Uraway in Uruguay

Greetings to my fans....ok that's a stretch but I've always wanted to say it. (and just as a sidebar: any of you followers who are following privately please let me know so I can add you to my mental tally...) This post comes a little later than usual because to say this past week was a whirlwind of activity is an understatement. I completed my first week of classes at UCA, traveled to Uruguay and once again tried to learn some more about Buenos Aires.

Sunset in Colonia

Any first week of anything is usually full of adjustments and new experiences. But take a new experience, add in a foreign country, sprinkle in a foreign language, a pinch of people from other foreign places, and a little bit of 'lost in translation' and boy do I have a recipe for something interesting at school. For starters, to say that classes are different here is an understatement. Over the course of the week I traveled to my four classes and realized how different I have it at Richmond. For starters, forget books. Sure, this is what any student wants to hear- it eliminates backpacks, countless hours on Amazon.com searching for a decently priced used book and all the hassle associated with lines at the bookstore. Instead, students and teachers alike in South America prefer photocopies. Sounds harmless enough, right? Wrong. Now, I'll be the first to say I'm not some tree-hugging eco-friendly connoisseur so it's not even the fact that this preference will involve most likely thousands of pages of paper over the course of the semester. It doesn't even bother me that I can't play bargain shopper looking for the best deals on used books. The biggest transition is that every single student at UCA heads to one of two 'fotocopiadoras' (photocopy rooms) to obtain, copy and pay for their documents. And, a word to the wise (or in my case something I should have realized): you can't wait until you get into your apartment, after classes, to think about the reading for tomorrow's class...All the photocopying aside I will mention the computer system. Most students don't have their own laptops, or if they do they don't normally bring them to school. Fine. Understandable. However, no one really has printers at home either. I get that too. Yes, there are computer labs but, being that this printing business is really a business you actually have to buy and bring your own computer paper to the computer lab if you're looking to print anything else. It's actually quite hilarious to watch people hunched over their computers, trying to pull up their PDF files simultaneously digging in their bags for the exact number of pages to load into the printer, dashing to the printer to insert the pages before an error message occurs or worse yet (*queue the horror music) before someone takes your paper to print their own documents!!!!! Needless to say this whole system will take some getting used to....

Sidestreet in Colonia

In honor of the first full week of classes, Jen, Helen and myself headed to dinner on Friday night. We chose a spot recommended by a past study abroad student that was a mere 11 blocks from our apartment in Palermo- La Cabrera. This upscale steakhouse was a blend of traditional Argentine parrilla and an innovative take on America's obsession with 'sides'. Before I go further let me just assure everyone that you know what I'm talking about when I say sides. I mean that when you order anything in the states- a hamburger, a steak, a pasta dish, heck even a glass of water- you're going to get a side. For better or for worse (I haven't decided on this one yet) Argentina just doesn't believe in this ideal. You order tea or coffee- you aren't getting milk (unless you order it and pay extra for it). You order a steak, it's a steak- and a great one at that. Pasta may be the only exception to their lack of a la carte being that you will usually be handed a nice packet of sprinkly cheese. But so I digress. To say that the 3 of us enjoyed playing 'foodies' at dinner is an understatement. From identifying how to remove the garlic bulbs from the roasted head that was served with the bread, to identifying what was in each of the half dozen tiny ramekins that came with each meat entree we really could have given any food critic a run for their money- on technicality of course given that no 'froo-froo' terms were used. My only complaint about that night was getting to the restaurant before the long wait began because those people were pacified with champagne and beef skewers...guess now I know for next time :)

