Why I was there: I was already in South America so it made sense to make use of my time there as much as possible. One laptop per child is hq’ed in Montevideo and known for having the best infastructure for it there in the whole world…. So I went a few days to see what I could learn (applies to research of designing acultural products for needs of developing world/ how do you know when you can do that). Unfortunately my plans got pretty kebashed- with it being the week before Easter… Meaning everyone was out for the week and didn’t really lead on to it. I got some good info but not too much data worthy.
How long: 3 days- it was more than enough
The coolest part: It was very slow paced, relaxed and nice. The locals constantly called the city “muy lindo” and were some of the product locals I have seen (pretty comparable to Austin in that pride). They were very friendly and helpful. Once I was walking down a street and a man came up to me and warned me not to walk on that same street at night…. People really looked out for each other.
The lamest part: Not much to do. I walked on their waterfront for miles without seeing a single Resturant… There really isn’t much to see persay. It kinda felt like Buenos Aires at 25%.
My bloopers: I was planning on talking to some kids about their laptops through their school and was misinformed on the days they had off. Randomly, 2 girls came up to me wanted money for a puppy shelter. I talked to them a bit… They asked why I was there and… I kinda got them to ask me if they could show me their one laptop per child laptops. I gave them 5 bucks for their cause hoping it would make them want to keep the date for the next day. It felt kinda weird. I am going to keep to much more formal interview settings. It actually turned out to be really interesting to talk to them and was a great cultural exchange… But yeah… More formal is amust.
Most likely cause of death: Boredom. Or really having no money for food… Purse snatchings here were unreal. I saw so many women go back to my hotel with just the straps of their bag saying it was stolen as they got shoved to the ground. (which is why the purse I carried was mostly a decoy)
Recommended? It’s nice for a day and a half, if you are already planning on going to Colonia/ working your way up to Brazil… Or need a safe haven/break in South America (Uruguay is the safest country there). Other than that… Eh.
See more photos at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1601164039215.2035222.1539480031&type=3&l=aa7c3f70a3
Design is my First Language 