First few nights at the new apartment

First few nights at the apartment.  Lovin’ it. Anna and I get home around 10. The bus drops us off at a McDonalds and we walk about 6-7 blocks home.  We live in a nice neighborhood that has lots of new buildings and is always bustling, definitely a safer area to be living in.  Our roommate, Matias, gets home around 6.  Tonight he made us pasta with eggs and milanesa (breaded meat baked or fried). Uruguayans don’t eat eggs at breakfast, but rather at lunch and dinner. Yesterday he made milanesa and rice with some good ole’ mayonnaise. 

Our apartment has an awesome location.  Across the street is a fruit/veggie market, bakery, 24 hour gas station and gym (like I’m ever going to go anyway).  We live on 21 de septiembre which is a very busy street which is great to catch busses or cabs.  We are also about 5 blocks from an emergency room.  The other day, Matias had an allergic reaction and we literally just walked down the street to the ER.  I still am foggy about the details of Uruguayan healthcare, but from what I know you register with a provider who you will use for medical issues.  Matias is registered with the ER down the street so he walked in, provided his number and within 5 mins was in a room getting treated.  I’m going to have to learn more about insurance here…people have explained it to me, but I always forget.

`We are already enjoying the crazy life of renting. Our kitchen sink is horribly clogged, our fridge and washing machine are broken.  We called the repair man, who forgot to come (SOO TYPICAL HERE)….all the fun stuff! But we make due, as always. 

Me and Anna had our mattresses delivered this weekend.  I told the delivery guys to come in the morning.  I knew they wouldn’t come, so me and Anna went shopping and got home around 12.  Left again to go to the grocery store, came home, ate lunch, fell asleep and around 2 or so they finally buzzed up and we had our mattresses!  The thing about living here is I have to think opposite of so many ways I am used to living. 

For example, people tell me to stop working so hard, because people will expect even more from me.

Or when someone says they will be there in 15 minutes, it means 1 hour.

Now these things may seem frustrating or counter-productive in one mindset.  But there are also plenty of positives.  People enjoy where they are and who they are with…they are not planning about the next thing they have.  You know when you are talking to someone, they aren’t thinking about the million things they have to do, they are in the moment and listening to you.  There are so many times I have to remind myself that things will get done whether or not I stress about them. 

So I struggle to keep my brain in 2 different worlds, enjoying every minute.

Most days

Saludos!!

It has been awhile.  I'm not going to make excuses for not blogging, I just realize I'm not good at journaling/blogging...I'm a talker, not a writer at heart!

Lately:

I got my hair cut with a groupon (yes, Uruguay has groupon too) by some guy that looked like Albert Einstein.  It was an upleasant experience because when people find out I am foreign they DON'T STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS.  I know, I know, I love to talk so this should be great. But, just imagine you go through an interview everytime you meet someone new. Here is the run through of questions and what runs through my head (and sometimes leaves my mouth).

So you are a student here? (No)
What do you do here? (I live and work here)
Where do you work? (Zonamerica)
I have a friend that works there! (Everyone does)
Where are you from? (I usually say USA, but my answers also include Poland, Uruguay, Australia, Canada...)
How long will you stay? (Until I get tired of it)
Do you like it? (yes, alot)
Really??(NO, THATS WHY I LIVE HERE)
What is your name? (Bailey (but I have also said Amanda because it is easier for them to understand))
What? Belen? (No, Bailey. Like the drink. Baileys)
OH!! BAILEYS!! Its my favorite drink! (It's aparently everyone's favorite drink here)
Why Uruguay? (Why not)
Did you move here for a boy? (I don't follow boys, they follow me)
Your Spanish is good! (Yours is too!)
Can we practice English? (If you pay me 15 bucks an hour)

Now don't get me wrong, I understand that there are very few foreigners so they are very curious as to why I am here.  However, one of the most frustrating things is to only be seen as the foreigner.  I am much more than that! More importantly than being foreign, I am ME!  So I usually prefer people who get to know me for me, and not just for my foreigness.  My reactions to being asked questions usually changes depending on who is asking.  With people we meet in stores or at work, I'm more polite.  However, alot of times guys will use this as an excuse to talk to (aka hit on) me and my Polish friend, and lets get serious, they could be MUCH more creative :)

Speaking of being interviewed, I was on national news the other day!  I was interviewed while waiting in lines to get tickets to a big soccer game (most likely because its rare to have a foreigner who cares about the national soccer teams).  I guess I can cross "being on national TV" off my bucket list!

Also, I'm moving! I rented an apartment with my friend Anna and our other friend Matias.  Its nice, in a safe part of town and close to the bus lines and all that jazz.  Its crazy, because the apartments here don't come with anything...we had to supply the stove, fridge, water heater...everything down to the bathroom mirror! Its been a really interesting challenge because we have been going to the street markets and sales to find things.  I still don't have a closet or dresser or actually anything besides a bed for my room...but it will all come with time and careful shopping!  I'm determined to find everything second hand and fix it up.

