Johanna and Leo

Punta del Este

2008-12-09T03:52:00.000-08:00

Hola and welcome to another addition of ¨what makes my skin burn!¨

Leo´s cousin (prima), Pamela and Alvaro, drove us out to Punte del Este on Sunday. It is about 2 hours away and on the eastern (east) most point (punta) of Uruguay. It is where the Rio Plata feeds into the Atlantic Ocean.

As soon as we got out of Montevideo we ended up behind these fine gentlemen. I think they are ¨gauchos-in-training,¨ at least that´s the what I got from the conversation and my limited spanish. They just rode out of the woods and onto the street. Later we saw a futbol team training in the same spot. That should have been interesting... (and the motorcycles aren´t escorts, they are just trying to get by the cavalry).

People drive really fast here. I mean, really fast. The trip to Punta del Este takes 2 hours because we went 130 k/h the whole way. That´s roughly 80 mph. Driving in one lane seems to be optional as does stopping at signs or for pedestrians. One of Leo´s cousín´s hit a motorcycle on Friday because the motorcycle was going the wrong way on the highway. Apparently he saw it as the fastest way to get across the road. Needless to say, I wear my seatbelt religiously and am thinking of buying a rosary.

This photo is of Alvero, Pamela, Juani, and I in Las Tunas.

Here´s what Leo and I look like when we started to feel like we were actually on vacation (it takes a while to sink in) and not completely jet-lagged.

These are some very expensive condo´s that were behind the previous viewpoint. Their view of the playa is completely unobstructed and will never be. These are extremely expensive homes.
This is what I look like holding up a 3/4 Pilsen. It´s local beer and quite good. Sorry Julio, Leo made me do it. A lot of menu´s list beer and wine by 3/4, 1/2, 75, and so on. The numbers, we learned, represent the size of the bottle in liters. So 3/4 Pilsen is 3/4 of a liter or 75 cl, or 750 ml. The same as a bottle of wine.

Missy, they have Manos del Uruguay products EVERYWHERE!!! But, alas, no yarn. The products are nice and not too expensive. They also have tons of other things besides knitted items. There are a lot of products here made of leather. Remember, this is a country whose primary industry is beef (unaltered) and they let nothing go to waste.

Leo and I had dinner at El Tonel in P. del Este. The food and service where amazing and it was our first adventure on our own. This was a very special date for us.

From what I understand, this is a typical breakfast. It is a sweet croisant (Luna media or half moon) with ham and mozzarella, a cortado and aqua sin gas. You have to order water here and it comes with or without gas. It´s like tonic water and very popular. Coca-cola is also extremely popular. Coca and Coca Lite. We´ll talk about the packet of Aspertil I was given along with the sugar later.

This is the famous (or not so famous) El Mano! The Hand! I´m not sure what the history is on this, but it looks like it just got a manicure. It´s only been in place since 1983, so I´m guessing its an art piece. There´s lots of that around here.

This picture is a little hard to see, but in the center of the photo there a bunch of clothes. There are people that walk up and down the beach and sell clothes. The poles they carry are loaded with shirts and they about 15 feet long. It was 93 on Monday and the sun it a lot closer here. I don´t know how these people do it.

The beach was, what seemed to me, packed. But its still spring here, so we were able to get a couple of chairs, towels and umbrella and take in the sights. Yeah for the beach!

Leo took me to La Paciva. It is the only place in the world that he will eat a hot dog. I can see why. They are really good. All beef, of course, and tasting a bit of pepperoni. I could have eaten quite a few, but Leo beat me to it.

This is Leo and I at the bus terminal headed back to Montevideo. You can´t see it here, but being at the 34th parallel and being white like snow, I fried. And this, my friends, is what makes my skin burn! I wore sunblock and reapplied every 30 minutes, but that just wansn´t enough.

When we got to P. del Este Leo and I had a conversation that went like this:

Me: ¨Do I look like a foreigner?¨

Leo: ¨Big time!¨

Indeed I did. Today, I look like I might just belong here. Tomorrow... SPF 80!

We came back from the beach just in time to enjoy another graduation celebration for Federica.

This is Maria and Federica after the performance. Maria is married to Leo´s cousin, Fernando.

And here is a super cute picture of Federica and Juani.

The graduation performance was a celebration of the countries they had learned about and the English they had learned. Fede was dressed up in western wear and her class mates did a really cute line dance and sang Oh, Susanna. Absolutley precious!

I will try to post more often as I´m already behind. The connection is a bit slow so it takes a really long time to upload pictures. The next post will have lots of photos too as we went downtown!

I miss all of you and hope you enjoy seeing and reading about our adventure.

Heaps of Love,

Johanna and Leo

Oh, how I love to shop (en Uruguay)!

2008-12-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

So this post will be a little backwards as far as the timeline.

