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The Value of the US Dollar vs the Uruguayan Peso

April 5, 2010 by Brian

We’ve mentioned in passing that the value of the US dollar has fallen significantly against the Uruguayan Peso since we moved here last May. It has fallen from about a 24:1 exchange rate to about a 19:1 exchange rate.

That’s pretty significant – it’s about a 25% drop in the last year, and that’s before you have even taken inflation into account…

So, the cost of living in Uruguay for US citizens has risen dramatically over the last year. When we arrived, our cost of living was around $1900 per month. Now we’re up to around $2400 per month (just our basic expenses).

I found this website where you can graph the change in value of 190 currencies, and it put it into even more perspective.

Here’s the change in value of the US dollar against the Uruguayan Peso in the last year:
Currency-value-1-year

And in the last five years:
Currency-value-5-years

When you’re making a decision to move abroad, it’s always a good idea to understand the trends in the currency’s value against the currency of your home country (where your income is coming from).

Right now, the value of the US Dollar against the Uruguayan Peso is the lowest it has been in about 2 years. But, if you look at the trend from the last 5 years, there is only one other dip this low. So, hopefully it will rise again before too long.

For US Citizens currently living in Uruguay, how has the fall of the value of the US Dollar affected you?

Filed Under: Financial Tagged With: cost of living, uruguay, us dollar vs uruguayn peso

Recipe of the Week: Chicken Taco Salad

April 2, 2010 by Brian

Tacosalad

On last week’s Recipe of the Week for Black Bean Soup, I promised that this week’s recipe would be for Chicken Taco Salad. The two recipes go great together for a light, but delicious dinner.

Whenever I make a whole chicken, we typically eat everything except for the breasts the first night, then use the breasts for a separate recipe the following night. This is how I make the Chicken Taco Salads.

You don’t need to use dressing with this salad. The Pico de Gallo, Sour Cream and Mexican hot sauce combine to make a perfectly flavored “dressing.” Enjoy.

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of lettuce
  • 2 chicken breasts, diced (2-3 cups)
  • 1 cup black beans
  • 3 cups pico de gallo
  • 2 cups avocado, diced
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground cumin
  • Mexican hot sauce, to taste


Directions:

  1. Shred the lettuce and place it into four bowls
  2. Add ¾ cup pico de gallo to each bowl
  3. Add ¼ cup black beans to each bowl
  4. Sprinkle cumin over the diced chicken and mix
  5. Add diced chicken to bowls
  6. Add ½ cup diced avocado to each bowl
  7. Add ¼ cup shredded cheese to each bowl
  8. Top with ¼ cup sour cream
  9. Cover with Mexican hot sauce, to taste
  10. Serve

Tips and Modifications:

  1. To make 2 larger servings rather than 4 medium servings, simply double the portions listed in the directions
  2. When making black bean soup, reserve one cup of black beans for this recipe


Filed Under: Recipe of the Week Tagged With: chicken taco salad recipe, Recipe of the Week

How to Redesign Your Life and Travel the World

March 31, 2010 by Brian

Globeinhand

When we decided to leave the US and live abroad, we sold off everything we had worked so hard to acquire. The expensive furniture, the brand new 52” LCD TV with full-blown entertainment system, mountains of books, every kitchen gadget you can imagine… I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

When we told people why we were selling everything, we got two reactions from people. It was either, “Wow, that’s so cool, I could never do that.” Or, “Why would you want to get rid of all of your belongings?”

Our answers were, “Yes you can. All you have to do is just do it.” Or, “they’re only possessions, they just weigh you down… life experiences are so much more important than material things.”

We were always surprised by how shocked people were when they heard our story. I can tell you this from first hand experience… selling all of your possessions and moving across the world is a life changing and liberating experience. No matter where life takes us, it is something that I wouldn’t change for anything.

If you’re one of those people who “wishes” they could do what we did… you can. I recently came across a blog, Almost Fearless, that is all about redesigning your life so you can travel the world. They have some really great articles – I wish I had discovered this blog sooner.

If you get a chance, check it out. The best place to start is on the About page, where she has listed some of the most popular posts to get you started.

What’s holding you back from traveling or living abroad?

