Weekend Recap

I spent this past weekend in the nearby town of Ypane. It's a small, older town. A place where everyone is acquainted with one another and everything is within walking distance. It opened my eyes to a different side of the Paraguayan culture. Large gatherings of people all over the town, just sitting and enjoying eachothers presence. It was really refreshing for me to be in a place where the people could have a good time while being relaxed and calm. On Saturday night an intense rainstorm, which I referred to as a monsoon, destroyed the town for the night. Here in Paraguay, extreme weather generally leads to powerouts and the indoor plumbing to stop working. During this alleged monsoon, I was outdoors at a fiesta with my friend from Ypane. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The streets flooded and the sky turned into a light display due to the constant lightening strikes. To a certain extent, it was beautiful. A whole town without power, listening to the rainstorm and watching the lightening together. The other not so beautiful highlight of my weekend in Ypane, the scorpion next to my bed. I have never seen a scorpion and at first glance I didn't completely register that it was a real scorpion crawling on my wall. Just moments later the reality sank in and the family I was staying with in Ypane, was highly amused by my scorpion reaction. I love my home in Luque, but my weekend in Ypane was one to remember.