Exploring Uruguay Blog

Daylight Savings Time Change in Uruguay: Sunday, March 14, 2010

It looks like it’s time for Summer to end and Fall to begin in Uruguay. Daylight Savings time ends this weekend, Sunday, 14 March 2010 at 01:59:59.

The time change coincdes with the start of Daylight Savings time in the US, so beginning this Sunday, Uruguay will be one hour ahead of East Coast time and four hours ahead of West Coast time.

This is great news for us and anyone else who does business with companies in the US. Now we won’t have such late work nights.

So, remember to set your clocks back an hour Saturday night before you go to bed.

Dealing with Culture Shock

When you move to a foreign country as an expat, there’s one thing you can expect to experience… culture shock. No matter how prepared you are for the move, it will hit you at some point.

Linda, a friend of ours who writes the Uruguay My Way blog, wrote a really great description of the five stages of culture shock. I wasn’t even aware that there are stages to culture shock.

The five stages are:

• Honeymoon
• Cultural Shock
• Initial Adjustment
• Mental Isolation
• Acceptance & Integration

Similar to Linda’s experience, I think we have also flip-flopped all over the place without having quite gotten to Acceptance & Integration yet.

After this initial post, she’ll be writing five more blog posts about each of the five stages of culture shock. Make sure to keep up with this series on her blog if you’re interested in learning more about the culture shock that expats experience.

Biodegradable Shopping Bags

We typically bring our hemp shopping bags with us to the grocery store with us so plastic bags don’t overrun our kitchen. But, we do use plastic grocery bags as trash sacks so we like to have a small supply on hand.

One thing we noticed the first time that we shopped at the Disco was that the shopping bags are labeled as being biodegradable. So are the plastic bags at Devoto (one of the other major grocery store chains in Uruguay).

We had never seen that in the States before, so we were interested by it. We checked out the website listed on the bags. Apparently this company makes an additive that makes conventional plastic products biodegradable.

Small amounts of the additive are combined with the plastic during the manufacturing process to allow plastic products such as polyethylene carrier bags to biodegrade in 24-36 months.
 
We thought it was very cool that a small country like Uruguay is using biodegradable plastic bags, when the major chains in the US still aren’t (as far as we know).

We Almost Got Mugged About an Hour Ago

Pocitos is a nice area of Montevideo. When you hear about how safe Montevideo is as a whole, the one place you're always warned about is Ciudad Vieja...  Never Pocitos... I've known a few people to have bad experiences in Ciudad Vieja, thankfully we've never had a problem there. We've never had a problem anywhere other than here in Pocitos...

We had been here for 2 weeks, I was getting money late at night and a couple of guys who were watching me tried to circle me... I'm sure their intentions were less than honorable... I pulled out my blade told them I'd kill them, they took off...

One night I was coming home late from my favorite little bar down the street... Some guy came up, got in my personal space and grabbed me requesting cash... and I hit him until he stopped moving.

Both of these incidents happened late at night while I was by myself.

We just got back from the Wednesday Feria here in Pocitos... We live in what I feel is a safe and nice area... And most people would agree...

Chrystal is due to have Kaylee anytime now so she wanted to walk down with me. I threw Zoe in our Kelty Carrier and off we go... Again, we live in a nice area and it's the middle of the day; it's beautiful out today...

So in this part of South America there's a drug called Pasta Base (pronounced: pasta ba-say)... It's a derivative of cocaine and makes crack look like candy and meth look like a picnic... It's highly addictive and from what we've been told, when someone gets on it they're completely gone in 6 months... We see them on the streets, we call them base heads... I don't know their official terms, but they're whacked out of their minds...

We just had one try to mug us on the way to the feria with his bare hands.  Zoe's Kelty is weighed down with an extra 20 lbs of crap for when she goes off to stay with friends when Kaylee gets here... She wanted to ride in it... The Kelty is a ton better than pushing her through a stroller in crowds and such...

So this dude comes from the other side of the street and walks up to me asking for money... I firmly say "no" and we continue to walk... Then he decided to invade my personal space and put his hands asking me demanding "dinero blah blah blah, dinero ahora blah blah blah, dinero blah blah blah dinero..."

