The last weeks

Who would believe it - our 8 months at Po have gone by so quickly and our time here is over. Of course, the events have been hectic in the last few weeks with Carolin's visit; do this again, do that again, pack, farewells... so you can't really say that the current blogs are live reports, but who will be so strict ;)

Yes, time flies, but it really became clear to us that our time here is coming to an end when we were bid farewell at work. As mentioned before, Paraguayans like to plan, but not really well, so we took matters into our own hands and decided to organize a farewell barbecue in the courtyard on a Thursday afternoon with the entire Pofi and Operation Sonrisa. Initially, some people were shocked by this idea, wondering how the Germans could host a good barbecue (the sacred Asado)?? It was suggested to us more than once to just buy ready-made burger patties and buns and go for the good old hamburger route. That would have been much easier to plan.. luckily, we had Emi, the good soul of Operation Sonrisa on our side and she immediately explained that her boyfriend Luis would be the grill master. The only thing that mattered was that we buy enough (and really enough!) meat. With the support of Mateo and Lu, who unfortunately had never organized an Asado before, let alone knew exactly how to choose quality meat from the butcher, we bought a wild variety of 20 different sausages, all kinds of meat, and those huge beef ribs (excursion see below). We brought a few German specialties, such as potato salad, herb butter, and apple cake. In addition, we proudly presented all the souvenirs that Aris's mom had organized for our various farewells and that Carolin had flown here with a heavy backpack. Of course, some of the chocolates had probably melted a few times, but that didn't diminish the joy. Everyone was really excited. It was a great afternoon, fortunately there was way too much barbecue meat, as is customary, and Hansi learned some new Asado skills from Luis and found a new friend in him.

After our road trip to Paraguay's sights, Carolin spent our penultimate working week at the Iguazu Falls. Back with us, there was still a sightseeing tour of Asunción on the agenda, perfect for our last weekend in Paraguay!

We celebrated our exuberant reunion on Friday evening with a dinner at the Mexican restaurant. We knew that the interior design was funny and exaggerated, the food was very good, and that Fridays would be crowded. But what we didn't expect was that this was where all the bachelor parties in the city were celebrated. So, it turned out that we were surrounded by people wearing fancy headgear, like funny penis hairbands, glasses, and straws. Of course, the atmosphere was really good, which ended with the lights going out after dinner and the waiters starting a Mexican square dance... yes, we had to join in and it was great.

(By the way, the sign reads 'On vacation & drunk', many of this kind were placed on all tables, and Hansi also hit his head on them a few times ;) )

The Saturday was all about the sightseeing tour of Asunción's city center, with a visit to the traditional Lido Bar for typical food, a stroll through the streets, and a visit to the Pantheon, which is probably only fully renovated for us and this occasion, and we were able to see it for the first time. Naturally, the highlight of the tour was the Presidential Palace and taking a photo in front of the Asunción sign - a great tourist attraction that Carolin initially wanted to skip because she was afraid of crowds. But as is often the case in Paraguay, we were the only tourists and had a hard time finding someone to take a photo of us. ;)

On the adjacent riverbank, we enjoyed the sunset or rather the evening sky, and what better way to do that than fly a kite? Hansi bought one for himself (and ultimately for all of us) and we played until everyone's eyes lit up and a Paraguayan boy really wanted our kite, a bit too forcefully. Without Carolin, who as an elementary school teacher knows all the tricks, he probably would have gotten it pretty quickly, maybe even a new one for his friend... But that didn't happen, which led to a drastic change of heart and a few curses. It turned out shortly afterwards: he was the son of the saleswoman, this little genius criminal :D

Of course, a family visit also meant an Asado at Oscar's place. Carolin was welcomed into the family as if she were one of them and even received gifts: silver earrings and a bottle of Paraguayan 'whiskey' for Tobi! In addition to the German souvenirs, which everyone was very happy about, there was lots of meat and for dessert, strawberries with Leche Condensada (not the German condensed milk, but rather unsweetened whipped cream) and Dulce de Leche (caramelized Leche Condensada :D). When it came to getting more dessert - we unseasoned Germans had to decline unfortunately, as some already had toothache and sugar headache - the cousin loaded up a generous portion, but this time without strawberries.

Excursion Costillas: Giant beef spare ribs for the grill. It may sound like a dream at first, but far from it. The huge bone pieces are covered with a bit of sinewy meat and then wrapped in at least 2 cm of fat. It's impossible to chew or swallow, but unfortunately also impossible to say no when the asador places it on your plate with shining eyes. It was an absolute mystery to us why Paraguayans like to eat them so much alongside all the other incredibly delicious meat.

