If you only speak english, dont worry, this post isnt for you

Queridos amigos, a quienes he conocido en Uruguay:
Estoy en casa ahora, muy lejos de ustedes, y por ahora no queda mas aventuras allá. Empecé este blog para que mi familia y mis amigos de yankilandia podrían saber qué estoy haciendo en el cono sur, que estoy pasando muy lindo, que ellos no deben temer por mi vida, cosas así. (Pero es muy posible que algunos de ustedes empezaron a leer más que ellos.) De todos modos esta entrada es para ustedes. A ustedes que han tenido muchísimo paciencia conmigo, explicando todo, contestando mis preguntas, jugando mis juegos, sean tontos, me enseñando palabras (algunos que Susana me dijo no son para usar en la escuela, ni en el bondi, ni ningún lugar publico). (Bueno, ella también me dijo que un poco de vino o cerveza o un porro no está mal, es la cantidad y uso no el producto que está mal, pero eso es otra cosa.) A ustedes quien compartieron todo desde asados y tragos hasta bizcochos (o chobizcos) y viajes conmigo.
Me encantó mi tiempo en Uruguay. Era muy lindo conocer otros lugares aparte de Montevideo con ustedes, aunque como ciudad, me encanta Montevideo. Pasé muy lindo con ustedes. Solo ha sido un poco más de una semana, pero los extraño a todos. Seguro que volveré, no sé cuando, pero volveré. Y para los que no son de Uruguay, nos encontramos en algún lado del mundo, sea en Montevideo, Baltimore o cualquier otro lado, como alguien me ha dicho. Y cuando quieran o puedan (por favor) visitarme en Baltimore, tienen lugar para quedar y comida acá. (la única cosa que pido es que tragan un poco de mate y dulce de leche) =) ¡Gracias para todo! ¡Feliz navidad y año nuevo!
Ojalá que disfrutan del verano, hace mucho frío acá y un poco de nieve.
-laensalada (Megan Collins Lancelotta)

Reflections before leaving:

Since Im about ready to head home (sadly I have only a week left) I figured its appropriate to reflect on my travels/adventures and share some of what Ive learned in the past 6 months. (and since ill be in the airport for 5 hours waiting to meet my parents, with nothing else to do…) I hope that you might be able to learn something as well from my reflections.
First I think Ive finally learned not to be disappointed when I speak and someone asks me where im from. (Perhaps I have finally actually accepted the fact that Im from the US.) Mostly everyone who asks is being friendly, (and possibly wondering why im carrying mate or buying tortas fritas – I know this because they ask) and with the accent I have I would probably ask too if I were in their shoes.
I also have learned to depend on others more. Although my prideful self still cringes every once in a while when I have to ask for directions or have my Spanish corrected, for the most part Ive learned to enjoy these things. It helps me remember there are other people in this world, that I am far, far from perfect, that whether we like it or not or whether we realize it or not, we really are dependent on others to live. (I do have to admit though that I love it when someone asks me for directions and I am able to help them!, but then again that’s what its about, give and take.)
I feel that throughout my time here I have had a lot of time alone to think, something that I don’t get as often at home, when Im always running from one event to the next. And even though Ive had a lot of time alone, Ive learned a lot about people and how I interact with them. Ive (re)learned that I am too shy and too quiet sometimes, that Im prideful and selfish at times (I actually already knew that one, but its humbling to be reminded of that). I have also learned that I can be more of a free spirit then I thought, Im adventurous, I love to learn, I also love to know people much more than just on a surface level (thank you dteam!) (to my friends here, hope you’ve enjoyed all the questions!). I have (re)discovered that I will never be who I want to be without God and that fellowship is really important to who I am. Also I would much rather be hot or cold than lukewarm.

Also I have had more adventures since my last update, but I guess youll just have to wait till I get home to hear all of them. One of them does however involve a beach at night with a box and some wine ;) Another involves Cabo Polonio – basically amazing – there are no words.