I'm not talking about putting a hand on my shoulder begging for money... I'm talking about him coming up on my and trying to go for my pockets...

I shoved the guy hard across the sidewalk and told Chrystal to take Zoe... She started to then stopped... The guy caught himself from hitting the ground and took a few steps back, so Chrystal thought he was walking away and didn't take her... The guy started to come back towards me...

Thank god I was in the Marines and we learned how to maneuver and fight with a 60lb pack on our backs... So I squared up to the guy and was ready to defend my family, I intended to kill him... My daughter was on my back, my pregnant wife was with me... I wasn't going to screw around.

I'm not sure how I looked, but it was enough to put some fear in that guy's eyes... and he started to back up yelling at us (I'm sure it had something to do with my mom, goats and apples... I couldn't make out most of the rest of the words...)

We proceeded to back away from him and separate ourselves... And I got Zoe ready to toss of my back if he were to try to come back (I have my little girl and my wife there, I don't want to be in this situation...)

Behind us a construction worker (probably in his 50s, but stacked) was stopped on the corner, had set his toolbox down and had his hardhat in his hand... When we got closer to him he stared venting about pasta base and the crazy kids and such and told us he was ready to come hit him with his hard hat... ;-)

I hope this serves as a lesson to Expats here and people all over. It doesn't matter how nice of a neighborhood you live in... Bad people don't stop at neighborhood boundaries...

From what we've seen and heard, these base heads usually don't carry a weapon... they just try to mug you with their fists and intimidation. One thing I will suggest is to give a hard shove and get up in the person's face, prepare to be violent... or run.

Public Transportation in Uruguay

One thing neither of us had done much of before moving to Uruguay was use public transportation. In San Diego, the public transportation system is poor at best and everyone has a car. We’d hop in the car to go ½ mile to the store. That would never happen in Uruguay – at least not for us.

We tend to walk as much as we can. And, while we’re guilty of using taxis much more than the bus system (they’re just so cheap compared to the States!), we recognize how great the public transportation system is in Uruguay. In fact, on the corner where we live, the buses stop going in every direction.


 


You can get practically anywhere using the bus system. Whether you just want to go somewhere in Montevideo or take a long haul bus ride across the country, you’re sure to find a bus route to suit your travel needs. And some of the bus lines are even equipped with free Wi-Fi!

We’ve taken buses within Montevideo and to Colonia, Punta del Diablo and Pan de Azucar, and they have all been quite comfortable. You actually have more legroom than you do on an airplane (and you have a lot more flexibility on what you can bring on board).



There are two websites that we’ve found especially helpful for figuring out bus routes and schedules:

The first is Montevideo Bus. It’s a great tool. You simply mark your origin and your destination on the map and hit “Buscar Recorridos” and a list of route options will display for you on the left hand side of the page.

If you want to see more about the bus lines on a particular route, most of the bus companies have their own websites. Just Google the name of the bus company + Uruguay and you should find what you’re looking for.

The second website we’ve found helpful is the Tres Cruces website (Tres Cruces is the main bus terminal in Montevideo). This is where you’ll find routes and prices for the longer haul bus trips. Just click on “Horarios y destinos” and you can enter your origin and destination to get options for your trip.

One thing I wish this website offered was online sales, but they aren’t quite there yet. You’ll need to purchase your tickets either over the phone or in person at the Tres Cruces bus station.

What has your experience been using the public transportation system in Uruguay?

8 Months Later: Reflections on Living in Uruguay

Chrystal’s Perspective:

Well, we’ve been in Uruguay for eight months now. The time has really flown by. In our four-month update, I wasn’t yet feeling too much homesickness. I think that started hitting me around six months in. I think the first six months were the honeymoon period, and then daily life set in once we were truly settled into a routine here.

For the most part, I love living in Uruguay, but there are definitely some things that I’m beginning to miss about the US.

