Sao Paulo

Just got back after a week in beautiful Brazil for a our regional enhancement seminar.


It was amazing to say the least! I loved meeting all the other Fulbright ETAs and getting inspired about what to bring back with me to Uruguay.

First we spent two nights in Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, the fourth largest in the world. The cityscape from the plane flying in was quite impressive. Skyscrapers in every direction which would be expected from a city of more than 17 million people, I suppose. The first night we were there we ate a restaurant that served endless meat that waiters brought around to you on enormous skewers. Gluttony. That is the only word to describe such a meal.


While in the city we also got a chance to visit Jardim da Luz Park and the Pinacoteca Art Museum that had a special exhibit by the painter Fernand Leger. I enjoy his work.


It just so happened that the night we decided to stay in downtown Sao Paulo was the same day as the world's largest gay pride parade. While we didn't actually see the parade, we did see the aftermath. There were, um, interesting characters out and about on the streets. I was too afraid to take out my camera, but I did catch a shot of the riot control police trying to crowd after the event. My first taste of Brazil was errrr, hard to describe. If you want to know more ask me.

Busy as a Bee

This week has been extremely busy for me, so I am rather far behind in blog posts and responding to emails that people have sent me (sorry! I will hopefully get on that soon). Some people from the CERP had a farewell party for us at one of their residences, which happened to be in a beautiful old house. We had hamburgers, delicious desserts, and a Scrabble Tournament.


Similarly, some students had a small celebration for us that included, you guessed it, desserts. Ohhh my. You have no idea how many sweet things (smothered in dulce de leche ) I have eaten in this past week. My teeth are crying. Praise the Lord for toothpaste.

Last night the teachers from my school took us out to dinner at the Salto Shopping Center. It seems to be the place to be on Thursday nights because there is a bit of live Tango music and dancing for the most adventurous (or highly trained). We also went over to the inspector's house for dinner within the past week as well. Ahhhh, so busy! But I'm not complaining.

Tonight I am headed to Montevideo by bus and then tomorrow I will hop on a plane to Brazil. I do believe our hotels will have internet access, so expect to hear from me soon. Chao.

Sunset to Sunrise

I didn't think the anything could be more beautiful than the sunset over the River Uruguay.


That was, until I saw the sunrise from my window. Wow! Sheer magnificence.


So this is what I am missing while I am busy sleeping. I need to wake up at sunrise more often (or not).

Business Cards

I officially have my first real set of business cards! Very professional. Thank you Fulbright. I love them.

I have to admit, there is nothing quite like saying, "oh yeah, and here's my card."

Choosing academia as a career path often delays little niceties like having personal business cards until well into the future. As such, I will enjoy these cards and hand them out like candy. Who wants my card? Please, not everyone at once.

Political Rally

I was surprised to find the principal street of the city closed down last week for a political rally. The street was blocked off to vehicles and a large stage was set up in the middle of the road. Imagine the one of the major parties in the US shutting down the main road of a city. Ha. No way. There would be a public outrage. I asked a man from Uruguay about the practice of blocking off the streets and he said, well look at who is in control of the government. The Frente Amplio is in power now, so if the Frente Amplio wants to have a rally in the middle of the street, why not?


In June, primary elections are going to take place in Uruguay known as the internas. This election will decide which candidate is going to represent each party in the general election. The candidates seem to be out in full force campaigning.

The front runner for the far left, Frente Amplio party, Jose Pepe Mujica, made an appearance at the rally in Salto and gave a rather lengthy speech. I was impressed that he spoke without a teleprompter, podium, or notes. Not many politicians can do that in our day and age.

I found it interesting when Mujica shared his stance on English language education in Uruguay. He is a firm proponent of promoting English acquisition because it is the language of technology, and if Uruguayans want to excel in technology, they must learn English. I don't think everyone feels that way, but obviously, most, if not all of the people I work with support English language education--it's more or less my purpose for being here--to promote mutual understanding among cultures and to support English language instruction in Uruguayan educational institutions.


I am excited to follow the elections in Uruguay, although its much more difficult having to understand the process first, get caught up on the issues, figure out the Spanish, and follow the reports. Nonetheless, there is nothing like coming off an election in the US, only to experience another one without the usual four years wait.

Trip to Uruguay's Capital

I just got back from a trip to Montevideo to apply for a visa to Brazil.


Next month we have a regional seminar in Sao Paulo, but we have to have visas to enter the country. The fee for American citizens seems to be much higher than residents of other countries. Booo. What's up with that? Wouldn't countries want to encourage tourism from the US, and thus not charge more than $160 plus the hassle of getting the visa? I suppose the visa either does not discourage much US travel to Brazil, or they make enough off the visas to make up for the lost revenue otherwise.


