Continental Travels

WoW! Sorry for the long silence. A lot has happened since my last blog that you really need to be filled in on! I enjoyed a full 2 weeks roaming around Buenos Aires and the surrounding province of Buenos Aires. I enjoyed visiting the provincial capital, La Plata, as well as a small town on the river delta called Tigre. During my third week in Argentina, I took a three-hour boat ride across the La Plata river to Uruguay, where I visited the gorgeous riverside (it feels like it is seaside, the river is huge!) colonial-period village of Colonia, as well as the capital, Montevideo. Surprisingly, Uruguay enjoys a slightly higher quality of life and a much more transparent government than Argentina. Accordingly, I found Uruguay to be a middle ground among all the extremes of Argentina. Whereas Argentina is boycotts and high fashion and extravagent meals, Uruguay is average citzens going to work and spending time with their families. That said, it was also a good bit more expensive for the tourist than Argentina was, and I ended up leaving a day early because of the unexpected expenses.

Returning to Buenos Aires, I still had a week left before my flight to the US and was feeling bored and missing my "family" back in Paraguay immensely. On a whim, I decided to take the 20-hour bus ride back to Asuncion to visit with Enrique and Mirna(his sister) for a few more days. It was an incredibly happy and unexpected reunion. To celebrate, we made (of course) all the typical Paraguayan foods that I knew I'd be missing in the months to come. The days with my near and dear seemed to slip by far too fast. Poignantly, my last day in Paraguay I spent at Enrique and Mirna's house while they were both at work. This just happened to be the day Paraguay faced off with Japan in the world cup, and I watched along with the rest of the country throughout the incredibly suspensful game! After a full game and overtime, both teams were playing excellently and there were still no goals made. Finally, the penalty kicks started, and Paraguay emerged victorious. It was clear that the Japanese were crushed. Yet I agreed deeply with the announcer when he said that this poor little South American country had suffered so many letdowns, setbacks, and wrongs, that they truly deserved and needed a little boost. Paraguay was in the top 8! The post-game commentary was nearly as exciting as the game itself. All around me, I could hear people throughout the city cheering and setting off guns and fireworks--it was like New Year's! On TV, I could see that the downtown area of Asuncion was filled with the largest gathering of Paraguayans in one place in history. Both in South Africa and in Asuncion, Paraguayans were literally dancing, singing, cheering, and hailing their flags in front of the cameras. I've never seen so much Paraguayan emotion at once. From such a humble people, such a huge victory was incredibly moving.

I went back to Buenos Aires just a day before my flight back the Washington DC. There, after nearly 3 years, I finally reunited with my dad, mother, brothers, and of course, the family dog. Again, very appropriately, I arrived just in time to celebrate July 4th in the good ol' US of A!

Since then, I've been busy sifting through the boxes of things I'd left behind, giving away the old and purchasing the new. I have been catching up with old friends, as well as more than 2 years worth of unanswered mail, unattended bank accounts, delayed doctors appointments, and other general management tasks. I've been helping out at the ice cream shop where I held my first job at the age of 15 (lucky for me minimum wage has gone up since then!). I've been spending a lot of quality time with my brothers. And I just got LASIK surgery! (Finally, no more glasses!!!) To top it all off, I've been getting ready for graduate school!

I have been admitted and registered to study International Agricultural Development at the University of California beginning this fall. On top of that, I also found out recently that I have received a full-tuition scholarship to study Agriculture at Wageningen University in the Netherlands! While Wageningen is definitely the better option financially, I am keeping both options open for now since there may be visa issues with the Netherlands. If I do end up going to Europe for school, I will be leaving around August 16!

I will keep you abreast of my final grad school decision.

Thanks again for reading about my adventures in Paraguay. I hope you've taken something valuable away from my attempts at communicating my experiences.

Cheers!

Megan