Day 3: 3/22
Happy Birthday, Leigh and Allison!
Another nice and sunny day! It is probably in the upper 70s F.
Today was the first day of community service! We started our day off at a parklet (my name for small parks), a traffic triangle. We planted trees in and around the park. When we completed that, we joined other groups at a community park. This park had a basketball court, swings, seesaws, and benches. We did a lot of planting and painting. Melanie and I painted the light poles with a fresh layer of black paint.
Kids from the local community (it was their park) were helping us out with the planting. It was very rewarding to help clean up the community park because you could see people who were being helped. Someone painted a Nike swoosh on the basketball court—oh a UniWatch moment—thanks Paul Lukas! It down poured towards the end of the day and we all hopped back onto the busses.
When we returned to our hostel, we had a reflection session with one of the girls from Hillel Uruguay. I told her I wasn’t happy when we just sit around and do nothing, but it is really fun and rewarding when we are out and about painting and planting.
A rewarding day!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
MonteVIDEO, MonteVIdeo, or MontevidEO?
Day 2: 3/21/11
Waking up to a beautiful, sunny 70-75° F is always a good way to start the day. I woke up at 9am, had an apple (it was a green apple that Melanie bought last night at the supermarket. While it was sour, it was tolerable) and missed the breakfast (toast and fruit) provided by the hostel (ok, I didn’t miss it, there was just nothing left). It was also a good thing that I took a shower the night before since I am sharing a bathroom with almost 15 people.
We then traveled by bus to Hillel where Union and U of Oregon spent the morning talking about the difference between Tzedek and Tzedakah. It was a very interesting conversation that was based on various quotes from the Torah as well as Maimonides’ interpretations of Tzedakah. We had to list, in order, his famous 8 levels of giving. It was interesting because a girl from Oregon said that based on her Torah selection, she thought doing Tzedakah was because of fear—fear of G-d doing something in retaliation for not doing good deeds. I disagreed with her and stated my opinion with the group: doing mitzvahs and social action work is something that I do because 1) it is interesting 2) it is helpful for both me and the recipient, and 3) it is fun. Sure, there maybe some selfishness in my reasoning, but I think it is fair that both parties get something out of doing something good. Nobody should be forced to do anything—especially volunteer work, because it won’t help anybody by doing something without really wanting to.
After completing our morning activities, Melanie and I utilized some of Hillel’s fun spaces, the pool table. She kicked my ass. Hurts. I’m demanding a rematch. This time for money. ☺ Afterwards, a bunch of us headed to the mall across the street (it used to be a jail ~30 years ago)—which contained a supermarket…odd, I thought. We bought some fresh empanadas and walked back to Hillel for lunch. They provided a kosher meal from an outside source, which contained a keish, a meat (possibly corned beef—at least I knew it was kosher!) sandwich, and a fruit cup. Turned out that the empanada had spinach (yuck) and the meat had mayo on it (eh), but it filled me up without a stomachache.
When we were done with lunch, UCLA and Johns Hopkins entered the Hillel—big groups—and we then left with the Oregon people to take a tour of Montevideo. We hopped on a really nice bus (leather seats—really fancy) with a tour guide named Pedro, a young guy who is a student at the local university.
Pedro explained that name Montevideo comes from Monte V'I De Este a Oeste, or the 6th mount observable on the coast from East to West. I couldn’t believe that this was how the city’s name came from so I checked Wikipedia, which says there at least 4 different explanations for the origin of the name…I like what Pedro said. We also learned a little bit of Uruguayan history; the name of the country came from the river of the same name. In the 19th century, the British had control of Montevideo until the country’s independence in 1830. We visited liberation square, Plaza Independencia, (the last liberation square I visited—Tahrir Square—good luck with that Uruguay) and saw the statue and ashes of José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguay's national hero who launched a successful revolution against the Spanish authorities in 1811.
The President’s office is also in the square in a modern, glass building. The tour guide said that the President still lives in his personal home, located in a poor neighborhood.
Uruguay was under dictator rule during the Cold War era. People thought to be communists were killed by the government. According to Wikipedia, “Around 180 Uruguayans are known to have been killed during the 12-year military rule from 1973–1985.”
We also learned about some cultural information. We talked about Candombe, a style of dance and music that includes various African traditions and tango. While guitar is a large part of this county’s culture, this style of music uses drums. Also in the square is Solis Theatre, Uruguay's oldest theatre, which has a red light on the top of the building that indicates when there is a show being performed. We also saw Palacio Salvo, an art deco building, which was previously the tallest building (100 meters) in Montevideo.
We then traveled via bus outside of the central city square and visited the site of the 1st FIFA World Cup. Uruguay won the World Cup in 1930 (in Uruguay, vs. Argentina) and 1950 (in Brazil, vs. Brazil). Pedro said that the country hopes to get the World Cup in 2030, the centennial anniversary. (I read online that it is actually a joint Argentina-Uruguay bid) Uruguay would need new soccer facilities if it wanted the World Cup. There, we drank mate, a tea like drink, that people here drink all the time (similar to our coffee). People carry around a thermos bottle in their armpit while holding a cup in their hand. Also, Carnival in Uruguay is the longest in the world, a month and a half long.
