Such a small country, yet so much machismo

I just got off the phone with the secretary of a local Rotary club.  I was calling because I wanted to schedule a visit to the club before I leave Montevideo in December, but I was basically rejected outright.  The conversation went a little something like this:

Me:  Hi, I'm Jessica.  I'm a Rotary Scholar in Montevideo this year, and I was hoping I could come to your club for a visit and get to know the members and your projects and maybe make a presentation about my state.

Rotarian:  I believe I've met you before.  You were at the Changing of the Guard, weren't you?  Well, I can't tell you yes or no right now.  I'll have to meet with the other men.  See, we're a club of all men.  There are lots of these clubs in Montevideo.  And, well, we only have one meeting a month where we permit ladies to come, and we've already had that meeting for October.  We weren't planning on having one for November because that's almost the end of the year.  By the way, your Spanish is excellent.  Where did you learn?...[More chit chat: insert nice, friendly conversation here about his daughter who lives in Spain and how he's travelled all over the United States but has NO IDEA where Tennessee is -ALL THE MORE REASON TO COME TO YOUR CLUB, BUDDY! -and that he knows Memphis has a good basketball team, etc. This was very misleading because I thought he was changing his mind]...

Rotarian continues: Well, I'll talk with the president but it really seems complicated.  Also, it's very difficult to get to our club. [Besides my university and my apartment, I would say this building is one that I've passed most frequently, and it is, in fact, VERY easy to get to...and very famous!! He was actually insinuating that I would not be able to find
HIS CLUB. But, of course, how could my little, female pea brain look up an address and actually find it on a map!?] Why don't you go to a women's club where you'll feel more comfortable?  I mean, you can come to our club of all men, but I think you'll find you will feel very out of place.

Me: I'm not afraid of men.

Rotarian:  Or you could just come on down.  But let me talk to the president first.  I'm not promising anything.  I may call you.

Me:  Okay?  Chau.

I would like to note that most Rotary clubs in Uruguay consist of all men...and they LOVE me (mostly because I bring Jack Daniels with me when I visit).  Regardless, I've never had a problem with the men (at the clubs).  They have always been respectful and have at least pretended to listen to my presentations.  I can't think of the last time anyone was so condescending to me, but that's just the way it goes.  Gotta roll with the punches.  But, when I punch back, I'll be sure to dedicate a whole new post to my surprise visit to Rotary Club Anonymous.  

BOW!

Traditions

Today I walked by a little boy sitting on a wall wearing a red, plastic firefighter's helmet.  He must have been about 8 or 9, and he was in a trance.  We're talking serious concentration here. And, what was he doing?  Why, digging for gold!!  Which brings me to my blog today:

I have been observing this all around me for months, and I have come to the conclusion that picking your nose in public is perfectly acceptable in Uruguay.  People do it on the bus.  They do it in their cars at stoplights.  They do it on the sidewalk, and they even do it while they're talking to you (maybe with just a little more subtlety).  And NO ONE seems to be bothered or disgusted by this.  It goes completely unnoticed!  Maybe this terrible habit developed out of necessity.  There's a lot of pollution, so maybe people get boogified more intensely in this country.  Whatever the case, I would like to make a post to all the nose-pickers in Uruguay: May your mocos (boogies) be bountiful and your fingers flexible so that you may never have nothing to do with those manos (hands) when you are not drinking mate!

In keeping with the theme of traditions, I would like to mention a little tradition of my own.  But first I need to start by saying a typical despedida (farewell) in Uruguay is, "Chau! Besos!"  This chau is not ciao.  I have been criticized for this.  Besos means kisses.  You can say besos (kisses), besitos (little kisses) or even BESOTE (big ole kiss!).  Orrrr, you can do what I've been doing when I speak quickly and accidently jumble it all together and just say BOW!  This has become embarrassingly common in my daily speech, and for some reason I cannot stop it!  It just comes out like word vomit, all pourin' out uncontrollably n stuff.  I've been making a conscious effort to separate the two words but instead of getting better, it seems to be getting worse!  It seems to happen the most when I'm talking with Flavia, my Brazilian friend who just moved in with me for a few weeks.  I'm about to go out to dinner with her right now, so I gotta go!  

