There's No Place Like Home

I've been out of sorts of late. Up one day, down the next. Kind of tired, kind of restless, kind of bored, kind of anxious...not myself. Yes, I'd say I am flummoxed. What a great word.

It all came to a head last Sunday as I watched the Italian classic Ladri di biciclette (with Spanish subtitles, of course) and went into a two day funk. You see, the protagonist realized the city he knew as home had utterly defeated him. He was dejected, confused and without hope.


After pondering his fate for a few hours, I realized that was exactly how I felt. The city I had chosen to call home had defeated me.

Now, before you get too concerned and suggest I get my hands on some good meds, I will tell you my symptoms are quite normal. What I have is a good old-fashioned case of culture shock.

I am happy to report culture shock is not a medical condition. I don't have a "disorder" or "syndrome". My brain is just confused over the many changes it has experienced over the last 11 plus months.

Culture shock is not just a term describing the realities of living in a foreign country. It's more nuanced and longer term.

While in Piriapolis over Christmas, Joe and I shared a conversation with a Uruguayan sociology major who described in detail the five stages of culture shock. We listened with rapt attention, recognizing each one, except, of course, the final stage of acceptance and integration. Check back with me in year.


For a while. the stages were progressing in true textbook fashion. Now they seem to be flip-flopping all over the place. Apparently this is quite common as well. Wonderful.

Considering culture shock is such a large part of the expat experience, my next five blog posts will describe witty and engaging personal examples of each stage. Maybe not so much witty and engaging as frustrating and irritating.

Today, I'm happy with my life in a strange land. Tomorrow may be a different story. I will say living in a foreign country is like the mother of all amusement park rides. Woohoo.

You People Eat This Stuff?!?

I realize it is the end of January, but I wanted to touch briefly on our recent holiday trip to Piriapolis. We spent a lovely Christmas with a nice mix of expats and locals. There were great conversations, fireworks on the beach, music and general merriment. Like most holidays this one was all about the food, but with a different twist.

For starters, our Christmas Eve meal was a real treat for the expats...a Mexican food feast comprised of soft hamburger tacos, jalapenos, guacamole, Doritos chips and refried beans. It was met with a great deal less enthusiasm by the locals. The basic Uruguayan diet consists mainly of bland foods, so even the slightest hint of spice in the taco seasoning was overwhelming to native tastebuds. And the guacamole...they couldn't get their minds around this mushy green dip that is so revered by those of us from the Northern Hemisphere. Not easily daunted, we tried to win them over yet again.

The next day, our Christmas dinner consisted of all things American...turkey, dressing, green bean casserole and fruit ambrosia. Favorite expat holiday dishes all suited to the North American palette. Little did we know these familiar menu choices would also be considered exotic to the locals.

The one brave soul tried every dish we offered up and was extremely gracious in saying it was all very tasty. Others were not so adventurous...to them the taste and the texture of the turkey was strange. The green bean casserole went untouched. I'm not sure what they thought of the dressing. Probably not much. The ambrosia was acceptable, but only as a dessert. Uruguayans never mix sweet and savory foods on the same plate. So I guess cranberry sauce with the turkey would have been a big no-no! Good news is you can't find cranberries in Uruguay.

Our breakfasts however, were a perfect melding of the cultures. Toast, butter (lots of butter) marmalade, American coffee sweetened with freshly whipped heavy cream and of course, mate (see my post of 7/2/09.)

As with all great American holiday meals there are always leftovers. We expats left it to the local contingent to come up with subsequent meals featuring the massive amount of leftover turkey. Turnabout is fair play. They ate our food, now we try theirs.

I am pleased to say their creativity in the kitchen was the crowning touch to our weekend festivities. They prepared a wonderful turkey casserole with bite-sized bits of turkey, rice, potatoes and hard boiled eggs. The dish was warm, filling and delicious. The same casserole is also designed to be eaten cold, which we did for our next meal. It was served with a fresh tomato and cucumber salad topped with a chimichurri of olive oil, oregano, basil and salt.

The leftover green bean casserole and dressing were shared among the expats. The ambrosia was, of course, served separately as a dessert.

I would like to thank our Uruguayan friends for being such good sports and teaching this expat a thing or two about cultural differences. It was a truly unique Christmas that will always hold a special place in my heart.

