First taste of ASIA!

New continent, new way of travel, new accommodation types, and a brand new level of grunge. Everything about this backpacking trip is completely unfamiliar, but transitioning has been easier than expected. I think the job has really prepped me for any type of culture shock; however, every second of every day is filled with new sights and surprises, keeping all of my senses continually active.

I am currently sitting on the deck of our beach bungalow in Ko Chang, Thailand, about 500 km south of Bangkok. Meaning “Elephant Island”, this jungle-clad escape is exactly what I imagine a Thai island to look like. Perfectly yellow beaches and light blue waters are enough to satisfy any beach bum, but the lush jungle background adds to the beauty of it. It’s a cloudy morning so I’m taking advantage to fill you guys in, then hopefully the sun will come out (Abbie and I are planning to ride some elephants today!)

Where to start? Bangkok was my first stop, where I would meet Abbie and get my first taste of SE Asia. After 2 days of travel, I showed up in Thailand, but my backpack did not. I tried to make light of it – backpacking without a backpack! – but I was just plain miserable in the hot, sticky, smoky city wearing the same clothes. I HAD to take advantage of the day however, and trekked to the ornate Golden Palace of Bangkok to hit the sights straight away while I waited for Abbie. The Golden Palace is simply spectacular. It really gave me a feel for the grandeur of Asian culture and religion, and I loved walking through the palaces and temples at my own pace, snapping pictures and sweating in my borrowed sarong (no leggings allowed once in the palace, so many have to “rent” sarongs to wear!) The most phenomenal sight was the emerald Buddha inside the great temple. You enter the temple without shoes, and are not allowed to point your feet directly at the Buddha. The peacefulness inside the temple was a stark contrast to the overly-excited tourists outside, and sitting there in silence was somewhat of a perfect welcoming to this new region which I knew nothing about and which I was so eager to explore.

One small section of the Golden Palace!

Finally Abbie arrived that night, and we forgot all about our jetlag (and stupidly all about our bug spray) and headed out for our first dinner and drinks of the trip. We talked and talked and talked (and if you know Abbie, you know this is true beyond description). We enjoyed some pad thai with the locals – aka the rats – on the streets of Bangkok near our hostel. Street food is supposedly some of the best in the world in Thailand, and the beer isn’t so bad either! “Chang” is the most well-known (again meaning “Elephant”) and we have found ourselves consuming this the most as import taxes make wine and spirits somewhat off-limits for us budget travelers.

The next day we headed via tuk-tuk (how everyone gets around here) to the main shopping district of Bangkok. A HUGE mall, MBK, and square after square of markets left us overwhelmed and excited. We saw so many cute, cheap items (I’m talking $5 dresses…max) we vowed to come back at the end of our trip, as we are flying out of Bangkok, and are going to buy another luggage to bring some of those goodies home! When in Thailand…

That night we ventured to Khao San Road, a crazy, touristy, gritty area of Bangkok, with restaurant and bar owners calling to you every second, not to mention the sketchy pimps also urging you to come to their “shows”. Just watching the tourists is fun in itself…Abbie and I have vowed that we won’t turn into those backpackers who turn extremely hippy on their travels just to fit it. It’s funny to pick up on the clichés of the whole experience. Most young people backpacking all look exactly the same: greasy hair covered with a bandana, a “Chang” beer tank top, those baggy genie pants, and dirt-clad feet (complete with a slouchy canvas bag). I don’t mean to sound judgmental, just very perceptive. :) SE Asia is the “new” backpacking trail, so the number of hotels and guesthouses is overwhelming, as are the tuk-tuk drivers and bar owners ready to rip you off. You must haggle for everything, and fight until the very last cent, because these businessmen have been at the game for years.

Yummy snacks in Bangkok...

We were only in Bangkok two nights, as we will be stopping over a couple more times before our trip is through. All in all, it was the perfect first taste of the chaotic Asian culture, and prepped me to be ready for just about anything. I am already used to being smelly and itchy (although now I use bug spray a little bit obsessively – these mosquitoes are ruthless). I am used to no hot water and taking a shower in the entire bathroom (rarely are there separate shower stalls) and sleeping in my silk “cocoon” that serves as a sleeping bag over the hostel beds. Although this all doesn’t exactly sound like paradise, the experience so far has been unforgettable and amazing. We are truly making the most out of it and I have already seen and done so many new, wild things in only one week. More to come on our first venture out of Thailand to Cambodia!

The Saga Continues

And the blog title has changed...ciao to "Off the Beaten Business Path"! I guess I can safely say my nomadic life has and will change along with it. The past month has been a wonderful whirlwind of friends and family, and I have loved every minute of traveling to Medellin, Colombia with Pedro, spending Christmas in Lynchburg, VA, partying NYE at the family beach house, and road-tripping to DC, Boston, and NYC. Every single stop could fill up a blog page alone, but the main purpose of this tiny post is to verify that the blog will go on!!

