Blatant Tourism

Gah!!! Sorry for the uber-belated blog entry but you know how it goes…. I procrastinate and then absolutely nothing gets done. :D

Anyway, my last post emphasized how embarrassing it can be to be an American (or Norteamericana here), but I didn’t really talk much about general impressions of Americans. Like most other people in the world, Uruguayans have a set of preconceived notions about people from the States: we’re loud, somewhat rude, only speak English, and travel, for us, consists of snapping pictures and buying souvenirs. So, in an attempt to be more culturally sensitive and actually engage the people around me instead of being a stereotypical American, I try to avoid doing these things. Sure, sometimes I carry my camera out for class assignments or just to play with it (it is my new toy, after all). But, for the most part, I try to blend in as much as is possible. However, even I cannot totally avoid blatant, American-style tourism 100% of the time. Lemme give you a couple of examples:

1) Last Saturday, we all went on a little jaunt to Punta del Este and other nearby sites. The trip was fabulous, even if we all got sunburnt… First, we went to my favorite place in Uruguay (so far): Casa Pueblo. For those of you who don’t know, Casa Pueblo is a sprawling mansion/museum very close to Punta del Este. Walking into a museum in a large group while excitedly speaking loud English and snapping as many photos as your camera can hold is definitely a touristy thing to do. And, of course, I bought the obligatory souvenir (a print of a painting of the house by the artist who built it, for those of you who want to know). We all then filed back out to the bus and drove to Punta del Este proper, where we ate lunch on the docks and then sailed out to a small island (Isla Gorriti), where we spent the remainder of the afternoon on the beach or (in my case) climbing around on the rocks and stomping pinecones in the woods. We then went back in a clump and ate at a nice restaurant in Piriapolis, snapped some more photos, bought more souvenirs (not me), and then rode the bus home. All in all, it was actually a really fun trip, which I hate to admit since it was so incredibly touristy.

2) Carnaval. Really, I don’t need to say more, but I will. It’s summer here in South America, meaning that there are a number of interesting festivities going on while we’re here. Top of the list for many is Carnaval (and yes, that is spelled correctly), which is similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans but goes on a lot longer and is, if possible, a little crazier. We went to the opening parade as a group and sat together in paid seats along the street. Again, we were snapping pictures like crazy and commenting on the parade in loud English (this time actually necessarily loud, since we were in a huge, excited crowd). Now, most of you know that I’m not really one for large crowds of people, but this was actually pretty fun. Carnaval was originally a time for breaking rules, when the lower classes could make fun of those in power without fear of retribution. It’s lost some of the historical significance now, but there’s still a lot of social commentary occurring and, even though I didn’t understand the significance of everything, I did enjoy seeing men dressed as cheerleaders and a variety of people in elaborate costumes. I even bought a mask for myself which, unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of yet. Again, despite the fact that I felt very American, I had a lot of fun.

Conclusions? Truth is I don’t really have anything all that profound to say. But, I guess I am learning that I can embrace blatant, stereotypical American tourism on occasion without compromising my integrity as a culturally-sensitive traveler. I obviously want to learn about Latin American culture and to be able to integrate myself as much as possible, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be a travel-snob and avoid anything that other Americans do. Mostly, I’m discovering that I can, and sometimes should, just let go and just enjoy things

I'm Proud to Be an American?

When I decided to go to Uruguay, everyone told me that Raquel’s cooking is amazing. And it is very, very, very good. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for my waistline, Raquel doesn’t cook every meal. Only breakfast on Tuesdays and Thursdays and lunch Monday-Friday. Because of this sad fact, one of the first excursions I went on was to the grocery store.

