This week seemed to fly by! But at the same time, I feel like things that happened on Monday happened weeks ago. These last seven days have been filled with new adventures and quite a mixture of emotions.
I received my official welcome from la Universidad Católica del Uruguay on Wednesday. I will be studying with 78 other international students from 18 different countries. I met almost every international student after two hours of ice breakers... If you think ice breakers are awkward in English (which I do), try ice breakers in Spanish. It's a whole different ball game! When we first entered the room, we all sat in chairs around the circumference of the room. I found myself trying to guess where people were from based on their accent or their clothes. It's a lot harder than it seems. Although it was so neat meeting everybody, I also found myself becoming extremely frustrated. 31 of the international students are from countries like Spain or Mexico where the official language is Spanish. I guess I just wasn't expecting that many fluent speakers in the program! But after talking with my parents on Skype, I was reminded of a quote--one of my dad's favorites. The quote is from the Christmas classic film, It's A Wonderful Life. The movie opens with Franklin, a head angel, speaking with Clarence, a second-class angel, about a troubled man on Earth, George Bailey:
"Franklin: A man down on Earth needs our help.
Clarence: Splendid! Is he sick?
Franklin: No, worse. He's discouraged."
Amen! Discouragement is worse than sickness. I couldn't let discouragement stop me from fulfilling my goals for the year. So what if I'm not fluent yet... It's only been two weeks. I guess thinking that the language would come to me so soon was a little irrational. With this quote in mind, I have become even more excited about delving into this new language and culture.
This week I had the opportunity to spend time in la Ciudad Vieja (the old city) of Montevideo. La Ciudad Vieja has such charm during the day! My new friends and I saw famous statues, such as la estatua de José Artigas, and visited various museums. But we also noticed the smaller, not-so-famous, parts of the city as well. We came across a fountain with locks placed around it. It is said that lovers who place a lock there with their initials on it will experience eternal love. I also spotted little square tiles placed randomly throughout the streets of the city. My padre told me that one man makes them and places them around the city in order to leave his mark. I wonder how I will one day leave my mark...
I have also had many interesting and deep conversations with my new friends concerning various moral issues and philosophical topics. First of all, it is cool knowing that I am having these types of conversations with girls whom I met only two weeks ago. Secondly, it has been eye-opening to have these discussions with people from different cultures. We all have such a wide-range of opinions, and it is nice hearing what they have to say while I, too, share my thoughts. We challenge one another, which has been wonderful and thought provoking.
My family has especially been in my thoughts today, as today marks the fifth anniversary of my Nama's death. I can't believe it has been five whole years! I know she is so proud of our family, our unity and our faith. Please keep my Nama and my family in your prayers this week--especially my Poppop. What a wonderful example he and my Nama are of a couple living a life of genuine virtue.
Know that you all are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your continual support!
Besos,
Courtney
No comments:
Post a Comment