This Sunday I fly out of the US with a layover in Abu Dhabi (that totally counts as visiting, right?) and will arrive in Bangkok, Thailand around 25 hours later. I have never had such long flights so that will be an experience in itself. I will meet up with Abbie there, we are going to spend 2 nights in Bangkok, and then head via bus to Cambodia! Word on the street is that you can’t really plan in advance before backpacking SE Asia, so we’re going with a vague route in mind: Bangkok-Cambodia-Thai islands-Northern Thailand-Laos-Vietnam. Maybe it will be funny to look back on this after the trip and see where our travels actually took us.

Of course South East Asia is undeniably different from any of the places my work took me during the past 18 months, but my method of travel is what will vary the most. Staying in nice hotels and working abroad is a complete 180 from bringing 2 dresses and some t-shirts in a backpack and living out of hostels for 6 weeks. I am such a novice at the whole thing, and I just pray I won’t have to use the inside of my running shorts as a face towel, like I had to do in a hostel in Amsterdam.

After 6 weeks of grunging it, I will head to Madrid to visit Pedro for a couple weeks, then I am back in the US for good! That’s the plan, Stan, and I hope to keep you duly updated on it.

Laew phob gan mai (“See you later”in Thai!)

First International Job coming to an end…

Tot ziens! Do videnja! Ciao! La revedere! Hasta luego!

(Saying good-bye to all my former homes…Belgium, Croatia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and South America)

So ends my first career. Crazy, no? Another big change coming up, and I am extremely excited yet very nervous. I feel reverse-culture shock coming on big time, but am ready to take on what life has to bring me next. Friday is my final day of work, and I am currently wrapping up the Uruguay project and getting ready for the upcoming travel plans! I head to Colombia on Saturday with Pedro; we will be spending a couple days in Bogota and then will travel to Medellin, his hometown. I am extremely excited to meet his family and friends, and see where he is from. Everyone who has been to Medellin claims it is one of his or her favorite cities in the world, so we’ll have to see about that! However, Colombia right now is suffering from torrential downpours and “arroyos” (major floods) so I am hoping we will get a little sunny weather as it will be my last week in South America for a while, I’m guessing? I will always remember South America as a warm, sunny, happening place, so I hope that is exactly how I leave it come December 17^th when I will return back to the United States for holidays.

I have thought a lot about how I would sketch my final blog post under the title “Off the Beaten Business Path” (because I will be continuing my blog, but it might be needing a new title…) Should I talk about when a crazy driver flashed a gun at me from his car because of my taxi driver’s road rage in Bulgaria? Or maybe when Abbie and I got stuck in a CEO’s bathroom for 30 minutes before an important meeting in Croatia, both of us screaming until the CEO himself found us gasping for fresh air? Or how about the time I was charged 200 euro by Slovenian border control when I didn’t have a “border sticker” on my rental car? Maybe when I tried to close a sales deal with a Moldovan CEO, but couldn’t quite get the words out after he had forced us to take drink after drink of 50-year-old Cognac from his office’s cellar? Or driving 18 hours straight after getting lost in Serbia and Romania so we could make it to Transylvania in time for Halloween? There was that time when I had to rush Pedro to a public hospital in southern Colombia only to find welcoming trails of blood throughout the place – I could write about that? Maybe about all of my wonderful Spanish blunders – calling a CEO Freddy Mierda (Freddy Shit) instead of Freddy Miranda or ordering leche desnuda (naked milk) instead of leche descremada? Or about the funny narcoleptic gay man who accompanied us on our trip to the Amazon and who wouldn’t stop hitting on Pedro or falling asleep at dinner? I could go on and on about all of the crazy memories I have stored up, but perhaps I should talk more in general about my life, what I have gained and will forever miss..

There have been countless memories, hardships, surprises, and changes, and I cannot even begin to describe or explain what I have learned during the past 18 months. I am the biggest proponent of traveling whenever and however you can – whether it be to a neighboring town 5 miles away or to the sheep fields of New Zealand 30,000 miles away. There is honestly no better way to learn more about yourself, because you are constantly surrounded by people you have never met and places your senses have never experienced. After living in places where seeing an American was just plain weird for inhabitants, I have gained a much greater appreciation of self and individuality. I also feel much more aware of being a very lucky citizen of the United States (which should always be called the “United States” and not “America” as the rest of the Americans in North and South America sometimes feel offended). The US is an AMAZING place with so many opportunities and so much efficiency. We are all very convinced from an early age that the “American dream” makes our country what it is, and even if we don’t feel the most welcome in certain countries (cough, Europe, cough), being a citizen of the United States is a blessed fortune. Every CEO from every major company I have interviewed – from Europe to Latin America – is striving to copy the business practices and organizations of the United States. If a CEO had studied in the United States, he made sure to throw it into the conversation in whatever way possible, because a degree from a US shows you are wealthy, prestigious, and SOOOO smart. Speaking English is an advantage for anyone and everyone, and I got a few compliments on my flawless accent :)

