This year, for the second time, we held an orientation for our Fulbright U.S. Students and English Teaching Assistants that arrived during the month of March to begin their study/research/teaching assistantship projects.

The week started with a Welcome Dinner hosted by the Executive Director, Ms. Mercedes Jiménez de Aréchaga in honour of Fulbright U.S. grantees in the country. Fulbright president Robert Zimmerman and his spouse Karina; and board members Stephanie Shellman and Felipe Michelini - Undersecretary of Education-, also attended the dinner. This was followed by a TANGO show in which Fulbright U.S. Student Todd Martinez and Fulbright ETA Ana Laura Szogi showed their dancing skills (in the picture to the right).

The following day we started the orientation at the Fulbright office, where grantees presented themselves and we discussed about their goals and the goals of the Fulbright program, their projects, community involvement opportunities and other issues related to the cultural adjustment to a new country. After lunch at the old city, the group went on a guided tour of Montevideo, including a visit to the House of Parliament.

On Thursday, grantees had the chance to meet Fulbright Uruguayan grantees and learn from their fields of expertise and own Fulbright experience in the United States.

Two times Fulbrighter Pablo Landoni - MPA, Cornell University and New Century Scholar (in the picture to the left) – gave a talk on Higher Education in Uruguay. Enrique Badaró, Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence at the University of Alaska gave them an overview of Uruguayan Art. Aldo Marchesi, Fulbrighter, Ph.D. in History, New York University, provided the grantees with an overview of Twentieth Century Uruguayan History. Finally, Rafael Bottaro, Fulbrighter, MBA University of Minnesota, presented them with an overview of Uruguayan Agriculture.

On this day, grantees had the chance to meet Fulbright ETA 2006 Lisa Price and learn from her Fulbright experience. After lunch at the Commission we departed for the U.S. Embassy, where grantees had a presentation on Uruguayan politics and economics by Professor Marcelo Paglia.

Friday was an orientation day only for ETA’s. On this day, ETA’s received an introduction to the Uruguayan system of education, with a focus on the institutions where they will assist as ETA’s: public elementary schools and their ESL programmes; and High-school teacher development centers (CERP).At the same time they had a chance to meet those that will be their mentor teachers at these institutions and who have specially travelled from the provinces of Salto and Maldonado where the ETA’s will begin their assignments.The role of each other, expectations and activities to conduct were some of the issues discussed. The following day the ETA’s travelled to the provinces accompanied by their mentor teachers.

They arranged the grills in spokes, 4,921 feet of metal grates in all, pointing from the center of the stadium so that from above, they resembled the rays of the sun on the Uruguayan flag. More than 1,250 volunteers cooked up 26,455 pounds of beef. This was no ordinary Sunday barbecue.

I had landed in Uruguay less than a month before and almost immediately I became aware of the event, as if the smell of grilled meats had been piped into Carrasco International Airport. Really, I had been tipped off by an impressive advertising campaign, highlighted by immense billboards on city buses boldly promising “el Asado más Grande del Mundo,” or “The Biggest Barbecue in the World.” It was an unexpected boast from little Uruguay, wedged between giant neighbors and not known for the biggest anything.

Admittedly, it did not fit precisely in my Fulbright research project. I traveled here to study the Uruguayan media in the years before a 1973 military coup imposed 12 years of dictatorship on a country where the tradition of liberal democracy had been so longstanding that it earned the nickname “The Switzerland of South America.” My research is focused on the role of the partisan press in those years, not the role of the parrilla (grill). But since it was only a short diversion, I decided to make room in my schedule.

Then another barrier was placed between me and that “gran día,” as the organizers, the Instituto Nacional de Carne, had begun calling it. My return flight from the Fulbright Regional Enhancement Seminar in Buenos Aires was to deposit me across the Río de la Plata after the last fire had been extinguished and Mexico’s record had already been elbowed out of the Guinness book. I made desperate inquiries with the Argentine Fulbright commission and Aerolineas Argentinas. Mercifully, they agreed to change my ticket.

