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Tag Archives: Uruguay

A minute to reflect

02 Sunday Mar 2008

Posted by nubiaNomad in thoughts, Travel

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South America, Uruguay

For the better part of this past month I have taken every opportunity (and decent Internet connection) to update you on my travels. I mostly described the places and routes that I embarked on and talked very little about my impression of the locals and how they perceived me.

The further I worked my way down south into Patagonia the more intriguing my presence became. For many I was the first Muslim they had come in contact with. I often found myself explaining my origins, which drew even more curiosity. Not only a Muslim but Sudanese origins….in South America. I was prodded for answers everywhere I went. I welcomed the questions because it was much easier to start convos and meet new people along the way. For many I met, I dispelled a lot of their stereotypes about Muslim women. Having the explain the theory of the hijab and the choice I made to wear it. The differences between what I wear (the hijab) and the “black robe the covers the entire body (niqab). Also the fact that Muslim woman are not oppressed and are allowed to travel as they please. One woman was fairly surprised to find out that Muslim woman are allowed to leave their countries and travel alone. That convo was fairly interesting. I had to explain first and foremost I can’t speak for all Muslim women around the world. More importantly that along with the religion there are various cultural practices that become fairly intertwined that natives of each region have varying interpretations and views regarding the day-to-day practice of Islam.

I was surprised to know that even though most locals have never come in contact with many Muslims they still had a pretty good knowledge base. I definitely appreciated my improving command of the Spanish language as it definitely helped me meet people and get into more interesting conversations.

It wasn’t only my interaction with locals but also travellers from other countries as well. Talking about politics, culture, language, etc was fairly enlightening. Although many are put off by the thought of travelling alone, I found it be more rewarding. Generally those who travel in groups, tend to stay within their group. Me travelling, I was more inclined to start-up conversations with people around me, which allowed me to improve my Spanish and learn so much more about those I met.

With out a doubt, I know that I have much more to explore and I really hope I can return soon.

As for my time in Uruguay, as cliché as it might sound it has been one of the best learning experiences I have had. Not only am I leaving the country with the knowledge of a new language, I am also leaving with the knowledge that I have made some really close friends.

Yes I know that I have a fairly distinct Spanish accent now (many thanks to my primary teachers Emi and Euge). In terms of placement Uruguay has been great for many reasons. Firstly, it’s fairly safe; never did I feel uncomfortable walking around Montevideo. Secondly, relative to its neighbouring countries the standard of living is much cheaper. So that made saving money all the more easier. I pretty much saved every dime I could in order to freely explore Brazil, Argentina and parts of Chile. Finally, travel to most other South American countries is easily accomplished from Montevideo itself or across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires.

It’s been hard to say goodbye.

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"protecting our hobos"

31 Thursday Jan 2008

Posted by nubiaNomad in thoughts

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hobos, recycling, trash, Uruguay

A little while ago one of the living room lights burnt out and my flatmate went about changing it. Before getting rid of the old bulb I found her wrapping it with newspaper and asked her what she was doing. She said ” oh this, this is called protecting our hobos”. She was talking in reference to the garbage bin divers who scavenge garbage for recyclable/reusable goods.

When I first got here, the fairly modern city that is Montevideo, I occasionally saw a horse-drawn cart with several individuals and tons of bags/plastic goods/boxes etc. I thought it was kind of odd. When I enquired I found out that these people make a living off the goods they find in the bins. Then I came to discover the symbiotic process that drives their livelihood. So in this small South American country the notion of recycling and reusing is fairly common and practiced in most households; separating glass and plastics and cardboard before disposal. Uruguayan based companies also promote recycling. For example Conoprole (primarily known for dairy-based products) advocates returning all milk bags. Milk here is sold is sealed plastic bags (just like the ones in east coast Canada). So we wash them out and when we accumulated a bunch we take them back to the supermarket to be recycled. Same goes for bottles, most glass bottles are returned to the supermarket.

To add to this most of the major supermarkets now have orange plastic bags that they distribute along with the regular grocery bags. These bags are to be used to dispose of recycled goods. So it makes it easier for those who scavenge for these goods to find them. I thought that was really interesting, I guess this to some extent is aimed at promoting the reuse of goods and in some way to facilitating the livelihoods of those who live off scavenged goods.

Comparing Uruguay to Canada/US or the UK who spend significantly more in promoting recycling/reuse agenda, it seems that Uruguayans have simply adopted it into their way of life. Granted not everyone is as avid about the process as my flatmate but generally most Uruguayan living throughout Uruguay (not just the big city-Montevideo). This process took me back to my Solid Waste Management class, which heavily relied on psychology. It just reaffirmed the notion that promoting this agenda cannot solely be focused on placing empty bottles in a different bin, but incorporating it into a larger scheme of lifestyle changes.

