Carnival

This Friday I hopped on a bus and traveled with my fellow AFS students to Asunción and then to Encarnación. We slept on the bus overnight and woke up close to Encarnación. The first day we first went to this really cool catholic church right by the river between Paraguay and Argentina. There we got to go up on this bell tower (not connected to the church) that only supported 6 people at a time (so warned the sign at the bottom). We got a wonderful view from there. Next we checked into our hotel and relaxed for a bit. A couple of us went looking for some lunch and ended up walking to the other side of the city to eat at SuperSeis. Although it was really far it was cool to get to see the city on foot. Around 5 the festivities began. There was a group of drummers playing samba music and people were starting to gather around the park. Our AFS guides warned us that anyone on the street was a target for shaving cream and water balloons. While walking around one of the exchange students got hit by a water balloon, but it didn´t burst. I grabbed it off the ground and chucked it back across the street from which it came and it exploded with a satisfying splash. When we got back we had a big shaving cream fight in front of the hotel. Afterward we all got together and went to Carnival, where they had essentially a giant parade of samba dancers. It was lots of fun. On Sunday we went to see some Jesuit ruins. It was absolutely amazing to see the intricate building designs and stone carvings that were all done with hand tools. I got some good pictures of the Jesuit ruins and I´ll post them sometime this week.

Had a great weekend, School starts Wednesday.
Chau :D

3er De Febrero

Today I went with my younger host brother and a friend to see a futbol match in the local stadium. It was much smaller than the other game I went to. The crowd really wasn´t that big and the stadium wasn´t in the best condition. One thing that never ceases to amaze me is what is sold at futbol games. There is your traditional pop and popcorn being sold, but there are also other things such as chipa (a traditional paraguayan corn bread) and fruit salad. There were some guys selling "milk" in the stands as well. They yell milk because they legally aren´t allowed to advertise that they´re selling beer.
Afterward we had to walk a distance to be picked up near "The Inside" (a local bar and lounge). It´s a bit unnerving to walk through CDE at night due to all the potential crime. But we were fine walking as a group. Then we went to Pizza & Cia and got some good pizza.

Tonight was a good night.

Moving.

Hey everyone.

So today at 6pm Paraguayan Time I got a phone call from my AFS liason.
Apparently I´m going to my new host family at 8pm today. So I´ve packed up all my stuff. I´m just waiting around until they get here. Next post about my new family.

Update: So far I know I have a host brother named Juan Pablo (21), a host sister named Mariana (16), and two little brothers yet to be met. The house is a smaller house in Cíudad Del Este and my host sister describes it as a humble house, but its home. :)

The car ride over from my old house was a question and answer session. We went through the basics like where I was from, how old I was, and how long Ive been here. They finally asked me the dangerous question. What is my futbol club? I asked them what theirs was first. They replied Cerro Porteño and I said "Oh thank god". People dont mess around about futbol here.

Happy New Year

Hey everyone.
Last night I went to a party to celebrate the new year.
One tradition they have here is that wearing white for new years is good luck.
Also fireworks are a big part of new years.

2010 here goes nothing.

Holiday Changes

Hey everyone.
So the big piece of news is that Im changing host families. Apparently my host parents decided that we werent the best match. So currently I am staying with a temporary host family for a couple of weeks while my original host parents are on vacation giving my AFS representative time to find me a new family. This is quite the change and hopefully Ill find myself in a better place.
*Power goes out*
Yesterday I went to the mall with my temporary host family and I saw the movie Avatar. It was very good. I didnt feel like the special effects were too choking and they looked pretty good. Im not sure if the price tag for making the movie was worth it but it was definately a good movie.
My christmas was a bit overshadowed by the sudden change in family. Christmas came and went with suprisingly little fanfare. How was everyone elses Navidad? Tell me about it in the comments :D

Thats about all for now. Chau.

Worst Power Distribution System Ever... Of All Time...

So today the power went out 3 times. 2 times due to causes unknown and 1 time due to the transformer outside our house exploding (again!) This is our second transformer in 3 months. Needless to say the power distribution system here is iffy at best. My Uncle here gave me a book that goes through the whole process of how they built the Itaipu hydroelectric plant (in english thankfully). Although its a bit heavy on the data it´s still an interesting read.

So our Christmas tree is up. I have to say it´s a little less of a big deal here as it is in the US. Putting up the tree isn´t a family activity here and the tree is shorter than I am. I can´t believe that there are only 13 days until Christmas. Just doesn´t seem like the right season for Christmas.

