Thursday, February 19, 2009

A new destination

Come July I'll be moving to Asuncion, Paraguay to start a two year teaching contract at the American School of Asuncion. I have to admit I'm a bit overwhelmed by the way things are working out (especially the way my timing will go this July) and am curious as to what I have really gotten myself into (again). I'm not sure I can even explain how little I knew about Paraguay when I accepted my job (ummm...it's in South America, they speak Spanish...that about sums it up). Thankfully since then I have learned a bit more, and found a few things to be excited about.

(1) Paraguay is one of only two landlocked countries in South America (Bolivia is the other one). It is bordered by Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.
(2) The population of the country is less than that of Istanbul, about 6.8 million. The population of Asuncion is roughly 1.2 million. I did say I wanted something smaller.
(3) I'm moving back to a land of mangoes and papayas. Yum!
(4) Paraguay is the third largest exporter of soybeans in the world. Huh. Who knew?
(5) The majority of the population is bilingual speaking Spanish and Guarani. (I think I'll focus on learning Spanish.)
(6) There are only about 20 books printed in English about Paraguay. (I guess that's more than enough, just doesn't seem like that many...)

It should be an adventure!

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