Town Descriptions

In the last workshop meeting, after reading an extract from Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow, we were asked to describe our home town from 2 perspectives: one from our own subjective point of view and anotherone as a foreigner or an anthropologist studying the place.

Here is one of the results:

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#1

My town is quite a long way from downlotn Montevideo. I never really liked it that much , so it never became part of me. Besides, I used to go to school and have friends in other parts of the city, so I never got too attached. Mostly we drove down places I never walked around so they were just pictures through my car window that never woke any feeling in me. However, I can remember every turn and detail of that route. I must have done it a million times, and although it was not moving or interesting for me, I memorized it for some reason. Survival I guess. I have to drive through those streets now. To go from my house to my school you had to go through a very hidden little street, full of holes, so you had to go really slow. Then right by the bus stop I frequently use now and the very colorful elementary school. Right after a few speed bumps there was a cars factory and a very smelly bridge. I always hated that smell. It got specially disgusting in the summer. After that bridge, the nice part of the route began. There were a couple of fancy labs, a gas station with a supermarket, and after a curve we crossed a big avenue. Right after that avenue i would stand up in the bus since my bus stop is shortly after. Down another curve we reached four big pillars of concrete, commonly known as "Los Portones". Although they are quite impressive, they are only just that, 4 pillars of concrete. After a couple of blocks by foot, quite hidden, there was the massive building of my school.

#2

This town they call "Paso Carrasco" is quite uninteresting. It has no squares, no big buildings, nothing remarkable. Just as its name says, it is just a place you go by in your way to some other place. Maybe the airport, that is just a few km further.

The people in here seem to be divided into 2 groups: the ones whose lives revolve entirely around this town and those who come only to sleep because they happen to have their beds there. This last group complains bacause the other group does not represent them, but well, they are the only ones there all day.

Houses are all very homogeneous, small and with big front and back yards. Lots of children everywhere all the time, maybe because the school is not big enough. There is not many old people, at least not that you can see, so maybe they stay in their houses all the time, or they work somewhere else and you just see them getting off buses.

People here seem to be completely dependent on 3 buses, which are the only 3 ways out of this town if you happen hot to have a car.

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Tam