Anniversary
I’ve spent nearly a year in Paraguay now.
Computer lessons given: 68
Capybaras eaten: 1
Tech support house calls made: 6
Radio appearances: 3
Text messages sent in English: Probably around 600
Text messages sent in Spanish: Probably around 300
Text messages sent in Guaraní: Two or three
Trains heard, squirrels seen, and cars driven: 0
Pique infections: 2
Highest number of pigs in my yard at any given time: 6
Of chickens: 15
Of cows: 2
Of horses: 2
Of children: 9
Approximate monthly consumption of electricity: 75 kWh
Kinds of bug spray on my desk: 6
Palanganas purchased: 3
Packets of seeds purporting to be acelga: 5
Packets of seeds which actually are acelga: 2
Haircuts: 4
Cab rides to the bus terminal at 4 AM: 10
Successful departures from same: 8
Snow days: 0
Rain days: 5
Too hot to move, think, or sleep days: 200
The Guaraní word of the day is pakova, meaning banana. I am about to have heta pakova, because one of the plants in my backyard is putting out a big old stalk of them. It’s really cool to watch, not least because the developing bud looks like some kind of alien monster about to extrude a pseudopod and go searching for brains. And the day I can express that last thought in Guaraní, I’ll know I’ve been in Paraguay for way, way too long.