Work is okay.  Its long hours and little pay, but I really love everyone on my team.  They have been so fun and welcoming and we all get along so well!  I was moved to a different side of my team, from working with brokers to appraisers.  I am with appraisers now because they are typically more "difficult" to work with (they are in higher demand) so my accent helps (ideally) to persuade them to work with us.  We are in the process of a huge company expansion and are trying to recruit as many agents as possible.  Unfortunately, this creates a very demanding work environment, pushing me to my "corporate" limit some days.  If anything, I am learning alot about the housing industry and alot about what kind of work environments do and don't suit me.

xoxoxo
bails

phone number

ALSO, MY MOM WAS SO KIND TO POINT OUT THAT I PUT THE WRONG PHONE NUMBER IN MY BLOG.  ITS ACTUALLY 715-316-4300

Remember not to call me from 8-6.  I'm at work.

Friday

Yesterday (Friday night) I went to a work asado (Uruguayan barbeque).  After work I rode with my boss and 2 other people from our department to her house.  She lives outside of Montevideo in a city called Ciudad de La Costa (city of the coast).  Its about 20 minutes from Zonamerica which is in Canelones.  The car ride was sooo typical Uruguayan.  The front passenger seat in her car has a seatbelt, but nothing for the seatbelt to click into.  However, the tickets for no seatbelts are super expensive, so she made me wrap my seatbelt around my body and tuck it behind my back so we could trick the police.  THIS IS SOO URUGUAYAN.  They try to get away with everything. I had to hold in my laughter, because they don't even   notice that they do these things.

 My boss is married with 2 kids, about 9 and 7 if I had to guess their ages.  They were sooo cute, speaking at a rapid pace in Spanish.  They kept asking me to say Speedy Gonzalez in English...for them it sounds hilarious how we say it.

We all got to her house around 730 (we get off work at 7) and then the guys went to go buy the food.  The barqueque was on their back porch...it was an enclosed brick area with a parrilla.  A parilla is a Uruguayan grill.  These are not gas or charcoal grills, these are wood stoves.  The firewood industry is huge here because Uruguayans LOVE grilling out.
 Here is a picture of a Uruguayan grill: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2261416926_5bd97031b4.jpg

Notice in the back of the picture there is wood burning?  The coals from the firewood drops from the hanging metal basket.  Then they take those coals and disperse it underneath the metal cooking racks.  This way, the meat/veggies are cooked slowly and evenly over coals.  Essentially, with large cuts of meats, you can eat the whole day with your friends...cooking it slowly and eating as you go.  Its AWESOME.

Last night we only made hamburgers, something simple.  We ate around 10:30.  Our hamburgers came with Uruguayan fixings: bacon, onion, tomato, lettuce, hardboiled egg and mayo.  EGGS AND MAYO ON EVERYTHING I LOVE IT.  No ketchup.  It is very rare to use ketchup.  At McDonalds you have to ask for it special on the side.  Their mayo...is SO GOOD that I dont ever miss ketchup anyway.

After dinner we hung around and talked until about 1 am.  This is very typical, and actually kind of early for a Friday night.  Alot of people from my work were going to go out for a drink after with some friends.  It is completely normal that people are up late, any night of the week actually.  And I'm not talking about young poeple.  I see elderly people in restaurants at midnight drinking coffee and tea...WHAT??  I feel like I'm the boring one here, too exhausted after work to barely do anything, much less leave the house.  (Don't worry, I still have plenty of energy to go dancing on the weekends).  I just really need to make sure I get sleep or my Spanish is AWFUL!!  Its funny because people from the United States who speak both Spanish and English tell me my Spanish is good.  My Spanish is functional, yes, but in no way is it at the level it needs to be.  I want to be able to express myself as clearly and as rapidly as I do in English.  It took me 22 years to get to the point of fluency in English, and I have a lot of catching up to do in Spanish.  Uruguayans are brutally honest.  They tell me my Spanish is OKAY but they can definitely tell I'm foreign by my accent.  My goal is to lose my United States accent COMPLETELY.  This may not be possible, but we'll see.

The ride home was equally Uruguayan.  6 of us crammed into a 4 person stick shift car from the 80's and zoomed home to Montevideo.  It felt like I had been out of the city for a month (even though it was just a day!).  I think I was just glad to be home so I could go to bed and stop speaking Spanish for a few hours.

Everyone at my job speaks fluent English, but obviously communicate in Spanish when not doing work things.  If I don't understand something, they explain it.  But it gets really tiring to have things explained all the time.  The things that are hard to understand are when I don't have a context to put the conversation, or they are using special vocabulary.  For example, if I randomly walk into a conversation, I don't know what they are talking about so its hard for me to know what they are referring to if they don't explain things.  Also, if they talk for an hour about soccer (which happened at dinner) then I'm out of luck because I don't know anything about soccer in English, much less in Spanish!

Anyway, my host mom just yelled it was lunchtime so I'm going to go eat!

