llegando

Wow. This place is unlike any I have ever been. These Spanish speaking, Yerba mate carrying, very tan, big city people are so interesting to watch and I can’t wait to learn more about their culture! So since I haven’t updated my blog since I left, this is what I have been up to! The flight to Montevideo was a bit cramped but when we got in and past all the customs lines, Wimon in the ACU button down and Rosalinda with her beautiful smile were there to greet us. We took a bus to Casa ACU, driving past the beaches and a few parks until we arrive at a large metal gate next door (the buildings are all connected in that European style) to a church. before we even put our bags in our room Raquel had a lunch of yummy empanadas out for us. Then we unpacked a little and got ready for the traditional scavenger hunt that helps familiarize the students living at Casa ACU with the surrounding area. My group was Brady, Claire, and I and we dominated even if we were a tiny bit late. Some of the activities were finding the closest place to buy groceries, finding a place to mail a letter, getting a few maps from a travel agency at Tres Cruces, and finding certain landmarks and statues. We scraped by with minimal Spanish but the scavenger hunt made me want to start school just so that I can learn Spanish! That night, Wimon, Rosalinda, Dr. Walker, and Sandra went with us all to an indoor arts fair. My favorite thing there were little jars with lids made out of an orange peel turned inside out. They were very prettily decorated and the inside smelled like fresh oranges, they were so unique. Rosalinda taught us a trick to estimate how many American dollars that an certain amount of pesos is equal to so I am getting my math in and I am already starting to not even have to do conversions. Also at the fair there were beautiful shows some made of leather, some made of embrodiory floss woven together. After looking around some more, we went upstairs to eat dinner.  Greta and I decided to not be adventurous (I’ll have plenty of time to do that!) and get something that tasted a little like home on the first night away so we ordered the Uruguayan equivalent of spaghetti with pesto which was very good. For dessert we got to taste Crema, thick custard with a sauce on top that tasted a little like caramel which was made from Dulce de Leche. We had ridden in a taxi to the fair and restaurant but since it was a beautiful night, and since the taxi ride there was scarier than a New York cab ride, I decided to walk back with about half of the group to Casa. That was Wednesday. Yesterday, after a yummy breakfast with delicious fruits all prepare by Raquel, we had orientation and fairly boring but necessary talks all morning. After we ate lunch, we took a bus down to Old City to see the first Cathedral and the town hall and this really old gate that was there since Montevideo had first been built. We were then split into groups again and were simply told to get back to Casa eventually. I was with Jamie, Jeremy, Hannah, and Marissa and we first walked down to get closer to the water. Old City is on the hill tip of the peninsula because of it’s defensible position and trade advantages so there is water on three sides. But because the buildings are so tall, you can only catch glimpses. So we walked down to where there was a tiny little beach and lots of rocks, a field with a man practicing football, a colorful mural of fish and the ocean. We walked up to look at the opera house and then made our way back to the Old Town Square, this time taking our time and looking at the vendors’ tables along the way. In the plaza we met a very nice Uruguayan young woman who had gone to the American school of Uruguay and spoke very beautiful English she was very eager to talk to us and even gave us her phone number in case we wanted to meet up later or ask her more questions. Hannah bought some Spanish children’s books to help us practice later, Jeremy bought his mate (“MAH-tay”) colander, we watched a street musician who played a trumpet and sang American songs in English, then we took our time walking back along 18 de Julio towards Casa, looking in a clothes store, a libreria and stopping for some amazing “helado” (icecream/gelato) from La Cigale. I was amazed by how many stores played American pop music but I heard virtually nothing else! We were the last group to return to Casa but I still got to join in as Wimon shared some Mate and I had my first taste of the stuff. You might hear from Americans who have tried it that it tastes like grass. I’m not denying that but me, the hot tea addict that I am, I really enjoyed it! it had the best aftertaste too, very fresh and energizing. Then, upon Wimon’s suggestion, we went down to the Rambla to watch the sunset over the water. Granted the sun didn’t set till about 9 or 9:30 but it was a lot of fun! Then Brady, Cory, Claire, Kelsey and I went on to see what was in this massive white tent that we saw. We realized that we would have to pay to get in but we were still curious so we climbed this really steep, conveniently located, small mountain that we saw a few others climbing up on and caught the tail end of a show that looked and sounded like a children’s song and dance performance and then took pictures of the beautiful view from the top of the hill. We wandered around some more and then walked back up on Raquena to look for a pizzeria. We ate dinner at about 10:45… and we beat the dinner crowd. No I’m not kidding. People eat dinner here LATE. The pizza was soo yummy and we were starving so it was a great end to the day.  Today we took the bus to another part of town, and to a very nice mall which, oddly enough, was originally a prison, just to see where it was and what it was like. After that we walked over to a nice outdoor market and then down to the beach where we spent most of the day. One lady came up to us offering to take our picture and warned us about sunburn because we were by far the whitest people on the beach. And she was right to warn us! not one of us ended the day without a sunburn (mine wasn’t too bad though no worries mama!) The water was not clear (we are told if we take about an hour bus ride there are beautiful clear water beaches) but it still felt amazing to be on a beach and to at least get knee deep in the cool water. Last night we met some people from the Spanish youth group and we cooked an scrumptious pasta and sauce, some salad and Rosalinda made her famous brownies! The meal was amazing and talking with all our new Uruguayan friends (for me more listening than talking) was so much fun and made me want to learn Spanish soooo much!! We are about to head off to church next door! More updates later!

