Living Abroad Makes You Crave The Weirdest Things

This past weekend José and I had to make a quick trip to Argentina because with my Paraguayan tourist visa I can only stay in the country for 90 days at a time, so off to Posadas, Argentina we went. Friday night we spent the night in Encarnación, a city about 2 hours south of where we live and just across the border from Posadas. 

Encarnación is the third largest city in Paraguay, and its home to the one of the best "beaches" in this land-locked country, a popular summer get away spot for Paraguayans. It is one of my favorite cities in Paraguay. Whenever I visit one of the bigger cities in Paraguay (Asunción, Encarnación, Ciudad del Este) one of the main things I look forward to is ... food! One of the things I struggle with most while living in a different country is food. I miss things like bagels and cream cheese, IPA beers, Maryland blue crabs, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and good sushi. Living in another country also makes you crave the weirdest things, like Burger King, a place at which I rarely eat in the United States. The second I knew we were going to Encarnación all I could think about was a double bacon and cheese Whopper and onion rings.

Saturday we headed across the Paraná River to Posadas, only a quick 10 pesos ($1.25) bus ride from Encarnación. We spent the day eating wandering the city, relaxing in plazas, drinking Argentine beer and taking advantage of the spectacular exchange rate, 1 peso equals 12 cents American. Let's just say José had to keep me in line when it came to shopping or I would have walked away with the whole mall.

 *all less than $20!

The Pearl of the South: Encarnacion, Paraguay

Next stop for the Matney family was Encarnacion, Paraguay, which is located in the deep south of Paraguay on the Argentine border. You can see the city of Posadas, Argentina right across the river. First stop when we got to town was the newly built Costanera on the Paraná River. This is the closest thing to a beach there is in land locked Paraguay and honestly it is pretty awesome. There are a few food places right on the sand, volleyball courts and a long, winding boardwalk.

The next day we wandered a little outside of the city to Trinidad the site of impressive ruins of a Jesuit Mission. Founded in 1706, Trinidad is said to be the most complete set of ruins in the area, with all of the aspects of a functioning mission and in 1993 it was made UNESCO World Heritage site. I was not expecting much before we got there, given the state of tourism in Paraguay, but I was thoroughly impressed. There is a small welcome center at the entrance with an introductory video and small exhibit of photos and artifacts. They have tour guides available at your request. The ruins themselves were also quite interesting and they were in a surprisingly  well-kept state. 

Final stop on the Matney family vacation : Asuncion, Paraguay!

Summer fun.

There is a joke in Paraguay .... There are 9 months of summer and 3 months of hell, and I am happy to say that I just made it through my first full 3 months of hell aka Paraguayan summer. Let me tell you, it was HOT. I've never experienced that kind of heat before. Therefore lots of my free time was spent sitting in the shade drinking t-ray ... not blogging. So I thought I'd give you an update on things I did this summer.

First I went to a Paraguayan wedding! My host brother was the one getting married. It was actually a super nice wedding and we danced all night until about 5am. It was a ton of fun.

Me and some of my host family before the ceremony

Bride and Groom after the Ceremony

At the reception!

 I also went down to Encarnacion, a city in the south of Paraguay, that has the biggest Carnaval celebration in the country. One of my fellow volunteers Yihana was actually dancing in the parade! It was so much fun, Encarnacion is a great city, if feels very different than the rest of Paraguay.

Me and Yihana before the parade!

My neighbor kids have been bugging me for months to make pizza for them so one day when I had all the ingredients I finally did. We made the dough from scratch, and I even splurged and bought pepperoni at the grocery store! It was delicious.

Mariana and Me with the finished product

Elena chowing down.

Fatima 

Finally last week I was given (without really being asked) a cat. I hadn't really planned on having a pet here, but she is just so darn cute I can't give her up now. I haven't thought of a name yet, ideas are welcome.