winter adventures

Final exam status: all completed minus one and that pesky little fella is scheduled for the 23 of this month. Making a jab at the accommodating planning of the professor, my classmates told me we should all take the final in the airport as we wait for my flight. (My flight leaves July 24th.)

After finishing the majority of my finals, I have felt quite free. Friday after the final a few friends and I went to a classy little café to celebrate our newfound freedom. In my free time, I´ve been dining with friends, cooking breakfast, exploring, going for runs, and enjoying living a few blocks from the beach. I never understood the fun to be had at a beach in the winter. I´ve spent at least a few hours at the beach each day, reading, watching the waves, talking with friends, walking til my heart is content, writing, and simply enjoying the sun when it shines. Sunday afternoon I walked back to the apartment from the flea market via the beach, a marvelous 3 hours in the salty wind and sunshine. I will miss living near the beach.

Tuesday I´m off to Buenos Aires to renew my visa.

sunshine and thunderstorms!

Saturday, after Grandma saw me walking about the apartment wearing my scarf wrapped tightly around my neck, she slid her rocking chair into the sunshine by the large window that overlooks the street below. Saturday was a gorgeous day with the sun shining like the world depended on it. So I studied the afternoon away rocking in the warm sunshine and watching the activity in the street below me. As I write this little update, I'm once again rocking in Grandma's chair by the front window, but this time to the sound of raindrops against the glass and cars splish splashing through puddles. Every so often I can watch the flashes of lightning reflecting on my computer screen. I think every time there was a thunderstorm at home, my mom would tell me to stay away from the big front window. Apparently, there is some danger in being too close to a window during a lightning storm. I'm not sure. Grandma hasn't called me stupid or warned me away from the large window here. Maybe the same rules don't apply here in Uruguay. I will let you know if anything happens.

Today marks the beginning of finals month at the university. 5 exciting, studies-filled days ahead of me then relaxation to follow. The week after I will be traveling in Buenos Aires with two friends from Mississippi and then heading to northern Argentina (Mendoza y Córdoba) for a few days to meet up with two different friends. After which I will be back in Montevideo for some time with my friends here, before I leave on the 24th. Oh how the time is flying!

Every Monday morning as I'm eating breakfast in the kitchen, Grandpa slips through the kitchen and out the door, mumbling a few good-byes and see you laters. A few weeks ago, Grandma shared the secret with me: Grandpa is taking computer classes. He doesn't like for it to be a big deal, and he still doesn't know that I know. But I can tell he likes them and is learning quite a big for a 70-something fellow. Just the other week when I was in the kitchen, I spied Grandpa on the computer showing Grandma what he had learned. She was ooo-ing and aaah-ing over what he had learned. It was cute.

That last rumble of thunder shook my heart I think, it felt like the bass you can feel at a concert. I like me a good storm!


Above are the kids that 3 friends and I worked with each Wednesday. We were helping them practice their English through songs, games and dances. Always a good time!

Cru friends after the graduation of Leticia (the one with the flower) I think Juan and Maycol fell over after pretending to propose to Leticia.

Besos

Month 4 and still going strong

A collection of short stories from the past week:

Thursday night my friend Leticia graduated from college. She is now officially a nutritionist! I had the chance to attend her graduation ceremony and the celebration that ensued. She had her hair done at a hair dresser for the special event and it looked gorgeous. So of course my shaggy do with curls sticking out at all angles received the brunt of the jokes for the night.

When I was a young girl I loved reading The Little House on the Prairie. I always thought it was so cool that in the winter the girls would warm bricks by the fire and then put the bricks under the covers by their feet. Now I understand. Last Thursday I bought a hot water bag. It cost me only $2.50, it is a lovely color of red and it has my name on it! Now every night before I go to bed I boil a pot of water and fill the trusty little hot water bag. I’ve been sleeping better lately and I’m down to only 3 quilts. I don’t know why I never thought of this before.

In general, I’ve been feeling more confident with my Spanish. There are still the days when I feel as if I can’t express myself, but in general I’m improving. I am far from fluency, but I’m making progress. On Monday, I have the opportunity to lead the weekly Cru meeting Bible study. I’ve never done such a thing, but I think you could classify my emotions as a healthy mix of excitement and nervousness.

Wednesday for dinner I ate Pasculina. This is the name of the spinach tort I’ve talked so passionately about in the past. Either something is wrong with me or we have proof that change is possible because I enjoyed it tonight. Believe me the spinach was just as plentiful and strong tasting as before, but I truly enjoyed it.

