Bienvenidos a Uruguay

7th week--

 

If you so chose to compare the English and Spanish language in your spare time, you would discover many cognate words. Cognates, by definition, are quite similar to one another. Below, you will see some examples of English to Spanish cognates:

1)      Bicycle—Bicicleta

 

2)     Laboratory—Laboratorio

 

3)     Similar—Similar (Wow! There was a cognate word above ^ and you may not have even realized it!)

One final example of a cognate is the word, “routine,” in Spanish, “rutina.” And that, my friends, is the topic of this week’s blog post: routine. I just thought I’d spice up my introduction a bit with a little language lesson. I hope that I helped you learn something(s) new, and that you don’t mind learning.

So without further ado…routine.

This week has felt a tad different than the previous weeks have felt for me here. I could really feel it, and for a while it was hard for me to figure out what had changed. I think, however, that I’ve finally figured it out:

It is so easy to think throughout the day here, “I can buy this; I’m on vacation!” or “Let’s visit this place; we’re on vacation!” or, most often, “I can eat another alfajor! I’m on vacation!” (Alfajores = the best/most addicting cookies I’ve ever eaten besides Mrs. Witkowski’s seven layer Christmas cookies)… In some sense, this notion of “vacation” is true. My fellow foreign exchange students and I, all seventy-eight of us, are studying in a new country, for some of us a new continent. And it is just that—new. And exciting. And foreign (pun intended). As such, for the past seven weeks, our days have been filled with exploring the city of Montevideo and experiencing new adventures. I have visited countless museums, the bustling ferria, and theater productions…one of which was on a bus… I have even expanded my adventures outside of Montevideo, to Colonia del Sacramento and Colonia Suiza. So, in some capacity, yes, I have been on a type of vacation.

On the other hand, I need to remember that this isn’t the type of vacation to which I am accustomed. It’s not a week in Myrtle Beach, or ten days in Italy, or fourteen days at the Jersey shore. I am here for a year—for 315 more days actually, according to my computer’s calculator app. Also, I am here, primarily, to learn Spanish: to study and to master the language. With this year and with this ultimate goal in mind, certain things have to happen. I obviously need to attend class, speak, and listen to the Spanish language. But I also need to establish a routine of living, as that is exactly what I am doing—living in Montevideo for a year. I think that is precisely the thing that has felt different this past week. I finally feel like I have established a routine throughout my day-to-day life here. Although this may mean that I don’t do something particularly significant/“photo worthy” every single day, I still get to experience the little moments that make up this routine—and I am quite content with that. It consists of having mastered the bus system (mostly). It’s full of attending classes, and getting to know my classmates and professors. It means knowing that every Saturday night my host family orders Italian food from the same restaurant, and that every Sunday afternoon we have a family lunch of ravioli and masitas. For a girl who loves routines and Italian food, this is great news!  

Of course, I will continue to explore and expand my horizons—I just bought a ferry ticket to Buenos Aires, Argentina for a trip in October—but it is nice to realize that I don’t have to cram all my adventures and feelings of “vacation” into a short period of time. For a year, my life is here in Montevideo—I have time. Furthermore, I can fall asleep each night with the peace of knowing that I have established my own way of life here. My own routine. Mi propia rutina.

Can you pick out the non-cognate?

Amor y oraciones a todos,

Courtney