Saturday morning, we all went our separate ways to meet our families. Since I am living in Itapua, right outside of Encarnacion, I had to take a 7 hour bus ride with five other people to arrive there. It is in the south east region of Paraguay and is very nice. Encarnacion is the beach town where everyone in Paraguay comes for the summer season. At the bus station when we arrived, all of our families were waiting for us with big signs and posters, it was very lovely!
I have only had one full day in my new home, and the differences are unreal. First off, it's winter here and I have not put pants on once. Also, the main roads are not taken care of and you kind of have to drive a maze in the streets to avoid the pot holes. Drivers here are crazy and will pass you on a two lane street with an 18-wheeler coming right at them. The roads of where my house is, in a little village, are dirt and bumpy too. It's so different but it's cool. My house is quite small and there's a lot of poverty, but the neighborhoods are safe because no one has anything worth of stealing in their homes. We have three dogs and their are animals running all over the streets.
The main language spoken is Spanish, however the elderly generation only speaks Guarani, the native language. It doesn't sound anything like Spanish and is hard to understand. My parents don't speak English, but I am teaching them and they are teaching me Spanish. My little brother (14) is the translator of the household and we are very close. My sister, who's a year older than my brother, knows minimal English but she is trying. I am starting to understand more and more every day, but I'm not yet comfortable with speaking it.
That's all just from the first day upon my arrival, so there will be much more to tell as the year goes on! I miss you all!
Here is my brother and I in downtown Encarnacion, at the "beach"/river. On the other side of the river, which you can see in person, is Argentina!
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