Aventura (no i didnt spell it wrong, its in spanish)

Aventura: Empresa de resultado incierto o que presenta riesgos (Real Academia Española) / Adventure: an unusual, exciting, and daring experience (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)

Well my blog is titled adventures in Uruguay and the last couple of weeks that exactly what i have been having. Perhaps I get the inclination to call everything an adventure from my aunts and my mom, but wherever it comes from I think my friends here will always remember me saying “¡es una aventura!”.
Survivor part 1: (last semester my friends took a trip to celebrate the end of classes, so in following with tradition, 2 more trips were planned to celebrate the end of this semester.)
Two weekends ago I got the privilege to go camping with friends in Arequita. There we hiked up the big rock/hill for lack of a better term. (Its very fun to see what they think is tall, as Uruguay doesn’t really have mountains). We spent the day scampering around the top and taking lots of photos. At night we prepared a fire and ate chorizos and panchos (hotdogs) (side note: 70 hotdogs were purchased for the weekend to split between 9 people, needless to say i think I ate the most hotdogs I have ever eaten in my life, and hopefully the last I will ever eat.) I also got to teach my friends how to make s’mores! Other highlights of the trip include swimming in a nearby river and visiting a cave in the side of the rock full of bats. The bat cave visit was a minny tour and I ended up having to translate for some Indians (from India) who only spoke English. I don’t know how well I translated it all (partly because after someone talks for 10 minutes straight, try repeating exactly what was said in another language and let me know how it goes for you…) but in general it was a fun experience. My friends jokingly told me I need to come back and work as a translator (although some my have been more serious about the me coming back part). The last highlight of the trip was visiting a small waterfall. To get there I rode in the back of a pick-up over some of the most gorgeous countryside. That is where the phrase “its an adventure” came in.
Survivor part 2:
This past weekend was another adventure with more friends. This time we took a trip to Piriápolis on the coast. Don’t worry, there were plenty of big hills to climb there too. We started the adventures off with a chairlift to the top of cerro del San Antonio. Afterwards we took a trip to the beach and I convinced everyone it was warm enough to go swimming, which it totally was.
The main attraction close by is cerro or hill Pan de Azucar, which at 423 meters is the 3rd tallest point in Uruguay. (tallest point in MD 1,024 meters, Backbone Mountain) On Sunday we made our way up Pan de Azucar. The climb was a little bit more difficult to get to the top compared to Arequita, but was totally worth it. There is a giant cross at the top that you can go inside, to the top and look out. The cross kindof moves in the wind so I didn’t spend too much time inside. After returning to the bottom, we may or may not have found ourselves in front of the Castle of Piria, the guy who founded Piriapolis, but the castle was closed so we continued to the cerro del Toro. I made it up about half way, before deciding to sit and relax and enjoy the nature with 2 others, while the rest of the group continued… (it wasn’t at all because we had been walking all day and I needed to rest, nope definitely not.) At the end of the road making our way back to the bus terminal, we ran into a comparsa playing candombe (youtube it, its pretty sweet) in the street. To finish the day off we stopped for churros and saw the sun set over the water. All in all, an amazing weekend. Obviously, there was lots more that happened but I figured I wouldnt bore you all with too many details.

