A further thought

Yesterday I booked my ticket to Buenos Aries, I will now officially be spending the entirity of next Wednesday on a bus in order to grasp an opportunity to see the (hopefully) beautiful and unique Argentinian captial. And despite my excitement, mingled with the inherant terror I´ve felt every shaky step of this trip to date, I feel a sadness to be departing from Asuncion. Even though it has little to offer in the way of a tourist experience this city offers something unique through that failing alone. What other city (much less capital city) can realistically boast that you can walk through it without seeing another English person?
This sadness is also prompted by the fact that the project is now fully up and running, and becoming an increasingly fulfilling experience as I get to know the children and my Spanish is starting to improve. I feel incredibly proud to have been part of setting up something that I truly believe will make a difference here, and look forward to tracking the project´s development after my departure. Coupled with the fact that yesterday I finally visited the market here, which was by miles the best thing I´ve seen in Ascuncion. Finally, the ebb and flow of loud noisy South Americans going about their daily lives! A hundred time closer to what I was hoping for than the fume ridden banality of Acesso Sur. And this must be my top tip for visiting this place; go to the market, buy manyoca fresh from the stall, get a fake iPod for a tenner (a Paraguayan speciality), and learn enough Spanish to understand the noise of the gloriously stereotypical South American life around you- then you will leave this city with the warm glow of life experienced.
While I have another week here, the Jesuit missions to visit this weekend, and San Bernadino to visit next Tuesday (ie. pleanty of time to be sick to death of it all!!) I feel pretty certain in saying that this time next week I will be sad to leave this hauntingly tourist-void country behind.