Irony...

Does anyone else see the irony in this?...

We found a "technical" school the other day with a hand-painted sign on a tipped over tree stump.

Mas Comidas

Here's more of the food we've been enjoying!

Savory crepes filled with minced ham and cheese, covered in a pesto cream sauce:

Spinach bunuelos (rice, flour, egg, spinach combined, and then fried):

Uruguayan pizza (complete with pepperoni, onions, red peppers, and corn and peas):

Beef empanadas:

Fish with carmelized onions, and sliced potatoes:

And one of the great desserts, walnut cake with dulce de leche:

Mas Animales en el Campo

We've had more animal encounters out in the field lately, and most of the animals are a great source of entertainment. Except for these guys - they've scared the crap out of us on more than one occasion (mostly because they hang out in the plants that we're closely studying).

We drive in between two small ponds on the way out to the main highway, and on a few occasions, we've managed to see a couple of these pink-colored spoonbills. They are beautiful.

This guy will haunt me in my dreams. In my version of hell, I will be in the middle of pokey plants, covered in mosquitoes, and forced to listen to this hawk, squawking constantly all day. I have a video of his call if anyone wants to suffer.

Then there's this guy. We stopped and watched him for awhile on the way to our field sites the other day. He was completely puffed up and strutting around, trying to impress the ladies. He even gobbled a couple times, hoping that would entice them.

The ladies were less than impressed. They wandered around completely ignoring him, and he would alternate between periods of dejection while his feathers drooped, to glimpses of hope, in which he fluffed himself up again and tried to strut and cut off the path of the ladies. By the time we left, I think he was starting to realize that his strategy wasn't working.

Muy Mucho Sol

It's been really pretty hot and humid lately, and we've been working out in the open grasslands, so we're exposed to the sun most of the day. We try to be diligent about sunblock, sunglasses, and hats, but we're still getting quite a bit of sun.

I'm not sure if you can actually tell, but I'm quite tan (for me) in the photo. My hair is also getting some nice natural highlights from all the sun exposure. For a better understanding of how tan we're actually getting, I'm also including the photo below:

Yep, that's my arm...and that's a watch line. And yes, I really was that white (pasty, in fact). Now I've got a lovely tan, which is accented by various bug bites (the lovely red dots on my arm).

Here's another view, in which you can see the lovely tan lines created by tank tops in the field. Don't mind the uncombed hair and sweatpants-made-into-capris - this is my normal "look" in Uruguay.

Sonia took the above photo of us (Cat and I) with Luana, and the flowers we bought Luana to celebrate her end of the school her and successful finish to her two-day English exams. It was also the day of her communion, so it was a big day for her. We asked Sonia earlier in the day where we might find a florist in town, and she came back with three addresses for three individual shops. Apparently she was excited about the idea. When we came back with the flowers and delivered them to Luana, we got cheek kisses from her, and profuse thanks from both Sonia and Kike. I think they were pretty touched - as evidenced by the fact that Sonia took pictures of all of us and the flowers with both her camera and mine.

Comer un Asado...

Thought I would post a step-by-step guide on how to make and eat at an asado in Uruguay.

Step 1: Have a big ass outdoor brick oven, plenty of dense firewood, and hours of time in which to cook lots of meat. For example, the parilla (grill) below was filled with meat to serve 7 people...not 20 like the amount of meat might suggest.

Step 2: Have a variety of meat available. Lamb is best (see lovely dark red color on that delicious leg).

Step 3: Be sure to also include chicken as a non-red meat option, although Uruguayans will laugh at you if you don't like either beef or lamb. Also be sure to include plenty of chorizo, because its amazing how much chorizo and fried cheese one can eat during the appetizer session of the asado.

Step 4: For the adventurous (and for complete authenticity) also include some glands as an appetizer. Cook these to a burned crisp and then douse them in plenty of lemon juice and salt. The crispy texture and delicious seasoning will make what as originally a cold thymus gland with the texture of a bad oyster actually quite edible.

Step 5: If possible, have a Kike to attend to the asado. He knows what he's doing, and he's got some major skills. Plus, he likes to discuss the techniques and talent of cooking an asado, so make sure to ask lots of questions.

Step 6: Have some gregarious guests on hand with whom you can laugh and enjoy wine. It's preferable if they are American professors who enjoy drinking wine, and like to chat about many different subjects.

Step 7: Have plenty of salads and other food ready at the table for when the asado begins. Only eat these salads as a break from the sheer quantity of meat you will be consuming. Then eat more meat.

Step 8: Eat, eat, eat, until you have given yourself a food-induced coma. Then wake up late the next day and try to eat more food. :)

Cenas a La Corona

It's probably become obvious, but we've been having some fantastic food here at la estancia.

We've had chicken in mustard sauce. The sauce was thinned with broth, and seasoned with red bell pepper and herbs and spices, and was delicious over rice.

One night we had cabbage rolls - large cabbage leaves stuffed with ground chicken and vegetables, and served with potatoes and carrots with a tomato based sauce.

We've also had these adorable little things - tomatoes stuffed with a tuna and rice salad. It was a very hot day, and this was a refreshing and yummy dinner. Note the hats on the tomatoes, and decorations of hard boiled egg slices and parsley sprigs.

