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.