The bar

There's not a whole lot to do in Parramos aside from visit the local bar. The place is called La Familia which is fitting since it's run by a great local family. You have just as much chance to be served by the middle aged owner or his ten year old daughter, just depends on who happens to hear you come in. The family is super sweet and always greets me by name when I come in (though despite what this may indicate, I don't go there often). The nice thing about La Familia is that it caters to the volunteers. The beer is super cheap ($1.30 a bottle) and their hours are flexible depending on if we show up or not. If we feel like having a few drinks until 1am, they'll happily keep the doors open until we stumble home.

The other night we went out to celebrate Myriam's birthday. Myriam is one of my housemates and ranks up there as Most-Likely-For-Shawn-to-Visit. She lives in Switzerland close to the French border and speaks a slew of languages which I find very cool. I have a good connection with her since we have a similar sense of humor and are both incredibly good-looking, so I swallowed my pride and borrowed some money for beer so I could help her ring in her special day.

Danny (also my housemate! She's from Germany), Hannah, Myriam, Dr. Nicole and Holger

Me, Erika (the volunteer coordinator), her giant Swiss husband Sandro, Sam and Danny

You know it's a good bar when you can bring your dog in with you. It always stresses me out when she follows us there because she has no concept of road safety and nearly gets creamed at least twice on the way. It's nice to have her to walk home with at night though.