Traveling and living abroad has made me more practical and provided me with more common sense than I had before, but it is the actual working part that has educated me the most. The business world is a black hole of opportunities; every country works differently from the next, some currently booming (Brazil) and others failing miserably (Greece). Especially in developing countries, the way the government and the private sector work together greatly affects an economy, as does a company’s knowledge and their ability to apply for state funds and international funding from multilateral banks. Ministries, associations, public companies, and private companies all work together to make things work. The business culture is just as varying as societal culture, one example being the environment during a sales meeting. In Croatia we were always offered delicious coffee and sent away with company gifts; in Bulgaria, we were always offered cigarettes and sent away with a deal; in Peru, we were always offered a friendly, open atmosphere and sent away with a smile; in Uruguay, we were always offered Mate tea and sent away with a stingy “no”.

I am very fortunate to have met the people that I did along the way. My co-workers and friends on various projects have turned into life-long companions I will never forget, and this has been so much more rewarding than the actual places I have been. I will always laugh thinking of the thousands of funny communication errors I’ve exchanged, and I am continuously amazed when I think about the closeness I have felt with so many people from such a different background.

Moving from society to society, I found myself asking so many simple questions that seem trivial but provided me with different answers everywhere I went. For example, is the taxi driver going to rip me off or is there a meter that he is running legally? Is the toilet paper inside or outside of the bathroom stalls? Does this country have visible street signs? Will people stare at me if I go on a run outside? How much do I tip? Will the movies be dubbed or subtitled? Does anyone speak English? What greeting does a CEO best respond to? Are the roads paved? What is the country code and are phone minutes expensive? Does “meeting at 10” really mean “meeting at 10:45”?

While life in the US will be different, at least I am prepared because I already know the answers to any questions I might have upon arriving. Regardless, it is going to be different going back to a country where I always have to show my ID, where the cereal isle is bigger than most countries’ biggest grocery stores, where coffee is served in huge to-go cups and not mini espresso mugs, where I know I can always drink the water, where everyone drives an automatic car, where Google maps actually works, where the majority of the population values punctuality and organization, and where I can call and see my family and friends any damn time I want.

Yes, my final destination is the US, but as I fear my wanderlust will never be satisfied, I have decided to do a little encore trip before settling completely. After Colombia and the holidays, I am headed to South East Asia for 6 weeks! Preliminary plans are to hit Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, a popular backpacking route that I am extremely excited to encounter! Therefore, this blog is definitely NOT saying good-bye, as I have really loved writing about the past 18 months and sharing my experiences. I often found myself while touring an amazing site or monument or city that at the same time I was crafting how I would translate my amazement into words to share with you. I really hope my encounters have translated well on this electronic paper, and that this blog has touched a few of you, keeping me close while I was physically miles and miles away.

I'm packing up and moving to RIO DE JANIERO!

...Now where can I find a Portuguese teacher and some Samba tutorials?

Traveling to a city like Rio de Janiero has always been a dream. It just seems like such a foreign, tropical, cultural haven – a now trendy locale given that the city is really being boosted in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Rio is only about a two-hour direct flight from Montevideo, but it wasn’t that easy finding a reasonable ticket and nearly impossible to find one that was non-stop. Like the difficulty of getting to Iguazu Falls, we really had to work to make it there (my new business plan idea: train routes in this region connecting the various countries in MERCOSUR; it has to be one of the most impossible regions to travel around in the world!) By chance Pedro saw a random Brazilian airline, Gol, in the Montevideo airport – I looked it up online and found a relatively reasonable ticket to Rio (with multiple stops but at this point, we didn’t care how long it took!) After realizing they didn’t accept Visa online (what?!) we trekked to the airport to pay, where we realized they don’t accept American Visa at that airport (what what?!) After multiple calls to Gol and 3 payment rejections our inboxes were finally flooded with multiple flight confirmations. Minutes after receiving them our office informed us that one of our bosses would be coming to Uruguay that Friday (the day we needed to take off) and that only ONE of us could take that Friday off (what what what?!) We were ready to fight, however, especially after how hard we worked to make this trip possible, and we won! I gave a sigh of huge relief – or was it frustration? - once I got on that plane at 5am on Friday morning with Pedro by my side.

