"There is another world, but it is in this one." -Paul Eluard

10.30.2009

Change in plans...

With the change in seasons here in Montevideo has come a sudden change
in my trip plans... In the last few weeks I have settled in to my
hostel home and formed a comfortable routine. My "bosses"- the owners
of the hostel ages 25 and 26- have become my good friends. The yoga
classes are becoming more popular as tourism season picks up and most
of the beds are occupied thruout the week. Several projects I have
organized to add flare and individuality to the hostel are just coming
into fruition. And the more people asked how long I am going to stay
here, the more I didn't like my answer... Thus, after much pondering
(and some helpful reaffirmation from my parents) I have decided to
suspend my travels to Columbia and stay in Uruguay instead! My
situation here in the hostel is just too good to let go of in only one
short month and there is too much to see...

Thus I will be here in my home away from home until January (with the
exception of a short visit to Buenos Aires in December)! In just a
moment I will post some pictures of my residence and my cohabitants,
and maybe even a little map to better orient you to my current
whereabouts... I also apologize for the fact that I no longer speak
English like a native speaker... I just isn't coming out quite like it
should...
I hope you all are well and getting ready to celebrate Halloween in
style up north!
more to come...
-cate

10.19.2009

Photos Part 2: Montevideo Action

Some soccer game, downtown, and boardwalk bikeriding pictures!
















Photos Part 1: La Paloma, Uruguay

Here are some pics from my trip to La Paloma (finally) and one with me and some friends on a bus in Chile:





















10.18.2009

Photo link

Always the tech queen, my dear friend Eve has yet again made a
masterful mishmash of photos from her recent visit up here to my
humble little city. I say humble because Eve lives in the sprawling
megopolis that is Sao Paulo... Anywho, check out the video of her
visit on her blog here (and read more of her stuff if you're curious
about the life of a fullbright english teacher in brazil!):

http://evearielle.wordpress.com/

cheers! Oh and PS I will be posting my own photos soon I swear!!

10.16.2009

Footie

There is a war going on in the world outside the US. It is a war that
most of you are probably totally unaware of, though information on it
is abundant and easily accessable. It is a war of nations and die hard
patriotism. It is a war that leaves winners extaticly wild and losers
sufferingly ashamed. It has been going on for three years but it will
all end next year... and then it will start all over again with the
same fury and passion. It is the war to win a spot in the 2010 World
Cup in South Africa.

Latin America is currently pulsing with World Cup fever. Weekly games
are viewed by millions of anxious fans watching to see how each result
will affect the standings of their own team in the complicated web of
points and rankings that have literally been 3 years in the making. We
are now in the final stretch of games- obviously also the most
critical stretch since 3 of South America's 5 qualifying teams have
already been guarenteed a spot (Brazil, Paraguay and Chile). The last
spot will be determined in the next few weeks, but one spot was
determined this week in a bitter and historic battle between team
Argentina and team Uruguay. And guess who scored a ticket to the big
face off Wednesday night? Yep, yours truly!!

The stadium where the game was held is in an enormous park in the
middle of downtown Montevideo. It was built in 1930 for the very first
world cup game ever- coincidentally played between Argentina and
Uruguay! It hasn't changed much since it was built, except for the
addition of a sound system about 30 years ago and a new big screen
that was added just last year. It was packed with fans wearing shades
of blue and waving the striped blue and white Uruguayan flag. There
was also a small section holding about 5,000 drum banging, flag waving
argentine fans who proceeded to cheer and sing throughout the entire
length of the game... In an attempt to avoid violence between the
opposing sides, the argentine section was seperated off at the end of
the stadium by several rows of empty seats, metal fences, and riot
police...

The game itself was exciting and high energy for the first 20 minutes
or so. Then it just got slow and both sets of fans anxiously awaited a
goal that didn't come until 75 minutes into the game. I quite enjoyed
listening to all the swearing, singing, insults being hurled at the
refs and in the general direction of the argentine fans, and standard
sports game commentary from the surrounding crowd ('oh go home and
suck on your bottle you big baby!'; 'my god ref who paid you off
this time?! You forgot your head at home!'; 'NO! Pablo you dumbass,
juanito was wide open on the left!'). In all it was an entertaining
and enjoyable experience, though Uruguay lost 0-1 and eveyone filed
out rather dejectly from the stadium.

