Extremely popular.
Photo courtesy of Marcos.
Basically male singing, acting, comedy groups. See this person's YouTube video for an example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztDZz8ayNxc
Friday, November 20, 2009
Murgas
Distinctly Uruguayan.
Extremely popular.
Photo courtesy of Marcos.
Basically male singing, acting, comedy groups. See this person's YouTube video for an example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztDZz8ayNxc
Extremely popular.
Photo courtesy of Marcos.
Basically male singing, acting, comedy groups. See this person's YouTube video for an example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztDZz8ayNxc
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Lobos Marinos
This weekend I visited Punta del Este in eastern Uruguay and got to see Uruguay's infamous sea lions or "sea wolves" as they call them in Spanish (lobos marinos).
Swimming about in the port of Punta del Este are a group of 8 or so enormous sea lions. They hang around the port alongside a flock of albatrosses where all the fishermen dump their leftover fish pieces.
You can get uber-close to these fascinating sea creatures and watch them swim around, playing, eating, and fighting with one another. This little boy in the picture enjoyed walking up and down the dock with a fish carcass while the lobos marinos greedily followed his every move.
"Feed me." You can almost hear the sea lions calling out to you. "Feed me. I'm going to sit on this rock here, and you throw me some tasty fish guts."
Swimming about in the port of Punta del Este are a group of 8 or so enormous sea lions. They hang around the port alongside a flock of albatrosses where all the fishermen dump their leftover fish pieces.
You can get uber-close to these fascinating sea creatures and watch them swim around, playing, eating, and fighting with one another. This little boy in the picture enjoyed walking up and down the dock with a fish carcass while the lobos marinos greedily followed his every move.
"Feed me." You can almost hear the sea lions calling out to you. "Feed me. I'm going to sit on this rock here, and you throw me some tasty fish guts."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Nike 10k
Bright yellow. No. Blinding fluorescent yellow. That was color of our jerseys for the Nike 10k in Montevideo. I don't suppose they could have picked a brighter color.
On Saturday Christie, Fede, and I ran in the Nike 10k, which is the equivalent of 6.2 miles. The race started at the Palacio Legislativo and ended along the rambla. I beat my goal (of 60 minutes) by a little more than 3 minutes so i was really happy. I'm pretty sure that if i had been in this race a year ago I could have barely crossed the finish line, but Uruguay has encouraged me to live a healthier lifestyle. I have to exercise everyday or I feel rather anxious. The rambla in Montevideo is perfect for running and the path along the Uruguay River in Salto was great for running too; and I visit my gym, Los Bohemios, 4-5 days a week. I have Uruguay to thank for encouraging healthy living. Everyone seems to be fit around here.
In the Nike race there were almost 8000 runners. Woah! That's a lot of yellow. Almost like a yellow streak. I came in 3424th. Haha. That sounds horrible I know. A little better, I came in 102 out of 367 in my gender and age category. For the second race of my life and first 10k one ever, I'm quite pleased.
On Saturday Christie, Fede, and I ran in the Nike 10k, which is the equivalent of 6.2 miles. The race started at the Palacio Legislativo and ended along the rambla. I beat my goal (of 60 minutes) by a little more than 3 minutes so i was really happy. I'm pretty sure that if i had been in this race a year ago I could have barely crossed the finish line, but Uruguay has encouraged me to live a healthier lifestyle. I have to exercise everyday or I feel rather anxious. The rambla in Montevideo is perfect for running and the path along the Uruguay River in Salto was great for running too; and I visit my gym, Los Bohemios, 4-5 days a week. I have Uruguay to thank for encouraging healthy living. Everyone seems to be fit around here.
In the Nike race there were almost 8000 runners. Woah! That's a lot of yellow. Almost like a yellow streak. I came in 3424th. Haha. That sounds horrible I know. A little better, I came in 102 out of 367 in my gender and age category. For the second race of my life and first 10k one ever, I'm quite pleased.
English Symposium
I'm so proud of everyone who made our English Symposium: Students' Voices a great success!
One project I developed as an ETA was to create a space for my students at IPA to share their academic research with a larger audience. I was concerned that students did not have an outlet for their voices to be heard outside of the classroom, so therefore I got the English Department on board, and started organizing a culminating event. After months of planning and organizing, the symposium commenced in the last Friday in October. There were individual and group presentations by students and special guest speakers, a round table discussion, lunch social, book fair, and poster session. The day was exciting and thought provoking.
I am so proud of the hard work of everyone involved. A special thank you goes out to IPA students, IPA professors, guest speakers, the Uruguayan Fulbright office, my mentors, and the Department of Foreign Languages. Thank you to all of those who presented, attended, and contributed in any way to the event. YOU are the reason the first English Symposium was such a success!
And follow-up good news. There will be a journal publication coming out from the symposium that has been sent to the press and is in print.
One project I developed as an ETA was to create a space for my students at IPA to share their academic research with a larger audience. I was concerned that students did not have an outlet for their voices to be heard outside of the classroom, so therefore I got the English Department on board, and started organizing a culminating event. After months of planning and organizing, the symposium commenced in the last Friday in October. There were individual and group presentations by students and special guest speakers, a round table discussion, lunch social, book fair, and poster session. The day was exciting and thought provoking.
