Where am I???

Yesterday I took the early bus into Asuncion for a couple days of R&R. The oddest thing happened though when I got into Asuncion. I popped into the mall to pick up a few things needed for my time here and I was shocked…I was experiencing culture shock in the same country! This probably has a lot to do with the past week in site, which I will get to later, but I was in total awe of everything in the mall. The people….they were well dressed, beautiful people…women with all their teeth! The mall was warm; it smelled of perfumes and body lotions. The clothes being advertised were beautiful, I was awed by them. This is totally not me though. In the States I hated malls and was never one for those clothes. But living in the campo my clothes have all become rather shabby; either they are warped from hand washing, stained, ripped or all the above.
I had to take a seat on one of the mall benches- it was all too much! I was staring at people….who ARE these people? And for that matter, where AM I? In a three hour bus ride I had been totally transported to a new world. I feel bad now for staring the way I did in the mall, but it was the most incredible of sights.
A lot of this probably has to do with the past week or so in site. For starters, my electricity has yet to be connected by the local electric company. When we finished the house a couple guys rigged the electricity for me. As one can imagine, it wasn’t the best rigging job and lately it hasn’t really been working at all. We had a storm come in and the wind knocked a couple of the wires around so that the connection is faulty. Currently, if I were to have the light on in my house and be listening to my radio the power would flicker. However, if the fridge started cooling itself, the power would just cut off. Then I would go outside and throw a stick at the wires to hopefully get a connection back. This works relatively well, but not great. I have kind of given up on the electricity and essentially am living without any. This was quite a bummer for a number of reasons. First of all, my water is heated by an electric water heater in the shower head so that cuts out hot water. Secondly, I cook with a hotplate type contraption so my cooking has been minimal. Finally, I can’t really store food in my fridge or it will spoil. On top of this, the entire week was cold (50s during the day, 40s at night) and rainy. The sun would not come out. However, I was able to keep my spirits high. I go outside behind the house and start a little fire with wood from the forest, boil my water for tea or whatever and cook over the fire. I also boil water and use that for bucket bathing. Bucket bathing isn’t terrible; it is just slower and colder. The first night, however, when I was in the middle of a semi-warm shower and the power went out I was left with two options: take a ridiculously cold shower, or get out still soapy. So, I held my breath and took a very, very cold shower. One can imagine what my neighbors were thinking when they heard my screams when the cold water hit me. You may think I am weak, but you try taking a cold shower when your house is 40 degrees! The funny thing about cold showers is that they put me in a better mood. Maybe it’s the comical nature of the yelps I let out when that water hits me? Could it be the refreshing and restoring powers of cold water? Or maybe the better mood is the first sign of hypothermia!
Either way, I am now in Asuncion. I have a hotel room to myself, a hot shower, a package filled with goodies from the states. I finished one of my all time favorite books – The Botany of Desire, and just started a collection of short stories by Mark Twain. I am going to a nice farmers market today and supposedly they have good Japanese baked goods and Mediterranean food. How is this possible? Just the other day I was watching my neighbors boil pigs skin for dinner and today I will go eat stuffed grape leaves. I was pooping over a hole the other day next to a colony of stinging red ants (not fun!) and today I have a toilet AND a bidet. Is this the twighlight zone??