But you grow to love!!
I snagged these from my friend Mark because they are so right on, and I think are applicable in all parts of Paraguay, with MAYBE the exception of some rich people in the capital city. I did add a few personal touches that tend to stretch the boundaries a tad more.
1) Sharing the same guampa and bombilla (drinking cup/bottle and metal straw when drinking Terere). In other words drinking after multiple people usually sitting in a circle and using the same straw, even random drunks and bus drivers...I may or may not be speaking from personal experience.
2) Being served and huge central trough of food among many people, and all sharing one set of silverware, or not using silverware at all!
3) Being served a plate of food on a plate recently used by someone else, and not yet cleaned. Same goes for glasses.
4) Being expected to use the tablecloth as your napkin, that is, grabbing the table cloth and wiping your mouth and hands on it. Table clothes are usually changed every 3-5 days.
5) Sharing a glass with any acquaintance remotely known, when drinking almost any beverage.
6) Eating meat that was just recently sitting on the counter (hanging in the open air or in a bin unrefrigerated).
7) Watching just about everyone go to the restroom and continue cooking without washing their hands.
8) The absence of soap in almost all public and private restrooms.
9) Nose picking in public (this apparently is not seen as something gross here). However, in my experience most who to do practice this in public, tend to scratch their inner nose, and don't actually uncover any "gold" if you get my drift.
10) Continuing to consume food after finding a bug or insect in it.
Amen.
