The project is moving along and I've been busy trying to get ready for my new roommates. John (aka Mihai) and Anabeth are coming down to live here with me and go to school. Autumn and Summer will stay in White Hall with Natalie. This will take some load off of Natalie. Its not easy raising four children (and an exchange student from the Czech Republic) without Dad around. John and Anabeth can be exchange students here and learn Spanish without having to live with another family. We all win and I will not be alone.
The southern hemisphere school year is opposite of ours. They normally start the year in February and end it in December while the year goes from September to May in the northern hemisphere.
There is a school with a good reputation about 300 yards from the apartment on the next street over. It is a British based school and gives British accreditations. However, half of their classes are in Spanish and their year starts in February. I had to pass on that one.
There are three schools in Asuncion that are based on the Northern model and teach all classes, except language class, in English. All are private schools and they award recognized US diplomas. One is out near the airport which is too far out. Another costs $15,000 per year per child. The third is a school for missionary children and this is the one that they, Lord willing, will go to. They are scheduled to arrive on Friday and I am looking forward to it. We will have the weekend to tour the town and school starts on Monday for them.
Buying the tickets on short notice was not easy. The new President of Paraguay will be inaugurated on August 15. Dignitaries from all over the world are coming. I checked American and their least expensive ticket was over $2000 each. I called Delta and they wanted $3300 each. I called back to Delta an hour later and, thank God, tickets were $1400 each which is only $200 more than it costs when you buy them in advance.
The best way that I found to find out airline schedules and how much the tickets cost is to go to http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ That is a free google site that shows the least expensive flights in a matrix arrangement. You can search by route and have a 30 day range. It will post the cost and details. You cannot buy the tickets on this site and need to contact the airline directly to reserve and buy the tickets.
I ran into an interesting family this week. Air conditioning repairmen came to repair the A/C on the office trailer. He spoke English with a German accent. His Dad used to be Amish and came to Paraguay from the States when the Dad was 19. He met and decided to marry a girl who was a German Mennonite. The Dad's family said no and told him that he would not be part of the family if they married. They married. They grow Aloe which is supposed to be of a real good quality because of the dry climate in the Chaco and the rich soil. They also have a faith in Jesus that is similar to mine.
Paraguay has open arms for immigrants. There is opportunity. The economy grew 6.4% in 2011. The country is a little smaller than California and a little larger than Montana. There are only 6.5 million people. There are Germans, Italians, Estadounidensé (US citizens), Koreans, Chinese, and the list goes on.
There is plenty of construction, most of which is renovations of existing houses and structures. There are three major building projects that I know of going on. Also, the Olympics are going to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Skilled construction labor is in demand. More to come....
The southern hemisphere school year is opposite of ours. They normally start the year in February and end it in December while the year goes from September to May in the northern hemisphere.
There is a school with a good reputation about 300 yards from the apartment on the next street over. It is a British based school and gives British accreditations. However, half of their classes are in Spanish and their year starts in February. I had to pass on that one.
There are three schools in Asuncion that are based on the Northern model and teach all classes, except language class, in English. All are private schools and they award recognized US diplomas. One is out near the airport which is too far out. Another costs $15,000 per year per child. The third is a school for missionary children and this is the one that they, Lord willing, will go to. They are scheduled to arrive on Friday and I am looking forward to it. We will have the weekend to tour the town and school starts on Monday for them.
Buying the tickets on short notice was not easy. The new President of Paraguay will be inaugurated on August 15. Dignitaries from all over the world are coming. I checked American and their least expensive ticket was over $2000 each. I called Delta and they wanted $3300 each. I called back to Delta an hour later and, thank God, tickets were $1400 each which is only $200 more than it costs when you buy them in advance.
The best way that I found to find out airline schedules and how much the tickets cost is to go to http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ That is a free google site that shows the least expensive flights in a matrix arrangement. You can search by route and have a 30 day range. It will post the cost and details. You cannot buy the tickets on this site and need to contact the airline directly to reserve and buy the tickets.
I ran into an interesting family this week. Air conditioning repairmen came to repair the A/C on the office trailer. He spoke English with a German accent. His Dad used to be Amish and came to Paraguay from the States when the Dad was 19. He met and decided to marry a girl who was a German Mennonite. The Dad's family said no and told him that he would not be part of the family if they married. They married. They grow Aloe which is supposed to be of a real good quality because of the dry climate in the Chaco and the rich soil. They also have a faith in Jesus that is similar to mine.
Paraguay has open arms for immigrants. There is opportunity. The economy grew 6.4% in 2011. The country is a little smaller than California and a little larger than Montana. There are only 6.5 million people. There are Germans, Italians, Estadounidensé (US citizens), Koreans, Chinese, and the list goes on.
There is plenty of construction, most of which is renovations of existing houses and structures. There are three major building projects that I know of going on. Also, the Olympics are going to be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Skilled construction labor is in demand. More to come....
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