Sights and sounds of our new neighborhood

Our neighborhood is relatively quiet and calm. We've done a little exploring by foot and within a 15 minute walk (if Olivia is not with us…with Olivia, easily that can turn into 30 minutes!) we can reach a large grocery store, an empanada restaurant, a pharmacy, a churrasqueria, the US Embassy, and Olivia’s preschool. Within the residential area, I've seen a travel agency, a bodega, and an art gallery.

Part of the reason why walking with Olivia takes a while- sometimes she just doesn't feel like walking anymore!

Most of the homes around our neighborhood are gated, some with razor wire (like our house) or electric fencing on top, and a few have homemade glass bottle protection. Some have solid gates or walls, while others are like ours with bars so you can still see the street/home. There are a few homes that don’t have gates at all. The homes range from super huge and fancy ones to seemingly modest homes. 

Broken glass cemented to the tops of the wall

This is the razor we have lining our house

Our particular street is paved, but many of the smaller streets coming off of it are cobblestone. It is not uncommon here for streets to be unpaved, so we have been learning which streets are to hopefully save on wear and tear on our car when we start driving! The sidewalks are also uneven on our street (sometimes a step of 6 inches or more) and there are lots of random deep holes. I’ve only taken Olivia in a stroller once and I've decided it is too much of a pain.

The streets are lined with tons of trees, including fruit trees and very pretty flowering trees. 

On a typical day, we usually see the following in our neighborhood:

• The man in his car with a loudspeaker selling chipa (a type of bread made from yucca flour, eggs, lard, cheese, and anise seed…and from what I understand blasting in the loudspeaker, he also sells crunchy ones and the ones stuffed with meat called chipa so’o). I have never been able to catch him in time, so I have no idea how his chipa are, but we hear him almost every day. When Olivia hears him, she likes to mimic him by saying “Chipa chipa chiiiiiipa, mumble mumble, chiiiipa!” And I can never get a good video- this is the closest I've gotten. He's quick!

• Men/boys riding around on a motorcycle pulling a cart collecting bottles, cans, and cardboard that we separate out and put on the street. I always try my best to set it out so they can see what is there and they don’t have to dig through the trash. 

• Stray dogs running about. Sometimes they appear to have been former pets, with ragged sweaters or collars with no tags (poor things- if they had sweaters, they were probably spoiled at one time). When they start to run toward me, I usually walk to the other side of the street (no need to test out our rabies vaccines). Olivia likes to tell me they are saying hello to her when they start barking.

• Lots and lots of construction. I don’t know if it is common in every neighborhood, but on the .5 mile walk to Olivia’s preschool, we pass by 4 active construction sites, as well as a few seemingly abandoned projects.

• Random strangers asking me if I have money, clothes, milk, or other things to give to them. Usually they ring our doorbell- they range from small children, teenagers, to older women. I always feel bad telling them I don't have anything to give, but I was advised not to. 

• We also have the trash truck that seems to come around our neighborhood every Thursday and Saturday night around 9 or 10pm in a huge dump truck, and sometimes on Tuesdays. I haven’t been able to quite figure out the schedule. Generally people put their trash out on the sidewalk in raised metal bins in front of their home, but for homes that don't have one, they just stick it out on the sidewalk and you just hope the stray dogs and cats haven't torn into them. 

The raised trash bins that are in front of homes (no wheeling bins like in the US)

Garbage on the street if the house doesn't have a raised bin

Overall, we live in a lovely neighborhood where it's actually very nice to take a stroll through on a breezy and cool day (as long as you watch where you are walking). 

Our new home

Welcome to our new home!

We have been slowly settling into our house. It’s modern, walking distance to the US Embassy, and has a great amount of space for us. We really like it despite the fact that, almost daily, we have somebody coming over to work on something (faulty pool filter, water penetrating through the exterior brick, getting an electric shock every time we used the stove…). I have to be home when the contractors or Embassy staff come over, so it’s a good thing I am not working and I don’t mind being in the house!

On the first floor, there is an office with an en suite bathroom (we are going to use this as a playroom for Olivia), a “social bathroom”, the kitchen, dining room, and a living room with fireplace.

There is also a laundry room, another small bathroom, and a housekeeper’s quarters (which actually houses a second freezer, a metal locker, our vacuum and mop, and lots of boxes) on the first floor, as well as an atrium to allow some light in, since technically our walls are shared with both our neighbors, which would mean no windows on either side of the house without the atrium. 

On the second floor are 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a living room with a fireplace. The master has a huge closet area separating the bedroom and the bathroom. There is a jetted tub that I had the horror of trying to clean (see photo below…it was so gross but I’m hoping it was mostly the orangey brown Paraguayan dirt).

Still trying to figure out the best way to conceal all the open toiletries- more baskets?

Questionable filth coming through the jets as I throw in bleach in hopes of disinfecting

Olivia’s bedroom has an en suite bathroom, and the other two bedrooms (which we will use as guestrooms for all our visitors…hint hint, family & friends!) have a shared bathroom. In one guest room, there is a queen bed, and the other has two twin beds. I don't have any photos of Olivia's room, but it's about the size of the guest rooms.

(before we put in a queen bed and moved the twin)

Guest bathroom 

Even has a bidet! And a reminder not to flush paper down the toilet!

We decided to set up our t.v. in the upstairs living room. We are still waiting on our actual t.v., and until then we are using the small t.v. that the Embassy is lending to us. Unlike in Jamaica, this room actually has an air conditioner in it, so we will still be able to sit in the room when it gets really hot.

In our backyard, we have a small covered area where we have a table and chairs and our quincho. My understanding is that in Paraguay, it is common to have a quincho (aka outdoor barbecue area) and we have already used it several times. Bags of charcoal are very inexpensive here, as is meat!

We also have a grassy area and a small pool that is gated off. It was perfect when we first arrived because it was so hot outside. Now that we are going into winter and it is actually relatively chilly, Olivia still wants to stick her feet in the pool and I have to remind her that it is too cold. It goes from about 1 foot deep to 4.5 feet deep.

In the back of the yard is another room (which we are essentially using as a toolshed for the lawnmower, pool chemicals and camping supplies, but which I would guess could serve as another household help living quarters) and a bathroom that I should probably check on and clean. 

Once we get our final shipment of stuff and actually get our things unpacked, I’ll try and post some updated photos of the rooms...if we actually hang anything on the walls!