Uruguay in the Charlotte Observer

Uruguay was featured in the Charlotte Observer's Sunday Travel section in an short interview I did about life and culture.

ARGENTINA'S FRIENDLY NEIGHBOR
URUGUAY AND ITS CAPITAL, MONTEVIDEO, ARE SMALL IN SIZE BUT BIG IN CHARM
JOHN BORDSEN, Staff Writer

Laurin Ariail, 24, has lived in Montevideo, Uruguay, since February. The Rockingham native received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study international relations there at the University of the Republic.

Q. Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is right across the Rio de la Plata estuary from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Is there much difference between the cities?

There are striking differences. Montevideo is much smaller and has more of a community feel. The people are friendly and interested in learning about you. Buenos Aires has a "city" feel - it's more fast-paced, like a New York. There's more excitement. You can get a boat to Buenos Aires directly from Montevideo; it takes three hours. If you fly, it's a bit more than 30 minutes. You can also take a bus for 2 1/2 hours to Colonia, then take a one-hour boat ride from there to Buenos Aires. A lot of people do that because it's an easy trip. People do commute, but not on a daily basis. I know people in Uruguay who, for work reasons, will go to Buenos Aires once a month for a long weekend or for a week.

Q. What does Montevideo look like?

A mix of interesting architecture. There's an old town with cobblestone streets and a huge gate called the Door of the City; it was built by the Spanish. The city center is on a peninsula, in the Rio de la Plata. There's a boardwalk around much of the city center called the Rambla, where you can walk along the waterfront. There are a lot of parks and beaches right in the heart of the city. Public transportation is wonderful. There are all kinds of inexpensive buses that will take you everywhere. Many streets are tree-lined. You can be in the middle of Montevideo and feel like you're in a residential neighborhood. You see a lot of eucalyptus trees; they grow quickly because of the rains. In the city, houses here are very close together, and instead of backyard gardens like in the U.S., they tend to have patios.

Q. What's the most surprising thing you've seen or done?

There are many interesting things to do and see in Uruguay; having lunch at the Port Market in Montevideo, for instance. It is most famous for parilla ("pa-REE-sha") - a barbecue, basically. The Port Market has kiosks where you can get sausages or other parts of the meat cooked right in front of you. It's right downtown. You can get the best steak of your life for $8. The quality of beef here is excellent. Uruguay is famous for wines, and it's neat to visit one of the vineyards about 20 km (12.4 miles) outside the city. On the tours, you can see the vineyards and do wine tastings. Uruguay is famous for a type of wine made from the tannat grape, which grows well in Uruguay's climate. Uruguay's wines broke into the higher-quality wine market within the last five years and are now becoming well-known elsewhere. Another interesting place to visit is Punta del Este, a resort beach. It's one of the hottest vacation spots in South America, and is about an hour and a half from Montevideo. It has fancy hotels, casinos and beautiful beaches. It's packed three months a year. From the end of December, it fills with the jet set from Argentina and Brazil. This is where all the wealth moves. It's such a different environment from the rest of Uruguay.

Q. December is summer below the equator. What's the weather like these days?

Right now it's beautiful during the day - up into the 80s; not much rain. It is still a little chilly at night - probably in the 60s. In our winter, it's cold, rainy and windy.

Q.Spanish-speaking nations often have their own accents. Is that the case where you are?

There's a distinct accent they share with Argentina - not only how they pronounce certain words, but they use a different word for "you" and conjugate some verbs a bit differently.For "you" they don't say "tu" - they'll say "vos" when talking to a friend. You'd use "tu" when saying "you" to someone you're not very close to.

Q. What are the best souvenirs to take home?

One is called dulce de leche - which translates as "sweet part of milk." It tastes a lot like caramel or Nutella. People here put it on ice cream and every other type of dessert. It's very cheap. You can get a small container for about $3. When you go to the grocery, it takes up an enormous shelf, like peanut butter does in the United States. Also, there's a very typical drink called mate ("ma-tay"); it refers to a special cup and the green herb tea that goes in it.
You put a straw in this special cup, which is often covered with animal skin. The cups have metal rims, and the straws are crafted out of different metals. You add some water and sip the tea through the straw. It's a cultural activity: You go sit on the boardwalk with friends and pass the mate around, everyone sharing the same cup. People often carry their mate cups and thermoses around town. You add hot water from a thermos. The tea leaves are call hierba, and you can get a bag of this tea for $1. The cups can be very ornate; you can buy high-end ones. Basic ones cost about $10 and you buy the straw spearately for an additional $5.