Day 3 - Mercado 4, Lido Bar, Downtown

Today was another whirlwind morning with Granny!  We headed to Mercado 4, a section of town chocked-full of street vendors. Goods from the store fronts spill onto the sidewalk, and every now and then there's an opening that leads into a maze of corridors with stores selling anything and everything.  Below are pictures that I took on our trip; Google images also has a huge selection of pics, too.

Clothes filled the walls - and the ceilings!

Empanadas and milanesa sandwiches, YUM!

Canopies kept the sunlight out while we shopped

Looking down one of the alleys at a(nother) row of shops

A few of the roads are car "friendly"

Need shoes?

Group shot - this was as good as it got!

Cassie, Bailey and Granny waiting to cross the street

After doing some bartering - socks for Bailey, shoes for Boston and Mommy - we hopped on a bus and headed downtown for some lunch at the Lido Bar (popular lunch spot; Brandon says it's overrated).

Showing Granny around the shops downtown

Yummy empanadas

Granny and our Boston girl; what a trooper she was!

  

Once we had some empanadas and fresh juice in our system, we made two final stops: "the" leather store and a local nic-nack shop.  The owner of the second shop was so taken by Bailey that she gifted her a mini-flute!

Trying out her new flute!

As of now there is absolutely NOTHING on the agenda for tomorrow. But I'm sure something will come up...

Day 2 - Black Friday

Today was the first ever "Black Friday" in Asuncion.  Other cities in Paraguay (well, at least one, Ciudad del Este) have done Black Friday events in the past, but this was the inaugural "viernes de descuento" - Friday of discounts - in the capital city.  Signs like the one below were posted in nearly every store, showing their participation in the event.

Now it did seem odd, I have to admit, to be doing "Black Friday" shopping when it wasn't the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas wasn't a few weeks away to provide a valid excuse for buying more than was really necessary.  I also didn't notice any stores with extended hours, patrons camped out front the night before, or promotional gifts going to the first 100 customers through the door.  But the weather was just right, since we are in fall, headed into winter, and it was a fun morning spent with Granny.

After Boston's morning snack, or second breakfast, whichever you prefer, we loaded up in the new double stroller (thank you, Sarah!) and headed out to face the madness.  And while the traffic was much heavier than usual and police were strategically placed to help control the flow of cars around the mall, the stores themselves didn't seem much more crowded than usual.  I take that back. They were more crowded than usual, but nothing compared to a U.S. Black Friday.

We did a little window shopping, but didn't spend much time in the mall.  I was hoping to show Granny around our neighborhood mall, but we had a streak of bad luck with the elevator.  The elevator itself is small to begin with and with the double stroller, we were going to have to be the only people in it.  Trouble was, there was never an empty elevator for us to load into.  People were actually loading into it on the ground floor (where we were patiently waiting for one to take us UP), riding it DOWN to the underground parking lots, then staying in to head UP to the higher floors.  Really?  I guess we didn't need to see the mall today, anyway.

Instead, we hit up a few boutique stores on our way to lunch and enjoyed sandwiches, french fries and ice cream (half off on Black Friday!).

As we headed home, we stumbled upon a set-up done by the city.  There was live mariachi-type music playing and booths showcasing typical Paraguayan handiwork.  Bailey wanted out of the stroller to dance and thankfully Boston fell asleep for her second, no, third nap of the day.

Granny picked up something for Papa back in Utah, and one of the vendors gave Bailey a mini-nanduti as a gift.  I think she was irritated later when I didn't buy a bigger one for myself. I got over it.

Once we got home, we all settled into our beds for a much earned nap time!  Tomorrow's agenda? Mercado 4, Lido Bar, AND Colon . . . we'll see if it all gets done! :)

Day 1 - Jungle Book

Brandon's mom - Granny - arrived late Wednesday night, so we spent the bulk of the day Thursday just relaxing around the house, unpacking the presents she brought everyone, and catching up on play time with Bailey and Boston.  After dinner, though, we ventured out to Brandon's school where the elementary students were putting on a production of The Jungle Book.

The same gym that had hosted intercolegial and the ASA Party less than a week before, had again undergone a transformation. Still with fabric lined ceilings, plastic chairs filled the basketball court (which had been covered with carpet) and a stage filled the far sideline.  The elementary art students created the jungle murals that doubled as the background and the place was filled with teachers, parents, and kids (most of whom would rather run amuck than watch the musical).

This was the first time ASA had done an elementary production and so no one really knew what to expect.  I was anxious about how Bailey was going to handle it (and if Boston would sleep through it), but we gave it a shot. After all, we can't spend our entire life cooped up inside the house!

Bailey LOVED it!  After each song, she turned and signed "more! more!" while asking: "More songs? More songs?"  Yes, baby, just wait, there will be more songs!

Boston "enjoyed" the show from the comfort of her car seat (which sported a new cover that Granny brought!).   And while she slept through the songs and screams and stampeding feet around her, it was the taxi ride home that woke her up. Go figure.