I am so proud of the hard work of everyone involved. A special thank you goes out to IPA students, IPA professors, guest speakers, the Uruguayan Fulbright office, my mentors, and the Department of Foreign Languages. Thank you to all of those who presented, attended, and contributed in any way to the event. YOU are the reason the first English Symposium was such a success!
And follow-up good news. There will be a journal publication coming out from the symposium that has been sent to the press and is in print.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Birthday Celebrations in Uruguay
This past Saturday was my birthday, and I have to admit that it was perhaps one of the most fun ones I have ever had. Thank you to all of you who made it super special!
From facebook messages, emails, texts, presents, dinner, dancing, and dessert, it was a weekend to remember!
Beso muy grande a todos!!
From facebook messages, emails, texts, presents, dinner, dancing, and dessert, it was a weekend to remember!
Beso muy grande a todos!!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Sifting through the Trash
It's not unusual to hear the clip clop of horse hooves below from our living room window. Some of the poorest people of Montevideo (who likely live in the suburbs) go around from garbage bin to garbage bin searching for trash to collect.
Sometimes it's men collecting garbage. Sometimes it's women. Sometimes it's teenagers. And sometimes it's children. I think it's heartbreaking to see a 5 year old child riding in a wagon, waiting for his big brother to finish diving in the big green dumpster nearby. What kind of future will these children have?
The quantity of horse drawn garbage collectors is surprisingly high for a modern day capital city. Haggard horses pulling rotting wooden carts trot by while cars zoom past them on 4 lane highways. They seem strangely out of place, yet many low income families have resorted to scavenging for trash as a primary source of income.
On the brighter side of things (if there is a brighter side), these trash-sifters take care of most of the city's recycling. For example, we don't have a means to recycle near our house, so we put all of our empty plastic containers in a seperate bag for garbage sorters to come through and collect them with greater ease. We feel this is the most likely way that our shampoo bottles and coca cola liters will get resold and reused. They provide an important public service in this regard.
The situation for the trash sifters isn't always completely bad (not to diminish the real hardships that come hand in hand with poverty). One of the most absurd things I've seen thus far is a man driving his horse and cart piled full of refuse while talking on his cell phone. His cell phone! The irony is striking.
Sometimes it's men collecting garbage. Sometimes it's women. Sometimes it's teenagers. And sometimes it's children. I think it's heartbreaking to see a 5 year old child riding in a wagon, waiting for his big brother to finish diving in the big green dumpster nearby. What kind of future will these children have?
The quantity of horse drawn garbage collectors is surprisingly high for a modern day capital city. Haggard horses pulling rotting wooden carts trot by while cars zoom past them on 4 lane highways. They seem strangely out of place, yet many low income families have resorted to scavenging for trash as a primary source of income.
On the brighter side of things (if there is a brighter side), these trash-sifters take care of most of the city's recycling. For example, we don't have a means to recycle near our house, so we put all of our empty plastic containers in a seperate bag for garbage sorters to come through and collect them with greater ease. We feel this is the most likely way that our shampoo bottles and coca cola liters will get resold and reused. They provide an important public service in this regard.
The situation for the trash sifters isn't always completely bad (not to diminish the real hardships that come hand in hand with poverty). One of the most absurd things I've seen thus far is a man driving his horse and cart piled full of refuse while talking on his cell phone. His cell phone! The irony is striking.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Colonia, Uruguay
Colonia is a beautiful town in western Uruguay, just across the river from Buenos Aires, so there are a lot of tourists who visit this slice of history. My aunt and I hopped on a bus from Tres Cruces right to the terminal in Colonia without any problem whatsoever. When we arrived at our destination, found the tourist office, grabbed a map, and started touring around.
Colonia del Sacramento, as it is officially called, was a Portuguese settlement as evidence by the old houses and cobblestone streets in the historic district. The streets are well preserved and very peaceful. Colonia was declared UNESCO heritage site in 1995 to keep it that way.
As with almost all Uruguayan towns (in general) I recommend you climb up the lighthouse to get a nice view of the whole city. Beside roaming the streets and checking out the museums there are also an abundance of great places to eat and shop for crafts. Colonia is great place to visit.
Colonia del Sacramento, as it is officially called, was a Portuguese settlement as evidence by the old houses and cobblestone streets in the historic district. The streets are well preserved and very peaceful. Colonia was declared UNESCO heritage site in 1995 to keep it that way.
As with almost all Uruguayan towns (in general) I recommend you climb up the lighthouse to get a nice view of the whole city. Beside roaming the streets and checking out the museums there are also an abundance of great places to eat and shop for crafts. Colonia is great place to visit.
Dia de los Muertos
Another federal holiday in Uruguay! Today is Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The idea is to spend the day being respectful and honoring those who have passed away. The Uruguayans I've spoken to said they don't really take the day too seriously. It is more a day of relaxing without work.
They also said they don't really celebrate Halloween which was this weekend too, but I definitely saw some children out trick-or-treating...unless those skeletons and ghosts weren't really children in costumes. Hmmmm. For Halloween I attempted to have a little party for the teachers in my conversation class, but the only thing that turned out scary was my cooking.
They also said they don't really celebrate Halloween which was this weekend too, but I definitely saw some children out trick-or-treating...unless those skeletons and ghosts weren't really children in costumes. Hmmmm. For Halloween I attempted to have a little party for the teachers in my conversation class, but the only thing that turned out scary was my cooking.
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