Uruguayan House Part 2

Back in December our friends started building a house with some help, which I shared in "The Uruguayan Way". This morning they gathered friends again, to pour the floor. After pouring the foundation in December, they built up some stem walls, and filled in the void in preparation for this morning's work.

Again, a large group of friends was present, and this time we only had one small cement mixer to use. The second one had some electrical problems. But everyone pitched in and in no time the floor was underway. I was introduced to a young girl who is building a house with her "novio" near us, in Marindia Sur. So I will probably be working on that one, as well. Still, these projects are only half a day, with the large group of friends and everyone has a good time.

Here is Rodrigo, carrying an aluminum screed- all by himself.

Afterwards, there is an asado (BBQ) for the group. I am always invited, but usually too tired to attend. Over the next few months the immediate family will work to prepare for the next step. They will be building the walls. Also, money needs to be saved to pay for the materials, so the process is not quick. Probably the next group effort will be the roof. I am told that they will be using a system common in Brazil and am interested to find out about it.

The night before, we were invited over to Luisa and Jorge's house for dinner, at the usual time of 9 pm (yes this is the Uruguayan dinner time). Jorge prepared chinese food. Yes chinese food! In Uruguay! And he had a passable hot sauce that we enjoyed. Will wonders never cease?

Carolina, Luisa's and Jorge's daughter speaks perfect english. She has passed many exacting tests to be certified. She loves speaking english and it is so easy for us to rely on her. But Jorge is better than all of us. He kept making us speak spanish. "They will never learn the language if we speak english" he kept saying and so, whether we liked it or not, we were forced to learn more spanish. With good friends like Jorge, I am sure we will be doing better, soon.