City Life

I’m alive! I survived a day in the city! There is much to tell about my trip but I will try and focus on what I think is most important. Yesterday the trainees were paired up and given a list of places to go throughout Asuncion the capitol city. We had to use the bus, travel around, get lunch and meet at the PC office to meet our mentors. A full day! 

The bus ride into the city is about 2 hours and consist of 2 bus transfers. To make sure we had enough time for all our activities I woke up at 5am. Met my partner and made our 30 minute walk out of our community to the bus stop. I felt like I was in a scene from the movie Zero Dark Thirty. It was a pitch dark, hot, muddy and super sketchy walk. By the time we made it to the stop my feet were covered in lush red dirt and I was sweaty all over. Not the most fun way to begin the day. The bus arrives and we hop on and even get a seat! Early bird gets the worm... 

Now the buses in Paraguay could use a whole blog post, but I don’t want to scare you. The Paraguayan bus system is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or dreamed. Its pure chaos. A few things you should know about the bus system-- The bus is never full, ever. The doors never shut so you can literally hold on to the railing and hang out the door. Its almost like a roller-coaster ride just without being strapped in. I fear death multiple times while riding the bus. Like this morning when bus driver decided to take the bus off the road causing the bus to shift to the right massively. I swore we were tipping and I had a mini panic attack. Also there are no times for the bus, its whenever and you never know when it will stop or where it is you need to stop. I am happy to announce I survived the bus today. I may of had to to hop out of a moving bus onto a sidewalk, but I survived. 

The city was neat. I really love cities and exploring. It was fun to see all the different bakery’s and shops. You could buy anything you wanted as far as food wise. It was nice to know the world does still exist outside my small rural community. There were lots of street vendors with beautiful crafts and art. Lots of american clothing stores and malls. Plenty of McDonald’s, Burger Kings and TGIF’s for your standard american cuisine. I did stop at McDonald’s for a soft serve ice cream cone and it hit the spot! Much needed. The amount of ice cream i’ve been eating is a bit frightening, but its my outlet for now ! 

At the PC office we met our mentors and hung out. It was so so great to finally meet Michelle my mentor. We went to college not to far from each other and she is from Richmond. We have talked every day since I’ve arrived in PY. We chatted about everything, ate some fruit, checked out some books from the PCV library, toured the grounds and had a nice afternoon. The PC office is really nice and they offer a lot for the volunteers. It was also really cool meeting other volunteers and hearing about their stories. 

It was a long day! I am looking forward to restful weekend of washing my clothes and going to a fiesta in my community. The host families are having a party for all the trainees on Saturday night, that should be fun! On Monday we all go to volunteer sites for 4 days to see what it’s like at post. I am really looking forward to this, I have so many questions and concerns about what a life here looks like as a volunteer. I will be sure to update you! 

Hope you enjoyed this massive novel of a post! I miss all of you and still think about you everyday! Its very hot here and I’m enjoying it. I hear its just cold cold in Annapolis! Stay warm and drink some real hot coffee for me. All we have down here is fake, watery no good coffee! 

Fun Fact- Paraguayans love american music, specifically Call Me Maybe, Titanium and Guns and Roses. I don’t understand it but I hear those songs daily. Also they love coke and sprite and lots of it!