For those of you who haven´t heard I got accepted into the Electrical Engineering program at University of Cincinnati. I also found out that I´m lacking a required credit in pre-calculus for the engineering program. Right now I´m looking at options for online classes I can take here in order to get that credit.

That´s all for now.

Schools Out For Summer

Hey everyone. School has ended here so I'm now on summer break.
Apparently this year has been unseasonably rainy causing huge problems with agriculture, flooding of the Rio Parana, and even some problems with the Itaipu hydroelectric plant. A couple of weeks ago parts of South America had massive blackouts due to a problem at Itaipu. We seem to have the best source of hydroelectric energy in the world here, and yet we have the worst infrastructure surrounding it. The power usually goes out here at least once a week for about an hour at a time.
The other day my host parents bought something that turned out to be a surprisingly good bonding experience for us. While they were in Centro they bought The Beatles: Rock Band for the Wii. Music that's familiar to everyone and something that's easy enough for anyone to play.
Just wanted to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. Here in Paraguay Thanksgiving isn't celebrated. The US exchange students in the area here were going to do a Thanksgiving dinner but one of our members is going to be at her end of program orientation so our plans fell through. Also I think that the only thing you'll get by camping outside the stores in Centro is robbed. So much for black Friday.
That's all for now. I'll try to update a bit more regularly.

Phil to C5

Hey everyone,
So the lack of internet at home means I've had limited access to computers over the last couple of weeks. I am currently using one of the machines at the Country Club. They're fairly good but a few things are missing (like the ability to download pictures from my camera or to use a webcam).
Between golf lessons, playing frisbee with the local kids, and the newly added chess games, I'm starting to have something to do. I'm starting to become a regular at the Country Club and a routine is forming.
Things here have gotten hot. During the night it can stay in the 80s so I've quickly learned to adapt to the noise of the air conditioner. This weekend I'm heading to centro to buy some more shorts and some comfortable sandles (If I can find such a thing).
School is almost out for summer. 2 more weeks of school and then I have summer vacation :D .
That's about all for now. Update when I can.

A really big update.

Hey everyone.
For the last few days our internet has been down so I´ve got a lot to update.
Futbol:
Last thing I posted was about the futbol game. It was very rainy and we lost. Had a blast anyway. Lots of fun, enjoyed the atmosphere of the game. People chanting, on their feet, everyone clapping in unison. Definately a good experience. Also added 3 camera phone pics. from the game to the slideshow/flickr account.
Fiesta:
This weekend was Fiesta De Las Naciones at our school. Each class was assigned a country and had to have a stand with information and food for sale. We also had to march in one of the shortest parades I´ve ever done, do a dance show from our country, and demonstrate a sport typical to that country. The theme of FDLN this year was space and our class got the U.S. How convienent. Our class did a great job representing the US through our dancing, (though Native American stereotypes know no borders), and we were to only country who´s national sport wasn´t fighting. Some of the other sports presentations were absolutely horrible (Egypt having a terribly fake sword fight with cardboard swords) while others were pretty good (China demonstrating real martial arts while using such weapons as bow staffs, numchucks, and real katanas.) The guys of our class demonstrated the essentials of baseball followed by the girls who did a cheerleading routine. All in all I think FDLN was a big success.
Español:
Spanish is going well. I´m starting to understand more and more of what´s going on around me. I still find that listening into general conversation is hard because they speak a lot more rapidly, but things are moving along. The other day I realized that I can tell for the most part the difference between Paraguayan Spanish and East-Brazilian Portugese. There is a slight sound difference that you start to pick up on. Don´t know what it means, but I can tell what language it is. Another thing you pick up really quickly is listening beyond the words. Sometimes I find that I skip words while listening to people but I get the message of the missed words based on tone.
Shopping:
The other day I got to go to Centro again and do some shopping and browsing. I got myself a really nice set of pens for school. Unfortunately I didn´t have enough money with me for the shoes I was looking at so those will have to wait for another day.
Passport:
I finally got my passport back from AFS. Now I can apply to be a memeber of the country club and start golf lessons. Can´t wait.
Shaving:
One cultural thing that was brought to my attention early on is that facial hair here is often seen as unattractive. I didn´t bring my razor with me because honestly that´s one more electronic device I don´t want to have to deal with finding a converter for. So since I´ve been here I´ve started to learn the art of shaving with a non-electric razor. I think I´m starting to get the hang of it as now I can shave and come out of it with only one tiny cut instead of several all over my face.