Oh, but before I do, I found out that the thing about the blank votes.  If you cast a blank vote, it is counted as a vote for the majority.  I guess whoever told me that was assuming the Frente Amplio was going to win the majority and just told me all blank votes go to Pepe this year.  So that's that.

BOW!

Es Lo Que Hay

Soooo, there's no new president.  There will be a run-off at the end of November between Lacalle and Mujica.  Although Mujica won about 48% of the vote, he's still not president.  Lacalle (30%) and Bordaberry (17%) combined didn't beat Mujica, but he didn't win.  Now comes the tough decisions.  Will Lacalle (Blancos) and Bordaberry (Colorados) join forces to beat out the Frente Amplio?  What kind of arrangement will they make?

It's all very interesting and a lot like the Primaries in the U.S. in that no one knows how disillusioned voters will vote.  When Billary didn't make the 1st cut, McCain won a lot of female votes.  Similarly, although the Blancos and the Colorados are both right-wing parties, it is my understanding that there are Blancos who would rather vote for Fidel Castro for President of Uruguay than vote for a Colorado.  Anyway, none of this was very surprising, mostly just anticlimactic.  But I think things are about to get dirty, so I'll keep y'all posted.

The most surprising part of the whole night, however, was discovering that the country had voted NO to two new laws.  One would've enabled Uruguayans to vote from abroad.  Uruguay does not currently give its citizens the option to vote via absentee ballot.  You must be physically in the country to vote, which obviously is very problematic for people living and working abroad.  This amendment is of particular importance because there is a significant population of Uruguayans who fled during the dictatorship and would like to return but are afraid or unwilling to do so before a number of changes are made in the government.  These people do not have a voice.  And, unfortunately, it doesn't look like they'll have one this term either. 

The other law that was apparently rejected was the annulment of a previous law called "la Ley de Caducidad."  This law was created in 1986, after the country returned to democracy, to grant impunity to police and military officials who committed crimes (including human rights violations) during the dictatorship.  The Frente Amplio, along with many Uruguayans, are seeking to name the criminals for their dirty deeds, but the right-wingers are putting up a heck of a fight.  

I seriously don't understand why this law has not been annulled completely because it has already been declared unconstitutional (violating 3 laws of the Uruguayan Constitution) by the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch and the Supreme Court.  I'm guessing people are just confused about what it all means.  It seems that about 45% voted for the annulment, 30% against, and the rest were undecided/didn't know/no opinion (depending on the poll).  That's a lot of indecision/ignorance/apathy.  I'll be interested to see the course of action taken by the Frente Amplio to make those voters understand and care.  They've got about 4 weeks.  The clock is ticking...

That's all for now.  Today is Brandon (one of the other Ambassadorial Scholars) Davis' birthday.  It's the big dos-cinco.  1/4 century old.  We're gonna have an asado at his place and some cheese cake (compliments of Magui), and I'm stoked!  Feliz cumpleaños, bd!!

Who will be the next President of Uruguay?

José "Pepe" Mujica is just your average guy.  He has a humble estate and works as a farmer, living quietly with his wife.  But one of the things that sets Pepe apart from the other two candidates is the time he was held as a prisoner during the military dictatorship in the 1960s and 70s because of his affiliation with the urban guerrilla movement known as the Tupamaros. After the country returned to democracy in 1984, Pepe returned to the political scene and has been an advocate for the people ever since. One of his campaign songs (which wakes me up just about every morning) says, "Let's go, Pepe! Pepe for the people, let's go!" And the people looooove him! I, personally, cannot understand a word he is saying because he's all mumbly and stuff, but that's part of his image. He doesn't believe in wearing suits unless he feels like he must out of respect for foreign officials visiting Uruguay, and he definitely never wears a tie. He does, however, promise to improve his image somewhat, for the sake of diplomacy, should he be elected. And by the looks of Montevideo, there's no way he can lose. 