Malena (grandma) calls her husband Luis (grandpa) her besito, which in English is little kiss. I smile to myself each time I hear her pet names for him. The best is when she sings to him.

I entered my first casino. Haha but that is where the story ends. I had never been to a casino so Thursday night on the way to the bus stop my friend Juan and I walked in so I could see one in real life.

Today is Grandparents' Day as well as the birthday of Uruguay's national hero, José Gervasio Artigas. For the sake of his birthday there are no classes today. My plans include possibly making pancakes, studying for upcoming finals, and baking chocolate chip cookies for the students of the English club I help with.

Icicles Anonymous

In recent news, I’ve added a fourth quilt to my bed—without it I am cold. Whenever I’m in the apartment, I find that I’m magnetically drawn to my bed. It is one of the few places that I can truly be comfortably warm. Even though this doesn’t sound too fun, I’m doing fine and adjusting to the humid cold. And while classmates and locals alike are falling prey to the flu and weather-related illnesses, I’m determined to elude both. We shall see how I hold up when winter arrives.

The time is passing oh so quickly and I simply cannot believe that it is the second week of June. I have only 2 more weeks of classes, one additional week of finals and then my semester in Uruguay will be complete. The next three weeks will be challenging as I study for finals, prepare several culminating presentations and continue with all my strength to improve my speaking abilities.

Since I’ve last written, my apologies for the break, several exciting things have happened. Well more than several, but I will only share a few. Instead of traveling extraordinary places I’ve been spending more time in Montevideo and I love it. I love that I can explore new places and still know the city well enough to not get lost. I like that there are individual stores for your every need (meat store, fruit market, yarn store, bakery). I’m learning how to make Grandpa laugh. I like that I only eat freshly baked bread. I enjoy bundling up in June. I like being an adult. I like talking about Jesus. I like when it is just my Uruguayan friends and I, drinking mate and talking late into the evening. I like eating dinner at 11pm or later.

My friendships are becoming stronger.

I turned 21.

My friend Leticia and I are teaching a 4-week English conversation class.

I met my niece Lydia via Skype!

I learned how to play handball and kicked butt.

I rode my friend Maycol’s motorcycle.

I attended a 15th century organ music concert.

I make new friends often.

Some recent photos...

Juan and Maycol, two of my friends from Cru, helped me teach my friend Erika to ride motorcycle for her 21st birthday. I was the photographer and helped with the explanations, Maycol was the real teacher and Juan was the entertainment.

My new red shoes

This is what today looked like in Montevideo. I snapped this picture on my walk home from the university.

The neighborhood dog walker. He doesn't mess around.


The United Nations Buddy Bears are currently installed in Montevideo
Uruguayan bear and I

"21 is so young!"

With time I’ve realized nearly all of my neighbors in the apartment building are over the age of 60. And I love it! Unless Grandma is cracking up with a friend on the telephone, it is always quiet, especially after 9pm when they are all in bed. And I’m quite certain if I were sick; I would receive more love, care and tasty recovery food than necessary.

“21 is so young!” This was the response one of my grandma neighbors gave when I told her I was turning 21 years old on Sunday. This is the same lady that is standing on the balcony in the following picture. Please enjoy her expression-I laugh every time I look at it. I snapped the picture last week when the city was tree trimming/tree destroying outside of our apartment building. She was not very happy with them and decided to let them know.




I wish this were my car. Oh how it would enjoy the roads of PA. I just know it. Seriously, rust spots, worn tires included, I want to bring this car home with me.



I gave in. I cut my hair. I'm so weak. A change was necessary and the good thing is now I have confidence that if I ever do wish to grow my hair out, it is possible without as many awkward stages as I previously thought. Here's the scoop... I sought out a trendy little hair joint about 15 minutes from the apartment. It took me a few weeks of detective work to find a suitable establishment because I've had my fair share of grandma styled cuts and I am done with that. I took a picture of one of my past haircuts, not too short, not too long. I showed the girl the picture and told her that if she could cut it more or less like the picture, it would be great. Snip snip snip, away she went. I think if it had been a race, she would have won. She did a great job and is truly talented. However, she purposely gave me a mullet. Remember how I said trendy hair joint? Well to be trendy here in Uruguay is to have a mullet. I was so tempted to keep the mullet, just for one day. It was priceless. Instead my pride took over and I asked her to cut it shorter in the back, more like the picture. Confused as to why I didn't want to look cool, she cut the mullet off. I'm happy with my Uruguayan haircut. It isn't what I asked for, but I'm okay with a little adventure.

