You just never know what you’ll find here in Paraguay.  Most of the time I feel like I’m stepping back into the days of TG&Y,or maybe like shopping at Dollar General.  To get a Wal-Mart-level of quality, you’d generally go to a specialty store and find a high price tag for these imported items.  Every now and then, a store here will buy a lot of seconds from a major chain, like JCPenney or K-Mart, but you can expect to pay several times the original price.  That’s why I got all excited recently. 

We went into one of the stores that is like a big Family Dollar, where you wouldn’t generally find nice imported stuff.  Ken was wheeling me down the aisles when we rounded the corner and found my old alma mater staring me in the face—a folding Clemson lawn chair!!  You know, the kind that packs into a bag you can sling over your shoulder.  There were only two, one from Clemson and another from Florida State.  Easy choice. ;)  I had seen a tiny version of these once in a sporting goods store here, but I wasn’t willing to pay a trillion dollars for a toddler chair.  Well, this one was about HALF the price of the US, and it was ORANGE with that lovely white tiger paw on the back rest.  I felt like I’d hit the jackpot at a yard sale!!  Needless to say, we snatched that up and it’s been a very handy thing to have—lightweight and with that strap, so I can carry it to places where I normally couldn’t go because I wouldn’t be able to just stand there for a long time.  And it gets a few stares when people want to know what's in my bag.  And then to find that this chair has a guampa holder in the armrest!!

My second favorite college is Iowa, since I have family there and we used to visit every couple of years as a kid.  I always thought that Hawkeye was cool, so imagine my surprise when we saw this trashcan on the next aisle.  We left it there, but not before getting a few stares from the worker, who surely was wondering why I’d take a picture of a trashcan.  I didn't bother to explain.  This country is full of surprises!

**Don't be alarmed at the 18,000 price tag. That's guaranies, so just under $5.