Vayamos a Luque! (Let's go to Luque!)

So first of all, i want to apologize for the lack of updates. But I have a good reason. Kitty is at school all day, and I am essentially sitting at home all day doing nothing. Oh, I'm cleaning, and trying to take little walks and everything. But nothing exciting. But in about 2 weeks, i should have lots more updates, because she starts her 2 and a half month vacation then. So yesterday we went to a place called Luque, to visit her sister and brother and law, Cynthia and Dario. They are both SO nice! We had a great time! A little while after I arrived, we went to their public talk/watchtower study. Then we went out to dinner, and had some ice cream afterwords. Really tasty! :) Then we went home and watched an American movie(with Spanish subtitles) I believe it was called "A Knights Tale" It had Heath Ledger in it. Was very nice. I also met Dario's Mom and Dad, who were really nice, and also witnesses.(Cynthia and Dario are too) The next day, we also met his sister and her husband, who is from Chili.(They are both witnesses too).

So yesterday marked one month since I arrived here. How do I feel? Well, pretty good. Some things are just hard to get used to. Like having to throw toilet paper in the trash can instead of the toilet. (Apparently, this is the case in much of South America, which is why they had that sign up in the bathroom in Peru) As I said before, the insects are pretty bad here, especially the flies and mosquitoes. Also, the smells are pretty awful too. The street people pee and poo in the road, so you can often smell that when you go out. Also, garbage smells are pretty common. And when it gets really humid and rains, you can smell the city dump  from where we live, and trust me, its AWFUL.  And many people litter her, unfortunately. I really don't understand Also, people here ACT CRAZY, especially this time of year. They explode firecrackers all hours of the day and sometimes late at night, and I am not talking about your little piddly things, I am talking about the ones that sound like they belong on a battlefield.... Also, on new years and christmas, people shoot guns up into the air, which is really dangerous. Also, people here usually don't obey traffic rules, and sometimes even park and drive on the sidewalk! I guess I haven't exactly painted the best picture of this place. :P But trust me, It's not all bad, And I am really starting to get used to it. Am starting to feel like a native already. But now that I talked a bit about the negative aspects, lets get into the positive. Yes it is hot, but there is almost always some kind of nice breeze, and it it very fresh. There are trees everywhere, so you always have shade on a hot day. The food is very fresh and natural here, and you can get plenty of different types of fresh fruits and veggies, you can even grow them yourself, as the soil is very fertile. Its one of the cheapest places in the world to live, so cost of living is very low. The people are amazingly friendly here, and everybody always says hi to everyone else, even if they don't know them. Also, for a native English speaker, there are LOTS of job opportunities... Also, even though there is trash on the ground, there is much beauty here. there are trees and flowers all over, and some are AMAZING. The purple lapachos are my favorite, and when they are in bloom, it is simply breathtaking...

I am really starting to feel like I belong here though, and this place is starting to feel like home. Yes, it has problems,  but no place in this world is perfect. And when the 3 months are over and its time to board the plane to go back, I won't be on it. This is my home now, and it's where I belong. I don't believe in the American dream anymore....

Kitty, Cynthia, and Dario

Lomitos are YUM!

I think they have Coca-Cola everywhere :)

Kitty enjoying her Lomito

Chicken pasta with sausages...YUM!

Luque

Video of us in Luque

Dinner, and pool

Saturday night, I went out to dinner at a big mall place with Kitty, her brother Oswaldo, and her sister-in-law Pati. And a little while after we got there, some relatives of Pati's joined us. It was GREAT. I had so much fun. There was live music, and after dinner, we played pool. For dinner, I had Chinese food. But it wasn't an all you can eat buffet, like i thought. Most of the buffets here are priced by the kilo. So I completely filled my plate(I took a picture of it, so you have a better idea of how much food i got). It costs 9.00 per kilo, which isnt bad. I got a bit more then half a kilo, which was about 20,000 guarani's, or about 5.00. The place we played pool was really neat. It had indigenous touches all over, including Jacares, (which are like little Paraguayan crocodiles. I had lots of fun :) And i tried a new drink, called "Sangria", which is basically red wine with fruit juice and just a touch of sugar. It was really good. And i shared an order of "Lomido", which is a soft part of the cow, simmered in some kind of really nice dark sauce, and it comes with little pieces of bread to dip into the sauce when the beef is gone. Was MUY RICO(very tasty) Great night!

My Chinese :)

Lebanese and Chinese places.

Lomido

Videos:

Eating at the mall

Playing Pool :)

New chair, and a tour of the city by night

So on wednesday we went out for a late night tour of the city with a local brother and sister, saw the presidential palace and the stadium, which holds 30,000 screaming fans.  Then we went to a really nice restaurant that sells Paraguayan, Italian, and Mexican food. I got some REALLY tasty taco things and a chicken ceasar salad, kitty got an italian sandwich, and alan got a burger and fries. The next day, i went to a local chair factory and had them make me a chair and reinforce it. It's pretty nice.

Presidential Palace at night. Ill try to take one during the day, too..

The Legislative building

The Brother and Sister we went out with.

How convenient is this?

Fresh Orange Juice, and Apple Lemon Juice

Something Kitty made the next day,It's called "Salsa Fume" 

My NEW Chair!

Alan reading the ebook reader i gave him. He really likes it :)

Me in Mah Chair!

Stuff

So on Friday, we went to see about a cellphone, but didn't decide on anything. Then we went to Burger King, (for nostalgic value :)And they use the good Paraguayan meat, not that Processed, Chemicalized American stuff. Then I went to work with Kitty, and I helped the kids practice their spelling bee. It was very nice. :) Then  an american brother came over with his Paraguayan wife, and we had pizza, beer, and cake.(not a good combination) Then on Saturday, we were gonna buy the cell phone I picked out, but it rained for HOURS.  Here people don't do anything when it rains. Even though it rained alot on Saturday, it was nothing compared to what happens sometimes. Sometimes It rains so much that the streets turn into rivers, and almost no one goes anywhere, and everything shuts down. Its like a snow day back in the states, where the roads are all covered with ice, and they close everything. Then on Sunday, after the two meetings, I met some of Kitties friends, a sister from Argentina, A sister from Spain, and a sister from in Paraguay. It's really wonderful to see that wherever you are from, being in Jehovah's organization is always a common denominator, and no matter where you go, or who you meet, its like a family reunion.

They have these things everywhere :)

Mmmmmm, Don't it look good? :)

Some sort of chicken things I didn't like, and an egg covered with manioc flour and fried, which I LOVE  :)

Pizzzzaaa!

From left to right: Paraguayan sister, Spanish sister, me, Kitty, Argentinean sister.

Paraguay truly is a green country. There are trees EVERYWHERE!  Which is awesome, because there is always somewhere to go when the sun is hot...

Video:

practicing for the Spelling Bee :)

Visit to the market

I went to the market with Kitty's dad, and I got some kind of natural herbs for really cheap, a huge mortar and pestle for like 6 bucks, and a Sombrero piri.(Paraguayan Sombrero) And something funny that happened to me, was we were on our way home from the market, and kitty was on her way home from work, and she got on the same bus as us :) that was neat.

Sandwich with flat Arabian  bread :)

Toasted :)