22.06.2014 Bulletin

by Marita
(Montevideo, Uruguay)

Consider:
"I've never forgotten the words of a Salvadoran friend during their guerrilla war. "We can't afford to kill the guerrillas," he said. "There are only 7,000 of them, and your government is paying my government a million dollars a day to fight them." -- -- Charley Reese.

Dear Folks

Happy Artigas Day! His birthday, June 19, 1764, is being celebrated on Thursday, with all the official offices closed so everyone can, hhmmm, eerrr, well, celebrate--make that "root for the team". Stores and such may be closed, too, or understaffed because, at 15:00, everyone in the country will be in fútbol mode, as Uruguay faces England in the World Cup.

And the World Cup will go on and on, but even though Belgium, Russia, Korea, Algeria, the USA and Portugal will be playing on Sunday, we will meet as always in Montevideo on Sunday at 14:00 (2 pm) at La Papoñita.

So is there anything else at all happening aside from the World Cup? Of course there is:

1. Who wants to share a flat?--A local teacher is looking for someone who wants to share her flat (and the expenses thereof....). She write:

Female Roommate sought: Looking for dependable non- smoking female roommate in her 20/30/40’s: furnished single room for rent in very nice luminous apartment by Bulevar España, Parque Rodó area (MVD)
15 minutes walk to centro, 5 min walk to the park. Both long and short term ok.

This could be a great opportunity, not only to cut down on your expenses, but to learn lots more about Uruguay from a delightful young lady. Let me know if you are interested.

2. Suggestion regarding our Sunday meeting place--Last year, we went to a number of different restaurants for our Sunday get-togethers, but for quite some time now, we have been meeting at the same place, to wit, La Papoñita. Finding a place that can deal with this group is not easy, but we have another opportunity now in the form of the branch of De Picos Pardos located at the Museo del Carnaval in Ciudad Vieja.

After all, we started at De Picos Pardos on Pablo de Maria, so the owners, Miguel and German, know what they are letting themselves in for when we come through the door. Still, they would be happy to welcome us some Sunday, and will stay open later for us, since they usually are open 7 days a week from 12 to 15. Admission to the museum is free for those eating at De Picos Pardos.

So what do you think? Should we plan to meet there on Sunday, June 29th, at 14:00 (2 pm)? Let me know your preference by Monday, June 23rd, and if you want to see something new, we can schedule this change to our usual meeting place.

3. Event for hunter-gatherers--Some newcomers may not be familiar with El Granero yet. This is a shop offering not only larger packages of items to stock the pantry with (like oatmeal or potato chips), but all manner of spices, cocoa, and other baking needs. You can check out some (but by no means all) of their items at:

http://secure.datamouse.com.uy/a2/index.cfm?aplicacion=DTM185

Since El Granero is located a good way out from the center of Montevideo ( José Batlle y Ordóñez 3224), it has been suggested that those interested in going and stocking up go together--bus out, share a taxi back home, since there is a good bus going from Centro through Pocitos to the store. If you would like to join the group, next Wednesday or Thursday afternoon, June 25th or June 26th, let me know which date you prefer, whether both would be possible, and we will plan the outing.

4. Food of the hard-to-find variety--One of our number has followed our frantic searches for various delights in this country, and writes:

I am contacting you as I am offering our beautiful community the great opportunity to buy some non-easy to find excellent products in an unbeatable price, as I describe in the following:

CHIA 1 Kg. = 350 pesos uruguayos
COCO-Oil / Butter ORGANIC 500 g. = 309 pesos uruguayos
AGAVE nectar / syrup ORGANIC 330 g. = 119 pesos uruguayos
GOJI BARS 1 Kg = 995 pesos uruguayos
PUMPKING SEEDS Organic 1Kg. = 350 pesos uruguayos

Check out the pictures, and then contact him directly at santifratelli (at) hotmail.com.

5. And finally, finally, the explanation for what happened in the Costa Rica - Uruguay game:

Uruguay squad's caramel spread confiscated in Brazil

Brazilian officials say they confiscated 39kg (86lb) of caramel spread from Uruguay's football team as it arrived in Brazil for the World Cup.

The spread, called dulce de leche, is extremely popular in Uruguay but the Brazilian authorities said that as it was made with milk, it needed sanitary documentation which was lacking.

Some fans are already blaming Uruguay's shock 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica on the lack of dulce de leche.

Uruguay will play England on Thursday.

The dulce de leche was seized from the team after it landed at Confins airport near their training camp in Sete Lagoas.

Quoted from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27889343


So, now that we have cleared up that mystery, we can get on with more mundane pursuits.