This One Time I Turned 32 and Called a Time Out on Drinking

Well, let's just ignore the fact that I haven't written a post since February. My only excuse is travelling to Canada twice, moving into a new apartment, spending the month of July responsible for over 60 teens in Barcelona, constantly playing catch up with work and friends in between trips, organizing an educational fair for over 300 students in September, a quick work trip to Sao Paulo and well, that pretty much brings us to today. 2016 has kept me going at an unreal pace and I have very gladly been slowing things down since the beginning of October. Despite all of this, I'm not going to write about any of those things that kept me busy. I want to write about an article that I read recently and how it inspired me to take a break from drinking alcohol.

A couple of girlfriends on Facebook posted this article called, “The Real Reasons Why Women Drink.” I read it and immediately had a reaction, although I couldn't tell if it was positive or negative. I can't say that I wholeheartedly agreed or disagreed with the article, but it left me asking myself a lot of questions. I wanted to discuss it with friends and hear what they thought, so I shared it on Facebook and I brought it up with other women in conversation over the next few weeks.  In the article, the female author tries to connect feminism and women drinking. She suggests that women drink to cope with a sexist and macho world, where we are constantly trying to keep up with men and out do them, plus out drink them. She touches on modern culture surrounding women and alcohol, and describes her experience after abstaining from it. 

What I most liked about the article or what it most left me thinking about was HOW MUCH we drink and HOW MUCH we encourage each other to drink. Forget the gender aspect for a second, how many times do we finish a tough day with a drink and what if there are more tough days than not? How many times do we start the weekend off with a drink? (I've often said, that, that first drink on a Friday tastes the sweetest.) Then I started to think about how rarely I don´t drink. 

Girls dinner on a Sunday night, one of my last drinks.

Once a year I don´t drink for about four weeks, when I'm working with groups of teens abroad. Then another two to four weeks during the year I don't drink because I'm cleansing. The rest of the time, it's a birthday, holiday, trip, dinner, party, rough day, girl's night, date night, a Wednesday, and well the list of occasions to drink goes on and on. 

Even more frightening, I asked myself, “When is the last time you went more than four weeks without drinking?” I didn't even know what the answer was, probably never.

And that was when I decided to take a break from alcohol. It started September 1^st and it will end December 1^st – in total it will be 91 days. Here is what has happened during this dry three month journey:

Day 1 – We have a work dinner with colleagues that are in town visiting, and we are celebrating a successful student event with beers and pizza. I celebrate with coke and thankfully no one questions me. I feel a little anti-fun.

Day 5 – I wake up feeling hangover, but not from drinking, am I detoxing? Am I in withdrawal? I tell myself to get a grip. 

New conference friends in Sao Paulo - hotel bar hanging.

Day 8 – I´m texting a friend saying we should get together for drinks and catch up, I rewrite my text to say that we should do coffee instead.

Day 9 – I go to a dinner and show with girlfriends, it´s a set price menu that includes drinks, I wish my water were more expensive. 

Days 22-24 – I go to a conference in Brazil for work and everyone is drinking, the caipirinhas are flowing, non-stop. I feel super anti-fun and since these colleagues have just met me, they probably actually think I am anti-fun. 

 

Day 45 – My friends finally seem to know and remember that I’m not drinking. Thank goodness, I was getting tired of explaining myself every time we got together!

A very sober and glowing lumber Jill at Halloween!

Day 46 – My good friend Dan jumps on the bandwagon, "Yay, I’ve recruited!" We start drinking juice and pop in solidarity at get togethers with friends. 

Day 59 – I have so much fun at a Halloween house party, on a natural high, because I love costumes and dancing. I feel like a kid again. 

 

Day 62 – It’s November! I am plotting my first drink already, with a month still to go. My fantasy includes my favourite bar for craft beer and a nice amber on tap *drool* (insert low lighting and a cute boy, it is a fantasy after all!)

 In addition to these moments, I have declined invitations to day-trips and events, three bodega visits and two craft beer festivals to be precise. I thought this was the perfect time of year to do this experiment, after my birthday and before Christmas, but it turns out we drink up all year long! 

Besides repeatedly sharing with people why I’m not drinking, only after they ask, the second most common question has been, “But, did you drink a lot before!?” People seem to think that I must have been on the verge of alcoholism if I thought I needed such an extended break. Interesting?

What does it all mean though? Have I learnt something profound? What was gained by repeatedly declining alcoholic beverages? Although I’ve had these questions in mind the entire time, I feel like they’ll be better answered once the three months is up and I get to choose when to accept and when to decline a drink. 

So with ten days to go, I raise my water bottle and say, “Salud!" I will report back in December. 

Canta, La Vida Es Una Fiesta!

I can't believe I let so much time go by without writing. Since my last post I have visited Canada for one week, then travelled to Spain for one month to lead a Spanish language program for teens, and since then I have come back to Montevideo, started a new job and helped pull off a successful event where 300 people attended! Wow! A lot has gone done in four months!

