BBQ

We are having a North American styled BBQ tonight---so excited!!!!!

As the weather has been getting nicer, we have been able to go to the beach almost daily...it is so gorgeous, I don't think I'll ever get sick of it!

Sorry for the short short blog--I'll update when I have some time to sit down and write!!

Much love

Pictures!

http://picasaweb.google.com/102816793100596881033/Uruguay#

My pics from Buenos Aires!!

Buenos Aires!

Well,

It was a packed weekend, to say the least!! Thursday morning I was almost late to the bus stop because I spent the morning in Ciudad Vieja and lost track of time (sooo typical me). So I rushed home, grabbed my stuff and took a cab to meet up with my friends. We got to the bus station about 10 mins before we were scheduled to leave and figured we'd be waiting around for about an hour because nothing starts on time here (literally even the TV shows dont start on schedule!). However, our 4:46 bus departure actually ended up being 4:45, and luckily we came on time because right as we climbed the stairs we realized we were the last ones to board and the bus was waiting for us---definitely a new feeling here!! Usually its the other way around!!

The bus was SUPER nice and it was a 2 hour ride to Colonia (a historic city right on the river)...we drove through the countryside, which honestly essentially looks like Wisconsin! We arrived (to our amazement) early at Colonia and proceeded through customs (a very easy process compared to the States) and right onto the boat. We were expecting a small ferry...but this was a huge cruise ship--really! It had a marble staircase, and amazing seating and other amenities....wow. We took the slow boat so we arrived in Buenos Aires 3 hours later.

We had to be careful about which taxi we took because there is an infamous taxi mafia..no joke. So we got a chauffuer and drove to our hostel that we had reserved for 3 nights.

However, when we got there, they told us that they did not recieve our internet reservations and that they didn't know if they had room for us... Keep in mind that our phones did not work, we did not have computers, and it was almost midnight, talk about a little freak out--what were we supposed to do?? Walk around and sleep on the streets?

Well, thankfully they had a private room that we took up and all three of us (me, Marina (Germany) and Kate (North Carolina)) were able to have a place to sleep for the night. The next night they told us we'd have to move to a different room and would have a random roommate, so we took that offer cuz we had no other option!

Thursday night we were supposed to get a nice (and cheap in BA!) steak but we couldnt find the restuarant and it isn't really safe to walk around Buenos Aires at night, so we just got some junk food from a convenience store and ate on our beds haha.

The next day we woke up early, and hit the streets armed with very little cash tucked into our bras and hidden pockets (pick pocketing is VERY prevalent here).

We took the subway to Casa Rosada and bummed around busy shopping centers. Got some AMAZING gelato :) :)

We also saw the worlds biggest street with like 20+ lanes, and a bunch of other really cool stuff (I have pictures coming!!)

We went back to the hostel, napped, and went out to eat at an INCREDIBLE steak house...it was also INSANELY cheap...!!! Later we went to a friend of Kate's who has lived in BA for over a year. We told him our situation with the hostel and he offered his couches and floor for us on Sat--perfect!! That night, Rob, Rachel, Anna and Jack all arrived but we were all soo tired that we decided not to go dancing.

The next day we met up with the others (they had stayed with a friend of Robs) and we went to the Cemetary Ricoletta which has Evita (Don't cry for me Argentina) and a ton of other very prestigious Argentinans. The whole cemetary is mausoleums and beautiful above ground graves...like you can see hundred year old caskets...crazy!!

We bummed around town again and hit up a bookstore that was actually a renovated theatre...beautiful!!!

That night, we were supposed to meet up for dinner at Rob's favorite restaurant around 9:30, but we couldn't find the restaurant! After asking a few people and circling some blocks, some waiter told us it had just closed down 2 months ago...great! So we went to a random restaurant, got some beer, popcorn and fries and then headed to another restaurant where we waiting for over an hour to be seated--this place was packed!! Around midnight we were seated and I got some AMAZING ribs and mashed potatoes....perfect!! We got to the apartment around 2:30. The night had just begun for many Argentinians (people were still pouring into the restaurant!!) but we were so exhausted that we hit the sack early!!

The next day we went to a huge feria (outdoor market) and saw much of the handicrafts of Argentinians--beautiful! Then we went to La Boca, a historically very impoverished neighborhood famous for the painted buildings and ate lunch and walked around some more. Then, Marina, Kate and I headed to the boat station and took the boat and bus back home! I arrived at my door around 11:30 and went I got inside Silvia told me dinner was on the table. Rice, soup, spinach & egg torte and apple pie!!! :) :)

I loved Buenos Aires, but almost all of the people in my group (including me) could not have been more excited to come home to Montevideo! There is almost no tourism here...which is soo nice! The lifestyle in BA is great for a weekend--face paced and beautiful, but MVD is perfect for living in. Our tiny little city of 1.7 million could not feel more like home! All weekend people were warning us to watch our pockets, OJO (watch out!!) and be very aware---well, none of us got robbed, but its so nice to be back in the city where people are trustworthy and very very friendly!!! The men in BA were also alot more...vocal...shouting HOLA HOLA HOLA out the windows at us haha. Some small boys shouted "HEY BLONDIES!! RUBIOS!! HEY!!" for almost an entire block...haha we stick out everywhere!