Spring in Montevideo

This week marks my last week of classes. I cant believe it is already the end of the semester here. Although at the beginning I wasn't quite sure I was prepared to stay here for a whole semester, I now find myself not prepared to leave it all behind. I have done lots of school work in the past few weeks and now face final exams, relaxing at the beach, and a few trips to see a little more of the country before I leave. The weather is getting to be beautiful and i find myself walking to school more often, reading in the park and running on the rambla. Although I will completely miss fall this year, having 2 springs is totally worth it. Since last updating you all, I am now the proud owner of a mate, and yes when I return I will be carrying it around with me to class as long as I can find yerba. I visited Salto, the second biggest city in Uruguay (with a population of ~125,000). While in Salto my friend Christeane and I took a boat ride to visit Concordia the neighboring city in Argentina, walked around the city and spent the afternoon relaxing in the hot springs. Other exciting events include a weekend full of hanging out with friends that ended with going to a fútbol game, and riding the rides in parque Rodó next to my house. One of my favorite quotes describing José E. Rodó, who the park is named after comes from the wikipedia page on him. It says, "What Rodó was afraid of was the debilitating effect of working individuals' limited existence doing the same work, over and over again, never having time to develop the spirit. Among Uruguayan youth, however, he is best known for Parque Rodó, the Montevideo amusement park named after him, where the worship of culture was somewhat less refined than Rodó intended." I also got to see Trotskey Vengaran, a rock band from here, in concert. Anyway thats a little more of what I have been doing here. I figured Id give you all a quick update and let you know im still alive, and despite my desire to stay longer (even though I miss you all a ton!) i will in fact still be coming back. (I mean i do kinda need to graduate this spring...)
Sending my love!

Things I miss...

In case you are dying to find out all the things that are so different here that I can't wait to get back to the US or the lack of all things "american" (what I really mean is things from the US since Im still in America, just the southern part) here is a list to put a stop to all your musings:

- Studying the Bible with others on a regular basis:
while this is probably something I could be more proactive on trying to change, studying the Bible by yourself, while still important, is no replacement for fellowship, rather a complement to it. God gave us brothers and sisters for a reason... remind me why we dont lean on each other more sometimes?

-My family, especially my niece and nephews. To my siblings who are reading this, please give them a big hug and kiss for me! Also I am sorry that I cant be at home to help out right now. Love you Vanessa and Im praying for you. Also hope everyone has a great run! http://collinsfamilyrun.com/

-My dteam! I love you girls!

-My friends in general and random road trips that sometimes occur, or just random crazy happenings with yall

And that is as long as the list gets. Yes there are things that are different, but going back to what I said in my first post, people are the same everywhere. Its just that the same people arent everywhere, (ie friends, family from home). Going back home, the things I will miss most are the friends Ive made here (and maybe mate and bizcochos). The point is that people are adaptable; we can get used to living in many different conditions (this is not to say that things are very different here, they are in fact very similar in many ways). The important things in life is who you live and share it with and how you interact and care for others (from your neighbor that you see everyday to the one half way around the world who doesnt have clean drinking water, to the one living in your city who doesnt have a home right now). We shouldnt let ourselves get tied up in details that in the long run arent so important. This is not to say that I have this all figured out or that im not still selfish or superficial sometimes (note the bits about heat and classes), but i sure hope its something im working to achieve.


[last side note: is it bad that to make sure i spelled things right in english i translated them to spanish...?]

Culture:

