Country Living is Slow and Slow can be...

How have 15 days gone by since that last post? Sometimes it feels like time is moving so slowly here and then I realize I've almost been here a month...maybe things are moving faster than I realize.

I've seen a lot more since I last wrote. I am slowly discovering new parts of Montevideo and the surrounding cities and towns.

Right now I am living in the country with my aunt and uncle (mis Tios) about 3.5 kilometers from the border of Montevideo. A province or state, as we would call it, is called a departamento here. I am living in the departamento of Canelones, which borders much of Montevideo, the province. I live in a small neighbourhood in between two slightly bigger towns or pueblos. Each town is equipped with the basic necessities, a clinic, a grocery store, a gas station, a hair-salon, a pharmacy (maybe two), a bakery, a butcher and no, not a candlestick maker. Each town has a primary school and a high school. If you were 14 and living where my Tios live for example, you would bus into the closest town to go to high school. (If I want to be fancy about it, I can say that I am living in wine country, there are vineyards all around this area.)

There is also a military zone near where I'm staying, they own a huge piece of land here, divided by a main road. On the one side of the road you can enter and walk near the perimeter of their training and living quarters. On that side, there is a street lined with gorgeous trees, like at the Palace of Versailles. On the other side of the road there is a huge field that they use for firing practice. We are obviously not allowed to walk on that side of the road, although the gate is always wide open. Sometimes at the kitchen table, in the backyard or while in bed, you here shots go off. You'd be surprised at how quickly you get used to this occasional yet eery sound.

Today I walked about 5 km up the road that goes in between the military land, and around, circling near the nearest town without going in and crossing the train tracks twice (I go in a big circle). This has become my new route for fresh air and a little exercise. Today on my walk I saw two brothers, lets say one was about 14 and the other 8, riding horses while they walked another horse along side them. The older boy had the typical gaucho hat on his head, tilted to the side, naturally. They looked like true countrymen, but because they were young they also just looked plain adorable.

Other curiosities I see when I walk my route in the middle of nowhere include half finished construction projects, like new roads, an abandoned train station, and a bright pink property that looks like a gorgeous hacienda with lots of land. I also see cows and horses. Lots of people speeding by on motorcycles, often holding their shopping or their children while they drive (helmets optional). I see big open fields and unfortunately lots of littler in certain spots along the road and in the gutters. 

Can you envision the country image I'm describing? It's sunny, the skies are blue and everything's just a little dusty. If it sounds small or slow, that's because it is. It is slow in a way where everyone hangs their clothes out to dry in the sun and you say buen día to everyone you see. It is slow in a way where you walk your garbage out to the end of the road to dump it and visit the bakery every other day for fresh bread.

The view from the end of my street. Vineyards in the distance and the garbage dump.

 It has been a huge adjustment being in the country. What I'm primarily getting out of this slower and simpler pace though is an appreciation for time. I feel time rich here. When everything really truly slows down in your life you become very conscious of time, how you use it, what you spend it on, and just how much of it you have. At times I get bored or I feel impatient and I definitely plan on moving into the city, but for now, I feel like I have access to this unique time bubble. So until I get back into the city, I will choose when to move fast and when to move slow and I will use my time deliberately and consciously and I will keep going for walks.