Here are some big hits in the dance clubs currently...I LOVE THEM!! Trust me, if you listen to them on repeat, they grow on you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOExofIZaHQ
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0rO7vMN1kw
ENJOY
Monday, September 10, 2012
Friday, September 07, 2012
Interviews in the Southern Hemisphere
OKAY SO,
I had my first big girl interview yesterday. It was at Zonamerica which is a trade-free building complex of about 15-20 international companies http://web.zonamerica.com/en/home/. The Zonamerica area is just outside the city of Montevideo and is actually not technically Uruguay, its an international trade zone. So I took a city bus yesterday 30 mins to go see my former host mom, Silvia. I had lunch with her and then around 230 she walked me to the bus stop. From there I got on a DM1 bus, which are nicer, more expensive and travel further than the city buses. They have squishy reclining seats and everything! I had another 30 minute ride to Zonamerica and when I got off the bus I was standing in front of this entrance gate. I had to bring my passport and get a visitor pass to enter. From there I took a shuttle to the building I had my interview. I forgot that the doors swing the opposite way here so I "pulled" instead of "pushed" and looked like a complete idiot haha.
ONCE I ENTERED:
I had to call to the office of my interview where I got ahold of man named Andres (Andrew) who let me into the office building. All of the walls were plexi-glass and the entire complex looked like it was from the 22nd century or something. We had to have his security pass to get through all of the glass doors until we finall reached a small room. This room had 2 walls which were plain white. Florescent lights lit the whole building. The other 2 walls were plexiglass facing a hallway in which people could stare in on me like I was a lab-rat in for testing or something. Andrew was pleasant and told me to sit in the room until another woman (American) came to greet me. She was pleasant and told me I first had to complete a Wonderlic test (logic/math/common sense test). She told me it would be untimed and they'd be back in about 15 minutes to check on me.
THE TEST:
It had all sorts of questions such as: It takes 2.25 yards of fabric to make a skirt. How many skirts can you make with 45 yards.
ECT.
here is a practice exam if you like to see how you might do in a high pressure interview: http://www.testprepreview.com/wonderlicpracticequestions1.htm
I finished the test and waited until Andrew entered the room again: "Oh! You finished already!"
In my head I'm thinking OH CRAP I DID SOMETHING WRONG I FINISHED TOO SOON!!
He left to grade the exam and after 10 minutes came back and told me I did quite well! (whew)
He then proceeded to ask me the basic interview questions.
Afterwards he told me I would have to wait til his supervisor was out of a meeting so she could interview me as well.
ONE HOUR AND 15 MINUTES LATER (waiting in my little lab-rat room reading "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest...made me feel like a cukoo).
Maria shows up and apologizes for the delay. She sits and proceeds with MORE interview questions and things like "really?? why uruguay??? Please don't tell me you came here for some man!"
"No." I replied, "I don't follow any man."
"THANK GOD." she sighs.
THE QUESTIONS:
-Hypothetical situation: I give you an impossible task, LITERALLY impossible. How do you do it?
-What are your strengths/weaknesses
-Where do you see yourself in 2 years
-What situations have you been under alot of pressure
-Do you like challenges (to which she said, "well actually i don't have to ask you that because you moved to another country to work)
-ETC. ETC.
Then Maria tells me she is going to find her supervisor.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
Esteban and Julia show up to ask me more questions.
-If we give you 5 tasks, in what order do you finish them??
-What if all 5 task are equally as important?
-WHY URUGUAY??
-ETC. ETC.
Then Esteban finishes the interview with this:
"Okay here is a puzzle, you have 8 pool balls. All are identical except one is lighter. You also have a scale, like the justice scale. What is the LEAST amount of times that you can weigh the balls to find out which one is lighter. There are NO TRICKS to this."
THE FIRST TIME:
I got 3 weighs.
"You can do it in less" Esteban tells me.
AFTER SOME THOUGHT AND DRAWING ON PAPER:
it is concluded you can do it in 2 times.
HINT: People have a tendency to think in pairs...DON'T.
(message me if you want the solution)
I'm allowed to leave after and they tell me they will call Fri or Mon. I walk to the bus and wait in the cold for 10 mins until we board. I grab a seat on the back and can smell the Polo Blue cologne that i think EVERY Uruguayan man wears. 1 hour later i get off on the wrong stop and have to walk another 20 minutes home.
TOTAL TRAVEL/INTERVIEW TIME:
5 hours.
