This is the outdoor space right before you enter the apartment building. Unfortunately, there is no green space at this place but the different trees inside and outside the complex help brighten things up. During different times in the year the Lapacho tree blooms different colors of flowers like yellow, pink, and purple.

Most houses in Paraguay have chairs right outside their living area (for my host family there’s are in the back out on their patio). Paraguayans love community and being together drinking terere outside under shade trees because it gets really warm during the day in the sun.

Around the corner is a small park with a walking/running paved path, playground, and soccer field. While parks are different here than in the US, it provides a space where I can go and exercise, pray, and think. I’ve only been here since September 9, but it’s already become a special place to go in the morning or later in the evening when the weather is cooler.

I’m so thankful to have another plaza or park a little ways farther up the road! This park is bigger than the first one, and later in the day people come to walk, run, sit and talk, or bring their children to the playground. South American plazas are one of my favorite things with seeing people come and just wanting to be together.

This picture is right outside the apartment complex door on the street. I love the cobblestone look, but it makes riding in a car very bumpy and not so fun! It is very different seeing houses enclosed by gates or walls and not having yard space is something I do miss. Having the plazas and parks does make up for not having a yard.

This picture is opposite the one of mi casa...looking out toward the street but still in the courtyard/parking for cars. I love the trees and having some greenery hang down since there is no grass at all.

Since there is not much outdoor space where I’m currently living, I’m so thankful for the many parks and green spaces around the city. Asuncion is alongside a river and has a riverwalk path that goes for miles and miles for people to walk and enjoy the sights of the city and river.