The Sound of Silence
Sometimes I feel like I haven´t said more than 100 words in a day. I knew that solitude would be my personal challenge during these four months. During a normal day at home, I´m usually talking for hours and hours between work and my personal life. I purposefully chose my job because I like human interaction more than researching and writing. I´m curious to see whether or not it gets easier or harder because it´s only been one week, but it feels like years in some way. Sometimes it feels hard to muster the effort to start a conversation. Especially being Asian, the other tourists assume I don´t speak English, so I have to make a special effort if I want someone to talk to.
Right now I´m in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The pace of life here is much slower than in Buenos Aires. Fewer cars and less noise. Everything seems closed by around 6pm versus Buenos Aires, where everything seems open all night. I was warned that Uruguayans walk slower and talk slower than Argentinians, and it seems to be true.
As much as I liked Colonia, Uruguay, I had to escape from the crazy 55-year-old Brazilian woman who was staying at my hostel. Sometimes it actually takes a little while to recognize crazy, and then by the time you realize, it´s too late! She asked me to share her bottle of wine and go see a performance, which seemed like a normal invitiation. But she ended up getting really drunk, and the music performance was just a guy playing percussion to recorded music at a restaurant. That didn´t stop her from jumping up, playing his drums and cymbals, and handing out her card to all of the other people eating at the restaurant. She kept telling people she was a journalist and a musician and French, which didn´t quite seem to be true from what she had told me sober. I went to the bathroom twice just because I needed a break from her. Everyone kept giving me these looks like, ¨she´s crazy!¨ I just smiled and shrugged.
Right now I´m in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The pace of life here is much slower than in Buenos Aires. Fewer cars and less noise. Everything seems closed by around 6pm versus Buenos Aires, where everything seems open all night. I was warned that Uruguayans walk slower and talk slower than Argentinians, and it seems to be true.
As much as I liked Colonia, Uruguay, I had to escape from the crazy 55-year-old Brazilian woman who was staying at my hostel. Sometimes it actually takes a little while to recognize crazy, and then by the time you realize, it´s too late! She asked me to share her bottle of wine and go see a performance, which seemed like a normal invitiation. But she ended up getting really drunk, and the music performance was just a guy playing percussion to recorded music at a restaurant. That didn´t stop her from jumping up, playing his drums and cymbals, and handing out her card to all of the other people eating at the restaurant. She kept telling people she was a journalist and a musician and French, which didn´t quite seem to be true from what she had told me sober. I went to the bathroom twice just because I needed a break from her. Everyone kept giving me these looks like, ¨she´s crazy!¨ I just smiled and shrugged.
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