Que de mas!

Devoted readers, I apologize for my overdue update. It has been quite an adventure in itself getting settled here in Montevideo. Between battling cell phone and internet representatives, trying to learn Spanish, and gorging ourselves on Uruguayan cuisine, I haven't had much time to collect my thoughts, let alone transcribe them.

I will start at the beginning:

I somehow managed to survive 22 hours of travel which included a fainting spell on the flight between Atlanta and Santiago. Not sure what triggered such an event, but I'm going to guess the combination of hunger and a rather strong sleeping pill had something to do with it. Regardless, on Thursday I arrived only an hour and half late and rounded the corner of Carrasco Airport into the open arms of Andrea and her tia (Aunt) Marta. 4 hours later, we returned to the airport to retrieve Kara and Sarah with her other tia Adriana.

With our group finally united, we got to work setting up our quaint Pocitos apartment (Pocitos is a neighborhood in Montevideo, considered one of the more up-scale areas of the city). Andrea and I share one room, Kara and Sarah share the other (obviously -- their names do rhyme, after all). There is even an unoccupied single room, should a flaxen-haired Bostonian who's middle name is Fox decide to join us.

Our first full day in Montevideo was spent meandering around the city and running errands: Unlocking cell phones to make them international, securing health insurance, buying plug adapters, and stocking up on groceries. Dinner that night was a healthy spread of brown rice, chicken, vegetables, and salad. This seemingly lean meal has proven to be the exception rather than the rule, as Uruguayan food has since been calling our name.

On Sunday we hosted a wine and cheese party at our apartment for some member's of Andrea's family. We used cheese that we bought at a feria -- these are plentiful streetfairs found arround the city where you can buy everything from strawberries to blue cheese to bathing suits to jewelery.

Another journey worth mentioning was the one we made to Mercado del Puerto, the literal "Port Market" in Ciudad Vieja (Old City) and one of Montevideo's (few) tourist spots. After a two-hour walk we found ourselves sitting at a table staring at hunks of garlic bread, bowls of fresh salad, a big pot of chimichurri, and a platter mounted with two types of steak and pork Pamplona (meaning stuffed with cheese). Hands down, it was some of the best food I've ever had. The desserts -- dulce de leche crepes and dulce de leche flan -- weren't too shabby either. All for the equivalent of about $17 each.

We've gone out on the town a couple of nights so far, both in Ciudad Vieja and Pocitos. The nightlife is fun but adjusting to the schedule is rough. People don't even leave their houses in Uruguay until 2 AM! Previas (pregames) usually start around midnight or so. We've taken to napping briefly before going out to dance.

Other things worth mentioning:

-The people here, men and women, are unnaturally attractive. It's not fair.
-One of the aforementioned attractive men works at the fruit store right next to our apartment building. His name is Rodrigo and we love him.
-We have become fast friends with our portero, Ramiro. (Note: a portero is someone who acts as a doorman/super/custodian for an apartment building)
-The Rambla, which is essentially a paved pedestrian pathway all along the coast, is my new favorite destination. I've been running on it almost everyday. It's a popular spot for Uruguayans to go and spend time with friends while sharing mate (pronounced mah-tay) which is a supremely strong loose-leaf tea that Uruguayans seem to be nuts about. It's a little bitter for my liking, but my goal is to acquire a taste for it.
-The fashion for girls here seems to be skinny jeans as far as the eye can see, along with boots. Apparently it is also socially acceptable here for guys to sport mullets and rat-tails, a fault we cannot so quickly look beyond.

That is just about it for now. Unfortunately, posting pictures via this blog doesn't seem to be working out so well, so I suggest you count on my facebook profile for that.

Besos!