We went shopping today and my first 2 purchases were a bigger spanish/english dictionary and a small calculator. I have found that I can make purchases and find what I need with very little spanish, but I have no clue what people are really saying to me. For all I know they have found a new word for gringa...but they are very helpful none-the-less.

The mall is very much like the ones we are familiar with, but some of the store names don´t quite translate...

This is a men´s store. This isn´t a spanish word. The spanish word for this is tetas. I just thought it was pretty funny.

We had a cortado, which is coffee with lots of flavored milk (and it is to die for), at the McCafe. No burgers, fries or milkshakes, just coffees and pastries. It´s the Starbucks of Uruguay.

Leo´s Tio and I enjoying our Cortado.

Last night we went to a Parrilla, which is a barbecue restaurant. Not barbecue like with sauce, but grilled on a barbecue. They have steaks (asado) and sausages (chorizo). Now, I have had both of these at home prepared they way they do in Uruguay, but the meat itself is unlike anything I have had before. Last night I ate an entire months serving of red meat in one sitting!

But before our late night snack, we watched Leo´s cousin´s daughter (la hija de Leo Prima) graduate from her preschool. It was very cute and she was very shy. The amazing part of the whole experience was how many family members came to see. The hall was packed with parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents (and a couple of Americano´s).

After the graduation we met with Leo´s cousin, Pamela and her family. I made a new friend, Federica. We learned how to count in each other´s language and we practice our english and spanish. It was a lot of fun and I can´t wait to spend more time with them.

Tonight we off to dinner with Leo´s cousin, Fernando.

More tomorrow.

We miss you all, but not enough to come back just yet. :)

Heaps of love and con mucho amor,

Johanna and Leo.

We made it! Finally

2008-12-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

Well, after a long (3 day) trek, we finally made it to Montevideo, Uruguay. Our flight was late leaving Portland so we ended up on a different plane to Seattle, in order for us to make our plane to Miami. Alas, that flight was also late and we missed our plane to Montevideo. Since there is only one flight out per day, we had to stay the night in Miami.

Miami was fun. It is mostly Cuban, at least where we were, and I got my first taste of what it was like to not understand the language.

The flight to Montevideo went by quickly, as we slept most of the way. I think I´m jet-lagged, but I´ve never been that way so I´m not sure. I feel like the house is on water and Leo´s Tio thinks I´m a little crazy.

I don´t have any pictures yet, but we are going out this evening and I´m sure I will take lots then. I think its close to 3 PM here, which makes it about 9 AM in Portland. But again, I´m not sure as I feel like it´s midnight and I´ve been up for days.

I will write more as soon as I can.

Heaps of Love,

Johanna and Leo.

Whoa! Where did the past 8 months go?

2008-08-28T07:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I kept thinking..."I need to post again; its been a couple of weeks." Then I get on this morning and see that I haven't posted since JANUARY!!! I guess I've been a tad busy.

We took a week long trip to Santa Cruz for Spring Break. We went to countless tournaments in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. And again, everyone aged a year.

Having teenage drivers in the house poses new challenges, but frees up a bit of time for small things like cooking dinner and an extra load of laundry. Before I didn't have enough time. Now, it seems, I don't have enough money. Man, those kids are expensive.

Here it is, the week before school starts and we have 2 high-schoolers, 2 middle-schoolers and 4 fall athletes. Jesse & Tianna will be playing soccer at Barlow and Kevin & Casey will be playing football at Russell. Kevin decided to tryout for the kicker...go figure.

I'm very proud to be a part of this family and feel very lucky to have this life.

Heaps of love,

J

PS: The wedding plans are going well and I'm almost done with the finishing touches. Please visit our wedding website and leave us a note or just check it out.

www.mywedding.com/leoandjohanna

Great News!

2008-01-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

We're getting married! Leo proposed on Christmas and we've set a date for November 29, 2008. To follow along go here.

I can hardly wait to be his wife and spend the rest of our lives together.

Yeah us!

Heaps of love,

More Puppies

2008-01-08T07:27:00.000-08:00

Cute, Cute.

Puppies

2007-12-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

Puppy #1

I want to call him Batman. He's got the cutest black patches over his eyes. And of course there's that cute little black dot on his side.

Puppy #2

A beautiful soft fawn color. Maybe he should be called Pan.

Puppy #3 (Finally)

Such a pretty brindle color. He's very lively and squeky.

This little guy came a full 24 hours after the second one.

Momma and her brood.

Zee waiting very impatiently to see his boys.

Welcome puppies.

Just One

2007-11-30T14:38:00.000-08:00

So there...

Happy Yule and Stuff

2007-11-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Oh look, Christmas time is here! This year I was a willing participant in the hell that is Black Friday. However, I did not participate in long lines, pushing, shoving, running (well maybe a little), or any other generally unaccepted shopping practice. After dropping the car off for service, Leo and I went to the mall. It was really quite pleasant. No lines, no rush. Between Friday and Saturday we manage to finish our shopping and enjoy the season.

