Wait, what day is it?

¡Hola! ¿Como te va?

Post cards - if you're reading this and want a postcard from Montevideo, text me your complete address, please don't assume I have it 👍🏼 

The wrong bus - What happens when you take the wrong bus? The directional apps I'm using are Google Maps and Moovit. I like Moovit for buses and Maps for where something is/walking.

But with both I get confused with which direction is which. It's like having directional dyslexia. The app indicates by arrow which direction in relationship to north I am looking. But it's not smart enough to to say, "Hey dumbass, you're going in the wrong direction!"

The bus drivers are very nice and helpful but it's so loud and they talk so fast I rarely ask for help. I just stop where it seems reasonable then take a few minutes to figure out where I am then start walking.

I was wanting to go to Cafeteria Alfajores today for a coffee and a cookie (they are soooooo good) and meant to buy postcards at the shop conveniently across from the cafe, but the shop is closed until Monday.

Getting there though from the wrong stopping place, I at least got to see my very first homeless encampment 🫤

 

The camp is behind the corrugated sheets, so pretty private and occluded from view. The Uruguayan I think are similar to the Irish in their sense of humor. The irony is pretty common.

I thought I took a photo of the spray painted announcement, but I don't have it now. It said "No hay vacantes", no vacancy. Funny and sad at the same time.

Oppressive heat - the heat is seriously deadly: 36⁰C and humidity above 50% but feels like 250%.

I've stored a lot of water in the fridge (saving a bit of money by boiling and putting in empty bottles) and am keeping hydrated, but going outside is a challenge. 

However the heat, I did manage today to walk about 3km! The risk of heat stroke and dehydration was worth it though for Estadio Centenario!

these benches are concrete 

Likely the most famous futból stadium in South America, and certainly one of the most famous in the world, it is the home of Uruguay's National soccer team (60K capacity) and the only stadium recognized by FIFA (World Cup governing body) as a Historic Monument of World Football. I visited the museum there that has a lot of items from the history of futból in Uruguay.

Uruguay won the first world cup in 1930, and again in 1950. Pretty cool.

Merce - Finally, we asked our fab teacher Sofia why Uruguayans respond "por favor" whenever we say "gracias" or "disculpe". She said it's like saying "no problem" or "no worries". She added that her favorite expression is "merece" (deserves) meaning "you deserve it". Well in 3 weeks I had not encountered this expression. But today on the 152 bus from Ciudad Vieja:

That's all chicos. Hasta proxima ❤️