So in case you were wondering what interesting cultural things there are in Montevideo, I would like to share some of what I’ve done.
Theaters and plays: I had the opportunity to see a play that took place on a city bus. When it starts you don’t know who all that actors are, they could be the person sitting next to you. It was a lot of fun and interesting to see how they used stereotypes of people you might see on a bus. The best part was the actors interact with the audience (for example the drunk on the bus ended up in the laps of a couple people). Another fun play I saw was called “Rescatate” and was about some planchas who try and rob a corner store. Planchas are an urban tribe, some people might call them troublemakers, they say “che, vo” and use a lot of slang. Sorry that is actually a horrible description, but its what I came up with. Also a lot of people say “che, vo”, not just planchas. The play was very well done although I didn’t understand all of it because of the slang.
El Teatro Solís is a famous theater in down town Montevideo. I haven’t been to a play there yet, but I got to visit it with my class. The building is gorgeous inside and out. It was built by some rich investors in the mid to late 1800’s and is now operated by the government. (I really should be studying for a test in my culture class right now, but I figure this is kindof like studying… right?)
Día de patrimonio: So to make up for not having huge celebrations on their independence day, Uruguay has a day of patriotism. On this day/weekend lots of buildings are opened to the public that normally aren’t. There are tours of neighborhoods and of the harbor and all the museums are opened. There are plays and shows in the streets and plazas, and everything is free. I went on a boat ride that toured the harbor, visited some interesting buildings downtown, and went on a bus ride of the whole Cerro neighborhood. El Cerro de Montevideo is a fort at the top of a hill that overlooks the city and the bay. It was fun to see everything but at the end of the day all I wanted to do was sleep. (I may or may no have been out the night before till 3:30ish in the am.)
Also it is not ok to go out anywhere (to a club, ect.) before 2am and leaving before 5am is medio raro.
Finally my favorite “cultural event” was the asado (basically a BBQ) I went to at my friend’s house. (I like hanging out with people more than visiting old builds, not that old buildings aren’t interesting, but people are more fun! And yes, I eat meat in Uruguay, Ariell and Amanda you can lecture me later ☺) Asado is very important to the cultural identity of Uruguayans, according to my culture professor. Basically people eat lots of meat, because there are like 5 cows for every person living in Uruguay and asado is a fun tradition. I tried teaching my friends some games from “yankilandia” like loaded questions, but Im not sure they liked my questions. (Leah, I blame you for infecting me with your random questions.) The night ended with Karaoke and some dancing. (Tín, no sabía que alguien de acá estaba leyendo mi blog, pero ojalá que te gusta. Ahora sabes todo lo que pienso sobre tu país.)
(Also if you haven’t noticed yet I like parentheses, sorry if they get annoying.)

Church

Reasons why I love mi iglesia:
One Sunday we sang a Johnny Cash song in English, the normal hymns in Spanish, a hymn in German, and a song in an indigenous language that if I name I will probably be mistaken, but I think it was Guaraní.
It is very traditional and follows all the Lutheran liturgy, but it is also very informal and the pastor will often stop and speak directly to people throughout the service and it feels a lot more like a family than a “holier then thou” type of place.
Lots of times we sit and have coffee after the sermon and talk about everything from plans for the youth group, to questions about God, to how excited we are the weather is finally getting warmer.
Its 3 blocks from my house and starts at 11:30
Even though the congregation is really small (the most people I saw at one service – 30 because there was a baptism, the least one week when it was really cold – 3) they always have someone to play the organ
The pastor preaches from God’s word and its good.

I also finally found out about and was able to go to a Bible study for the youth in the church. (side note “youth” is anywhere from 13 to 30) It was a little different from what I am used to, but it was really good to just fellowship with others. One thing that I have missed a lot is just studying the Bible with other people and having community and accountability. So yay for finding a Bible study!

