Guest Blog Author!

This blog entry has a combination of authors... myself and Cathy Gable, my best friend who is now a nurse in Pittsburgh, PA. Let's start with her view of Paraguay and our vacation...

My arrival to Paraguay was uneventful, a few wrongs turns but I made it to PY about 18 hours after leaving the states WITH my luggage! B met me at the gate, and it was so amazing to see her after 18 LONG months! We explored some of Asunción, which in itself is bustling. I discovered that Paraguayans drive around like maniacs, the buses are insanely crowded, and little kids try to trick you into buying their items. I was introduced to terere, a culture tea-esque drink, at the Peace Corps office. I was worried, it certainly looked similar to pond water and B mentioned that I may think it tastes like grass. Yet, it was delicious! I was able to watch it be prepared when we bought some from a vendor in the street. By vendor I mean 2 young children with a bag of herbs, ice, water from a sketchy bucket and guampas (that's what you drink it out of). Our trip back to B's campo required a 3 hour bus ride on a "luxury bus." I quickly learned that Paraguayans have no regard for personal space. Our next bus was packed like sardines. I did notice that the men of this country are gracious only in regards to giving up their seat on the bus for a woman. That was much appreciated.

We met B's friend Julio (the ONE taxi driver in town) who drove us the remainder of the dusty road to her house. Everyone in PY drives a moto (motorcycle) like they have a death sentence, with no helmets no doubt! I stand out everywhere, being a light skinned girl with light eyes..I guess a boring Caucasian can be exotic somewhere!

B's house..I can describe it as tranquilo. The surroundings are so peaceful; the most beautiful sunsets and starry nights. Imagine no lights and no pollution to block your view! Everyone here lives such a simple life. I met B's host family.. Pablino and Raquel and their children, Romina and Yony (the spoiled man of the house). I always thought B was exaggerating how horrible Yony was..but it's all true. Before I left I wanted to spank him. It is so evident here that men and woman are in no way equal. I took a tour of the bananas and pineapple fields the next day. I tasted the most amazing pineapple- core and all, it was white and delicious! It's nothing like what we eat in America...I don't know what "pineapples" I have been eating, but it's apparent I have been tricked.

I thought the language barrier would be much harder to handle. I have minimal Spanish skills. But I was surprised how much I understood through context, hand gestures and commonalities to Italian and French which I have a much better grasp. When that failed, B was always around to translate. But that doesn't mean I wasn't frustrated! It's so hard when you can't fully communicate and I hated feeling like the arrogant American who only knows English.

Friday night Romina had a celebration for her 4th grade graduation. We helped Raquel cook traditional Paraguayan food, which was entertaining. I learned that I have a special skill for deep frying. Empanadas were my favorite treat. As a nurse and understanding nutrition, the Paraguayans are severely lacking. Everything is deep fried, filled with salt and fat and any veggies are lost of all their nutritional value. I would be 300 pound if I lived there, easily. At Romina's graduation I had my first taste of the jealously of the Paraguayan women. Pablino asked me what I thought of Paraguay and Betsy was translating. We probably had a 30 second conversation, and from that Raquel was convinced that everyone was "staring" and talking about us. I didn't know any of this until after the fact. But Betsy seemed to know. She said that we should sit on the side the same side of the table as Raquel, because we are going to cause problems. Again..the genders are NOT equal. So frustrating!! I had a small taste of the drama that B battles on a daily basis.

On Sunday we left riding in Juan's truck filled with bananas for the market in Asunsion. We probably drove 15 miles an hour..it took us 5 hours to get to the capital (should only take 3). Sunday night we met up with some other Peace Corps volunteers for drinks and food. It was nice to have some English speakers around.

Monday we flew out to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we stayed in a really awesome hostel in a great location..and it had a rooftop bar, always a plus!

Tuesday we did some exploring of BA, it had the most beautiful architecture. We spent most of the day shopping on Florida St. We boycotted the custom of eating at 11 or midnight and had an amazing meal of pizza and wine.

Wednesday we visited the Recoletta area, and the cemetery where Eva Perone is buried. Don't cry for me Argentina..anyone? The mausoleums are beautifully constructed, but a little morbid to be surrounded by miles of death. We were propositioned to enter a mausoleum by a man who was cleaning, it's ridiculous how large they are inside. But I could see my life flash before me. The last thing I plan to do is die or be trapped in someone else's grave. So we politely declined that offer. That night we had a hostel BBQ which was a great place to meet people. We ended up going out to a pretty ridiculous club with a few fellow travelers. We learned first hand the advances of the Argentinean men.