To the asado, I had no ticket at all, the rolling billboards having somehow managed to sell out the sprawling Rural del Prado, the stadium and fairground that earlier in the month had housed a giant gaucho rodeo for Semana Santa. I pleaded with security guards, explaining that a fellow Fulbrighter, a biologist studying stingrays in Brazil, had come a long way for this lunch. Ultimately, we joined the 15,000 other participants, arriving just in time to hear the judge declare Uruguay’s new record and the crowd erupt in cheers and a spontaneous chorus of “Soy Celeste,” the unofficial national anthem. I seem to remember fireworks, and if there weren’t any, there definitely should have been.

Needless to say, I was glad I’d hustled back over the border. It had been an entertaining barbecue, to put it mildly, the asadores manning grills in white hats and jackets and waving tongs in the air in celebration; legions of firefighters, in bright yellow, posing for photographs; percussionists keeping a beat by tapping drum sticks against an ersatz parrilla.
But it was also an invaluable introduction to Uruguay. A country divided over its leftist government’s policies and still debating the legacy of the dictatorship had found common ground inside the Prado. Uruguayans consume more meat per capita than any country but Argentina, with the average Uruguayan digesting 117 pounds per year. It’s the country’s chief export, but fully 170,000 tons of the 600,000 tons produced annually, almost 30 percent, are diverted to supermarkets and restaurants here before making it to the Port of Montevideo. Combating hoof-and-mouth and mad cow disease are national priorities. Meat, it seemed, was the one thing above politics.

For one day at least. By the following afternoon, the country’s love of debate was back on display. Pedants questioned the validity of the record, nitpicking that a true asado relies on firewood, not charcoal, and arguing that the organizers had even picked the wrong cut of meat. A major daily newspaper, El País, editorialized against the government’s management of the casinos, suggesting that its ability to lose money at gambling parlors might make an even more impressive Guinness record. Some applauded the marketing success of the event, which received considerable play in the international press.

More seemed resigned to Uruguay’s traditional anonymity, with a leading senator (and potential vice presidential candidate), José Mujica, noting that “the majority of the world doesn’t know that Uruguay exists.” At Uruguayan steakhouses in Spain, another journalist pointed out, the owners advertise Argentine beef, even if the meat comes from cattle that had grazed their country’s own vast grasslands.I soon discovered, however, that in a way, all that arguing was also a type of national bonding, that the tension from the daily collision of pride and skepticism is as Uruguayan as, well, a rib steak grilled over an open fire.

We begin with Adriana Loeff, who is currently in New YorK University (M.A. in Journalism). Her film, “HIT” is already announced as “the Uruguayan Film of the Year”.

Adriana told us in her own words the “story behind the scenes” of her film:

“Claudia Abend and I worked in this film for four years (both as directors and producers). We started examining the stories behind some of the most popular Uruguayan songs in the last fifty years.

That’s how we began to discover other stories that had never been told before about the people involved that transcended the songs and revealed the human side of the story, as they dealt with issues such as success and oblivion.
The film includes interviews with some of the best-known Uruguayan musicians: Jaime Roos, Ruben Rada, Jorge Drexler, the Fatorruso brothers, Anibal Sampayo and many more. We also included archived material that we discovered during our research and that in many cases had never seen public light.

Abend and I produced, directed and wrote this independent film and then, one year ago we signed a contract with Metropolis Films to help us finish post production and to edit the movie in 35 mm format, enabling us to show it in the big screen.”

For more about “HIT” link to the website:

http://www.hitlapelicula.com/

Leticia Linn, also a Journalism graduate (University of Maryland) published a book that has had spectacular reviews. The book is the story of the first 25 years of the influential weekly journal “Busqueda”, and the title is “A Story to be Told” (“Una historia para ser contada”, Fin de Siglo/Búsqueda, 2007). Its 275 pages cover the journal’s first quarter of century through interviews and a scholarly review of hundreds of its copies. Photos and facsimile covers of the journal are an added attraction of this book.

Gabriela Santini (left, in the pic), M.A. in Print Journalism at American University, has also been making the news with her weekly appearance as a member of the highly professional team of journalists in “Country Code”, a TV show that analyzes the political and social facts of the week.

