Here is the remainder of the alphabet from last week. Enjoy reading about more items and events from the past four months in Paraguay! And please forgive me for not having photos to go with every letter this week. I've tried to capture most every photo-worthy moment, I just didn't realize that a bottle of yogurt and the fruit scale at the grocery store would be such things (see below for details)!

N is for noquis, a pasta looking food that is actually a pureed potato pressed into a shell shape. It’s served just like you would pasta, just with a heartier texture.

O is for the obnoxious music that plays behind the apartments on some weekends. The music will start on Friday afternoon and play all through the weekend, until the wee hours of Monday morning.

P is for Pechugon, one of the two main chicken companies in Paraguay. The chickens that were at the chicken ranch we visited are sold to this company.

P is also for Paulistas, a Brazilian Churresqueria where they have a full salad bar plus waiters that walk around with huge skewers of meat, offering you various cuts all night long. The desserts are delicious, too!

Q is for Q-tips! They’ve become increasingly essential, as Bailey’s struggled to poop as of late. We’ll leave it at that . . .

R is for rainy days in November that are spent in shorts and tank tops, with the air conditioner running!

S is for Skype! It’s been wonderful to stay in touch with our families and friends using FREE video chatting.

T is for tartas, a pot-pie type dish that you can fill with just about anything. The cantina at school serves one with ham and cheese on a weekly basis. We’ve had several with chicken, squash, chard, pizza sauce . . .

T is also for TURKEY DAY! We had a fun day with the missionaries that lead the church we’ve been attending. Bailey got to play with their little kids, Brandon got to watch football, and we all enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal!

U is for Uno style Jenga. You have the stack of blocks like Jenga, but the blocks are colored and numbered. Just like in Uno, you have to follow the previous person’s move with the same number or the same color, only you’re pulling blocks, not playing cards.

V is for the Virgen del Carmen Despensa. A “despensa” is like a 7-11, a local shop with snacks, drinks and (some) essentials. The Despensa Virgen del Carmen is a lot closer than the grocery store so we’ve gone there a few times to pick up things we’ve forgotten (or for a late night soda run). Disclaimer: this is not a photo of "our' despensa! Last time we were there I wasn't thinking about the blog (sorry) and so I forgot to take a picture. I borrowed this pic from the internet, but you get the idea . . .

W is for weighing and pricing fruit and bread and cheese and meat BEFORE going to the cash register at the grocery store. Each section has their own scale, so be sure not to take your fruit to the bread lady!

X is for Xerox! Anything that teachers need photocopied for their classes have to be sent off campus for duplicating. This means that there is NO same-day printing. Anything you need has to be sent off at least 48 hours in advance. Talk about being forced to plan ahead!

Y is for yogurt that is only found in liquid form. It’s great for topping fruit with or drinking straight (or in a smoothie), just leave the spoon behind!

Z is for the zebra-print shoes that Bailey and Mommy adore and Daddy thinks are silly.