Montevideo

We spent the biggest chunk of our time in any one place in Uruguay in Montevideo--5 days in total.  It doesn't seem like much time at all, but I feel like we made enough of an effort to explore the city that I have more of a grasp of Montevideo than I do of Buenos Aires…and this is my third week here.  

Montevideo has the reputation (though the Uruguayans would hate to hear this) of being Buenos Aires lite.  Given that the city of Buenos Aires has 3+ times the amount of people as the entire country of Uruguay, such characterizations are inevitable and--in some ways--valid.  But I think to write off Montevideo as a smaller version of Buenos Aires is to ignore the very distinct and (to me) wonderful differences between the two.  Montevideo isn't JUST small…there's an entire different attitude about the place and the people that I found especially refreshing.  Small examples abound, and together they help to demonstrate my point:

• In Buenos Aires, the right of way for pedestrians is non-existent.  You're lucky if a car stops for you when you're crossing under the "walk" light…God help you at an intersection without a light.  Most people on the streets and public transportation are in a hurry and detest anything that interrupts their routine.  There is an air of superiority to many whom live in the city--a very Argentine stereotype, but very true for many in Buenos Aires. 
• In Montevideo, people seem to genuinely care more about strangers.  Cars stop even when THEY have the right of way.  People say hello on the sidewalks, politely ask to slip by instead of pushing through a group, and face each other with friendliness instead of suspicion or judgment.  At mid-day the parks are full of people sipping mate and enjoying the sunshine, and everyone just seems calm and…humble. 

These are of course HUGE generalizations, obviously colored completely by my own experiences and interactions with people in both cities…but I can't get away from my gut instinct that Montevideo in particular, and Uruguay more generally, just seemed to agree with my own attitude and outlook more than Buenos Aires.  Being there made me realize how much I detest huge cities sometimes…and it makes me very excited for Mendoza.

Anyway, more than general impressions, I'm trying to think of day-to-day stuff that won't be mind-numbing to read.  We had seminars twice a day at La Universidad de la Republica in Montevideo, and those included a few amazing lectures from Uruguayan professors about the dictatorship between 1975 and 1985 and the recent victory by the united political left--a first in Uruguayan history.  Complimenting our classes were a variety of neat field trips (I feel like I'm in third grade using that phrase, but it seems appropriate…I did not pack Lunch-ables)…a visit to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, a tour of the legislative palace, and a chat with a group of adolescents participating in a work-study program where they learn gardening techniques while being paid to landscape public areas (this meeting ended in a monstrous football match, which was fantastic).

I'll highlight the best parts of our stay in Montevideo in separate posts to come.