Shopping in Asuncion (no Target or Trader Joe's here!)

Shopping in Asuncion has been very easy and convenient- the biggest challenge is discovering and exploring all the options. There is everything from small neighborhood bodegas and shops to large supermarkets and stores, as well as several large shopping malls.

Olivia liked the Ace Hardware for their fancy rolling baskets

One of the things that I have liked so far about the supermarkets is the bakery. In every grocery store we’ve been to, there are fresh breads in big giant bins that you can select from and then they charge you based on the weight. It’s also incredibly inexpensive! We’ve gotten baguettes, rolls, and rustic breads. Most recently, I bought a loaf of crusty rosemary bread for 20 cents and it was delicious!! They also have large meat and produce sections, endless aisles of pasta (but no boxed mac n cheese like in the US), and a very large tea/mate section.

Similar to Kingston, you can't bring the shopping carts out of the grocery stores we've been to, so there are employees that push your groceries to your car and then we give them a tip

The deli line at one of the local supermarkets

We found one supermarket that has the car shopping carts! Now if only we can find one that has those "shopper in training" carts like some Trader Joe's in the US

Olivia wants to buy a package of chipa paraguaya mix

We also checked out a gourmet meat shop called Punto Carne, as well as several Asian grocery stores, including Hannil (Korean market), Sakura (Japanese market), and Casa China (Chinese market). The Asian grocery stores are very, very, very tiny but I’m grateful they even exist- they are definitely not 99 Ranch or HMart.

We have also had the chance to visit a few markets. There’s a weekly market that is held on one of the levels of a shopping mall parking garage. It’s called Agroshopping and though the prices seem higher than the supermarket, I have been told that the produce lasts longer. I’ll be curious to see what they have once we are out of winter.

I love those little bananas- they call them bananas de oro here but they are pricier than the normal bananas. The produce above was about $12...and the corn was disappointing. :(

We also went to Mercado de Abasto where everything comes in gigantic sacks and huge crates. My guess is many people shopping there are buying for small bodegas or to take to smaller towns. One of my friends bought onions, bananas, and potatoes there, but it was so much that she gave me several pounds of what she bought. If I were feeding a huge family, perhaps I would shop there but I don’t anticipate needing 50 lbs of potatoes anytime soon!

We walked around Mercado 4, a very busy and lively market where you can find all sorts of things, including food, live animals, clothing, fabric, and spices. When we went, we were in the tea and herbs section of the market before we ran out of time and had to head out. We plan to check it out more another time. I didn't take any pictures because I didn't feel comfortable whipping out my phone, but maybe another time. Apparently there is a movie called 7 Cajas that is based in Mercado 4 that I’ll have to track down and watch.

There are also several malls in town, including one that is expanding and a new one that just opened up.  They are super fancy and have huge food courts, movie theaters, ice cream shops, and expensive stores. Olivia’s favorite part- riding up and down and up and down and up and down the escalators!

We bought Olivia an ice cream cone for $1.50 and I didn't realize it was a double scoop!!

The brand new fancy shopping mall

Olivia could just spend all her time riding escalators 

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! 

Onward to Paraguay!

We have officially been in Paraguay for 2 months! I obviously failed at my last attempt at writing on a more regular basis, so here we try again (and maybe I’ll one day fill in the information about Kingston, our time in DC, and home leave in CA)! I’ll try to break down our first two months in a handful of posts (but we’ve seen how well that worked in the past, so no promises!).

The trip from LAX to Asuncion spanned 48 hours, including a one-night stopover in Miami and a layover in Sao Paolo, Brazil. We started our journey on April 4th, traveling with 6 checked bags (3 suitcases, 3 duffles), 3 carry-ons, a stroller, and a carseat. There were parts of the trip that were stressful but on the plus side, Olivia did well on the flights, we had free in-flight entertainment from LAX-MIA which was a surprise, and we were seated in the bulkhead/Main Cabin Extra seats from MIA-GRU (the photo below is Olivia in a regular seat from LAX-MIA. Very little leg room, and absolutely zero give once the seat in front was reclined).

We also paid for access to the American Airline lounges, which was great for having a calm environment to be in amidst all the chaos of traveling. They have a kids room which allowed Olivia to talk and wander and play without disturbing all the business travelers. Olivia played with a new friend from the UK who had just gotten done with a Carribean cruise. 

Our layover in Sao Paolo was also relatively painless. We spent that time in the lounge where we were nearly the only people there. Adam and I both got showers in so we didn't feel too grungy for the next half of our trip and Olivia was happy to walk around with zebra and stretch her legs.

We arrived in Asuncion on April 5th, 2016 at around 2pm (Asuncion is currently on East coast time). From my perception, the airport seemed extremely small, even compared to the airport in Kingston. The walk down to the gate and baggage area happened so quickly, I didn't even get a chance to take any photos saying "Bienvenido a Paraguay." Next time we fly in!

We were met at the gate by two staff members from the Embassy who helped expedite us past customs and immigration. It was quite hot during our first couple weeks here and I remember Mabel (one of the Embassy staffers who met us) telling me that it was sweater weather as sweat dripped off my forehead. It has gotten much cooler since then (in the 60s, so winter parka weather!). I’m sure after a very hot summer, I may be saying the same thing, but for now, I’ll enjoy the Paraguayan fall and winter weather!

After we left the airport, it was a half hour drive to our new house!