Right now we are on a bus heading towards Punta del Este from Montevideo, Uruguay. The bus happens to have WiFi. Amazing! This is more modern then the USA. Or maybe there is WiFi on buses now in the US... things change so fast. If not then Los Estados Unidos needs to get with the times.
Anyway... the Uruguay countryside is not much different than driving through New Jersey to get to the beach. All the signs are in Spanish and some in English like some crazy parallel universe which is what it is like here on the other side of the globe. And it is winter here. Okay so this might only amaze a fifth grader.
I have a theory about why the infrastructure is more modern in the more southern cities of South America. I think it has to do with the weather.
In countries like Ecuador and Peru, it is okay to live in a hut when the weather doesn't drop below 70 degrees. It is a week theory I admit. I really don't know why there is more infrastructure here. But it is a mystery I plan on solving while here. Perhaps this is a less exploited section or maybe it is all the Europeans that emigrated here later on and weren't about to live in a country with crumbling or half constructed buildings.
There are less indigenous people or people of mixed race here. The European gene is most prominent in most of the residents of Montevideo anyway. I don't know if that has anything to do with it but most likely it affects... something.
Then there is the fact that Uruguay is small and reportedly the least corrupt or crime ridden of the countries in South America... but if that plays a part then the United States would be full of people living in tents and buildings should be crumbling and boarded up... and, oh, that is happening.
Well, I am unsure of how this is all connected... if it is connected. I know there are a lot more factors.
Three things I miss about the USA.... in order of importance:
- family and friends
- food without ham in it (and other food items...like hot sauce and jalapenos)
- a bigger wardrobe