Starlight

Originally intending to start this blog about a week ago while in pursuit of my intense procrastination of writing my study abroad paper, I ended up finding anything in the world to do besides pack, do my study abroad homework, or start my blog. So, I packed entirely in the last day and a half I was home, finished my paper and hour before it was due, and as I start my blog the day before I leave the country, I'm realizing that there must be something more to my expert procrastination than laziness. I am entering a completely unknown semester. It is not that I haven't traveled. I have been all over the world and part of the reason that I chose to study abroad in Montevideo was because we will travel to Brasil (my favorite place on earth). I think the difference that is making me nervous is not only the length of the time that I will be abroad, or even not knowing much Spanish, but rather the timing in my life. Many of the things that I know and love here in Texas are in some way either ending or changing in a major way this semester. This semester will be the last time that my immediate family has no in-laws (don't get me wrong on that part I am SO excited to be in two weddings and get two wonderful new sisters!), it is the last time that my college 'family' will be living in a dorm all together, it is the last semester of being an underclassman, I could list more but I think y'all get the idea. I like closure, I don't like things to just suddenly be gone- that is what I'm scared of. However, when I was reading in Luke 9 the other day, the story of Mary and Martha struck me in a different way and I have kept it in mind which has helped put my mind at rest. In the story Martha is rushing around in preparation. This is me, wanting to make sure things work out or wrap up in the way I think would be best. However, "only one thing is needed," and that "will not be taken away". As made this my focus, I began to become more excited and dwell on the new beginnings that were taking place, new friendships, experiences, and language abroad, new family members, new paths, new apartments, and looking back on the memories that I have from the past. This is partly where the blog name came from. Into part it is from the Muse song that I'm slightly obsessed with. but mainly it is because is more often then not in the light of the stars and the moon that some of my most beautiful memories are made: trying to draw the first shooting star I saw as a child, star-gazing at a good friend's lake house, finding constellations from my front yard, explaining (trying to explain) what the moon looked like to a precious child at camp who was visually impaired, seeing new stars in New Zealand, the electric lighting storms in Brasil, heart-to hearts on the upper deck at K-Kauai, or watching the night sky and having pre-semester talks in the middle of campus. I love the night sky, it makes me feel small, and it is there that I feel I can be most honest. So I am Chasing Starlight and all it means to me as I explore a new country in this time of new beginnings.