Classes, Museums, Beaches, and 21K

So I know its been a while since my last update, but Ill try not to dump too much information into one post. In general life here is going amazing, although every time I see little kids I miss my niece and nephews even more! The weather is finally warming up and... I HAVE FRIENDS! :) My Uruguayan friends are amazing. We study durning the week (they are so patient with me when I dont understand something or ask a million times ¿Cómo? - What?) and we go out on the weekends. The 24th of August is the night before Uruguay's independence day and is called the "night of nostalgia". Basically everyone goes out and parties and on the actual independence day, nothing really happens. People hang out with family or sleep in or just enjoy a day off of work. My Uruguayan friends invited me to a costume party because apparently thats a popular thing to do on la noche de nosaligia. I used my creativity and dressed up as la sirentita, (the little mermaid). All in all it was a blast.
Also I found friends that like museums and history. We traveled to Colonia, the oldest city in Uruguay, for a day and visited all the museums there and saw all the cool historic buildings. We also sat on the beach and relaxed a little at the end of the day. It was basically amazing. And this weekend some of us traveled to Punta del Este, a famous beach city in Uruguay. Although its not quite beach weather yet we got to explore the city without tons of people. On saterday we walked around, got caught in the rain with our umbrellas at the hostel (i got pretty wet because of course i wasnt wearing a jacket), ate at an amazing italian restaurant, warmed up by the fire in the hostel, walked to the port at night to see all the pretty lights shine on the water, and finally had a BBQ dinner at the hostel. The next morning I woke up early to prepare to run 21K (a half marathon!). It was soo fun and a great way to see the city. Also running along side the ocean is super fun, I definitely recommend it. I finished in 2hrs and 5 minutes, not the best time in the world, but for me its awesome! My friends were waiting for me at the finish and later in the day I ate some of the best homemade spinach ravioli. We sat on the beach and watched the sun set over the water and finally made our way back to Montevideo.
I am having lots of fun but I am studying and working hard at improving my spanish too. I have come to the conclusion that i understand spanish a lot better than uruguayan. I meet once a week with another exchange student from Spain and he helps me with my spanish while I help him with english. Its a pretty fun trade off (especially since he usually cooks lunch and we usually end up hanging out with his mexican and french apartment mates).
Another intersting thing I am doing here is a community service class. Once a week me and 3 other students go to a school to work with the kindergartners. This past week was the first week of us being in charge, but because it rained all week here there were only 4 kids that came to school that day. One of the reasons I was told that the kids dont come to school when it rains is because they only have one uniform and if it gets wet one day, the next day they cant come because there clothes arent dry. The kids are really sweet and im excited to work with them. Some of them require a lot of attention, but it should be good.

(more pictures to come)
Also I enjoy reading your comments!
Also, Elise, I think I should have been more clear, people assume I speak spanish till I open my mouth! :)

Montevideo - my new home

Some more pictures from facebook (this will get updated more often):
facebook pictures

Classes, Punctuality, and Culture

Finally some updates after my first 2 weeks of classes:
The first week I went to a few extra classes to figure out which ones I wanted to take. Just so you know punctuality in the academic world here varies greatly depending on the professor. Some expect you to be seated in class the minute it starts, others however come wondering in 10-20 minutes after the class was suppose to start. Tending to be a little lax with punctuality myself, Im ok with the fact that all professors are used to having students entering there class up 45 minutes late. (Dont worry mom, I wont actually ever be that late to a class, even if it is socially acceptable). After the first week I finally decided on classes. Im taking semiotics and oral communication (part of the communication major), uruguayan culture and latin american and uruguayan thought (for exchange students), software design (i had to experience at least 1 comp sci class in spanish), and finally community service.
My software design class is from 8:15-10:15 at night, so after the first class ended I asked some of the students where the bus stop was and they promptly walked me there and waited with me till the bus came. They invited me to join their group for the semester long project and tomorrow after working on our project I am going to hang out with a bunch of their friends and "experience real uruguayan culture" (they make fun of the fact that im taking a class on uruguayan culture so every time they give me a new food to try or invite me to talk with their friends they say "come. uruguayan culture.") The class is mostly guys, although there is another girl in my group, and they are a lot more talkative then most of the people in my comp sci classes at home. Also in this particular class we are using UML (if you dont know what that is, its ok, it just means it wont be that hard - for those of you who do know what that is, the class will be similar to 345 but without actually implementing the project, just designing it).
The rest of my classes are going well and I think Im going to really enjoy them, although semiotics will be difficult and a lot of reading.
Tonight I went to a concert for "jovenes" or youth (anyone from high school to young adult) at the church I go to. I wasnt quite sure what to expect, since when they were making plans after the service Sunday there were about 6 jovens there. It turned out to be real fun though. They joined with another church to have the event and the music was awesome. First an organist played, then a group of 4 sax players called Ellas performed. Then there was a rock band that sang some scriptures put to rock music, and finally there were two rappers who performed along with a break dancer. At the end they had Karaoke to finish it off. It was quite a mix, but all the performers were really good. (it was a little hard to understand the rappers, but otherwise i understood mostly everything.) When everything finally ended sometime after 1 I was walked home by the guy who played the organ and his brothers. All in all it was a fantastic night. (oh an the punctuality thing again... it was suppose to start at 9 and ended up starting around 9:55, a few of the performers even walked in after it started!)