Nevertheless, I enjoyed being in Montevideo. It made me excited for when I will move to there in almost a month now. It will quite a change to move from a city with a population of 100,000 to one with a population of 1.3 million. I imagine leaving Salto will be bittersweet experience. I have to make the most of every day that I have left in this little place.

One Laptop Per Child

In searching for materials (to help expand the English teacher's vocabulary in adjectives), I was surprized to find this Amazon ad in Time magazine. I took one look at the ad and said, hey! those laptops look awfully familiar. They're the same ones that the students at my school use--the XO.


Apparently in 2007, Uruguay was the first country to place an official order for child-friendly laptops from the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative:

[OLPC] has a simple mission: to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each and every one with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning.

Sounds like a walk in the park. But not all may be as rosy as it seems. This article has much to say on the topic. Among other serious problems, one powerful corporation is putting their weight against the internet provider contracted by the OLPC, Ceibal.

A major challenge for Ceibal, among several: the national telco monopoly, ANTEL, is not overly enthusiastic about free wireless internet. That is an understatement. Who will ANTEL get to pay their rates (4 times higher than in the US at 1/4 the GDP, thus 16 times more expensive than here!) when by using your kid's XO you get access for free?

Hurdle after hurdle the laptop program must face, but Uruguay is well on the way to achieving its goal of a laptop for every schoolchild in the nation. They only have Montevideo left to furnish with XOs.


Personally, I think the goal of laptop for every child is great. Even though the computers run extremely slow and teachers complain that the kids only want to use them to play games and download videos, I still think they have a lot of potential. Children have to learn to use the internet to be successful in today's world. Those without computer access are at a severe disadvantage compared to their peers in other countries. There is no way to escape the fact that technology has become a cornerstone of modern civilization, and children who do not have the opportunity to become versed in technology are missing a vital part of the education they need to be successful.

No Tirar Basura: Don't Throw Trash

A woman in a professional business suit walks down the street digging into her purse. She pulls out some old receipts, takes a look, crumples them up, and tosses them on the street. For a block she throws at least 5 pieces of trash from her bag leaving a trail where she has walked.

Yes. This happened. In fact I have seen similar behavior several times in just the past month. No guilt littering.


It disgusts me. I actually give the offenders dirty looks, because I can't help it. They have no shame whatsoever dumping their trash on the middle of the street. What ugly behavior. Of course not every Uruguayan litters, but there seems to be little social stigma attached to dumping used wrappers, old receipts, plastic bags, and other types of waste on the street and sidewalk.

I can imagine if somebody did this in the US another bystander would confront the offender. Or the litterer would be more secretive about their behavior because they recognize they are doing something wrong. I think there needs to be a "no littering campaign" here that makes tossing trash on the street an embarrassing faux pas for everybody.

Delicious Food

Mmmm. I had some delicious food tonight.


This week Anthony's parents are visiting Salto and they took us out to dinner at a local restaurant called La Caldera. Mmmm. I had pollo glaseado which was glazed chicken stuffed with ham, raisins, and onions, served with a side of warm apple sauce. It was delicious, but unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. I think finding good food in Uruguay is a matter of knowing what to order (or where to buy your groceries). I was despairing for a few weeks when I thought the only things I could find were fried foods, gooey pasta, mayonnaise, and greasy pizza. The options are much more palatable now that I've learned the ins and outs of this South American cuisine.


Then for dessert Christie and I stopped by a nearby bakery to get masas (bite-sized pastries) for everyone. Most include dulce de leche in their ingredient list and all seem to be super tasty.

Batalla de Las Piedras

Today was another holiday in the wonderful nation of Uruguay which meant no school or work. Today was a celebration of the Batalla de Las Piedras (Battle of the Rocks).

The Battle of Las Piedras was part of Uruguay's independence movement, led by none other than the national hero, Jose Artigas, whom I mentioned earlier. He led a group of revolutionaries from the Provincia Oriental del Río de la Plata (modern-day Uruguay) to defeat the Spanish in 1811. And it was on the 18th of May that he uttered one of his most famous phrases, "Clemencia para los vencidos" (Mercy on the vanquished).


Of course, in celebration of Batalla de Las Piedras, I took a trip to the hot springs. I had intended to go one I had never been to before, but oops, I got on the wrong bus and ended up at the Termas Dayman again. Oh well.


Estaba bien. It was fine. I had a great time. I love the termas.


Being there at night was great too. The hot springs are different after the sun sets. They seem more toasty--but that could just be the visible steam wafting into the night sky.