I miss being able to go to the store and get anything that I want. Things that I took for granted like sea salt, coconut oil, agave nectar, hot sauce, etc. There are some of these more “unusual” things available in Uruguay, but either it’s a trek to get to the one store that carries them or the price is completely unreasonable.

Even though I very seldom drank soda in the US (we avoid high fructose corn syrup as much as possible), it would be nice to have a soda choice other than Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, Sprite and Orange Fanta.

I miss being in a place where people know how to drive, or least know how to follow the rules of the road. It’s perfectly acceptable to need to be cautious when crossing the street. But when you have to watch yourself even on the sidewalk so you don’t get hit by a motorcycle delivery driver… that’s a little much.

I miss being around other English-speaking people. We have plenty of friends who are English-speaking expats (and native Uruguayans who speak English), so it’s not like we never speak English.

But it’s the simple things like conversing with the cashier at the market, or the waitress at the restaurant, or the other pregnant woman sitting next to me in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. Something I never even thought about before moving here.

And, of course, I miss my family. I think it was hardest especially around the holidays when it would have been so much fun to watch Zoë play with her cousins. This is the longest I have ever been away from family, and the first time for the holidays, so it’s a big change.

Some other things I miss:

• True high-speed Internet. It’s not horrible here, but it’s not great either (this is mainly a factor since we work on the Internet).
• Stores that have their hours posted – it seems stores open and close when they feel like it for the most part.
• Shopping online without paying eye gouging shipping costs.
• Screens on the windows and sliding glass doors – no one seems to have them here! Not fun trying to keep the bugs out.
• Taco shops. Yes, we can cook great Mexican food, but there’s nothing like a Carne Asada burrito from the local taco shop.
• Access to a lot of toddler-friendly activities.
• Being able to go get my hair cut without worrying about ending up with an Uruguayan mullet (I haven’t had my hair cut since we moved here).
• My monthly “me” time,” complete with coffee from Starbucks and a European Spa Pedicure.
• The wide range of live music options available in San Diego.

However, there are plenty of things I appreciate about living in Uruguay. I appreciate the general kindness of people. Of course there is always the bad apple here or there, but people seem more willing to help you out here than in the US.

I appreciate all of the wonderful people who have come into our lives as a result of this move. We’ve had the fortune of meeting people from all around the world, which is such a wonderful, eye-opening experience.

I appreciate the relaxed lifestyle… the fact that there isn’t much of a rush to get anything done by a certain time (although that can be a challenge sometimes as well). Enjoying life, rather than working, seems to be the number one priority here.

I enjoy the fact that I don’t have to get into a car to do the simplest thing like picking up some milk at the store. All we have to do is get in the elevator, go downstairs, cross the street and we’re at the market. The fact that everything is so close and accessible has really helped us live a less sedentary life.

I love the fact that I’m not tethered to a cell phone. It’s a freeing feeling. And, I used to have a headache on the right side of my head frequently (the side I would talk on). Now, I don’t get those headaches anymore. Hmm.

I appreciate the fact that nothing seems to go to waste here. Soda and beer bottles are collected at the market to be returned to the factory so they can be reused. Anything that can be recycled or reused is “reclaimed” from the dumpsters by men (and families) driving horse carriages, who scour the city for anything of value. I even find that we reuse things a lot more now than we ever did. When buying things at the market, I even consider whether I could re-use the container… not something I would’ve ever done before.

I truly appreciate the life lessons I have learned by selling off all of our material possessions and moving to the other side of the globe. It has really taught me what is important in life, and the difference between and a want and a need. I never want to live a consumerist, materialistic lifestyle again.

A few other things I appreciate about living in Uruguay:

• Affordable health care.
• Parks built in every place where one could possibly fit.
• Grass-fed beef (if you haven’t seen Food, Inc., watch it).
• Farm fresh eggs (literally picked up off the ground the day we buy them).
• Cheap taxis (even if I’m gripping my seat because of the erratic driving).
• The ticket system most places have so you always know when it’s your turn, and no one can cut in front of you.
• Watching Zoë learn two languages simultaneously.
• Soon… the inexpensive, but good wine.
• The new adventures that await us each day.