Once in Brazil, we could feel an immediate change in atmosphere. The warmth of the air and the people was an exciting welcoming, and our taxi driver tried to point out some of the main landmarks on the way to our guesthouse. Sometimes I can really understand Portuguese and sometimes it is downright impossible. So we just smiled and nodded and gawked at the enormous city composed of harbors, ports, lakes, beaches, mountains, tall buildings, and old monuments. We wound our way up into one of the most trendy, bohemian neighborhoods of Rio, called Santa Teresa, where our guesthouse was located. The owner and his two huge dogs were there to greet us, and they all showed us our room (one of three in the antique-style mini-mansion) It had an amazing balcony and hammock directly overlooking Sugarloaf mountain, one of the signature landmarks of the city. Both sunsets that weekend were spent with homemade cocktails on that balcony – so amazing! The lodging was one of the most unforgettable parts of the trip – the cute pink guesthouse was elaborately decorated and extremely unique, not to mentioned nestled in a perfect location next to funky restaurants, bars, and shops.

View of "Pan de Azucar" (Sugarloaf Mountain) from our balcony

First touristic thing on the list was the true icon of not only Rio de Janiero but of all Brazil: The Christ the Redeemer statue. Standing 160 feet tall, the awe-inspiring statue of Jesus always gives me chills when I see it in movies or photos. It is honestly one of the main reasons why I was so magnetized to the idea of seeing Rio. We had to take about a 25 minute train ride up the mountain to be at the base of the enormous statue, and spent a lot of time up there taking pictures not only of Christ the Redeemer but also of the amazing views showing the city of Rio in all directions. Every five minutes a helicopter would swing by extremely close to us for big-money-spendin’ tourists who want to see the statue and city on a whole different level (I was not pleased as I was wearing a flowy skirt that didn’t really want to cooperate with the wind). After getting the most important “to-do” scratched off our list, we headed back to Santa Teresa for some happy hour passion fruit cocktails on the balcony! Every Friday night in Rio there is a street party in the district of Lapa, where rows of seedy but insanely fun bars and dance halls line the streets. Cars are not permitted in this district on Fridays, and hundreds of people come out to walk the streets with giant beers in hand, hopping from one Samba dance bar to the next. The rest sit and enjoy dinner and drinks in different “Botequims” that overlook the madness. Botequims are small, simple drinking establishments that jut out into the streets of Rio – people sit outside for all hours of the day enjoying the warm weather and drinking cheap Brazilian-brewed beers and caipirinhas. Pedro and I chose a random one and ordered some caipirinhas right away. The national drink of Brazil, the caipirinha is a dangerous combination of lime, sugar, ice, and cachaca (sugarcane fermented and distilled). They leave you feeling good after one, drunk after two, and done for the night after three, so we sipped them slowly and soaked in the Friday night scene in Rio de Janiero before joining the party late into the night.

Christ the Redeemer is one of the "new" seven wonders of the world

Saturday was designated to exploring one of the many beaches that Rio has to offer. Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are the some of the most famous in the world, where hundreds of thong-clad women and beer-guzzling men relax in rented chairs one next to the other on sunny days (it is literally impossible to even find a spot of sand, but that’s half the fun). Most of the beaches have not only beautiful oceans but also mountains views which also add to the their inimitability. We headed to Ipanema beach, rented a couple chairs, bought some beers, and parked for a morning of people-watching and sun-soaking. There wasn’t a dull moment: just watching the vendors walking around trying to sell everything from home-made sandwiches to bathing suit tops to sarongs to blocks of cheese (which are fried right in front of you with a personal, travel-friendly fryer) to iced tea, was entertainment enough. We bought a “Coco loco”, which is agua de coco served straight from a freshly-opened coconut and a Brazilian woman scolded me because my feet were turning bright red and she thought I hadn’t put any sunscreen on them. Next we headed to a cheap, outdoor Brazilian restaurant for lunch and struggled ordering some “typical Brazilian stuff” in Portuguese. We got random juices, some sandwiches, and an Acai-and-granola. Acai is a fruit grown mostly in Brazil and Peru, and the frozen pulp of the nutritious berry is eaten everywhere in Rio as a dessert or filling snack. It is supposedly all the rage in health stores worldwide, universally acclaimed as the #1 “superfruit”, so I took in as much as possible!

