Greetings from Montevideo!

Greetings from way way way South of the Border! More precisely, I am currently vacationing in Montevideo, Uruguay ...a wonderful country nestled south of Brazil and just east across the Rio de la Plata from Argentina. Uruguay is my Mother's native land and an absolutely glorious place to spend a vacation.

I am enjoying all sorts of relaxing activities. Pocitos beach is just a short 1/2 block walk from my doorstep and I am profiting from lovely weather. It's been consistently sunny, mid-80s, breezy and perfect beach weather!

I've also been eating some of the most delicious food I've had in a while. Uruguay is famous for its meat and dairy products, since they raise cattle better than anyone else in the world here. The meat (even in the cheapest restaurant) is absolutely delicious here. Just the other day, I went to a typical Uruguayan barbecue called an "asado"..where several cuts of beef are cooked over a wood fueled grill. Delicious! Meat is the main staple here and it is not only plentiful, but very very tasty! Thank god I'm not a vegetarian!

Then, the dairy products...yogurt, cheese, milk, ice cream, butter..are all about 10,000x tastier than the best US products. It is truly astonishing how delicious a simple ham and cheese sandwhich can be here compared to back home.

So aside from getting a great tan and gaining weight from the culinary delights, I am also catching up with all my relatives and getting chauffered from one family gathering to another at a fiery pace! It's fun, but sometimes totally exhausting. I've had to beg to be left alone a few times already, hoping for some "down time" so I can re-charge from the constant need of attention of all my cousins, aunts, great-aunts and other assorted relatives. Uruguayans are a friendly people...very friendly..in your face friendly..My Big Fat Greek Wedding never leave you alone friendly. You get the picture.

I've also had some interesting cultural experiences as well (theatrical of course!). I went to the 50th anniversary celebration of Teatro Circular, one of Uruguay's oldest professional theatres, and I've seen a student production of Chicago (yes, in Spanish!) at a local Musical Theatre school where I also have taught workshops in the past.

I have 3 more weeks here in Montevideo before I have to return to DC. I heard thru the grapevine that it's really really cold in DC right now and that it's snowing as well. Hmmm..I'm all warm and toasty here! Ha! Ha!

The other major bonus of being in Montevideo, is that I don't see the face of our stupid Monkey president on the television every 5 secs...thank god! I was ready for a break from his re-re smirk. I heard that he gave a press conference the other day, which means he probably won't show his face again for a while anyway...thank god!

So, since I am enjoying this glorious country, not sure how often I will be updating this Blog until I return to DC on January 12 (bleargh!). But until then, I hope all my friends up North are staying warm and comfortable and won't hate me too much when I return in 3 weeks with a great tan and a relaxed demeanor. Let's see how long each of them last!

Gotta go for now..have to take my required Uruguayan "siesta".

Saludos!

Today is World AIDS day...

Today is World AIDS day...to think, it's been over 20 years since the disease was first discovered and although humanity has certainly made some strides against this horrible scourge, we are far from winning the battle. Here are the latest statistics:


Number of people living with HIV/AIDS in 2004
Total 39.4 million (35.9 - 44.3 million)
Adults 37.2 million (33.8 - 41.7 million)
Women 17.6 million (16.3 - 19.5 million)
Children under 15 years 2.2 million (2.0 - 2.6 million)

People newly infected with HIV in 2004
Total 4.9 million (4.3 - 6.4 million)
Adults 4.3 million (3.7 - 5.7 million)
Children under 15 years 640 000 (570 000 - 750 000)

AIDS deaths in 2004
Total 3.1 million (2.8 - 3.5 million)
Adults 2.6 million (2.3 - 2.9 million)
Children under 15 years 510 000 (460 000 - 600 000)

In many ways, things are worse than they were at the beginning of the disease. The numbers are actually startling. It seems in many developed countries, AIDS has been downgraded to just a minor nuissance, when in reality, for most of the developing world, especially on the continent of Africa, it's really a plague.

Once again, our social and economic disparities are highlighted strongly. Once again, whether or not you have money, seems to be the key to whether you get the best treatment and whether or not you survive this deadly killer.

The profit that American and European drug companies are making off the AIDS patients is heartbreaking. Recently, countries like Brazil and India have taken to illegally making their own generic versions of AIDS medications, in order to supply the huge demand in their countries. Drug companies have vowed to sue (and are sueing) the pants off of these countries, but the countries are ignoring and going ahead anyway. (see this article: Brazil Will Break Patent on AIDS Medication)

When will people learn that we are all in this together, and as tempting as it is to make millions of dollars off of some poor African or Haitian with AIDS, it would behoove the pharmaceutical companies in Germany and Switzerland to give their medicine away, especially in the poorest parts of the world. Not only would it be a great and much needed PR boost for these currently much hated companies, but it would also increase sales of their products in the developing world as word got out of their good deed.

And of course, the Monkey, our current Commander in Chief, despite his big talk on AIDS, has not really put his money where his mouth is. Well, considering we have no money left since we've spent it all on a stupid "war" in Iraq, I guess we can't expect him to have anything left to give.

The US no longer is a world leader in charitable causes...we will have to rely on Europe and Asia to take the lead in this global battle against AIDS.

And meanwhile, here at home, people are starting to resume risky behavior that got us in this AIDS mess in the first place. Bathhouses are starting to pop up again in NYC, San Franscisco and LA, and some gay men have taken to "barebacking" (having sex without a condom) as if it were some sort of pioneering gesture..."hey look at me! I don't care!"

Especially young gay men under 30, who see AIDS as a nuissance, something they can just take some medicine for and all will be peachy. If they had only lived through the horrible deaths of the early 80s..they would know better.

Straight people are having more unprotected sex as well, leading us back down a late 70s road that we all know can only cause trouble down the line.

I know my "just practice safe sex" stance can be politically dangerous, but sometimes, health is more important than politics. Or is it?

I just wish the world weren't so messed up.