Well, I could go on and on, or I could just break it down this way. There are ups and downs to living in Uruguay. Nothing is perfect here, but nothing was perfect in the US either. It’s all about accepting the challenges and appreciating the gifts that this life changing experience has brought into our lives.

 

Brian's Perspective:

We’ve been living Uruguay for 8 months now. My opinion of Uruguay has definitely changed since we’ve been here. I’m going to start off with the 2 things that bother me.

The poverty here is disheartening. We live on the 9th floor of an apartment here in Pocitos and looking down below we get a good view of everything.  Across the street from us is a dumpster and I can’t count how many times a day people go digging through it.

People digging through dumpsters to get stuff that can be recycled so they can make money doesn’t bother me.  Watching children dig through dumpsters for food does.

We have a garbage chute which we place most of our garbage down; but for larger items I take them out to the dumpster. I have to be careful when I open the dumpster and throw stuff in not to hit people inside of it. 

One instance that really stands out in front of me is I opened up the dumpster and was in mid motion to throw a heavy bag with broken glass in it and almost hit a little boy.  The boy couldn’t have been over 5 or 6 years old…  He was eating a black banana rind…

I was able to stop the bag from hitting the boy… And out of nowhere his mother who was 5’ and skin and bones came running around the side of the dumpster screaming at me (probably because she thought I was going to hit her child with the bag.) I put my hand up and told her “callete” (shut up) and I gave her a couple of hundred pesos I had in my pocket and told her “es para el comer” (it’s for him to eat.)  She went from rage to crying and thanking me instantly…

There’s a sister and brother who are about 10 and 7ish…  They hang out at night around the restaurants in the neighborhood begging for spare change.  The first time I saw this, I thought (I’m sure their parents are around the corner putting them up to begging)… but, here’s 20 pesos anyway.  I was picking up food to take it back to our apartment… When I got the food back to our apartment, I realized I needed to run to the little market across the street…  That’s when I saw the 2 kids in the market with a handful of change trying to decide what to buy to eat.  I gave them 500 pesos so they could eat well that night… and I help them out every time I see them. 

The sad part is… these aren’t isolated incidents.  The part that is even worse (in my opinion) is how dismissive and mean so many people are when they are walking by.  I understand you can’t help everyone…  But when a child is asking for spare change for food and I watch people yell at them to get them away and call them “planchas”, it enrages me… they’re just kids.  If you can’t or won’t help them, say “I’m sorry but not today.”

For Uruguay being so accepting of other people; a lot are not very tolerant of their own.

The other thing that bothers me about Uruguay on a much lesser scale is people littering. People tend to throw a lot of trash on the sidewalks and in the streets.  And they don’t pick up after their dogs. Not picking up after their dogs is a lot worse than throwing a cup or food wrapper from McDonalds on the sidewalk…  I’d much rather step on a wrapper than the other.  But still, there are dumpsters on pretty much every street corner and plastic bags are abundant here.

Now on a lighter side…  People here have been great to us.  We’ve gotten to know the local shopkeepers, service people and other people who live around us.  There are a lot of good hardworking people here who bust their ass all day and are proud of the work they’ve done.  They don’t bitch or complain about it… they just do it…  And at the end of the day they enjoy a beer or a bowl and more importantly… enjoy life.

My Spanish has improved drastically since we arrived.  I can have a conversation in Spanish.  I still have trouble with pronunciation and confusing tenses, but I try to have as many conversations in Spanish as I can.  I have conversations with our porter Lillian…  we’ve come to an understanding…  Zoë absolutely loves her; but loves her daughter even more.

The city has started to come alive with summer being here.  The fireworks and celebration at Christmas and New Years was completely amazing.  I’m looking forward to Carnival.  Kaylee will be arriving at the beginning of Carnival and I know Zoë will have a great time with it.  Everyone we’ve talked to said that Carnival in Uruguay goes on for an entire month and it’s the biggest and best Carnival in the world…  Modesty was left out.

