Exploring Uruguay

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Zoë Thinks Her Name is “Itsyou”

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Every time Zoë saw a picture of herself, she would say, “baby.” So, we tried to explain to her the baby in the picture was actually her by saying, “It’s you, Zoë.”

Well, she understands that it’s her in the pictures, but now she thinks her name is, “Itsyou,” because every time she sees a picture of herself, she gets all excited, points at the picture and exclaims, “Itsyou!” and then points at herself and then back at the picture.

She absolutely loves looking at pictures and videos of herself, so we get to laugh about this one pretty regularly.

We’ve been trying to keep Zoë busy with lots of fun activities lately. We’re always reading, coloring and just having a lot of fun. This last week, Zoë has been having so much fun that she hasn’t wanted to take a nap.

She’ll be completely exhausted, but doesn’t want to miss out on the fun, so there have been a couple times in the past week where she has just fallen asleep in her high chair while coloring.

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She got to play with playdough for the first time last week. We found a recipe for homemade playdough, so we made some this week. It’s super easy to make (and it’s non-toxic), so if you want the recipe, check out Chrystal’s Mommy Blog on Wednesday and you can get the recipe.

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We also got another package from Mimi last week (thanks Mimi!). Zoë got a new dress and a bunch of hats to dress up with (along with a few other things). She loves her new little dress. Here’s a picture of her wearing it getting ready to go shopping.

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And for those of you wondering, Zoë’s little sister still hasn’t arrived. Chrystal was due on the 4th, but Kaylee is more than content right where she is for now. Hopefully next Monday we’ll have pictures of Zoë and Kaylee together to share!



Recipe of the Week: Peach Sorbet and Chocolate Ice Cream in a Bag

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On Tuesday, we posted a video of Zoë making her very own Peach Sorbet in a bag. It’s a very easy recipe to make, and much less expensive than the store bought ice cream here in Montevideo.

We also made Chocolate Ice Cream using this method and it came out good. With the heat, it melted very fast, so be prepared to eat it right away!

If you’re looking for an inexpensive (and fun) way to cool off, give this recipe a try.

Peach Sorbet Ingredients:

  • 1 cup peach juice
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup rock salt
  • 1 pint-size Ziploc
  • 1 gallon-size Ziploc
  • Ice cubes

 

Chocolate Ice Cream Ingredients:

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons powdered cacao
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ cup rock salt
  • 1 pint-size Ziploc
  • 1 gallon-size Ziploc
  • Ice cubes

Directions:

  1. Fill the large Ziploc half full of ice, then add the rock salt
  2. Seal the bag
  3. Put the juice, sugar and vanilla for sorbet (or milk, cacao, vanilla and sugar) for the ice cream into the small Ziploc
  4. Seal it
  5. Place the small Ziploc inside the large one and seal it again carefully
  6. Shake until the mixture becomes ice cream, about 5 minutes
  7. Take the small Ziploc out of the large one and scoop the sorbet or ice cream into a bowl
  8. Serve promptly because it melts quickly!

Tips and Modifications:

  1. Make sure the Ziplocs you use seal well – we used the type with the slide top and they leaked quite a bit while we were shaking them
  2. You can make vanilla ice cream by using ½ teaspoon of vanilla and no cacao
  3. Try out other types of extracts or juices for new flavors

If give this recipe a try, let us know what you think! We’d love to hear about any modifications or new flavors you experiment with.



Where Do You Pay Your Bills in Uruguay?

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You pay your bills at the Abitab… The what? 

One thing to look at when estimating your cost of living in Uruguay is your monthly bills, how much they are and where/how you pay them.

When we lived in San Diego, we rarely pulled out the checkbook and mailed a payment for anything. We paid everything online… from our electric bill to rent and everything in between. If it wasn’t set up to direct debit from our account, we would have our bank set up to automatically send a check out to whomever. 

In Uruguay, we go to the Abitab to pay our bills… We could go directly to the company, but the Abitab is the “all-in-one stop.”

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Our porter collects our mail and slides it under our door… The majority of our mail is our monthly bills…

A Quick Shout Out: Celeste and Ren’e; we just got your Christmas card… Thank you very much…

When we get our monthly bills, we open them, complain about how much they are (since the value of the US dollar has dropped, our cost of living in Uruguay has increased) and then walk down the street to the Abitab.

How much are our bills?