Uruguay is a beautiful city and has a really nice feel to it. Despite its questionable political history, the country is courteous and interesting. Montevideo is pretty much made of upper-class people and there is no middle-class. We returned to the Hillel and had a review of the country. They have socialized medicine—health insurance for all. People go to non-for-profit hospitals for care. The lady at the Hillel stated that Uruguay is the first welfare state and a lot of government assistance is given out. In 2002, there was a huge economic crisis in Brazil and Argentina, which is when the middle class disappeared. When you walk around, you will see Urgadores, people who ride around in horse-driven carts. These people are the poorest of the poorest. They are legally permitted by the government to sift through the garbage for things they can sell or recycle for money. They live in shantytowns on the fringes of the city.
Numbers:
• 3 Million People in Uruguay
• 1.5 million people in Montevideo
• Montevideo is the smallest city in the country
• 0.4% of the total population is Jewish (down from 1% ~10yrs ago)
• The 15,000 Jews are mostly located in Montevideo
• Unemployment: 5.4% (this figure is down because it only includes people looking for a job)
• 3 in 10 people live in poverty
• 4.3% experience extreme poverty
• ~360,000 children have received laptops from the 1 Child Per Laptop program
Random observations:
• The electricity poles are made out of concrete, not wood.
• I’ve seen street car tracks in some of the streets, but no street cars
• There is a public bus system and it seems to be well used
Waking up to a beautiful, sunny 70-75° F is always a good way to start the day. I woke up at 9am, had an apple (it was a green apple that Melanie bought last night at the supermarket. While it was sour, it was tolerable) and missed the breakfast (toast and fruit) provided by the hostel (ok, I didn’t miss it, there was just nothing left). It was also a good thing that I took a shower the night before since I am sharing a bathroom with almost 15 people.
We then traveled by bus to Hillel where Union and U of Oregon spent the morning talking about the difference between Tzedek and Tzedakah. It was a very interesting conversation that was based on various quotes from the Torah as well as Maimonides’ interpretations of Tzedakah. We had to list, in order, his famous 8 levels of giving. It was interesting because a girl from Oregon said that based on her Torah selection, she thought doing Tzedakah was because of fear—fear of G-d doing something in retaliation for not doing good deeds. I disagreed with her and stated my opinion with the group: doing mitzvahs and social action work is something that I do because 1) it is interesting 2) it is helpful for both me and the recipient, and 3) it is fun. Sure, there maybe some selfishness in my reasoning, but I think it is fair that both parties get something out of doing something good. Nobody should be forced to do anything—especially volunteer work, because it won’t help anybody by doing something without really wanting to.
After completing our morning activities, Melanie and I utilized some of Hillel’s fun spaces, the pool table. She kicked my ass. Hurts. I’m demanding a rematch. This time for money. ☺ Afterwards, a bunch of us headed to the mall across the street (it used to be a jail ~30 years ago)—which contained a supermarket…odd, I thought. We bought some fresh empanadas and walked back to Hillel for lunch. They provided a kosher meal from an outside source, which contained a keish, a meat (possibly corned beef—at least I knew it was kosher!) sandwich, and a fruit cup. Turned out that the empanada had spinach (yuck) and the meat had mayo on it (eh), but it filled me up without a stomachache.
When we were done with lunch, UCLA and Johns Hopkins entered the Hillel—big groups—and we then left with the Oregon people to take a tour of Montevideo. We hopped on a really nice bus (leather seats—really fancy) with a tour guide named Pedro, a young guy who is a student at the local university.
Pedro explained that name Montevideo comes from Monte V'I De Este a Oeste, or the 6th mount observable on the coast from East to West. I couldn’t believe that this was how the city’s name came from so I checked Wikipedia, which says there at least 4 different explanations for the origin of the name…I like what Pedro said. We also learned a little bit of Uruguayan history; the name of the country came from the river of the same name. In the 19th century, the British had control of Montevideo until the country’s independence in 1830. We visited liberation square, Plaza Independencia, (the last liberation square I visited—Tahrir Square—good luck with that Uruguay) and saw the statue and ashes of José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguay's national hero who launched a successful revolution against the Spanish authorities in 1811.
The President’s office is also in the square in a modern, glass building. The tour guide said that the President still lives in his personal home, located in a poor neighborhood.
Uruguay was under dictator rule during the Cold War era. People thought to be communists were killed by the government. According to Wikipedia, “Around 180 Uruguayans are known to have been killed during the 12-year military rule from 1973–1985.”
We also learned about some cultural information. We talked about Candombe, a style of dance and music that includes various African traditions and tango. While guitar is a large part of this county’s culture, this style of music uses drums. Also in the square is Solis Theatre, Uruguay's oldest theatre, which has a red light on the top of the building that indicates when there is a show being performed. We also saw Palacio Salvo, an art deco building, which was previously the tallest building (100 meters) in Montevideo.
