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
Hey Babe. Fun blog. So, what is the difference between Tzedek and Tzedakah?
ReplyDelete