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...?]
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
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.)
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.)
Monday, October 4, 2010
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!
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!
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