Just in time for the world cup, we are doing the country that hosted and won the first world cup. Uruguay! Besides knowing where it is I basically knew nothing else about this country. We were very excited to learn about Uruguay!

We picked Uruguay because we wanted to go to South America again. Also knowing really nothing about other U countries such as Uzbekistan and Uganda we felt like those were too close to other countries we did so we ended up picking Uruguay.

Uruguay is not at all close in anything to Suriname. While being in South America, it has a tiny native population while most of the population is Spanish, Italian, English, or German. Besides this it has a very large beef industry and Uruguay is very similar to Argentina in a lot of ways.  So were not doing Argentina any time close to now.

For more facts about Uruguay check out our Power Point on the country: uruguay

Interesting Facts

• In Uruguay cows outnumber humans four to one
• Uruguay’s national anthem is the longest in the world which it lasts five minutes
• In 2009 Uruguay became the first country in the world to provide every student with a free laptop and WiFi
• Uruguay’s literacy rate is the highest in South America
• Uruguay is home six different types of Armadillos

FOOD

Uruguayan food is similar to some European foods and the cuisine has a lot of European influence probably because there wasn’t really any natives in the land before the Europeans came. Some European dishes in Uruguay are Pastries from France and Sandwiches from Italy. Also with having a ton of cows they are sure to eat lots of beef!

Breakfast

Bizcochos – This is the general term for pastries in Uruguay and we got a bunch at a Latin American bakery near us and tried them out. I really liked the cream filled horn shaped one. Andrew liked the one filled with brown sugar

Croissants Uruguayo – Croissants are the most common bizcochos in Uruguay so we decided to make our own and fill them with dulce de leche. The big different between these and the french kind is they use lard instead of butter. Still yummy!

Oranges – Most popular and most exported fruit in Uruguay

Dinner

Chivito Recipe – This is a very meaty sandwich and surprisingly the national dish of Uruguay. It was so delicious. Dada said it was better than a hamburger. We will defiantly having this again.

Russian Potato Salad – Even though this isn’t Russian it is still really delicious. It pretty much just tastes like your average potato salad.

Chivito Recipe – This is a very meaty sandwich and surprisingly the national dish of Uruguay. It was so delicious. Dada said it was better than a hamburger. We will defiantly having this again.

Russian Potato Salad – Even though this isn’t Russian it is still really delicious. It pretty much just tastes like your average potato salad.

CULTURE

Since Uruguay hosted and won the first World cup we decided to play  Soccer (or football as they call it) !!! I’m guessing most people know how to play soccer.  But it was fun to play after watching and learning about the first World Cup here: 1930 World Cup Final and learning how the rules have changed along the way: FIFA History’s of the Rules of the Game Long ago goalies could use their hand outside the penalty area!

Next up is V so our choices are limited and as we want to move out of the South America (and not go back to Southeast Asia) we are heading to the South Pacific for Vanuatu!