Felices Fiestas!

I've been busy. Very, very busy. I know that is no excuse for ignoring my blog. But I have been very busy. Terribly busy. I'm sorry, but I've been busy.

We are off to Piriapolis to spend a bohemian Christmas with a small group of expat orphans. Should be a fun time--a little sol, a little vino and lots of good asado and nice people to share in the experience.

Just so you know, one of my main New Year's resolutions is to be a better blogger. I will do my level best to update this darned thing more often than once every couple of months. We'll see what happens.

Here's wishing everyone the happiest of holidays and a better new year than the one before (or at least one not quite so busy.)

Besos

Way South of the Border - Part Dos

I am happy to report we have had an opportunity to visit the two Mexican restaurants in Montevideo and they aren't half bad. For those of you residing in or visiting Montevideo, try one, the other or both next time you have a hankering for Mexican food. For those of you North of the border, just humor me for a few moments...

Hacienda Las Palomas is located in the affluent barrio Carrasco (home to diplomats, movers and shakers and people with access to ridiculously large sums of money.)

The food is really quite flavorful and imaginative. The meal begins with crispy fried strips of flour tortillas served with three varieties of salsa -- verde, mild red and a dark red picante. If I haven't mentioned the bland nature of the food here, I am now. When dining at Hacienda Las Palomas we always consume more than our fair share of the salsa picante.

Potent margaritas are available frozen and on the rocks. Lemon slices garnish the authentic Mexican stemware. (You can buy limes here, so why would they choose a lemon for garnish? Fodder for another post, I suppose.)

On our last visit, I ordered nachos. I was pleasantly surprised by the creative interpretation of this venerable classic. My nachos arrived on a large platter featuring neat compartments, each containing a fresh take on traditional nacho ingredients -- a crispy version of homemade chips shaped like dainty quatrefoils, light and fluffy guacamole, black bean refritos and a heavenly rich cheese sauce. (I suspect whipped heavy cream had been folded into the cheese sauce to give it an incredible ganache-like consistency and buttery pale yellow color.)

I can also vouch for their enchiladas, tacos and chicken wraps. All were delicious and inspired. For dessert, my sweet tooth prefers chocolate, so I was compelled to sample their version of death by chocolate--a small, dense torta served warm with dark chocolate sauce and a mound of vanilla ice cream. A pleasant, but filling end to the meal.

Entree prices range from $15 to $23 USD. A margarita will set you back $6. While these prices may not seem too outrageous to the average American, they are considered quite high here. Dinner at Hacienda Las Palomas is usually reserved for a special evening out with friends. Call to confirm hours and make reservations 600 179 (Wednesday-Saturday 7pm-close; Sunday for lunch only). Easy to find at Pedro Domingo Murillo 6566 in Carrasco.

La Lupita is the other choice for Mexican cuisine in the city. Authentic Mexican food created by authentic Mexicans. This diminutive restaurant is located in Punta Carretas. While the neighborhood is upscale, the restaurant is real and unpretentious; a favorite among locals. Corn tortillas and chips are made from scratch. The salsa brims with the flavor of fresh tomatoes, but could use a bit more kick. The food may lack pizzazz, but the restaurant makes up for it with heart.

I have tried the tacos, enchiladas rojas and tortilla soup. All basic, hearty and never once a disappointment. The tortilla soup at La Lupita is a steamy onion broth served with tortilla strips, smoked chipotle peppers, grated cheese and cubed avocados on the side for the diner to add as they wish. Fabulous on a chilly July evening.

Margaritas are served over finely crushed ice and are garnished with the familiar slice of lemon and taste amazingly like their lemonade sold by the pitcher. Lemon margaritas. Hmmmm. Odd, but refreshing.

Prices at La Lupita are half that of Hacienda Las Palomas. Good news for those of us on a budget. Get there early or call and see if they accept reservations 712 1966 (hours Tuesday-Saturday 8:30pm-12:30am; closed Sunday and Monday.) Warm weather heralds longer waits and the lively crowd spills onto al fresco sidewalk seating. Located at Luis de la Torre 565 and Gregorio Suárez in Punta Carretas.

Bon appetite (and yes, they do say that here.)