Oye Como Va?

Oye cómo va

Mi ritmo

Bueno pa' gozar

Mulata

That’s it, all the lyrics to the great Santana song, a 2 chord tune (A dorian mode, key of G says someone). For years I’ve wondered what they were singing about (something like):

Hey how goes it

My rhythm

Good for having fun,

Mulatta

Awesome. Had to come to Uruguay to look it up ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

There are trash bins on fthe street every few blocks. The middle one was on fire the other day. No one seemed to mind.

Buses can be incredibly crowded

Words from lessons, in real life, oferta - offer

Before the symphony I wanted to try a Peruvian dish while I was here and this place seem like a good spot to try chaufa which is a Peruvian version of fried rice. I read about chaufa and how good it is in Peru so why not.

Well this chaufu was not so great, it was edible but it lacked some ingredients that typical chaufa has. Yet it was edible so I ate it and at the end I asked for la cuenta. The server came and when I pulled up my credit card he said "solo effectivo" which means cash only.

I looked around and saw no note informing clients of such and said so to el camarero and he said “Si, me disculpe, my bad” as if English would make it less painful for me. Respect.

I pulled out my cash and guess what? I was $80UY short (about $2US). In Spanish he said no worries there's bank around the corner let's go. So we went together to the bank around the corner and he told me he was from Bolivia and he loved Uruguay because the people are so nice.

I agreed saying ellos son agredables (they are nice). It wsa a nice conversation. I got to the bank and guess what? My bank card didn't work! I went outside and gave the bad news and he said, Shrugging, “Proxima?” I took that to mean tomorrow or next time I eat there and with the help of Google Translate asked him and he said yes. Then I did something really dumb.

I remembered I still had my STM pass, a credit card with stored money on it to pay for riding the efficient and reliable bus system, and offered it to him rather than come back with the $80UY. He agreed, said he loved me, and off we went, him back to the restaurant, me to Teatro Solis and … wait. What?

I just gave the Dude 3 times what I owed him 🫤 ok, it included the propino (tip) - all my cash, and my bus card. How was I going to get home from the theater?

My credit card wasn’t working and there aren’t 24hr ATMs here (upon research, yes there are, and I am dumb). I make up for being a dumbass by being a bit prepared and amazingly lucky. I have Google wallet on my phone, the Uber app too, so while it was expensive, I got home safely 😀

Back to the Teatro Solis …

Built in MDCCCLVI (it says so on the ceiling). It is a magnificent building, regal, velvet seats, carpets, drapes, fui estupendo!

the view from my seat

Then there was the music of Joe Hisaishi and Studio Ghibli.

Ghibli produced many films of Hayao Miyazaki including Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and several more. The films are full feature anime and typically have a hero’s journey story with a smattering of (in some cases full on) an eco-educational flavor.

The orchestra played the themes from 6 films all composed by Joe Hisaishi and it was such a treat. It reminded me of my family and the joy we share of these films. It was such a gift from the school🙏🏼

Bikes on the street - There is a major road here, Avenda 18 de Julio, that has a barrier protected bike lane down the middle of the street. Pretty cool.