Gauchos and hypothermia

This is going to be short and sweet because I have schoolwork to do. But here are two small stories from this past weekend.

A friend and I went to a Uruguayan horse competition on Sunday and I had a billion flashbacks of when I was the one in the event. Dad, I took this video so you could enjoy what I was enjoying. The horses were beautiful and the different types of competitions very interesting.







In other news, 5 friends and I went on a day road trip and then camped in Treinta y Tres, a small town in the interior of Uruguay. We found a free place to camp Friday night, so we decided to make it a party by purchasing hot dogs and chorizos, a popular Uruguayan sausage. It was a struggle at first, but we eventually fed ourselves. I think one of the chorizos fell in the dirt 4 times. However, that was only the beginning of the adventure because we were very unprepared for how cold it was. Two girls slept in our rental car while three of us slept in a small tent. Even though we were cozily packed in the tent, we were too cold to sleep. Or I should say Molly and Brittany were too cold to sleep. I have a gift of being able to sleep almost in any conditions. At 3 am we gave up, packed up the tent and had the other two girls drive us to a bus stop. By 4:45 we were on a bus back to Montevideo. Each of us spent Saturday in recovery in our beds, trying to warm up. Whoever said Uruguay doesn't get cold was wrong. Now we know not to camp in May-without enough blankets and warm clothing.

The month of may

My most sincere apologies to all of my curious friends and family for the lack of written entries in the last month. I’m alive and well and happy, but the season of midterms has arrived and has taken my free time by storm! So far I’ve survived three midterms, but I still am preparing for one additional written test and one more term paper.

¡Qué baile! : Every Wednesday, three of my friends and I teach an elementary class just outside of Montevideo in one of the poorer neighborhoods. La Universidad Católica organizes community service opportunities for any of its students that wish to participate. So it was through the university that my friends and I have the opportunity to spend time with 30 energy-filled 11-12 year olds during one of their breaks. We are allotted one hour for activities and games with the goal to help them practice and apply the English they are learning. That is background for the real story. It was our first Wednesday with the students and the class was sitting in a circle playing a game. I was seated between Lucas and María when Lucas leans over and asks me if I am a good dancer. I whispered back something about having two left feet. Hearing that he loudly whispers back “So you are a really good dancer?” Before I know what is going on, and in the middle of the game, all of the students sitting around me start whispering, Erica dance, just dance, Erica show us one of your steps, come on dance Erica, dance. Laughing at how much of an instigator Lucas is, I quiet them and explain that I really am not a good dancer. However, the rumor started and there was no way to stop it. By the end of the hour, the entire class sincerely believed that I was a great dancer who simply didn’t want to dance in front of them and all 30 students were chanting “¡Qué baile! ¡Qué baile! ¡Qué baile!” (Dance, dance, dance!) To add to the hysteria, my friends were doing nothing to help me, but with smiles and laughs chanted along with the students knowing that dancing is not a talent of mine. Two weeks later the students are still not convinced that I am a poor dancer and still repeatedly ask me to dance.

Salto, Uruguay: Last weekend I traveled with the Campus Crusade for Christ group from Montevideo to Salto, the second largest city in Uruguay. It is about 6 hours north and is known for its abundance of hot springs. We spent the weekend with a group of university students that want to start a Cru group in their city. The weekend was filled with a lot of good teaching and fellowship. It was encouraging to spend a lot of time getting to know everyone better as well as see the excitement and joy the students had for Jesus. The weekend away gave an obvious boost to my Spanish confidence and I loved spending time with only Uruguayans. Andrés, the National Director of Campus Crusade here in Uruguay, asked me to share how met Jesus and how I got involved with Cru. I ended up sharing my story at 2 church services and 1 of the teaching sessions. It was a challenge and an encouragement because I had never shared my testimony in Spanish in front of such large crowds. Not only did I get to work on my Spanish all weekend, but also I had the opportunity to do a lot of driving. Andrés let me drive the van as much as I wanted and even gave me the keys so some girls and I could go to a flea market on Sunday. The driving is more intense because the driving rules aren’t enforced nor followed. And so the defensive driving that I use when I ride motorcycle in the States was incredibly useful.

Two stories are sufficient for today because quite honestly, I have to think to write sensibly in English. I’m at a point where I’m not accustomed to writing or talking in English, but neither am I able to fully express myself in Spanish.