It’s been 8 weeks since I moved to Montevideo! I’m at the halfway point in the semester and I can hardly believe it! 🌎

This week a nice lady from Newfoundland, Canada moved into my host’s house to take intensive Spanish language classes at a local school for 2 weeks. She is a retired teacher and came here after teaching for 5 weeks in Brazil! She is very brave with speaking Spanish and it has made our house dinners a bit more lively this week. ☺️

Over the weekend, we walked to the Montevideo sign, which was painted twice this week 😳( first a pretty blue and then this sad looking white)! We also tried a restaurant that serves brunch which was recommended by one of my professors. 🍳One of the owners of the restaurant is from Colorado! We also walked around the touristy areas of the city and bought freshly made churros! 😋

Montevideo! 😎

Since I’ve been here for nearly 2 months, I thought I’d share some interesting aspects/observations unique to living in Uruguay.

Mate 🧉

Mate is a caffeine-rich infused herbal drink made with yerba mate leaves that are soaked in hot water and it is served with a silver metal straw (bombilla). The containers that hold the yerba mate are actually called ‘mate’, so it’s like drinking mate out of mate, if that makes sense. The traditional containers are made from a small gourd with an outside cover, but you can also find ceramic mate containers as well. And along with the mate, straw and yerba mate leaves, you must carry a thermos of hot water to consistently add water to your mate. There are even carry kits for the car or for walking that hold both the thermos and mate cup. Mate is fairly bitter and I’ve been told that it is an acquired taste, but regardless, it is very popular! I see people carrying both the mate cup and thermos all over the city when I’m out walking.

Sidewalks ⚠️

I heard one of my professors joking about how annoying the broken sidewalks are here and it wasn’t until then that I started to realize that all of the sidewalks here are made of small square tiles, some of them unique and pretty. But, she was right, there is evidence everywhere of these tiles being broken and moved. I have noticed that I really have to look down when walking to make sure that I don’t trip!

Dachshunds! 🐾

When I first started taking walks, I noticed what seemed like a really large number of people with dachshunds throughout the city streets and on La Rambla (the promenade along the water). Then one of my professors confirmed that they are a very popular breed here and that they are sometimes called ‘pancho perros’ or hotdog dogs! I probably see at least 5 of them with their owners each time I venture out! So cute!

I’ve also seen quite a few dog walkers with large numbers of dogs all together, like 8 or 9! 🤗

Dulce de leche 🍮

This stuff is like caramel and very popular. While it’s been challenging to find peanut butter (and when I do, it’s about $10 for a small glass jar), this dulce de leche is everywhere! My host family says you can just eat it with a spoon or on fruit. It tastes like eating a caramel apple without the apple and is very tasty!

Food is very expensive here!! 🤯💵💰

Living here has changed my perspective on how expensive food can be! I’m not sure if it’s because most things are imported, but food and toiletries are very pricey in Uruguay! For example, I bought a medium sized SPF 40 sun screen (only available at pharmacies) and it was $37! My contact solution was $17 for a medium bottle and like I mentioned above, peanut butter is nearly $10 for a small jar. One of my classmates purchased a bottle of Cetaphil face wash and it was $41 (1741,00 Uruguayan pesos is equal to $41.90!). 🤑 Thankfully, ramen is still a cheap item, about $0.50 per package.🎉🥳🍲 There are no big box department stores but quite a few small grocery stores and it pays to shop around for the best prices.

Graffiti 🎨

There is a large amount of graffiti around the city, especially in the downtown area, on store fronts, buildings and steps. Some of it is very pretty and artistic and other areas look rough and run down. It’s been fun taking photographs as I walk around the city.

This week I met a classmate for coffee and dessert between classes and the presentation of the desserts was especially cute! ☕️🍰 And one of my classmates turned 21 and we all met at a tasty Italian restaurant (she’s Italian) 🍕to celebrate! My allergies are so much better this week too, yay for less pollen! 🙏🏽Thanks again for following along! I miss Fall in the U.S. but am grateful for a nice week in South America! 😃