Adventuras en Empleo (cont.)

Realizing that it has been exactly two weeks since my last post, I have decided that it is time for an update. I realize now that my lofty goal of one entry per week is not exactly compatible with my procrastinatory nature. Yeah, I know that's not a word. I just made it one. Think of me as this generation's Dr. Seuss.

So I suppose you're all on the edge of your seats wondering how our job at El Palenque is going -- the answer is: Great! As the ships dock and tourists start pouring in, Andrea and I find ourselves to be more and more appreciated, both by dizzied elderly couples desperately seeking English speakers, and by staff at the restaurant, frantically searching for a way to lasso the Americans and Brits and yank them into our parrillada.

Our role in the restaurant has thus far grown to include responsibilities as promoters, translators/interpreters, make-shift seating hostesses, and hotel correspondents. As of yesterday, we were able to check off another box: Tour guides. Let me explain...

A smaller, very luxurious cruise pulled into the port yesterday morning. After an hour or so of handing out flyers and coupons to little avail, the two of us found ourselves chitchatting with some of the younger, hipper cruisers from the ship -- please bear in mind this places them in the 50-60 year age bracket. Spring chickens and roosters, as far as most cruises go. Anyway, the lot of us hit it off right away and they ended up inquiring about the possibility of us giving them a tour of good old Monty-V. Walking around the city with four friendly Los Angeleans in the December sunshine? Sounded like fun! Nevermind the fact that Andrea and I are essentially tourists ourselves, with little to no concrete knowledge of the city. We went to Penn and we can bullshit with the best of them.

We headed back to the restaurant and, after getting the "ok" from our esteemed manager, set out on foot from the Mercado del Puerto and weaved our way through the crackly sidewalks of Ciudad Vieja to the Peatonal (an idyllic little pedestrian walkway) all along the way pointing out whatever little historic landmarks we could and hurling out any interesting facts about Uruguayan life that popped into our minds. Fast forward through an hour and a half of jewelry, leather, and trinket shopping (and two very bored husbands), and we were back at the restaurant.

After regrettably insisting that no, we really could not join them for lunch, but that we would be sure to check up on them later, our group sat down in the secluded, air-conditioned upstairs while we headed down into the madness that was developing on the ground level of the market. We had no idea that the Saturday before Christmas at el Mercado del Puerto is tantamount to swarms of rambunctious youngsters imbibing glass after glass of medio y medio (a saccharine sparkling wine) and clogging up the doors and walkways of every restaurant in the building.

Andrea and I ran around for un rato (a little bit), looking for open tables, seating hungry guests, and checking in on a bunch of English speaking groups. We make friends with the tourists fast. What can I say? They love us. At points this job makes us feel like moviestars, with many of them asking us to pose for photos. Ah well, if you insist...

Between the photo opps and autographs, we nearly missed our L.A. amigos heading out the door after polishing off the last of their meal. We pulled ourselves away from the mania long enough to snap a photo with them, divvy out some hugs and air-kisses, and allow them to surreptitiously place some much missed American green into our hands. $50 each! Such sweet, generous people. Major props to SoCal.

So after 7-hours of constant motion on our feet, Andrea and I wearily collected our belongings and headed out the door. I have a whole new appreciation for the organization and efficiency that came with hostess work at Tinto in Philadelphia -- chaos seems to be the name of the game down here in El Palenque, where the only speed available is hustle. Que puedes hacer? When in Rome...

More soon!

Un beso,

Emily

PS- I did get that job at the other restaurant where I interviewed. After learning it would be Monday-Saturday from 6 pm to 1 am, with a laughable wage (and probably even more comical tips) I decided it would be best to stick with my current situation. Regardless, it was encouraging to find out that someone would have actually hired me, broken Spanish and all.

PPS- Everyone bid adieu to Kara and Sarah, as their time in Uruguay draws to a close. Come tomorrow morning at 4 am, they will be gliding back to the U.S. courtesy of Copa airlines. They'll be missed, but the apartment won't be empty for long. We're expecting our fair share of visitors and riffraff passing through in the coming months: My sister Becky, our blonde friend Carolyn, and a twinkly-eyed Penn alum named Noah who has been backpacking around South America for the past few months. New faces mean new adventures, so keep checking back!