We actually went an entire week (7 full days) without a soccer game. I almost couldn't believe it. After all the withdrawal symptoms went away we started up again on Sunday morning at 7am with a little indoor. It was fun to watch Kevin and Casey on the same team. It was not fun to watch them without my coffee, but, alas, I made it through. :)

Remind me, after the holidays, to tell you how I acquired the boy's gifts. I was almost out of control.

I'm still working on the pictures of Charlie and there are others too, but not really much time. Maybe I'll get them up tomorrow. Maybe not.

Heaps of Love,

J

I'm such a liar

2007-11-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

I did really intend to post everyday. Really. I got the (really, really) really great pictures back of Charlie, but they were so huge that I couldn't open them.

So...I gave the cd with the pictures on it to the picture gods, made a small offering and, hopefully, I will get them back today to post. But, don't hold yoru breath.

I do have to work, ya know!

Heaps of Love,

J

Writer's Block

2007-11-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Every time I post I convince myself that I will post more often in order to avoid this. I want to write everyday because I have so much to say (don't act surprised), but sometimes the words just don't come. However, I have made a promise to myself that, starting today, I will do 2 things everyday: (1) Get exercise and (2) Write.

I really do enjoy it. I think I get it from my mom. She should write more too. She's quite the poet, you know.

So there. Its written and published for all to see and hold me accountable to.

Charlie and Missy are coming to my office for lunch today. I'll take pictures and post them later today. He is such a cute toddler. He makes the funniest little face when he is being shy. Cracks me up.

Thinking of a pen name.

Heaps of Love,

J

Feliz Cumpleaños, Mi Amor

2007-09-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Today is Leo's birthday.

In 1965...

Sir Stanley Mathews played his final soccer game for Stoke City (in England) at age 50. Later that year he became the first soccer player to be knighted for services to sport.

The Mariner 4 spacecraft returns the first images of Mars.

Cigarette advertising is banned on British television.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into Law.

The Beatles performed the first stadium concert in the history of rock n' roll at Shea Stadium in New York.

Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs.

The first group of Cuban refugees travel to the US after Fidel Castro announced that anyone who wants to can emigrate to the United States.

Pope Paul VI announced that the ecumenical council had decided that Jews are not collectively responsible for the killing of Christ.

The St. Louis Gateway Arch is completed.

A Charlie Brown Christmas debuts.

The city of Montevideo, Uruguay welcomes its newest member.

Te amo.

The Year in Review

2007-09-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

When I started my previous blog, I wanted to use it as a venue to keep family and friends up-to-date on the boys schedules. Soon I found myself omitting things about my own life because they just didn't seem to fit with the theme of the blog. Hence the new one. So to catch you up on the past year...

Last September, while celebrating a friend/neighbor's birthday, I had the good fortune to meet a very nice man from Uruguay. We spent the evening playing pool, telling stories, and generally enjoying each other's company for the evening. Last month we bought a wonderful home together. I am so lucky to have found Leo. He has been a wonderful role model for the boys and has been my balance this past year. I suppose he is the Yin to my Yang (or is it the other way around?).

In January we bought Zee. A very cute and spunky white Chihuahua.

He is in addition to Tessa, Leo's very crazy Pomeranian and his escape-prone Siberian Husky, Danka.

The summer was full of soccer tournaments for all of the kids, while Jesse took a break. He had us all convinced that he was finished with soccer. Then, at the very last second (literally the last second, tryouts had already occurred) he got a call inviting him to play on the JV team at Barlow. He had a sudden change of heart and decided to play. I'm so glad he did.

Casey is also playing football this season and plans to participate in basketball, wrestling, and track also. This is in addition to the club soccer that he is playing. So far, he has manged to finish his homework on time and get to bed at a decent hour. This leaves little time for video games, though. Oh darn.

Tianna made the Varsity squad at Barlow and has been focusing on that until Club soccer begins in January.

Kevin is still playing club soccer and is as crazy as ever. He and Casey are taking a Spanish class before school and are learning so quickly. It won't be long before every one in this house can speak Spanish.

Last night, Leo and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Alessandro's, for our first anniversary. The past year has flown by, but it has been so wonderful.

I look forward to another wonderful year with my family and friends.

Heaps of Love

A change of scenery

2007-09-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

I decided to create a new blog to make way for the changing times. My life in no longer just about Jesse and Casey. It is now full of Jesse and Casey and Kevin and Tianna. Leo and the dogs, family, friends, and the many other things that fill my days.

When I find the charger to my camera, I will charge the battery and download all of the wonderful photo's I've been meaning to share.

For today, I will keep it short for I must not be late to pick up kids from practice. We have a pizza date tonight. I can't miss it.

Heaps of Love