Sunday, April 19, 2009

Facts About Paraguay

I want to share some facts about Paraguay. I'm not going to share things like the population of Paraguay, the imports and exports, the median temperatures or anything like that. I'm going to share every day facts about Paraguay, the people, the life and the impressions of foreigners.

* There is a smell of dust and diesel that lingers on every street
* Water shuts off without warning about every two hours for about an hour at a time (It's a bummer when you just get into the shower and the water sputters a few seconds and then disappears. Ask Fred.)
* Sweat is a given
* Toilet paper is put in a little garbage pail beside the toilet
* Large meals are eaten at lunch
* Siestas are blessings
* Women greet each other by touching cheek to cheek, starting with the left side and then the right side. You must do that fakey little kiss sound when touching cheeks. Some men try it, too, but it's also acceptable to just stick your hand out before he tries to kiss you.
* It gets dark here around 5:30 pm
* Supper is usually light snacks and is eaten late - between 7 and 9 pm
* There are very little traffic rules and riding in the back seats of cars can be quite scary
* Red dust is everywhere
* Mosquitos live in abundance
* Dogs and cows roam the streets with freedom
* Horses and buggys go up and down the streets selling everything from oranges and lemons to cow innards
* They also collect plastic bottles, iron, and other recyclables by digging through people's trash
* Lemons are in season and can just be picked off the tree to be used for EVERYTHING!

I'll share more facts about Paraguay as we experience more. I am loving it here and even with all the differences, I will miss it tremendously when we leave.

7 comments:

a.peg said...

when does the TP go into the little pail. before or after it's used? Glad you're enjoying it. Good observations so far.
(Loved your comments about Petunia on Linda's blog!)

GramS said...

Oh, the sights and sounds of Paraguay! These are quite accurate, so far. I'll be looking forward to more of your observations.

Are you drinking lemonade everyday? Laurel was so good at that job.

Ohio_Momto3boys said...

Can't wait for pics and MORE info! Sounds so interesting!!!

liz said...

Eat some Empanadas de Lalo for us!

Jenny said...

Wow! That sounds different than anything else I've experienced! Lemons, MMMmmmm, drink some fresh lemonade for me:)

Love,
Jenny

Anonymous said...

Accurate synopsis. We'll be glad to read of all your adventures. Give my love to Ben and Vivi please! And to Ever too.

Jason said...

I have to fix some of these "facts". They're very...narrowly formed. :)

Only at Karen's does the water turn off at random intervals. I've never had problems at my house.

It's only getting darker earlier than you're used to because we turned our clocks BACK when you turned yours FORWARD. I thought the same thing when I was flying into Miami at 6 and it was still full daylight, and then I remembered.

Sweat IS a given! I decided if I wasn't sweating, I wasn't drinking enough. Although nowadays I don't sweat much because it's cooling off considerably.

Add oranges and grapefruit to your list of citrus in season. You came at the right time!

-j

ps> I'm sad that my cousin (I assume) commented on your blog but ever so rarely on mine.