PARAGUAY, In Asunción

The bus was 45 minutes late. Too many tickets were sold so as a result people didn't have seats, the bus was overcrowded. The conditions were unhuman as the temperature outside was 40 degrees. We stopped at the Argentinian border and an hour later at the Paraguayan border (it is a big distance between these two custom offices). We arrived in Ciudad del Este and from there I took a bus to Asunción, it was another horrible and tiring trip. When I finally arrived in Asuncion at 1 am, I took a very expensive taxi to Diana's flat. She works as a music teacher in a college, before that she used to play violin in an orchestra. She travelled to many South American countries with the group, playing concerts, until she stopped few years ago and started teaching. She is a great person.
We visited the city centre this morning and afternoon (it's small) then we got caught in the rain so we went to a bar. I tried the typical Paraguayan food, for example the only in the world solid soup. I couldn't believe it was soup!! I tried "terere" (ha ha ha... what a name) - it's tea or "mate" but drunk cold, with ice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terer%C3%A9
In Asunción people carry thermoses with them too, like in Argentina and Uruguay. However, here the thermoses are big and heavy (but also very beautiful - in the picture Diana and her monster thermos). I really admire the people, I would never ever in a million years carry such a heavy thing all day round, every day.
In Paraguay they speak Spanish and Guarani (and in Asunción also Jopara). Not many people speak Spanish but all of them speak Guarani which was the main language until recently, when they added Spanish as an official language. In Paraguay you can pay with American dollars except from some small shops.
There is a huge hydroelectric dam in Itaipu in Paraguay:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam