Katy en Paraguay: Una adventura nueva

28 March 2016

Marchin' Along: Blues Fest & Healthy Cooking!

My favorite street mural thus far!

Power of the MONKEEEEEY

March.....how did it come so quickly?! Well it has and here we are wrapping up another wonderful, sunny month in South America. Paraguay is going well, I am learning more about the culture, the food, the traditions of the 'interior' (campo/countryside). The Guarani language is so intricate that I doubt I will pick up more than salutations, my head's a bit full of languages at the moment, but I respect how important it is to communicate without a translator, so hopefully during my travels outside of Asuncion I'll pick up a bit more!

I'm sorta following American politics (plastered everywhere here!) but more interested in what Obama is continuing to do (Cuba what?! Sippin' mate in Argentina? Politely addressing hecklers at a speech? Keep it up!). Honestly I'm more interested in the current political situation in Brazil, as I foresee something similar happening in the US IF (and that's a BIG IF, I mean HUUUGE) if Trump somehow wins.....Anyways, for those Americans out there reading this, look into the Dilma-Lula-Petrobras sitch....very relevant.

Recently I've been experimenting with refrigerator pickled veggies. Currently I have some spicy ginger beets and sweet dill pickles chilling while I'm out and about, but here is my first batch of carrots and cucumbers, they turned out super tasty!

I went to the International Blues Festival hosted in Asuncion. I had no idea blues and jazz are so popular in South America, with bands visiting from all over this continent!

Prince-like guitarist of Big Charlie's Blues Band (Ciudad de Este)

After party at Poniente

Rockin' it

Big Charlie himself!

Cactus bar where many blues bands played...really want to see this film now!

"And we danced all night"...yep, Costanera @ dawn

30 min later, love the color change from indigo to sky blue

street art on my way to Shopping Excelsior to fry up a post all night dance party cheesyburger!

Monocromo Art Opening

I went to a friend's art exhibition catered with delicious local stew, fried zucchini and yummy desserts! Great to see new art happening in the heart of Asuncion:

art out of recycled materials

soup in the cityscape

Ramon explaining his muse

Research n Culture

So some GREAT things are happening in Asuncion and I'd thought I'd share (shameless plugs):

1. My musically inclined neighbors are makin' it happen, PURAHEI SOUL, check 'em out:

2. My roomie Santi is a fantastic journalist and reports about everything, including Firefox offering their browser in Guarani (Paraguay's official indigenous language) and an app for medicinal plants native to Paraguay and are used daily in Terere (the mate tea I previously mentioned). Check his article out (in espanol): Remedios

3. Munchies Food truck, which I adore, has opened up a permanent establishment indoors for lunch. I tried the zucchini lasagna today with a fresh mixed peach/pineapple juice and it was amazing:

Munchies Food Truck w/ Chef Pepi, love how the van pops open!

This is some great street art...very political tho, with the US and Brazil being pigs n all:

Huelga is riot or demonstration

The whole mural across from my house

I dig

"Nature is life, take care of it"

Agreeeeeed!

The past week has been a great week of cultural and research progress....talk about some 'up' weeks and some 'down' weeks, this was a big UP!

First I ran an 8k run in the National Botanical Garden of Paraguay (Jardin Botanico). It is the loveliest space I have encountered in the city thus far...I get running along the Costanera or riverside because it's close, accessible, and safe at night when the intense sun finds her slumber (police are EVERYWHERE).

However, I hate running on concrete/asphalt/non natural surfaces, so the JB offers a lush setting with dirt paths, a zoo (I hear its sad so I won't be checking that out 'cept for the goats n emus outside), and a quirky museum. It's a bit far from my house but very accessible by bus (which I learned the hard way post event) So the story goes:

6am: I get up, eat a banana, chug some water, am so EVER happy that it's a cool, cloudy morning. I pack up and grab a taxi to the JB (I was worried the buses weren't running on an early sleepy Sunday morning)

8am: Run is supposed to start. I'm pumped, I'm hydrated, I'm checking out this 8k run and thinking, where are the obstacles advertised? and why are folks running in a loop? I find out it's a 2k loop arbitrarily constructed with some sand, a few logs, and some major ankle-snapping holes that are naturally in the park to create the 'obstacles'. Can't blame 'em for working with what you got!

8:30am: race hasn't started yet because, like everything else, the teams that were supposed to start at 7am arrived horario paraguayo (30 min late) so we can't start until they end (except that we're all using chips so why does it matter?! logistics folks!)

8:45am: we start! and it's fun for the first 4k, then the sun comes out, I get tired of people walking and blocking the path...thank you iPod shuffle for being YOU! I pound out the 8k in 42min and I feel like a champ.

wish they would give out towels instead of medals in this heat!

the start: uphill in red sand between gorgeous bamboo

I walked off my stiff legs a bit through JB and found beautiful wildlife....can't wait to spend a whole day here when it cools down! Reminds me of Iberapuera in SP but more greenery.

art installation

marigolds n palms

(sadly no coconuts)

Taro? Can you eat it?!

A bit of the zoo....

Emu!

The National Museum was not what I was expecting!

Does Paraguay have lions, tigers, and bears?!

WARNING: there are pics of random fetuses below (non human)

beware, the vicious leopard....

ok maybe there are gorillas in Paraguay....amazon style

pickled fish, anyone?

totes from the Amazon

OMG! Vanuatu flashback!!

yep, as I said....lions, tigers n bears!

George Takei: Oh myyyyyyyyy!

Um...no ocean in Paraguay....

scary

My anaconda don't want....to be pinned on the wall!

and then it gets creepy...double headed cow, weasel with litter

whale fetus...once again, no ocean access via Paraguay...nuff said

I'm a monkey in a bottle baby....

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!