Some interesting facts about Uruguay:
Not everyone assumes Im American, nor do they assume I cant speak Spanish
When people ask where in the US im from, they dont actually know where MD is
About half the population of the country (~1.5 mil.) lives in Montevideo
Public transportation is very easy to use as long as you know which bus to take and where to get it (I have yet to find a map or schedule of buses, you just ask where its going to whoevers closest and they just come when they come, which is pretty frequent)
Everyone drinks mate - they carry around a thermos of hot water and a little cup with the mate and a straw used as the strainer everywhere and at all times of the day - they also share with whoever happens to be around them, whether they know them or not, although as Susana claims, no one gets sick from this custom. One of my friends said she was in class where the students were sitting in a circle passing the mate cup around and the professor joined right in the sharing of the mate. Fun fact: Uruguay is the biggest consumer of mate, but doesnt produce a single plant of it.
Dulce de leche is used in at least half the deserts here along with a multitude of other things and true to its name is very sweet

Anyway I think thats enough for now. Dont want anyone to get too bored reading. Sending my love.

Song from church

This is a song that we sing at the church Ive been going to. Its pretty thought provoking and I thought Id share.
(Also feel free to correct any bad translations if they exist for those that can)

1. Corre el viento en esta gran Ciudad; /The wind runs in this great city
muchos temblarán; perdón, Señor. /many will tremble; forgive us, Lord
Para unos hoy habrá calor /for some today will have heat
para otros no; perdón Señor /for others no; forgive us, Lord

Estribillo: /Chorus:
Ayúdanos a entender /Help us to understand
Nuestras culpas, ¡oh Señor! /Our faults, Oh Lord!
Nuestras alegrías son dolor /Our joys are pain
Para muchos hoy; perdón, Señor. /for many today; forgive us, Lord

2. Esta gran ciudad progresará, /This great city will prosper
muchos sufrirán; perdón, Señor. /many will suffer; forgive us, Lord
Para unos, la oportunidad. /For some, opportunity
Para otros no; perdón, Señor /For others none; forgive us, Lord

3. Guerras y más guerras por la paz; /Wars and more wars for peace
Muchos morirán; perdón Señor. /Many will die; forgive us Lord
Muchas, manos se levantarán /Many hands will raise
Reclamando pan; perdón, Señor /demanding bread; forgive us, Lord

Thoughts before classes start

I’ve come to realize that as much of an introvert as I am, I love to be busy and at least be around people. In the past week I have had more free time than I probably had combined since the start of this year and even with the internet at my fingertips and a new city to explore I found myself bored. As much as enjoy and even savor my alone time I enjoy being busy and investing in relationships. I may not be the social butterfly at parties, but I like having lots of people close by to spend time with one on one or in small groups. I have also learned that I am very out of practice at being still and listening to God. I feel that in part the culture in the US has made it very easy to ignore the importance of resting in God. Not that the Bible doesn’t teach and re-teach us the importance of rest and stillness. Jesus even gave us a living example of that. Does anyone else find it astonishing that God incarnate found it important to leave crowds of people in need of his teaching and healing to go to a quiet place and spend time with his Father? If Jesus can’t survive on this earth without spending a little time alone with his Dad, I’m not going to pretend to be any better. Here’s to practicing.