The Frente Amplio ("Broad Front") had a rally outside my apartment on Wednesday night. The current president (Tabaré Vázquez), also a member of the Frente Amplio, was there supporting Mujica, along with about 200,000 crazed Frente Amplistas marching 20 blocks of the main boulevard singing, chanting, waving flags, cussing, drinking beer and most importantly, waving their flags. Please do a Google image search of the Frente Amplio to understand what I mean when I say it was a sea of red, white and blue. I'm not a Socialist, but it was a beautiful sight. 

The right to hold elections is a wonderful thing, and Uruguayans do not take it for granted. Voting is obligatory in this country, but the majority of people don't see it that way at all. They see it as a civic duty, and they appreciate the right to exercise it. Those who do not agree with someone forcing them to vote pay a fine. This, to me, is silly because it's not like you MUST choose a candidate. You can submit a blank ballot...although someone said blank ballots go to Mujica this election year. I didn't really understand why, but when I figure it out I may let you know. Anyway, I think the fine is about 800 pesos, which is 40 bucks. Not chump change, for sure, but not unmanageable either. I seriously doubt, however, that any lefties will be paying that fine this year. At all the election sites I saw today, there were about 50 Frente Amplio flags and only 1 or 2 flags for the Partido Nacional or the Partido Colorado.

Representing the Partido Colorado is Pedro Bordaberry. To me, he's the cutest candidate of them all. From what I understand, he is a very qualified candidate (and this is information coming from talking with Uruguayans of all political persuasions), but his last name isn't doing him any favors. His father was president during the dictatorship until the military ousted him. Later it came to light that his father won the election by fraud, and then he was later arrested for the murder of 2 people during the dictatorship. He has been serving his prison sentence under house arrest in his son's home. Anyway, no matter how qualified Pedro is Uruguayans are not forgetting the dictatorship and the 172 people who were effectively "disappeared" during that time period any time soon. Pedro, you're "Vamos Uruguay" campaign failed to win the peoples' hearts and you ain't gonna win. Better luck next time.

Representing the "Blancos" (aka Partido Nacional) is Luis Alberto Lacalle. He is called "Cuqui" (Cookie), a nickname given to him by his sister when they were kids and it stuck. He's basically banking on the fact that, being the only candidate to have already served 1 term as president, he's got the experience that people are looking for. Traditionally, his party supports the rural communities of Uruguay, which means everyone that doesn't live in Montevideo (half the country) votes "Blanco." Right now, the polls are saying it's 50-50, Mujica-Lacalle. I would love to give you some more info on Lacalle (or even proof read this post), but the sun is setting, horns are honking and the last ballots are being cast. I see asado (Uruguayan barbeque), beer and a lot of happy Frente Amplistas in my very near future!

I try to stay busy

Passing of the gavel for the District Governor

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Seminar

Un Techo Para Mi País: Uruguay!

"A Roof for my Country"

International Relations Masters Students

Back by Popular Demand!

 So I'm really back by Chrissie's demand, but Chrissie is really popular so it works.  I know I haven't made any posts in MONTHS, but it's not for lack of writing.  I have tons of drafts but I never posted any of them because I really abhor this program (they are most likely going to remove my blog now...).  I want to make everything cute and perfect and Blogger won't let me!  I spent DAYS making the last post exactly the way I wanted it, checking the preview every time I made a change to make sure everything was in order.  What I want to know now is why on earth you would have a preview option if the preview looks nothing, NOTHING, NOTHING like the actual post!?  After months of aggravation, I threw in the towel.  But this concession was not made guilt-free.  I have often sat around willing myself to stop being such a perfectionist and try to see the big picture.  I made mental notes and rough drafts, but I just could not bring myself to this website.

