Más!

So much to say and so little time on the intenet....Where to start....?

The Chaco: Plains to the North of Asuncion. Thousands of miles of dry, flat landscape, and it totally made me homesick. The terrain is completely different and so are the people. We visited Filadelfia, a small town where three distinct culture coexist: the Latinos, the Indians, and the Mennonites. The Mennonites in Paraguay are very insular. They have their own churches, schools, and businesses, and sometimes speak only German. Because we are white, everyone tried to speak to us in German. So strange to suddenly hear German in South America. A bit surreal and disorienting, actually. The Chaco is also full of weird-o animals, the likes of which I have never seen before in person or otherwise. Also very surreal. I need to find out what they are called so I can find some pictures for you... Another fun fact for you, our hotel had an amazing motto: "Hotel Florida, where the suffocating heat of the Chaco is converted into pleasure." I'm not sure what the conversion rate is on that, but I would like to know.

Claudia: She is the director of the Spanish program that Jon and I are doing. I don´t think I have mentioned her in depth before. She is great. Very enthusiastic, a bit overwhelming sometimes, but a great cheerleader. Just what I need in South America. She has done so much for me here, in terms of making arrangements for me and trying to find things that I might be interested in. She studied in the U.S. and speaks English very well. She also adopted certain American traits, like being crazy busy all the time. Which is probably why I have also been crazy busy for my time in Paraguay. Her husband is a doctor who spends much of his time working at emergency clinics. They have four small kids, two of which are adopted twins. Claudia also has four sisters that live in Asuncion. Her sister Raquel is my age and a lot of fun. They are an amazing family.

The weather: The weather here is a bit crazy. Most of the year in Paraguay it is really hot. Really, really hot. But right now it is the winter. Sometimes it is cool and lovely. Other times it seems like summer to me. Other times it is freaking cold. Not as cold as in Kansas, but still cold. It seems worse I think because no one has heat here, and the houses are built to let air ciculate during the hot months. So the houses are as cold as it is outside. And the weather changes really quickly. Kansas can be bi-polar at times, but winters in Paraguay are worse I think. And when it gets cold everyone gets sick. It's a good thing that they give out antibiotics like candy here. (Take a deep breath, Jessica...) There are zero drug regulations and everything is really cheap. I should stock up while I can.