Katy en Paraguay: Una adventura nueva: Acclimating in Asuncion

Hey there! Well I have been in country officially for a month, holy smokes where did the time go?!

I still long for Vanuatu, the beach, COCONUTS, and all my folks at VKS, mi misim yu tumas everiwan!

(i spy Kate? Haha)

Asuncion is a great city! Although it feels more like a sleepy latino town, lots of green park space (not as awesome as Buenos Aires but VERY pleasant), the roads are wide, buses are cheap and pretty dependable, and the food is cheap and TASTY!

However my favorite thing is Terere. It takes my love of mate to a different level! Served cold instead of hot, with lots of ice, mashed up herbs like lemongrass and mint and drank all day....deliciousness! I officially have my own:

I have moved to into a great group house with a huge backyard, beautiful flowers, and a place to plant my herbs. So I've officially set my 'roots' down in Asuncion! It's been gorgeous, humid hot weather here with lots of sun and refreshing tropical rains, temp ranging from 80-110 (F) so it gets HOT!

Other than that just forming friendships and getting used to the schedule here! Goes like this:

Morning: try to run/exercise before it gets too hot (aka before 9am...which is difficult, pay attention)

Afternoon: work on research, read articles in the sun (w/ sunscreen no worries) and drink heaps of Terere to stay hydrated, lunch round 2

Evening: siesta (due to the heat) 4-6 pm (hora Paraguaya!)

Night: Dinner doesn't happen til 8/9pm!!!! Going out at night starts around 10/11pm and ends round 3am (if you're conservative).

Sleep: 4-8am...hence why it's hard to run in the morning!

I've been cooking up a storm, so here's the 'food porn' section of this post:

Eggplant w/ sauces n salad

This is chipa made out of manioc flour and cheese, like a lighter pao de queijo, this is at Bolsi, a well known spot in Asuncion

empanadas!!!! this fried one's made out of manioc flour n lomito (ground meat), but the baked one was palmito with cheese, sooo good!

your standard asado feast: chipa paraguaya, all different kinds of meat, boiled manioc...all goes down well with cold beer and hot sauce!

who says "you can't have the mango!!!"

passionfruit cheesecake, YES!

Lido Bar is great! Also very famous...check out their hamburger with all the fixins below!

Finally just some scenic clips from Asuncion:

Plaza Uruguay, close to my house! Great place to drink Terere

Old train station

national palace!

street art

love the architecture!

end of town

la costanera....and the beach...so sad compared to Vanuatu but a great stretch of road to run (in the grass) and a popular place to rent bicycles to ride

painted Calle Palma with a bicycle lane!

my original apartment in Lailona, which was gorgeous! Highly recommend it!

Terere in the park!

Love this! Watch out, it's mango season!

(so they could fall on you)

Just want to say that before arriving in Asuncion I had the BEST visit in Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo with Mattie, Maria T, Ana, and my fav cuz Sheri! Had an absolute blast!