Party Time

The slowness. It's the slowness that takes time to understand. You may miss it entirely; vacationers on their own special schedule, expats who attempt to create a 'life speed' here that matches what their used to.

You may be thinking of the slow pace of a rural and Latin flavored small village. You know, chickens rooting around, someone napping under their hat. It's not slow like that.

Much has been bandied about regarding the cumbersome government bureaucracies or ineffective business practices. Foreigners often 'have' the solution. I've heard it myself as well as from reading other people's reactions: "If only Uruguayan businesses would ..." or "What Uruguay needs is......".
Not only are these views reasoning a way to make what they've found more like what they've left, they are also way off about how simple any adjustments would be.

Ford Club Wagon. Special rides are everywhere.

I feel like business, achievement, cultural sensibilities and governmental intrusions are all linked. You can't change one without effecting the others. People are still polite here. I know, everyone thinks they are too, but polite society means overall and all or nothing. If your society is overall not very polite, that's what will come through. Individual instances are not relevant. 
People appear to value their time over achievement. Not doing anything, within the context of purposeful life, is just as important as doing something. This is no small fact.
Many people, even here feel the gov. could do more, but change is slow and recent history is full of disastrous missteps. The fact is Uruguayans have voted in a left government for a second time since the historic victory of the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) which includes the political faction of the Tupamaros, the revolutionary force who's persistance helped to topple the military dictatorship.
Progress is being made, but slowly and that seems best.

Sure, I'd change some laws to even up the tax and pension situation immediately just to feed the poor and get people indoors, but it's not up to me.

Lots of dancing and flags at 'La Llamadas'

La Llamadas (la  ja-ma-das) means something like the calling. It's named for the drumming which is the main activity of these events. One neighborhood would call to another and the former slave population, who's primarily responsible for this culture, would gather.

Friends dragged me off to this street party (I tried to beg off, after all it was something like 10:00 pm!) and we walked some 15 blocks to get a view. People rent balconies, similar to Carnaval or Mardi Gras for a better view, but we pushed ahead at one crossing.

posing for pictures was the best part

 We missed a lot of the parade, but it was a lot of fun. The actors were all great about posing with us for a photo. After hours of walking and dancing, they were all in excellent spirits. I couldn't help thinking they'd be annoyed. I still have so much adjusting to do.

Even the cops were cool.

Next time: Relaxed Marijuana Laws in Uruguay

A Little Bit

I took on a long overdue (and dreaded) task today. Our kitchen will be replaced one day. Until then I am trying to spruce it up some.

A bunch of tile were so loose I just plucked them off.  Putting them back is not as easy. They need to be scraped fairly clean. I broke a few in the process.

The cement behind was mostly sand. I had removed what was loose and filled and flattened to add some strength.

Since I don't have enough of this old tile, I concentrated on big areas like this one. The rest I decided to just smooth over with a finish coat ('revoke' as it known here) any areas that needed cut pieces.


This area by the patio door is a prime example. It looks pretty shabby like this.

There are still some cracks to fill, but painting is not far off.  

The cabinets are a disaster. I will probably just do something about the fronts to hold us over for a while. They will be history one day. 

Vacation: Part One

Janine and the boys headed out to La Paloma for two weeks of surf, sun and sand. I will join them next week. We'd reasoned that as the house was the fullest with the friends we've shared this rental with (and the kids), I would be more comfortable staying just the second week. I'm not sure if I'd have rather gone or not, but it didn't seem up for discussion. I'm settling in for a quiet week.

Since seeing everybody off, I've been puttering around here; cleaning up WMP and my music files, watched Zeitgeist again, straightening out the shop, dishes, etc.

I took a 'quick' trip to the mall. I knew an art supply there would be open. I have been trying to illustrate some design ideas I have for the Coffee Shop.  I have this vague notion of theme; sort of French bistro/patisserie/small European town bar with added bolder details a bit like some downtown Manhattan or trendy Brooklyn haunts. I am thinking of a specific color group to start. I have even found colors similar on an old staples box and the old font used might fit right in.

I'm not handy enough with computer graphics to put something together. That may change. I've downloaded some programs and will continue with the tutorials. Maybe I can produce something there.

