Monthly Archives: January 2010

“Bueno, entonces”

Posted on by
4

The challenge of learning the language  in Uruguay is that you have to use a local tutor, text or program.  Rioplatense is the local dialect of Uruguay and parts of Argentina.  There are some big differences between the Spanish here to that spoken in Mexico or other parts of Central and South America. You cannot learn Rioplatense from the huge online language program Rosetta Stone, or books published for other areas.

We just signed up for a new Rioplatense program called “Bueno, entonces“.  This is in addition to our normal private tutoring in Uruguay.  ”Bueno, entonces” is a completely irreverent, crass, cheeky language program that makes you laugh out loud- along with learning.  They describe themselves as Rosetta Stone meets South Park.  Word of warning: this is not for the easily offended. If you think you may be offended, you probably will be. If you want to check it out, don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

We think it is funny, interesting and certainly will not put you to sleep.  After the first few lessons, we’re hooked and can’t wait to see what happens next.  Kind of like a steamy latino-telenovela: very fun and a surprise at every turn.

Bueno, entonces is available in DVD’s or download to PC/iphone/ipod touch.

If you want to learn more about Rioplatense Spanish, click here.

Expat Turnover

Posted on by
4

We have learned that not one, not two, but 7 families that we know in Montevideo will be leaving within the next 5 months.  Nearly all are leaving for work or educational opportunities, but some for a new adventure or economic reasons.

Truth is, with inflation and the falling exchange rate of the dollar, it has become more expensive to live in Uruguay than it was when we arrived here 10 months ago and certainly when others arrived a few years previously.  Oh, why does the UY economy have to be so stable ?? (Unlike the Argentinian economy, which remains less stable  and as a result- a more favorable exchange rate from the US dollar). Great for Uruguay, not so favorable for expats!

We had been warned about the very common Expat Turnover and how it can go in waves.  We were just not prepared for quite the rush of people we know leaving Montevideo within such a short time.

We are very excited for the new friends arriving here on a regular basis, and more are sure to follow.  While it’s hard to build relationships and then have people scatter to all ends of the world, (or rather Toronto which is strangely where many are going, but also to Thailand and the USA) we look forward to welcoming the new people coming to Uruguay, and staying in touch with those friends leaving.

To those of you leaving: We love you all and will miss you terribly. We’ll keep up on facebook! Thank you for all the fun times, the support when we needed it and for helping us feel at home here in Uruguay.

With our Expat friends in UY, we have experienced: Piriapolis, numerous asados and pizza parties, birthdays, Friday lunches, Expo Prado, yoga, the beach and pool parties, zoos, movies, fubol matches, the parks, many exchanged notes, stories and recipes and so many other wonderful memories.  Thank you!

(Please note: While one rarely hears the word “Adios” here in Uruguay, it is universally understood, and well, I didn’t have a photo of “Chau” written in the sand!)

We’re Back!!

Posted on by
1

We were in the USA for nearly four weeks for the holidays and had grand plans to keep writing, but alas the writing fell to the wayside. Our time with family and friends was all too short and we had to take advantage of every second.  After a glorious time celebrating a cold, snowy, traditional Christmas in Minnesota, we are back in Uruguay, with the energy and enthusiasm that a beautiful summer brings.  We promise to write more frequently, dear friends!!  In fact, we have a few posts in the pipeline already- so no excuses!

While away, Brad got more thumbnail photos loaded to “dress up” this new site a bit.  We hope you like it!  We’ll continue to work on updating the older posts.  There are a lot of them!

We’re also working on two new business ventures and we’ll be adding those shortly to our information here.  This is such a productive time in our lives!

As always, if you have questions, comments, or just want to say hello, comment here or send a note on the “Contact” page. We’d love to hear from you.