I WOKE UP TODAY:
to an email that says I have to take a personality test. I finish it and recieve notice that they would like to hire me at a starting salary, if I agree to the salary, etc. I ask Laura (host mom) if it is a good salary, and she makes a few calls to compare it to starting salaries of her friends/nephews/etc. Apparently mine is on the higher end, so it is a solid job.
SO I DID IT!
Even if this job doesn't turn out to be the best thing ever, I had an unforgettable experience and I feel like I can legit do ANYTHING.
I had my first big girl interview yesterday. It was at Zonamerica which is a trade-free building complex of about 15-20 international companies http://web.zonamerica.com/en/home/. The Zonamerica area is just outside the city of Montevideo and is actually not technically Uruguay, its an international trade zone. So I took a city bus yesterday 30 mins to go see my former host mom, Silvia. I had lunch with her and then around 230 she walked me to the bus stop. From there I got on a DM1 bus, which are nicer, more expensive and travel further than the city buses. They have squishy reclining seats and everything! I had another 30 minute ride to Zonamerica and when I got off the bus I was standing in front of this entrance gate. I had to bring my passport and get a visitor pass to enter. From there I took a shuttle to the building I had my interview. I forgot that the doors swing the opposite way here so I "pulled" instead of "pushed" and looked like a complete idiot haha.
ONCE I ENTERED:
I had to call to the office of my interview where I got ahold of man named Andres (Andrew) who let me into the office building. All of the walls were plexi-glass and the entire complex looked like it was from the 22nd century or something. We had to have his security pass to get through all of the glass doors until we finall reached a small room. This room had 2 walls which were plain white. Florescent lights lit the whole building. The other 2 walls were plexiglass facing a hallway in which people could stare in on me like I was a lab-rat in for testing or something. Andrew was pleasant and told me to sit in the room until another woman (American) came to greet me. She was pleasant and told me I first had to complete a Wonderlic test (logic/math/common sense test). She told me it would be untimed and they'd be back in about 15 minutes to check on me.
THE TEST:
It had all sorts of questions such as: It takes 2.25 yards of fabric to make a skirt. How many skirts can you make with 45 yards.
ECT.
here is a practice exam if you like to see how you might do in a high pressure interview: http://www.testprepreview.com/wonderlicpracticequestions1.htm
I finished the test and waited until Andrew entered the room again: "Oh! You finished already!"
In my head I'm thinking OH CRAP I DID SOMETHING WRONG I FINISHED TOO SOON!!
He left to grade the exam and after 10 minutes came back and told me I did quite well! (whew)
He then proceeded to ask me the basic interview questions.
Afterwards he told me I would have to wait til his supervisor was out of a meeting so she could interview me as well.
ONE HOUR AND 15 MINUTES LATER (waiting in my little lab-rat room reading "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest...made me feel like a cukoo).
Maria shows up and apologizes for the delay. She sits and proceeds with MORE interview questions and things like "really?? why uruguay??? Please don't tell me you came here for some man!"
"No." I replied, "I don't follow any man."
"THANK GOD." she sighs.
THE QUESTIONS:
-Hypothetical situation: I give you an impossible task, LITERALLY impossible. How do you do it?
-What are your strengths/weaknesses
-Where do you see yourself in 2 years
-What situations have you been under alot of pressure
-Do you like challenges (to which she said, "well actually i don't have to ask you that because you moved to another country to work)
-ETC. ETC.
Then Maria tells me she is going to find her supervisor.
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
Esteban and Julia show up to ask me more questions.
-If we give you 5 tasks, in what order do you finish them??
-What if all 5 task are equally as important?
-WHY URUGUAY??
-ETC. ETC.
Then Esteban finishes the interview with this:
"Okay here is a puzzle, you have 8 pool balls. All are identical except one is lighter. You also have a scale, like the justice scale. What is the LEAST amount of times that you can weigh the balls to find out which one is lighter. There are NO TRICKS to this."
THE FIRST TIME:
I got 3 weighs.
"You can do it in less" Esteban tells me.
AFTER SOME THOUGHT AND DRAWING ON PAPER:
it is concluded you can do it in 2 times.
HINT: People have a tendency to think in pairs...DON'T.
(message me if you want the solution)
I'm allowed to leave after and they tell me they will call Fri or Mon. I walk to the bus and wait in the cold for 10 mins until we board. I grab a seat on the back and can smell the Polo Blue cologne that i think EVERY Uruguayan man wears. 1 hour later i get off on the wrong stop and have to walk another 20 minutes home.
TOTAL TRAVEL/INTERVIEW TIME:
5 hours.
