There are somewhere between 7 and 12 foods that make up the bulk of the Paraguayan diet. Most of those foods are made of the same things. Most of them are carbohydrates with some oil or fat added. A lot of them involve meat.

What amazes me is how excited Paraguayans are to eat these traditional foods. Despite the repetition, Paraguayans I’ve eaten with talk about sopa paraguaya like it’s a rare delicacy and chipa like it’s the “be all, end all” of foods. Chipa sells like wildfire at the soccer games and on the commuter buses.

Terere and mate is the same way. The Paraguayans I’ve drunk mate or terere with have probably drunk it almost a million times, but they still comment on how good it is every single time.

I wish I could enjoy the same food over and over again. It would make dieting a lot easier. I can’t even eat my favorite foods with the frequency that Paraguayans eat their traditional foods. How does one develop such an appreciation for life?