Fashion's in the guampa

Hello again from Paraguay,

It's hard to believe we've been here nearly a month. I feel like there's still so much to see and do, which is an excellent development from the near-boredom I was experiencing just a few weeks ago. My ‘schedule' is now pretty firmly established, and I'm even feeling comfortable living here in Asunción, a city that is growing on me day by day.

"Many foreigners come to Paraguay, some stay, some go... For those of us not born in Paraguay, no matter how long we live here, we will always look like foreigners, sound like foreigners, act like foreigners, and continue to be surprised every day by the AMAZING beauty of the place we have decided to call home..." - Through a Foreigner's Eyes: Outside Looking In photo exhibit

Since I last wrote, Jonathan and I have discovered Agroshopping (an all-day, all-night Tuesday event at which you can buy an abundance of organic vegetables, vegetarian products, and hot-and-ready Lebanese, Chinese and Paraguayan food), vegetarian restaurants, a delicious wine bar, a British pub owned by a German and packed by young Paraguayans, an adorable crepe café just minutes from our aparthotel, and a whole lot of North Americans (more on that soon). We've gone to dinner with Jonathan's MEDA-PY office, experienced a jazz concert at the Centro Cultural Paraguayo-Americano downtown, saw ‘Fiddler on the Roof' (‘Anatevka') in German with an auditorium full of Paraguayan Mennonites (tell me that's not a ‘cultural experience' - more on this here: http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/ParMennonites.htm), and have been mistaken for Peace Corps volunteers a few too many times.

The latter is not really surprising - there seem to be two main groups of foreigners (specifically North Americans) living here: Peace Corps volunteers, and teachers working at the American high school. This group has provided us with a few much-needed outings, some of them quite interesting too. For example, we had the chance to attend two photography exhibits. One was at the Centro Cultural Paraguayo-Americano in downtown and featured photographs taken by children living in rural Paraguay. The other was entitled "Through a Foreigner's Eyes - Outside Looking In" and is described by the following: "Many foreigners come to Paraguay, some stay, some go... For those of us not born in Paraguay, no matter how long we live here, we will always look like foreigners, sound like foreigners, act like foreigners, and continue to be surprised every day by the amazing beauty of the place we have decided to call home...". We bought a few pictures there and met some more Canadians. We were fortunate to meet all of these NA people through our original encounter with Nick and Rose (see previous blog); however, being asked what ‘site' we're on at all these events is a bit annoying! It's clear that Jonathan and I are a bit of a rarity here in Paraguay though, which feels kind of nice in a way.

But some of the best experiences have been had through my daily life and the smallest of moments. For example, the staff working here at Andares del Agua is incredible. I see the same few staff day in and out, and have the incredible chance to practice my Spanish with them (and they are so forthcoming with me - one woman, Myryan, even tries to teach me a little something each day). In addition, I'm beginning to see the same people at the cafes where I study my Spanish. At one of the cafes, the waiter is eager to practice his English with me and is humoured by my attempts at Spanish I'm sure.

We've also been out a few times with other locals - Marile, the girl I met on localyte.com and her husband Robin (who are very warm and sweet, and have bent over backwards to help us along), a girl we met through Nick and Rose who is half Paraguayan/half American and is here with her husband writing a bilingual travel guide, and Egon (Jonathan's coworker) and his wife Graciela who have been so gracious trying to make us feel comfortable in this unfamiliar city. We've also begun Spanish language classes with a local woman named Lourdes. While she helps Jonathan with his business Spanish at a more advanced level, she helps me with informal conversation. Oftentimes we end up talking about her life and her kids rather than the lessons themselves. I probably learn more this way anyway. Our time here would definitely not be as ‘easy' and certainly not nearly as fun if we hadn't met all of these wonderful people.

And speaking of easy, it never escapes me that if we did not have the help and convenience of our neighbourhood, aparthotel, and all of these super congenial new friends, life would be very different for us. Moreover, if we were not here for such a snapshot of time (3.5 months now seems like no time at all), life would be very different indeed. All of this reminds me that the reason I am a Canadian in the first place is that my grandparents (nonni) ventured over the ocean in the early ‘60s to seek out better opportunities. Even if they had wanted to, they didn't have the choice to return to their homeland because they simply didn't have the money. They left behind family and friends and all that was familiar to live in a strange, wintery other-world where they didn't even speak the language. Being here in Paraguay makes me honour that immigrant experience even more - and like I said, the way we're doing it is easy.

And with that being said, I am totally immersed in my quiet, peaceful, but active city life. At the same time, the first little inklings of homesickness have begun to creep up on me. I miss the oddest little things about home (besides, of course, my family, friends, and three gorgeous kitties!): having coffee in a take-out cup (it's very fashionable for Paraguayans to carry around thermoses and cups full of tereré, a kind of iced tea - this is their version of walking around with a take-out coffee - see a blog entry written by our friend Nick: http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2009/04/30/shhh-dont-tell-starbucks), feeling like I'm speaking half-decent English (sometimes I feel like I'm speaking both broken Spanish and broken English!), magical Toronto summers complete with late sunsets (as it's winter here, it's completely dark by 5:30 p.m.), and not having to convert Guaranis into American dollars and then into Canadian dollars (F.Y.I.: approximately 5,100 Gs. equals $1 American or $1.10 Canadian at the moment).

At the same time, I am getting used to the ins and outs of righthere: my DEET perfume, the reason every toilet has a garbage bin beside it, MTV Latinoamérica, the 24-hour clock, the fact that people here don't even really speak Spanish (they are more likely to speak Jopará, a mix of Spanish and indigenous Guaraní), and how useful "ticket no más" is when you just want to pay for your groceries (it means you don't have an invoice at the store). Every time I have a little daily life moment that gives me a bounce in my step, I realize how very lucky I am to be having this time, doing what I'm doing.

Coming up VERY soon: World Cup qualifier ‘partido' between Paraguay and Chile and a long weekend at Foz do Iguaçu (http://img.datatravel.com.br/galeriasV2/Operadoras/76/Pacotes/Foz%20(10).jpg)!!

Much love from South America... I hope you enjoy the photos. :)

R