We received FSB approval for our 2008 grantees in the: Mariana Montaldo (TESOL) and Alvaro Carrau (L.LM) in LASPAU-administered program and
Gabriela Gonzalez Vaillant (MFA, Sociology), Cristian Perez (PhD, Political Science), Maximo Gurmendez (MS, Computer Sciences) and Marcelo Rilla (MFA, Music) in IIE-administered program.
All have offers of admission to universities in the U.S. and are in the middle of the decision-making process. Congrats!

In February, our very large group of
46 teachers traveled to the U.S. as part of Teacher Exchange Program.

Pre-departure Orientation was celebrated a few days before their flight to the U.S. and now we are planning the Welcome Meeting.

While abroad, some teachers sent us emails that we want to share with you:

“I am so thankful for this opportunity; this trip proved that behind the program there is a great organization that enabled me to take full advantage of every detail: the trip, the informative talks about education and the implementation of the project, the visits to Washington DC, and the moments of personal growth.

I have no words to say how welcome I felt by my host at the school I was assigned to (…), as well as by the staff and the students there.

I was quite impressed by the discipline of the students, by the schedules, by how orderly the students change classrooms, by the number of activities there are in a school day. I realized that time is of great value in U.S. culture. (…)
It was a great personal and professional experience and I only hope other teachers will be able to participate”.

NANCY GARCIA, Teacher, Obra Banneaux

“This was an opportunity of learning about cultural aspects in everyday life of people and cultural aspects that are present in the educational institutions.
It was also an excellent opportunity to learn that very often the stereotype of the common U.S. citizen is simply untrue. I stayed at the home of a family that held very highly the value of solidarity, with an anti-consumerist lifestyle and a highly analytical mind of their own”.

NORMA QUIJANO, Teacher Secretary of the National Board of Education

“… This experience has been unique. We received so much information, we saw so many things, we shared so much about our humble Second Language Program, that all we learned will only start to settle down after we arrive back home and we have some time to “digest” all that we have experienced”.

NICOLAS BRIAN, Second Language Program - National Board of Education

“… I am truly grateful to Fulbright for this invitation to participate. All the information, the experience and the things we are living in New York are simply amazing. Our host school and the other schools we have visited are wonderful. People are charming and kind, and continuously asking if we are doing okay.
From a professional point of view, it is even better. Being able to identify the characteristics of U.S. Education and of Bilingual education has been and will always be a challenge”.

GABRIELA CASAL, Zone Superintendent

“From Stillwater, I want to thank you for this amazing opportunity you have given me and that I am giving myself, of learning about the U.S. educational system and about the life of this people and their hospitality. The school community as well as my hosts and everything I have lived here are truly a wonderful gift and also a unique experience. I look forward to responding in likewise manner.
The days spent in Washington DC were spectacular and again I want to thank you for everything you have done for us.
May God bless you all”.

GONZALO AEMILIUS, Presbyter, Principal “Jubilar Juan Pablo II High School”

 “I am writing to tell all of you who make it possible for Uruguayan teachers to participate of the exchange program that the experiences I have lived these last few weeks have changed me completely.
I am no longer the same person who departed from Uruguay on February 2, 2008, but a new person who has been greatly enriched by exposure to a different culture”.

ANDREA MUSSO, Teacher of English, School Nº 31, Montevideo

“First of all, I want to thank you for your help in making this dream come true.
The experience is amazing and it goes far beyond my expectations.
Impossible to have had a better host family; they were unbelievable, so nice and so warm, making every second of our time unforgettable.
Regarding the school, I am speechless. Everyone has made us feel so welcome; they have been there for us and eager to help, to take us around and to invite us to their homes. 
The teachers have generously opened their classrooms for us.
This is an incredibly enriching experience not only on a professional level, but also on a personal level, since we have created bonds and many U.S. teachers are now looking forward to participating in the program by visiting us in Uruguay”.

ELIZABETH MARTINS, Teacher, School Nº 231, Canelones

“I am tremendously happy with what I lived, what I shared and exchanged and witnessed and learned, and with my new friends. I felt a special pride in talking about our education, our country, our province and our school, and I thank Fulbright for the opportunity …”

CRISTINA ALVEZ, Teacher, School Nº 56, Maldonado