On Thursday we went shopping again..everything is so cheap in American dollars, it's hard to resist! We ate at this notoriously tourist establishment (can't remember the name) (Betsy comment: Desnivel... GO THERE!) which was famous for their meats and fried provolone. Let me talk about fried provolone for a hot minute..one of my favorite finds from South America! It's delicious; we all know my love for cheese! I ordered a meal that came with a fried banana..also surprisingly amazing. Who knew? We also experience some authentic Tango dancing that night at Cafe Tortoni, a short walk from our hostel on Mayo Avenue.

Friday we left BA for Colonia via Buquebus which is similar to airplane but on water. Traveling on the Buquebus was interesting..no assigned seats? That would never fly in America. We had a few hours to kill in Colonia before we had to leave for Montevideo. Colonia is a quaint little town, had a delightful lunch of wine and pasta. We then ventured to Motevideo to visit Mary Kinsler. In Montevideo we walked around, there are about a million plazas, B treated Mary and I to a nice dinner with amazing fondu!

On Saturday we left Montevideo to Punta Del Diablo (Devil's Point in English) on another bus. Punta Del Diablo is my favorite from our trip, absolutely breathtaking! We spent a few hours on the beach and ended up sunburned. We ate at the local bar/restaurant where B and I ended up sampling almost every dessert available, our favorite was chocolate mousse. We also ventured to that bar later that night for a live band, too much wine, and unwanted advances from a few Uruguayan gentlemen. (Betsy comment: ALL South American men wanted some Cathy in their lives, it's true!)

We spent most of Sunday hanging around the hostel, it was a little overcast and I had a little wine hangover. On Monday we returned to BA with a 5 hour bus ride AND first class on the Boquebus..free champagne and all. We also went back for round two of smoked provolone. Yes, it's that amazing!

Tuesday we did some last minute shopping with some jewelry vendors and hit up Florida Street once again. Then B left for her 18 hour bus ride back to Paraguay in the afternoon. I hung around my hostel with a few guys from London who were also waiting for their flights and I flew out from BA at almost midnight.

My trip in itself was incredible. I was eager to see how Betsy lived, and have the opportunity to experience a small piece of her life. Now that I have lived with her for a few days, I have a much better understanding of her everyday life and frustrations. Our vacation was also amazing. My only issue was returning to American where I missed my connecting flight home due to our tight security. But I eventually made it home, all limbs and organs intact..with some great memories of a wonderful time down South with my best friend.

Thanks again for writing that Cathy and I agree... GREAT VACATION! I had only really traveled with my parents since I've been down here, so it was a change to spend my days with my BFF. We're already planning another trip back to Punta del Diablo, so let us know if you're interested!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to all! I made it through Christmas just fine but got a little sad new years eve day. Here its all about family and I'm so far away from mine! Also, the only family that was coming over to my host family's house belong to my host dad's side and I don't like any of them. They are the WORST about being completely judgmental to everything I do and wear. I'm also completely bored with the food and music and just couldn't get myself excited to pass new years here with them. I got over it eventually, avoided all the people I didn't like, and went to bed early so it wasn't that bad.

Yesterday afternoon we went to a balneario, which is an area by a stream where someone has set up volleyball courts. People just hang out, drink beer if you're of age, "swim" in the water that is only about 5 ft deep and play volleyball. I had been to one other, but where we went yesterday was much more quaint. We went with a few different couples and it was fine until we played volleyball. I've had issues playing with them before, but I knew it was going to be a repeat of those days. Because of cultural differences, in my opinion, the men completely talk down to the women. It happens all day long but I don't really realize it because no one talks down to me... until we play volleyball. Every time I make one little mistake, Juan comments on it. I'm sure in his head, his little comments are positive but to me they are only condescending. He doesn't play perfectly and I don't say a word if it goes out of bounds or he's too slow to get to a pass. But, every 5 seconds he feels the need to correct everything I do. So, after an hour of this I usually explode. And, although I'm embarrassed to admit it, the same thing happened yesterday. I completely cussed him out in English and he knew exactly what I was saying. Its just NOT FUN for me when he does it and its just another thing between our cultures that I can't accept or deny. Shortly after i apologized and we all agreed to do more swimming, but I think I just need to stop playing with him. Its all fun until we start to lose and he points he finger only at me when its his fault 50% of the time too. Stupid boys!!!

It hasn't rained for about 2 months but it start to sprinkle yesterday. It stopped for a few hours and picked up again this morning, but I'm hoping for more. We really need a few good days of rain to bring all the crops back up to speed.

I did post some pictures of vacation and some other ones from around the house, so feel free to check them out with this link:

by paraguaysmellslikecurry

Look for a post about the hand-sewn shirts my ladies are doing too. I'm meeting with the president of a bank this week to figure out how to accept credit card payments online. If you know of anyone that has ideas or can help with website design, please have them email me at betsy.curry@yahoo.com because that's what we need and something I've never really had a hand in.

I love and miss you all and hope all of you enjoyed the holiday season.