But don’t worry, I haven’t spent all my time in my room curled up under the blanks, which is by the way the only place I have felt completely warm since my arrival (I only did that once on the day it rained so hard some of the busses stopped running because of flooding). On Thursday night I went out with some of the other students studying abroad to mingle at someone’s house and then head to “El Club” (yes the name of the place is actually El Club). Of course no one who’s anyone leaves to go to the club before 2am! Dios mío, la vida noche. Although I have to say, since I’m not one for the night scene, I think my favorite part of the night was watching the lightning storm over the river while we were waiting to get in. It was by far one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

On Sunday after church I meet up with Christiane, one of my new friends from Germany, to go to the “feria”. The feria is an outdoor market that sells everything you can imagine. Its like a giant Wal-Mart but in the street and by local people and better. There were fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh pastas, dried goods, spices, cheeses, meats and eggs, live chickens (I think they were for eating), bunnies, goldfish, puppies and hamsters (these were for pets – not eating). There were cd’s, vinyl’s, books, movies, all types of clothing, shoes, pots and pans, knives, cutting boards, tools, electronics, yarn, yards of fabric, hand made wooden furniture, the list goes on. If you haven’t caught on yet I was very impressed by the sheer diversity of items for sale. The scene was made complete when we past bya preacher, holding his Bible, microphone on and speaking to the crowds as they streamed by.

I’ve walked and ran on la rambla a few more times. I think what I love most about it is how different the water can be depending on the day, and that the sky is always gorgeous there. I’ve also spent more time inside of malls then I have in the probably the past 2 years. They are warm and give me an excuse to leave the house.

On arriving

Algunas cosas antes de empiezo... (A few things before I start):
I must admit that I feel a little egocentric starting a blog. I'm not one to draw attention to myself, so for me to write all about how wonderful my travels are and expect people to read it is a little beyond me. On that note I'll try not to bore you with the details or brag about my adventures too much.
Also I feel anyone reading this must know that I will not be checking it for typos or grammatical and/or spelling errors. I'm sorry (especially to you mom) but you'll get over it eventually.

So for those of you who like me and want to know about how I'm doing and so I dont have to send massive emails to 50 different people feel free to read if you are curious about what I'm up too, since you will not see me often (at least for the next 5 and a half months)


It has been almost a week since I have arrived and as of now no harm has befallen me and I feel very safe in all my surroundings (just incase you were wondering mom). I am staying at the house of Susana Fabiani with her daughter Ana, who is also 21 and attends the public university here. When Susana met me at the airport she was there with a friend of hers who is also a host mom, picking up Bailey, who as it turns out, I rode all the way from TX with on the same plane.

Some highlights of my time here so far include:
Attending a Lutheran church with a service in Germany and after one in Spanish. It's a very small congregation and after the service I had coffee with the pastor and other members of the church. They were very welcoming and had some sweet conversations about God and questions people have about Him.

Taking a walk on "la rambla" a path next to the river that seperates Uruguay from Argentina.

Hanging out with Bailey, shopping with our host moms, and having someone to relate to and talk with when I missed home.

Sitting in on a family gathering of Susanas neighbors that she invited for dinner (and the food that went with it). Just so you know trying to keep up with 13 people talking at the same time in Spanish, half of them teenagers, is not easy.

Realizing that living without central heat in 40 degree weather is colder than I thought it would be.

Realizing that no matter how hard I try and stay away from English speakers it doesn't work because the whole world speaks English. (At least practically everyone in my study abroad group including people from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, England, Mexico, Brasil, Denmark, and more.)

Learning that no matter how much I try to become more independent, I become even more dependent on God.

And to sum it up, I eat nothing like a typical american. My host mom keeps trying to feed me like one and I have to keep telling her to stop trying.

Finally to share a little of my limited knowledge of the world, I feel I have learned as I travel more, not how different people are, but rather how very similar we all are. People are all the same wherever you go. They may dress a little different or talk a little funny, but we all have the same basic needs and basic instincts. We go for walks in parks or by rivers because no matter how much we destroy nature we still see something awesome in it, something bigger than ourselves that we cannot recreate. We are creatures of habit, and we depend relationships to carry us through life. When we get caught up in our differences is when we learn to hate, to disregard others, and to view ourselves as somehow better than those around us.