to tango hopefuls

I went to my first tango lesson yesterday - which was both taxing (so HARD!) and fun (well, when you dance with a guy who knows what he is doing, that is). I've derived a few lessons I thought I'd share with you, before you even thought about attempting a tango class:


4) Don't show up an hour late
My new Brasilian friend, Jandi, told me to show up around 9, when in fact, the class started at 8. It wasn't a problem since the class was a bit chaotic and included all levels - but I did feel extremely lost for the first 20 minutes, not to mention rude. Also, since I had missed the warm up, I missed the intros and ice breakers which tend to be useful when you are dancing with strangers! Luckily, the crows was super friendly...

3) Don't go on a day when you've worked almost 11 hours
your brain just doesn't seem to work as well, and you may space out from time to time. This makes concentrating on the steps, engaging in conversation with others and keeping up rather difficult.

2) Make sure you bring a cell phone
I was worried about the guys approaching me and it being a bit of a meat market, but people really were there to dance! It was a wonderful relief and the atmosphere was great! Somehow though, I DID manage to get the number or 2 hot German chicks and a Brazilian girl... go figure!


1) Don't have garlic for supper that night!!
Quite possibly the most important lesson to remember, is to consider what you have for dinner before hand; bringing a pack of gum is also rather handy, as the use of garlic may also deter future dance partners, especially in a dance where you sometimes need to lean on each others' foreheads (see image).

There you have it, my friends - GUM, cell phone, and a fresh brain and you're set! (Sense of rhythm not included...)

just to brag....

I thought this was pretty neat! (She says as she flips her collar up) I am now officially the French Media Contact for APC! Let's just hope I can fill my predecessors shoes....

we made it...

we made it...
Originally uploaded by borderlys

Last weekend, the internationals and I had grandiose plans of getting out of the city and hitting up the sand dunes of Rocha, going to the beach, and possibly hiking in an Ombu forest - but guess what - it was rainy again. Evaluating the circumstances (money, weather, etc.) we decided against it. Besides, I get to be here for the summer, so it's definitely worth it for me to wait! But that meant I was going to be in rainy, grey Montevideo, which wasn't all that enticing either. Sunday morning, Katarina, Antoine and I decided to go despite the rain. We all felt like moving and breathing some fresh air. So we decided on the Cerro Pan de Azucar, a nature preserve only about an hour or so out of the city.

No sooner than five minutes on the bus, it started pouring rain outside. I don't mind hiking in the rain and I figured it would die down eventually anyway. Half an hour into our bus ride, smoke started coming out of the bottom of the bus, and boiling water gushed out from under the middle seats and rushed all the way down the front of the bus. Making an emergency stop on the side of the road to investigate, we were back on the road some five minutes later. Then again, the smoke started coming out - so we stopped a second time. Five minutes later we were on the road again (phew...). The water and smoke started up again, and the drivers finally gave up and called the technician (without informing the passengers what we were doing, what was going on, etc.). So we all waited *somewhat* patiently. An hour later, I was getting extremely antsy, hating the fact that I was in the middle of nowhere and couldn't do anything but wait. I was wondering why I left the house, when I could have been cozy at home, instead I was in the cold bus, in the rain, a ways away from our destination that was slowly losing its appeal to me anyway.

About an hour and twenty minutes, we were back on the road, and arrived in Pan de Azucar town half an hour later. By the time we got there, it was past 1pm and we were somewhat concerned with time - we still had to GET to the hill, climb it, come down, and catch the bus back before 6:30. And the next bus going in that direction wasn't coming for another half hour. Luckily by then it had stopped raining.

So we stuck it out, and ended up at Pan de Azucar nature preserve, all itching to hike! We were delighted to see animals (in caged areas, unfortunately, but still in a wild area). Tiny jaguar-like animals, animals that were a mix between pigs and guinea pigs, tons of birds, and other animals I had never seen before in my life greeted us along the walk to the trail entrance. As soon as we got into the forest, everything was so peaceful and beautiful, and the little train soon became full on scrambling, requiring the use of both hands to get up and weave between the boulders. Absolutely divine! Once we came out of the forest and started getting closer to the top, we were faced with INTENSE wind! It was blowing so hard, we couldn't stop laughing! http://www.flickr.com/photos/borderlys/2879984085/sizes/s/ We were well inside the cloud, and the sound inside the big cross was ..... FREAKY! ...we took our photo ops and hurried down (safely, of course) down to the forest.

