back at home!

I've been having a hard time posting photos to the blog. Check for them here instead: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12391659@N00/

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What's the Big Deal About Chipa?

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When I first got to Paraguay, I, like many visitors or newcomers, didn't "get" chipa. What's the big deal? It's just bread. Why are these people so obsessed with it? For the unfamiliar, chipa is cheesy bread. Good, fresh chipa is a little bit crisp on the outside, and chewy and gooey on the inside. It is made with corn flour, mandioca starch, eggs, queso Paraguay (and pig fat, or some secret ingredient like that). It can be in many shapes and sizes as pictured. It is sold EVERYWHERE here, in little bakeries but also from ladies with baskets on the street, and guys on motorcycles with loud speakers, announcing that they are selling chipa for all the world to hear! Like I said, I just didn't get it. Then one of the members of the school board brought in bags of chipa from somewhere and...it was really good. But I went on with my life. Then, on a 6-hour bus ride, there was a vender selling "chipa caliente" and my friend bought a bag of 5 of them (th...
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A busy Saturday

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First, a quick update from last night. I tried alpaca in a restaurant. It was okay but kind of dry. Could have used some gravy. Today, Sadie and I met early in the morning, but first, I started my day with breakfast (bread, marmalade, cheese, and coffee) and met a Bolivian girl who I got to practice my Spanish with, since she knew no English! ¨Next, I got a tourist ticket and we went to Temple of the Sun, also known as Qorikancha. Lots of the spellings of ruins and such are in Quechua, which is the indiginous language spoken here, and apparently it has lots of Q´s in it! Anyway, it was originally an Incan temple but when the Spaniards came, they took all the gold and melted it down, and turned it into a church, but some of the original Inca masonry still exists. It was pretty interesting. We had plans to go to several museums this morning as well, but most things are closed for the holiday. The parade started lining up on the main street around 10am. It´s now after 6 and STILL going. I...
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James Peak

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On Wednesday, I climbed James Peak, elev. 13,294, with my mom. The last time I hiked it was when I was about 8 years old, with both of my parents and my brothers. (Consider, then, that my brothers were 6 and 4....what slave drivers those parents were! Just kidding, mom...) Check out these mushrooms we saw....straight out of the Smurfs! Although we had a detour of a 3 mile hike that didn't end up going up the mountain, and a VERY rough 4wd road getting to the actual trailhead, we had a great time and perfect weather. And Lucy, of course, was in dog heaven. Although the rock face looks quite intimidating, we hiked up around the back. The view from the top was amazing-it is the highest thing around for quite a ways! And of course, it's always nice to get to hang out with my mom, now that I'm back in town and the wedding craziness is over.
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