That afternoon we took the teleferico (cable car) to the top of Pan de Azucar (Sugarloaf mountain – the mountain we had a view of from our balcony) to capture more breath-taking views of the city. We snapped more pictures of the city from above, and I loved being able to see the Christ the Redeemer statue from afar. Also visible were some of the many favelas surrounding Rio. Favelas are “shanty towns” in Brazil, and Rio has the second-highest population of them after Sao Paolo. However, Rio’s are considered the most well-known because of their placement. They cover many of the high hills overlooking Rio’s rich and touristic neighborhoods, and from almost any area in the city you can see the vast amount of colorful shacks shoved together. Some are considered the most dangerous areas of the world, home to numerous drug rings, child murderers, and gangs. Many police don’t even enter these neighborhoods due to pure fear of being killed for no reason, and these settlements play a grave role in Rio’s history and culture. Another infamous aspect of Rio is the amount of prostitutes and transvestites that roam the streets night and day. On the way home from Sugarloaf mountain our taxi driver was lost and stopped to ask directions from a woman wearing a trendy one-shoulder dress. “She” pointed us in the right way as Pedro’s whispered to me that the “she” was most definitely a “he”. As a (relatively) naïve, unexposed American I purely didn’t think that at all, and the taxi driver started cracking up when Pedro told him I wasn’t convinced. At night we saw copious amounts of nearly-naked men and women prostitutes, which added even more to the transparent looseness that defines the city.

Beautiful view of Rio from Christ the Redeemer Statue!

That night, we walked to a recommended Amazonian restaurant, where everything on the menu is cooked with a vegetable or meat from the Brazilian Amazon. I could have chosen everything on the menu; it was so special and unique. We enjoyed a nice, long meal on the restaurant’s back porch, sipping on a pulpy cocktail served in an Amazonian gourd. We had a two-person shrimp and coconut dish that filled me to the brim, but nothing was going to stop us from enjoying our last night in Rio with a lot of Samba dancing! We headed to a Samba club in Lapa that someone had recommended, immediately ordered caipirinhas and transformed into real “Cariocas” (what Rio citizens call themselves) – dancing and drinking with the locals until I could no longer move. Samba is Brazil’s leading national expression and although my musical inexpertise doesn’t allow me to fully explain the rhythm and beat, I can say it is a Latin way of dance that suggests you are truly in the middle of South America.

Sunday morning we went to breakfast at the usual spot (the guesthouse provided coupons for a breakfast of cheese, bread, and coffee at a local hole-in-the-wall convenience store that was immensely popular for those who wanted to sit outside the store all day and night ordering liter after liter of beer). Then we walked to the famous Lapa steps – they were constructed by a Chilean artist, named Selaron, who fell in love with Brazil years ago. First the steps were made up of simple, colored tiles, but now Selaron spends his days painting the tiles with images from around the world. The steps have been featured in many magazines and promos for Rio, and the artist calls the steps his “great madness”. A quite crazy man, he called Pedro and I into his art shop only to talk crap about the Spaniards and how Picasso didn’t even spend any of his time in Spain, but in Paris. Then once he realized Pedro was from Colombia he started talking even MORE crap about Colombians, especially the “Paisas” from Medellin (Pedro’s hometown). The cruel Spanish adjectives he was using to describe the people from Medellin were insanely insulting, and Pedro had to just walk out so not to punch the guy in his old, deranged-looking face. Someone from Medellin must have really pissed him off earlier in his life…

A painted tile on the Lapa steps artfully describing life in a favela

After that it was back to reality, back to Uruguay and work. However, if anyone ever asks me what is the one place I recommend he or she to go, without hesitating I will say Rio de Janiero. It is a crazy, upbeat, passionate, colorful dream – one that I hope is a repeat.

Uruguay-Argentina-Brazil-Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay-Brazil-Argentina-Uruguay

My passport has the stamps to verify it – getting to, from, and around Iguazu Falls in South America is a country-hopping adventure. Set between Argentina and Brazil, these waterfalls are what some claim to be the most spectacular in the world, and even though I clearly haven’t seen every waterfall in the world, I will probably have to agree. I feel like I saw literally hundreds of falls within the two national parks where the falls can be seen. One park is in Foz Iguazu, Brazil, while the other is set in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. About a 20-minute drive from one another, both parks allow visitors to walk through jungle-enclosed pathways and open-air bridges, showing utterly amazing views and angles of the many waterfalls. Meaning “Great Watera” in Guarani, the national language of Paraguay, Iguazu is also extremely close to Paraguay as well.