We've had a lot of questions about cost of living in Uruguay lately, so here are some of our fixed costs in Uruguayan Pesos per month:

  • Internet: $2,604 (Antel, ADSL 4 MEGA 4096/512)
  • Home Phone: $343 (We have to have a home phone for our Internet because it’s ADSL.)
  • Electricity: $3,500 (give or take… but this should go up because we’ve been running the AC at night lately)
  • Gastos Communes: $3,375 (This is our building common expenses; It covers our water, trash, heat, building maintenance and our Porter)
  • Health Insurance: $3,999 (3 months after Kaylee gets here it’ll go up to $4,926)
  • Emergency Service: $870 (After Kaylee gets here it’ll go up to $1,160)

The point is that all of our bills seem to arrive around the same time… for a total of $14,691 per month.

Now you have your bills… what is an Abitab and how do you find one?

Abitabs are little offices that are speckled all throughout the city and the countryside. Each of your bills has a barcode on it that is scanned in by the clerk at the Abitab… You pay the clerk, they give you a receipt and you go on your way.

It’s a little bit of a pain not to be able to pay our bills online or drop a check in the mail, but we’re fortunate enough to have two Abitabs within 2-3 blocks of us.

One thing to ask your realtor when searching for a place to rent or buy is, “Where is the nearest Abitab?” 

For those of you already living in Uruguay… How far away are you from the nearest Abitab?

Zoë Made Her Own Peach Sorbet

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It has been really hot here, so we’ve been trying to find creative ways to cool off. Since Zoë is allergic to dairy she can’t have ice cream, but she loves sorbet. So, over the weekend she made her own Peach Sorbet in a Ziploc bag.

She had a ton of fun making it and even more fun eating it. The video is below, but if you want the recipe, you’ll have to come back on Friday for the Recipe of the Week!



Recipe of the Week: Brian’s Original Chinese Orange Chicken

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This is one of Brian’s best recipes. If you like Chinese Orange Chicken, you will love this recipe. Because we are in Uruguay and the beef is awesome here, he does a Chinese Orange Beef that is spectacular as well. The best part about this recipe (besides the fact that it tastes fantastic) is that it’s quick and easy to make.

Orange-chicken

Ingredients:

Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon Red Pepper Hot Sauce (Tabasco works)
  • ¾ cup soy sauce
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ¾ cup honey
  • Zest from 1 large orange (If you don’t have a zester, use a cheese grater)
  • ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch

Batter

  • ½ cup corn starch
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 eggs

Other

  • 1 whole chicken (or 2lbs of good beef)
  • Fried rice or white rice, prepared to package directions
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions:

  1. Mix sauce ingredients together in a mixing bowl and set aside
  2. Debone whole chicken
  3. Cut chicken (or beef) into bite sized cubes
  4. Combine batter ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well
  5. Place the chicken in the batter bowel and stir (coat the chicken)
  6. Turn the burner on high and heat pan until very hot
  7. Add sesame oil to pan and ensure the entire bottom of the pan is coated with oil
  8. When sesame oil just starts to smoke, add the battered chicken to the pan
  9. Fry chicken until cooked through and the batter is a golden brown
  10. Add the sauce and mix thoroughly
  11. Stirring constantly, bring sauce to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes
  12. Pour chicken and sauce into a separate bowl
  13. Serve over white or fried rice

Tips and Modifications:

  1. When you are washing the orange before zesting it, squeeze it until you can smell a strong citrus scent
  2. Make sure the sauce is well blended before it’s added to the chicken



Exploring Uruguay Pictures’ Photostream Updated!

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We haven’t uploaded pictures to Flickr for a few months (okay maybe longer). Over the last couple of days, we’ve uploaded hundreds of pictures from Uruguay.

So, if you haven’t checked out the Exploring Uruguay Pictures’ Photostream on Flickr recently, now is a good time!

Of course, most of the pictures are of Zoë… how can we resist with how cute she is? But there are plenty of other pictures of our life in Uruguay and our travels to places like Punta del Diablo for you to enjoy.

We’ll try to keep our Flickr page updated much more frequently in the future.

Flickr
 



Public Transportation in Uruguay

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One thing neither of us had done much of before moving to Uruguay was use public transportation. In San Diego, the public transportation system is poor at best and everyone has a car. We’d hop in the car to go ½ mile to the store. That would never happen in Uruguay – at least not for us.

