Jogurt

If I knew one thing about the Mennonite colonies in Paraguay prior to my arrival, I knew that they were largely responsible for turning parts of the Chaco (a geographic region that stretches over several countries, and is by all accounts an un-farmable wasteland) into a productive agricultural enterprise. And if I knew one thing about the productive agriculturally enterprising Mennonites, it's that they have one fabulous dairy processing plant. Prior to my departure, I was actually told by one person, “if you don't see anything else, see the dairy plant. They're way more advanced than the U.S. They make drinkable yogurt.” Last I looked, the dairy processing plant wasn't on my itinerary, but I had planned on at least trying this famous drinkable yogurt.

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Friday, June 12: I bought a bag of drinkable (bebible) strawberry yogurt. Yogurt, like milk and mayonnaise here, often comes in plastic bags, at least if you're buying more than 4oz. I find plastic bags to be ultimately sensible for storage before they're opened (store in cool, dry place, free of sharp objects) but ultimately a pain once you've cut a pour-hole. Each opened bag then requires its own pitcher.

Monday, June 15: I open my liter of drinkable, strawberry yogurt and enjoy it on a bowl of cornflakes and bananas.

Tuesday, June 16: Call the corps of engineers, we're in over our heads!

I'll back up a little. My stay here in Paraguay isn't exactly a vacation, since I'm volunteering at the AIDS foundation that my family started (the family I'm living with). There's a lot to be said, but what you need to know is that this foundation is staffed largely by volunteers, and is paid for largely by donations. In addition to other services, it provides meals for HIV/AIDS patients, along with bags of groceries to take home. With more than 2,000 total clients, that translates into a lot of food. And one of these food sources is the Co-op dairy plant (making no assumptions, I expect this might be the plant I was advised to visit) so every Tuesday they have to get rid of all the unsold and nearly-expired yogurt and milk and cream cheese and butter and dulce de leche that's sitting in their warehouse.

This Tuesday, apparently, was a bumper harvest. I wish I had a picture of the pickup full of yogurt that arrived Tuesday afternoon. Or a picture of the kitchen floor, covered in crates upon crates of yogurt that wouldn't fit into the three fridges. Or a picture of the hundreds of pounds of yogurt we sent home with patients. But this one will have to do.

Wednesday, June 17: Some might call this a fridge full of yogurt. I call this my new reality. I'd brought home a modest 6 liters of yogurt on Tuesday, but the Co-op called again and sent another 6 crates our way, so my fridge became part of the overflow plan. Somewhere back in there I think I still have some bread and eggs and cheese, but I'll have to eat my way in.

Thursday, June 18: Not sick of yogurt yet. Ask me in a week.

I'm not really a fan of product placements for large American corporations, but Tony and Sam and Mrs. Müslix wanted to say hi. I'm probably just behind the times, but I hadn't seen a cereal-yogurt combo package like this before.