Pedro and I have been trying to plan a trip to these falls pretty much since we started working in Uruguay. When Pedro’s sister decided to come visit us in Uruguay, we found the perfect opportunity to all go together, along with our friend Juanita. We thought it would be simple as Iguazu is relatively close to Uruguay – but many barriers forced us to be extremely persistent in planning and figuring everything out with the trip. Firstly, as an American I needed 2 visas – one for Argentina and one for Brazil. I already have an Argentine visa, but after gathering about 10 documents to apply for my Brazilian one, the consulate finally approved my application. Secondly, as flights were outrageously expensive, we had to get creative about transport. The impractical Uruguayans don’t allow rental cars outside the country, so we made tons of calls and research to see where we could leave our car in the north of Uruguay, where we could then get a taxi to the bus station in Argentina, what bus we should take for 12 hours to get to Puerto de Iguazu, and finally where we should catch a taxi to finally make it to our hotel in Brazil from Argentina. It actually ended up working perfectly because not only did we save money on airline prices, but the 12-hour overnight bus to and from Iguazu served as two hotel room nights as well (we should be travel agents, for real). Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the buses – they provided “cama” seats that turned into beds, played movies the whole way, served two meals and wine, etc…it was like the first class of a plane! We had opted to stay in the Brazil side of the waterfalls as none of us had ever been in Brazil and wanted to experience a little of the culture there.

Brazil side of Iguazu

The first day we headed straight to the park in Brazil to see the falls from the “Brazil side” after a short double-decker bus ride through the park. We were dropped off at the entry point to the pathway where you can see the falls and the first glimpse of the cascades was probably my “high” of the entire trip! You are somewhat blown away when you see the immensity of the waterfalls and the sheer amount of them! We paced through the trails stopping to take pictures every 2 seconds because literally every view was photo-worthy. There are even pedestrian bridges that jut out into the water so you can get as many up-close and personal shots as you want.

The second day was designated for Argentina! I have gotten mixed reviews on which side – Brazil or Argentina – is better to see the falls from, but they are actually both pretty different. Argentina has more of a “nature trail” feel to it – you have to hike a while to get to the viewpoint of the falls, with wildlife leading you the entire way. The waterfalls are also extremely stunning and even though it was a grey day, we managed to take equally as many photos as the day before – minus when we were on our boat tour. Our 20 minutes boat ride brought us literally underneath the falls and we were completely and utterly soaked. I was screaming the whole time and could barely see anything because water was continuously flooding our boat, our laps, our heads, and our shoes the whole trip!

Perfect Rainbow!

Before leaving for the trip I knew that the waterfalls would be picturesque, astonishing, and unrivaled. What I didn’t realize is how much I would love the Brazilian culture. Like I said, it was wonderful to stay in a hotel on the Brazil side. We entertained ourselves making fun of the Portuguese accent and learning Portuguese phrases (the only advice I can give in learning the twang is to speak Spanish with your throat – does that make sense?) The hotel had a nice outdoor pool; our nights were such a pleasant change from those in Uruguay – we could actually sit outside without sweaters, pants, and boots – instead opting for shorts, dresses, and Brahma Brazilian beer. The food in Brazil was also exceptional; every morning breakfast equaled feasts of fruits and dozens of tropical fruit juices. The sweet and salty breads were also unique and addictive – our favorite is a popular snack throughout Brazil named “Pao de queijo” (cheese bread) and is found all over the place – SO good! Nice people, beautiful backdrop, good food, fun language: pretty much everything you want when visiting a foreign country, no?

The whole gang on our boat excursion in Argentina!

Colombians and an American ventured to one of the most sought-after tourist sites in the Americas; we had the time of our lives not only because of the sights but because of each other. We all clicked really well and made the trip an unforgettable one. I’m going to have to bring up an old adage that is perfectly cheesy but perfectly fitting for this particular trip: It’s not the destination, it’s the journey. And that, damas y caballeros, is the most intriguing, captivating, and addictive element of travel.

Los Padres en Sudamérica!

It’s Saturday morning and just a week ago I was enjoying copious amounts of coffee, croissants, cheeses, and meats in a quaint, 3-room bed-and-breakfast in Colonia, Uruguay with…. MOM AND DAD! Yes, they made the 12-hour plane ride down to South South America, for a week vacation in Argentina and Uruguay! The anticipation of them coming was almost as exciting as their visit – would dad fit in our tiny car we dub, “La Abuelita” (Little Grandmother)? Would the cab drivers completely rip them off when we weren’t there? (We intelligently solved that problem by having Pedro write personal Spanish letters for Mom and Dad to give to them before a ride) Would Mom find at least one souvenir for everyone in the family? Could we keep up with Dad and his love for Argentine/Uruguayan meat? Just a few of the preliminary questions I pondered before their arrival…but everything went VERY smoothly. We laughed, sight-saw, drank and ate our hearts out, practiced a little Spanish, and just had a great time!

