Another New Year?

Diez, Nueve, Ocho, Siete, Seis ,… Tres, Dos Uno FELIZ ANO NUEVO!!!!!! I celebrated the new year at midnight with all the essential ingredients, friends, drinking, loud music, firecrackers, shouting and an exhausting trip home as the sun rose. A typical new year…. Minus the typical and add Paraguayan. Perhaps it was the Spanish countdown, or the traditional Paraguayan polka music that followed the countdown, or the fact that I was in the middle of a farm in rural Paraguay drinking cider and joking around in Spanish I cant seem to ever master. Was it the bbq dinner I ate at midnight (common for the new year) or maybe that my trip home was actually walking 40 minutes from the neighboring compania to my compania. All in all I had a good time, I hung out with my Paraguayan friends, ate great food and saw how another culture celebrates a holiday we too celebrate in the US. I did miss my brothers and home friends. The new years reminded me of new years past which made me nostalgic but again, a great experience.

Fast forward to the past 3 days. It was Chinese New Year this past week, a tidbit I needed to be reminded of out here and was glad to hear. To celebratre I went to visit my friend an hour bike ride away in a town called Santa Maria. If you read my Diana story, it was this Diana. Diana is an Education volunteer and the town she lives in is much more developed than where I live, think Paraguay’s version of a nice suburb. Town has one major paved road and cobblestone for all other roads. There is a dispensa on almost every corner mixed with bread places meat shops and other trade shops. Ice cream is readily available as are vegetables. There is a music institution and Paraguayan version of small universities. The people in Santa Maria tend to be wealthier, nicer houses, more disposable income and more free time. Quite different than little old Santa Librada. Anyway, Upon arrival we immediately set to work planning meals. This was the result:

Saturday breakfast: Pancakes with bananas and bacon

Saturday lunch: Ja Ja mein with pearl milk tea

Saturday Dinner:  Left over noodles (still delicious cold) with pumpkin pie for desert

Sunday Breakfast: Pork congee with spring onion

Sunday lunch: Cant remember right now, probably left overs.

Sunday Dinner: Thai chicken curry

Monday breakfast: yogurt and banana  (had to go to Diana’s reading camp)

Monday Lunch: Left over Curry and congee

Monday Dinner: pork dumplings and pumpkin pie (a whole new pie)

Everything was made from scratch because frankly, there was nothing preprepared to buy.

I had a great time with Diana and it was fun to celebrate a holiday that reminded me of home with a lot of delicious food that reminded me of home. So thank you Diana. Tomorrow morning (7am to avoid the heat) I ride back to my site with all my sauces barely fitting into my minibackpack. The whole weekend was a great reminder or why friends are important and what can really lift your spirits.

Bonuses:

Got to see Diana teach 2 classes

See another volunteers site

Have good fast internet

Eat great food!

Teach a womens exercise group a mix of hip hop and exercise

PS. Everything was great up until we realized the empanada skins we bought to use as dumpling skins were already a little spoiled before we even started using them. Then we remembered we were in Paraguay and it all made sense.