Author Archives: nubiaNomad

Mate Nation

27 Thursday Dec 2007

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– random woman on the street with her mate and thermos in hand

I’ve been meaning to write about mate for some time now. I definitely think that Starbucks wouldn’t stand a chance around these parts as Mate is king. You can never get between a Uruguayan and his/her mate. It is definitely one of those acquired tastes. Its very bitter and most people don’t like it the first time around. I have grown fond of this drink. I don’t drink it often but I am definitely a fan. Purists like their mate “amargo” bitter, others add different types of sweeteners like sugar or honey. For those of you wondering what the heck it is, Wikipedia explains it best:

yerba mate in all varieties and quantities

Given the nation’s mate addiction it is not surprising that each supermarket has an entire aisle dedicated to this beverage. Here you can find yerba in all varieties and strengths; as well as bags in all sizes. Uruguay relative to neighbouring countries consumes way more mate per capita, ironically they have to import all of it. Yerba doesn’t grow in Uruguay, it requires more tropical conditions; most of it is imported from Paraguay, Brazil and parts of Argentina.


man with mate bag- groups chillin nearby the Intendencia sipping mate – the essential mate gear
Yea so I took pics of random people walking on the street. I tried to get more but something always came in the way. The mate bag, seen in the pic above was a sight that caught me off guard at first. I then realized the utility of such a case. Those who do not wish to tote their thermos under their arm usually opt for this mate case that carries the thermos, mate (cup), bombilla (special straw) and extra yerba if needed.

Holidays in Paysandú

26 Wednesday Dec 2007

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I just got back from spending the Christmas holiday in Paysandú with my flatmate, Emilia’s family. Paysandú is a city about 5 hours (by Bus) northwest of Montevideo on the banks of the Rio Uruguay.

To start off, the bus system in Uruguay puts the Greyhound or Megabus/National Express (UK system) to shame. Buses have been my only mode of transportation around Uruguay and to Buenos Aires. The system is extremely organized; buses leave on the dot and arrive when they are actually scheduled to arrive. I do recall my first and last trip on Greyhound down to Durham, NC. What would normally be a 4-5 hour trip turned into a 12 hour ordeal with a 6 hr. layover in Richmond. I try to block out that memory. I digress, the intercity or country (if you travel to cities in Argentina and Brazil from Uruguay) bus system is reliable, affordable and very well kept; with each city having its own central bus terminal. Tres Cruces, the major terminal here in Montevideo also has a shopping centre. Ok I will stop raving about the bus system here.

 

We arrived in Paysandú late Saturday afternoon and spent the rest of the day getting to know the little ones (Simón and Juan) and chilling out in what used to be Emilia’s grandfather’s farm. It was such a spacious estate. So peaceful. The hacienda (farm) is located about 10 km outside the city. Although most of the land now isn’t really worked, Ana (Emi’s mom) has an impressive garden with various fruits and veggies. Sunday a bunch of people came by for an asado (bbq). Early evening we relocated to Paysandú proper to visit the rest of the fam. Monday more chilling and eating took place, plus an interesting trip to a tambo (dairy farm) that belongs to Emi’s dad.

Holiday festivities here are pretty much on par with those in Canada/US -lots and lots of food. The weather is definitely a big difference. This time of year has always been synonymous with snow and cold weather. It was a bit odd to think of summer and holidays simultaneously. I guess people here probably can’t fathom the holiday season with winter weather. Oh another interesting variation, the days leading up to Xmas day people stock up on fireworks. Around midnight of the 25th the neighbourhoods lit up as each household got out to the street and lit up their fireworks. Tuesday was followed by yet another gathering with more food. After which we caught the bus back to Montevideo. All in all it was a wonderful several days filled with food and more food. It was rather depressing coming back to Montevideo and realizing that work awaited the next day.

On a very random tangent, on the ride up to Paysandú, seeing all those cows for some reason made me think of an odd commercial paid for by the California Dairy industry. Not sure if anyone actually remembers it. The one stating that good cheese comes from happy cows and happy cows come from California. I have no idea why that came to mind. Nonetheless, it got me comparing cows in California and cows here in Uruguay. I have concluded that cows in Uruguay are far happier as they produce the best dairy and have the best meat in the world; figures that Uruguay and Argentina are known for their beef.

Random encounter

21 Friday Dec 2007

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Despite being away from family and friends, I had a pretty good Eid. After work yesterday I went to my friend Meriem´s house and spent the evening with her, Amina and Amirah. It was a pretty good get together.

I left the 3 of them around 10:40pm in order to catch the last bus from Barrio Pocitos to my flat. (disclaimer to family, I was not walking down some dimly lit street. I walked along the Rambla (boardwalk) with plenty of people out and about). On the way to the bus stop I passed a few people walking and didn’t think much of it. Two of the guys tracked back and asked me if I was Indian. Ironic since one of the guys asking was Indian. I never thought I had any resemblance to Indians. Regardless, after discovering I was not Indian and that I speak English, they were both anxious to figure out what the heck I was doing in Uruguay. The two guys who I initially talked to (Javier and Viyay) were from Colombia and India respectively. They both worked for TATA (the Indian Software company).

After 5 minutes or so of talking to them, they told me that they are on their way to a restaurant across the street for a farewell get together. Their friends were waiting across the street and asked if I wanted to join. After briefly deliberating, I decided why not, go for it and meet new people. So I joined them and their friends at a restaurant called Che Montevideo.