The trip started in Buenos Aires, and Pedro and I had been there for the weekend before the parents arrived on Monday morning. My second time in the most happening city in South America, I fell in love with it even more. I think it had something to do with coming from relaxed and small Montevideo, but I was continuously amazed at the size and energy of the city – at 1pm party-hoppers were still moving club to club from the night before!! After picking up mom and dad at the airport we headed stright to the hotel in downtown and then cabbed it to El Caminito, my favorite touristic spot of the city where Tango originated and still defines the neighborhood today. We enjoyed a welcoming drink, ate lunch, and enjoyed some live outdoor tango shows. Despite their jetlag, mom and dad were up for more city exploring, and we checked out the Casa Rosada (President’s house), Plaza de Mayo, and leather markets. We finally found a working ATM before hitting the shops, and Mom was so relieved she yelled as running from the ATM to the cab “I’VE GOT MONEY!!!!” We died laughing as the taxi driver looked at her aghast explaining to Pedro that she really shouldn’t do that in downtown Buenos Aires.

Dad got an Argentinean OFFICIAL jersey in wonderful Carolina blue, and Mom and I searched for good jewelry and leather deals! The night started with a little Fernet, the liquor of champions in Buenos Aires – a little like Jagermeister, the minty liquor is just not good the first time you drink it, so we swallowed it down with the spirit of “well since we’re here, I guess we HAVE to try it…” But dad actually liked it, I’m sure! Next we headed to “Siga la Vaca”, an all-you-can-eat meat restaurant perfect for trying a little of everything. We ended up spending a little longer in there than normal, because we felt bad leaving any leftover wine (we were pleasantly informed that yes, a bottle of wine does come with each person’s meal, not just a glass). However, the next day on the rocky ferry I was regretting the Argentine’s affinity for heavy wine-drinking and late meals…Pedro and I call it the “meat hangover” and it is just not fun.

Next was Montevideo, my home! I really enjoyed this part of the trip because it was great for my parents to understand and see my lifestyle; they stayed in the hotel where I live, saw my semi-dorm-style daily life, and walked around my neighborhood. We all tried Uruguayan beer and Tannat wine (the grape made in Uruguay) and enjoyed some of my favorite restaurants; I made them try chivitos, dulce de leche ice cream, parmesan cheese dip, and of course, meat!! Their favorite thing however was the alfajor, the infamous and delicious cookie sold everywhere in Argentina and Uruguay. We took them to a store where they could buy the cookies in bulk, and the astonished cashier asked me, “Do your parents know what alfajors are…?” Aka they should before buying 10 boxes…The store owners offered us free coffee and cookies as I don’t think they had ever had such good customers. That same day we walked around Mercado del Puerto, the most touristic spot of Montevideo by the main port of the city, and enjoyed lunch in the big warehouse-type restaurant that specializes in duh, meat, and Medio & Medio – the wonderfully easy idea of champagne and white wine mixed together (Another of Mom’s favorites!)

Coast of Montevideo!

So you may be thinking, did they just eat and drink the whole vacation? Well NO, and yes…Mom said moving from restaurant table to restaurant table is all part of the deal, right? The tradition continued as we road-tripped 2 hours to Colonia, Uruguay, on the Northwest coast of the country. We stayed in a 3-room bed-and-breakfast run by an old Argentinean man named Freddy, and was the perfect “last stop” to relax from the more fast-paced sightseeing! Mom and Dad had a wonderful back patio on their room, so both days we enjoyed Uruguayan wine in the nice weather. We played games laughing the whole time (wine came out of Mom’s nose – haha not really but almost) and we couldn’t help but feel at ease in the European style B&B, decked out in funky furniture and imaginative paintings. We toured the small, cobble-stone city at our own pace, climbing the lighthouse, checking out old ruins from Portuguese and Spanish invasions, and souvenir shopping the days away. The perfect way to describe Colonia is quaint, and honestly the bars, cafes, tea houses, and restaurants are the main attraction of the small town. One of our favorites was “El Drugstore” where we cheers-ed (salud!) to our last night together. The staff was so nice – we asked if they had nachos and they felt bad they didn’t – so brought us some spicy mayonnaise and saltines instead…inventive!

Cute Colonia

It was a true breath of fresh air to have visitors come, especially family! Certainly a vacation for us too; their trip took me out of my day-to-day life abroad and helped me realize once again that I am living a very foreign lifestyle! Sometimes I forget after being away for so long that I have actually made living abroad comfortable and familiar.

Uruguay: The Deep South

I am settled in my sixth new home since I started the job about 14 months ago! I am extremely happy to still be in South America, and Uruguay is definitely a completely different culture than Colombia or Peru. (But almost exactly like Argentina!) I feel more in Europe than anywhere else. The espresso is served with a small glass of water and cookie (Europe), the fashion is baggy outfits, scarves and cropped boots (Europe), the city roads and sidewalks are developed and symmetrical (ok, this is in a lot of places, but also Europe!), I look more like a citizen than Pedro (Europe), their accent is more Spain Spanish than Latin Spanish…you get the idea.

