I'm in Paraguay.
Years have gone by since the last update to this blog. Um... I've moved on from China and am now in Paraguay. I like it here. Wine is cheap, and olives too. Yum.
Anyone here in South America?
Years have gone by since the last update to this blog. Um... I've moved on from China and am now in Paraguay. I like it here. Wine is cheap, and olives too. Yum.
Anyone here in South America?
.....
My partner (female) and I spent many years living and traveling in Asia so I guess I compare South America to THAT a bit more than I ought to, but here's some observations:
1. Visiting Paraguay is still something like "falling off the map," like Pico Iyer described it in his mid-90s book. Not a lot of visitors here, not a lot of the usual things to see, and I am lead to believe that the country is empty empty empty outside of the capital.
2. The capital here has its charm. It has a crumbling centre, one large slum and a quite affluent suburban zone. There are a few fine restaurants and (I've been told) a few decent clubs and bars. We live in the centre. A highlight are Sunday afternoon walks. The place is shut up completely at that time; all the shops and restaurants are closed, the streets are free of pedestrians and cars. Last weekend we spied only a group of people getting ballroom dancing (or something) lessons in a public square, and a group of public service minded teenagers repainting crosswalks. Going only by the scene on weekends, one would think this is town of a few thousand, rather than 1.5 million.
3. I do some ESL tutoring by the hour. My partner works a job with a western firm. There is a bit of ESL work, but it is low paying. This isn't a place for work, but people DO like to retire here because one can get permanent residence without having a job just by being patient and doing the requisite paperwork.
4. It's a cheap place to live. Our two bedroom apt. costs about three hundred dollars a month. We endlessly compare prices to our time in China before coming here. And some things are even cheaper than they were in China and a list is forming: Argentinian wine, olives, papaya, bread, cheese. Everything is cheaper (much cheaper) than North America of course.
5. Starting this coming weekend we are going to start exploring the country side. Just for weekend overnight things 'cause we have to work... but we're excited about it. The enjoyableness of that will be a big factor in how we like the country overall.