Here in Encarnación there is an expat group meetup twice a month. I'm surprised by the number of expats in this small city. Many of those expatriates (expats) come from Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian World Congress, there are supposedly 40,000 Ukrainians living in Paraguay. Ukrainians first came from Argentina, just across the Paraná River from Encarnacón, in the 1920s due to the economic problems at that time. They started arriving in Argentina in the late 19th century.

So, the vast majority of Ukrainians in Paraguay live in the greater Encarnación area. In fact, here in town, the church at the main plaza, the Plaza de Armas, is a Russian Orthodox Church, and one block away is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And about 4 or 5 blocks in another direction is a Ukrainian Catholic Church (I'm pretty sure it's a Catholic Ukrainian church and not another Orthodox Ukrainian church). Anyway, there was another influx of Ukrainians in the 1930s. Right after World War II, several hundred Ukrainian refugees arrived from displaced-persons camps in Europe as well as from the Ukrainian exile community in China and Manchuria, people who were forced to flee the Communist invasion. Itapúa, the department (province), where Encarnación is located, is the center for Ukrainians in Paraguay.

I provide that little history because in the expat group that meets twice a month, there are many Ukrainians, as well as people from Russia, Romania, Italy, Holland, Great Britain, Hong Kong, and I'm sure I'm missing a couple of other countries. The group meets in restaurants, a different one for each meeting. We are usually 25 to 30 people, all speaking various levels of English, all enjoying the comaraderie of fellow expats. There is also a Russian expat group and a German expat group, and both of those groups meet once a month.

We know there are quite a few more expats in the area who do not take part in these meetings, and I have met, in my short time here (I just arrived in early December), several expats who said they are not interested in hanging out with other expats. That's fine, many expats live as such so they can pretty much get away from people, in general. I saw this often in Colombia (during my 10 years in CO), and it is especially true of expats from the US, much more so than expats from all other countries.

I've now been in South America for almost 12 years and use Spanish more than English, so if I get a chance to speak English, I take advantage of it. It's great to see a small city the size of Encarnación with so many active expat groups. In Colombia, there are none that I know of that meet on a regular consistent basis.

Encarnación has a population of about 143,000 as of 2023, and the metropolitan area has about 226,000. Across the river is Posadas, Argentina, a bit bigger, and some refer to it as "Little Manhattan", which has a population of about 225,000. The two cities are connected by one bridge for cars, trucks, and buses, and a train for pedestrians. It is the only operating train left in Paraguay.

So, having read this blog, you now know a little about the expat community in Encarnación, Paraguay.