Mercosur

According this article front runner for the Frente Amplio in the presidetial elections said

Mercosur is in a miserable condition, limping and full of weak points. And the current international situation tends to promote the worst of protectionism and dirty tricks

Recently, the role of chairmanship has been passed on to Uruguay to run this trade block.

Hamburgers, Hotdogs, and Mayonnaise?

One food group I didn't expect to find in South America was hot dogs, but oh, I was wrong. Hot dogs are on just about every menu--panchos and super panchos. I haven't brave enough to try one yet since getting here. (I blame the PBS special I watched a few years back on the making of hot dogs. Mistake. I can't even look at a hot dog the same way).

They have the familiar hot dog stand that a vendor roll around and set up along the streets.

Hamburgers are also popular here. Only their hamburguesas completas come with lettuce, tomato, bacon, fried egg, mayonaisse, and a side of french fries. Talk about clogged arteries.

If I haven't mentioned already, Uruguayan's love their mayonaisse. Instead of serving butter with the basket of bread at dinner, they serve a dish of mayonaise. The first few time this happened we look at each other and said, hmmm, what are we supposed to do with this white stuff they brough out with our bread? Also, many other dishes are smothered in mayonaisse too. Rice? With mayonaisse. Salads? With mayonnaise. French fries? You can probably get those with mayonnaise too.

Honduras: No Al Golpe de Estado

What do the rest of the Americans think of the Honduran coup d'etat that overtook the government almost a month ago? It's bad. It's bad for Honduras. It's bad for the region. It's bad for democracy. I stumbled upon a rally outside the central building of the Universidad de la Republica today where Uruguayans gathered together to protest the forcible removal of president Manuel Zelaya. Uruguay has a reputation for having one of the most stable democracies in Latin America, so it is only natural they would display a zero tolerance policy for military political takeovers which happened to have left a dark shadow on its own history less than 3 decades ago.


The sign posted on the building reads "Honduras Resist. No to the Coup D'etat" I think we all want to know two things. Why is this mess still going on? And when will it end?

Do You Have a Boyfriend?

I find it amusing the types of questions I've been asked since arriving in Latin America. People tend to ask much more personal questions than we do in the States.

The first time I visited students in the schools they asked me things like: "How old are you?" "Do you like children?" "Do you have children?" ""What are your parent's names?" "How did you get to Uruguay?" "What's your favorite animal?" "What's your favorite color?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" They want to know everything; even things we consider improper to ask upon just meeting someone.

And it's not just the children who are inquisitive. The other day a fellow teacher asked me, "How much do you weigh?" I was taken aback. I actually said, um, you can't ask me that; but then I felt bad, because I realized it wasn't out of the ordinary for her to ask people that question. She proceeded to tell me how much she weighed and so forth.

Communication norms are different here. I generally live by the principle of very slow self-disclosure, revealing things about myself to others over a long period of time. In Uruguay, that process seems to be much faster, something that as a North American I struggle to get accustomed to.