The show was no Tiffany Speck Vine Kidz production, but it was nicely done. Especially considering it was the first time the school has undertaken such a task and 95% of the students in the play are English language learners.  It was obvious from the costumes and set that a lot of hard work went into the night and we all enjoyed an excuse to get out of the house!

First Tent!

Here's another photo-walk, this time through our afternoon tent time yesterday!

Chillin' in her first tent

Silly face!

Checking the structural stability of the tent

Reading books is even more fun in a tent!

And yes, books can double as cell phones

Play Date!

Our pastor's twin girl came over on Wednesday morning to play with Bailey. Even though they're a year older, they all had a blast playing with darn near every toy we have! I'll let the pictures tell the story:

Tea time!  Well, they ate pretend ice cream, anyway.

Number puzzle

Finding all the noisy toys (of course!)

Say cheese!

Here's your picture (or in Bailey's words: "see? see?"

Coloring time

They were very focused (momentarily) on their pictures

Taking it to the floor

Multi-tasking: stretching AND coloring at the same time!

Sorting out the animal puzzle
(Bailey's b-day gift from the girls)

The girls also spent some time dancing (to Bailey's favorite "Shake Your Silly's Out" of course!):

End of an Era

This week we said good-bye to Patricia. Again. But this time I'm pretty sure it's for good.  It was a decision that was one part practical, three parts emotional, and ten parts financial. 

Playing with Patricia and her daughter Bianca

In terms of practicality, it's just plain nonsense for her to continue.  For one, Brandon's mom will be here in T-minus eight hours and will be able to help me out around the house.  Then the girls and I will be gone until the end of July.  And then Bailey will most likely be starting pre-school. While we've yet to decide if she'll attend every day, or just a few days a week, it doesn't make sense for Patricia to come and help me in the mornings, when Bailey's gone and it's just Boston and me.  THAT would be ridicules. 

The original "good-bye pic
from last December

Emotionally, I am gaining more and more confidence that I can do this.  I can take care of my children and my house and my husband on my own.  And if Bailey is gone a few morning a week to school - and Boston will still be taking a morning nap for quite some time - I'll have more "free" time to do the laundry and dishes and cleaning and such.  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

Showing her how to sweep, Bailey style

And then there is the finances.  Now, having Patricia around wasn't a huge expense.  We actually spend nearly three times her weekly wages on our groceries.  But we are planning on purchasing a car when we return in July and are unsure what that will do to our monthly budget.  And Bailey will be starting school. And I want to take Spanish lessons. And...  We just can't do it all, you know?

Helping Patricia with the leaves in the yard

I would be lying to you if I didn't admit to being a bit sad about having to say good-bye.  And while I won't miss Bailey mistakenly calling her "mama", I will miss being spoiled.  It's nice to be able to play with your girls all morning long while someone else mops your floors, sweeps your patio, washes your dishes, and scrubs your toilet.

Final good-bye on Monday

Thank you, Patricia for all of you help and the blessing that you have been to me and my children. You will be missed.

ASA Party 2012

Last Saturday night was the annual ASA Party at Brandon's school.  We've never been to the event before (and until a few days before it happened, I didn't even know it existed) so we didn't know what to expect.  I should have know that with the tickets going for 200,000 Guarani (around $45), it would be an impressive event.

Tickets for the event (also doubled as our raffle tickets)

Walking up to the school, we were met by ticket-takers decked out in black suits.  They put neon yellow bracelets on everyone (the only non-elegant element of the evening) and ushered us to the red carpet that led into the almost-complete gym.  (The gym floor itself is complete and the room completely useable, but the finishing touches are missing, as are the upstairs offices, weight room, and storage areas).

I hardly recognized the gym that had been used back in February for the Intercolegial (sports tournament).  Black fabric lined the entire ceiling - I want to know how they managed THAT - and cushy (looking) chairs and ottomans filled the room.  Each cluster of chairs was reserved for a different groups: administration, teachers, each past graduating class, and parents of current students (also divided by class).

The dance floor was illuminated with white twinkle lights, oversized stars and countless disco balls.

The dance floor itself was a series of square lights that alternated lighting up with "ASA" and other colorful patterns.

Even though the event didn't start until 9 P.M. (and we were some of the first to arrive when we walked in at nearly 9:30), a full dinner was served.  Trays of appetizers were brought to us and shortly after the buffet lines were opened up for us to enjoy Chinese food from a local restaurant (a restaurant owned by the parents of current students at the school).

While everyone visited and ate, a slide show looped continuously in the background, showcasing pictures of the original ASA facility as well as various alumni from the past 30 years.  The art students also drew caricatures of current staff, including Brandon:

The event also doubled as a class reunion for everyone that had graduated 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years ago.  It's hard to see in the picture, but they had a giant tiered cake with candles for each graduating class that was there to celebrate a landmark "reunion".  Each group was called up to blow out their candle and toast with their fellow alumni.

And if you want to see a photo of Brandon and me, you'll have to visit the local newspaper's (abc color) website and click through to the fourth picture!