u/southamericasboy

I may be travelling to Paraguay in August. I was brought up in Brazil, though I'm living in Norway now.

My girlfriend and I might visit Paraguay this August (she, and also I to be fair) want to visit during the cooler months because we don't like the heat, and being Norwegian she just starts burning up lol. We're in our early 20s.

We were looking at the two obvious options, either travelling around by bus or getting our own car. The car might offer freedom, and though I have some knowledge of South America, I have absolutely no local understanding of what to expect in Paraguay if we're driving on our own, and neither of us speak any Spanish at all.

Just some online searches told us there was the possibility of petty crime and police stopping us and bribing us, especially if they saw we were foreigners. We will both look distinctly foreign I expect (she looks like a typical Norwegian, and I am darker than the average Paraguayan). Crime is something we should of course be careful about, but I suspect Paraguay is much much safer than where in Brazil I was brought up, so I have an understanding of that risk.

What's the wiser option? We do like road trips so if that's at all possible I'd love to do that.

Also, less important but still quite important lol. I have a terrible fear of lizards (the kind that are in people's houses in warm countries, and climb up walls or stick to the ceiling). Is it common to see those in houses? I am terrified of them lol.

I remember when I was 17 and my friend at school slapped my face during an argument in front of half my class, including my girlfriend. And the sheer shame that I felt in that moment was the worst kind of humiliation I could imagine. The hitter clearly felt no embarrassment in that moment, and possibly even gratification, even though 20 people had seen him assault me. Biologically, or psychologically, why does the "wrong" person feel humiliation in this kind of instance?

We all know it happened but beyond that it was a "heated argument" no one knows why it he did it. Carreras' attitude recently has been slapworthy but Rudiger feels a but unstable at times

Asking because I saw a post about El Salvadoran high school kids graduating from an elite private school and announcing which elite universities they were going to (all in the US). Link here: https://x.com/PlanBpassport/status/2051104065812058176

As you can see, all of them looked more European than people in most European countries I've visited hehe. And I have visited El Salvador once and don't recall seeing more than half a dozen people who looked like this.

I'm Brazilian and here there is of course a divide but Euro-Brazilians are a huge chunk of the population, whereas in places like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, it's a tiny percentage.

Am I reading way too much into one group of high school kids, or is this a fair representation of wealth distribution in El Salvador/Honduras/Guatemala?

20-year old Brazilian guy here. I've been in Norway for about a year, and I've been seeing my girlfriend for about five months, and she said her parents had invited me to dinner this Wednesday.

I'm a bit nervous about meeting them, and I want to make sure there aren't any awkward or embarrassing moments. I asked my girlfriend what I should take, and she said just stop by a florist. but I feel like flowers will seem inadequate. Would wine be appropriate? In Brazil whenever people are unsure they just take a box of premium chocolate or nice coffee.

Any other suggestions would also be welcome, but I don't want to look weird by overdoing it either.