After watching the first 20 minutes of this amazing documentary (allowed online one week by the Chinese government, 200 million views), in which the presenter interviews a 6 year old girl in China who has never seen a star or blue sky, I was dazzled anew by, and grateful for, the clear blue sky here: 10 in the morning and the moon is plainly visible.
Which is not to imply Uruguay is an ecological paradise; in contrast, most cropland is annually (or more) drenched in glifo (a.k.a. Roundup herbicide). And the beach was filthy today, including hundreds of meters of fishing line left behind by fishermen.
Is it alright if I ask how much it cost you to uproot and move to Uruguay? How much stuff did you bring? I would have emailed instead of using the comments, but…..
Our case is somewhat unusual, since we moved here from Mexico, where we did not have enough stuff to fill even a 20-foot container, and LTL shipment to Uruguay was, close as we could tell, all but impossible. At the very least very impractical. Long story how we got stuff to Texas, but we shipped a pallet with 16 cartons, a bike, and a rug from Houston. I don’t recall the cost. We brought a pile of suitcases on re-visit and moving flights down.
Our “uprooting” from the ‘Murkan “Endless Stuff” lifestyle happened in late 2006 — a number of garage sales, getting down to an 8-foot U-Haul trailer (we had to stay a month with relatives), and finally moving to Mexico in a pickup truck. You probably saw my post.
I know some people moving back who spent $9,000 getting their container here. And fortunately will get their deposit back from customs … another long story.
It must be difficult to break the ‘stuff’ habit. Sometimes it all makes one happy, other times it feels like a millstone around my neck.
We’ve managed to accumulate a significant amount of stuff here; I think it’s more a question of discerning what you actually appreciate and use. We have a friend who’s a collector; that’s different. Most residents of consumer-glut countries severely overestimate their needs and usage. We visited friends who moved back from Uruguay to the US; you can barely pass through their garage for all the boxes of (what?).
For me, travel is always a great reminder of how little stuff you need, because when you have to haul it yourself you have incentive to re-think your priorities.
Very interesting video. Strange the government would allow such an honest portrayal of the problems.
Meanwhile, here in Uruguay……
MY SKIES ARE BLUE
My skies are blue and often clear;
My clouds are white or tinged with grey,
or charcoal dark or roiling black;
All recognizable in forms
which clouds were always known to be;
Not linear or all cross-hatched
unnaturally ´cross my blue skies
by excrement from silver birds;
for purposes that are not clear
or fully told by those who load
the chemicals aboard those planes;
Nefarious I´ve come to fear;
My skies are blue; let´s keep them clear.
Casa Inspiracíon
27/07/13
Nice!