Perfect

Paper: DONE and handed in

Pictures: UPLOADED! http://picasaweb.google.com/102816793100596881033/Uruguay02#

They include Sierra de las Animas, a museum and mom and dad's vist!

Plans: Box wine and homework on the beach, anyone?

procrastination

Well, I've still got to finish that paper that's due today...I guess I did not leave procrastination behind in the US. It is funny to see the differences in classes and homework concerning the variety of exchange students. Almost all of the Europeans finished this paper days in advance. Not only that, but they went above and beyond the mininum pages. We were assigned 7-14 pages...so of course, the North Americans did about 7-8 (I'm gonna barely make the 8 mark haha). One of my German friends did TWENTY pages...incredible. I have no idea what motivates them to do their homework in advance; definitely wish I had that!

The soccer game on Wednesday was....INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am definitely a Manya fan. We sat in the family section, but were able to see the wild fan section. Imagine the UW student section...mulitply it, and add in fireworks and fights. These people were literally shooting off fireworks from their seats and lighting fire in the stands. There was a small band in the middle comprised of drums that beat the WHOLE GAME and they chanted the WHOLE GAME. It was soo incredible. They were throwing streamers and screaming the entire time--definitely something to see!! We ended up winning 3-2, but in order for them to continue in the tournament they had to win by 2...it was a bittersweet ending!

This Saturday, me, Rachel, Anna, Amy, Kate, Rob, Javier, Dudu, Laura and 2 of Dudu's friends/collegues from the university hiked up Sierra de las Animas. This is the tallest point in Uruguay which means we hiked up 12 kilometers (about 7.5 miles) of rock and steep terrain and then the same path back down. It was an absolutely phenomenal view! Uruguay does not have mountains, just a few large hills so you can see over alot of the landscape. It was definitely a good day trip, and I was amazed that 58 year old Eduardo was always leading the pack. He would get way ahead of everyone and we'd reach him laying on a stump or something...what a character haha.

We had to ride a bus out to the hill (about a 1.5 hour ride) and on our way back I was talking to Kate on the bus. I was explaining something (in Spanish), but obviously my accent gave me away because the minute I started talking, a guy turned around "Are you foreign?" I laughed and said yes and then we all started talking to this group of guys. They were a bunch of young law students from Salto who had a meeting in Punta that weekend so they were taking the bus home. This is a perfect example of Uruguay--these people are not shy and love talking to foreigners (it helps that we're girls too i guess). When we were getting off the bus they took pictures with us because they thought it was so weird that their were foreginers here...we're definitely rare in Uruguay! hahaha

Now I must get back to the 19th century....

recientemente

Well, I've basically been LIVING in the silence room of the library these past few days trying to get my reading done from my history class. I'm writing a 7-14 page paper (yes grandpa, all in Spanish) on femininity, adolescense, sexuality and immigration in the 1870's-1920's in Uruguay. It is actually pretty interesting stuff, it just takes an added amount of concentration when you throw in the foreign language aspect!

I uploaded some new pictures onto Picasa from a multitude of different things...class tours, international fair, community service and Punta del Este. I still need to upload pics from when Mom and Dad came---I'm getting there!

http://picasaweb.google.com/102816793100596881033/Uruguay02#

Tonight I am going to my first Peñarol game!! There are 2 soccer teams here, Peñarol and Nacional. Peñarol is more the 'working man's' team and Nacional is a little more upper class. The fans of Peñarol call themselves Manya and the fans of Nacional call themselves Bolso. (You'll probably see something about this in my pictures from time to time...there is grafitti all over Montevideo for this!) Anyway, Peñarol is playing tonight so I'm going with a huge group of students...it's going to be awesome! We got tickets in a pretty decent section, which is good because there is also a part of the stands that is CRAZY! I've been warned not to go to that section because apparently it is where the completely beligerent drunks go and they shoot off fireworks and start riots....can't wait to see it!!!

I think Silvia has caught on to the fact that I have yet to gain weight here. She prides herself on the fact that she feeds all of her exchange students so well that they all have gained weight. Since this is not the case for me, I have noticed that the portion sizes have been getting larger. Also, in the morning I usually only have toast and coffee with the fixings...now I have been getting toast, crackers, coffee, and some type of breakfast torte...and if I don't eat everything she thinks I'm sick! Haha I guess I should consider myself lucky that Silvia pays alot of attention to me and makes sure I'm taken care of!

Ataque de los padres!!

So much has happened!!!

