Camacho Watcho

Yikes! That does sound like an odd name for a post, but look at the picture…it’s a Big Papa Pickle, what can I say? You might be wondering where I acquired such a big pickle and that, my friend, is a fine story indeed.

Kyle went to Chicago awhile back and decided that he needed to bring me a gift. That does sound sweet, doesn’t it? In reality, he and our friend Jeff thought this big pickle was pretty darn funny when they saw it in a gas station in Chicago and then decided that I was destined to have this pickle brought home to me. You might wonder how Kyle got this pickle from Chicago to Minneapolis, given the restrictions on carrying liquids onto an airplane. Let’s just say that putting a bag containing a big pickle through the security checkpoint sounds like it was quite an interesting scenario.

At the airport the woman at the checkpoint took Kyle’s bag aside, rummaged through, and pulled out…you guessed it…the Big Papa Pickle. With a brow raised and a smirk on her face, she told Kyle that he couldn’t bring the pickle through. To which Kyle responded, “but it’s just pickle juice.” Apparently that somehow worked because just hours later Kyle was safely in Minneapolis, with the Big Papa Pickle.

This pickle sat in our refrigerator until this past Friday night. We had some friends over to grill before the Twins game and thought that it was the perfect situation to break out Big Papa. We boiled some brats in beer and finished them on the grill. Our toppings were diced ketchup, mustard, diced onions, pepper rings, and spears of the Big Papa Pickle. Overall I think the pickle really added something to the brat. I love the crunch of a pickle spear alongside a brat or hot dog.

In hindsight, however, I do wish I had done some research before planning my meal. Although Van Holten’s manufactures their ‘pickle-in-a-pouch’ in Wisconsin, this particular pickle grew up in Chicago. Had I considered that before I would have looked into the true Chicago-style hot dog and definitely would have gone with that theme to make Big Papa feel right at home…on a Chicago-style dog.

This is my brother Tim. It’s his birthday today…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIM!

This is my final week of work here in Uruguay. The time has just flown by, it is amazing that eleven weeks have come and gone. Once I have a little more time, I’ll definitely do some summary blogs and provide other details. For now, I just wanted to give some miscellaneous updates.

Kyle arrived a week ago Saturday into Buenos Aires! It was great to see him and we had a nice, relaxing weekend there. Well, most of it was relaxing…we mostly strolled the streets of Buenos Aires, sat in a plaza and talked, went to a couple cafes…and then Kyle had his first Latin culture shock when we were up so late on Saturday night that we saw the first rays of light on Sunday morning. We were having such a great time hanging out with Holly that the time just flew by and before we knew it, it was tomorrow. We left Buenos Aires and arrived to Montevideo on Sunday night and Kyle got to meet everyone here with whom I’ve spent the last 2 months. We had a big group dinner on Monday evening which I know must have been overwhelming for Kyle, but kept up with all the stories, names, memories, and even the Spanish that was surrounding him!

A quick story about Kyle and a taxi driver in Montevideo. The taxis use an interesting way of determining rates here. They have a meter, but the meter tracks “units”, which then translate to pesos according to two charts – a day rate chart and a night rate chart. I had explained all of this to Kyle so he would understand when he came to my office for lunch. After lunch, I put him in a taxi and told the driver where to go, which gave the driver the green light to try to take advantage of Kyle, a tourist. When they got to the hotel, the driver pointed to the chart (the nightly rates) and Kyle said, “No, day rates”. The taxi driver acted confused for a bit, but Kyle didn’t give in and then the taxi driver acted like he just made a mistake and then used the daily rates. Nice job Kyle, especially with your limited Spanish and only being here for two days at that point! I didn’t catch on to that scheme for at least a couple of weeks when I first came down here!

Carly and Ed arrived on Friday and since then we’ve hit Montevideo and Punta del Este. Wonderful food, wonderful sights, wonderful vacation! I’ll have more updates and pictures soon!

Happy Thanksgiving! Just a quick note to everyone to say that I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m thinking of you all and wishing I could be there to spend the holiday.

As in a lot of families, there comes that time during the big Thanksgiving feast, when someone makes the suggestion to go around the table and for everyone to say what they are “thankful for”. Well, I’m certainly not sitting at my mom’s gorgeous table with a big plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing and grandma’s pretzel salad….but here goes anyway.

I am so thankful for my friends and my family. I could not have gotten through the last couple of months without you all emailing, calling and keeping in touch. I think about you all so much! I especially want to say that my family is the best! I am very lucky! I love that my whole family has kept in touch while I’m down here, in some cases upgrading their technology to make it all happen. It’s really fun that I’ve gotten to talk and “chat” with so many people, including my 3 1/2 year nephew who, unbelieveably, is in the know about the internet, routers, and talking to me via a headset and a computer. Amazing. It’s really fun, too, to hear people say that they are reading my blog…my brothers and sisters, my parents, my Grandma and Grandpa, my great aunt and uncle, my mom’s cousins, my friends, friends of friends, etc. It’s a fun way for me to keep in touch and I love sharing it all with you!