Snacked at the bottom, had some tea and made the bus back in a nick of time - everything flowed perfectly and we were home by 8pm!

Since last Sunday, the sun has come out from the clouds, the days are getting longer, and people are starting to poke their heads out from their huge wooden doors. The city is showing a completely different side now (one that I've also been anxiously awaiting!), and it's colours are starting to show themselves. Tonight I am going to some of the festivities that are being put on to celebrate the arrival of spring. Tomorrow, I might hit up Piriápolis, a near by city on the water. I think I am also going to go soak up some of the sun on the rambla now...

Mastering Mate

So I FINALLY got off my hiney and bought all the required elements to a proper mate kit:

1) Mate - the receptacle (gourd, typically of the squash family) itself is of utmost importance
2) Bombilla - metal straw - possibly even more important than the mate, since you could theoretically make yourself a mate in a coffee mug or small bowl; it just doesn't look as good.
3) Thermos - this is more important if you're on the go. Otherwise, how else will you drink mate while walking down the street!
4) Yerba mate, of course!

note: you can also buy a leather bag in which to carry your mate, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are on a budget!

Now that I am finally set up, I asked my roommate, Andrea to give me a lesson on preparing mate (tea is just so much simpler!).

1) Fill your gourd to about an inch of the top. Tip it to the side until the herbs hit your hand (make sure you keep the yerba in its vertical shape).
2) Pour some lukewarm water, and allow for the herbs to absorb some of the water and expand. This prevents the leaves from burning, and for better absorption.
3) Place your bombilla with the flat part against the herbs, and tilting it against your gourd. Dig in there, and make sure it stays in place.
4) Fill your mate with boiling water, sip, and enjoy the first mate (right. It's generally quite bitter and hot)
5) Offer to your friends...but beware, there is a certain etiquette to be followed...

See the photographic version of the instructions here!

"the office"

"the office"
Originally uploaded by borderlys

This is the entry I sent to the listserve to the IISD as part of my internship program. It's nothing new, but I wanted to keep it somewhere, so if you have some free time, you can learn a bit more about what I am doing....

ok, so I am going to try not to be completely envious of Alison and the others that are currently in HOT countries, as it appears I have landed in a Latino version of Britain. Much like Vancouver, it's cold and rainy and gross out right now; but when it's nice out, it sure is nice out! I suppose that comes hand in hand with living on the waterfront and arriving at the tail end of winter. The 91% humidity (and lack of sleep) didn't help me avoid the sniffles either! So here I am, drinking some homemade ginger and lemon tea, getting ready to tell you all about my first two weeks here.

If, for the training week, we "hit the ground running," then I do believe I have hit the ground here darting in a 100m sprint! The days have just flown by since I first started, and the entire APC team has made me feel more than at home. My first assignment, to help me get to know the team a little bit better, consisted of re-writing everyone's teaser bios (the few sentences that appear next to their photo on the public site). I have to say, what an accomplished, inspiring bunch of people! The richness of the organization is its diversified and world-wide staff. Today for example, I was had to help test the Moodle chat and whiteboard functions by participating in a chat session with people from South Africa, Mexico, Czech Republic, the Philippines and Canada! I sift through at least 50 emails a day (some of which are irrelevant to me), but the weekly updates always give me a laugh. They are a mix of work and personal life that have that water-cooler conversation feel to them. Aside from re-writing some of the site content (I will also have to produce some French abstracts and articles based on the PDF of a new African initiative), I have also been put in touch with some international media outlets, for which I will be the liaison (yay!). This is because the information coordinator for the site (who also happens to be Canadian!) will be leaving the organization, so I will be taking on some of his roles and assignments. The added responsibility however, also means that I have been putting in some extra hours on the side to read up on ICT policy and some of the site's content. It's been great though, and reading has not felt like a chore; rather, I see it as a matter of interest and concern for a job well done. Further to this, my manager and I met today in her home office to discuss the media monitoring project I will be working on based on the previous intern's recommendations. I'm starting to work on it as early as tomorrow, and would like to have the matrix and evaluation system semi-finalized by the end of the month so that I can work on the monitoring for the next 5 months. I'm also looking at ways of making this a long-term project that they will continue once my term has finished.

