First Week

I've been pretty busy so far this semester and my spanish class hasn't even started yet!  I have been trying to use that time to remember what I may have forgotten.  I'm definitely ready to start Spanish class though.  I've been practicing a lot on my own and with people and have learned a lot and picked up some more but mostly I've been trying to remember stuff and trying to figure out the accent here.  We've also been busy with various activities.

Last Sunday we went to church next door and then after several of the youth from that church came over for lunch.  That was a great experience because we got to practice conversation and get to make some friends.  I talked to this 6 year old girl for a while.  She was cute but very hyper and a bit sassy too.  I had a lot of fun that day.  We started classes Monday and they're pretty good.  I'm taking a photography class which so far has been really interesting,  a class on Latin American ministry which I think is going to be very personally challenging but rewarding, and a class on Latin America.  We had gone out as a group and been shown parts of the city before but we got to see more Tuesday when we went on a bus tour of the city.  We got to go to the main cemetery, see the port, go onto the cerro "hill" and get a cool view of the city, see the neighborhoods where the current and last president live, go to a museum and see Uruguayan art, and go to a Japanese garden.  It was really cool and informative.  Wednesday we went to Pocitos beach after class and also went Friday.  It was really windy and a bit chilly Friday though.  Thursday we were going to go to the Carnaval parade and we were there and ready and just as it was about to start it began to pour so we waited it out in an ice cream shop then went home.  But they rescheduled it to Friday and we got to go then.  Uruguay has the longest carnaval season  in the world starting with a crazy long parade.  It started at 8:45 and we left at midnight and it wasn't close to being over.  We only saw about half of the acts.  The kids run wild during carnaval.  They run in the streets and spray silly string on the people in the parade and one of the main things they do is lie down when people are carrying banners and let the banners pass over them.  It's pretty entertaining to watch them play around.  But they also mess up your pictures a bit...

Saturday, yesterday, we went to a popular beach resort in Uruguay, Punta del Este.  This is where a lot of the Uruguayans, Brazilians, and Argentines, go on vacation.  We just went for a day trip but being a saturday during summer it was pretty crowded.  We hung out on the beach, played in the water a bit (but it was very cold) and read a lot.  We might go back when school starts back up so that there will be less people there.  It might be a bit nicer though colder.

Today we went to church in a different part of the city.  We went to a smaller church about a 15 minute bus ride away.  It's where our cook Raquel goes to church.  The people there were really nice.

I don't know if I've mentioned it but Raquel and Mariella are the sweet ladies who cook for us during the week and they can cook that's for sure.  They've made empanadas, chivitos, milanesa, and other fantastic local food for us.  We had a Brazilian dish too but I can't remember what it was called.  It was good though.  The local food here is very good.  Better than English food.  Still kinda bland and they don't like hot and spicy stuff here but it's still really good.  And they're really sweet ladies!

This week should be exciting!  I start Spanish classes (so we'll see how that goes, they're going to be a challenge but challenges are good).  We're going to have a Candombe workshop.  I'll explain that when I know more.  Basically dancing, drums,  etc.  And I think we're going to have a party this weekend.  So I'm excited!  I absolutely love it here in Uruguay and love it more and more every day.  I've got a great group of fellow study abroaders and we've grown closer and it's been great to get to know them.  The people here in Uruguay are great too.  They're very friendly.  Not to say that the British aren't but the Uruguayans are more friendly and more willing to become your friend.  I mean I love the British but the Uruguayans are easier to talk to.  Well other than the whole language barrier thing.  We will sometimes go into a store and people just start talking to us wanting to know where we're fun and why we're in Uruguay and if we like it, etc.  Plus the program here encourages intercultural interaction more than in Oxford but it's also set up so it is easier to have that.

View of Montevideo

 kids lying on the street during carnaval

Carnaval 2013

 Punta del Este

I feel like I haven't been very diligent about posting here and pictures on facebook but I really haven't been here that long, though it feels like I have.  I will try to be more diligent. So here are some pictures.