For now, I know I can draw a bit and have been wanting to paint for some time. I'm starting slowly, but I feel like something enjoyable is beginning. I started with some acrylics and the brushes I had. The result was pretty, well it looks like my first try.

Today, I have bulked up a bit, spending $400 pesos on more paint, illustration board, tape and a few teeny, tiny brushes. I'm gonna paint some more.

One way or another I will put some of my ideas about the look of our coffee shop on paper so we can discuss it. And by discuss it I mean congratulate me on the beauty and genius of it and wholeheartedly signing off on our new look.

OK, maybe not every day

Well, you all knew it (both of you). 
So without further ado, here's a rundown of some happenings of the week.


I went with Vincent and friend (Bruno Origgioni, Italian enough for ya?) to a concert of one of our favorite bands. Cuarteto de Nos are from right here in Montevideo. The drummer must live near us as we see him on the street quite often. The show was awesome even though their longtime leader has just left the band. His brother stepped in as front man and with the addition of a new guitar and a new keyboard player they sounded great as ever. Vincent and the group of friends he met up with and I were the rowdiest in our area. It was loads of fun and we walked there and back. A great open air venue , Teatro de Verano, right on the Rambla.

We also had an asado at a friends. Nice and easy, great food and company, a typical Uruguayan afternoon. The kids are a little shy and didn't interact much.

 



Today it's returning to rain again and there's a chill in the air. Ugh.

Square Feet vs. Sq. Meters: Round One

Ding. There's square feet in U$D, (what you are likely used to), sq. ft. in Pesos Uruguayos (frankly, not much call for that), sq. meters in Dollars and sq. meters in Pesos. Those last two being used here the most.

The major elements of property ownership; maintenance, renovation, and resale are populated with costs that vacillate between pesos and dollars constantly. Then there's the dollar/peso valuation, based on the purchase or sale cost of United States Currency here. Gotta keep an eye on that. A house you bought for $90,000 while the pesos was 24 to the dollar and sold when the pesos dropped to 19,  is then worth only about U$70,000.  Not so good.

All the converting can drive you nuts.

The price for square meter can vary wildly by street, let alone neighborhood. Throw in everybody's personal bias and you've got a mess. Anyone, who says they know is selling something and that can throw it off further.

We are thick in a sale of prime Parque Rodo real estate (U$1,200 sq. mt.), looking at a store to buy and building beach cabins (U$45 sq. mt.).

Check some prices for yourself at Buscandocasa.com.

I lost the original of this post once today. More tomorrow.

Don't know nothin'

Whatever you think you know, it usually turns out you don't. The cruel irony is that we acquire knowledge and ideally wisdom then only to relax our natural curiosity and skepticism.  Oh you think you don't, but you probably do.

Do you listen to people and think "yeah, I know" or even worse, wait for your turn to talk and then say "yeah, that's just like blah-bity-bloo and so and such thing", or "I used to know a", or "isn't that something like the ...."?

Do you follow this? It's what we do.

We respond with something pertaining to the subject matter, and delude ourselves into believing it's polite and engaging to add something relevant to the conversation. It's really so we can show that we've learned something too. We're proud of it and in many cases have good reason to be.

It takes years, patience and some degree of suffering to 'know' anything. Alas, we must share air time with folks spewing opinions, people with a blatant contempt for facts, the insecure, narcissistic and often dull. It's maddening.

So just assume the next time you open your mouth you'll say what doesn't need to be said and wouldn't matter one way or the other anyway.

Look here for tips on frugal living in Montevideo. That's if you live here. There will be no advice for those people "thinking about moving here". No posts on the cost of living here,  for your comparison. 

There is much to respond to in regard to some of the ExPat sites out there. I want people to know the truth, knowing how subjective that is, and what I read sometimes is far from it. Anyone who is skeptical is invited to discuss it in depth with me. You will read about how we live with in our budget and why I think anyone can.

I will do my best to keep this up. The challenges are many, rewards few. 
Let's see if anyone is interested.

All in all, a biased, unapologetic and hopefully lively discussion on living in Uruguay.