Then, one day about a month or two ago, I got a grip and started to write this entry, at which point I immediately remembered what had frustrated me so much, and I ran away screaming.  So here I am again with new courage and the realization that I will probably never be fluent in Html.  There will be awkward spaces and probably not a lot of text wrap around images, but I'm going for content here and not Blogger of the Year.  Así que bien venidos de vuelta a mi blog!

Rotary Conference

Just like last year and the year before, the 82nd Regional Conference of Rotary District 4980 was held this year in Punta del Este. There were 513 people in attendance from 37 different clubs in the district. The total also includes the Dutch scholars who are here for a month (2 of the 5 shown below) and the new Interact Club of Melo, proudly displaying their new charter and banner directly beneath the Dutch scholars. I was surprised to see how many Interact members belong to the Melo Club. They filled up half the meeting room! It was a stark contrast to my Interact days when I think we had about 7 or 8 active members. The conference was really fun (and the food was delicioso! I ate two desserts at every meal.) and the talks were thought-provoking.  The most prominent themes (does that sound like it was translated directly from Spanish...because I've found that I forget words in English more often now than ever) were revamping the education system (el sistema educativo) and developing/funding a program in the schools to promote dental health.
The program, called PRAT, was developed by the WHO but is being implemented by various organizations world-world.  The video link is in Spanish, but if you go here, you can read more about it in English.  You may not be able to understand the video, but at the very least, you can see the Uruguayan public school uniform (the big, white tunic with the enormous, navy blue bow) worn by the kids getting their teeth cleaned.  

After the Saturday presentations, there was a formal dinner with a band that sang all manner of early '90s American jams as well as a couple of Shakira covers.  I had the pleasure of sitting with the coordinator of the Dutch scholars, a World Peace Scholar from Argentina who was one of the guest speakers, and another Rotarian from Montevideo (Rotary Club Aguada, District 4790) who was born in New York and speaks English.  I didn't know a soul at the conference and the Rotarians and their wives took excellent care of me.  We ate steak, drank wine and danced all night.  

I have since been invited to Buenos Aires to give my Tennessee presentation to the World Peace Scholar's club, and yesterday I attended the meeting of Rotary Club Aguada.  It's a club of ALL MEN, about 40 of them.  It's also much more formal than my host club.  It's good to see the differences in the clubs, and I enjoyed their meeting very much, but I feel really lucky to have been placed with my small, mixed-gender, whiskey-drinkin' club!

To the right is a table with the District Governor and a plethora of other important Rotarians, including various noteworthy guest speakers.  Below you will find the big guy, Paul Harris and the Conrad, where the conference was held.  It's the most important hotel in Uruguay.  It has everything, including a casino and a Tiffany's.  Everything, that is, except a hotel store in case you forgot your toothpaste.  

Beneath the Conrad ($275/night with the Rotary group discount) is another view of the hotel from the beach near my hotel ($35/night and really cute). 

Anyway, I had a really good time at the conference and met some fun people who are doing big things through Rotary.  It's always inspirational to learn what kinds of projects (proyectos) other groups are organizing.  I've managed to stay in contact with just about everyone I met at the conference, and hopefully, I will get to host a dinner for the group from the Netherlands at my apartment this week!  One of my classmates is a Rotarian whose club is hosting a dinner for the Dutch scholars tonight and invited me to go along.  Sooo, I can either go to class and listen to my professor talk for 4 hours about international relations, orrrr I can go make some international relations of my own!  I think we all know which option best fulfills the duties of an Ambassadorial Scholar.  So that's that.  I miss you all.  Send me emails and tell me all your fun summer plans!  It has finally started to get cold here, but people act like we're in the arctic, wearing scarves covering their faces in 55* weather.  Maybe they're hiding from Gripe "A"? Is that still being called the Swine Flu in the US?