Right now, I am excited to celebrate my birthday this week, and I am simultaneously wondering if by turning 31 the title of my blog needs an edit!? I am also excited for my first visit to Buenos Aires this coming weekend! Happy Birthday To Me! And I am planning a one year anniversary party for the beginning of September to mark my one year living in Uruguay! Also coming up in September is a visit from a good girlfriend for two weeks. I'm super excited to show her the city, have girl time, and have some T.O. vibes here with me!

So as you can see, there is a lot to be thankful for and lots to celebrate! As the popular (only in Uruguay) song by VI-EM says "Canta, la vida es una fiesta" and that has been my anthem since June!  

Okay, so more details and updates...since I haven't written in so long! The visit to Canada was energizing, it was SO NICE to see family and friends. I got my fill of hugs, ate almost all of my favourite and most missed foods and even found time to be productive, aka: a dentist visit. Although the trip was a whirlwind and I could have spent more time with everyone I saw, I left with an overflowing heart. 

A tanned and happy staff in Marbella!

Everything in between that trip and leaving for Spain is a blur. It was only a couple of weeks and I was a mad person trying to wrap up work in Montevideo and getting myself and my team ready for the trip. The actual time leading the trip flew by as well. A lot of people wonder what this job I do with teens and touring every summer is like...it’s hard to describe. It is the best job, truly,  it is a mixture of utter exhaustion and adrenaline. We had an amazing group of teens this year.  They were a kind, smart, and hilarious group of young people. We also had a wicked staff team that had so much fun being together we would exhaust ourselves and stay up too late just so we could keep laughing and hanging out! Spain also meant eating delicious foods. I indulged in cortados multiple times a day and gelato nearly everyday. Thank goodness we walk a lot on these trips! I also got to see my good friend Ari and she got to tell me in person that she is expecting! Que felicidad! Lastly, my love of Spain never dwindles and one day I simply won’t get on the plane to leave. (Curious about what being a Westcoast Connection Trip Director for 50 teens is really like? Watch this video!)

Our first ever LAE Fair/Feria in Montevideo! Go team celeste!

After indulging in the VIP lounge at the Barcelona airport and sitting beside a handsome Uruguayan stranger for my 12 hour return flight, I arrived back to Montevideo in time for the last week of July. I was excited to get back to work, see my students, catch up with friends and get back to regular life. I was especially excited to start a new job as a student advisor for study abroad programs! Currently, I am continuing to teach with Plan Ceibal (the remote teaching program through the government) and in the afternoons I am working with Latino Australia Education (LAE) and helping students figure out how to study abroad. My first few weeks back I jumped right into planning an educational fair here, which turned out to be a huge success. I still have a lot of learning to do, but this new job is already expanding my professional vocabulary, and plus, I always love a new challenge!   

 

I think that's all. My heart's still wild and free, which proves to be good and bad at times. I am still in the same apartment, but will definitely need to be in a new place before the end of the year, since they want to sell this place. And as happy as I am here, I'm still counting my rewards points for a potential visit 'home'!?

Promise to write sooner!

Besos!

First Impressions

They say that when you meet someone first impressions are made within the first 10 seconds, but how about when you 'meet' a new city? Do first impressions count? Can it be love at first sight?

I arrived to Montevideo on Friday night. My first impressions of the airport and in some ways therefore of the city, were all very positive. The airport was gleaming white with orange features. It was shiny, modern, new, and very clean. I especially enjoyed it's emptiness and cleanliness after more than 24 hours of travel and having already been in four other more congested and well trafficked airports along the way. Although Montevideo was off to a good start, proper introductions to the city centre weren't done until Sunday afternoon.

Sunday we walked over 13,000 steps (according to my trusted step counter). I was shown the city highlights, albeit quickly, by my Aunt and Cousin, who have lived in neighbouring Canelones their whole lives. We visited the boardwalk along the water (La Rambla), did a quick walk through one of the main parks, Parque Rodo, and it's very popular weekend market. We visited the main Plazas, including Plaza de la Independencia and a park bench lunch stop in Plaza Fabini. We walked through the old city, visited the legislative palace and finished off the day at a beautiful and modern indoor market (MAM).

Although I 'saw' a lot, it was a whirlwind and if I had to give first impressions I feel like they would be uninformed and that it would be too soon. On top of this, seeing a South American city on a Sunday is like visiting someones house while they are napping. Most of the store doors and windows were boarded up and the streets were nearly empty.

For now, here is what I can say with certainty. The streets are lined with large gorgeous old trees that add loads of character. They have just started a recycling program in the city, the bins are shiny and new. The streets are a bit littered and the buses leave a trail of black fumes behind them. The colours as the sun sets are unreal, the brightest pinks I've ever seen. People walk around EVERYWHERE with their thermos of hot water and mate, there is no where you can't carry it with you! There is still so much to explore! There are countless barrios (neighbourhoods), each with their own characteristics.
 

Empty tree lined streets and recycling bins in the distance.

In other words, I have only scraped the surface and I can't wait to know the city in my own way. I can't wait to discover my favourite place to have coffee, my favourite park to sit and have lunch or read a book, the best vintage shops and so on!

Many more introductions and firsts are to be had.