Some random PY info for you on this cold rainy night

So it started raining earlier today. It has been raining off and on now for the last couple of weeks. Tuesday night was super cold, but it has been a bit more temperate since then. But since I have no desire to go out in the rain and do anything, I figured it was a good time to write a blog and pass along some general PY info that I have been meaning to get to, but just haven't done so yet!!

So for all of you Jeopardy fans, here goes...

1) The people of Paraguay have been through two MAJOR wars. The first one is known as the War of the triple Alliance and was in the late 1800s. PY fought against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay and unfortunately lost. "Paraguay was defeated in 1870 after five years of the bloodiest war in South America." (although Wikipedia may not be the BEST source, I know this time it is fairly accurate! LOL) Because of this war, Paraguay lost a TON of land (almost half of the country I think), including ocean access. Bolivia and PY are actually the only land-locked countries in S. America. It was also during this war that a large portion of the male population in PY was decimated and it was up to the women to rebuild the country. "Paraguay's prewar population of approximately 525,000 was reduced to about 221,000 in 1871, of which only about 28,000 were men." Although you can still see the Latin Machismo here, there is still a definite respect for women down here because of this time period! When a bunch of us are standing up in a full bus and a seat opens up, I am often given the seat by one of the guys standing nearby - always sweet!

2) The north part of the country is known as the Chaco. I haven't been there yet, but the second war in the 1930s was fought over this land. This too was a long and bloody war. But although PY did defeat Bolivia, they still lost some of the land due to the treaty that was made!

3) Yes, people here are still quite bitter about all the land they have lost due to these 2 wars - and rightly so I think! There is also VERY little love between Paraguayans, Argentinians and Brazilians. In fact, Paraguayans will flat out tell you that they hate anyone from Argentina! You think your college rivalry is bad...

3) PY Independence day is May 14 and Mother's day is May 15. What's interesting is that nothing really happened on May 14. I was told there was like a concert and some speeches somewhere, but it was pretty low key, all things considered. All of my friends were amazed to hear about the grand celebration that we have on July 4th. Of course one friend was quick to point out that the actual act of independence was pretty low key here. Apparently some guy from Spain came over, they signed a treaty and that was that...vs. the bloody war that the US went through to gain our independence. One can then understand our need to celebrate! However, Mother's Day is a different story. On this day, very few people have to work, and most of the shops are closed down. The restaurants are open, but usually just for a lunch buffet. Again because it was the women who had to rebuild the country, the government decided to make this the more important holiday - I think that is pretty cool actually!

4) Typical day in PY:
I have mentioned before that breakfast here is usually just coffee and bread/toast, something simple like that. They will of course have this before work.

12pm - is lunch, like on the dot. seriously, if you go to a buffet at like 1pm/1:30, there will be like nothing left!

4-6pm is called merienda here and it is basically like British tea time. This is the time for more coffee/tea and then maybe pastry/dessert...something just to tide you over until dinner.

8-9pm is usually dinner time here. I didn't think I would like eating that late, but I actually don't mind it. It is usually not a big meal though, portion-wise lunch tends to be much bigger.

The people here always think it is so funny that we eat dinner around 5-7pm. "Aren't you hungry later though?" Most people ask after they hear that. I tell them that we eat dessert after dinner and not before! LOL They will RARELY eat anything sweet after dinner, they have a strange "can't let different foods mix in your stomach" thing. Like after eating an asado (their BBQ), they hate to eat dessert b/c it won't mix well. ??? Don't ask, I am at a loss as well. They of course think it is funny that I will eat whatever, whenever! LOL cultural differences!

5) Speaking of which, after I had been here for a few weeks, my brother asked if there was something that I did that definitely made me super American, vs. Paraguayan. The first thing that came to mind was the fact that they eat pizza with a fork and knife. ????? I remember going to a b-day party at a pizza place, eating pizza with my hands and quickly realizing that was I the only one doing that! (no one said anything though) Fortunately, since then I have told everyone here that everyone in the US eats pizza with their hands, just so they know what's going on! I have even convinced a few of the guys that it is the better way to go! haha ;)

Well I had hoped to get some photos posted with this blog, but for whatever reason the photo uploader doesn't want to work - probably due to the rain/storm. Most of my photos do still get posted to Facebook, but I do also post daily photos to Flickr, for those who are interested.

hope you enjoyed the PY facts!
hugs