That´s all folks...

Big Update

El Partido

I´m starting to get excited because this Wednesday I´m going with my host family to Asuncion to see the futbol game. Paraguay vs. Columbia. On Friday my parents gave me something that made me really happy. I now have my very own Paraguay jersey! Rojo y Blanco! I can´t wait. Unfortunately they don´t let people take cameras into the games unless you have a press pass so any pics that I will get at the game will be from my camera phone.

Lost and Found

Haven´t updated in a bit so I figured now was as good of a time as any.

I´m a bit annoyed right now because today after school as I was leaving I realized I had forgotten my robotics hoodie in my last class. I hurried back to the art room to find my hoodie wasn´t there. I´m guessing someone saw that I had left it and picked it up. Hopefully I´ll be able to track it down tomorrow.
On a different note tonight there is a birthday party for one of my classmates. I´m probably going to go, sounds fun.
I still haven´t been able to get a hold of the golf instructor to start golf lessons. I´m getting a bit annoyed not having any extra curriculars. Hopefully I´ll be able to get on that soon.
The package that my dad sent still hasn´t arrived and it´s been about a month. I´m starting to worry that it may have disappeared like international mail sometimes has a tendancy to do. We´ve put in an inquiry with USPS as to the location of the package, hopefully that will turn up some results.

That´s about it for now.

From Point A to Point B

Hey everyone,
As requested I´m posting a blog update.

One topic I´d like to talk about is transportation. Like the US Paraguay drives on the right side of the road. In Paraguay if you´re moderately well off you probably have a car. Many of the car brands that you see in the US you also see here (with the notable exception of GM) in addition to some European brands less common is the US (Peugeot, Citroen, and Renault). Cars are almost equally split between AT (automatic) and MT (stick shift/standard).
For those who either aren´t fortunate enough to own a car or are just budget wise there are motos. There are a lot more people riding motorcycles and mopeds here than in the US. Some of the motos you see are rusted and look like they´re going to fall apart at any moment.
If you don´t have a car or a moto the next best way to get around is by bus. Ciudad Del Este has a bus station that can take you almost anywhere in Paraguay (and some parts of Brazil and Argentina). A bus ticket from Ciudad Del Este to the capital city Asuncion will cost you 55mil Guaranies (about $11). There are also local bus lines that go around each area.
Traffic is basically a free for all. I would not want to drive in Paraguay.

On a different note today was the hottest it´s been since I´ve been here at 34 degrees (92.3 F). I´ve been told that sometimes it gets up to 41 degrees at the hottest (a little over 105 F).
I´ve got a 4 day weekend this week with Monday and Tuesday off which is really nice.
That´s about all for now.

Let´s talk money

Hello everyone. I´ve been here for over a month now and I´m starting to get used to the money system here. I thought I´d do a blog about the money here.
The Currency:
For starters the currency here is in Guaraníes ( or PYG). The currency shares its name with the native South American Guarani people as well as the native Guarani language. Currently the exchange rate is about 4930 PYG/1 USD. To make things easier most people just round to 5mil per dollar. (Note that when I use mil it means thousand.)
Coins:
Coins come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and the newly released 1mil Gs. Although all of these are legal tender only the 100, 500, and 1 mil coins are used frequently due to inflation.

Banknotes:

Banknotes come in denominations of 1mil, 5mil, 10mil, 20mil, 50mil, and 100mil gs. Once again the 1 mil gs bill is falling out of use due to several factors. 1. the 1 mil gs. banknotes are aging and many are falling apart. 2. The recently issued 1 mil gs. coin is taking its place. 3. There are no plans for future production of 1 mil gs. banknotes.

Paraguay gets the majority of its banknotes from the British security company De La Rue. The paper used for banknotes is the same paper used for the British pound as well as the Iraqi dinar.All of the exchange students I´ve talked to agree that the money here feels light and flimsy compared to the money back home. Money here is not minted regularly as it is in many countries and bills start to deteriorate after a while. Prices here are very low for most things. For example at school the normal plate lunch costs 10mil (2 dollars) and a 500ml bottle of pop will run you 3mil (60 cents).

I hope you all enjoyed this bit of info about the money here. If you want to suggest something else you´d like to hear about leave a comment. :D

P.S. Happy talk like a pirate day tomorrow.

