Long time, no...type

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Due to the time constraints on internet usage as well as some connection inconsistency it has been hard for me to keep it going. However, since Matt is here as of Monday evening, I have my computer and am able to use it anytime anywhere. So, I plan to write whenever I can with or without the net, and then just copy what I write to my blog.

Anyway, like I said, Monday evening we picked up Matt from the airport in Asuncion. So, he’s here and safe! I’m really glad to have him here because despite everyone around I’ve been a bit lonely. It has just been hard to communicate and relate at deeper levels as much as I would like. Here’s a picture of Matt and I at the airport when he arrived:

I’m looking forward to this next month here with Matt. This month will hopefully find us picking up on the language and doing a healthy amount of traveling around the city. I made contact with Marlene, a friend of Jana’s in Asuncion, and we are planning on going to her place and probably staying a night or two. She said she’d take us around the city and show us stuff. Sweet! Also, last week a couple German girls, Anja and Katie, came to the Hogar and are going to be here the rest of the time we’re here. They have invited us to come to there mission house in Asuncion. Here’s a picture of them:

Anja is on the left, she’s 19, and Katie is in the middle, 24. The girl on the right, Alisia, is one of the girls here at the Hogar.

Last Sunday on 10/10/10 was a special day, not just because of the date, but it was the birthday of the male dorm leader, Adan. I’m actually not sure how old he is, but I think upper 20’s. Anyway, a good size group of guys went out in the evening for dinner. We went to an outdoor sandwich place called a lomiteria. Here’s a few pictures from that night. The first one is all the younger guys that came plus Adan. The second is an angle showing the vendor that made our sandwiches and lomitos. I'm doing a common hand expression with Hugo in while doing you say "namongaru", which essentially means "I'll eat to that" in Guarani. You do it when you say something clever or you agree with something. And sometimes when you do it, they'll stop halfway through and say "I'm not hungry" or "I'm full" and hold their stomach just to mess with you. Of course, I do it too now. The third is a picture of what I ate, mmm.

Now actually, before we left I had a unique and tasty experience as well. While I was waiting to leave for the birthday outing, some people were sitting behind the main house cutting open and chewing on what looked like bamboo. It was actually sugar cane. I've never eaten sugar cane straight; it was quite delicious. It's also kinda of satisfying having to work to cut open the cane in order to suckle on the sweet goodness. Anyway, here's a couple pictures from that experience. The first is a picture of the full canes, and the second is me with a few of the ladies I was enjoying the sugar cane with. As you can see, I have some in my mouth. Mmm, otra vez.

Well, this post is getting pretty long. So, I'll be done. But I'll try and get another post up tomorrow or the next day. I'd like to be a little more consistent...we'll see. I love and miss everyone. God bless!