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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

New friends, good times

Sorry for the lack of updates. For those of you who don't know (and I am assuming most do),I just lost my Father last month, and well, it has been the hardest thing I have ever had to face. Even though me and him did not usually see eye-to-eye on things, I loved him SO much, and now I just feel like a big part of me is gone. But what can I do? I have to keep going. I know I will see him again, and that is just about the only thing that brings me comfort. Well, enough about the sad stuff.

Let's see, what all have I done lately? I went to some kind of rock guitar performance, went out to eat a couple of times with friends, went to a Spanish assembly, and had a really nice family gathering. Something else I have been doing lately is going out in service all day with my new friend and the coordinating elder of our congregation, a

REALLY nice German brother named Eike. He's extremely interesting, and we talk about all kind of things, history,  music, the current state of world affairs, just about anything really. I think I've found a new friend :). I've also made friends with another really nice German brother and his wife, who is also an elder, and an American brother and his wife, who is ALSO an elder(him, not his wife :P)

Lately I've been a bit bored, as Kitty is at work most of the day, but at least I've been trying to keep busy by doing housework and whatnot. I'm still hoping I can find some sort of teaching job, but I still need to finish my papers, so I can legally work.

So I wanna take a minute to say a few things(complain) about the bus system here. Yes, it takes you all over the country, and there are bus stops everywhere, but they are some of the noisiest, most bumpy rides you can imagine. You don't need a chiropractor adjustment, just get on one of these buses for a little while :P
It's especially bad when they drive on the roads that are not paved. My goodness, I think I've flown a couple feet in the air many a time when it hits a large bump.
I have to say though, the buses are always an adventure. There are always people getting on and off the buses, selling everything you can imagine, from fruit and bread, to remote controls for televisions. It seems Paraguay is the entrepreneur capital of the world. There is literally people all over selling things. It;s kind of sad though, when you see people get on and beg for money. I remember the other day, a women got on who was blind and both her arms were crippled. Of course, I didn't have any extra money that day. I do try to give to people who really need it, but some people just beg because they are lazy and don't wanna work. After all, they ARE Paraguayan. And sometimes it's a bit scary on the bus, like the other day when it was late at night, and some guy got on, his arms covered in blood, begging for 20 cents. The bus driver gave him money just to get him off the bus. A drug addict, most likely. You see some really crazy stuff sometimes.

Pens we had made to commemorate our wedding :)

An Argentinian Brother






My darling wife :)



My mother and law and nephew are in the middle




Some kind of souffle,Spinach maybe?



Guiso


A concert




It was our 1 month wedding anniversary, and I didn't have any real flowers :(



Cerveza Time!


People here LOVE Coca-Cola!










No, I'm not lactating :P
I had the beer can in my top pocket for a little while. I call it the "beer pocket"





Videos:


Family gathering 1
Family gathering 2
Family gathering 3
Guitar performance 1
Guitar performance 2 (having problems uploading this one. it's the longest, so check back later if you wanna see it)
Guitar performance 3

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Another outing, and a Day at the museum

So the other day we went to hang out with Cynthia and Dario and spent some time with his family. (They are Kitty's sister and brother in law.) We drank beer, and ate pizza, and it was really fun. They are some of the nicest people you can imagine, and we really enjoy spending time with them! They live in a place Called Luque, which I have mentioned before. I just want to say a few things about Luque. It is a REALLY nice place to live, the people are so much nicer there, it is fresher, less hot, cleaner, has less bad smells, the roads are better, even the people are different. They are harder working, they even try to keep the streets clean. There is still a bit of trash in a few places, but it has WAY less then Asuncion... Anyway, I love visiting, and would love to live there eventually.


Also, the other day we went to a museum about Paraguay, and it had some stuff about colonial history and whatnot. It was pretty interesting stuff.



We prepared a special dinner for Cynthia & Dario's 5th anniversary....






PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAA!!!









Me, Kitty, Dario's dad, His mom, Cynthia, and Dario









Legislative building of Paraguay


Colonial bench

Colonial Chairs

A really old Canoe...

Some kind of robe?

Chamacoco Indian Artifacts

A headdress I think

Not sure....
Its a wolf!
Bows










Tops


This is a  statue of Carlos Antonio Lopez




The chair of one of the Paraguayan presidents, forget which one.

Paraguayan Voting methods. It started with the urn, then progressed to the glass box in the middle, then ended up with the one at the end.
Military uniform belonging to Eusebio Ayala, Paraguyan president during the Chaco War, November 7, 1921 – April 12, 1923

Antique typewriter, think is also belonged to Francisco Solano

The desk of Francisco Solano Lopez, Paraguayan dictator who started the War Of The Triple Alliance, in which 90% of the adult male Paraguayan population was killed. In total, Argentina and Brazil annexed about 140,000 square kilometers (54,054 sq mi) of Paraguayan territory: Argentina took much of the Misiones region and part of the Chaco between the Bermejo and Pilcomayo rivers, an area which today constitutes the province of Formosa; Brazil enlarged its Mato Grosso province by claiming territories that had been disputed with Paraguay before the war. Both demanded a large indemnity (which was never paid) and occupied Paraguay until 1876.

Not sure what  this is...


The Paraguay river...

The old Paraguayan Senate room...

A view of Paraguay from high up...

Isn't this the most beautiful Pomegranate you have ever seen? It came from the tree outside...

Videos:

Chilling With Cynthia and Dario and His Family
A Dog