Filed Under: Uruguay Blogs Tagged With: how to travel the world, live abroad

Recipe of the Week: Black Bean Soup

March 26, 2010 by Brian

DSC_0014

Black Bean Soup is great for a light, healthy lunch. Or you can pair it with a Chicken Taco Salad for a tasty dinner (come back next week for that recipe). It’s thick, filling and full of fiber and protein.

This recipe for Black Bean soup is very easy to make. The longest part of the preparation is soaking the black beans overnight and cooking them. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups Black Beans, cooked, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups diced tomatoes
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (or to taste)
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
  • 1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
  • 1 cup sour cream (optional)
  • Mexican hot sauce (optional)


Directions:

  1. Dice and mince vegetables
  2. Heat pan over medium heat
  3. Add grapeseed oil and heat
  4. Sautee onion until slightly translucent, 1-2 minutes
  5. Add garlic and jalapeño and sauté for 1-2 minutes
  6. In a large mixing bowl, combine beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeño and water
  7. Transfer to blender and blend until smooth
  8. Pour into a sauce pan
  9. Heat until warm
  10. Garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream and hot sauce

Don't forget to come back next week for our Chicken Taco Salad recipe.

Filed Under: Recipe of the Week Tagged With: black bean soup, Recipe of the Week

Carnaval in Uruguay

March 24, 2010 by Brian

Did you know that Uruguay claims to have the longest Carnaval in the world? It starts in late January and ends in early March, with a total of 40 days of festivities each year. Uruguayans definitely know how to celebrate and throw a party.

We didn’t get to experience Carnaval in Uruguay this year with Chrystal being at the end of her pregnancy and then having Kaylee during the celebration.

However, we found a great article about Carnaval in Uruguay that we wanted to share. It’s on Global Voices and it includes information, pictures and video of this year’s Carnaval.

If you missed Carnaval this year, you can check out the Museo de Carnaval (Carnaval Museum) in Ciudad Vieja. We went several months back to check it out. It’s small, but it’s a neat little place to stop in. And, it’s free on Tuesdays so you can’t beat that.

Entrance fees:

With discount – Residents UY$15
Con discount – mercosur UY$30
General – UY$60
Under 12 years Free
Admission Free on Tuesdays

The Carnaval Museum is located at Rambla 25 de Agosto de 1825 Nº 218, esq. Maciel in the Ciudad Vieja area of Montevideo. Their phone number is (+598 02) 916 5493.

P8040066
P8040030P8040038 P8040035

Filed Under: Culture, Entertainment Tagged With: carnaval in uruguay

The Crazy Bugs in Uruguay

March 22, 2010 by Brian

We talked previously about the mosquitoes in Uruguay. They’re still an ongoing problem, but we’ve been also under attack by other types of bugs in the last few weeks… bugs like we’ve never seen before.

Coming from San Diego, there aren’t too many crazy looking bugs… just your standard garden-variety bugs plus lots of spiders.

These pictures were taken about a week and a half ago. We had several of these bugs in our apartment one night. We have no idea what they are, but they were aggressive. They would try to charge you, but luckily Brian was able to get them out of the apartment.

You can’t see it very clearly in these pictures, but they had pinchers. I’m not sure if they bite or sting, or if they are poisonous, but I’m glad that we didn’t have to find out!

DSC_0102
DSC_0103
DSC_0105

So can anyone tell us what these are?

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: bugs in uruguay

Recipe of the Week: Conch Ceviche – Guest Post

March 19, 2010 by Brian

The following is a guest post from Billy Broas of BillyBrew.com. He writes about craft beer, and truly believes that beer is food. Billy has a great website for all of us beer lovers out there. If there's anything you ever wanted to learn about beer, Billy is "The Man" to learn it from.

Billy has a fantastic recipe for Conch Ceviche he wanted to share… Well, I'll let him get into the details.

Billy, thanks for hooking us up… We can't wait to try this recipe.

Conch Ceviche:



After Brian's video "Exploring The Beer of Uruguay" I had a good understanding of the beer scene in Uruguay. Like most South American countries, its people like their brews light, cold, and refreshing. The main type of beer is lagers, as we beer geeks refer to them, as opposed to their more full bodied cousins called ales.

