Japanese, The Orthodontist, Translation, and the trip to Iguazu.

     I went with Anabeth to a recommended orthodontist this week because her retainer broke.  We got there a little early and opened the door to her office....Oops! it was her treating room and there was another patient in there.  We waited our turn and met a nice lady that was of Japanese descent.  Come to find out, she got her undergraduate degree in Paraguay and went back to Japan to get her dental degree.  There was no receptionist because she acts as her own.  She also inserts teeth where needed and the cost is 1/3 of the cost in the US while she uses a US system.  I was impressed with her work, also.
     I spoke with one of the local engineers on the project about the local work force.  They are hard workers and only break when assigned.  He did mention one problem with them.  Most of the workers speak Guarani, the native language that sounds like Japanese.  If you speak more than one language, it is obvious that translation is difficult from one language to another. On this project, it goes from American English to Spanish to Guarani.  It is easy to mistranslate and difficult to relay instructions. we are learning.
     I rented a car on Friday evening to drive to Iguazu Falls, Argentina on Saturday.  It was strange moving toward the east and feeling the sun on my left (northward) arm while driving in the morning. This is winter time down here. Think about it, the sun is in the south in our winter up north.  Here it is in the North.
   We had a little misunderstanding with the GPS and ended up in the middle of the Paraguayan wheat fields near the tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

     We had to ask about three or four different people how to get to the ferry.  (I know guys aren't supposed to ask for directions, but, what can you do when you get lost?) This is where we ended up.

     Finally, we backtracked and found where we made the wrong turn. We finally found a bus driver that said to go past the stadium and turn left.....we continued until we made it to the ferry. This photo shows Brazil on the left, Argentina on the right, and Paraguay in the forefront.

     We are headed to the Iguazu Falls tomorrow, more to come.....

     We rented a car today to escape the city.  The new President of Paraguay was inaugurated and it was also a national holiday celebrating the founding of Asuncion.  The major street (Mariscal Lopez) was shut down and the traffic was supposed to be loco today.
    We headed out at 7am to go toward Ca'acupe which is about 45 miles out of town.  There is an ecological preserve call Mbatovi on the way and I found out that they had a zip line there.  Reservations were made for 9am.
     Paraguayan roads are decent.  There are few potholes and the road surface is in good shape.  The drivers are rough.  Stop signs don't work so they use speed bumps at most intersections and along the highways in town.  Many drivers go slow and motorcycles are everywhere.  When a driver wants to go fast, they abandon caution and good sense.  It's usually the SUVs.  They are not as bad as the princes in Kuwait, but, they have about as much caution as middle eastern drivers.
     We made it to Mbatovi with about five minutes to spare and waited for the eco tour to start.  There was another couple that took the tour with us.

     They put harnesses on us and gave us instructions in Spanish.  The main instructions were to stay on the trail, do not remove any vegetation or rocks, and obey the guides.
     We walked down a trail and came to one of the cable bridges.

John on the cable bridge.

     We were not expecting this, but, it was a challenge.  After a short while we came to the zip lines and they were fun.

     

     We trekked through the monte (woods or jungle) for a while......

and then we had to hold on to a rope and go backwards over a cliff.

And the coup de grâce....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8bQS9PIfbE

(click the link to see Anabeth rappelling down)

All in all, it was a fun day. We had adventure, 

saw part of the country, and made it home safely.....More to come.....

Buses, A trip in, and Running Waiters

     There were more people at the bus stop when I was going to work on Tuesday.  I also noticed an army truck with benches (really, they were nice lawn benches) in the back and I thought, "That sure would be dangerous if they got in a wreck."
     I went to work and the normal workers were not at the site.  Strange. I went to the yard gate on the guard mentioned something about the workers' bus being late.  Come to find out, some of the bus lines were on strike.  The standard bus fare is 2000 Guarani, but, it costs the bus companies 2600 Guarani for each passenger.  The government subsidizes the bus fares that 600G and they hadn't paid in a while. The bus companies were owed $2 Million dollars by the government. The government was willing to pay it in installments or, if the bus companies bought new buses, they would pay it all at once.  The bus companies didn't like that and went on strike.  Some bus lines were running, but, there were not near the same amount of buses. The military is using duce and a halfs (2-1/2 ton trucks) to transport people along the bus lines to help.
     There are varying opinions from the locals. Some say it will only last a day and others say it will last two weeks.  We'll see.
     The "strike" only lasted a day. It's hard to call it a strike because it was more like a work stoppage.  The buses went back to normal on Wednesday.

