We were on an excursion, visiting the highlights of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, when I learned about the national non-alcoholic drink, mate (pronounced mah-tay). Formally, yerba mate is a kind of tea that almost everyone carries around in a thermos, refreshing it frequently throughout the day with additional water and sipping it through a unique straw. Our guide insisted that it isn’t the same as coffee with caffeine, but that it is an herbal stimulant. This drink is similarly popular in Argentina and Chile.
A good tour guide gives a helpful orientation to the people and culture of the place you are visiting. This guide, Vincente, was among the best in my many years of international travel. Vincente described life in Uruguay by saying no one is in a hurry and no one particularly cares about being on time. The rhythm of daily life is much more “laid back” than what he has observed in visiting the United States.
We learned that Uruguay has an extremely high cost of living so that most people of modest means live in small apartments and spend the bulk of their income on their rent. Vincente says that daily he walks around with his cup of mate and thermos of water, and it is common in groups of people to share another person’s mate, even the straw that is embedded in the cup. No, they do not worry in the least about the hygiene of this practice. People gather in groups and discuss life, politics, sports (local football which we mistakenly call soccer) and their families.
The laid back, non-hurrying lifestyle works in Uruguay, Vincente says, because no one is trying to climb the economic ladder or striving to spend on extravagances. It is common in a block area for everyone to gather in the street in the evenings with their grills and share asada (beef) with each other, and of course, more mate. He was passionate about his two children and the various children in his area where everyone knows everyone. Vincente says life is good.
I am struck by how different life is in our country. We live, literally cocooned, in our houses and on our electronic devices, and often, alone. The levels of chronic depression, anxiety disorders, and loneliness are higher in our country now than perhaps ever before. Our poisonous politics have made this awful situation even worse. How any of us can see this as progress is unimaginable to me.
I don’t know the answer, but what I saw and heard in Uruguay is a small glimpse of a different way to live. Maybe the simple life without extravagance really is the better choice. Something as simple as spending time with one another, sharing our food and drink, will improve our mood and our relationships. Food for thought, or perhaps mate for thought.