I left thinking how we really have no national team in any sport that
unites people from all over our country to cheer on team USA. Except
during the olympics I suppose... We also have such a wide variety of
high quality pro sports to follow that I would say we don't have one
single national sport- unlike here where soccer is THE national past
time and is almost like a national religion. But what most impressed
me was the age and history of the stadium. In our obsession with
always having the most modern and advanced arenas, we have lost the
value in the history such a place carries. None of the pro stadiums or
arenas in Denver are more than 20 years old. You cannot take your
grandson to a game in the very same stadium where you first saw your
team play 50+ years ago. There is something amazing about sitting in
the stands where millions have sat before you, watching teams repeat
rituals and cary on rivalries that they have fought out on the same
turf for decades... I will leave you now with these thoughts as this
entry has gotten way too long and I probably lost many of you about
four paragraphs ago when I said World Cup. Hope all is well in the
land of plenty!
-cate

10.10.2009

Of yogi tips and tortilla chips

G'day mates-
As of Tuesday I am now officially employed by the awesome staff of Punto Berro Hostel as none other than the resident yoga teacher! Hostels are always looking for a way to set themselves apart since travelers often have numerous options of where to stay in a city. My hosts liked my idea of offering free yoga classes to hostel residents, and in exchange for teaching 4-7 times a week they are giving me a free bed to sleep in every night! I am overjoyed that my invented job has become a reality and it will allow me to stay here through the end of November as I had hoped!

Montevideo is an interesting and unique city.  I think there is less tourism here than in Buenos Aires- Uruguay is not as on the map as Argentina- so people are always asking 'why montevideo' when I say that I have chosen to live here for a few months...
The city itself seems to be 20 years back in time- everything looks sort of antique but new, from the cars to the streets to the people. Uruguay used to be quite a wealthy country in the 50s (they call it the switzerland of South America) but then the economy crashed and now people don't have that much money so they maintain everything in very good condition. Cars that are 20 years old are impeccable, the sidewalks are washed (literally washed with soapy water and a broom), buildings could use a paint job but for being 100 years old are looking darn good. Anyone over 50 dresses in a manner that I can only think of describing as dapper- men in slacks, a collared button down shirt, a sweater vest and maybe a scarf. A euro circa 1950 style... The younger people however are very funky and hip. Skinny jeans are in, skirts with tights and converse, 80s print shirts, etc. Like a mix between hipster, euro, and hippy...

This weekend I have 2 dear friends from Boulder visiting me. Ben is currently living in Buenos Aires and Eve in Sao Paulo Brazil. They teamed up in BA and hopped on the boat over here to take advantage of the long weekend this weekend! It has been so awesome to see them and it somehow reaffirms that yes, this really is real and I really am living in Uruguay. Plus they are pretty much the only people I know around here who could really share my deep appreciation for the fact that the Mexican restaurant we tracked down last night had super spicy salsa and real tortilla chips... funny what you miss when your abroad...   
Well I will leave you all now as I must go prepare to teach my class tonight! Miss you all!
-cate

10.01.2009

Down By the Bay, Where the Watermelons Grow

Buenas Tardes!
After a few days of poking around Montevideo to see what could
materialize in terms of odd jobs, I decided to scoot on up to an
adorable little beach town called La Paloma, which sits on the coast
of Uruguay about three hours north of the capital by bus. I was hoping
to find some work up here in order to fulfill a daydream I have of
kickin it surfer style in a tranquil beach town, watching the time
float by... As always when you travel, the good and bad luck seem to
mix together, the latter often leading to the fomer. Knowing that it
was off season here, I did some research on the three youth hostels in
town, picked a fave, jotted down the address and didn't bother making
a reservation.

The busride was one of the most picturesque I have ever been on. Green
rolling pastures and hills dotted with sheep, horses and cattle
seperated the wide stretches between humble ranch-like homes. An
occasional gaucho rounding up livestock in jeans, knee high leather
boots, a vest and gaucho hat. A young boy riding bareback. A farmer
trailing a load of produce on a large cart behind his bicycle. After
an unfortunate incident involving waiting for 45 minutes at an empty
hostel for the absent staff to appear and wandering all over town, I
asked for directions to my plan b hostel and the woman walked me
nearly to the door of my new abode. I have become accustomed to this
type of incredible hospitality here.

The owner of the hostel greated me warmly and suggeted I take
advantage of the warm and sunny afternoon and head over to the
lighthouse (the tallest in the country I am told) where I could get a
view of the city. I took his advice and was overjoyed at what I found.
The coast guard manning the viewing deck at the top began chatting
with me and asked if I had seen the whales... Wondering if I had
misheard or mistranslated I said no and he promptly lead me around the
other side of the deck to look out over the water... sure enough there
they were! A group of 3 whales swimming surprisingly close to the
coast! The Southern Right Whale migrates from up by carribean all the
way down the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina to the antartic
sea every spring! What great luck! I stayed up on the deck watching
them feed and play in the surf until I couldn't stand the cold wind
anymore.

I return to Montevideo tomorrow. La Paloma is lovely but the truth is
there is nobody here! I am the only one at my hostel, was the only one
on the beach for the 2 hours I was there this morning, and I was the
only customer eating at the restaurant downtown this afternoon! I like
tranquility but this is a bit abandoned for me... I will most likely
come back at the start of the summer to have a nice weekend at the
beach though!

Unfortunately I won't be doing much more exploring today as it started
raining mid afternoon and won't stop. Instead I have been chatting
with the hostel owner about a wide range of topics, including the
upcoming presidential election, while we watch NatGeo and drink
mate... Not bad at all! Have a super day now-
cate