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.