We tend to walk as much as we can. And, while we’re guilty of using taxis much more than the bus system (they’re just so cheap compared to the States!), we recognize how great the public transportation system is in Uruguay. In fact, on the corner where we live, the buses stop going in every direction.

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You can get practically anywhere using the bus system. Whether you just want to go somewhere in Montevideo or take a long haul bus ride across the country, you’re sure to find a bus route to suit your travel needs. And some of the bus lines are even equipped with free Wi-Fi!

We’ve taken buses within Montevideo and to Colonia, Punta del Diablo and Pan de Azucar, and they have all been quite comfortable. You actually have more legroom than you do on an airplane (and you have a lot more flexibility on what you can bring on board).

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There are two websites that we’ve found especially helpful for figuring out bus routes and schedules:

The first is Montevideo Bus. It’s a great tool. You simply mark your origin and your destination on the map and hit “Buscar Recorridos” and a list of route options will display for you on the left hand side of the page.

If you want to see more about the bus lines on a particular route, most of the bus companies have their own websites. Just Google the name of the bus company + Uruguay and you should find what you’re looking for.

The second website we’ve found helpful is the Tres Cruces website (Tres Cruces is the main bus terminal in Montevideo). This is where you’ll find routes and prices for the longer haul bus trips. Just click on “Horarios y destinos” and you can enter your origin and destination to get options for your trip.

One thing I wish this website offered was online sales, but they aren’t quite there yet. You’ll need to purchase your tickets either over the phone or in person at the Tres Cruces bus
station.

What has your experience been using the public transportation system in Uruguay?



Zoë Dancing, Playing Guitar and Singing

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There was one video we didn't have time to upload to YouTube before yesterday's blog post and it was just too cute to wait until next week to share.

Besides swimming, one of Zoë's favorite things to do is dance and sing around the apartment. She loves when her Daddy plays the guitar and sings for her. It can literally keep her entertained for hours. Here’s the video of Zoë and Daddy from a few days ago:



Our Funny Girl Loves to Swim

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Last summer, we enrolled Zoë in ISR (Infant Swimming Resource) swim lessons, which basically teaches infants how to survive if they fall in a pool (great investment). From all of the screaming that emanated from that pool, you would think that she would have no interest in swimming.

Well, last week we finally set up her little inflatable pool on the front balcony and she absolutely loves to go swimming in it. Most days she’s out there twice for 30 minutes to an hour. So, we had to share a video with you:

Of course when she’s done swimming, she has to be wrapped up in one of her blankets for a while to warm up (as if it’s not warm enough!):

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Last week Nana’s final Christmas package arrived as well (apparently it had been sitting in Montevideo for a couple of weeks and just hadn’t been delivered). Zoë got a new pair of Sketchers shoes and she is absolutely in love with them.

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Since it has been hot and humid out, she has mostly just been wearing a diaper around our apartment. That is, until she got her new shoes. Now, she’s mostly been wearing a diaper and her shoes (although I’m sure as soon as I pull her Tinker Bell hoodie off the clothes line that will be added back into her ensemble).

I put together Kaylee’s bouncy seat (thanks to Mimi for sending that down for us!) this week and Zoë thinks it’s funny to climb into it and play with the toys like a baby (notice the shoes).

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She loves being funny so much that one of her new favorite phrases is, “I funny.” That, along with, “I a helper.” I’m not sure which one is cuter.



Recipe of the Week: Twice Baked Potatoes

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Potatoes

These twice-baked potatoes go great as a side with steak or chicken.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large potatoes
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • ½ cup grated cheese
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • ¾ cup bacon, chopped and cooked
  • 2 tablespoons diced chives
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 220° C (450° F)
  2. Wash potatoes, poke a fork into them several times, wrap them in aluminum foil and place in oven
  3. Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until soft
  4. Remove potatoes from oven and reduce heat to 180° C (350° F)
  5. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, leaving the foil on them
  6. Use a spoon to scoop the potato out of the skin and place in a large mixing bowl (its best to leave a thin layer of potato with the skin)
  7. Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix well
  8. Fill the potato skins with the mixture and place on baking pan
  9. Place pan in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes
  10. Remove from oven and serve hot

Tips and Modifications:

  1. Instead of mixing the cheese into the potatoes, you can also top them with the cheese before baking
  2. You can also cook the potatoes ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the twice baked potatoes