We’ve got out of the city more… and can attest that the transportation system here is a million times better than the transportation system in Southern California…  The buses here are more comfortable than seats on an airplane… 

The Rambla is an amazing feature of the city all on it’s own.  The Rambla is a boardwalk that runs along the coast around Montevideo…  It’s not uncommon to see hundreds of people out there every day in the late afternoon enjoying and sharing their mate (tea which I just can’t seem to get the taste for)… or sharing a beer (they come in liters here)…  The Rambla is as much as a part of culture here as anything… 

The beach here in Pocitos fills up during the week and is a sea of people on the weekend…  The city is slow right now, because to our understanding this is holiday time and everyone has left the city…   I was out in Centro yesterday and you could have fooled me… 

When it’s below 80F people here seem to be covered to their neck trying to stay warm…  But since it’s warmed up; I have seen a lot of skin…  I’m not a fan of seeing dudes in speedos… Women here don’t seem to be as modest as they are in the US… 

I’m happy summer is here… I’m happy it’s warm…  All in all our experience here in Uruguay has been great…  The 2 things that have made our stay here amazing is; the people we’ve met from here and around the world… and the freedoms in the country that are unheard of in the US.

We’ve made some new friends from south of the equator, but also from the other side of the world…  Our new friends from New Zealand are really great people…  New Zealand is now on the map of one of the places we will go to visit.  There are some great North Americans who are here and are wonderful and knowing them has improved our lives… Some of our Canadian friends are heading to the US (the lives of the people they meet in the US will improve)… Our favorite Mormons are heading to Thailand; I’m excited for them… what an adventure… And, our friend Ceci is just an all around amazing person

The long and short of it is… I’m glad we came here…

The Average-Sized Mosquito in Uruguay

Mosquitoes in Uruguay?  Yes, they are here and they are large. We've been dealing with mosquitoes for the last week and it never ceases to amaze us how big they are.

Brian was finally able to kill one without demolishing it so we could take a picture of it. The mosquito featured in the picture below isn't an abnormally big mosquito, just your average run of the mill bloodsucker who was looking for some food.



At night, with it being warm, we leave the windows open to catch a breeze. With the baby on the way and Zoë, we decided to do something so we don't get eaten at night... Two words, one product: Mosquito Net... it just makes sense.

Does anyone else use a mosquito net or have any other ways they keep the mosquitoes away?

Happy New Year!

We want to thank all of our wonderful readers for following our blog last year. We'll continue to post new content about our life in Uruguay on a regular basis in 2010. We hope everyone has a wonderful year!

Brian, Chrystal & Zoë

Merry Christmas from Uruguay

We want to wish all of our readers a very Merry Christmas. We hope everyone has a fun-filled and safe day.

Brian, Chrystal & Zoë



p.s. We'll resume our Recipe of the Week series in the New Year!

Christmas Traditions in Uruguay

We found out recently that the traditional day to decorate your Christmas tree in Uruguay is December 8. We’re a little late for that, but we finally went out and got a Christmas tree today. We picked up a small, artificial one at Devoto – it’s the perfect size for our apartment.

In case you’re wondering, they don’t have “real” Christmas trees in Uruguay. They are all artificial, and apparently it’s also traditional to keep your tree for seven years before replacing it (much thanks to Esteban, one of our wonderful forum members who shares so much great information with us!).

All of our ornaments are in storage back in San Diego, so we also picked up some basic ornaments (at Devoto) and lights (at Disco). We also decided to make a popcorn garland with some microwave popcorn we picked up yesterday at Tienda Inglesa.

Here’s the final product:
 

You might be wondering why there aren’t any presents under the tree. Well, while Zoë was napping today I wrapped a couple of presents her Nana had sent her and put them under the tree. I was in the kitchen and Brian was out on the balcony when Zoë woke up. She made a beeline for the tree and had one of the presents open before we even knew she was up!

We walked into the living room and she proudly showed us her new clothes:

 



Then she tried to put the clothes on, even though she still needs to grow into them:


So, we won’t be keeping any presents under the tree this year (or probably for a couple years to come ☺).