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Sept. 29, 2006 Winter ended last Friday, September 22, here in Asunción, Paraguay. Here, of course, the seasons are just opposite the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, including the US . The names of the months are in the same order; when it’s September here, it’s September there. But the names of the seasons are reversed. ‘Primavera’ (Spring) has just begun, and ‘Verano’ (Summer) will begin in December, just before Christmas. The latitude here is 25º15” South, which means that I am only 30 miles nearer the Equator than I would be if I were in Miami . Still, given that Asunción is hundreds of miles inland, I was assuming that it would be colder here. But no, generally speaking, it’s warm even in the winter, with highs sometimes in the upper 80’s. There were two or three spells of 3 to 7 days each when it cooled off considerably, just like Miami. The cost of living here is the lowest in the world, according to some websites that I mentioned in an earlier article. My experience though tells me that that is not really 100% accurate; there are cheaper places. But prices here are very good all the same. I have a hotel room for $15 a day that would cost $40 or $45 in Los Angeles, at the least, if I could find one at all. The people here are not terribly friendly. I’m comparing my reception here, on the streets and generally, with the reception that I received in really friendly countries like Thailand, Egypt and Indonesia. I give money and gifts to many of the poor waifs that run the streets here, and they always greet me merrily, but before I started doing that, they didn’t greet me at all. When I lived in Egypt, I could go out any day of the week and meet all the adults and children I wanted to meet, whether or not I gave little gifts. My visa expires October 19, at which time I will have been here almost six months, in addition to three months that I spent here last year. I think I’m eligible for another extension, but I’d rather go back to Buenos Aires, where I will have a greater city at my fingertips without spending any more money. I can get a fine little room there for $15 also. I came here primarily to escape the cold wintry days in Buenos Aires. I was planning to journey on to Brazil, but since I have already spent 6 months in Brazil in the last year, I have to wait till January to be eligible for another 6-month visa. So, I’ll just go back to Argentina until that time or perhaps later. Once in Argentina, I may stay 6 months instead of just 3, which means I’ll have to go through the red tape of applying for an extension or of sailing across El Río de la Plata to Uruguay and back, obtaining a new visa upon reentry. Other options than Brazil are Chile and Perú. It’s just that I hate that Pacific lingering cloudiness, just like that of Los Angeles or San Diego. I’ve also been toying with the idea of flying to Malaysia as a preliminary step to going to India. Malaysia grants a 3 month visa on arrival. Once situated there, I could go to the Indian consulate in Kuala Lumpur to get my Indian visa. Otherwise, I have to send my passport to Washington, and I hate to do that, since some of my postcards to Canada got lost in the mail. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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