A good beer + food pairing matches intensities. I chose ceviche not only because it is a tasty South American dish, but because its mild flavor goes well with the mild and refreshing characteristics of the local beer.

For the beer to pair with I would choose the Patricia Lager, a common offering in Uruguay.
So here is the delicious ceviche recipe that I recently prepared. I used conch instead of fish, which is tougher to find but tastes great. Conch takes some slightly different preparation, which I highlighted in italics if you choose to go that route.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. any white fish or conch
  • 1/2 cup lime juice (fresh squeezed)
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice (same deal as lime, the real stuff)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1 habanero chile, sliced

Procedure:

  1. Patricia Lager Place the fish on a cutting board and chop into 1/4-1/2 inch chunks.

    – For conch, you will need to pound it flat with a meat tenderizer.

    – Make one pass over it, then turn it 90 degrees and pound away for another pass. Turn and pound once more, then chop into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces as you would with fish.

  2. Put the fish into a bowl or baking dish with the lemon and lime juice and cover.
  3. Place container in the refrigerator and let sit for at least 3 hours.

    – Overnight works well too. That's what we did and it turned out super tender.

  4. Take the container out, mix in the habaneros, and let sit for another hour.
  5. Drain the container and put the mixture in a mixing bowl. Add the onion, cilantro, tomato, olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Squeeze about a tablespoon of lime juice over the mixture.
  6. Place in a bowl and eat with a fork or scoop onto tortilla chips.

Most importantly, grab a cold Patricia Lager to wash it down. The sweetness from the malt does a good job to soothe the acidity from the ceviche.

Cheers!

Billy

Filed Under: Recipe of the Week Tagged With: Conch Ceviche Recipe, Uruguay Beer

Did You Know That Blogs Have a Carbon Footprint?

March 16, 2010 by Brian

carbon neutral coupon with kaufDA.de
We didn’t. At least until we received an email from a German company suggesting that we could make our blog carbon neutral through their “My blog is carbon neutral” initiative.

You wouldn’t think of blogging as having a carbon footprint, but I guess it makes sense that it does with all of the servers and computer equipment involved that use energy.

We’re always looking for ways to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle, so we went to their website to learn more about the “My blog is carbon neutral” initiative.

The initiative was founded by kaufDA, a company whose goal is to help reduce the online world’s carbon footprint by raising awareness of the severe environmental damage caused by carbon emissions.

The program basically works like this:

  • You write a blog post about the initiative
  • You send them an email about the blog post
  • Their partner, the Arbor Day Foundation, plants a tree in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California
  • The tree offsets the carbon emissions created by your blog

If you have a blog, check out the initiative to learn how your blog can be carbon neutral too!

Filed Under: Web/Tech

Daylight Savings Time Change in Uruguay:
Sunday, March 14, 2010

March 10, 2010 by Brian

Sunset

It looks like it’s time for Summer to end and Fall to begin in Uruguay. Daylight Savings time ends this weekend, Sunday, 14 March 2010 at 01:59:59.

The time change coincdes with the start of Daylight Savings time in the US, so beginning this Sunday, Uruguay will be one hour ahead of East Coast time and four hours ahead of West Coast time.

This is great news for us and anyone else who does business with companies in the US. Now we won’t have such late work nights.

So, remember to set your clocks back an hour Saturday night before you go to bed.

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: Daylight Savings Time Change in Uruguay

Private Schools in Uruguay

March 8, 2010 by Brian

Bookglobe

We talked previously about Public Schools in Uruguay and got a couple comments about Private Schools, so we wanted to follow up with a post about Private Schools in Uruguay.

We came across an interesting article on Ola Uruguay titled, “Public Schools in Uruguay—A Quick Guide,” about things you should considering when choosing a private school in Uruguay. Click here to read the article.

The two private schools most often considered by US expats living in Uruguay are:

  1. Uruguayan American School
  2. The British Schools

Here are a few more private schools to look at:

  1. Lycee Français
  2. Scuola Italiana
  3. Deutche Schüle
  4. St. David’s School

What has been your experience with the Private School System in Uruguay?

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: private schools in uruguay

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