Back from camp.

Hey everyone.
I got back from AFS camp on Sunday. It was very nice. I got to talk to lots of people I knew and started some conversations with others I didn´t. I got all my paperwork settled at the camp in order to be a temporary resident, since visas here only last for 90 days. To make that visa valid for a longer period of time you need to become a temporary resident. While at camp we all stayed in a hotel that was probably 80% reserved for AFS that weekend. It was really nice, the food was great, and they had a pool! Yes a group of us went swimming despite it being a chilly low to mid 60´s . It was a blast!
Anyway things here are good. I had a bit of good luck today when I found 20 Mil on the ground (about 4 dollars).
That´s about it for now. Pics to come later when I get the time.

On the road again.

Hey everyone,
This weekend is our 1 month AFS adjustment camp. That means all the AFS students in Paraguay who are doing a school program are going to be arriving in Asuncion at noon tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I´m getting on a bus at the bus terminal in Ciudad Del Este and taking another 5-6 hour trip back to Asuncion. It´s going to be so nice to see all the other AFS-ers I haven´t seen since our trip over here and see how they´re doing.
I´m of course taking my camera with me so hopefully when I get home there will be another batch of photos ready for the blog.
Paraguay won their match last night versus Argentina 1-0. We had a bunch of family over to watch the game. It was lots of fun.
That´s about all for now.

Game time and Class time

Today in school we got out of a bunch of classes because we had a competition between our school and other local school. I got to watch 3 games of futball and 3 games of handball. We won every game except for guys handball. The girls futball teams aren´t very good. I´m sure it would make Mary B. very angry. The schools here are so much smaller. Our whole school can fit into the cafeteria and the cafeteria is no where near the size the one at home.
On a different note on Wednesday we have our final day of Spanish class. I know that I probably need more classes but I also know that I´ve got some good help from friends. I can´t wait to finally have some free time. Everyday going to Spanish class is such a time consumer that I don´t have time to go out with friends and get any of the real world Spanish.
Thats about it for now.

My Weekend

This weekend was very eventful.

As I mentioned in my last post this Saturday my Spanish class went to go horseback riding. Turns out the place we went to had a couple activites planned for us including horseback riding. First we went on a bike ride through some dirt trails. Most of the mountain bikes had atleast one thing wrong and one of them lost a pedal halfway through our ride. After that they took us on a tour of the area via our choice of either horse pulled cart or tractor pulled cart. I stuck with the tractor. Next up was horseback riding. Everyone got a chance to ride and it was a lot of fun. I didn´t have any trouble with allergies what so ever.
When I got home it was time to get on the road to spend an night in Asuncion. I saw a bunch of cool places like the national congress building and the President´s residence. Oscar went to a reggaton concert and I wish I had known sooner so I could´ve gotten a ticket as well. Next weekend I might be going to Asuncion again to see a futball match. Bolivia vs. Paraguay. Can´t wait.
While in Asuncion they had a small demonstation of motorcycles outside the mall. By small I mean there were people crowed around the area so tight you could barely see what was going on. They had a really cool motorcycle there that had an outer ring mounted vertically so that when the driver slammed on the front breaks the motorcycle would flip over, roll, and then land upright again.
I´ll be sure to post pictures soon, but tonight I don´t have enough time.
Talk to you all later. Bye.

Mail Call and Definition of Phillip

Hey everyone.
My dad is sending me a package soon. If you have something (small) you´d like to send me get it to my dad pronto. I´d love to recieve letters from you all.
This weekend our spanish class is once again taking an adventure. This weeks adventure is horseback riding. Unfortunately I´m allergic to horses (or possibly hay) and last time I got near a horse my eyes started swelling up. Part of me is considering taking an allergy pill and my inhaler and giving it a go anyway since its such a cool opportunity. The more reasonable part of me is remembering last time I got near a horse. I´m so torn between the 2 options.

Back to the voting machines.

Hey people! It´s that time again.
This weekend I´m planning on another conference call home. Hard to believe that it´s been 2 weeks already since I last talked to you guys. Time really does go by quick. I´m once again open for suggestions for when to host the conference call.
Today we got out of school early because too many teachers called in sick short notice. We only went to school until 11:45 and then had the rest of the day off. That was really nice.
On a different note this Saturday morning I´m going to go see Monday Falls with my spanish class. Of course this means that the camera is coming with me so expect some pictures of the fall to appear sometime late this weekend.
That´s all for now.