So, back to what I’m thankful for…I am also thankful that Kyle will arrive in a little over two weeks and a couple friends a week after that. I’m also very thankful that I will be home with my family for Christmas. I can’t wait to see you all…including this little guy and his little “brudder” too!!!!

Despite what you might believe about my absence from writing for a few days, I did not fall off the face of the Uruguayan map. There are a few reasons I have not written lately: travel, work and illness. It is the last reason that I would like to write about now.

The weather…South America…Spring…Summer…I know what visions these words conjured for me before arriving here. I definitely believed it would be hot, sunny and perfect. But I was wrong. This year is apparently an odd year for Uruguayan and Argentinian weather. Everyone tells me that the winter was longer and colder than usual and it’s creating a longer and colder spring. But just wait….summer will be here soon and it will be perfect!

I’m still waiting.

Sure, we’ve had our days of hot, sunny weather, but we’ve also had our fair share of rain, clouds and down-right cold temperatures. Take today for example…the high is supposed to be 61 degrees here. Okay, fine. Then reference my mini-New York Times that I read each day and what is the high for Chicago? 59 degrees. There is something wrong with this picture. So, you’re probably asking yourself “What does a girl from the freezing weather in Minnesota and who walks to work in the snow 4 months out of the year care about a little 60 degree day?” Good question. Let me think….oh yes, illness.

I have been ill twice since being here, which is odd because I don’t get ill very often at home. It seems that every day there are at least 2 or 3 people (out of a 100 person company) who have the flu. And it just circulates around and around the office. The first time I was ill, it was a cold that lasted about a week and this last time was a 24 hour flu. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t experience a third.

Now, you may be asking yourself “Why do you not dress for the weather?” Another excellent question, my friend. My first excuse is that I did not pack a wardrobe to handle cold weather. It’s a poor excuse, I know, as I should just go buy a few sweaters to shield me from the temperatures, but it’s too hard to concentrate on winter clothes when the cute summer clothes are just one rack away, calling my name…”Katie! Katie! Buy me!” My second excuse is that the weather is so unpredictable. One day it is hot and sunny, a skirt and t-shirt will do, and the next is cold and rainy, requiring long pants, sweater, jacket and scarf. Everyone here seems to always know exactly how to dress for the day and I, invariably, am caught on a cold day in a dress. The weather just varies so much and it is because of this variation in weather, that I keep allowing myself to believe that summer is just a day away…let’s hope!

So, in closing, here is a wish for good weather – to have some fun in the sun before returning home to the freezing cold. Oh yes…and a wish for good health!

We had a gathering last night at Psycho Suzy’s as an “hasta luego” party for my upcoming departure. John and Andrea proved themselves worthy of the prize – a bottle of wine from Mendoza, the Argentinean wine country! They answered the most questions right on a Uruguay quiz that the Kohler’s put together! It was great to see everyone – thanks for coming!
As the Uruguay motto goes: Liberto o muerto!

Just sharing a quick picture of the largest American flag I have ever seen….and it’s literally outside my house right now. That’s right…one Saturday morning I wake up and the largest flag ever is right outside. They must have heard I’m leaving for Uruguay…not to worry, I’m still a proud American. Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain…..

For those of you who know me well, you are aware of my fascination with celebrities, Hollywood, and everything that goes along with it. Given that, you’ll understand my disappointment that I am missing some Hollywood celebrities who are filming in Montevideo this week!

Some streets of the old zone of Montevideo changed their appearance for the running of the film “Blindness”, adaptation of “Test on the blindness” of the Nobel prize Jose Saramago, in whom they participate to the actors Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Danny Glover. – Yahoo! News, 14 of September of 2007

For more information, the full story is reported by Yahoo! News.

I am bummed. I just know that would have been my big break.

Just a quick update that just in time for my trip, Google Maps has added Uruguay. Now I can get city, street, directions, etc. information on Uruguay – nice!

Thank you to Ed Kohler from The Deets for updating me on this! I know I’m reporting this a bit late to my blog, but I’ve been visiting The Pumpkin Capital of the World this weekend and haven’t posted in a bit. Stay tuned for some pictures and updates from The Pumpkin Festival!

I never thought I’d say those words, but it’s true. I’m leaving for Uruguay in five weeks…I need to make some lists.

Going back to the beginning…This was all an idea – a desire for adventure, something new and exciting; a chance to live outside the bounds of the every day. So I applied for a program through work that pairs employees with an entrepreneur in South America to help them with a specific project for ten weeks. I was accepted (yea!) and have been matched with an entrepreneur in Uruguay to work alongside their professionals to plan, implement and measure the results of a project…in ten weeks (did I mention the timeframe?).

While this seems like a long time, in reality I know it will pass quickly. I will miss my friends, family, husband (of course) and my cats, but the time will pass, the project will be complete and then I’ll be back and ready for whatever comes next.

To keep in touch and to share my experiences, I decided to start this blog for my trip. I’ll be posting the pre- during- and post- trip. I plan to explore, experience new culture, and share it all with you all.

Five weeks and counting….