The Disco, which is just down the street, is much like an American grocery store (except, of course, its name). There are “normal” aisles, a deli, and even some similar products. So, of course, I look to see what products I can find that are like those in America. Here’s a quick run-down of American foods at the Disco:

1. Zucaritas, which are Frosted Flakes. (For those of you who don’t know, azúcar means sugar in Spanish.) As Karen commented, they seriously cut to the chase here. “Nothing good in these, folks. They’re pretty much just straight sugar…”)

2. Doritos and other Lay’s products

3. Coca Cola, Sprite, Pepsi…

4. Pan Americano- This is what Krista likes to call bleached, flavorless bread and is what most people in the States think of as “normal bread.”

5. Hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.

Also, when I went to Tres Cruces, I saw a McDonald’s and a Mr. Pollo (which is much like McDonald’s except you order Mr. Hamburger instead of a Big Mac and Mr. Pollo instead of Chicken McNuggets).

So what’s the point of this list? Just to let you know that sometimes being an American makes me a little sad. I mean, seriously, what cultural things ARE we exporting? Here’s what I get out of “American foods” in other countries: an inferior, unhealthy product. Not to mention the fact that maybe, just maybe, the American desire for speed and convenience prevents the development of meaningful, natural relationships. But that’s another post entirely.

For now, I’ll enjoy the culinary experiences available to me here. And, of course, I’ll also consume a certain number of familiar products. In fact, I have a Coke under my bed right now waiting to be opened and drunk (drank? I never know…). But, mostly, I’ll try as many new foods as possible and find things that I’ll miss when I come back.

A Post That's Actually From Montevideo....

Mkay, so we're all here safe and sound. No lost luggage or major incidences. We didn't even have our bags checked at the airport. I think that was for lack of language skills, though, because the guy asked me if I spoke Spanish and waved me through when I said no... :D Ignorance is occasionally very handy.

Just a quick rundown of what we've done so far, in chronological order, based solely on my sleep-deprived memory:

3 hour flight from Dallas to Miami and 9 hour flight from Miami to Montevideo.

Drive through Montevideo in ACU vans and get a feel for the town.

Stop at a beach (where no one actually swims, apparently) and climb around on the hill and rocks along the water. We also took a group pic here, which I'll post if I can figure out how.

Eat lunch at Casa ACU (empanadas with a choice of chicken, beef, cheese, and/or corn). It was wonderful, by the way.

Pick rooms and roommates. Start unpacking (I'm not really done at all yet but some people are).

Scavenger hunt around our neighbourhood to figure out where the big shopping center was, how to exchange money and send postcards, etc.

Eat dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Walk home with Karen, Katie, and Krista Cukrowski and Josh Alkire while everyone else goes to the beach. Impressively, we didn't get lost at all and only made one wrong turn, onto the street we live on. Then we realized we were walking the wrong direction and turned around... Yeah us!!

Take a shower (fascinating, I know) and generally prepare for bed.

Watch some people play cards for a little while.

Pass out on my bed.

Wake up for a wonderful breakfast at 9.

Orientation (ie safety tips and rules) from 10-12:30.

Lunch, which was rice with a chicken soupish thing (again delicious), broccoli, salad, and rolls.

More orientation.

A tour of the church next door/in our building. This is where our classes will be. We also got to see the roof and clock tower on the roof, which is a big treat because most groups don't get to see it, apparently. It was hot up there, but really awesome.

Free time, which K4 and I used to go to Tres Cruces (a mall with normal stores, bus kiosks, a food court, and a bank).

Dinner at Tres Cruces. The beef here is amazing, if anyone's curious.

Internet time..... And now you're up to date, as far as I can remember.

Ok. Now some quick impressions:

Montevideo reminds me of Italy so much that I keep speaking the small amount of Italian I know to people. I also have been speaking a little French.

The shops here are really cool.

Casa ACU, which I'll blog more about later, has a really cool and slightly confusing layout.

I really wish I spoke some Spanish.

Latin is really helpful when I'm trying to read stuff.

I'm really just generally glad that I'm here, even if I do miss people (and my cats) back in the States.

Love you all and I'll blog more later but for now I'm going to go try to be social!