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! :)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Saturday, August 14, 2010
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.
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.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
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
(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
Friday, August 6, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
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.
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.
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