In Asuncion

Greetings from Paraguay’s capital city! I’m writing right now from the Peace Corps Headquarters in Asuncion after spending the morning on a scavenger hunt. Earlier this week, the PC trainers gave us a “mission statement” and assigned us a partner for the trip. I woke up at 5:30am, got ready quickly, and walked to the plaza just as the sun was rising. Most of my group members decided to leave at the same time, so we congregated at the bus stop and waited for the various bus lines to pass by. After about an hour and a half bus ride, we got our desired location, switched buses, and arrived at our first stop: Shopping del Sol. Shopping del Sol is basically a chuchi (fancy) mall in Asuncion; the stated reason they sent us there was to scout out the prices of children’s books, but really we just went shopping. In retrospect, Jaimee and I should have gone to the mall last, but I wasn’t sure about the directions to our other destination, so I played it safe. Unfortunately, Jaimee was having stomach issues from the moment she woke up this morning, so once we got to the mall, we made a mad dash for the bathroom. We got there just as the mall was opening, so we lingered until the most of the shops were open. I bought a cute nightie with a cat motif, and Jaimee bought a couple dresses. We ate something in the food court, and then asked for directions to SNPP, a government-run work development school. I awkwardly talked to the secretaries about the organization, and then we booked it to the Peace Corps office.

Right now I’m happy to be in air conditioning and off of those crazy buses. Next time I’m in the city I promise I’ll take pictures :)