PARAGUAY 2011

Hello. This is the beginning of a new chapter. I finished my second to last quarter at UCSC and am heading to Paraguay for my fourth AMIGOS summer. Those of you who are used to reading about scandalous escapades in Brazil--be warned that this will be a written account of another kind. Lonely Planet Guidebooks don't even publish a book on Paraguay, and google searches of "Paraguay" will show you little more than pictures of face-painted soccer fans at last year's world cup. All I know for sure is that one US dollar exchanges to PY$3915.42 Guaranis (!!) and the language Guaraní is more commonly spoken in the small towns I'll be visiting.

I expect to be served a lot of red meat and to drink maté, a tea from seeped yerba mate leaves. Other than that this will be a complete adventure. I leave on Friday....here goes nothing!