So close, yet so far

Paraguay is slightly, kind of, sometimes more than a little bit different than the United States.  It’s nothing crazy over here.  And a lot of things are very similar to the US but most things are just a little bit different.  For instance, food is 10x meat, 10x carbohydrates, 3x fresh fruit off trees, and one vegetable.  And I knew this coming in, but I didn’t think it would be an issue considering the entire month of January during goodbye parties galore my diet consisted of burritos, baked goods, and drinking.  But the constant grease and sugar and salt were starting to get to me so I asked my host mom for some more vegetables.  And she listened, kind of.  That night at dinner I was eating my usual chicken fried steak with highly overcooked noodles with oil and salt as a sauce and my mom came over and gave me a vegetable.  And as if it wasn’t awkward enough that I was the only one eating something different the vegetable was a raw onion.  An entire raw onion.  And because I feared that I would never get another vegetable and that the entire community would be talking about how I begged for a vegetable and didn’t eat it (give an inch take a mile) I ate it.  And blamed the tears on the onion. 

And everything else just seems to be so close to normal, and yet so far. For instance:

1)      My dresser doesn’t have shelves or a way to hang things.  So it’s basically like a large cardboard box.

2)      My fan works well.  But level 1 is the fastest and level 5 is the slowest.

3)      I have a tv.   But it only plays vhs.

4)    My room has decorations....that have no theme whatsoever.

 

5)    I have a washing machine that washes but doesn't rinse.

6)    I have ice...in cylinders. 

7)    I have diet soda.  But only pineapple flavored.

8)     I drink beer.  But everyone shares the same cup/can.

9)     There are trees outside my house...with monkeys and fruit to be eaten.

10)   We have city buses that run...without a schedule.

11)   We have a pool...that's rarely filled with water.

12)    We say bye as we pass strangers instead of hello.

13)     We wear flip flops...but only in the shower.

14)     My mom commands me to shower...multiple times a day.

15)     Kids go to school...unless it's raining.

16)     We eat dinner....at 10pm.

17)     We have pets...including dogs, cats, cows, chickens, and horses.

18)     We drive on the roads....in an ox cart.

19)     We play soccer....barefoot.

20)     We give high fives...with our hand shaped like you have a pinch of salt.

 

And we see things like this on the regular...