So many things come to mind when thinking about that scenario. The fact that the group of people I met all worked for TATA; a sign that Indians are everywhere and their using software to dominate. Secondly, only in Uruguay would I feel safe enough to join a group of people that I just met. Not that I am naive and would run off with anyone I talk to but honestly, it is something about the people and atmosphere of Uruguay. There is always this feeling of comfort and safety (relative to a lot of other places I’ve been to).

As the night progressed, I got to know Javier and Vijay´s coworkers. There was Colombian girl, A Uruguayan girl and 2 other Uruguayan guys. The majority were software developers. Diana was an economist (but mainly dealt with accounting). We had a really great time. Left the restaurant around 1:30am and all this time I kept thinking I have to work tomorrow. Someone suggested ice cream. So the entire group walked a few blocks to La Cigale (in my opinion some of the best Italian-style gelato around). I was amazed that it was still open. Conversations continued at the heladeria. We stuck around for a while since one of them was catching a flight back to Bogota at 4am.

All in all I ended up grabbing a cab and getting back home around 3 something in the morning. Met some really great people and now have an open invitation to visit Colombia. I might very well take them up on their offer. I think the fact that you can easily start up conversation and join in on gatherings speaks volumes of Montevideo. I was pretty tired at work but definitely well worth the late stay out.

Eid Mubarak from Montevideo

19 Wednesday Dec 2007

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Kul 3’m wa antum be5eer!!

Today is Eid al-Adha, although it doesn’t really feel like it. I woke up early this morning and went to prayer at the Islamic Centre (run by the Egyptian Embassy). I only stayed for the prayer and the sermon. I had to get back to work. I didn’t really want to take the day off since I am taking a few days off next week. Some people stuck around for lunch afterwards.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. For those who have to work as well, enjoy your days off next week; and those who made it to Hajj this year, I hope you had a wonderful experience.

I fasted yesterday (for Arafa) and it was harder than I expected. I had such an odd headache all day. Sunsets around 8pm didn’t really help either. I’m glad I made it through the day. Although at times I didn’t really want to talk to anyone at work.

Success!

14 Friday Dec 2007

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Today there was finally a breakthrough with my work. After months and months of working with a particular water resources model, I was able to run the simulation fully and actually get RESULTS! spending the better part of the past 1.5 months just trying to debug precipitation files that dated back more than a 100 years drove me to the brink of insanity. Now begins the task of trying to decipher what the outputs mean and what is actually relevant.

Another note, finally I got my Brazilian visa. For anyone planning to travel around the region, I suggest you get all your required visas (for all countries back in Canada or the States). I had to pay the same price for my visa as I would in Canada but mine was only valid for a few weeks. whereas the ones issues from North America are valid for 5 years (multiple entry). So (inshallah) I am planning to make the most out of this trip.

Better late than never

06 Thursday Dec 2007

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So it has taken me a while to get to this point. For many months I have fought the pressure to get a blog started merely because I don’t know if I have the commitment to keep it up. I will try my best but no promises. I figured it would be the best way to send updates and post pictures. Where to start…. well I am constantly berated by friends and acquaintances for my tendency to relocate every so often. Currently I am living in Montevideo, Uruguay. To date, I have been here for nearly 3 months. It’s definitely been an interesting experience to say the least.

This trip, unlike any of my previous endeavours was really diving head first into unknown waters. I came here knowing little about the country, no Spanish to speak of, and no clue what I just got myself into. I figured I should seize the opportunity. The process of getting here was such a daze, in the midst of dissertation madness, I stumbled upon this current fellowship during my bouts of procrastination/ near mental breakdown of piecing my dissertation together. With my dissertation deadline fast approaching (or in reality a self-imposed earlier deadline, in order to cross the pond to make it to my beloved cousin’s wedding), and no plans in sight, the discovery of this fellowship was a sign. My excitement about the discovery soon dissipated as I realized the deadline was only days away. Days after what seemed to be the longest phone interview ever, I got the good news.

So about life in Uruguay; it definitely has its ups and downs. Uruguay in comparison to its neighbors (Brazil and Argentina) is a dot on the map. A dot that I really like! The people are fairly helpful. Being constantly stared at in public never ceases to amuse me. I am definitely an anomaly around these parts. Everything about me throws people off and trying to answer the “where are you from?” question is the hardest thing. For now I’ve perfected a simplified answer. Language wise, it was a rough start and till today I still struggle. There are days where I feel that my comprehension has gotten so much better and other days where it just hurts to keep up with the pace of conversations. I often miss the subtle jokes and nuances of the daily speech. I can’t really sum up my last 3 months in one post, and I have no intention of trying. I’m hoping I can just pick up from here. I put up a few pics on fb, so all those who repeatedly asked to see what Uruguay looks like can have a glimpse.

Work wise, I am working on a water resource management project, sounds great in theory but in reality my day-to-day functions are more akin to those of a computer programmer. I spend hours writing FORTRAN or visual basic codes. These days my activities have been primarily limited to debugging. I am having huge issues with the modeling program that refuses to accept the data files. So more or less I stare at decades and decades worth of data, trying to make changes to mistakes that I see in the hopes that I can get my model up and running. I ‘ll keep at it in the hopes of accomplishing something worthwhile in the end.

I will try my best to keep this blog up, I promise.