It was also very frustrating because everywhere we went people tried to speak English to us...which we absolutely refused to speak---we're here to learn!!!

When I got back to MVD I grabbed a cab (I didn't have to worry about taxi mafia!!) and I spent the 10 minute cab drive in rapid conversation about studying in Montevideo. We both agreed about how much friendlier everyone is in Uruguay--how great was that solidarity!

Basically: BA blew my mind, but I LOVE MVD!! :)

I'll update more later, but now I'm going home to my puppy and a home cooked meal!!

weekend!

I am taking a bus then boat to Buenos Aires, Argentina from tomorrow til Sunday night with some friends so I won't be updating for a bit!

And don't worry about me, I'll just be in a city of about 13 million people!!!

:)

It's going to be AMAZING.

Love

traffic

Almost all of the buses, taxis and cars I have ridden in have gone through red lights. The other day, my bus went through a red light right alongside a cop car that was doing the same thing...???

I was in a car the other day, and the guy drove through 3 consecutive stop signs---haha do these traffic symbols mean nothing here??

People speed and drive pretty crazy, and there is literally NO traffic enforcement. There are tons of motorcylcles and almost everyday there is an accident involving a motorcyclist--they are crazy here!!

I also saw on the news yesterday that 12 cars a day get stolen in Montevideo. Not tooo horrible considering it is a city of 1.5 million.

Also concerning traffic, one of my gorgeous blonde friends was walking down a sidewalk and a man was shouting at her from his car (nothing new here). However, he forgot to look ahead of him and ran right into the car in front of him....SMOOTH.

A, E, I, O, U

When Uruguayos mock the English language they make their mouths really small and imitate the different vowel sounds (the Spanish language only has 5 vowel sounds as opposed to a range of 11-20 for English vowel sounds). Eduardo says it is the language of barbarians haha. Most often my nasal Wisconsin accent gets mocked because I forget that I elongate my "a" sound so when I call my friend Juan "compadre" he usually mocks my voice back saying "cumpaiidreee jankee (yankee)" haha. They also say "Macdonalds" (for McDonalds) and laugh really hard when I pronounce it "Micdonalds" and apparently in Brasil they say "Mickidonalds"...

The other day I was talking and some random guy stopped me and said "Your accent is hilarious!!"

Its funny how the way you pronounce letters can make you such an obvious foreigner.

Rainy

It has been raining like no other here :( but luckily I didn't have class on Tuesday so I woke up at noon, ate breakfast, did homework, took a nap, ate lunch...I think you see where this is going! Silvia definitely supports my napping/sleeping--she says I need my rest to stay healthy!! When I sleep less than 12 hours a night, she said she worries about me falling asleep in class --she definitely knows me well!!! :)

Yesterday, I had to go to my community service so I woke up around 7 (before the sun comes up if you ask me...) and waited at my bus stop in the pouring rain for about 15 mins and rode a bus about 35 mins to my stop. It was my first time taking this bus there, and I am reallllly unfamiliar with this area, so I asked a local if I had the right street. He gave me some directions to the school (different from the ones Silvia gave me) and I began my 6 block trek in INSANE WIND AND RAIN. Of course, my umbrella broke within like 2 minutes and I just had to trudge through. I walked for about 25 mins with literally NO sign of the school even though I had followed his directions perfectly (why didn't I just trust Silvia??hhaha). Not only that, but I was on side streets in a barrio, which means there were NO taxis...GREAT. So I burst out laughing on a sidewalk in the rain with a broken umbrella in South America...what else could I do? I asked several people and finally a family was able to point me in the correct direction and I arrived at the school about half hour or so after deboarding the bus.

There were only 4 kids at school instead of 24 because of the rain (the 4 who were there live with a state institution and therefore don't miss school). We had alot of fun, and I am amazed at the amount of creative energy in 4 kids...I can only imagine how insane it is going to be with all of the kids, especially because almost all of them have some time of attention disorder.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at school completely soaked, but luckily my lit class was cancelled so I went to an outlet with Kate and Marina and spent the evening at Kate's house. When I left, Eduardo asked what I was doing to which I responded, going home to eat and sleep? and he said (in Spanish) "NO you will take off your coat and stay here, there are food and beds here. You have a sickness where you think you have a host mom named Silvia, but you actually make it up and now you must live here" hahaha this guy is sooo crazy and funny. Imagine a balding South American yelling at me in Spanish...classic :)

I left anyway and as I was walking out the door Eduardo and Laura (the host parents) told me that if I didn't exist, someone would have to invent me because the world would not be the same without me. Haha these people are incredibly sweet and welcoming...I feel so blessed to have met them!

Silvia and I watch the news everynight, which I definitely look forward to. We usually make fun of everyone's hair and she randomly shoulds "Mentiras!!" (lies!!) whenever they talk about government....love it! She made an orange torte last night....SO DELICIOUS!!! I had 2 pieces at dinner and she set one out for me for breakfast :)