Argentina 2

One of the most amazing cultural differences is the Argentine “night life”. The main plaza becomes ALIVE at midnight. Pizzerias and Ice Cream shops are packed with people and the street looks just as crowded or more so than noon time and it’s after 12:00pm! My teens LOVED the adventure, but Edson preferred his little bed. Unfortunately we were staying 20 km. away in the campo. So…the teens got the late night experience, and Edson got dragged around town in a daze.
The restaurants bring tables and chairs out onto the sidewalks and people from church are here and there, also eating pizza, having pop or ice cream and it’s like this HUGE party downtown. There is also other stuff, of course, that makes us look a different direction, but the cultural difference from Paraguay is that downtown Asuncion…NO ONE is out so late at night. Fancy restaurants are opened in the nice section of town, but “night life” in Asuncion is not a “good life”. Oscar and I were wondering if it was because of the strict dictatorship government of 20 years back where it was mandatory to be off the streets by 10:00pm or you could get shot or just “disappear”.
We went to Maria and Pastor Brachica’s house another night. They made us a barbeque. At 9:30 pm she asked me what time it was. I said…9:30. She said, “Oh, it’s still SO early!” The meat was still red and I was ready to crawl in bed, but Argentine’s start eating dinner at 11:00 pm. For the first time, my kids ate Chivo, goat meat. It was very good! By 12:30 pm when she brought the dessert out I was fighting with a sleepy baby and trying not to sleep myself!
The main food we ate for four days was MEAT, MEAT AND MORE MEAT! My kids didn’t even ask for meat the first two days we came back, just soups and salads.
I am thankful for the time we spent visiting, meeting people, seeing old friends, etc. But, I am glad to be home!
Last night we went to bed at 8:30 pm…the Argentine’s would be preparing their afternoon snack at that time!