Mom & Dad came on Saturday morning. I picked them up at the airport with my mate tea just like a good Uruguaya :) They both tried the mate and told me it tasted like a hay field...haha I guess it is an acquired taste! After bumming around the whole afternoon, we went to Silvia's for a huge dinner. We had salad, ham & cheese tortes, steak, chicken, potatoes & sweet potatoes, mandarins and a dulce dessert...mmm!!!!

Sunday morning we went to the Feria Tristan Nirvaja...the largest and oldest street market in Uruguay. This thing goes on for block and blocks...and has EVERYTHING you can image. Old car parts, decorations, animals, all types of foods, clothing, electronics...literally everything. It is always fun to see what you can find there...we bought an ancient doll that has 3 faces that you can turn depending on how you want the mood of the baby.. hahahahaha excellent purchase!

After that we went to the bus station and caught a bus to Piriapolis, Uruguay. This small beach town is very quiet and tranquil...basically undiscovered by tourists. However, it has the highest point in Uruguay so they have a chairlift that takes you to the top where you can look out over the entire country and coastline...absolutely phenomenal!!

After spending a day or so in the sun (and eating alot of ice cream!!) we headed back to Montevideo. We took some buses into Ciudad Vieja and explored the city...it is nice to have a fresh perspective on Montevideo!! We got to eat a famous chivito sandwich (very popular here) that basically consists of steak, hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ham, peppers, onions...all piled on a bun! We got to see alot of the city by bus (my main way of transportation) so they got the real experience! Mom and dad even managed to get themselves around while I was gone to class...props to them! They headed back to the airport on Wednesday and made it home safely. I am so glad they came to visit!!---It was nice to share my life with them!

Now that all the excitement is over, I am back to "normal" life here. My professor suggested we go to a tango music concert that took place downtown last night. Rachel and I decided we would go so we grabbed a bus and went downtown. After a little bit of misdirection, we finally made it to the show about 10 minutes late. There was a sign on the door that said all the tickets were sold out..BUMMER. I turned around and this old man was right behind me. Usually this is not a good sign, and I became wary of him pickpocketing me. He asked if it was just me and Rachel, to which I replied yes...and he told us that he had invited 2 other friends but they couldn't make it. He gave us his 2 extra tickets and said we didn't have to pay him...we just had to enjoy the show!! Amazed by our luck, we had amazing tickets very close to the stage where we got to watch who is rumoured to be the BEST accordionist in the world....it was amazing. He was accompianed by a small orchestra, and it was absolutely stunning---what luck!!!!

Now I have to catch up with all of my projects and presentations that I have, of course, been putting off for weeks...great!!

I know I have to put up a ton of pictures....I am working on it I swear!

!!

MOM AND DAD COLBY CHEESE ARE HERE!!!

They both tried my mate...and told me it tasted like a hay field. Just wait, they'll come back completely fluent!

sol

Well, it is SOO hot here right now. The sun is shining and I just got done with community service...the children are so precious. I cannot even express how amazing these kids are...so caring and loving!!! When we leave they attack us with hugs and kisses and are always laughing; I'm going to miss them so much in December.

I decided I'm going to skip alll of my classes today and go to the beach. I have to experience this while I can!! :) Maybe tonight, we'll go out dancing and then tomorrow I really don't have to go to class either because there is a city wide PARO (strike). All of the buses, taxis and the public schools are closing so that they can demand higher wages. My school is private, so we technicallly still have class, but the teachers can't force us to come because we don't have transportation means to get there.

I'm still working on posting more pictures...I've been getting into the slow-paced rhythm here...it is so hard to find ambition when the sun is out and the beach is calling!!!

Talk is Cheap

Our weekend was wondeful---the weather was so nice!! I feel so grateful because we had 8 Uruguayos to show us around and give us the real experience. And real experience it was....15 of us (final count) for 3 beds and 1 shower...hahahaha. We drank a TON of mate (the Uruguayos made SURE we had mate before we left) and got to grill a traditional asado. The asado is different cuts of meat slowly grilled over coals so that we eat for about 3-4 hours. We went to the beach and because it isn't HOT HOT, it was almost empty...so fun! I'll post up pictures soon.

I had to give a presentation the other day in class and basically just had to talk for like 10 minutes about the markets in uruguay. This was for the same professor who yelled at me the first week and told me I spoke no Spanish and my accent was horrible. When I was done she said my accent was excellent...FINALLY!!!! Let me tell you I have been working my butt off talking as much as I can...(so hard for me as you can imagine :) haha).