After being in a place for awhile, you can forget to notice the interesting, unique and nutty things you see, experience and run into. When we first arrived, and were limited to the yard of our BnB, I remember marvelling at the air plants that attached themselves to various tree limbs and power lines, and the quarter size silver acorns I found on the ground. It's so energizing to be able to see new things, especially after the rut of the pandemic.
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Air plant stuck to our front gate
But of course, things become regular, routine and not as interesting as time marches by, and Rob and I have tried to remind one another to not get stuck and to keep on noticing things. Houses are easy- I love finding a new road and checking out the interesting houses. Seeing as the roads are designed with confusion in mind, it is easy to find yourself on a new road (inevitably named for some famous Doctor, General or Teacher) and quickly turned around with amazing houses of brick, stuco and wood on every side. With spring, we are seeing new plants and trees, including this AMAZING purple flowering tree- I have no idea what it is called- but it gives the canopy over some roads an eerie glow regardless of the time of day.
And of course, there is always the river. It is constantly changing and evolving. It's latest incarnation includes lifeguards at every beach (there are 10 in MVD city proper) and tons of people, either sunbathing or playing soccer. Most everyone has a beach chair, and a thermos, and a mate. I am a surprised that I usually see people drinking mate, not beer or other cold drinks on the beach. Summer isn't here yet.
7am on a Sunday morning.
Left over from evening ritual on the beach.
So we try to do different things- we went to a new beach, we ate at a new restaurant (a CHINESE VEGETARIAN BUFFET RESTAURANT!!!) and we try to keep looking around, because you never know what you will find..
A little beachfront restaurant serving merienda (the 6 pm meal). They were going to have a DJ and music...starting at 10...so, we will be in bed sadly. About 15minutes from our house.
New beach. More blue water as you head east. This country is all sand.
This is very China. Random decorations and a big freezer. And the food was not too bad!
Having new experiences helps us remember the joys of being an expat. That said, things can get old and can be familiar. Today at the Feria in my neighborhood, where they now remember me and try to send the best English speaker to my aid, I ran into a man I had done a 2000m swim with juste 2 hours before. This is a city of 1 million, but it does start to feel small.
Our school was able to resume the Outdoor Education Programs after a year or so off. Luckily, all of the Campbellgates got to participate, either as chaperones or participants. I got to go with the 6th graders to a Repile House, a native animal preserve, and a hike to a cold swimming hole. I got to hold a snake, see a jaguar, ride in an old military style jeep with no seat belts up a farm road AND swim with 27 6th graders. It was a very cool day.
The world's largest rodent- a Capybara
They are SOOOO CUTE!
Yep. That is a jaguar. And she growled at us.
The hill is called Pan de Azucar (Sugar Loaf) sadly, we didn't climb it...maybe next time!
Could be southern Thurston County
Finally, I have continued to keep on swimming with the Uruguay outdoor swim group. The lifeguards have arrived, so we can't go as far as we would like but we are making it work, and seeing how Antonio, my swim pal, was in charge of the lifeguards forever, we have an in for communicating with them. We did a nighttime swim with the full moon- we all had lights in our buoys- it was pretty amazing. The water was barely salty and calm, unlike most swims this year. Afterwards, there was a parilla (BBQ) and a birthday celebration. I got to experience dinner at 9...and when I left at 935, they were still having fun chatting and eating. I needed to leave, and, SLEEP!
I am making plans for swims I want to do in the next few weeks. They have a big swim nearly every weekend up until Xmas, and I am really interested in pushing for the longer ones. There is a big swim across the Rio de la Plata, from UY to ARG and I am considering trying to find a team to join. It is 42 km and takes about 20 hours. If I can find a relay of 4, we could all do about 10k in shifts. I think it is do-able, though I would need to get used to swimming for about 2 hours at a time. I have some time- it is in March.
Malvin, my "home beach"
Antonio, my swim friend. He not only is a doctor, photographer, motocycle rider and head Malvin swim dude, he can run a HOT parilla!
I gotta tell the truth. Those hamburgers were really, really good. Also, I was starving at 9pm...
We continue to find treasures at the downtown flea market. Here is my latest artist find:
If Sailor Moon was Uruguayan
Garbage cans around MVD often look like this. I love to imagine pin up girls hanging out on top!
She also makes coinpurses out of cassette tapes! I love her sensibility- irreverant and edgy. I have a deal with Marieka that if I take her to the big mall, she will go with me to this Feria so I can find more DIY artists to support! I love the artist culture here- very Olympia- I have bought art, cards, earrings, and cassette coin purses. But I know more is out there for me to discover.
Today at the Sunday Market, I mostly found beautiful buildings and people campaining for their favorite candidate. The elections are soon, and they usually stop alcohol sales during the election window. This year it overlaps with the South America Soccer Cup. Alcohol will still be prohibited to sell, so people must be stocking up.
Political Party Row- they have more than 2! AMAZING
SPRING
Wood Pallet furniture, and anti authoritarian neighborhood graffiti
I love this corner building.
Its getting hotter here. Luckily, we have the mosquito screens mounted now so we can leave windows open and allow the night air (and barking dogs) to keep us company. We have 2 days off for Thanksgiving this week and are headed east up the coast to the Atlantic. Then, we come home!
Mei Mei continues to enjoy life in UY.
Driving
Resting
Being a Campbellgate
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