Category: Uruguay
Ah, America
Ah, America:
the visual jingoism of
omnipresent flapping flags.
Shiny cars, beseeching churches;
smooth roads and ads for shiny
vehicles, tank-like or claustrophobic:
sometimes both.
My people: fun to help, make laugh,
cheer along. That I can do so easily,
waitress or Walmart Greeter.
Casually conversational, easygoing,
but so must I bear
the oppressive banality
of overheard conversations.
And not indulge intellect, perception,
nor reveal observation, awareness.
My son says they’re stupid:
given two days, I cannot disagree.
Triscuits, flavor rosemary
and olive oil; cheese a combo:
monterrey jack and cheddar.
Chardonnays not Southern Cone:
cheap good California Barefoot;
Onduraga from Oz. Not special,
just not Southern Cone.
In the hotel, we offer to leave
carry-on unfriendly corkscrew
for future guests. Two wine glasses and
real — not-plastic — knife appear
to carry upstairs
for our evening snack.
(from November 2014)
Voting day
Today is voting day #1 — a runoff election will occur in a month if no one gets a clear majority today.
An Uruguayan friend explained to me yesterday that if, instead of putting the list from one party in your voting envelope, you put a blank piece of paper, your vote goes to whoever gets the most. You also have the option of annulling your vote (voting is required by law). One way is to put two lists (“votes”) in your envelope. I suggested she do this so that if her father, who votes Colorado, asked her who she voted for, she could say Colorado, and answer her mother that she voted like her, for the Frente Amplio.
I’ll be eligible to vote in 2019, and though I generally have little interest in politics, I do find it inspiring to live in a place where they actually offer choices, unlike voting for one or the other half of the Rich Lawyers Party in the United States.
A “new” restaurant
‘The Wooden Spoon’
Excellent food, ambiance, and presentation at reasonable price (entrees UYP 290, a little over USD 12). One block form the bus station. Surprisingly, it has been open for three years, but we’d never heard of it until recently. Open daily noon to midnight.
I would have taken a picture of our lunch but I don’t Instagram 😉
The restaurant challenge
I took this photo a week or two ago. I can pretty much make out what’s available.
This is the cuenta we got yesterday when we went with friends. I just realized it has nothing to do with what we ordered. Apparently.
Non-supermarket/factory eggs
Peso’s cheap, but nothing else
24.35 UY/USD
Last time we got over 24 pesos, five years ago, an entrecot (steak) at a local restaurant cost 245 pesos.
Today? 425; almost 75% more.
Cashews
No wonder cashews cost a bit — each of these fruits has one at the end. I picked on and ate the fruit, very tasty. But apparently they can only be eaten (or juiced) fresh. So in most cases the whole fruit gets wasted when the nut is harvested.
Brownies would taste good (I wonder what they’re called in Uruguay?
“Calidad T I” — Tienda Inglesa quality (presumably good, given the price)
Carnicería
I have an ongoing joke at the local carnicería (butcher shop). They ask me how much I want, and I reply 454 grams, una libra (one pound). Like every other country in the world except for Liberia, Myanmar, and one other, Uruguay uses the metric system—mostly).
We then asked if they had lamb. Siempre. Always. Who knew?
He brought out an entire frozen lamb carcass, cut the length in half with the band saw, then cut off the hindquarter we wanted. The band saw blade is within easy reach of the customer.
I grew up using, and still use, dangerous power tools. But band saws terrify me a little bit, ever since 8th grade (age 13) shop class, when the teacher demonstrated the capabilities of a band saw by cutting through a piece of 2×4 like it was butter, and probably at the same time encouraging us to imagine that 2×4 was some part of our body.
But hey, that was in the United States. It’s probably not too late to sue for psychological trauma, mental distress ….