We then traveled via bus outside of the central city square and visited the site of the 1st FIFA World Cup. Uruguay won the World Cup in 1930 (in Uruguay, vs. Argentina) and 1950 (in Brazil, vs. Brazil). Pedro said that the country hopes to get the World Cup in 2030, the centennial anniversary. (I read online that it is actually a joint Argentina-Uruguay bid) Uruguay would need new soccer facilities if it wanted the World Cup. There, we drank mate, a tea like drink, that people here drink all the time (similar to our coffee). People carry around a thermos bottle in their armpit while holding a cup in their hand. Also, Carnival in Uruguay is the longest in the world, a month and a half long.
Uruguay is a beautiful city and has a really nice feel to it. Despite its questionable political history, the country is courteous and interesting. Montevideo is pretty much made of upper-class people and there is no middle-class. We returned to the Hillel and had a review of the country. They have socialized medicine—health insurance for all. People go to non-for-profit hospitals for care. The lady at the Hillel stated that Uruguay is the first welfare state and a lot of government assistance is given out. In 2002, there was a huge economic crisis in Brazil and Argentina, which is when the middle class disappeared. When you walk around, you will see Urgadores, people who ride around in horse-driven carts. These people are the poorest of the poorest. They are legally permitted by the government to sift through the garbage for things they can sell or recycle for money. They live in shantytowns on the fringes of the city.
Numbers:
• 3 Million People in Uruguay
• 1.5 million people in Montevideo
• Montevideo is the smallest city in the country
• 0.4% of the total population is Jewish (down from 1% ~10yrs ago)
• The 15,000 Jews are mostly located in Montevideo
• Unemployment: 5.4% (this figure is down because it only includes people looking for a job)
• 3 in 10 people live in poverty
• 4.3% experience extreme poverty
• ~360,000 children have received laptops from the 1 Child Per Laptop program
Random observations:
• The electricity poles are made out of concrete, not wood.
• I’ve seen street car tracks in some of the streets, but no street cars
• There is a public bus system and it seems to be well used
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Below the Equator for the First Time
Day 1: 3/19-3/20/11
Good evening from Uruguay!
We departed JFK a little after 8pm on TAM Airlines. Sitting in seat 23C, I was located in the window seat (window closed, of course). The flight was pretty smooth (we hit some pockets of turbulence) and they served dinner (chicken and rice) and breakfast (egg and bread). Even though I was tired, I watched The King’s Speech after dinner. Colin Firth plays King George VI and Geoffrey Rush plays Lionel Logue, a speech therapist. I must say, it was with good reason that this movie won so many awards, specifically the Academy Award for Best Picture. I really loved this movie; it was historical, funny, and serious. It was interesting to watch the struggles of King George VI, as well as his older brother, grapple with the duties of being the King of England:
“If I'm King, where's my power? Can I form a government? Can I levy a tax, declare a war? No! And yet I am the seat of all authority. Why? Because the nation believes that when I speak, I speak for them. But I can't speak,” King George VI.
Anyway, I digress. After the movie, I started watching Jerry Maguire and fell asleep towards the end. We landed in Sao Paulo, Brazil at around 6:30am (local time) and waited around for our connecting flight to Montevideo, Uruguay. Once again, it was a TAM flight; I had a window seat (and briefly looked out the window), and fell asleep. They served a brunch (that’s my name for whatever the meal was), which contained jamon e queso (ham and cheese). I took off the cheese and was content. We then arrived in Montevideo at around noon. Sunny and 22 ° C (~72° F)! Nice. When we landed, a bunch of us saw a plane with the “United States of America” paint scheme…maybe a backup for Obama, or maybe he is here. He was talking in Brazil on Saturday (and is apparently touring that country today as well).
Two young girls from the local Uruguay Hillel met us at the airport and took us to our hostel. I asked some questions, but they didn’t really know the answers…so right not, I can’t tell you how much gas costs, but I will find out.
The ride from the airport to the hostel was not long at all. Melanie and I agreed that we felt we were back in Alexandria, Egypt. Here in Montevideo, the river was on the left side of the road and high-rises were on the right. Here is the comparison! It is a really nice city, as far as I can tell. Not run down at all.
 |
| Montevideo |
 |
| Alexandria |
 |
| The outside of the hostel (from their website) |
Tonight, we took a bus to Hillel Uruguay. They have a modern setup with a yoga studio (they call it a gym, I call it a Yoga studio), classrooms, and a library. They also have a café (wont be functional again until next week), a game room area, and a larger social space. In the social space, we played icebreakers with girls from the University of Oregon (go Ducks). I’m not sure how much I got out of the icebreakers; there was a somewhat awkward interaction between the two groups. We had a BBQ for dinner at Hillel (kosher burger). I had 1 burger, though I was still a little hungry. The ketchup and mayo came in plastic “caprisun” pouches. Now, seeing mayo coming out of that was gross. People sat and mingled for a while, and I observed the conversations from afar. There were people just sitting there listening to each other, but had no idea what was going on.
We walked back to the Hostel—an Egyptian 20 min (which means it took 30 min)—and then went to the supermercado. I exchanged forty USD…and didn’t buy anything. It’s kinda funny seeing school supplies for sale—summer is coming to an end here.
That’s all for now...see ya tomorrow.
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