One other meal was a fish casserole with a bread-ham-egg tower as a side dish. Sounds weird, but they were awesome.

The towers had a layer of breadcrumbs, then a hard boiled egg, and then topped with minced ham. The entire thing was then breaded and baked, and topped with a dollop of mayonnaise. A bite of the side tasted like a really fancy egg salad sandwich.

The fish casserole was fish, ham, and a creamy cheese sauce. It was a weird combination, but really tasty.

The whole meal was really good. Not exactly light, but good.

Mas Almuerzos en el Campo

Thought I'd share some more food...this time, lunches in the field!

We've had meatloaf stuffed with hard boiled eggs, served alongside a broccoli-quiche thing (the broccoli things was really great, but I wasn't as huge of a fan of the meatloaf)...

A layered eggplant, egg, and dough baked casserole dish with rice and tomatoes that was FREAKIN FANTASTIC...

Sardines in tomato sauce over rice (which was fairly good, but not really my favorite)...

And some pastries, filled with ham, cheese, egg, corn, and tomato (YUM)...

Most of these meals are finished off with some fresh peaches and/or some cookies or leftover cake slices from dinner-dessert the night before. This is why it's hard to leave Uruguay...

Con Mas Personas

The other day we joined a nursery and field tour with a group of international forest productivity folks. After a "brief" office meeting (Uruguayans have an entirely different sense of time) we went to the nursery where we saw tiny eucalyptus cuttings being planted. Since their main planting seasons are May and November (and these cuttings will then be ready for the subsequent season in the following November or May), and we were a little ahead of their usual busy time, they set up a small operation that day mostly so we could watch the process. We crowded around this poor guy like a bunch of authentic tourists and snapped photos while he worked. Fortunately most of the group were South Americans, so they could speak fluently with everyone and ask questions, unlike some other fun tourist groups.

We then headed out to the field so these guys could see some of the hydrology research going on in the area. There is a group associated with us that is measuring water quality and quantity in plantation and unplanted areas to better understand the effects our plantation forests have on the typical water regime in Uruguay. The best part of this tour was trying to lead a humongous tour bus down the dirt road into the La Corona area, and then onto a "grass" road to one of the experimental sites.

Juan Pedro stayed clear of the bus driver after he parked, afraid he would be berated for making the driver go on these roads. Two of us were driving field trucks, and a minivan also made the trip, and we were all unscathed.

As you can see, some of these people were enthralled with the research...

The group was large, the discussion was in Spanish, and the meeting went on for a LONG time. I lost track of what was being discussed...

...so I decided to watch this guy down the hill from us instead...

Escuela Fiesta de la Familia

On Sunday night, after a very productive field day (woo hoo!), we ventured into town to attend a local school party, to celebrate the end of Luana’s school year. Each class had a different dance routine, and they took turns on stage to perform.

Preschoolers and small elementary schoolchildren started the night. The first adorable group wandered around on stage as Flinstones characters, complete with the Flinstone’s car. The funniest thing about the young kids is that they don’t actually have a routine; they wander on stage, walk around, possibly melt into a tantrum, and perhaps even wander off stage. I think the school administrators really just let loose and hope for the best.

The next young group was dressed as puppies, and had the odd combination of the Titanic theme song in the background. We couldn’t quite make sense of the relationship between a sinking ship disaster and adorable kids dressed as puppies, but whatever. They were cute anyway.

The night would not be complete without children dressed as the Disney “princesses,” including Belle and the Beast, Snow White, Jasmine and Aladdin, and Cinderella.

Speaking of Cinderella, the next group “acted” out the story of Cinderella…complete with the pumpkin carriage. Right after this photo, the horses and carriage became unglued from the backdrop, flopped on the stage, and left poor Cinderella stranded before her grand exit.

Luana’s class performed the Macarena, which I am surprised to say is just as catchy now as it was when it first became popular.

The older groups had more developed routines, including the entire routine of Thriller, You’re the One that I Want (from Grease), and this awesome guy who pretended to be John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Complete with pelvic thrusts. In front of all the parents. Awesome.

The closer for the show was a bunch of Uruguayan boys dressed as the Village People, dancing to YMCA. Sadly, I was so focused on taking videos of this routine I don’t have photos to share. I cannot express how hilarious it was to see a young Uruguayan boy in a huge motorcycle helmet and aviator sunglasses, dressed up as a hardcore bike rider. Or the adorable boy with a huge fake mustache and leather jacket, posing as a cop. I’m still giggling.

Iglesias Muertas

A little different post than the others…

Scattered throughout the countryside are crypts that honor the deceased. In asking Sonia about these, I described them as Iglesias muertas (church of the dead, or dead church), and she understood me instantly, albeit while giggling. 

Instead of large cemeteries, you can see small stone buildings that house the deceased, usually adorned with a cross and regularly decorated with flowers and other mementoes. The other day we spotted a huge crypt area: an open area, fenced off from livestock, with many stone buildings.

The individual crypts were in various stages of disrepair. Many had common family names on them, so I can only assume this area is for a large family, or for a family over a long period of time.

While these places are oddly beautiful and peaceful, the decrepit buildings and open doorways started feeling eerie. Then we started hearing bees, and found this on the outside corner of one of the crypts.

We didn’t stay long after that. Still, there’s something honorable and serene about these kind of places, I think.