I WOKE UP TODAY:
to an email that says I have to take a personality test. I finish it and recieve notice that they would like to hire me at a starting salary, if I agree to the salary, etc. I ask Laura (host mom) if it is a good salary, and she makes a few calls to compare it to starting salaries of her friends/nephews/etc. Apparently mine is on the higher end, so it is a solid job.
SO I DID IT!
Even if this job doesn't turn out to be the best thing ever, I had an unforgettable experience and I feel like I can legit do ANYTHING.
Monday, September 03, 2012
Before I go
Here
are some fast facts about Uruguay and some information about how to stay in
touch with me!!
Demographics
"Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European descent."
--Wikipedia
This means it is a little over half the size of Wisconsin and the people there are mostly Spanish and Italian (aka BEAUTIFUL, OLIVE SKIN AND DARK HAIR/EYES).
Living Conditions
"Uruguay is one of the most developed countries in South America...and is also noted for its low levels of corruption, being ranked by Transparency International as the second least corrupt country in Latin America after Chile... Reader's Digest ranked Uruguay as the ninth "most livable and greenest" country in the world, and first in all the Americas."
--Wiki
Nuff said
Climate
"Uruguay's climate is relatively mild...Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare."
--Wiki
Basically, they have all four seasons with few examples of VERY cold and VERY hot. There is no jungle, mountains, desert or snow.
Food
"Official statistics from Uruguay's Agriculture and Livestock Ministry indicate that meat and sheep farming in Uruguay occupies 59.6% of the land."
"Asado is the national dish in Uruguay, a kind of barbecued beef. Beef is fundamental to Uruguayan cuisine and the country is one of the world's top consumers of red meat per capita. Popular foods include beef platters, steak sandwiches (chivito), pasta, barbecued kidneys and sausages. Locally produced soft drinks, beer, and wine are commonly served, as is clericó, a mixture of fruit juice and wine. Uruguay and Argentina share a national drink called mate."
--Wiki
They eat like Wisconsinites
Sports
"Football is the most popular sport in Uruguay."
--Wiki
Pretty much sums it up
Education
"Education in Uruguay is secular, free, and compulsory for 14 years, starting at the age of 4."
--Wiki
Public Universities are also free and provide high quality education
Misc.
Uruguay is home to extreme poverty, but life in the capitol, Montevideo includes all the luxuries of our daily lives in the United States. They have electricity, running (drinkable) water, safe/cheap public transportation, shopping malls, movie theatres, WIFI, grocery stores/food markets, hot water, restaruants...etc. etc. etc. If you have any questions about Uruguay, please ask!
Contact Info:
skype: bailey.kaiser
cell number: (you can call this online number for whatever your local USA rates are!! no charges to you and i have it forwarded through skype to my Uruguayan cell!!
email: bkaiser@edgewood.edu
Demographics
"Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88% of the population are of European descent."
--Wikipedia
This means it is a little over half the size of Wisconsin and the people there are mostly Spanish and Italian (aka BEAUTIFUL, OLIVE SKIN AND DARK HAIR/EYES).
Living Conditions
"Uruguay is one of the most developed countries in South America...and is also noted for its low levels of corruption, being ranked by Transparency International as the second least corrupt country in Latin America after Chile... Reader's Digest ranked Uruguay as the ninth "most livable and greenest" country in the world, and first in all the Americas."
--Wiki
Nuff said
Climate
"Uruguay's climate is relatively mild...Seasonal variations are pronounced, but extremes in temperature are rare."
--Wiki
Basically, they have all four seasons with few examples of VERY cold and VERY hot. There is no jungle, mountains, desert or snow.
Food
"Official statistics from Uruguay's Agriculture and Livestock Ministry indicate that meat and sheep farming in Uruguay occupies 59.6% of the land."
"Asado is the national dish in Uruguay, a kind of barbecued beef. Beef is fundamental to Uruguayan cuisine and the country is one of the world's top consumers of red meat per capita. Popular foods include beef platters, steak sandwiches (chivito), pasta, barbecued kidneys and sausages. Locally produced soft drinks, beer, and wine are commonly served, as is clericó, a mixture of fruit juice and wine. Uruguay and Argentina share a national drink called mate."
--Wiki
They eat like Wisconsinites
Sports
"Football is the most popular sport in Uruguay."
--Wiki
Pretty much sums it up
Education
"Education in Uruguay is secular, free, and compulsory for 14 years, starting at the age of 4."
--Wiki
Public Universities are also free and provide high quality education
Misc.