Colonia

Saturday morning began early (a little too early if you ask me) but then again we were traveling to a different country. That's right I said a different country....ok now I'll get over myself. We left the apartment at 6 am to make our way to a port where we would be taking a quick hour long ferry ride to cross the water and enter into Colonia, Uruguay. But, no voyage with 5 girls is ever that simple. We were able to enjoy a lovely (unintentional) walking tour of La Boca- the neighborhood where the port was located- thanks to a bus driver who felt like ending his route a little early. Aside from the foggy backdrop and the bars still blaring music that we passed on every street corner it was really a lovely way to see La Boca without any people...you know take in the scenery and all that jazz. After one of the most ghetto 'security and immigrations' run through I have ever experienced I crossed into Uruguay with another stamp in my passport. Our weekend began in Colonia- a quaint cobblestone-ladden village on the water that evoked tones of home: a "Chatham-like" lighthouse, a 'Yacht Club' that put HYC to shame (well not really), and a car show full of Fords and Chevrolets...definitely a much needed deja-vu of home :) After exploring the cobblestone side streets, venturing into a church and grabbing a bite to eat at Sal y Pimienta we embarked on an activity of the wild and crazy designation. We rented a golf cart (the preferred means of transportation) and for one hour bolted down the coast (I use the term bolted generously here) where I navigated the 'waterfront' properties of Colonia, pulled over on a beach and snapped photos in front of an old bull ring. After dinner at El Drugstore (note: the name had nothing to do with the cuisine) we were able to catch a marvelous sunset before we made our way to our first hostel in Uruguay, something we had booked online less than 48 hours before. I now understand that when you are paying the equivalent of $15 USD for a place to stay it does not mean that heat is included...sleeping in layers became a common theme of the weekend.

Plaza in Montevideo

The next morning we woke up early once again to take some cold showers, tip toe around the 4 other people staying in our room who we never met (guess that's what happens when you go to bed at 10:30 pm on a Saturday) and make our way to the bus station to begin our 2 hour trip to Montevideo- Uruguay's capital. For those of you who think that a bus ride is more than dull let me just let you know that this bus ride may not have rivaled the cama buses but what unfolded during the short two hours was interesting. A mere 15 minutes from the station we were all woken by a the screech of brakes and a thud. As most males stood out of their seats to inquire what had happened with the bus driver, there was no doubt we were in a little fender bender. I wasn't concerned for us as much as I was for whichever little rickety 2 door car from the 80s we tapped in front of us. Sure enough in a few minutes we were pulled to the side and a police car could be seen. However, the little mishap (which resulted from one car which stopped short initiating a chain effect resulting in us tapping the back of the second car) was dealt with unlike any accident I have seen in the states. It was clear no one was injured but I'm not sure if anything was exchanged between drivers with the exception of a sip of mate because within 5 minutes we were back on the road like nothing had ever happened. We found our next hostel without any problems and were guided outside, up 2 fire-escape like flights of stairs, to our 6 person room. Our 'Magic Treehouse' style bungalow was equipped with 2 blankets on each bed and by this point we understood why. We grabbed our cameras and headed out to conquer the town! Not so much. I guess Sunday isn't really a hopping day in Montevideo. Despite the beautiful plazas and scenery we were able to photograph, there were underlying tones of the scene in Shrek when Donkey and Shrek visit a deserted Far, Far Away. The only difference: no people jumped out from behind anything and started singing songs. We basically had the run of the place to ourselves. We were able to find a few other souls at dinner that night but that was about it. That's okay though because Monday was going to be a day of museums and culture! Once again we jumped down from the 'treehouse' we were staying in to get some directions to local museums when we found out that museums are open Tuesday-Saturday. Is this strike 2 now? We certainly weren't going to let this get us down as we headed to find more plazas, went inside the beautiful 'Iglesia de Santa Maria' and enjoyed a cup of tea outside. We did find a museum of sorts in the TaTa- the local chain of supermarkets in Uruguay where you can buy everything from dry goods to Dora the Explorer mugs. I don't feel that bad about the fact that this was one of the highlights of our day because I consider it one of those 'getting to know how the locals do it' experiences. As we headed back to the hostel to grab our luggage we ran into the free 'Uruguayan Military Museum'- hoorah! You can't say we didn't all try to seem downright excited about this piece of Uruguayan history....

So after successfully bussing and boating ourselves back to Buenos Aires last night it was back to reality today. Classes started up once again amidst the lingering effects of heatless winter nights in Uruguay...

Buenos Noches from my warm bed!!

xo

Per