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Mariana,

Maldonado, Uruguay


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Mariana, Maldonado, Uruguay

She wants to move away from her country. With only 3.5 million inhabitants, it is a hard place to make dreams come true.

Although in Uruguay there have not been many cases of Covid-19 (16 deaths so far), Mariana is in quarantine, just like everybody else. She believes that this time off is useful for her to make fundamental decisions about where to go and what to do with her life after she completes her studies in anthropology, with a specialty in archeology. She is 28 and has extended her time at university because she loves to spend time making art, although she still cannot envision herself earning a living at it.

She wants to move away from her country. With only 3.5 million inhabitants, it is a hard place to make dreams come true. “One can see it from the shops that sell art supplies; there is scarcity, and prices are sky-high because there is not much business. Buying online also is a problem because people are restricted to four orders per year, in a protectionist attempt to save the local economy!”

She knows that living from archeology is tough, too, but still, her parents consider it a better choice, as they worry for the future of their child. Mariana is seriously considering emigrating to Australia or New Zealand. She has a Spanish passport too, so if that choice doesn’t work in the long run, she might just move to Spain. In the meantime, Mariana wants to get her degree and leave the country.

I draw Mariana holding her Indiana Jones Mickey Mouse; she brings it with her during her archeology works on-site. He has a pickaxe and a rope in his right hand, which are the tools of archaeologists; it makes her and her colleagues’ students smile.