Instead of pronouncing the double “L” as in “ellos” with a “y” sound, they use a “j” sound. Speaking rapidly and more slurred, the Uruguayans are pretty hard to understand for me; the Colombian and Peruvian accents are much more sympathetic to a struggling Americana.

The city of Montevideo is beautiful, and extremely small and easily navigable in comparison to most capital cities. The entire population of Uruguay is a mere 3 million; everyone knows everyone – on multiple occasions I see people hugging on the streets and everyone I have met with in the government knows everyone else in the government and the private sector. People are active and energetic; a large bike/walking path lines the entire coast of the city hosting a generous stream of people daily. Despite the extremely cold weather in Uruguay right now (opposite winter/summer than in the United States) many people enjoy being outside and I can only imagine how crowded and lively it gets in the summer.

Futbol is the national obsession. Every corner I turn there is a new futbol field filled with either young teams competing, or old leagues keeping alive a sacred country tradition. Shirts all over boast “Yo soy celeste” meaning “I am light blue” (the country’s flag and jersey color) and I feel right at home pretending I am in my own little Latin Tar Heel nation. The first day we arrived, jet-lagged and our luggage lost, we trekked to “Mercado del Puerto”, a large warehouse-type open building at the south port of the city, housing many various “asados” or barbeques of hundreds of types of meats. The beef here is thought by many to be the best in the world, and little Uruguay has one of the highest cattle per capita in the world (meat and sheep farming occupy 60% of the land and is their largest export). We feasted on the country’s flagship meal and watched Uruguay take on Paraguay in the final of the Copa America, the Latin America futbol championship. Uruguay won easily, making it the number one team on the continent, and the crowd went wild, setting off fireworks and running to the main square. Pedro and I followed along a cheered with the crowds screaming from cars, balconies, and rooftops throughout the city. It was definitely the perfect first day in our new country, and immediately I understood the main passion of the Uruguayans.

Like I said, the noteworthy cuisine of Uruguay is beef, but other staples in the local diet include the likes of chivitos, milanesas, mozzarella pizza, ham and cheese sandwiches, and dulce de leche. Chivitos are huge steak sandwiches packed with vegetables, eggs, and mayonnaise. The locals here rave about them and I have been asked numerous times “Have you had the famous chivito yet?!” And yes, I like them (hold the mayo) but not every single day at lunchtime! Milanesa is breaded meat served at all restaurants all the time (a majority of restaurants are cafeteria, old-fashioned type places only serving the above items). Dulce de Leche is like a soft, sweet caramel that is put in all deserts that I love, but again, too much of it for me in the first week. Mate is the herbal tea I mentioned they have a lot of Argentina as well, and everywhere we go (shopping malls, pedestrian streets, bike trails) locals are holding their Mate mug and large thermos of hot water. You first put the Mate herbs in the special mug and then pour hot water over the herbs every time you take a sip from a large metal straw included in the Mate mug. Writing the description makes me realize that maybe it’s just something you need to see for yourself because I don’t think I explain this other national obsession quite so clearly.

I am in a constant attempt to find touristic activities/ways to spend the weekend in Montevideo, but again, it is one of the most relaxed and quiet capitals I have ever been too. Pedro and I went biking along the coast which was extremely refreshing and fun, and also have been taking advantage of the numerous “Tea Time” spots around the city. Teatime is as celebrated here as it is in England, with a full tea every afternoon in most cafes. Tea for two includes tea, media lunas (meaning “half moons” in Spanish – delicious little sugared croissants), ham and cheese sandwiches, scones, and alfajores (my favorites desert here and in Argentina – cookies filled with dulce de leche) – needless to say after an “afternoon tea” you don’t want to eat for the rest of the week, so we’ve only attempted this calorific activity a few times.

What else to talk about other than the reason I’m here: trabajo! We are working with a media that I am not familiar with: the magazine Wall Street Market Research, which is distributed in the United States. So we’ve been doing research making connections between the US and Uruguay, noting which sectors of the economy are most linked and which need most investment. Uruguay has many advantages: the least corrupt country in Latin America, free education through college, extremely skilled labor force, founding member of MERCOSUR, highest literacy rate in Latin America – so it is an extremely safe place to invest but the main problem is that people simply aren’t aware of the opportunities. So far we have just been meeting with the government and newspapers here to learn more about the country and gain their support, and this week we start with commercial meetings at various companies. So far everyone has been extremely open and nice, but speak far less English than in Peru so I have been improving even more exponentially, forced to use Spanish in most business meetings. We hope that everything goes smoothly in the project and because the country is so small, it could very possibly be a short one! But when has that ever happened...