It got me wondering if North Americans will ever “buy into” reducing their consumption. I guess this post also comes on the eve of increased coverage of several cities worldwide becoming “bag free zones”. Notably led by Rebecca Hosking from the city of Modbury, England, who went on a spree to rid her town of all plastic bags.

All in all, I’m fairly impressed by way of life here. Not that I am naive and believe recycling will solve the world’s problem, because the sad reality is domestic waste is only a fraction of what occupies landfills worldwide. Additionally, the process of recycling in itself is a costly and sometimes polluting process that requires altering the chemical makeup of a product. But in the grand scheme of things it’s the notion of leading a lifestyle without excessive consumption and some regards to the consequences and impacts our demands is admirable. It also speaks volumes on nations as a whole. With an eminent recession hitting the US economy, Bush is solution to the problem is BUY MORE! CONSUME MORE! Don’t know how effective that will actually be, but sooner or later someone has to catch on to the implications of all this consumption.

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Food for thought

18 Friday Jan 2008

Posted by nubiaNomad in thoughts

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dulce de leche, food, Uruguay

I have been in Uruguay for over 4 months now and I have yet to comment on the food. To be honest I am not all that impressed. Blessed with a talented chef for a mother and having lived with college flatmates of Indian/Afghan, Thai and Moroccan backgrounds, I grew accustomed to a variety of scents, flavours, and most importantly species. I was definitely spoiled when it came to my gastronomic palate. So it’s not surprise that I’ve become somewhat critical of foods I encounter.

So about food in Uruguay, my gross generalization: beef, beef, more beef occasionally some vegetables on the side (probably some form of potatoes). That pretty much describes the asado of Uruguayan bbq, which consists of lots of meat usually beef and sometimes lamb with roasted red peppers. The national palate here is heavily influenced by the influx of Italian immigrants. So you can find pizza and pastas in just about every supermarket or restaurant you go to. Many might think well great how can you go wrong with a great slab of steak (Uruguay and Argentina produce the best beef in the world) or maybe even some pasta of some sort of pie/tart. Well here are my reasons:

  1. I grew up in household full of vegetarians. With a sister and dad who renounced meat early on in my childhood and in order to appease them my mother often cooked meatless dishes. As a result I wasn’t all too fond of red meat to begin with. Chicken is the only reason keeping me from crossing over to the other side; It’s just too good. Plus try explaining your a vegetarian to someone in Sudan- good luck with that. My sister tries and fails every year. It’s difficult for them to comprehend a meal without meat.
  2. The whole ordeal of halal/non-halal meat
  3. Where are the species? The food here at times seems flavorless. That’s why I opt to cook at home most of the time
  4. One can only take so much pasta

So as you can guess, I don’t go out to restaurants all that often. Cooking at home has been a challenge in a country where regular black pepper is considered a potent spice. I scoured several supermarkets and was able to add some curry, chili pepper and cumin to my collection. Sadly that is the extend of what I could find. The on going joke with my flatmate is to add cilantro y comino (cumin) to everything.

Although exploring and getting to know Uruguay has been a great experience, the culinary aspect of it hasn’t really been up to par. I´m craving some Sudanese/Middle Eastern food or some butter chicken(Indian) or maybe even a bowl of tom yam (Thai).

To be fair though, desserts here make up for it. Each local Panaderia has an astonishing number of baked goods, most contain dulce de leche. For more info on this gooey goodness, wikipedia describes it best:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_de_leche

People here can eat dulce de leche for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s pretty good but a little too sweet. I usually have to follow it up with some kind of drink to dilute the sweetness.

I guess it’s all part of the experience.

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Mate Nation

27 Thursday Dec 2007

Posted by nubiaNomad in Travel

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mate, Uruguay, yerba

 
– 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:

http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mate_(beverage)
 
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.

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Holidays in Paysandú

26 Wednesday Dec 2007

Posted by nubiaNomad in Travel

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holidays, Paysandu, Uruguay

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.

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Random encounter

21 Friday Dec 2007

Posted by nubiaNomad in Travel

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South America, Uruguay

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.

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Eid Mubarak from Montevideo

19 Wednesday Dec 2007

Posted by nubiaNomad in Travel

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Eid, Uruguay

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.

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Success!

14 Friday Dec 2007

Posted by nubiaNomad in Travel

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Uruguay, water resources, work

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.

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Better late than never

06 Thursday Dec 2007

Posted by nubiaNomad in Travel

≈ 6 Comments

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Montevideo, South America, Uruguay, water resources

<http://student.britannica.com/eb/art-55163>

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.

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