      I pass by some very interesting brickwork on the way to work.  I have not seen so many angles made with brick.
      The weather has been cool with high in the 60's and lows in the low 40's. The sun comes up at 6am and goes down at 6pm.  It's still winter down here.  We are expecting things to warm up to the 80's next week. There are some blossoms in the trees and some are losing leaves.

     Good news is that my son, John, and daughter, Anabeth, are on a plane coming down to live with me.  We plan to send them to the Asuncion Christian Academy which has a US student schedule and are accredited in the USA. They are 17 and 15. They've flown a fair amount and know how to get around airports well.

     It was a long flight for them and the layover in Sao Paulo was tricky. At least they were able to tie in to WiFi and Skype. They arrived at 1400 and made it through customs. As normal with an overnight flight, they didn't get much sleep on the plane. They were in bed by 8pm.
     We bought SIM cards for their phones as soon as we could.  They have plans that cost around $30 per month.  The main reasons for the phones are communications around here, Google Maps and Google Translate. You can speak into Translate in English and it will come out verbally in Spanish.

   

We went to Mercado 4 yesterday and then walked down to the Lido Bar where they have great empanadas, fish soup, and fried fish.  I stay away from the soup because of polluted waterways, but, the locals say it is real good.
     We walked back to the apartment in the early afternoon and rested a little before going out again.  We had to get passport photos for the kids school and went to a coffee shop to wait for the photos.
     One very nice thing about the restaurants and coffee shops here is that they do not care how long you stay at a table.  You will not be forced out of your table even if there is a crowd waiting to come in.
     I called one of the best taxi drivers here, Ruben, and he brought us around in the evening. He speaks some English and has been driving taxis for twenty years with no accidents. The kids have his number and can call him to get where they need to know.
     We ate at La Paulista which is a Brazilian style restaurant.  We arrived at just before 8pm and there were a few people sitting at the tables.  For the most part, Paraguayos like to start eating from 8 to 11 in the evening. There is a buffet with fruits and vegetables and another with deserts. A few minutes after you sit down, the waiters come with skewers of roasted sausage, rib eye, chicken, roasts, pork, and all kind of meats. The style is translated as "Running Waiters" because the waiters come at you constantly until you have to say, "NO MAS!".

     My favorite was the roasted pineapple. They cut the outer skin off of the pineapple and cover the pińa with a light coating of  sugar and cinnamon, then they roast it over the fire. The outer part of this is cut 1/4 inch thick and it produced one of the most succulent things I ever ate.
    

Schools, Variety of People, and Labor

     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....

     It was cold last week_.  The temperature got down to 34 degrees Fahrenheit and the apartment got cold for a few days.  It appears that that was winter’s last hurrah.  We were in the upper 70’s today with a low of 60 and the skies are clear.

     I went for a walk to the main downtown mall with my coworker and we enjoyed a leisurely day.  It was a 7km (4.5 mile) walk round trip and quite enjoyable. They had massages in the mall where you kept your shirt on while getting a ten minute massage.  It was well worth the $4.50 that it cost.  

     We were cautioned to stay away from the river when we first arrived. The government built a “River Walk” in that area and moved the people out of the shanties. Well, we came to the edge of where there were moved and I was glad to get out of the area.  It was the middle of the day and we were safe, but, I didn’t like being in the area.  There were shanty houses built in and around an arroyo.  People have to live somewhere and they were there.  I don’t know what they do during the rains, but they seem to know what they’re doing.

     In my taxi rides, I noticed stop signs with arrows pointing straight, to the right, or to the left. The taxi drive seemed to ignore them and I asked, “Why?”. His response was that they didn’t mean anything.  Well, I asked a trusted taxi driver and he told me that people just don’t like to stop.  Stop signs do not mean anything here.  If you want to go, you go.  Then I started noticing speed bumps before stop signs.  At least they had to slow down.

