunch of Eric's peace corp friends. We were also given a quick lesson on local customs and were told that if we ever threw the toilet paper in the toilet and then Eric had to fish it out we would be killed on site. That's what the trash can is for.
We started the night sitting outdoors at a bar that looked like it had been transplanted from NYC and just dropped off in Paraguay. We drank towers, ate empenadas, and laughed about my lack of clothing. Afterwords we went off on an adventure, determined to see all the different hot spots Asuncion had to offer. The British pub, where all the European tourists were, the random bar slash diner where the locals grab a late night snack (and who also had the best dulce de leche ice cream EVER), and of course the Melissa bar where I was told it was difficult to tell if the she was really a he.
On our way to the Melissa bar, Eric´s friend Will decided to be obnoxious and bang on a sheet metal wall. Eric and I were about 10 feet behind Will and Jordan and saw a bunch of men pop up with shotguns. The police quickly stopped Will and Jordan and patted them down. The police here generally only stop you for bribes so Will was truculent as ever. Turns out that wall belongs to the mass murderer slash torturer under the previous president who came back to Paraguay to die. Honestly I thought we were the ones who were about to die. After an hour of negotiating with cops we managed to get away and to the Melissa bar
The Melissa bar was exactly the kind of establishment I expected from Paraguay. Concrete, dirty, and open with a few random men playing pool Jordan was quick to make a new friend. A man began talking to him about futbol and actually gave him the shirt off his back and forced Jordan to wear it because it was the colors of one of the teams here. Fantastically awkward and funny we made our leave finally back to the hotel to pass out.
We woke up on July 1st late, Jordan with a hang over, me dirty and tired, and Eric just tired. We went to meet up with the peace corp dudes again. In the middle of the city is a small park where the vendors set up shop, similar to how it used to be in Honduras, so Jordan and I wandered there while Eric went to the bank for money. There were a couple decent souvenirs to be had but Jordan agreed that it was best to go shopping at the end of the trip since we weren't sure how much crap we should add to the already mountain of stuff we had to carry with us. When Eric returned so did the peace corp dudes and we sat on the steps of the fountain relaxing and drinking terere. By far my 2nd favorite thing in Paraguay right now besides empanadas. It was delicious and cold and since I hadn't had anything to drink in almost 12hrs the cool refreshing lemon grass, minty, herbal tea like drink was a more than welcome treat. We sat and drank and talked then I picked up my new cell phone card. We headed back and hung out in the hotel discussing books and movies while watching MTV and movies in Spanish. After a while Mom called my new phone telling me they found my bag. YESSSSSS. New clothing here I come. In a way it was a little sad since I was just starting to get used to the roughing it aspect but was more than happy to get out of those shorts since my leg had been eaten alive by the moscos while we sat outside eating gyro like things the night before. We ended up spending the night watching tv and talking about the random stuff that had happened so far in our trip. I also realized that I should have brought a copy of Linux with me since my hackintosh is experiencing kernel panic, making it useless as a journal, charger, anything. Frustrated and tired I decided screw it. I could worry about it when I got back. We watched Friends and then slept like babies.
July 2nd, our last day in Asuncion before heading to Eric's site, we showed up to the free breakfast that the hotel offered. Ham and cheese sandwiches, delicious grapefruit juice, and toast were on the menu. We sat and ate and even met another Peace corp volunteer. We headed out to the airport and picked up my bag, which I'm still not sure I appreciate overall. Granted stuff is nice but carrying it is not. Plus the buses are small and high up so lifting yourself 2 feet in the air with a 40lb bag on your bag doesn't exactly look graceful. We stopped at McD's per Eric's request and ate some burgers and fries. The fries are so much better when the transfat is added back in. We eventually made our way to the bus to head to Eric's site and were picked up by his friend. Jordan and Eric sat in the back of the pickup while I sat in the cab. Each pothole and dip we went over I wondered if they would survive it. I tried practicing my Spanish with Eric's friend who was driving. We talked about the weather and motos and parties. I have never been good at small talk and when you add the fact that my Spanish is so rusty it could give you tetanus well then its just a terrible recipe. By the time we got to Erics place it was almost dark. We took a look around the one room one homemade bathroom place and then headed to his host families house. They were kind and gave us mate, a hot version of terere, which also burns your mouth a little with the metal straw thingy. We ate fried rice which Eric made and watched trailer park boys and frost-nixon. The sleeping bag and liner that mom bought was CLUTCH.
Today (July 3rd) we are in the pueblo, hence the internet access, and having some kind of party with Rebeca and Mateo two more peace corp people. Tomorrow is a BBQ at Eric's place and then after that who knows. I miss talking to the people I text and see everyday but having a blast. All I know is that life is easier with clean clothes on your back and good food in your stomach.
Onwards toward the adventure, taking plenty of photos and videos.
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