Today I'm going to a soccer game for my Uruguayan team, Penarol!! It is going to be awesome! They are notorious for rowdy games...they start fights, and shoot off fireworks from the stands.  YES PLEASE!!

FOOD

There are fresh fruit/veggie markets all over the city all year round.  On the weekends the little markets close and the larger markets open.  Today I went to the large market near my house (like a 10 min walk) around 10am and got some fresh fruit.  I paid the equivalent of 5 bucks for: 4 beautiful apples, 10 mandarin oranges and 3 pears.  The fruit here has seeds (like real fruit should) and is sweeter and more flavorful...you definitely will not find genetically altered foods here...I love it.

The food here is NOT SPICY nor in any way is it similar to foods in Mexico or Central America.

The food has European origins from Spain and Italy.  Lots of meats, pasta, rice, delishhh veggies, potatoes, breads, farm fresh eggs...I can honestly say that I have a well-rounded diet here, and its easy to achieve because I have access to FRESH and CHEAP foods.  The processed cereals, premade dinner mixes, etc. are SO EXPENSIVE here. Therefore, everyone makes things by scratch and without preservatives.

I'm not going to lie, they love their french fries and chivitos (a giant burger with cheese, ham, egg, lettuce, tomato, mayo, red pepper, onion..).  But for the most part, people have home-cooked meals and rarely go out to eat or buy processed foods.  At work, everyone brings delicious leftovers: rice, chicken, salads, fruits, casseroles... The first day of work I brought yogurt, a protein bar and some prepackaged food.  I realized everyone actually ate real food, so after that I've been bringing things I cook the night before.  When I brough my real food to work, someone commented that I'm learning how to eat like a Uruguayan...and trust me, its delicious to eat like a Uruguayan

adulthood

I don't really want to talk about the details of my actual job, mostly because it doesn't really interest me nor is it something I am passionate about.

What I do love about my job is where it is and who it is with.

Uruguayans are fun to work with.

Things we do at work besides actual working:
-eat Uruguayan snacks
-drink lots and lots of mate (a traditional uruguayan tea)
-talk about the differences between dialects of Spanish and English
-talk about soccer (i obviously have nothing to add to that conversation)

I work in a department of about 15 people ranging in ages of 22-30ish. I'm the youngest.  Immediately when I started working with everyone, I felt EXTREMELY welcomed in.  I got a bunch of emails welcoming me and everyone went out of their way to help train me and make me feel super comfortable.  I genuinely feel like I fit in well with everyone and am very blessed to be able to work with a group of people that are so NICE!!!

My hour transit to work has only been a hassle when it rains because you get soaked at the bus stop and then have to sit in the bus for an hour feeling horribly uncomfortable.  Otherwise I LOVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.  I usually fall asleep with my mouth gaping wide open or just listen to conversations on the bus to pick up slang.

Just a note of advice for people that are calling my cellphone--I AM recieving your calls, however I recieve them while at work so I can't answer (obviously). If you'd like to reach me by phone call between 5:30-8:30 p.m.  Those are literally the only hours I'm awake and at home.

Work is exhausting (as I'm sure everyone who has ever worked always says).  The most exhausting part is the fact that I work fluidly between 2 languages (as fluidly as I can haha).  Although I feel very comfortable around Spanish, it is still difficult to understand some slang and to be able to communicate in a professional manner (I learned alot of my Spanish in dance clubs).  However, everyone at work is super patient (and bilingual) so they always correct me and help me.  They speak to me completely in Spanish (per my request) so meetings, emails, cubicle conversation, lunch time...everyting in Spanish.  Its actually only my ACTUAL work with real estate agents in USA that is in English. LOVE IT.

Other than that I'm doing well.  Just learning what its like to be a grown up.  Its incredible, you never know where you will end up.

First days o' work

I started work this past Wednesday...WOW it had been a whirlwind.  I work for Altisource Portfolio Solutions...its a property management company. NOW, I don't really know anything about realestate, but man have I been learning!! The majority of people I work with are Uruguayan so my training, in-office emails, meetings, lunch conversations, etc., are all in Spanish--which is great, I need the practice!! However, my actual work consists of emailing/calling brokers in the USA so that is all in English.  Overall, its exhausting speaking/working in 2 languages and entering a new work environment.

On top of that my days are prettttttttty long. I leave for the bus stop at 820, get to work by 9:45 and start at 10am. Then I work 8 hrs (with a 1 hr lunch) and get the bus home around 7pm and arrive around 8:15 back at home. Needless to say, I eat dinner and chill for a bit then hit the sack to do it all over again.

I'm really enjoying the experience of working in South America...everyone is VERY inviting and I get kisses on the cheek when I get to work.  My first day I was 45 minutes late because a bus was delayed and when I got to work they just shrugged their shoulders and told me I was forgiven.

This weekend I went to El Prado which is essentially like the Wisconsin State Fair.  At night they close down a street and its a HUGE PARTY, so I went with a group of friends and danced til 6 am.  I was too tired to stay the whole night...usually people dance til about 8 am!

Its starting to get nicer here, I cannot wait for Spring/Summer!