You may remember this photo that attempts to show the true size of the Costillas:

With this knowledge, the following happened: After everyone (that is, Carolin, Ari, and Hansi, as the family no longer had the obligation to impress the asador) had already eaten way too much, such a Costilla load ended up on Carolin's plate, which was supposed to be shared. Carolin cut off her portion and Ari, fully realizing the seriousness of the situation, cut off a tiny piece and then passed the whole rest, unable to look it in the eye, to Hansi. At this point, the rest of the trip and future plans almost took a different direction, but luckily the upcoming sugar shock has helped us forget about this event. Shortly afterwards, it turned out: he was the saleswoman's son, this little genius criminal :D

Sunday, after spending the morning in our favorite park in beautiful weather, we went cafe hopping to check off the last specialties and eat medialunas. After that, we went on a shopping tour at Paraguay Kaufhof for Carolin and Ariane. We actually just wanted to end the evening with Caipis, as they have become a bit of our specialty here because Cachaca, limes, and very delicious Paraguayan sugar cane are so cheap. However, we got caught up in a very long chat with the daughter of the house, Flor (or for those who want to find out more, because she is one of the famous Instagram personalities: Senorita Mendez on Instagram). Wow, she can talk a lot, until only the Lomito (Paraguayan doner kebab) guy was still open, but that was still on our to-do or to-eat list anyway.

As part of Carolin's visit to Asunción, of course, she also wanted a glimpse into our everyday life, so the Monday was dedicated to a tour of our work, Pofi, and the halls of Operation Sonrisa. Naturally, our colleagues couldn't believe it - more than once someone exclaimed in delight, 'Igualitas!! Como dos gotas de agua' - "So alike!! Like two drops of water" or 'Look Ari, there are two of you!' The insight into our daily life was complemented by an hour of Crossfit, and finally, there was nothing more we could show Carolin in Paraguay. So she set off for Colombia, where we would join her on Friday. Our last week at work was truly beginning.

With our new Asado skills, we organized a farewell Asado at Crossfit - it has become our second family in Paraguay by now. But everything went smoothly here, a WhatsApp message later, a Crossfit buddy, Luicho, organized our farewell, including shopping and being the grill master - it seems to be more important to people here not to entrust such an important thing as an Asado to foreigners. Unfortunately, this meant that poor Luicho was completely stressed out, but he also didn't want any help. On the other hand, we had a great evening, topped off by a surprise cake. By the way, it wasn't just any cake, according to the baker, it was one of the best ever - she told us that she just couldn't bear the thought of us leaving without ever trying her famous cake. Just like everything else, the cake was really amazing and we still can't believe our luck in being able to become part of such a lovely community in such a short time! Hopefully, at least half of the people who announced a visit will actually come and visit us at Oktoberfest in Munich!

Our week was really busy and we were already very tired, but when Flor alias Senorita Mendez invited us to a completely free event for Instagram personalities, sponsored by our favorite brewery, Patagonia, how could we refuse? Of course, we were there, dressed in our nicest outfits, and were already extremely excited about an evening with Flor and free food and drinks. For most of the guests, the evening didn't seem so fun, but rather like a real 'working' evening with an insane number of selfies, photos, and videos of food and people taking bites of burgers, shallow small talk, and the constant pressure to create an exciting Instagram story from everything, while looking incredibly good and pretending to enjoy the beer. It doesn't seem as easy and fun to be or become an Instagram celebrity as it might appear. But for us, the situation was different. We ate really good food, drank our favorite beer for free, listened to the music without feeling the need to dance, and got to know really nice people who we really wanted to talk to.

(The Insta fame has reached us too ;) )

The following and final work day started with a job interview at 6 in the morning, followed by the last norm meeting and a sudden temperature change to almost 40 degrees, with a nice 10 km bike ride from the meeting to work. It didn't get any easier :D

We brought all the old stuff that won't come with us to Germany to the office for donation. The term "fundus" took on a completely new meaning and had never been so much fun. So we presented Emi and Carmen (the two most well-fed members of the whole group - they don't hide it either) in the kitchen with all the stuff and the fun started :D They tried to put Hansi's t-shirt on - 'That doesn't fit you!' they shouted at each other laughing, unfortunately, their empanda feet didn't fit into the slippers, so Emi's son will receive them, but fortunately, the belly belt fit very well around the neck! Spanish books were hugged to their chests with joy, and even one of our two Guaraní-German dictionaries was cheered, as one of them has a friend for whom it will be perfect! Photo!!

Finally, we cleared our desks and as a last act, we released our plants for adoption. Lu had already been chosen as the new plant mom beforehand, but the others were also allowed to choose one after her. And then the time had come, and there was a very emotional farewell with tight hugs! It's unbelievable how much you can get used to everything and especially to all the people here. We couldn't have been received any better and our time here couldn't have been more beautiful! Not only was the time with everyone from Pofi and Operation Sonrisa wonderful, but also all the small and big moments with the patients, asserting ourselves in Spanish at Paraguay's Norming Institute, and moments like with Carmen and Emi in the kitchen. Clearly, you can't leave without feeling a bit sad. It was wonderful!

Then we just packed our last suitcases for Colombia, emptied our rooms, and thank God we can leave everything, including our bikes, with Oscar. And fortunately, there was no farewell here yet (because we can stay with them for another week in October), the week was emotional enough. Even though we were totally exhausted, it seems like we only fell asleep because we couldn't fully grasp the whole situation yet. After all, we were supposed to be sitting on the plane to Cartagena, Colombia after a few hours of sleep!

(Spoiler, the...... :) )