     Here are some more photos of Asuncion streets:  

 _{The photos were taken on a Sunday afternoon, so, there aren't many people and cars in the streets. Like many cities, the sidewalks are the responsibility of the property owner.  Some are decent and most are not.  You do need to watch your step.  The streets are in fairly decent shape.  There are not many potholes.  More to come.....} 

Construction Labor Practices, Transport, and Getting Around Asuncion

The weather is turning cooler with the high in the 50s and the low tonight somewhere around 34°.
The building that I live in has guards 24/7/365. The day guard lives 2-1/2 hours away from here by bus. He works seven days a week. Occasionally, a replacement guard replaces him so that he can go home.
Construction companies operate differently here than in the States. Professionals and management are not true employees of the company for which they work. The companies do not like to pay for health insurance and benefits required by the government for regular employees.  The companies pay the supervisory and engineering professionals monthly by contract.
These professionals pay the government 10% of their salaries for income tax and benefits. They have to pay this 10% at their bank and they do not have the option to have it withheld from their pay.
The construction companies do not have a regular labor force. They will hire a foreman (independent contractor) to do a job and pay him by the job. The workers are paid by the foreman. Normally, the workers pay is unregulated because the independent contractors do not usually declare their income. (You have to have assets for the tax collectors to come after their money.) Most people do not have many assets. US companies are not used to working this way, especially in projects where background checks are required for project access.
The Paraguayan Government is getting ready to change hands. The Colorado Party is coming back into power after being out. They held the reigns of power from WWII until five years ago. All of the government agencies and bureaucracies will change leadership. That could affect our project because we will receive some materials from the States. We do not know how long it will take to get materials through Customs.
There is a limited time for shipping materials through the river.  The river gets too low for shipping during the hot months. There are no railroads that come into Paraguay from the outside. I do not know why things cannot be trucked in (that is a question that I need to ask).
The country does not have a system of payments such as we have in the USA. You cannot pay online. You can pay your phone bill, your electric bill and water bill at banks and at payment houses. You can pay by check or credit card.  Most merchants charge an extra fee for credit card usage.
I get around town by taxi or I walk.  The buses are not recommended for us to use because of pickpockets. I talked with a fellow that was born in the States and raised here because his parents are missionaries.  He rides the buses regularly and speaks both languages like a native.  He has a "geek" job, but, refuses to take an expensive smart phone on the buses.
I went to a new shopping center yesterday hoping to find a big box store or something like that.  There is no such thing here. It's mostly mom and pop stores.  If you want something from the hardware stores, you go to the front desk and ask for it.  The clerk goes to the back and brings you what he thinks you asked for. You can't see what you want and get that.
The walking is fun and healthy.  I walked five kilometers (three miles) yesterday and enjoyed it. The weather was pleasant and I saw things that I hadn't noticed when I was passing by in a cab.
The movie theaters are either dubbed with Castilian Spanish or subtitled.  All of the animated films are dubbed for the children.  I'll have to wait until I get back to the States to see Despicable Me II.  I've been told that the evening shows are in English with subtitles and the earlier shows are in Spanish.
I haven't been taking many photos and hope to have some by the next post.....More to come......

Mosquitos, Skype, and other tidbits.....

     Unlike Panama, mosquitos are not controlled here and they have plenty of them. I was raised with mosquitos, but haven't had to put up with them for years.
     One good thing about living up so high in the apartment building, besides the view, is that mosquitos tend to live and play near the ground.  The locals say that they stay on or below the third floor, that's the fourth floor in the US.  They don't count the ground floor here. I live on the fifth floor.
     Hello, my friend, DEET.  It's sunscreen and DEET for the next year.
     In other news, I found out how to get water delivered to the apartment.  It costs about the same as the grocery store, but, I don't have to carry the equivalent of a gallon a day into my apartment.
     Skype works off of my cellular service when I have over three bars on my phone.  That's nice.  It's amazing that I can communicate with home all that I want to for $3/month extra.
     I don't use it much, but, Google has a free iPhone app that lets you speak Engligh into the phone and it will translate what you say into Spanish (or other) languages. It can even speak Spanish back to you.
     A coworker back in the home office is my "ambassador". That's a neat concept. My ambassador keeps in touch and offered to send a little something that I may miss such as peanut butter. Well, I got to thinking and it's the intangible, little things that I miss besides my family. Driving, clean and nice roads, no horns blaring when the lights change and (this is a little crass, but true) I really miss American plumbing! Most, if not all, of the third world does not have the sewer systems to handle tissue paper.
      The project is slow to get started and this would be one of the best times to go see the Falls do Iguacu. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguazu_Falls) When I started to check into the best way to go, I found out that we may have to leave the country every 90 days and then reenter for another 90. This is Paraguayan law.  So, there is a decent chance that I may have reason to go to one of the surrounding countries.  We'll see.  It would be nice to be able to visit without having to pay for the visas and travel.  It looks like the costs are similar to go to the Falls or Buenas Aires. The bottom line is that I will probably hold off going to the falls until September. They are awesome.  I went there with Natalie and John Mihai when he was a year old.  I definitely want to go back.
     More to come......