Since it's a virtual organization, I don't know that many people here yet – fortunately though, both my roommates have made it easier for me to meet people. I've also found a cute little yoga studio (which you can read about here : www.borderlys.blogspot.com), where the people are friendly.

I've attached a photo of my work space with my co-worker Analia. It's in a house-turned-office, owned by some young architects. I also posted a photo of the view, two steps out my front door. You can view more photos on my flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/borderlys . Consider yourself warned - they aren't all * ahem * work related. You can also read my somewhat irregular ramblings of anything and everything on my blog (see above).



Hope you are all well!



Lisa

Return of the toque

I FOUND MY TOQUE!!!!!!

OH JOY!!!!!

Today was the last day that I tried to look for my toque, figuring that if I hadn't seen it lying on the street by now, that I wasn't going to find it. It was a hard decision to make, since part of my just felt that I was supposed to find it. So just as I was a few steps from home (incidentally, not far from where the taxi had dropped me off) a car drove away, revealing a lonely flattened toque that had lost its way! Nothing against my new toque - it's also great - but it doesn't have the love I put into it....

Week two, here we go!

After my first week of work, I am feeling pretty good about my internship! So far, I've been given very precise instructions for the different projects I'll be working on, and my manager has been great in giving me instructions and helping me set goals for the day and week.  It's nice to work from her home office, since I don't have to worry about little formalities (like what to wear, being 5 minutes late, etc.), and sometimes I even get to work with a kitty on my lap! She also makes the best coffee in the whole entire world! So far, I've mostly been getting familiar with the organization, re-writing teaser bios (a few sentences that appear next to the people's photos on the site). It's actually a great way to get to know members of the organisation! It's quite interesting to learn the culture of this virtual organisation - things like the informal weekly updates (personal and work related) allow for a more personal, "water cooler" type of interactions. I've had a little introduction to the media impact monitoring and evaluating aspect of my internship, as well as a briefing on the media relations aspect. I still have so much reading to do before I feel comfortable with the site content because for now, I still feel like there is an overwhelming amount of information on the site. My plan to read up on policy this weekend didn't quite come to fruiting either....

I did have a great weekend though! I went out with "los internacionales," which is what I have dubbed the ex-pat and international crowd living here at the moment. We stayed out all night; I lost  my beloved toque on the way home; and felt the repercussions of dancing until 6am the next morning. To make things worse, the next day Katarina and I went to the market, which, as it turns out, closed early because it was raining out.  Walking in the rain for a few hours, lack of sleep, then going to bed late-ish a second night didn't exactly do wonders for my health. Where is that echinacea tea when I need it?!?

Shanti, I'm home!

Ever since I arrived to Montevideo (what, a whole 5 days ago…) I’ve been struggling somewhat to practice yoga. I’ve wanted to, my body has certainly craved it, but closing myself off in my room when I am in a new place that still remains largely undiscovered just doesn’t make sense somehow. Yet, I do think I’m at a point in my yoga where I could benefit from individual yoga – after all, I don’t want to be dependant on others leading my practice all my life. Individual practice was something I used to do regularly, but once I started going to Bodhi Tree, and my practice kept getting stronger and stronger (and I am not just referring to asanas), I got lazy and stopped discovering yoga on my own. I figured this would be the perfect time to do that.

Buuuuuuuut, I just couldn’t resist the cute little friendly yoga studio a few blocks from my house! It certainly is not the pristine environment of Bodhi, but there was something so warm about this place, with its paper lamps, Ganesh posters, incense, and welcoming owners/teachers. The class simple (and short!), but I left there feeling happy and serene. I decided I may not come to the studio several times a week, but I might splurge on 2 nights a week here and compliment it individual practice.

It’s funny how I am immediately drawn to the yoga community. I used to be so intimidated by it, but now it’s feels like home, wherever I am….