Uruguay is home to extreme poverty, but life in the capitol, Montevideo includes all the luxuries of our daily lives in the United States. They have electricity, running (drinkable) water, safe/cheap public transportation, shopping malls, movie theatres, WIFI, grocery stores/food markets, hot water, restaruants...etc. etc. etc. If you have any questions about Uruguay, please ask!
Contact Info:
skype: bailey.kaiser
cell number: (you can call this online number for whatever your local USA rates are!! no charges to you and i have it forwarded through skype to my Uruguayan cell!!
email: bkaiser@edgewood.edu
Thursday, August 30, 2012
a list
So, 932749345 people (slight exaggeration) have asked me WHY I am going back to Uruguay. I compiled a list of what I can think of so far:
1. I want to perfect my Spanish
2. I have a wonderful support system of friends/host family
3. The pace of life is much slower, people enjoy each other's company and aren't afraid to relax
4. They are home to some of the most secluded and beautiful beaches in the world
5. They have beautiful accents
6. Uruguayans make fun of their country, but love it fiercly
7. There are fresh food markets EVERYWHERE
8. My life there is more challenging, but more rewarding
9. If I can do this, I can do anything
10. It is a very safe country
11. It is not a popular tourist destination, but rather a hidden gem
12. I love their public transportation
13. They love their soccer teams, their mothers and summertime
14. It is a country of 3 million habitants. It feels like my own little hidey-hole
15. The music: the good and bad
16. Its location makes it much more feasible to travel in South America
17. The climate and food are much like WI, so I feel at home always
18. They are a very sarcastic population, but ironically the word "sarcasm" doesn't exist in their dialect
19. There are very rich and very poor side by side
20. I want to learn how to drive stick, which is the only thing you can find in cars
21. They know their history
22. I have room to grow
23. They have interesting sub-cultures
24.
To be continued...
1. I want to perfect my Spanish
2. I have a wonderful support system of friends/host family
3. The pace of life is much slower, people enjoy each other's company and aren't afraid to relax
4. They are home to some of the most secluded and beautiful beaches in the world
5. They have beautiful accents
6. Uruguayans make fun of their country, but love it fiercly
7. There are fresh food markets EVERYWHERE
8. My life there is more challenging, but more rewarding
9. If I can do this, I can do anything
10. It is a very safe country
11. It is not a popular tourist destination, but rather a hidden gem
12. I love their public transportation
13. They love their soccer teams, their mothers and summertime
14. It is a country of 3 million habitants. It feels like my own little hidey-hole
15. The music: the good and bad
16. Its location makes it much more feasible to travel in South America
17. The climate and food are much like WI, so I feel at home always
18. They are a very sarcastic population, but ironically the word "sarcasm" doesn't exist in their dialect
19. There are very rich and very poor side by side
20. I want to learn how to drive stick, which is the only thing you can find in cars
21. They know their history
22. I have room to grow
23. They have interesting sub-cultures
24.
To be continued...
Monday, August 27, 2012
People and clothes
About 9 days til I fly out. That means 9 days to figure out what I REALLY NEED to pack. Luckily I'm moving in with a host family so we are going to have a very large house of people. I have my host mom and dad (Eduardo (dudu) and Laura), my best friend Anna from Poland, my host brother Rafa and then 4 other exchange students whom I haven't met yet (3 girls, 1 guy). This means that I only need to pack the necessities and I am almost certain all of us women will be sharing our closets. Having roomates is the best!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Call me, maybe
Well I finally did it!! I got an online skype number. For my family/friends that live in the 715 area code, ya'll can call my number and it will forward to my skype account. I then set up call forwarding on skype so it will forward that call to my cellphone in Uruguay (once I buy one). For future reference, my number is 715-316-4300. So you can call me from your house or cell and I'll pick up in another hemisphere! The great thing is it literally costs me like 2 cents a minute!
Thursday, August 02, 2012
de nuevo
I took a year off from blogging.
In that time period:
I graduated from Edgewood with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Sociology
I worked at the Melting Pot and Brickhouse BBQ and learned alot about the joys and pains of working in a service industry.
I made the decision to move back to Montevideo, Uruguay. Right now the plan is to go for a few months; if I find a job, I'll stay indefinitely.
In that time period:
I graduated from Edgewood with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Sociology
I worked at the Melting Pot and Brickhouse BBQ and learned alot about the joys and pains of working in a service industry.
I made the decision to move back to Montevideo, Uruguay. Right now the plan is to go for a few months; if I find a job, I'll stay indefinitely.
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